The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a disaster, defined as an event that suspends normal activities and threatens or causes severe, community-wide damage (Masten & Motti-Stefanidi, 2020). While all school children and their families have been impacted by COVID-19 to some degree, the burdens are disproportionately being borne by…

No other facet of curriculum has stoked as much debate in schools across the United States as sexuality education (Corngold, 2013). However, it is now the widely held consensus that some form of sexuality education should be implemented in public schools. The "Professional Standards of the National Association of School Psychologists"…

New energy, new evidence, and an emerging consensus on how learning happens have created a remarkable opportunity to galvanize widespread adoption of a whole child approach. However, messages about how learning happens are often obscured by confusion over terminology, weakening the field's overall ability to tell a compelling story about social,…

This article unfurls in the aftermath of an event where three first grade children at a reputable progressive elementary school were found playing slavery during school recess. As word caught on, parents ignited into a frenzy: some railed against the teacher, others demanded an answer, while still others believed this was precisely the meaning of…

Early home visiting programs have provided a lifeline of support to American Indian and Alaska Native families hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article is about how three Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (Tribal MIECHV) grantees have approached the pandemic with agility, adaptability, and innovation. Home visitors…

To equitably and effectively serve children, families, schools, and communities, school psychologists must appreciate the dynamic interaction that exists between many variables. Using Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological systems theory as an example, this comprehensive conceptual framework provides a model for understanding how interconnected…

California's longstanding efforts to promote child development and kindergarten readiness have paved the way for focusing greater attention on the role Medi-Cal, the State's Medicaid program, can play in realizing the full strength of these initiatives. As a state with a large and diverse population, California's reach and potential influence are…

This brief outlines the important role state policymakers can play to ensure equity in their states' early education efforts. High-quality child care and early education is critical for child development and family economic security--and it can have a particularly positive impact on the wellbeing of families with low incomes. CLASP's action agenda…

The COVID-19 crisis has made delivering early intervention services much more challenging and could exacerbate racial inequities in health and education. But we can only fix what we can measure--so it is vital that states collect and report better data. A survey of state coordinators of early intervention services in fall 2020 focused on Black and…

Our country's existing and long-term child care crisis--inequitable access for communities of color, poverty-level wages for early educators, and unaffordable care for far too many families--has been exacerbated by the terrible, inequitable impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed the child care and early learning sector to the brink…

The 34th edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT® Data Book describes how the country's lack of affordable and accessible child care negatively affects children, families and U.S. businesses. This year's publication continues to present national and state data across four domains--economic well-being, education, health and family and…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field of autism research. The "Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles nominated by…

Over the last decade, California leaders have made tremendous progress on supporting kids in some crucial areas. They have vastly increased the percentage of children enrolled in health insurance and made paid family leave available for most workers. They have also invested in free school meals, committed to universal transitional kindergarten,…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The "2020 Summary of Advances in Autism Research" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The "2019 IACC Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles nominated by the…