(The Center Square) — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill to make permanent a statewide public-private partnership for early childhood services.
South Carolina lawmakers created First Steps to School Readiness in 1999, and the state was the third state to launch a statewide, early childhood education public-private partnership. The program ostensibly helps ensure South Carolina’s infants, toddlers and preschoolers are ready for school.
Palmetto State lawmakers reauthorized the program five times — in 2006, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“South Carolina First Steps has been a tremendous asset for our state and has helped South Carolina become a leader in early childhood education,” McMaster said in an announcement. “With this legislation, we reaffirm our commitment to building a strong early childhood education system and further ensure our children enter school ready to learn – setting them and our state up for a bright future.”
South Carolina First Steps has managed First Steps 4K, a free kindergarten program for four-year-olds, in private schools since 2006. The Department of Education oversees it in public schools.
Lawmakers in the House and the Senate unanimously passed H.4023, which makes the First Steps program permanent. It also revises the makeup of local First Steps partnership boards.
In an announcement, Georgia Mjartan, executive director of South Carolina First Steps, called the program “a lifeline to families with young children, ensuring that from birth through age five, they are supported in providing their children with the best possible start in life.”
