OCDEL
The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning supports families and their children from prenatal through school age by using data, research and stakeholder guidance to assure high quality services.
Action Needed by May 11 on Proposed Expulsion/Suspension Question

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) posted a notice in the Federal Register regarding its questions for the 2017 National Survey of Children's Health, and the sole item it proposes to delete is a question regarding whether a child between ages 3-5 was subjected to preschool suspension/expulsion. HHS is accepting comments on this deletion until 9:00 am on Thursday, May 11, 2017.

The National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) enables the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to produce national and state-based estimates on the health and well-being of children, their families, and their communities as well as estimates of the prevalence and impact of children with special health care needs.
 
This survey collects information from 23,000 families on factors ranging from the well-being of children, access to and quality of health care, family interactions, family health and school and neighborhood characteristics.

In 2016, the survey asked:

For children aged 0-5: IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, were you ever asked to keep your child home from any child care or preschool because of their behavior (things like hitting, kicking, biting, tantrums or disobeying)?

Response Options:
  • This child did not attend child care or preschool
  • No
  • Yes, I was told to pick up my child early on 1 or more days
  • Yes, I had to keep my child home for 1 full day or more
  • Yes permanently, I was told my child could no longer attend this child care center or preschool
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proposing eliminating this question, because "[s]ponsorship of this item [by the Agency for Children and Families] is no longer anticipated, nor does this item address an identified analytic need." This is the only item HHS is proposing to remove from the survey.

The NSCH is an important tool to obtain data on preschool expulsion from a representative pool of families who may use a range of child care and preschool settings. 

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights collects data on preschool expulsions but that is limited to preschools operated by public schools and therefore does not provide information on the incidence of preschool expulsions or suspensions in other early childhood settings.

The National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Center for Law & Social Policy (CLASP), and National Women's Law Center (NWLC) worked together on a coordinated response. Feel free to use, amend, and share the message to ensure the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and HHS hear from many organizations and individuals on the value of this question and the proposed deletion.
 
Written comments must be sent to OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov  or faxed to 202.395.5806. Please reference OMB Control No. 0607-0990. Deadline to submit comments is 9:00 am on Thursday, May 11, 2017.
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The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) provides families access to high quality services to prepare children for school and life success. 
  
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