Just Released ELC Report Uncovers Alarming Trends in Abbott Preschool Enrollment
This year marks the 25th anniversary of implementation of the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in the landmark Abbott v. Burke school finance case that mandated full-day, high-quality preschool for all three- and four-year-olds in the state’s 31 high-poverty, urban, “Abbott” districts.
The Abbott Preschool program, which has comprehensive and unprecedented programmatic elements and quality standards, has become a nationally recognized model for delivering high-quality early education.
However, a new report released today by Education Law Center, Abbott Preschool at 25: Declining Enrollment Puts a Landmark Program at Risk, uncovers concerning trends in Abbott Preschool enrollment and stresses the importance of sustained state commitment to ensure quality and access.
“Students in the Abbott districts are constitutionally entitled to a high-quality early education,” said Danielle Farrie, ELC Research Director and report co-author. “The State and school districts must devote the necessary resources to ensure that every student takes advantage of this unique opportunity and its proven benefits.”
The report finds that in the 2023-24 school year, just 78% of eligible preschoolers residing in Abbott districts (34,930 students) participated in the program. That means nearly 10,000 students missed out on the opportunity to receive a high-quality early education. In fact, last year over 800 fewer students were enrolled in Abbott Preschool than two decades prior.
The report also finds that Abbott Preschool enrollment was steadily decreasing even before Covid-19 school closures, but that the pandemic exacerbated this downward enrollment trend. Pre-pandemic, Abbott Preschool enrollment had decreased by 5%. Between 2019-20 and 2020-21, preschool enrollment decreased by an additional 20%. Enrollment losses by district ranged from 1% in Burlington City to 43% in Salem City. Several districts have been able to recover from pandemic enrollment losses, but the majority still have enrollments below pre-pandemic levels.
Nearly all districts lost a greater percentage of three-year-olds than four-year-olds during the pandemic, and the impact is still being felt. In 2023-24, just 70% of eligible three-year-olds and 84% of eligible four-year-olds were enrolled in Abbott Preschool, significant decreases from pre-pandemic participation rates.
The report also identifies a shift in where preschoolers are being educated, which is noteworthy given the Abbott Preschool program’s reliance on a mixed delivery system of in-district preschool, programs run by private providers and Head Start centers, and charter-run programs. Twenty-years ago, private providers and Head Start centers educated 71% of preschoolers, but in 2023-24, these settings served only 53% of students. The share of students educated in-district subsequently increased from 29% to 47% over this same time.
Finally, the report examines whether individual districts are meeting the New Jersey Department of Education’s (NJDOE) target of enrolling at least 90% of their eligible preschool universe, a requirement of the Abbott Preschool program. In 2023-24, only five of the 31 Abbott districts (Hoboken, Harrison, Irvington, Millville, Salem) met the target, which is less than a third of the districts that met the target in 2009-10. Alarmingly, only four districts (Hoboken, Harrison, Salem, Pemberton) enrolled a greater percentage of their eligible students in 2023-24 than in 2009-10.
To address serious enrollment issues in Abbott Preschool, ELC recommends the following:
- Enhanced oversight of the program and efforts by the NJDOE’s Division of Early Childhood Education to increase enrollment, especially of three-year-olds given the long-term benefits of two years of preschool on student outcomes;
- Funding for the Schools Development Authority (SDA) for school construction projects that include additional preschool facilities to address capacity deficiencies in the Abbott districts;
- A cost study to evaluate whether the per-pupil preschool amounts in the state’s school funding formula, the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA), are sufficient to meet current program requirements across settings and locations.
“This report underscores the urgent need for the State to renew its commitment to the Abbott Preschool program,” said Nicole Ciullo, Associate Director of Policy & Development at ELC and report co-author. “Thousands of eligible preschoolers are missing out on the benefits of participating in the program, which include higher academic achievement and a lower likelihood of being classified with a disability or repeating a grade.”
This report is the first in an ELC series on the state of preschool in New Jersey. Explore interactive district data and read the full report for a deeper dive into Abbott Preschool enrollment.
Press Contact:
Sharon Krengel
Director of Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Communications
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x240