The title of this article may be alarming, possibly hyperbolic, but the underlying points could not be more important. 

The Roosevelt Institute created an index that ranks states by their family-friendly policies. Unsurprisingly, the data indicate a correlation between such policies and employment for mothers of young children. Ohio is ranked 31st. 

Policy Radar

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 

If you follow education policy, you’ve likely heard or read about the latest release of NAEP scores which reflect “unprecedented declines” and have inspired some alarming headlines. The assessment, which is meant to measure state and national progress among fourth and eighth graders in reading and math, has long been used as a barometer of achievement and – whether fair or not – often treated as a gauge of what’s working or not working in educational policy. The latest release shows a clear negative impact on learning from COVID-19. In Ohio, fourth graders saw sizable declines in both reading and math, mirroring what the NCES Associate Commissioner stated regarding “some of the largest declines we have observed in a single assessment cycle in 50 years...” NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr adds helpful context, reminding pundits that "School shootings, violence, and classroom disruptions are up, as are teacher and staff vacancies, absenteeism, cyberbullying, and students' use of mental health services.” 

Simply put, students, teachers, and families have been through a lot recently – not just with COVID-19. It’s helpful to take a both/and approach in these discussions and resist the urge to hyperfocus on test results at the exclusion of myriad pressing social, emotional, and health factors affecting children in 2022. Conversely, be wary anytime someone says that the achievement changes don’t matter. Steep learning drops – especially for minoritized children – are truly worrisome and an urgent matter of educational equity. So is the fact that 200,000 children have lost a loved one to COVID-19, or that increasing numbers experience mental health problems after school shooting drills, or that climate injustice increasingly threatens children everywhere. To be an advocate for children means to accept responsibility to care about all of it. 

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Inflation Reduction Act

The Center for American Progress outlines how the Inflation Reduction Act will address many expenses incurred by American families, like energy and healthcare costs. However, the Act leaves out child care costs, which represent “one of the most significant financial burdens for families across the country.” 

FYI

Despite the overall risk of monkeypox for young children being low according to the CDC, the agency has published guidance/FAQs that cover early care and education settings. 

Events & Happenings 

The 2022 John R. Lutzker Lecture Series is next Monday, September 12th and will feature keynote speaker Dr. Iheoma Iruka who will present “3 Ps of Protection, Promotion, and Preservation: Centering Race and Racism in Developmental Science.” Register here.

Beyond the Buckeye State

South Carolina is the latest state to establish a statewide paid leave program, though it only covers employees of the state. On this topic, Zero to Three recently published a brief about the progress states have made toward establishing paid leave programs. 

This article by Politico offers important insights for states moving to expand their state funded pre-K programs. Namely, broad scale up like what is happening in California is likely to create a serious strain on the already burdened early childhood workforce. As the piece points out, “The potential for a mass exodus from child care is perhaps unmatched in California, where school districts and charter schools will have to hire up to 15,600 teachers and 19,700 classroom assistants over the next four school years to offer a year of free pre-K for four-year-olds called ‘transitional kindergarten.’” You can probably guess what talent pool they’re going to pull from – the comparatively underpaid early care and education sector.



What We're Reading

Robyn Lightcap, the executive director of the Dayton-Montgomery County Preschool Promise program, penned a guest blog for the Children’s Funding Project describing Preschool Promise’s work as well as lessons learned over time. 

Policy Matters Ohio published its annual “State of Working” for the state of Ohio, which examines and highlights data on labor statistics like wages, wage growth, gender and racial wage gaps, and employment trends. The report identifies investments in high-quality child care as an important tool to curb inflation.