Overview

• The education minister outlined plans to test every four-year-old’s language abilities to spot gaps early
• Children identified as at risk would join required pre-enrollment language programs
• States would retain authority over both testing implementation and any kindergarten attendance mandates
• Prien renewed her 2023 initiative to ban smartphone use in primary schools, citing harm to focus and communication
• She emphasized parental responsibility in early education and warned that 40 percent of children receive insufficient reading and interaction at home