NEEC Policy Blueprint

The Nashville Early Education Coalition's 2026 Policy Blueprint presents a strategic framework for transforming early childhood education in Nashville, grounded in three guiding principles: that child care is essential infrastructure, that stability must precede quality, and that families should be treated as partners in the system. The Blueprint directly addresses the needs of ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed) families, who are most affected by gaps in the current child care landscape.

Organized around three policy priorities, the Blueprint calls for reforms to expand childcare access through enrollment-based funding models and streamlined regulations, elevate early educators through improved compensation, benefits, and credentialing pathways, and position child care as core economic infrastructure alongside workforce, housing, and economic development policy. Together, these recommendations provide policymakers, funders, and community partners with a clear roadmap for building a more stable, equitable, and sustainable early education system across Nashville.

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