Family child-care programs (FCCs) are a unique and vital part of the Massachusetts child-care and education system. FCC owners tend to serve some of the highest-need children and families in the Commonwealth, yet the owners and assistants who run these programs often take home some of the lowest wages among educators. While much research has been…

When the government chooses to cooperate with private organizations to provide public services, the Supreme Court has made clear that the First Amendment prohibits religious discrimination. Three cases--"Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer" (2017), "Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue" (2020), and…

China has established the world's largest education system. The gross enrollment ratio of pre-primary education, completion rate for compulsory education, and gross enrollment ratio of senior secondary education all exceed 90%. The gross enrollment ratio of higher education exceeds 60%, which is universally recognized as a high rate of enrollment.…

Historically, states' child care subsidy programs have used market rates, or tuition charged by providers, to set subsidy rates that support income-eligible families in accessing child care services. However, the market rate is often based on what families in a specific community can afford to pay, not necessarily what it actually costs to provide…

In the United States in 2019, public funding of child care and early education (CCEE) could come from a variety of programs and levels of government (federal, state, or local). This snapshot uses household reports of participation in CCEE to estimate percentages of children younger than 60 months who participated in center-based or paid individual…

Since the 1990s, North Carolina has been an early leader on compensation and financial relief initiatives for the early care and education (ECE) workforce. This is most notably seen in the various targeted wage supplements they have established to advance educator pay. Most recently, they used federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to…

State-funded preschool is already offered in mixed-delivery settings in most states, meaning that along with public schools, children are also served in settings such as child care centers, Head Start agencies, and private schools. However, just 39% of 4-year-olds and 14% of 3-year-olds were enrolled in publicly-funded programs, such as…

This Spotlight explores the dynamic and evolving world of school choice, focusing on charter schools and private school choice programs. Delve into proposed federal initiatives, how charters are improving experiences for students with disabilities, and a leading advocate's reflections on the movement's evolution. Examine research on public funds…

During the 2022-23 academic year, New Jersey became the first state in the United States to adopt learning standards that support climate change education K-12 across all subject areas, offering an ideal context for exploring the relationship between education and climate change. Although New Jersey has provided financial funding to support…

The landscape of early childhood programs has evolved as a largely fractured landscape: most public early education programs such as Head Start and state pre-K have been limited to low-income children or children with identified risk factors, and most private programs charge tuition that is too low to support a well-compensated workforce but still…

In June 2021, the Department for Education (DfE) announced the Early Years Education Recovery funding, a £180m package of support to help the sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It comprised training programmes, qualifications, guidance and targeted whole setting support, delivered through a series of complimentary work programmes. This…

Children from low-income families face many social and economic disadvantages, and high-quality preschool can help to alleviate some of them. Is "preschool for all" the best way to extend preschool subsidies to unserved disadvantaged children? Fully funding such a policy would be costly, and it is likely that a significant minority of…

Quality pre-primary education is widely recognized as crucial in providing children with the foundation to succeed, but many countries face obstacles in adequately funding scale-up of the pre-primary subsector. A major impediment to the expansion of early childhood education (ECE) is limited data on the cost-effectiveness of existing pre-primary…

Child Trends and Start Early have partnered to better understand what early childhood systems builders need to build and support more equitable systems. The briefs in this series, called Conversation Starters, define a new framework for early childhood systems that center families' experiences and raise key considerations and next steps for…

An increasingly important element of the learning journey for children around the world is the vital role school libraries play in supporting literacy, health, and wellbeing, as well as improving attainment across the curriculum. The Scottish Government established the School Library Improvement Fund (SLIF) administered by the Scottish Library and…