The only organization dedicated solely to helping state boards advance equity and excellence in public education.

Early Childhood Education State Network


High-quality early learning requires a high-quality workforce with specialized knowledge and skills. State boards of education play a distinct role in developing a well-qualified early learning workforce as they set requirements for core early learning standards, advance workforce credentialing and preparation, and improve professional development opportunities.

About the ECE State Network

State education agencies (SEAs) and state boards of education can use their policy levers to investigate and influence early education workforce quality in four areas: qualifications and licensure, preparation programs, professional development, and compensation. In addition, they can leverage provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and federal COVID recovery funds to advance changes in their states. NASBE established the ECE State Network in 2017 with support from the Foundation for Child Development and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

State boards of education from California, Delaware, Illinois,  Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Washington, Guam, and the District of Columbia were tasked with developing, revising, and adopting policies to support the ECE system and its workforce. They made tremendous progress and showcased state boards’ key role in leading initiatives to advance ECE.

The Illinois State Board of Education commissioned a research project on ECE licensure and teacher shortage issues after joining NASBE’s ECE network. The project laid the groundwork for solving a teacher shortage problem that preexisted COVID-19. Findings were presented to the state board, and the board is reexamining its licensure types to determine whether it might create a permanent alternative pathway for ECE teachers to become state certified. The project supported the convening of representatives from across Illinois government, including the state board, the Illinois Department of Human Services, the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, Illinois Board of Higher Education, and Illinois Community College Board.

Michigan’s state board approved a birth-kindergarten teacher license. Over its four years of working with NASBE, Michigan changed its ECE teacher licensure structure, replacing its K-6 license with two narrow-band licenses that specify the knowledge and skills the workforce needs for early childhood and elementary teaching. The Michigan state board, working closely with the Michigan Department of Education, led the work. 

New York developed “Resource Guides for School Success in Early Learning: The Third Grade Early Learning Standards.” This document was reviewed and approved by the Board of Regents. The guides provide reference tool by teachers, specialists, and administrators responsible for designing programs for third-grade students, and strengthen PreK-3 grade alignment. New York also provided professional learning events to support teachers’ career development. The learning sessions are posted on the New York State Education Department’s Office of Early Learning’s website.

The Guam Board of Education developed guidance for early childhood educators on social and emotional learning (SEL) and supportive policy to help young children and their families adjust to online, hard-copy curriculum and face-to-face models of instruction during the pandemic. The project included training of Guam board members and the island’s Early Childhood Education Planning Committee to deepen their understanding of SEL and to craft policy to address the needs of young children. The board worked with the superintendent of education and appointed an ECE task force to draft an SEL policy, which was approved by the board in 2020.


State Innovations

Michigan Adds Certificate for Birth to Kindergarten Teachers

A detail of how the Michigan State Board of Education, working closely with the state education agency, is expanding opportunities to improve early educators’ preparation.

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Early Childhood Education Summit

Join us as national experts discuss the challenges facing ECE and the strategies and resources states can tap to meet them. Participants will learn from other state board colleagues about barriers to effective ECE policymaking and potential solutions.

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Education Leaders Reports

Start Strong: Supporting Early Childhood Education through Policy

State boards of education can leverage their existing authority to ensure that all early learners have access to a quality education. This report is a product of a workgroup NASBE convened on early childhood education.

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Press Release

NASBE Builds an Alliance of Network States to Strengthen Early Childhood Education Workforce

NASBE reignites a state network tasked with developing, revising, and adopting early childhood education policies that other state boards can replicate.

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State Innovations

Michigan Narrows Licensure Bands to Improve Early Learning

Michigan jettisoned its broad elementary teaching licenses in favor of preK-3 and 3-6 licenses that will better equip new teachers with developmentally appropriate knowledge and skills.

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Policy Update

Teachers Need Multifaceted Support to Improve Literacy

To improve literacy, states should invest in comprehensive supports for teachers to equip them to deliver high-quality, evidence-based instruction.

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State Innovations

Georgia and Massachusetts Advance Dyslexia Screening and Intervention

State boards can advocate for more young children to be screened for dyslexia and ensure that identified students receive effective interventions, as those in Massachusetts and Georgia have done.

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How State Boards of Education Can Cultivate a Skilled, Stable Workforce in Early Education

This webinar examines early childhood workforce policies and the economic status of the workforce across the country.

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Education Leaders Reports

The Role of State Boards in Improving Early Childhood Education

State boards have authority that positions them to be key players in improving early education.

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Policy Update

Advancing the Early Learning Workforce through State Policies

This NASBE policy update examines the US preschool workforce skills gap and outlines ways state boards can strengthen policies to advance the early education workforce and ensure a high-quality education for preschool learners.

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Also from NASBE

Right from the Start

The National Early Childhood Education Task Force provided this policy agenda in 1988 to promote the development of all young children.

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State Policy to Support Early Literacy Success

After recent NAEP scores highlighted low reading proficiency among students in the U.S., many states are looking to science of reading and evidence-based literacy instruction to bolster their state policies to better prepare young children on how to read. State boards of education have the opportunity to ask questions and support policies that ensure all […]

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Advancing the Early Literacy Workforce by Working with State Legislators

*NASBE Members-only Learning Session* Widening achievement gaps in reading underscore the urgent need for state leaders to work together to boost early literacy and support effective professional development for educators. Existing PD has been criticized for its lack of efficacy, disconnection from the science of reading, and absence of policy support. The policy landscape may […]

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Press Release

California, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia Join NASBE’s Early Childhood Education Network

The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) welcomes three new state boards of education to the NASBE Early Childhood Education (ECE) State Network: California, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina.

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