In 2019, 46 states and territories are implementing Preschool Development Grants (PDGs), which will support states to do five broadly defined activities: 1. A Birth to Five Needs Assessment 2. A Birth to Five Strategic Plan 3. Maximizing Parent Knowledge and Choice 4. Sharing Best Practices 5. Improving Overall Quality.
This brief starts by discussing the requirements of the PDG needs assessment and strategic planning process. It then reviews the requirements of ESSA, with some highlights of where early childhood has been or could be a meaningful part of state plans. Following that is a toolkit states can use to ensure that they are harmonizing their PDG strategic plan with their ESSA plan and setting the table for future versions of the ESSA plan to be even stronger on early childhood issues. It concludes by identifying some additional resources that states may find valuable in the process.
On July 20, 2019, CCSSO released this toolkit with a webinar. You can listen to the recording here and reference the slides here.
