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Office of Early Childhood & Out-of-School Learning |
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Updates to Paths to QUALITY™
Beginning Oct. 1, 2025, the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) will introduce important updates to the Paths to QUALITY™ (PTQ) system. These changes are designed to make the process easier, reduce extra visits, and better align Indiana's system with national best practices.
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Level 4 Programs: PTQ will no longer schedule rating visits for Level 4 programs, since these programs are already reviewed by their accrediting organization. To maintain your Level 4 rating, complete the Change in PTQ Level form and send proof of accreditation to qualitysupport@fssa.in.gov.
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Level 2 and Level 3 Programs: Rating visits will now happen every two years instead of every year. During the transition, some programs will receive a one-year extension. Others will have a visit this year and then move to the two-year schedule. OECOSL will email programs directly if they receive an extension.
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Unannounced Visits: Starting Oct. 1, all PTQ visits will be unannounced, and will happen within the quarter when your program's rating is due. This change supports ongoing quality practices every day, not just when preparing for a scheduled visit.
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Changing Your PTQ Level: Programs that want to move up or down a level must submit the Change in PTQ Level form no later than 30 days before the quarter when your rating expires or six months after a maintenance or increase visit.
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Maintenance Visits: Programs can no longer request maintenance visits. Visits will now be managed by OECOSL based on expiration dates.
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Submit Your Indiana Early Childhood Conference Proposal
Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children is now accepting proposals for the 2026 Indiana Early Childhood Conference. Submissions will be accepted through Oct. 31, 2025.
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Professional Development Opportunities from INAEYC
Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children (INAEYC) is pleased to announce the availability of the Child Development Associate (CDA®) credential course through the Indiana Non-Formal Project for 2025-2026. Steps to follow:
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CAdditionally, INAEYC has upcoming in-person opportunities for early childhood professionals across the state. View all the events and trainings on the INAEYC Events Calendar.
Upcoming In-Person Events
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Attend the Kindergarten Transition Summit
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Register for a virtual summit of early learning teams using the Indiana Department of Education's self-assessment tool to improve their kindergarten transitions. The event is on Oct. 24 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. ET and is accessible via Zoom. |
Claim a Free Calm Subscription
The #1 ranked mental health app is available for Indiana's providers for free through Feb. 2026. SPARK Learning Lab and the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning have partnered with Calm to gift this exclusive offering to you.
Activate your subscription now:
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Visit IndianaSpark.com/calm
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Click the "Get Started Here" button
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Complete the interest form
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Use the unique code on the confirmation page to redeem your subscription
- Follow the instructions on the next page to get started with Calm
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Attend Upcoming SPARK Learning Lab Trainings
Explore upcoming training opportunities through SPARK Learning Lab. See a full list of upcoming face-to-face training, live webinars, and live resources, plus read session descriptions and find registration instructions at IndianaSpark.com/training.
The upcoming schedule includes:
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