Federal and State Policy Recommendations to Improve Outdoor Learning in Child Care

Affordable, high-quality child care is critical for a national recovery that gives every child and family a fair chance for a strong future. Investing in high-quality outdoor learning environments to complement indoor classrooms is a low-cost and high-impact strategy for improving child care quality, educator well-being, and children’s learning and health. Yet few child care programs receive the financing, guidance, or support to improve their outdoor settings beyond minimum health and safety requirements.

Today, New America’s Early & Elementary Education Policy program and the National Wildlife Federation’s Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO) program release state and federal policy recommendations to build outdoor learning opportunities that help young children thrive. These policy recommendations can help state and federal leaders to promote healthy child development, support the early childhood workforce, and enhance health equity in communities.

Improving Outdoor Learning in Child Care: A Health Equity Strategy

A New Day for Outdoor Play in Child Care: State Policy Recommendations

Interested in learning more? New America’s Early & Elementary Education Policy program partnered with the National Wildlife Federation’s Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO) program to host Children Thrive Outside: A New Day for Outdoor Play in Child Care to shine a light on the potential to improve outdoor quality in child care and subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates on what’s new in Education Policy!