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Early Care and Education Legislative Action

On this page you will find NCSL's legislative tracking of early care and education legislation.  Topics include the full range of issues such as child care, child care quality, financing, prekindergarten, school readiness and early learning, Head Start and Early Head Start, and related topics such as professional development.  In 2008, we are adding tracking of home visiting legislation as it relates to early childhood development and early learning.

NCSL Early Care and Education Legislation Database The National Conference of State Legislatures works in cooperation with Statenet to bring you up to date, real time information about early care and education bills that have been introduced in the fifty states and the District of Columbia.  Search 2008 legislation by state; topic; Keyword; year; status; or primary sponsor:  Early Care and Education Legislation Database Links to the legislative home pages of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

2008 Analyses

Prekindergarten Legislative Update 2008

During the 2008 legislative session, at least 32 states and the District of Columbia introduced over 150 pieces of legislation on preschool, including bills to expand eligibility, increase or decrease funding, promote higher quality, support teachers, and establish early learning councils.  This document provides an overview of proposed state legislation in these areas.  Some state legislatures have completed their sessions and a few enacted bill examples are provided in this update.  Click here to view the document.

Prior Session Analyses

Child Care and Early Education State Legislation 2007

Find NCSL's highlights and summaries of state legislative activity in 2007.  The highlights publication provides an analysis of state policy choices and the summaries provide brief synopses of bills that were proposed and enacted in 2007.  Click here to view 2007 legislative information: Child Care & Early Education 2007 Legislative Update.

Child Care and Early Education State Legislation 2006

Legislation Highlights

In 2006, at least 36 states enacted substantive child care and early education legislation. Click here to view 2006 legislation highlights.

Legislation Summary

This document summarizes child care and early education legislation that was enacted in 2006. It includes 97 bills that are listed by state. Click here to view the full legislative summary for 2006.

Child Care and Early Education State Legislation 2005

In 2005, at least 31 states enacted significant child care and early childhood education legislation.  Click here to read highlights and see the enacted bills.

Child Care and Early Education State Legislation 2004

For the 2004 legislative session NCSL compiled a comprehensive analysis of the years legislative activity.  Early Education in the States: A Year in Review-2004 analyzes and provides detailed summaries of legislative education issues from the 2004 legislative sessions.  Included in this report are summaries of research regarding early education, a description of the role of legislators, a summary of state activity, and state-by-state legislation, including the District of Columbia.  Click here for the full report For more information about NCSL's Child Care and Early Education legislative tracking, please contact Stephen Fagan at 303-364-7700.

 Child Care and Early Education