This year, a total of 23 governors (12 Democrats and 11 Republicans) mentioned early care and education in their State of the State addresses. This reflects a widespread awareness of the importance of early care and education in giving children the strong foundation they need to succeed in school and life, and parents the support they need to work, provide for their families, and contribute to the economy. Several governors offered specific proposals focused on increasing access to high-quality early learning opportunities. For example, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley proposed to double funding for the state prekindergarten program in the coming year, with a goal of making prekindergarten available to all four-year-olds by 2019. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal proposed $26.2 million in new funding to increase prekindergarten teachers’ salaries, with an additional $7.9 million for a 3 percent merit pay increase. New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez proposed $5 million for new prekindergarten classrooms. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon proposed to expand support for child care assistance to help make child care more affordable for low-income families.

This document provides excerpts from the speeches related to early care and education, along with links to the complete speeches.