Recent State Policy Advances
Expanded investment. Restructured agencies. New caucuses, committees, and coalitions. Read about all the ways our allies on the front lines are making their state a better place for each and every child to reach their full potential.
State By State:
Mississippi Continues to Build Support for Pre-K—and Doubles Its Number of Early Learning Collaboratives
Mississippi just celebrated the ten-year anniversary of its launch of a collaborative pre-k program, a mixed-delivery model that allows families in communities to choose the setting and style that works for them. The 2013 debut allocated $3 million for 11 early learning collaboratives. By 2023, $24 million is enabling Mississippi to support 35.
Texas Unveils a New Data Tool for Understanding School Readiness
Alliance allies at Texans Care for Children have launched a new school readiness dashboard that is more than just a tool for gathering and communicating the expected data about the state’s young children. It represents an expansive new way of thinking about school readiness.
State Advocates Advance Policies to Advance the Early Care and Education Workforce
Advocates in several states fought for and won policy changes that demonstrate the bold and inspirational thinking that can advance a state more toward a more diverse, effective, prepared, and well-compensated early childhood workforce.
New Hampshire Develops a Field Grant Program to Benefit Community Partners and Support Advocacy Efforts
New Futures learned that many coalition partners did not engage in advocacy because many of their funding sources prohibited advocacy or gave unclear guidance on allowed activities. To overcome this barrier, New Futures developed their Advocacy Field Grant program with support from their Alliance for Early Success grant.
Alaska Launches Competitive Grant Program to Expand and Improve Existing Pre-K Programs
Alaska leaned in to state-funded preschool this year, with Governor Mike Dunleavy signing into law the Alaska Reads Act in June. The new law includes a small competitive grant program to develop pre-K programs in districts where none exist, or to expand and improve existing pre-K programs.
Louisiana Allies Demystify Social Emotional Learning to Fend Off Unfounded Challenges to Standards
Alliance allies at the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children (LPIC) mounted a successful campaign to protect social-emotional learning (SEL) standards in early education and K-12 schools after the Louisiana’s state school board proposed to remove them from the state’s early learning development standards.
Grassroots and Coalition Building Efforts Lead to a Successful New Mexico Ballot Initiative for a Permanent Early Childhood Revenue Stream
New Mexico’s Constitutional Amendment 1 passed with 70% of the vote. Advocates at OLÉ—part of the Alliance’s New Mexico Child Care NEXT coalition—worked with field partners at Vote Yes for Kids who had never worked on early childhood education issues before. But the staff and members understood what a victory would mean for the state’s communities and the country. The Constitutional Amendment authorizes a 1.25% increase in the annual appropriations of the fund, with 60% of the incremental revenue to support programs for children age 0-5.
DC Advocates Celebrate New, Free Health Insurance Benefit for All Child Care Workers and their Families
The District will take another significant step in advancing equitable compensation for child care workers next year when educators and all eligible employees of licensed early learning facilities will be able to access to free, quality, publicly-financed health insurance coverage.
Advocates in Kansas Leverage Data to Defeat Harmful Immunization Legislation
With swift action and advocacy efforts, advocates at Kansas Action for Children (KAC) were able to defeat proposed vaccination legislation that would limit vaccine requirements for children. Leveraging data and research, along with strong partnerships at the legislative level, advocates made it to the end of session without a single change to state immunization requirements.
Several States Celebrate Wins on State-Level Child Tax Credits
Federal and state child tax credits have historically received bipartisan support. These tax credits for families with children under age 17 provide financial relief for low-income families and their children and support economic mobility. New Jersey, Vermont, and RI have recently chosen to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to enact state-level child tax credits.
A $40 Million Win for Early Education and Care in Alabama
Allies at the Alabama School Readiness Alliance (ASRA), VOICES for Alabama’s Children, and Alabama Partnership for Children championed legislation that led to a historic state investment to child care and pre-k – a new and improved QRIS system that includes generous incentive payments to providers and provides coaches to help programs improve their quality and adding 125 classrooms to the First Class Pre-k program.
Advocates in Rhode Island Leverage Relationships with the American Academy of Pediatrics for Policy Wins for Children and Families
Strong partnerships are at the core of advocacy. Nowhere is that clearer than in Rhode Island, where early childhood policy advocates at Rhode Island Kids Count and the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (RIAAP) are working together to help educate communities and policymakers on the importance of child health and early intervention.
