Quality benchmarking rule receives approval

Today, the Missouri State Board of Education approved a rule formalizing the Quality Assurance Report (QAR) program for early care and education. The QAR program is voluntary, helping early learning providers set benchmarks and improve program quality—not as a punitive measure but as a continuous improvement tool. 

The newly approved rule establishes QAR as a framework for recognizing quality in early learning programs and supporting the implementation of essential quality practices in section 161.217, RSMo. 

Reaching this point has been a long journey. In 2012, Missouri lawmakers banned quality rating programs, making it illegal to measure early care quality—a decision that cost the state access to federal grants. 

In 2016, Aligned (formerly the Alliance for Childhood Education) worked with lawmakers to remove the ban and launch a QAR pilot. However, the program did not move forward in its first three years due to funding delays. Aligned successfully advocated to extend the pilot, secure an initial appropriation, and later remove the sunset provision, making QAR permanent. Because of this work, Missouri became eligible for the PDG B-5 federal grant, which has supported early childhood initiatives statewide. 

Today, nearly 420 early learning programs participate in QAR, ensuring more children benefit from high-quality early learning.  

This milestone highlights the power of incremental wins. Aligned remains committed to advancing policies that strengthen early education in Missouri.