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"Fundamentally, the early education discussion is not about the effectiveness or cost of the programs. At heart is the question of in whose hands the responsibility for young children rests," Olsen said. "Further entrenching the state into the lives of young children cannot be squared with a free society that cherishes the primacy of the family over the state.

With Oklahoma ranking first in the nation in the percentage of four-year-olds enrolled in preschool (60 percent), Oklahoma officials like to boast that the state has established itself as a national leader in "enabling children to enter school prepared to learn and succeed." State Superintendent Sandy Garrett declares emphatically, "Children benefit greatly from school readiness efforts."

The Oklahoma legislature should reconsider SB 37 and the recommendations made by the Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood Education. They should invest in families, rather than government programs, to improve the well-being of Oklahoma’s children.

[The following remarks were delivered October 23 at an OCPA dinner in Tulsa.]