Sponsors (9)
Official title: To amend the Child Care Access Means Parents In School Program under the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Introduced September 18, 2025 by Katherine M. Clark · Last progress September 18, 2025
The bill expands subsidized campus child care and related supports to help student parents enroll and persist in postsecondary education through dedicated federal funding, but it leaves out small/rural campuses, restricts building new facilities and provider flexibility, imposes administrative requirements, and increases federal spending.
Student parents at eligible institutions receive subsidized campus-based or contracted child care, lowering out-of-pocket child care costs and making it easier to enroll and attend postsecondary education.
Colleges and universities get predictable federal support (authorization of $500M/year FY2026–2031), enabling sustained program planning and investment in campus child care services.
Institutions can expand or establish campus child care (through campus-based programs or contracts), increasing local child care capacity and reducing waitlists for student parents who qualify under program benchmarks.
Students and communities at smaller colleges and rural campuses are excluded because institutions under the 150-Pell threshold are ineligible, leaving gaps in support where on-campus options may be scarce.
Schools that lack existing child care facilities cannot use grants for new construction (only limited renovation), constraining the ability to create on-campus child care where none exists.
Large institutions with high demand may find program scale limited by annual grant caps ($2M) and minimum awards tied to available funds, reducing the program's reach on big campuses.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Reauthorizes and expands a competitive grant program funding campus-based and subsidized child care for student parents with $75K–$2M annual awards for five-year terms.
Creates a reauthorized competitive grant program (CCAMPIS Reauthorization Act) that funds colleges and consortia to provide or expand subsidized campus-based child care and before/after-school services for student parents. Grants run up to $2 million per year for five-year terms, with minimum awards and rules for supplementary and continuation funding tied to performance reporting and access goals. Specifies eligible institutions (IHEs with at least 150 Pell-eligible students or consortia), allowable uses (campus child care, sliding-scale subsidies, before/after-school care, support services, quality improvements), and prohibitions (no new construction except limited repairs); sets application, reporting, and renewal conditions to promote affordable, quality child care for student parents.