Federal strategy to expand access to integrated, inclusive ECE through child care funding, universal preschool, Head Start alignment, and inclusive special education¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 3 studies (2 review, 1 associational), q2 · 0 of 3 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The whitepaper's first recommendation area directs the federal government to expand affordable child care, incentivize universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, align Head Start with state preschool, and support inclusive special education. It proposes that subsidies cover all families under 150% of state median income "such that no family pays more than 7% of their income," and that federal formula funds reach all children at or below a share of state median income with a reasonable state match. It cites DC's blended Head Start-district preschool model, which more than doubled children receiving Head Start services, and birth-mandate states that align IDEA Part C and Part B eligibility.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Sufficient federal funding commensurate with the true cost of high-quality programs, including multiyear contracts or grants and enrollment-based rather than attendance-based financing

Constraints¶

• Blending Head Start and state preschool funding is currently difficult due to differences in federal and state standards and reporting requirements; the federal government has never fulfilled IDEA's 40% per-pupil funding promise

Target Learners¶

• children birth through age 5
• children from low-income families
• children with disabilities

Target Learning Goals¶

• access to high-quality early learning experiences
• socioeconomic, racial, and linguistic integration
• continuity of care and seamless transitions

Claims¶

• Combined enrollment in TK, CSPP, and Head Start raised California's coverage of all 4-year-olds from about 34% in 2019–20 to 50% in 2023–24 [+W]
• Only about half of eligible children attend NC Pre-K, leaving almost 33,000 eligible children per year unserved [+W]
• Many U.S. children lack access to early learning programs: only 54% of 3- and 4-year-olds attend any preschool and 35% of eligible children participate in Head Start [+W]
• The ECE system is socioeconomically segregated because means-tested programs sort children by family income [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Federal policy should expand access to high-quality, integrated early care and education with quality assurance and adequate ECE educator compensation

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Building a National Early Childhood Education System That Works. (2021). Learning Policy Institute. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED614493