Facts In Action

While research consistently shows a link between high-quality early care and education and positive outcomes when children enter school, only a handful of states have programs that ensure universal access to high-quality prekindergarten to families with three- and four-year-old children. However, young children with identified disabilities have had access to a form of universal prekindergarten for more than 15 years. In a recent paper, Don Bailey, a researcher from the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, advocates for the implementation of universal prekindergarten and discusses the lessons universal prekindergarten might learn from special education programs.

The article focuses on how universal prekindergarten would be coordinated and implemented based on these lessons. Because the model demonstration program for children with disabilities has been very successful, Bailey suggests creating a network of model prekindergarten demonstration programs in order to present the range of models that can be effective and to provide a vehicle for training others. He also proposes establishing a national technical assistance center for universal prekindergarten, creating a national set of guidelines, and providing financial incentives and flexible funding to support pre-K. He stresses the importance of involving parents and advocates in all aspects of planning and implementation. He maintains that a federal role in personnel development is necessary, and that state and local interagency coordinating councils should be created.

Finally, Bailey also discusses the benefits that universal prekindergarten can have for preschool special education. He suggests that universal prekindergarten will benefit children with disabilities by providing more opportunities for those children to be placed in the least restrictive environments possible.

Source:
What Can Universal Prekindergarten Learn From Special Education?, D. Bailey, Foundation for Child Development, May 2002.

For more information:
Contact: Foundation for Child Development, 145 East 32^nd Street, New York, NY 10016-6055, call (212) 213-8337, email Don_Bailey@unc.edu, or look online at www.ffcd.org.

Facts in Action, January/February 2003