On February 12, 2013, the Early Education Initiative submitted comments in response to a request from the National Center for Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education on the State of Preschool Survey 2013-2015. The State of Preschool Survey, conducted annually by the National Institute for Early Education Research, is a critical source of data and information for families, researchers and policymakers.

On October 2, 2012, Lisa Guernsey gave a presentation on technology's role in early education at a meeting in Indianapolis for the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The presentation, Digital Intersections: Where and How Digital Technology Should Meet Early Childhood Policy, explored the science of learning via media for young children and charted several areas, such as teacher training, library partnerships and parent engagement models, where state leaders could encourage more thoughtful adoption of technology among early educators. 

On May 11, 2012, Lisa Guernsey gave a talk at Harvard University's PreK-3rd Institute on the federal government's role so far in reforming early education to enable better alignment across the pre-K, kindergarten, first, second and third grades (PreK-3rd). The presentation examines the Obama Administration's top-level education agenda and its early learning policies and describes how new and existing federal programs and funding streams are influencing the work of states and school districts in creating better early education systems for young children.

A little over two weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Education announced its draft proposal for a new Race to the Top competition that invites school districts to compete for 2012 grants.