The Department's strategic goal for early learning is to improve the health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for all children from birth through third grade. This will ensure that all children, particularly those with high needs, are on track to graduate from high school college and career ready. This guidance is intended to remind State and local decision-makers about the importance of investing in early learning, highlight the opportunities available under the law to strengthen early education, and provide examples of how States and local communities may support young children's success in school. The ESEA contains provisions across its programs to assist State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), outlying areas, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), schools, and community-based organizations to support early learning in these three main ways: (1) expanding access to high-quality early learning; (2) encouraging alignment and collaboration from birth through third grade; and (3) supporting educators. Although only a few programs under the ESEA require that funds be used to support early learning, others allow early learning as one of many uses of funds. In addition, there are areas where early learning is not explicitly mentioned, yet policymakers may consider it as an effective strategy that can further the stated goals of the provision within the law. Appendix A demonstrates the many opportunities that exist throughout the ESEA, by title, to support our youngest learners. While this guidance references opportunities for supporting early learning under the ESEA, it is not meant to be an exhaustive list of every opportunity, nor a comprehensive description of each program authorized in the law. (author abstract)