RECAP, March 11, 2026 EEC Board Meeting: Updates on the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative, Preschool Access, and Governor Healey’s Inter-Agency Early Education and Child Care Task Force

At Neighborhood Villages, we prioritize keeping up with the policy landscape in the early education and care field, both across the country and in Massachusetts. That includes tuning in to the monthly meetings of the Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care (“EEC Board”), to stay apprised of updates and to identify opportunities for how we can work with government and other stakeholders to improve our early education and care system.

The primary topics of this month’s Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) Board meeting included updates on: (1) the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative and Preschool Access and (2) the Inter-Agency Early Education and Child Care Task Force.

For additional details on any of the meeting topics, view the slides here or watch the recording on YouTube. 

Here’s what you need to know…

If You are a Provider:

1) EEC Commissioner and Interim Secretary of Education Amy Kershaw announced that the state successfully transitioned to a new accounting system, which processes payments for the Child Care Financial Assistance program and the Commonwealth Cares for Children grant program, and that payments are back up and running. The new system should modernize the experience for EEC and the providers they do business with.

If You are an Early Childhood Educator:

1) Commissioner Kershaw announced the launch of a loan repayment program for early education and care staff working in family child care, center-based, out-of-school time, and EEC residential programs. This program is funded through the fiscal year (FY) 2025 and 2026 budgets at $15 million and is a partnership between EEC and the Department of Higher Education. Early educators can receive up to $7,500 per year to repay expenses at eligible institutions. EEC will host two information sessions on March 25. You can find more information about the informational sessions and how to apply for loan repayment here.

If You are a Parent/Guardian or Child Care Advocate:

1) Commissioner Kershaw announced that EEC will provide testimony at the Joint Ways and Means Committee budget hearing on March 23. The hearing will discuss the governor’s proposed FY 2027 budget. You can watch it here.

2) Commissioner Kershaw announced that Dr. Stephen Zrike Jr., the new Secretary of Education, will start his role on March 30.

3) EEC provided an update on the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI) and Preschool Access. CPPI is Massachusetts' approach to improving access to universally accessible preschool. It is a partnership with local school districts and community-based programs to embrace the mixed delivery system and center family choice and needs. 

Since 2023, preschool access for 4 year olds has increased statewide. Notably, access is higher for CPPI communities. In FY25, CPPI served 3,249 preschool-aged children with a majority of those children enrolled in center-based programs. About a half of enrolled children are attending a full day of preK, which EEC defines as a six hour day, for free. A majority of these children are also enrolled in extended child care. For the other half of enrolled children, their caregivers are paying a reduced cost or full tuition for their preschool. CPPI Gateway cities have higher public preschool participation and reduced reliance on parents paying full tuition. 

EEC shared that it has developed a method to evaluate curriculum quality, which the CPPI communities use to identify the best curriculum for them. EEC also shared that they use CLASS scores to understand quality. For FY25, CLASS scores show emotional support is strong and stable, however instructional support varies widely in CPPI classrooms. 

Additionally, CPPI educator departure rates are lower than the state overall departure rates across every educator position. EEC attributes this to the professional development opportunities happening in these programs as there is an expectation of meaningful investment in professional learning.

Additionally, in the last year, EEC has launched a dashboard for CPPI grantees that allows them to track their progress and key metrics over time and compare it to other programs across the state.

Next steps: 

• Continue to support and strengthen joint leadership models between school districts and community partners during planning and implementation stages.

• Continued technical assistance in using CPPI data to plan ongoing classroom improvements and expand delivery of special education services in community-based settings.

• Governor Healey’s proposed budget for FY27 would enable the seven remaining gateway cities to receive CPPI planning grants and expand current grantees opportunities to build and deepen implementation across all CPPI priorities.

4) Representatives of the Inter-Agency Early Education and Child Care Task Force provided an update on the Task Force. It was created in 2024 by an executive order from Governor Maura Healey to transform Massachusetts’ early education and care system through a whole of government approach focused on identifying ways to address child care affordability, accessibility, quality, and supply. The Task Force recently released a year two report on its progress. You can find it here.

Highlights shared about the Task Force’s progress during its second year include:

• Expanded use of registered apprenticeships programs in early childhood education.

• Improved family-friendly employer practices through the Employer Child Care Innovation Fund, which plans to award grants this summer.

• Increased access to internet enabled devices to 522 early education and care providers.

• Expanded access to the arts through a partnership with the Mass Cultural Council (MCC) to provide a publishable inventory of art and cultural institutions that offer discounts to early educators.

• Expanded business support to the EEC sector through the Business Front Door.

Next steps:

• EEC was recently accepted into the Early Childhood Governance and Finance Project 2026 Cohort, a national initiative supported by the Heising-Simons and W.K. Kellogg Foundations in partnership with the New Venture Fund to support the work of the Task Force. This funding will help strengthen the Task Force’s project management and coordination across agencies.

• The Task Force is entering its third and final year and will continue to focus on advancing and deepening implementation of identified solutions, while ensuring that cross-agency relationships and structures are integrated sustainably into the way state agencies work together to support EEC for years to come.

• The Task Force will hold a Year 3 launch event this spring! More details will be provided soon.

5) Chair Paul Belsito announced that due to time restrictions, EEC moved the Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care agenda item to next month’s meeting.

The next EEC Board meeting will be on April 8, 2026 in Boston.