Advocacy

We’re proud to announce our policy priorities for Vermont’s 2026 legislative session. Presented with Let’s Grow Kids Action Network (LGKAN), these four priorities represent our commitment to early childhood educators, ECE programs, families, and young children.

This agenda represents our advocacy priorities this session: we’re focused on protecting child care funding, passing the ECE Profession Bill, fixing background check delays, and continuing to improve access and affordability.

It's time to recognize early childhood educators as professionals!

The ECE Profession Bill has the support of VTAEYC, the Child Care Campaign, and thousands of Vermont early childhood educators. We’re proud to be ECE!

In Vermont there are more than 6,500 early childhood educators working in center-based and home-based programs. Most of our youngest children, and all of our infants and toddlers in regulated child care, attend these programs.

Vermont lawmakers are considering a bill that would create a license to practice as an Early Childhood Educator (ECE) for people working in these non-public programs. This isn’t top-down regulation — it’s something Vermont ECEs have been working toward for years.

Professional recognition supports transparency for families and hiring directors, clear and well-resourced career pathways for ECEs, improved access to care for families, greater public recognition of the essential work early childhood educators do, and most of all: better outcomes for children, in kindergarten and beyond

It’s time for early childhood education to be a well-prepared, well-compensated profession.

Advancing Early Childhood Education as a Profession is an initiative led by Vermont’s early childhood education workforce. Our aim is to create an early childhood education profession in Vermont, aligned with a future national early childhood education profession.

We believe in this vision:

That each and every child, beginning at birth, has the opportunity to benefit from high-quality, affordable early childhood education, delivered by an effective, diverse, well-prepared, and well-compensated workforce.

Elevating Early Childhood Educator
Voices is Our Priority

VTAEYC works to build public awareness about early childhood education and the needs of young children and early childhood educators through advocacy and outreach. We need your voice!

With Other Members

VTAEYC represents its 500+ members and partners with other early childhood organizations on the state and national levels to advance policy change in pursuit of this vision. VTAEYC members are invited to shape policy priorities and participate in our Public Policy Committee and at the NAEYC Public Policy Forum.

Statewide

VTAEYC joined Let’s Grow Kids Action Network (LGKAN) to advance a shared policy agenda focused on both short-term and long-term solutions. The 2026 Child Care Agenda can be seen here. Elevating early childhood educators’ voices is central to our mission. If you’re interested in leadership and advocacy opportunities, please complete the following survey.

With NAEYC

At the federal level, we partner with NAEYC to advocate for young children, their families, and early childhood educators. As an NAEYC affiliate, we offer Vermont’s perspective to NAEYC as well as our own federal delegation and we share policy updates and action alerts with our network. You can learn more about NAEYC’s Public Policy and Advocacy efforts below.

Advocacy Updates

Advocacy Update

Frequently Asked Questions: Act 76 and CCFAP Reimbursement Rates

On January 5, our partners at Let’s Grow Kids released these frequently asked questions about changes to CCFAP reimbursement rates as part of Act 76 ...

Written by

VTAEYC

Woman in sunglasses, dark hair, light skin, and a dark blue top stands at a podium speaking outdoors on a sunny day. Behind her, people in business dress listen attentively.

Advocacy Update

“This is the relief we’ve been waiting for!” Christina Goodwin’s speech celebrating passage of the 2023 Child Care Bill

by Christina Goodwin This is the speech made by VTAEYC Board President Christina Goodwin before early childhood educators, children, families, advocates, and lawmakers on June ...

Written by

VTAEYC

Our Planet x
Young Children

We’re having the discussion about the impact of climate change on young children—emotionally, cognitively, and physically. We’re learning about what is being done and what we can do to mitigate this impact, in Vermont and beyond its borders.

Our Diversity x
Young Children

In our commitment to the well-being of each and every child, we’re hosting conversations and sharing information about our diversity as a strength. We’re listening for ideas that can promote diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and ways to include these values in what we do with and for young children.

Our Communities x Young Children

Our goal is to ensure that young children and their families are considered in all community spaces, that the resources available accommodate differing needs and interests, and that young children have the opportunities to contribute to their communities.

Volunteer for VTAEYC

Are you interested in joining VTAEYC members, early childhood educators, students, and other members of the community in making a difference? VTAEYC is searching for volunteers to support VTAEYC’s mission and programs through volunteering at our Annual Conference and beyond! Contact us to learn more about about how you can become a VTAEYC volunteer.