Despite the many benefits associated with early education and development programs, the Pew Center on the States reports that more than 75 percent of the nation’s four-year-olds and an even larger percentage of 3-year-olds have no access to state-funded to early child education and development programs.(3See generally, Pew Center on the States, Transforming Public Education: Pathway to a Pre-K–12 Future, September 2011.) The traditional Head Start and early start programs and recent federal efforts to provide competitive grant funds to states as an incentive for establishing early education and development programs for children ages zero to five are steps in the right direction. However, the nation must expand access to quality early childhood and development programs as a part of a comprehensive strategy for building a strong educational pipeline that produces students who are successful in school and in life.

1.1: Publicly fund universal, high-quality pre-kindergarten school for all three- and four-year olds.

Quality, universal pre-kindergarten would better prepare three- and four-year olds for K-12 academic success, while simultaneously building a strong foundation for achieving education reforms that narrow achievement gaps (Wat 2010).  States should develop funding systems to finance universal pre-K programs, and the federal government should provide matching grants and other incentives, such as government sponsored loans and state trust funds, to support universal access. 

Potential Policy Actors:

• Federal legislators and executive agency administrators
• State legislators and governors
• State education agencies and boards of education

1.2: Strengthen state early learning councils.

The Improving Head Start Act of 2007 called for the establishment of state early childhood advisory councils to improve the quality, availability and coordination of programs and services for children ages birth to five. State councils were also given responsibility for developing recommendations to increase access to high quality state and federal early childhood care and education programs, particularly for children who are part of underrepresented and special populations. Although most states have established these councils, results to date have been varied in terms of their effectiveness.(4Satkowski, Christina, The Next Step in Systems-Building: Early childhood Advisory Councils and Federal Efforts to Promote Alignment in Early Childhood, New America Foundation, November 2009.)  The federal government should encourage, and states should mandate, the effective operation of early learning councils through the development of standard operational guidelines and the expansion of funding streams to support capacity building. 

Potential Policy Actors:

• Federal legislators and Department of Education administrators
• State legislators and governors
• State education agencies and boards of education

1.3: Establish or improve comprehensive state early learning guidelines.

All U.S. states and territories currently have early learning guidelines but they vary significantly in ages and stages at which the guidelines apply, and whether or not the standards are voluntary or mandatory. Although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ QRIS (quality rating and improvement system) system prescribes baseline standards for early childhood programs, almost all are related to licensure (encompassing health and safety requirements) rather than learning protocols. The approach to early learning standards varies in many states, with some having a high level of coordination and others lagging behind. In states that lag behind, early childhood programs lack coordination across programs, common understanding about what constitutes quality learning inputs and outcomes, and systems of organization and accountability to ensure consistency of educational opportunities. Adopting mandatory early learning guidelines that begin at infancy can enhance the early learning opportunities offered in these states. One approach worth consideration is to connect high quality early learning standards with the Common Core State Standards in order to inform good policies and practices across the continuum of learning.

Potential Policy Actors:

• State legislators and governors
• State education agencies and boards of education

1.4: Support the recruitment, retention, and development of early childhood educators and leaders.

Just as K-12 teachers and leaders need robust professional development opportunities, so too do early childhood educators and leaders. A National Research Council comprehensive review underscores that well-trained early childhood teachers better prepare children for kindergarten through the promotion of greater literacy skills and social development.  Creating and financing a system for preparing, recruiting, retaining, fairly compensating, and continually educating early childhood teachers and leaders is an essential component of quality early childhood programs.

Potential Policy Actors:

• Federal legislators and/or policymakers
• State legislators and governors
• State education agencies
• Local education agencies

Policy Actions to Expand Early Childhood and Development Programs

• The federal government should strengthen support for quality Head Start programs and include in the ESEA reauthorization a new funding stream specifically targeting early education programs. This could be through an expansion of Race to the Top’s Early Learning Challenge program and could include matching grants to states and opportunities for government-guaranteed loans.  Additionally, federal lawmakers can amend current regulations to broaden the uses by districts of school turnaround funding to include pre-K programs.
• The federal government should incentivize states to establish universal early childhood programs that include access to services that support children’s intellectual, physical and emotional development, and include resources to broaden transportation options and hence, increase access to early education programs for disadvantaged children. Regulations attached to funding can prioritize funding of early education programs that provide wraparound services.
• The federal government should commission the development and implementation of broad standards for an efficient and effective early education system, and should include a key role for state early learning councils as developers and drivers of early learning policy. Federal lawmakers should also sustain funding for early learning councils over the long term, as part of a functional state early learning system.

