Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states for the establishment of a task force composed of state, higher education, and early childhood education representatives and tasked with planning and reviewing the implementation of statewide early childhood education professional development and career systems.
Includes among task force duties: (1) developing a professional development and career lattice that provides for a variety of early childhood professional roles with varying professional qualifications and responsibilities, including strategies that offer compensation commensurate with a individual's credentials and training support; (2) assisting institutions of higher education to develop articulation agreements that convert diverse training into academic credits; (3) supporting undergraduate and graduate degree programs in early childhood education; and (4) subjecting the system to quality assurance measures.
Directs state grantees to submit their statewide plans for such systems to the Secretary within one year of receiving a grant.