Publication Date
Spring 4-22-2026
Presentation Length
15 minutes
College
College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
Department
Social Work, Department of
Student Level
Graduate
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Carmen Reese Foster
Presentation Type
Talk/Oral
Summary
Representatives Charlane Oliver and Aftyn Behn have introduced a bill which would make preschool available to all children in Tennessee. The Universal Pre-K Funding Act, which was introduced in February of this year, would draw from a tax on digital advertising to ensure that every four-year-old has access to high quality early learning. Universal pre-K has been shown to improve academic outcomes spanning all the way to college acceptances, and to increase parental earnings by nearly 20% (Humphries et. al, 2024). These results are especially pronounced among low-income families. It also functions as a form of childcare, which is invaluable considering the crises of affordability and openings in Tennessee daycares (Tennesseans for Quality Early Education, 2022). Tennessee’s current pre-K system is a voluntary program, which prioritizes students from low-income families, but funding is not currently sufficient to meet the existing demand. The most recent data show that only 20% of eligible children in the state are admitted due to limited funding (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2024). This fact should concern social workers because we understand the developmental importance of the first five years of a person’s life and believe that all children should be provided enriching opportunities during this time. We also recognize the ways in which history and intersectionality have placed marginalized groups at an increased risk for poverty, which limits true equity in access to quality education and childcare. We are guided by a value of social justice, which demands that we examine and correct all areas where systemic barriers exist. Throughout the fight for equity and social justice in American history, schools have often been battlegrounds for these rights and places where fights for progress have been won. Early advocates for public education argued that education for all was critical to lift people out of poverty (Kober & Rentner, 2020). Civil Rights activists pushed for school integration on the basis that access to high quality education is crucial to achieving racial equity (Lamback, 2023). This bill continues this legacy by expanding access to impactful, foundational learning for all children.
Recommended Citation
Rutland, Grace and Wells, Sofia, "HB2008: Universal Pre-K" (2026). SPARK Symposium Presentations. 1046.
https://repository.belmont.edu/spark_presentations/1046
