This position paper offers recommendations related to problems and promises of early childhood education in the public schools. Issues of particular concern to school boards in the state of New York are considered. A summary of recommendations and introductory background information are followed by a section that focuses on child care and the public schools. The second section discusses expanded preschool and kindergarten instruction in terms of instructional services for 3- to 5-year-olds, Project Head Start, the New York State Experimental Prekindergarten Program, the private sector preschool, and full-day kindergarten programs. The third, fourth, and fifth sections concern certification of early childhood personnel, regulatory authority for monitoring and evaluation, and prekindergarten for children with handicapping conditions. The paper calls for the exploration of new options that schools can use to serve the needs of children and families in the community. Schools should have the flexibility to enter into cooperative arrangements to provide child care and educational services for preschoolers, and to offer full-day kindergarten, if backed by full state funding. Thirty references are included. (RH)