Laws that Support Early Childhood Education – Virtual Toolkit

Professional Development Activity

Begin by reading the Growing Ideas: Laws that Support Early Childhood Education Tipsheet (PDF) and completing the Growing Ideas Into Action Handout (PDF) – A resource to use as you read and use the tipsheets.

Download the Laws That Support Early Childhood Education Tipsheet (PDF).

Training Materials to use right away:

Try, Review, Reflect and Plan:

Questions and Answers: IDEA and Child Care and What is the American’s with Disabilities Act? offer additional information on laws that support early childhood education.

  1. Click on the first website link above to download the PDF, Questions and Answers: IDEA and Child Care.
  2. Click on the second link to view the video from CONNECT: The Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge called, Foundations of Inclusion. This short video provides an overview of inclusion, legal and policy foundations, and inclusion research, as well as a definition, the desired results and defining features of inclusion in early childhood. You can access the video transcript by scrolling down the page and clicking on the “view transcript” link located below the video and handouts listed on that page.
  3. Click on the third link above to download the PDF, Technical Assistance Memo: Moving toward Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance: A checklist and guide for privately operated child care programs. Complete the checklist to help you see how you are currently doing related to the ADA and where you might want to focus to improve your setting or practices in this area.
  4. Use the Laws that Support Early Childhood Education Self-Reflection Guide and Documentation Sheet (PDF) to:
    • Review, reflect and plan your work with children.
    • Document your training hours.

Highly Recommended Resource:

The ABCs of the ADA book cover

Wood, K. & Youcha, V. (2009). The ABCs of the ADA, 2nd Edition. Baltimore, MD: Brooks Publishing.

From the Publisher’s website:

“This is it—the only clear and simple resource that fully explains the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and shows early childhood programs what they need to do to promote inclusion and ensure compliance with the law. Answering early childhood administrators’ most pressing questions about the legal issues surrounding inclusive programs, this informative and practical guidebook gives readers everything they need to create, implement, and monitor the success of their plan for ADA compliance…”

Children’s Book Selection:

My Friend Isabelle book cover.

Woloson, E. (2003). My Friend Isabelle. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.

From the Publisher’s annotation:

“Isabelle and Charlie are friends. They both like to draw, dance, read, and play at the park. They both like to eat Cheerios. They both cry if their feelings are hurt. And like most friends, they are also different from each other. Isabelle has Down syndrome. Charlie doesn’t.

Written by Isabelle’s mother, this charming tale encourages readers to think about what makes a friendship special. My Friend Isabelle also opens the door for young children to talk about differences and the world around them…”

Interested in additional information on this topic? Visit our Laws that Support Early Childhood Education Selected Resources page.

Have a professional development plan? As you read the Growing Ideas Tipsheets, and use the Virtual Toolkit training materials be sure to place your handouts/documentation of this work in your personal professional development portfolio.

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Updated: 06/22/2020