Illinois received 20 million dollars from the federal government for expanding access to early childhood education. Illinois currently enrolls just over a quarter of its 4 year olds in state-funded preschool for low-income families.
Reyna Hernandez of the Illinois State Board of Education says it's hoping to expand that number with Governor Bruce Rauner's proposed increase of 25 million dollars to early childhood education.
"What we're looking to do is really target those children and those families who might be at risk of having--of being part of the achievement gap... so that the gap doesn't grow, the gap doesn't, ideally, doesn't persist."
Supporters say it is important to enroll students in early childhood education. The attempts to give more money to state preschool comes as school districts just saw their budgets cut.