FORT WORTH, Texas — State agencies want to improve access to early childhood settings for children with disabilities and developmental delays. Experts say a strategic plan to do so needs to be backed by funding and resources to achieve that goal.
A new four-year strategic plan created by the Texas Education Agency, Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas Workforce Commission outlines the obstacles families face when navigating childcare, pre-K and support services for their children statewide. It also lays out a roadmap to inclusion for these children with recommendations from childcare providers, parents and early childhood intervention staff.
Experts say the plan acknowledges gaps that have been apparent for years, including in Tarrant County. A 2024 report by the Early Learning Alliance found that less than 25% of licensed or registered childcare programs in Tarrant County served children with disabilities. A lack of funding, resources and training for childcare providers and their staff forces them to turn away these children, according to the report.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
This echoes findings in the new state plan, which included survey responses from childcare providers, families, school district staff and more. Workforce shortages were identified as the main barrier to inclusion when serving children with disabilities, with more than half of respondents “citing a lack of trained specialists and nearly half citing limited training and coaching opportunities, compounded by high turnover and low pay.”
Bethany Edwards, co-author of the Early Learning Alliance report, said she views the plan as a promising first step but that it’s up to lawmakers to enact the ideas through policy and investment. Edwards, who is also the director for research and evaluation at the Center for Transforming Lives in Tarrant County, said she views the inaccessibility to early education and care as an economic issue that prevents parents from working, pursuing education or building financial stability. Edwards is also the mother of a child with a disability.
“The plan is an important start, and now Texas must make investments and policy changes necessary for families to actually feel the difference,” Edwards said. “I think this is a great step. I also have concerns that the follow through and the potential funding needed to enact the really great ideas that the plan lays out won’t be sufficient, and so that’s where I think most parents are kind of cautiously optimistic. Because there needs to be a little bit more teeth behind some of the policies or ideas that are shared.”
Families say they receive limited information about how to navigate a complicated system that involves different state agencies. Children from 0-3 years old can receive early childhood intervention services through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, but the continuation of these services changes at age 3, when these children transfer to the early childhood special education program through their local school district. The lack of coordination and communication among state agencies and families leads to gaps in services, according to the state plan.
As families seek these services, such as speech therapy or occupational therapy, they’re also seeking early education for their child through childcare or pre-K. Max Rombado, early learning policy director for Texans Care for Children, noted that accessing a high-quality early childhood education setting is an obstacle in and of itself. But the obstacle is even more apparent for families with children who have disabilities.
“The strategic plan makes clear that the state has more work to do to support toddlers and preschoolers with disabilities and delays,” Rombado said. “The challenges identified in the report underscore that lawmakers need to invest in inclusive, high-quality childcare to support these families. We’re hopeful that the Legislature will use this plan as a roadmap for supporting young Texans with disabilities and their parents.”
The state plan defines inclusion as children with disabilities being able to “learn, play, and meaningfully participate” alongside their peers who don’t have disabilities.
“They receive the individualized supports and services they need to have equal opportunities to engage with and make progress in the same programs, general education curriculum, routines, and environments as their nondisabled peers,” the plan states.
Among the recommendations from stakeholders, who helped shape the state plan, include:
- Increase funding for programs
- Expand eligibility for free public pre-K to children with disabilities
- Build flexibility into ratio and class size rules
- Improve continuity of services during transition from early childhood intervention to early childhood special education
- Include childcare providers and families in transition planning
© 2026 Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
