2025 Policy Recommendation
- Ensure early childhood educators have access to sufficient support staff (occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, physical therapists, paraeducators, and early childhood mental health practitioners) and ongoing coaching to support full inclusion and the social-emotional well-being of every child. Explore recruitment and retention strategies, such as expanding eligibility for student loan repayment programs and increasing compensation rates.
- Prioritize investments in teaching practices that are developmentally appropriate and increase the capacity of the early childhood education workforce and system. These investments will build new and reinforce existing supports to foster the development, learning, and individualized needs of every child.
- Ensure that populations that have historically been marginalized and disproportionately experience discriminatory practices are no more likely to experience exclusionary practices by identifying and addressing discriminatory practices, biases, and structures.
What It Means
Vermont’s early childhood education system is under-resourced to equitably include children with disabilities and special health care needs and support children’s social-emotional health. Parents report that their children are not receiving the supports identified as necessary in their Individualized Education Plans due to insufficient staffing.
The social-emotional and mental health needs of young children are at an all-time high, in part due to the unique circumstances of children born during the isolation of the pandemic entering early childhood programs. The workforce is experiencing high rates of burnout due to the high level of need of the children they are serving and insufficient resources, further exacerbating the staffing crisis.
Why It Matters
“Behavior is communication. We need people who are trained to understand this form of communication. It is a type of translation,” according to Special Needs Support Center Executive Director Kenda Laroche. When people working with young children do not have sufficient training or do not have the time or resources to interpret the underlying cause of behavior and meet each individual child’s needs, the result is too often punitive interventions that further exacerbate the issue and isolate the child.
The number of children requiring services and the acuity of those needs has been on the rise in recent years. Between 2017 and 2021, the rate of children with diagnosis of ADHD, anxiety, depression, and/or a behavioral or conduct condition in Vermont rose from 8.8% to 16% for children ages 3 to 8. During this same period, overall U.S. rates remained stable between 9.8% and 10.5%. To ensure that children receive timely evaluation and that needed services are fully implemented, all teachers and staff need access to developmentally appropriate training.
Connects to VECAP Goal 3:
All children and families have access to high-quality opportunities that meet their needs.
Spotlight on Equity
The impact of the lack of resources for social-emotional learning and inclusion falls disproportionately on marginalized students and compounds inequity. From 2018 to 2021, students eligible for free and reduced lunch made up 35% of the student population but accounted for 72% of suspensions. Children receiving special education services made up 15% of the student population but accounted for 36% of suspensions. Historically marginalized students make up 82% of suspensions in children ages 5 through 8.
Read All 2025 Policy Recommendations