LaKia Colquitt

Reducing preschool slots for disabled children to a mere 5% and cutting $250 million for physically accessible play structures goes to show how disabled children are first to suffer the consequences of a poor state budget. “Placing my 4-year-old autistic son in a public preschool was a challenging and competitive process, and this only makes things harder for families like mine,” said Gregory Cramer, Senior Legislative Advocate for Disability Rights California. “Data clearly demonstrates that early intervention at school leads to better outcomes for disabled students. Balancing the budget on the backs of disabled children is mean spirited — it is a shame Governor Newsom would wish to undermine our children’s futures,” Cramer added. In addition to reducing the number of preschool slots, the Newsom Administration proposes to claw back $250 million to make preschool playgrounds physically accessible to the students using them. “The Adaptive Physical Education program at my son’s preschool avoided using the playground equipment since my son was not able to access it. Teachers should not have to depend on secondary play equipment to serve their students,” Cramer said. The Governor has until June 15 to enact a final budget. It is our demand to shield and build out these vital preschool opportunities for disabled youth. Learn more here: edsource.org/2024/newsom-pri…