Sponsors (6)
The bill expands training, credentials, and targeted grants to strengthen the early childhood workforce and improve childcare access—especially in underserved areas—while increasing federal spending, adding data-collection responsibilities with privacy implications, and leaving questions about long-term program sustainability.
Students and career-readiness participants gain new or expanded career and technical education (CTE) pathways in early childhood education, increasing access to credentials like the Child Development Associate.
Early childhood educators can access training, recruitment, and compensation supports, improving workforce supply and retention for the early childhood education sector.
Parents and families may see improved child care availability—particularly in provider-shortage and infant/toddler care—because the program prioritizes areas with shortages.
Taxpayers may face increased federal spending to fund the competitive grant program, with no specific appropriation amount provided in the section.
Grantees must collect and share disaggregated student data for evaluation, increasing administrative burden and raising potential privacy concerns for students, families, and institutions.
The five-year grant limit with only one possible two-year extension creates uncertainty for eligible partnerships and institutions seeking long-term sustainability after federal support ends.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Directs federal competitive grants to partnerships to create, expand, or improve CTE programs in early childhood education tied to local workforce and State preschool needs.
Creates a federal competitive grant program to build, expand, and support career and technical education (CTE) programs focused on early childhood education and infant/toddler development. The Department of Education, working with HHS, will award grants to partnerships that propose CTE pathways tied to local child care workforce needs, require applications to describe sustainability and partner roles, and prioritize equitable geographic distribution and areas with provider shortages or specialized needs. Grants may pay for instructional materials, work-based learning, dual enrollment, training, and other activities that connect education providers, employers, and child care programs; recipients must report evaluation data consistent with privacy laws and coordinate with existing Perkins CTE requirements and State preschool development plans.
Official title: Direct the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to award competitive grants to eligible partnerships to establish, expand, or support career and technical education programs of study in early childhood education.
Introduced May 20, 2026 by Jeff Merkley · Last progress May 20, 2026