Bentley Said He Wants State’s Prekindergarten Program

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Gov. Robert Bentley said by the end of his second term that he wants every Alabama 4-year-old to be able to attend the state’s voluntary pre-kindergarten program.

Bentley laid out the goal in his second inaugural address on Monday morning on the steps of the Alabama Capitol.

The governor has said that he wants to increase funding for the state’s voluntary pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds until every parent, who wants to enroll their child, can do so.

Alabama’s pre-kindergarten program has gotten high marks for quality but reaches only a fraction of the state’s preschoolers. Currently, 12 percent of Alabama’s 4-year-olds, or about 7,370 children, are enrolled in 410 classrooms across the state.

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