Language Assistance 
Partnerships with Federal Agencies and Others
Interagency Policy Board (IPB)
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have established the Early Learning Interagency Policy Board (IPB) to develop policy recommendations and improve program coordination and quality across federally funded early learning and development programs serving children from birth through age eight. Members of the IPB include senior leaders from the following offices:
IPB Members
ED
- Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services [OSERS]
- Office of Elementary and Secondary Education [OESE]
- Office of Early Learning [OEL]
- Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development [OPEPD]
- Institute of Education Sciences [IES]
- Office of English Language Acquisition [OELA]
HHS
- ACF Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development [ODAS-ECD] Office of the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development [ECD]
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE]
- Health Resources and Services Administration [HRSA]
Additional Members
Key Activities
- Communication and outreach activities with the early learning and development field, including:
- issuing statements on critical early learning and development topics, and
- highlighting and sharing information with the field about effective early learning and development programs collaborations.
- Discussion of key early learning policy proposals such as:
- reauthorizations of relevant ED and HHS early learning programs,
- policy recommendations that relate to early learning and development; and the
- development of joint ED/HHS guidance for federal early learning programs; and
- Developing recommendations for coordination of effective technical assistance strategies and research across federal early learning and development programs.
IPB Products
The IPB produces various informational products on early learning, please see the latest below:
Joint Interdepartmental Review of All Early Learning Programs for Children Less Than 6 Years of Age
Congress requested that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the Secretary of Education, review the Government Accountability Office (GAO) 2012 Annual Report: Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, Overlap and Fragmentation, Achieve Savings, and Enhance Revenue on duplication of early learning and care programs and submit a report to Congress that outlines efficiencies that can be achieved, including recommendations for eliminating overlapping programs and streamlining early learning programs serving children under age six.
Despite the many children who benefit from these programs and investments, many more eligible children cannot be served with the current funding levels. This report highlights the Administration's proposal to close these gaps in access and quality as well as descriptions of the ongoing efforts within and among federal agencies to reduce fragmentation and promote coordination at every level.
Download:
Full Report (PDF, 564KB)
Executive Summary (PDF, 564KB)
IPB Joint Statements
The IPB has developed joint policy statements on issues that are important to improving early learning programs including:
-
Dual Language Learners (PDF, 401KB)
-
State Advisory Councils (PDF, 256KB)
-
Early Childhood Homelessness (PDF, 994KB)
-
Integrated Data Systems (PDF, 1.5MB)
A Partnership with HHS
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) are committed to working together to significantly expand and improve services for young children and their families. ED and HHS work together to support state-level innovation through the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Program, which has funded more than one billion dollars to 20 states to develop and enhance coordinated early learning and development systems and the Preschool Development Grants, which has expanded high-quality preschool for 4-year olds in 18 states.
The specific offices in HHS that ED collaborates with around early learning include:
- ACF’s Office of Early Childhood Development [ECD]
- Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE]
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention [CDC]
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD]
- Health Resources and Services Administration [HSRC]
- Maternal & Child Health Bureau [MCHB]
- National Institutes of Mental Health [NIMH]
- Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation [OPRE]
Other Federal Partners
