Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Bill to ensure continuity of pre-K for Pa. children passes House

Bill to ensure continuity of pre-K for Pa. children passes House

Rep. Liz Hanbidge    July 7, 2025 | 4:01 PM

HARRISBURG, July 7 – Today, the Pennsylvania House passed H.B.1505, sponsored by state Rep. Liz Hanbidge, D–Montgomery, to ensure children’s continued access to the Pre-K Counts program, even if federal support for Head Start is reduced or eliminated.

Under current law, Intermediate Units in Pennsylvania receive state Pre-K Counts grants only if they also operate a federal Head Start program. House Bill?1505 would remove that requirement—guaranteeing that IUs can continue offering Pre-K Counts regardless of Head Start status.

Nationally, Head Start provides essential pre-kindergarten programming to over 750,000 children and families each year, however, recent federal budget proposals and administrative downsizing have threatened its long-term sustainability. Should Head Start funding be reduced or eliminated, local IUs could be barred from continuing their Pre-K Counts offerings—putting as many as 2,500 children at risk of losing access.

During the 2023–24 fiscal year, 12 out of the commonwealth’s 29 IUs used Pre-K Counts grants to provide full-day pre-K to more than 2,500 economically disadvantaged children and across Pennsylvania, over 37,000 children benefited from Pre-K Counts and the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program.

Independent studies show that Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts improves children’s language, math, and executive function when compared with peers without access to similar programming.

“This bill ensures that Intermediate Units can maintain their Pre-K Counts grants even without a Head Start affiliation. Our children deserve uninterrupted, high quality early education, and Pennsylvania must act to secure it,” Hanbidge said. “If the federal government eliminates or defunds Head Start, as many as an additional 2,500 Pennsylvania children could lose access to Pre-K Counts programming and it’s essential we take this step to help them.”

After overwhelming bipartisan support in the House (202-1), H.B.1505 now moves to the state Senate for consideration. Should it pass, the bill would help fortify Pennsylvania’s early childhood education system against federal funding volatility.