New Mexico is the First State to Guarantee a Right to Early Childhood Education

Universal Child Care Could Come Next

By Bryce Covert, Early Learning Nation
Nov. 9, 2022

Yesterday, New Mexico voters made history: they overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that makes theirs the first state to guarantee a right to early childhood education while directing substantial, steady funding to child care and early education.

Seventy percent of voters approved Amendment 1, which will devote a portion of money in the state’s Land Grant Permanent Fund—billions of dollars the state generates from fees it makes off of oil and gas development on the public land it holds in trust—to early care and education. The money, which already funds K-12 education, won’t just be a one-time infusion, but a steady stream of about $150 million a year for early childhood programs—a figure that is likely to increase as the fund’s value increases. It could very well allow New Mexico to achieve a system of free child care and preschool for all state residents.

Read more at Early Learning Nation