January 2018 /
In alignment with a Multi-Tiered System of Support and the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model, a comprehensive and strategically implemented approach to providing professional development to school administrators, coaches and teachers is needed to ensure that teaching staff have the core Tier I practices to support skills such as social-emotional learning, conflict resolution, effective problem-solving, and appropriate relationship building. This is especially true for the young at-risk and disabled preschoolers served by NC public school to ensure readiness for Kindergarten. Effective Tier II and III training for teachers, coaches and administrators may provide preventative measures necessary to address young children exhibiting challenging behaviors that may signal potential future mental health issue.
1)Local Education Agencies must submit data to the state on the number of suspensions and expulsions on children ages 3 through 5 beginning in 2019-2020. Data must be reported so that it may be disaggregated by challenging behaviors, gender, race, and disability. This includes the Exceptional Children, Head Start, NC Pre-K, Title I, and Developmental Day programs.
2)NC DPI must align the early childhood definition of challenging behaviors with current reasons for suspensions and expulsions in the state’s reporting system so that administrators understand how to appropriately codes reasons.
3)Public school early childhood programs must develop and implement a written plan on how the program will prevent or severely reduce the need for suspension and expulsion. The plan must ensure that families have access to appropriate resources and supports to maintain their child’s placement in the program.
4)Public school early childhood programs must provide professional development on the NC Foundations for Early Learning and Development as the preschool Multi-Tiered System of Support.
5)When a child with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) exhibits persistent challenging behaviors, special considerations must be enacted due to procedural safeguards and due process rights ensured under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). For children ages three through five with an IEP who exhibit persistent challenging behaviors, early childhood programs must communicate with the school district’s special education program about the behavior as soon as the concern arises. Required documentation must be maintained as to the attempts to address the behaviors and alternate placement plans developed to ensure continuation of special education and related services.
NC Early Learning Network is a joint project of the NC Department Of Public Instruction, Office Of Early Learning
and UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute