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Policy Pick: Early Childhood and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

June 14, 2010
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The U.S. Congress is currently revising the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). This is the nation's signature education law, and legislators are considering redesigning it to include early childhood education. In May the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing to discuss the potential redesign and a number of senators, both Republican and Democrat, voiced support for including early childhood education in the act.

"Quality early childhood education and child care are essential for ensuring that all children...enter school ready to learn and more importantly, ready to succeed," said Sen. Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) in the hearing.  

First 5 LA's investment in preschool, Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP), has been working with California's representatives in Congress to increase the role for early learning programs in the ESEA by making three major recommendations for revisions: 

  • Include a revised version of the Early Learning Challenge Fund that was proposed earlier in the year which would lead to increased quality of early learning programs.
  • Maximize early learning resources by allowing states and districts to work in partnership with non-profit organizations in their communities.
  • Better coordinate preschool and early elementary education throughout ESEA.

A major focus of LAUP's proposal includes ways to increase the quality of early learning systems and forge greater connections between preschool and early elementary school efforts to promote long-lasting school success for children who attend early education programs.

First 5 LA and LAUP will continue to follow the national debate to incorporate early childhood programs into the ESEA. Leaders in the House and Senate are expected to release drafts of the legislation later this year, so readers are encouraged to submit their input soon.

For further information about LAUP's recommendations to California's elected officials contact Adam Sonenshein at ASonenshein@LAUP.net.

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Comments

Mon, 09/13/2010 - 16:16 — Anonymous

For so long the field of

For so long the field of Early Childhood has fought to get others to recognize the importance of what we do and it looks like now that recognition has come, or has it? As the Federal and State representatives increasingly support Early Childhood and are looking at pre-k through 12 instead of the past of K-12, it is becoming clear they are not looking at early childhood professionals as part of this shift. Instead the words such as highly qualified are currently not honoring the large group of educators who have done a great job of preparing our preschoolers for Kindergarten with specialized education and state certifications in Child Development. Unfortunetly, because this may not include a teaching credential, this group will be pushed out of pre-k and thier experience and work with the youngest learners is still going unappreciated. How can a teacher who works with children eight hours a day take an unpaid leave in this down economy to complete student teaching requirements, even though they "teach" everyday? Unfortunetly, we need some more conversation on this issue. If not the future of Pre-K will only include School District programs and the rest will be babysitters of two and three year olds. A change is a comin'.

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