Sponsors (18)
Introduced September 18, 2025 by Tammy Duckworth · Last progress September 18, 2025
The bill expands access to subsidized, higher-quality campus child care and connects student parents to benefits—supporting enrollment and family stability—at the cost of ongoing federal spending, exclusions for smaller campuses, limits on building new facilities, and added institutional administrative burdens.
Student parents gain subsidized on-campus child care and support services, reducing barriers to enrollment and persistence.
Colleges and universities receive predictable 5-year grants ($75K–$2M) to sustain and plan campus child care programs, enabling longer-term service delivery and staffing stability.
Children of student parents are likely to receive higher-quality child care because grants require meeting quality standards within three years.
U.S. taxpayers face new federal spending of about $500 million per year (FY2026–2031), which could require higher taxes or reallocation of other budget priorities.
Student parents at smaller institutions (fewer than 150 Pell-eligible students) are excluded from grant eligibility, leaving some low-income students without access to funded campus child care.
Prohibiting use of funds for new construction limits campuses' ability to add on-site child care space where existing facilities or space are insufficient, constraining program expansion.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes five-year grants to eligible colleges to fund campus-based or subsidized child care for student parents, with annual awards of $75,000–$2,000,000 and reporting-based renewals.
Authorizes five-year grants to eligible colleges and university consortia to expand or support campus-based and subsidized child care for student parents, setting per-institution annual awards between $75,000 and $2,000,000 and requiring annual payments with continuation tied to satisfactory reporting. Defines eligible institutions (IHEs that enrolled at least 150 Pell-eligible students or consortia of such institutions), allows a range of support services and before/after-school care, limits uses (no new construction except health/safety repairs), permits supplemental requests and pro rata adjustments to the minimum award based on available funds, and requires grant recipients to follow specified reporting and quality-improvement conditions.