• State legislators should prescribe minimum educational standards for all early education programs in the state, requiring districts to provide a specific number per capita of options for full-day pre-K programs and care, transportation, and other social services. State legislators can also provide matching grants to districts to enable them to expand the availability and improve the quality of early education programs.
• State legislators should modify their state education funding formula to include funding for pre-K programs. To promote early educator effectiveness, legislators can require pre-K teachers and administrators to have, at a minimum, a bachelors’ degree, and that assistants have ECE certification. States can integrate the role of early learning councils into the infrastructure of the state education system, aligning policies and practices with those of other stages of the education pipeline, and with other social services in the state that serve children and their families.
• State education agencies should explore use of current Title I funds for high-quality pre-K programs and provide LEAs with incentives to provide and improve early education programs at the district-level.
• State education agencies should review and revise their state’s standards to maximize early childhood program effectiveness, and align the standards with those for teacher certification and state early learning standards. SEAs should also collaborate within their state and with other states to develop early education standards that include, at a minimum: a pre-K equivalent to the common core state standards, evidence-based adult-to-child ratio requirements, heightened requirements for early education teacher and assistant credentialing, rigorous accreditation for early childhood programs, minimum resource standards, and a collaborative model for transitioning children from early education programs to other stages in the educational pipeline. Current QRIS (quality rating and improvement system) standards promulgated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and adopted by 25 states, currently establish a baseline of quality for early education programs, but states currently have broad latitude in defining standards beyond the base level.(6National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center, QRIS and the Impact on Quality, accessed at: nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/qrs-impactqualitycc.html, October, 2011.)
• Local education agencies should explore areas where it is practicable to use Title I funds to supplement and expand state-funded early education – in areas where Title I or state funds are alone insufficient to create new programs.  LEAs should also explore and develop partnerships with the private sector to sponsor improvements in early education programs as high-yield, long-term investments ensuring the quality of the workforce well into the future.

• Local education agencies seeking to defray costs of extending program time and/or providing points of access to enroll children to receive vital services and care, should establish partnerships with the private sector and public social services agencies. LEAs can also approach private funders for support to replicate strategies and programs that have proven successful in other states.

• Federal policymakers should increase funding for the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, the Teacher Incentive Fund and Teacher Quality Partnership grants programs and revise state allocations to make room for investments in pre-K teacher and leader recruitment, retention and preparation. To ensure a continuation of a focus on early education, the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Fund, or an iteration of that program, should be included in the reauthorization of ESEA.
• State education agencies should facilitate the growth of a cadre of early education leaders and teachers by working with LEAs to identify career challenges and barriers and develop comprehensive strategies to address them.
• Local education agencies should assess and employ strategies that have succeeded in other jurisdictions -- including professional leadership institutes and mentor programs. LEAs should also explore and form partnerships with the state, private organizations and higher learning institutions to invest resources and provide technical assistance to execute the chosen approach.

Action Steps for Advocates

• Engage with parents and the community to perform an assessment of needs for early childhood education programs.
• Partner with local education agencies to ensure that they are working with social services agencies to get services to children in underserved communities through early education programs.
• Broker connections among and between early education programs to develop full-day pre-K and kindergarten options for children in your community.
• Develop a public education campaign on the benefits of early education program, including information about improved outcomes for children who participate in them.
• Engage with state education agencies to form, or participate in, state early learning councils.
• Demand from state education agencies a process and timeline for the development of evidence-informed early learning guidelines, and build in a mechanism for continued parental and community involvement or reports on progress.
• Articulate and share with representatives in U.S. Congress support for a continuation of the Early Learning Challenge program.
• Develop a state and federal legislative agenda that clearly and coherently articulates priorities, including funding for pre-K programs, alignment requirements between pre-K programs and the K-12 system and standards for early education teachers and leaders.