We now have 15 years of research documenting something that still shocks most people who have never experienced it for themselves: Each day, over 250 children are suspended or expelled from preschool in the United States. Although we primarily hear about exclusionary discipline practices in high schools, children in child care and preschool programs-- including those as young as two years old-- experience suspension and expulsion at alarmingly high rates. Children in child care and preschool settings are expelled at a rate three times higher than are high schoolers. Part of the problem may be lack of resources available to early educators for supporting children exhibiting behavior challenges.

States hold significant power and autonomy in creating and implementing early childhood learning policies, and within states, governance in early childhood education is often fragmented across multiple agencies and organizations. Variation and fragmentation also shows up in how states address disciplinary decisions in early childhood education. Thankfully, there is a growing body of guidance aimed at minimizing exclusion from child care and early learning. For example, legislators can provide clarity and guidance to reduce the overall use and disparities in who experiences exclusion from early care and learning environments, and state agencies of child development and early education can implement reporting systems that facilitate thoughtful decision-making.

Young children who are expelled from child care and early learning programs miss out on the tremendous benefits that early education has for young learners. There are broader family well-being effects because the family loses access to the child care they need to work and provide for the household. Ensuring that providers and preschool teachers have regular access to child development and mental health professionals is one evidence-based strategy for improving the management of children’s challenging behaviors, and prevention of exclusionary discipline. This support can be provided through infant and early childhood mental health consultation, an evidence-based intervention that addresses mental health and behavioral concerns through consultative support for care providers, educators, and parents.

There are many factors at play in young children’s dysregulated behaviors. This brief looks upstream at how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) find expression in child behavior and contribute to exclusionary discipline. Early exposure to adversity can set off a cascade of developmental challenges. Understanding when children’s challenging behaviors may be due to toxic stress and trauma is an important aspect of breaking the intergenerational transmission of the effects of ACEs. Understanding how children respond to adversity can help early childhood professionals recognize sources of trauma, and ensure that children and their families connect with appropriate interventions. ... We need to consider the social determinants of infant and child well-being, which are largely determined by the well-being of their parents and caregivers.

High rates of exclusion from early care and learning environments is the result of policy (in)action and can be reduced when legislators provide expectations and guidance for how early childhood educators respond to young children’s behavior. Policy makers who write the guidelines that govern how early care and learning programs operate are in a unique position to interrupt the epidemic of exclusion for our youngest learners. By understanding evidence-based principles that guide best practices for the social and emotional development of preschoolers, policy makers can effectively write legislation that sets expectations for early educators to use developmentally appropriate responses with young children who exhibit challenging behaviors.

By age six, 70% of children have experienced a single traumatic event or repeated moderate traumatic events that disrupt their ability to regulate their emotions. This dysregulation often shows up as challenging behaviors. ... Learning to view challenging behavior through the lens of nonverbal communication can help child care and early childhood educators to respond in ways that are developmentally supportive and minimize exclusionary discipline. ... Research informs us that passing laws that restrict suspension and expulsion must be coupled with investing in building the capacity to effectively prevent and respond to challenging behaviors.

Many states have taken steps to limit the use of exclusionary discipline for young children. Policymakers have banned or placed sharp limits on the use of expulsion for children in publicly-funded preschool programs. They also encourage the use of non-punitive or restorative approaches to managing young children’s challenging behaviors. These actions are important and meaningful steps on the path to creating more inclusive and nurturing early learning  environments. However,  while implementing broad policies aimed at reducing exclusionary discipline improve outcomes for all students, they fall short of meaningfully changing some of the everyday practices that contribute to the disproportionate use of expulsions by race.

This brief is a reporting of a workshop we held for early care and learning providers about the importance of viewing behavior through the lens of communication: each child’s acting-out behavior is communicating that something is wrong, and that they don’t know what they need or don’t have the words to ask for what they need. Participants described the behaviors that create the most challenges and almost all described externalizing behaviors that can be classified as angry and/or aggressive behaviors. Participants stated that early education systems are not resourced in ways that make it easy for them to address developmental challenges that children communicate through their behavior. They also discussed the need for decision makers to understand the connections between economic and family support policies and child care and preschool exclusion.