On April 2, 2002 President Bush announced details of his proposal to improve early childhood education programs. According to the White House, the president's proposals would:

• Strengthen Head Start to improve the quality of experiences for young children, including training the nearly 50,000 Head Start teachers in the latest and best techniques; 
• Ensure that pre-school programs are more closely coordinated with state K-12 education goals; and
• Improve the information available to parents and caregivers about the best practices in early childhood development, including an unprecedented $45 million research effort to identify effective early literacy programs and practices.

Accountability remains the key
In keeping with the accountability goals of the education reform bill signed into law in January, federal funding could be withheld from Head Start programs failing to meet new standards established by Bush's plan. "We want to measure the input. We want to say that in return for federal taxpayers' help, we expect you to be providing the foundations for reading and math," Bush told educators in a speech announcing his plan. "We don't accept excuses."

Under the new "accountability system" for Head Start programs, children would be expected to demonstrate basic knowledge of the alphabet and recognition of written words. "A child who cannot identify the letters of the alphabet in his or her first year of school runs a real risk of staying behind in school throughout her or his career," stated Bush. "For accountability and annual assessments to mean something, all children must start school with the basic skills necessary for learning."

After President Bush's remarks, a White House spokeswoman clarified that children in early development programs would not be required to take tests like grade school students.

Parents help needed
President Bush also encouraged parents to take an active role in helping their children prepare for learning and announced that First Lady Laura Bush would soon be releasing a series of booklets presenting scientific research on child development and teaching techniques for parents. The booklets will be made widely available to families with newborns across the nation through facilities like WIC clinics, state departments of education and state health and human service agencies. In addition, the booklets will be available online from the White House Web site and Web sites of the department of Agriculture, Education, and Health and Human Services.

States held accountable
Bush also proposed that states receiving federal funds for child care programs be required to submit plans to promote early childhood education. "The federal government provides states with considerable funds for child care," said the president. "States must take steps to provide pre-kindergarten programs with guidelines on pre-reading and literacy skills, and they must have a plan to expand the training of child care and preschool teachers in their state."

No politics where education is concerned
Noting that his proposals would require action by Congress, President Bush declared, "where America's children are concerned, there is no Republicans or Democrats. Only moms and dads, grandpas and grandmas, all eager to help our youngest citizens succeed."