Information for Accredited Programs and Programs Seeking Accreditation

• NAEYC Governing Board Approves New NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Performance Criteria
• Updated Accreditation Policies and Procedures Last Updated January 2005
  •Important updates that apply to all programs.
• Resources for programs in self-study
• Enrollment in Self-Study for the New NAEYC Accreditation Process
• Scholarship Applications for Accredited Programs
  •Scholarships Subsidize Annual Report and Validation Visit Fees
• Moving to the Next Era of NAEYC Accreditation
• Detailed Information on the Process
• NAEYC Accreditation Glossary
• Forms for NAEYC Accreditation
• Resources About Accreditation
• Sign up for E-updates
• Read Accreditation Updates
• Transitional Procedures and Program Deadlines for the Current System
• Research Shows that Quality Matters
• Improving Service to Programs Seeking NAEYC Accreditation
• Cancellation, Withdrawal, and Refund Procedures
• Step 2 Becoming an Applicant for NAEYC Accreditation - Applications now accepted!

Forms for NAEYC Accreditation

• Accreditation Application
   Download as a .pdf || Download as a Word Document
• Annual Report Form
   Download as a .pdf || Download as a Word Document
• Early Childhood Program Description Checklist
• Accredited Program Feedback Form
• NAEYC Accreditation System Feedback Form
• Self-Study Enrollment Form (Single-Site Program)
• Self-Study Enrollment Form (Multi-Site Program)

Resources About Accreditation

• Annual Report of the NAEYC Academy for Early Childhood Program Accreditation
• Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs
• What Business and Community Leaders Should Know About Accreditation
• Study of NAEYC Accreditation by the National Center for the Early Childhood Work Force
• Developing and Implementing Effective Public Policies to Promote Early Childhood and School-Age Care Program Accreditation

Transitional Procedures and Program Deadlines for the Current System

•Please review the complete list of transitional procedures, which provides important details that apply to all programs.

Another critical step in the transition to the new system of NAEYC Accreditation - which will be fully operational in 2006 - is establishing deadlines for participation in the current system. To help the NAEYC Academy plan for requests for on-site visits in the transition, an eligible program that wants a visit under the current accreditation criteria must file a Notification of Intent, indicating that it will submit a completed program description by a specified date. In order to make this process fair and reliable, the Academy has set a series of deadlines:

	Deadline for Notification of Intent	Deadline for Program Description
Program is currently accredited, and
· Expiration before 12/31/05	(NOI not required.)	90 days before expiration of term.
· Expiration after 1/1/06	Program may not apply for reaccreditation under the current system.
Program is not currently accredited, and
· Purchased self-study materials before 12/31/01	November 1, 2004	March 1, 2005
· Purchased self-study materials between 1/1/02 and 12/31/03	December 1, 2004	June 1, 2005
· Purchases self-study materials between 1/1/04 and 6/1/05 (the last date for purchasing current self-study materials).	July 1, 2005	October 1, 2005

Programs must meet these deadlines to be eligible to apply for accreditation in the current system. Programs that do not meet the deadlines will be eligible to apply again through the new system in 2006. There is more information on these deadlines in a high-quality format you can print and share with colleagues.

You may also want to review frequently-asked questions about the new policies for NAEYC Accreditation.

We will continue to update the Web site with new transitional procedures and other critical information in the next few months. (View a timeline for the changes to NAEYC Accreditation in html format.) Please continue to visit this site regularly to stay informed about new procedures.

Please also register to receive our new Accreditation E-Update, a free monthly e-mail with the latest information about the changes to NAEYC Accreditation.

These are crucial steps toward improving the system—for children, families, programs, employers, and others—and they respond to requests that stakeholders have been making since the start of the reinvention process. The success of NAEYC Accreditation is a result of the support and efforts of early childhood educators around the country over the past two decades. We look forward to your continued support as we move into the future.

If you are a program director or validator, and you have questions about these new policies, transitional procedures, or fees (and you’ve already reviewed the frequently-asked questions section) please contact the NAEYC Information Coordinator or Validation Coordinator for your region.

If you are involved in supporting program accreditation efforts, and have broad questions or comments about the next era of NAEYC Accreditation, please email them to nexterasystem@naeyc.org.