Former vice president and current presidential candidate Joe Biden called for universal pre-kindergarten for all 3- and 4-year-old kids as part of a sweeping education plan, according to an announcement prior to a town hall in Houston Tuesday.
Biden plans to work with states to provide universal pre-K, according to his campaign website.
“This investment will ease the burden on our families, help close the achievement gap, promote the labor participation of parents who want to work, and lift our critical early childhood education workforce out of poverty,” Biden’s website said.
It is unclear how much the universal pre-K and other provisions will cost. (RELATED: Biden To Young Girl: ‘I’ll Bet You’re As Bright As You Are Good-Looking’)
The town hall was attended by American Federation of Teachers, a coveted, Democratic-leaning union, according to The New York Times.
Biden’s universal pre-K plan comes 15 days after fellow 2020 hopeful Julián Castro introduced a free pre-K program for 3- and 4-year-old children called “Pre-K for USA.”
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
Biden’s plan also calls on tripling Title I funding to help schools with a large number of low-income family students, double the number of health professionals in schools to address student mental health care and to “Defeat the National Rifle Association – again – in order to make our schools safer.”
Biden’s team did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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