The state Department of Early Learning (DEL), in partnership with OSPI and Thrive by Five Washington, has published the Early Learning and Development Guidelines for children from birth through third grade. The guidelines replace the Early Learning and Development Benchmarks, which were first created in 2005 to outline what children know and are able to do at different stages of their development.

The guidelines' easy-to-read format better supports parents as their child's first and most important teachers with information about what children can do and learn at different stages of development.

For more information about early learning in our state, visit the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.