Sponsors (9)
Introduced September 18, 2025 by Katherine M. Clark · Last progress September 18, 2025
The bill expands and raises the quality of campus child care for low-income student parents through a multi-year federal funding program and targeted supports, while imposing taxpayer costs and leaving gaps because of eligibility rules, prioritization criteria, and a ban on using funds for new construction.
Low-income and Pell-eligible student parents gain subsidized campus or near-campus child care, reducing out-of-pocket child care costs and making it more likely they will remain enrolled and complete their education.
The bill authorizes a predictable federal funding stream ($500 million per year, FY2026–2031) to expand campus child care capacity and services, giving institutions resources to sustain or scale programs.
Child care quality should improve because funded programs must meet Head Start standards, a top-tier state QRIS, or national accreditation within three years, increasing safety and developmental supports for children of student parents.
Taxpayers will finance roughly $3 billion in authorized spending over six years, which could crowd out other federal priorities or require trade-offs in the budget.
Institutions that lack sufficient Pell-eligible enrollment (e.g., campuses with fewer than 150 Pell students or very small campuses) may be ineligible for grants, leaving some student parents—especially at small or rural schools—without access to campus-based support.
A prohibition on using grant funds for new construction limits institutions' ability to expand physical child care capacity where new space is needed, potentially slowing the scale-up of services and leaving unmet demand.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes five-year campus child care grants ($75,000–$2,000,000/year) to eligible institutions to expand subsidized child care and related supports for student parents.
Authorizes campus-based child care grants for eligible institutions to support student parents, with awards ranging from $75,000 to $2,000,000 per year paid over five-year grant periods and options for supplemental funding within that period. Grants may be used to establish or support campus child care, provide subsidized child care or before-/after-school services, fund support services and quality improvements, and pay for renovations needed to meet health or safety requirements, while prohibiting new eligibility conditions for student parents and most new construction. Defines eligible institutions as institutions of higher education (or consortia) with at least 150 Pell-eligible students in the most recently completed award year and sets rules for continuation awards based on reporting showing good-faith efforts to provide affordable, quality child care access.