On June 15, 2022, the State Board of Education adopted Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards in all domains of school readiness to reflect the comprehensive development of children beginning at birth to the end of preschool. These standards replace previous versions of Ohio’s early childhood education standards and represent a collaboration between state agencies serving young children including the Ohio Department of Education, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Ohio Department of Health, Ohio Department of Mental Health, Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, and the Governor’s Office of Health Transformation. The state agencies worked with national experts and writing teams made up of Ohio-based content experts and stakeholders to revise and expand the standards.
Step Up To Quality (SUTQ) Program Standards require that programs select and implement a comprehensive curriculum that is aligned to the Early Learning and Development Standards. Programs also must implement a formal, comprehensive assessment. Beginning July 1, 2024 all programs rated a 3 Star or higher will need to implement a curriculum and an assessment that are aligned to the new Early Learning and Development Standards. To support this transition, the Department requests that curriculum and assessment vendors submit alignment documentation for verification and posting. Ohio programs may also submit alignment documentation through this process for verification in advance of your SUTQ visit.