Governor signs early education law

By Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick signed an early education and care law today that formally establishes the Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program, which seeks to make high-quality preschool available for children across Massachusetts.

The bill "takes us one very important step closer to providing every child in Massachusetts with the lifelong benefits of strong educational beginnings," Patrick said in a statement.

Matt Veno, a spokesman for the state's Department of Early Education and Care, which was created four years ago, said the bill would strengthen his agency and give it guidance on a number of initiatives, including the push to make preschool available for all children.

He said that because of the costs, child care and preschool are "out of reach" for many lower- and middle-income families in Massachusetts.

"The Commonwealth does a great deal to provide financial assistance to those families. The need, however, outstrips those existing resources," he said.

Representative Patricia Haddad, the House chairwoman of the Education Committee, said the bill "finishes the process that we started four years ago now when we created the new department."

"From the very beginning, this has been about making the point that education doesn't start at 5 years old, it starts at the moment the child is born," she said.

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