Educate Texas - Philanthropy Advocates

In 2012, Philanthropy Advocates commissioned our first research study, focused on understanding the effects of the 2011 Texas Legislature’s public education budget cuts. One of the primary findings included in this study was that pre-kindergarten programs in districts across the state were negatively affected by the Legislature’s funding cuts. Our early grade success work has evolved over time with continuous investments and focus on understanding the early learning landscape in Texas and determining how policy changes from the state level impact our student’s early learning years.

Philanthropy Advocates was formerly known as the Texas Education Grantmakers Advocacy Consortium (TEGAC) until August 2020. Previously-created resources, documents and blog posts mentioning TEGAC are still provided on this website for your reference.

The Research is Clear: High-Quality Pre-K Pays Off

Research from Texas and across the U.S. shows that effective pre-k programs help students start kindergarten with the skills they need to succeed, boost early literacy and academic achievement, and reduce both grade retention and provision of special education services. This brief outlines examples of these research findings from throughout the country and here in Texas. It then concludes with a closer look at ways that Texas legislators should harness the power of early childhood education by funding full-day pre-k and taking other steps as they address school finance during the 2019 legislative session.

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Next Steps for Texas Pre-K: A Survey of School Districts' Pre-k Priorities and Challenges

In 2018, Texans Care for Children and the Commit Partnership conducted an online survey of Texas school districts to better understand their pre-k priorities and challenges. The survey included several questions about the impact of the Texas Legislature’s 2017 decisions to eliminate funding for the short-lived $118 million per year High Quality Pre-k Grant Program, as well as the $30 million supplemental pre-k funding, and to require all school districts to meet high-quality pre-k standards outlined in Rider 78.

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