National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Initial Preparation
Advanced Preparation
Blended NAEYC/CEC Programs
Programs that meet the criteria for a blended early childhood general and special education program should submit a blended report form that includes responses to both the NAEYC and CEC standards. Information about the criteria for blended programs is available on the NAEYC Website.
NAEYC discontinuing SPA Program Review as Part of the CAEP Accreditation Process
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) will discontinue SPA Program Review with National Recognition as part of the CAEP accreditation process effective February 1, 2020.
Moving forward, EPPs participating in the CAEP process that offer licensure, certification, or endorsement programs preparing early childhood educators for P-12 settings, will be reviewed using either the CAEP Evidence Review of Standard One (formerly known as CAEP Program Review with Feedback) or the State Program Review option.
The CAEP transition plan is as follows:
- NAEYC will be reviewing programs in the Fall 2019 so programs that were planning to submit initial, response-to-conditions, or revised program reports should still plan to submit their program report by September 15, 2019.
- Programs that received full National Recognition from NAEYC by fall 2019 will be listed on the CAEP website as nationally recognized until the expiration of that status or contingent on the provider's CAEP accreditation status. CAEP will play no role in making National Recognition determinations in conjunction with NAEYC moving forward.
- After the fall review cycle, programs that had started the SPA Initial Review process for their upcoming CAEP site review and are in the process of submitting Revised or Response to Conditions Reports will have the following options:
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They may use the NAEYC SPA decision report from Initial Review as evidence of program review on the self-study report (due nine months before CAEP site review) and provide evidence of programmatic improvements that have been made based on the SPA feedback.
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If the state allows, the program may select the State Review option and change the status of the program from “SPA Review” to “State Review” for accreditation purposes.
- If the state allows, the program may select the CAEP Evidence Review of Standard One option and change the status of the program from “SPA Review” to “Feedback” for accreditation purposes
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Since 2006, NAEYC has operated its own system for accrediting early childhood education degree programs. This accreditation system is in the process of pursuing recognition from the Council of Higher Education Accreditation; after this process is completed, EPPs can seek updated information from CAEP regarding reciprocity of NAEYC and CAEP accreditation.
For questions on program review requirements as part of the CAEP accreditation process, EPPs may contact CAEP at CAEPPrograms@caepnet.org. For further information from National Association for the Education of Young Children, EPPs may contact NAEYC at highered@naeyc.org.