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A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION establishing the Early Childhood Education 1
Governance and Outcomes Task Force. 2
WHEREAS, early childhood education plays a critical role in student readiness, 3
academic success, workforce development, and long-term economic vitality; and 4
WHEREAS, research demonstrates that developmental outcomes observed at 5
school entry are influenced by experiences prior to age three, underscoring the 6
importance of understanding how early childhood education interacts with broader early 7
childhood systems; and 8
WHEREAS, early childhood education policy, programs, and funding are currently 9
administered through multiple statutory and administrative frameworks; and 10
WHEREAS, the General Assembly has a responsibility to evaluate whether existing 11
governance, coordination, and accountability structures effectively support educational 12
readiness and long-term student outcomes; and 13
WHEREAS, a focused, education -centered re view of early childhood governance 14
and outcomes would assist the General Assembly in identifying opportunities to improve 15
alignment with the K –12 education system, strengthen accountability, and support data -16
informed policymaking; and 17
WHEREAS, the General Assembly has previously convened task forces to examine 18
early childhood issues and now seeks a complementary, nonduplicative effort centered on 19
early childhood education governance and outcomes; 20
NOW, THEREFORE, 21
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the 22
Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Senate concurring therein: 23
Section 1. The Legislative Research Commission is hereby directed to establish 24
the Early Childhood Education Governance and Outcomes Task Force to examine the 25
effectiveness of current early childhood education governance structures, including 26
alignment with the K –12 education system, and to evaluate whether existing statutory 27
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and administrative frameworks optimally support school readiness, educational 1
continuity, accountability, and long-term student success. 2
Section 2. The Ear ly Childhood Education Governance and Outcomes Task 3
Force shall study and make findings and recommendations regarding the following: 4
(1) Governance and education alignment, including: 5
(a) The statutory and administrative placement of early childhood educat ion 6
programs within the Commonwealth; 7
(b) The alignment of early learning standards, expectations, and assessments with 8
kindergarten readiness and K–12 education outcomes; and 9
(c) Governance models used by other states to support effective early childhood 10
education systems; 11
(2) Outcomes, data, and accountability, including: 12
(a) Existing school readiness indicators, child development measures relevant to 13
educational outcomes, and early learning performance metrics; 14
(b) Availability and use of data to evaluat e early childhood education outcomes 15
and long-term academic performance; and 16
(c) Opportunities to improve data coordination and longitudinal tracking between 17
early childhood education and the K –12 system, including coordination with the 18
Kentucky Center for Statistics when appropriate; and 19
(3) Fiscal and policy overview, including a high-level review of state investments 20
in early childhood education programs, including preschool, and the extent to which 21
those investments are aligned with educational goals and outcomes. 22
Section 3. The Early Childhood Education Governance and Outcomes Task 23
Force: 24
(1) Shall not duplicate the work of the Early Childhood Education Task Force or 25
any other existing body; 26
(2) Shall focus exclusivel y on education governance, policy alignment, 27
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accountability structures, and educational outcomes, and shall not examine the regulation, 1
licensing, or day -to-day operation of childcare providers or noninstructional early 2
childhood services, except to the ex tent such structures directly affect preschool quality, 3
school readiness, or educational continuity; 4
(3) May review prior findings or reports of the Early Childhood Education Task 5
Force for contextual purposes, but shall not be charged with revisiting or r eexamining 6
those recommendations; and 7
(4) May request testimony or technical assistance from subject -matter experts as 8
needed to inform its work. 9
Section 4. The Early Childhood Education Governance and Outcomes Task 10
Force shall be composed of the following members, with final membership being subject 11
to the consideration and approval of the Legislative Research Commission: 12
(1) Two members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of 13
the House of Representa tives, including at least one member of the House of 14
Representatives Primary and Secondary Education Committee, one of whom shall be 15
designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives as a co-chair of the task force; 16
(2) One member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Minority Floor 17
Leader of the House of Representatives; 18
(3) Two members of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate, 19
including at least one member of the Senate Education Committee, one of whom shall be 20
designated by the President of the Senate as a co-chair of the task force; 21
(4) One member of the Senate appointed by the Minority Floor Leader of the 22
Senate; 23
(5) The commissioner of the Department of Education, or his or her designee; 24
(6) The secretary of the Cabine t for Health and Family Services or his or her 25
designee; 26
(7) One representative from the Early Childhood Advisory Council; 27
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(8) The executive director of the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Early Childhood 1
or his or her designee; 2
(9) The executive director of the Kentucky Center for Statistics or his or her 3
designee; 4
(10) One representative of early childhood educators, appointed by the Legislative 5
Research Commission; 6
(11) One representative with expertise in child development, including early brain 7
development, appointed by the Legislative Research Commission; and 8
(12) One parent or family representative, appointed by the Legislative Research 9
Commission. 10
Section 5. The Early Childhood Education Governance and Outcomes Task 11
Force shall meet monthly during the 2026 Interim of the General Assembly. The task 12
force shall submit findings and recommendations to the Legislative Research 13
Commission for referral to the appropriate committee or committees no later than 14
December 1, 2026. Recommendations may include proposed statutory or administrative 15
changes, high-level fiscal considerations, and implementation options, as appropriate. 16
Section 6. Provisions of this Resolution to the contrary notwithstanding, the 17
Legislative Research Commission shall have the authority to alternatively assign the 18
issues identified herein to an interim joint committee or subcommittee thereof, and to 19
designate a study completion date. 20