Senate bill eyes major new early education commitment – State House News Service
By Chris Lisinski
Senate Democrats on Thursday added to the end-of-term flurry an early education and child care bill they said would help more families deal with rampant costs, boost provider capacity and increase quality-of-life for a depleted workforce, but with just one month left to wrap up major business, a top House leader is already concerned about the “challenging timeline.”
A trio of top Senate Democrats outlined a proposal the chamber will debate in one week that would more than double the maximum income below which Bay State families could qualify for state child care assistance, create new loan forgiveness and scholarship programs as well as a “career ladder” for employees in the field, and allow subsidized providers to offer free or discounted slots to their own staff’s children.
Taken together, the bill’s wide-ranging provisions aim at a trio of goals: making child care more accessible and affordable, helping providers increase their capacity to care for more kids, and supporting a workforce hamstrung by high attrition and low pay.
The legislation, which Education Committee Co-chair Sen. Jason Lewis called a “policy bill,” would require significant investments but would not itself appropriate any money toward the early education and care field. Instead, senators likened it to the 2019 law known as the Student Opportunity Act, which charted a path toward overhauling K-12 public school funding with $1.5 billion in additional funding over seven years…
“We are glad to see the Senate moving towards passage of legislation that would represent a substantial step toward implementing our full vision of a high-quality early education and child care system that is affordable and accessible for all families,” said Deb Fastino, statewide director of the Common Start Coalition. “While we are reviewing the details of the latest bill, we know it will start to tackle the ongoing multifaceted child care crisis, aiding educators who are working for inadequate pay, families who are struggling to afford child care, and providers who are working hard to keep their doors open and their programs fully staffed.”