Why this red state made preschool free

Universal pre-K, an ambitious social program usually championed by progressives, has been in place in one of the most conservative US states since 1998. Oklahoma’s universal pre-K program was just the second in the country (behind Georgia) and has since become a model for how these programs can boost school readiness, economic well-being, and community health.

The story of how Oklahoma enacted this big early childhood education program involves a little bit of political mischief, and a lot of motivated educators who saw a need for high-quality pre-kindergarten in the ’90s — and made it happen.

We went to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to hear from the people who were there at the beginning of this beloved program, and the ones carrying it forward in pre-kindergarten classrooms in Oklahoma today.

You can see our reporting from Tulsa and other Vox videos on YouTube.

This work was supported by a grant from the Bainum Family Foundation. Vox Media had full discretion over the content of this reporting.