Mississippi First authored the Leaving Last in Line report and successfully advocated for the Early Learning Collaborative Act, which established state-funded pre-K in Mississippi in 2013.
Since 2013, the legislature has appropriated over $70M for the Early Learning Collaborative Act. With these funds, MDE has approved 35 early learning collaborative programs. 25% of four-year-olds across the state have access to high-quality state-funded pre-K as a result. The law also established a 1:1 tax credit for individuals and corporations that support the local matching fund of an approved early learning collaborative.
Early Learning Collaboratives
Early Learning Collaboratives are state-funded four-year-old pre-K programs that are required to meet high-quality standards.
| Biloxi Early Learning Collaborative | Greenwood-Leflore County Early Learning Collaborative | Kosciusko Early Learning Collaborative | McComb Community Collaborative for Early Learning Success | Rankin County Early Learning Collaborative |
| Brookhaven Early Learning Collaborative | Grenada Early Learning Collaborative | Lafayette-Oxford Early Learning Collaborative | Monroe Early Learning Collaborative | Scott County Early Learning Collaborative |
| Clarke County Early Learning Partnership | Hattiesburg Early Learning Collaborative | Lamar County Early Learning Collaborative | Noxubee Early Learning Collaborative | Senatobia Early Learning Collaborative |
| Cleveland Early Learning Collaborative | Hollandale Early Learning Collaborative | Leland Early Learning Collaborative | Pass Christian Early Learning Collaborative | South Panola County Early Learning Collaborative |
| Coahoma County Pre-K Collaborative | Holmes County Early Learning Collaborative | Long Beach Early Learning Collaborative | Petal Early Learning Collaborative | Starkville Oktibbeha Early Learning Collaborative |
| Corinth-Alcorn-Prentiss Early Learning Collaborative | Jackson Public Schools/Hinds Early Learning Collaborative | Lowndes County Early Learning Collaborative | Picayune School District Early Head Start | Sunflower County Early Learning Collaborative |
| George County Early Learning Collaborative | Jefferson County Early Learning Collaborative | Marion County and Columbia Early Learning Collaborative | Pontotoc Pre-K Partners Early Learning Collaborative | Tallahatchie Early Learning Collaborative |
Do you want to start a pre-K program in your community?
We created two toolkits to help you start an Early Learning Collaborative or a Title I-Funded Pre-K program in your community.