On February 23, Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate jointly released the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill that would fund the federal agency for the remainder of FY2009. Early Education programs are funded at the FY2008 with nominal increases. However, additional funds will be forthcoming from the stimulus package to support early childhood programs in the states. I am happy to report that the Early Reading First grant is funded! This grant has provided critical findings over the past years to inform the early childhood field. These findings are helping to define best practices especially in the areas of cognitive readiness, social/emotional development and teacher professional development. Hopefully, the new ERF applications will be announced in the next few weeks by USDOE. In a number of the studies, the awardees are determining what the word “quality” means in early childhood with the goal of preparing children for kindergarten. The House and Senate are working to pass identical versions of the bill so the President can sign by the March 6 deadline.

See the entire funding list here.