When Maya entered our preschool program at age 3, she struggled not only with academics — identifying colors, shapes and letters in her name — but with behavior. Transitions overwhelmed her. She often bolted from group activities, had difficulty regulating big emotions and sometimes resorted to hitting or throwing things when she couldn’t yet express what she needed.
But with consistent routines, social-emotional support, a behavior plan tailored to her needs and a classroom that embraced developmental pacing, Maya made remarkable progress in the two years she was with us. She used coping strategies when prompted, invited classmates to play and proudly announced when she “stayed calm all morning.”
However, the work was not done when she exited our program and moved to kindergarten. Students like Maya deserve to keep blossoming when they transition into the most academically and socially demanding years of their lives so far, which I now teach. Their progress shouldn’t pause simply because they age out of a label that once captured their needs.
Yet in Pennsylvania, that is exactly what happens for tens of thousands of 3- to 5-year-olds who qualify for special education under the category developmental delay (DD). It applies when a child shows at least a 25% delay in chronological age or scores low in one or more developmental domains — cognitive, communication, physical, social-emotional or adaptive — which are often temporary in early childhood. Other states take a different approach: Ohio, for example, recently extended DD eligibility through age 9, giving children a stable runway as they develop at their own pace.
Pennsylvania must do the same. Extending DD eligibility beyond age 5 would create seamless support for young learners and end the unnecessary disruptions that hinder progress right when children need consistency the most.
There are several compelling reasons why our state must make this shift, each grounded in child development, educational equity and the day-to-day realities of classroom teaching.
First, extending DD eligibility provides a solid bridge between preschool and kindergarten. If their DD designation could simply continue for a few years, teachers could immediately access their previous progress, understand which supports were already working and continue the momentum built in preschool. With Maya, it would have benefited her kindergarten team to know right away that she didn’t like loud noises, so her teachers could have noise-cancelling headphones available to her on her first day.
Second, a longer eligibility period reduces misclassification and prevents unnecessary stigmas. Young children develop unevenly, especially those who have experienced trauma. Extending DD eligibility allows children time to grow, learn and stabilize before being evaluated for lifelong labels. Maya experienced abuse and neglect in her home and went into foster care two months before her third birthday. Part of our team believed that she acted out because she thought if she was bad enough, she would get to go to jail with Mom. More time and maturity were needed to help her understand the reality of her situation, something that was noted in her preschool plan that should have continued with her into kindergarten.
Third, a DD eligibility window that goes through second grade supports early intervention at the point when it matters most for long-term success. Research consistently shows that early elementary grades are a critical window for developing foundational academic and social-emotional skills. When interventions pause or restart, valuable time is lost; even a few months without consistent support and resources can lead to regression in behavior, communication or learning. When I contacted a friend who worked at the school Maya attended for kindergarten, the troubling behaviors she described were ones I had not seen in the young learner for many months. Maya wasn’t staying in the room learning with her peers. She was ripping things off the walls and running up and down the hallway. It was like all the progress we made with her in preschool had been lost.
Maya’s progress regressed because Pennsylvania’s policies let her down. If Developmental Delay eligibility extended past age 5 in our state, she would have entered kindergarten with continuity: the same goals, the same supports and the same understanding of what helped her thrive, building her confidence and regulating her emotions so that true learning could occur.
If we believe, as we say we do, that early learning matters — and that children learn a tremendous amount in preschool — then our policies should reflect that belief. Our youngest learners deserve nothing less.
Brittany Shoup is K-2 special education teacher at Pittsburgh Westwood PreK-5 and 2025-26 Teach Plus Pennsylvania Policy Fellow.