Educational Service Districts.  State law requires the nine educational service districts (ESDs) to lead certain coordination efforts including coordinating supports related to behavioral health and school-based threat assessments.

Early Learning Programs.  A variety of early learning programs serve children ages three and four.  According to a 2021 report published by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) titled "Integrated Pre-K - Aligning and Integrating Early Learning Programs," these early learning programs include:

• Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program administered by DCYF;
• Head Start administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;
• Preschool for students who have an Individualized Education Program administered by OSPI and the U.S. Department of Education;
• Transition to Kindergarten programs administered by OSPI;
• Title I prekindergarten classrooms administered by OSPI and the U.S. Department of Education;
• Working Connections Child Care administered by DCYF and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;
• Licensed child care not receiving any subsidies; and
• Private kindergartens or preschools.

Subject to appropriations, each ESD must designate an early learning coordinator to support increased collaboration, recruitment, enrollment, and service delivery across Washington's prekindergarten through third grade continuum.

The coordinator has certain minimum duties including:

• facilitating and improving access to high-quality early learning programs and inclusive services;
• coordinating and collaborating with the statewide and regional child care resource and referral organizations, early learning providers in the community, school districts, OSPI, and other partners;
• providing technical assistance, training, and coaching on certain topics including:
  1. effective transitions;
  2. coordinated recruitment, student placement, enrollment, and implementation of various models of preschool programs;
  3. identification of available programs and slots and braiding funding;
  4. implementation of transition to kindergarten programs;
  5. developmentally appropriate instructional practices for all-day kindergarten; and
  6. strengthening alignment between grades; and
• supporting instructional leaders in improving student learning across prekindergarten through grade 12 within the early learning coordinator's local context including:
  1. implementation of the Washington kindergarten inventory of developing skills;
  2. school improvement requirements;
  3. the transitional bilingual instruction program;
  4. inclusion;
  5. multi-tiered systems of support; and
  6. the teacher and principal evaluation systems.