By Andrew Pillow

Pre-K has been a controversial subject in Indiana. Mainly due to funding or lack there-of. The bill Gov. Eric Holcomb signed will expand the existing Pre-K program by a little.  

The On My Way Pre-K program currently serves around 2000 low income students in five counties. The new bill hopes to increase those figures.

Highlights of the new bill include:

• Increased funding from $10 Million to $22 million.
• Expansion to 15 additional counties.
• A provision to make any of the 92 counties eligible to “compete” to be one of the 15 counties included in the expansion.
• $1 million in funding for an online pre-school for eligible families.

Critics of the new bill say it doesn’t go far enough.

Ted Maple the president and CEO of Early Learning Indiana is looking for a more comprehensive plan that includes pre-k for all Indiana students:

“We’re very encouraged by the additional investment the state is making in expanding access to pre-K, but we also recognize there are many more children without access,” Said Maple. “We’re hopeful that our state leaders will continue to expand access.”

Read more here. (WFYI)