The purpose of this toolkit is to provide guidance and information to local educational agencies (LEAs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) on best practices for supporting California’s youngest learners as they develop and master toileting independence. This resource is intended to support district and community-based leaders and educators in understanding why supporting toileting independence in developmentally appropriate ways is critical both to supporting equitable access to UPK programs across settings, and to ensuring children’s full engagement in preschool through third grade (P-3) learning opportunities.
This resource offers information for LEAs and CBOs to consider as they review and potentially revise their toileting policies and practices to accommodate the inclusion of younger learners, and learners with varied developmental needs, in their programs, including through intentional partnerships with families. This toolkit also offers a series of steps that LEAs and CBOs can consider taking to review and revise their policies and practices, provides templates, and shares resources from programs across California that are implementing developmentally appropriate toileting supports in ways that meet the needs of their learning communities.