by Jackie Mader, The Hechinger Report
December 24, 2025
Within the practically 13 years since I wrote my first early childhood story for The Hechinger Report, I’ve by no means skilled a yr fairly like 2025. From the gutting of federal early childhood workplaces to threats to Head Begin and the deeply felt ramifications of aggressive federal immigration enforcement, information on the early ed beat felt fixed — and particularly pressing — this yr.
Amid all this, there have been some promising steps taken, particularly on the state degree, to raise kids’s points and pay for applications that help the earliest years of life. Listed below are 5 highlights, together with a couple of you will have missed:
New Mexico launched common little one care. New Mexico was the first state within the nation to roll out common little one care to each household, no matter revenue. Consultants are cautiously optimistic, and acknowledge the state probably has some kinks to work out. One New Mexico supply I spoke to stated she’s particularly anxious that wealthier households will snatch up spots if guardrails aren’t put in place to prioritize sure populations, together with kids with disabilities. One other advocate informed me she is anxious that the wages for early childhood educators are nonetheless too low. This can be a story that can proceed to play out over the following few years, and shall be watched rigorously. Nonetheless, in a rustic that has lengthy underfunded early studying, consultants are hopeful that different states will observe go well with and make investments extra within the little one care trade in ways in which help the kid care employees and households.
New Jersey, which leads the nation in excluding younger kids with disabilities, dedicated to research the best way to enhance inclusive practices: Earlier this yr, a Hechinger Report investigation discovered New Jersey is the worst within the nation at ensuring younger college students with disabilities are studying alongside their friends for no less than 80 p.c of the day, which is a federal metric for inclusion. After our collection was revealed, a council that advises New Jersey schooling officers on particular schooling points introduced it’s going to examine inclusion charges for younger kids and take a look at how state educators and directors are educated.
States and municipalities invested in early childhood: Cincinnati, Montana and California’s Alameda County elevated their help for early studying this yr, stated Emmy Liss, a researcher and coverage marketing consultant for the assume tank New America’s New Apply Lab. In San Antonio, the metropolis’s pre-Ok program expanded this yr to serve infants and toddlers. In Colorado, voters authorised new “taxing districts” that can increase gross sales tax for early childhood applications. “We see this constant sample of mayors, would-be mayors, county officers, saying, ‘Our households cannot face up to this anymore, and we’ve the facility and the mandate from our group to put money into early childhood,’” Liss stated. “I really feel optimistic due to that.”
Some states expanded family-friendly insurance policies: After reporting by Hechinger contributor Sarah Carr this yr discovered few mother and father are made conscious of their toddler’s rights to early intervention providers, Illinois handed a regulation requiring that households with infants who keep within the NICU are linked to these early therapies. In Colorado, state officers added NICU depart to the state’s paid household medical depart program. Minnesota policymakers are on the cusp of launching their state’s paid household depart program.
Pittsburgh embraced a citywide play-based initiative: After a long time of analysis that exhibits the significance of play for wholesome improvement, a brand new initiative in Pittsburgh is placing analysis into motion. After funding a number of years of play-based initiatives across the metropolis, the Let’s Play, PGH program, funded by the nonprofit Remake Studying and the Grable and Henry L. Hillman foundations, rolled out everlasting play-based experiences this yr. These embody a “Clayground,” the place households can strive hands-on clay sculpting, and a “Discovery Tree,” an indoor construction with numerous play and studying options. “I feel society, particularly in schooling, we’re transferring away from valuing play in a method that it is usually spoken of extra in a pejorative sense, like there’s extra severe issues we’ve to do,” stated Tyler Samstag, government director of Remake Studying. “However there’s this wealthy analysis across the significance of play,” he added. And, “there is a type of reeling again from the pandemic period of at all times being in entrance of a display.”
I additionally requested a couple of early childhood consultants what they plan to observe for in 2026:
- I am watching the twin tendencies of state momentum for common little one care proposals in opposition to the budgetary headwinds states are going through on account of financial insurance policies and H.R. 1 [the “big, beautiful bill”].
— Elliot Haspel, senior fellow at Capita
- The early care and schooling group could have the chance to stake out daring coverage positions, like these we noticed in New Mexico, New York, Connecticut, Montana and Vermont this previous yr, whereas going through the problem of defending kids, households and educators from federal insurance policies that can wreak havoc on security internet applications and state budgets.
— Albert Wat, deputy director of advocacy and impression on the Alliance for Early Success
- I’m listening to whether or not there are indicators of even a minor shift away from this dominant narrative — that one thing near common little one care is the ‘true objective,’ which we now appear to be accepting with out query. My concern is that the wants of younger kids will as soon as once more get blotted out by the wants of grown-ups, the wants of the financial system, the wants of enterprise.
— Katharine B. Stevens, founder and president of the Middle on Youngster and Household Coverage
- Variations between the Home and Senate funding payments, which shall be settled in January, which may have an effect on funding for numerous early childhood applications.
— Sarah Gilliland, senior coverage supervisor, New America’s New Apply Lab
- With New York Metropolis’s price of residing driving households away in droves, the time is ripe for common little one care — and it might probably occur! We stay up for working with Mayor-elect Mamdani and his group as they develop plans that raise up home-based little one care as an important help.
— Jessica Sager, CEO, All Our Kin
Thanks a lot to all of you in your help and readership this yr, and please don’t hesitate to achieve out with any story concepts, questions or feedback. Comfortable holidays!
This story about early childhood schooling was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, unbiased information group targeted on inequality and innovation in schooling. Join the Hechinger e-newsletter.
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