OCTOBER 2019
EYES ON THE EARLY YEARS

An early education newsletter from EdSource
Early childhood education programs nationwide are more segregated by race and ethnicity than K-12 classrooms, according to a new study from Urban Institute , a nonprofit research organization focused on public policy.

By "segregated," the researchers mean programs are not representative of the general population and have high concentrations of only black and Latino students or only white students. They do not mean children are kept separate by law.

Researchers found that early childhood programs nationally are twice as likely as kindergarten and first grade to be nearly completely black or Latino. The researchers included private and public early childhood programs that serve at least five children who are between 0 and 5 years old. The research does not include data broken down for California.

Erica Greenberg, one of the lead researchers, said there are many reasons that might explain the segregation – the cost of private child care, for example, and the fact that families often choose child care close to their homes, meaning the makeup of children enrolled in child care may mimic neighborhood segregation.

Greenberg said further research is necessary to break down the segregation of programs in different states and cities, and to understand what strategies might help integrate programs by race and ethnicity. She mentioned that some strategies might include modifying city zoning rules to allow more programs to exist in different neighborhoods, public transportation to improve access to programs, and education about the importance of children being exposed to people from different races and ethnicities. 

“If we think about the future of race relations, if we think about children growing up and acknowledging their peers as humans and interacting with children and adults in their formative years, I think it’s critical. The more opportuniess that children have to grow up in diverse and integrated settings, I think the better off our country will be,” Greenberg said.

How segregated by race and ethnicity do you think early childhood programs are in California or in your community? What ideas do you have about how to fix that? Email me with your ideas and comments.

Zaidee Stavely
Early Education Reporter, EdSource
From the EdSource Early Learning Desk:

If the bill is approved, California will join 14 other states and the District of Columbia in requiring districts to offer full-day kindergarten. 


Child care can change the lives of homeless children and their parents. Two counties are trying to help enroll them in free programs.
 

L egislative Update

EdSource is tracking 27 early childhood bills introduced in the Legislature this session.

Recently signed into law by Gov. Newsom:
  • AB 378, which gives child care workers the right to collective bargaining.
  • AB 406, which ensures application forms for paid family leave are translated into commonly used languages.
  • SB 234, which prohibits cities from charging large family child care homes that serve more than 6 children under 6 years old for zoning permits. Smaller family child care homes were already exempt.

Recently vetoed by Gov. Newsom:
  • AB 776, which would have allowed the California Department of Education to track children enrolled in early childhood programs in the same system as children in K-12. In his veto message, Gov. Newsom said he supports the intention of the bill, but building a better early childhood data system should build on existing efforts and be part of the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care.

Still on Gov. Newsom's desk:
  • AB 197, which would require every school in California to offer at least one full-day kindergarten class.
  • AB 842, which would require part-day state preschool programs to provide at least one meal per day to each child and full-day programs to provide two meals.
  • AB 48, which would put a bond measures on the ballot in 2020 to allocate state funds for school construction, including building and modernizing preschools run by school districts.
  • AB 500, which would require paid pregnancy leave for K-12 and community college teachers.


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