This brief provides information on the use of exclu­sionary discipline practices within early childhood programs and how program-wide implementation of the Pyramid Model for Promoting the Social and Emotional Competence for Infants and Young Children can eliminate the use of these practices. The brief ends with considerations for state and local program leaders as they develop and implement policies and procedures to address these concerns. We will use the term, early childhood programs, to refer to all settings where young children, birth to five, receive early childhood education and care services, including but not limited to private child care, Head Start, and public, private, and faith-based Pre-K/preschool programs. (author abstract)