Indiana Preschool Program Won't Start This Year

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Officials say Indiana's state-supported preschool program won't be ready to start this coming school year.

Republican Gov. Mike Pence had touted the preschool program as a top accomplishment of the 2014 legislative session. The plan approved by legislators called for the state Family and Social Services Administration to pick five counties for a pilot program sending low-income children to early childhood programs.

FSSA spokeswoman Marni Lemons says the agency faces steps such as setting up a way to track the progress of the children from preschool to third grade. She says the agency will soon announce the process for picking the program's five counties.

Money for the preschool program is to come from $10 million in FSAA budget cuts and $5 million in private donations.