In 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s K-12 education law. ESSA includes several policy changes, including funding preschool and optimizing children’s developmental and academic trajectories by supporting the alignment of early learning programs and the K-12 system.
The purpose of this brief is to provide policy recommendations for the ESSA State Plan that addresses the needs of our youngest learners.