“In debates over publicly funded childcare, conservatives and liberals alike trumpet the importance of giving parents the ability to send their children to the preschool or day care of their choosing. It’s an ideal fueled by the conviction that when it comes to childcare, no one knows what young kids need better than their parents. And yet, study after study suggests that parents are, in fact, lousy consumers of childcare." |
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Business Insider has a map showing how much families could save on child care costs if the Build Back Better Act is passed, according to an analysis from The Center for American Progress. In Ohio, the projected weekly savings for a family at 135% of the state median income would be $90 per week.
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State
As of this week, Ohio has changed its quarantine recommendations for K-12 schools. Part of the new guidance allows unmasked and unvaccinated students and teachers who have been exposed to the coronavirus to continue attending school, rather than quarantining at home, as long as they wear a mask for 14 days, monitor themselves for symptoms, and get tested if symptoms appear. Ohio Department of Health director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff is quoted speaking about the change in guidance in the Dispatch.
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Federal
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has a fact sheet on how The Build Back Better Act would advance equity for children and families, highlighting that no family will pay more than 7% of its household budget on child care. However, as of this week, paid family leave was taken out of the plan. Congress continues to negotiate the details of the bill.
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Join The Hunt Institute on November 2nd at 2 pm for “Early Efforts: The Long Term Effects of Early Childhood Interventions” where a panel will discuss the science behind the long-term effects of early childhood education and where the field is headed. Register here.
Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning is hosting a workshop on trauma-informed teaching on November 4th from 3-4:30 pm. The workshop will explore trauma-informed strategies, and practice tactics to build optimism and engagement in our learning spaces. Register here.
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New America makes the case for states to use their federal ESSER funds (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) to develop transition plans for the youngest learners. Currently, nine states have included this among their plans for the funds.
Recently, three health organizations - the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association – declared a mental health state of emergency for children and adolescents. Education Week describes the statement, as well as recent investments made by states to mitigate the growing crisis.
An analysis by Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (described here) showed that back-to-school costs were among the most common types of expenditures made by families with low incomes when spending their Child Tax Credit in the months leading up to school. This included spending on books, supplies, tuition, tutoring, and school transportation costs.
The Columbus Dispatch describes local child care challenges in this article: “Hit hard by the pandemic, the child-care industry is still in disarray almost two years later in Columbus and across the country. Challenges for providers include workers leaving the industry, the struggle to find enough teachers and enrollment staying stubbornly below pre-pandemic numbers.”
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Five academics describe their research on gender gaps with respect to children’s political aspirations, which can emerge by early elementary school age. The researchers describe their inspiration for the study as coming from the “draw a scientist” task that asked children to draw their impression of a scientist and describe them as male or female. Instead, children in grades 1 through 6 were asked to draw a “political leader.” The researchers described, “We use these images and surveys to understand children’s process of learning both about politics and gender roles, or what scholars call “gendered political socialization.” Interestingly, while about half of the youngest girls drew female political leaders, far fewer in the sixth grade did so – which suggests that as girls reach adolescence, they might be eschewing their political aspirations.
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This edition written by: Jamie O'Leary, Associate Director of Policy and Caitlin Lennon, Communications & Policy Specialist |
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