2024 International Early Childhood Inclusion Institute

The newly released Policy Statement on Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was first released in 2015, and Illinois used the rollout as a way to lift up initiatives to foster early childhood inclusion across the state. This updated statement reiterates the expectation for inclusion in high quality early childhood programs, setting the expectation that inclusion continues as children transition into elementary school as well as reinforcing the legal and research foundations for inclusion. In this session, we will dive deeper into the components of this policy statement, explore the ways in which this statement can be a resource, and reflect on how it can reaffirm your program and community’s commitment to inclusion.