State Profiles

Alabama	Arkansas	California	Connecticut
Florida	Georgia	Illinois	Iowa
Kansas	Kentucky	Louisiana	Maine
Maryland	Massachusetts	New Jersey	New Mexico
New York	North Carolina	Ohio	Oklahoma
Oregon	Pennsylvania	South Carolina	Tennessee
Texas	Vermont	Virginia	Washington
Washington DC	West Virginia	Wisconsin

1989		Then-lieutenant governor and gubernatorial candidate, Zell Miller, proposes introducing a state lottery to raise additional funds for education, outlining his vision for a "Lottery for Education" that would use a portion of the earmarked revenues for pre-k, one of three educational initiatives that would benefit from the proposed lottery. The idea faces criticism from conservative groups and education groups among others. Establishment of the lottery will require that the state constitution be amended, an act requiring approval by a two-thirds vote in the legislature and a ballot referendum.
1990		Miller is elected governor of Georgia. Many credit the lottery for his primary victory.
1991		Although initially resistant to calls for a lottery by Miller, the legislature, acknowledging the popularity of the program, establishes the Georgia Lottery for Education.
1992		While it continued to face opposition, Georgia voters approve the lottery in November, and a pilot pre-k program for low-income children is established.
1993		The Lottery for Education officially opens, and the targeted pre-k program begins.
1995		After winning reelection and with lottery revenues much higher than anticipated, Miller announces that the pre-k program will be made available to all four year olds in the state, regardless of family income. As a result, Georgia's lottery-funded pre-k program becomes the first voluntary, pre-k-for-all program in the nation.
1996		In an effort to consolidate children's services and to institutionalize the pre-k program, the Office of School Readiness is created.
1999		The Foundation for Child Development released "Universal Prekindergarten in Georgia: A Case Study of Georgia's Lottery-Funded Pre-K Program," which provides a more detailed description of the history of the Georgia pre-k program.
2004		The Office of School Readiness is renamed Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. Today, it continues to administer the lottery-funded pre-k program as well as childcare and nutrition services, quality initiatives, and Head Start collaboration.
2005		Georgia opens its pre-k program to children evacuated to the state from the Gulf Coast following hurricane Katrina. The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University released The Georgia Early Childhood Study: 2001-04, a national study which found that children enrolled in the Georgia Pre-K Program made major academic progress as they advanced through first grade, eclipsing national norms in both math and language skills.
2007		Access continues to grow as the state serves 74,000 four year olds. During the 2006-07 school year, the Georgia Pre-K Assessment Program is implemented statewide to train teachers to effectively use assessments, individualize instruction, and update families on children's progress.

Marsha Moore, the former commissioner of Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, has spent much of her career working to improve the educational opportuniities for Georgia's youngest minds and expand pre-k access to all four year old children.

Although Georgia currently serves all four year olds, the state can work to improve quality by requiring all teachers to have a BA degree. Expansion of the pre-k program to include three year olds and secured funding for pre-k through the lottery will protect Georgia's committment to early education.