Dive Brief:
- Harsh punishment and exclusionary discipline of young children has "zero positive outcomes" and can contribute to negative, long-term impacts like lower academic achievement and reduced likelihood of graduating from high school, according to a new report from The Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University.
- Preschool suspension rates have decreased over time in public pre-K settings, but there are still discipline disparities, primarily among Black children, boys and children with disabilities.
- Having an emotionally and psychologically supportive pre-K setting is critical to a young child's development, but most early care and education settings lack guidance in these areas, the report said.
Dive Insight:
One model program highlighted in the report is the Head Start Program Performance Standards. The standards for the federal early childhood education program prohibit harsh forms of discipline and expulsions, limit suspensions and require the support of an early childhood mental health professional and partnerships with parents.
"Very few other states’ policies align to the protections outlined in the HSPPS, and in some cases, even if the content aligns, the policy may not be applicable across all early care and learning systems or for children across the entire birth to age five spectrum," the report said.
In August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule that would eliminate a number of performance standards, such as federal rules for class ratios and sizes, curricula expectations and certain staffing requirements.
HHS officials said the proposed changes would give states, local communities and families more autonomy to design their programs based on local needs. They also said the move would add 236,000 Head Start slots for children and save $2.2 billion.
Critics, on the other hand, said the Head Start deregulation efforts will compromise student safety and water down quality standards that help low-income young children receive early learning and developmental skills.
The comment period for the proposed rule ends Oct. 6. As of Sept. 10, there were 3,820 submitted comments.
The Children's Equity Project report noted that eliminating some of the Head Start performance standards "will negatively impact children and early educators, and will have a disparate impact on Black children, boys, and children with disabilities."
Here are additional findings from the report:
