Senate Plans Another Push For Major Early Ed Bill – State House News Service
By Sam Drysdale
Despite a tightening state budget picture, the Senate next week plans to take up a pricey early education and child care bill aimed at expanding access to education for the state’s youngest learners and making it more affordable for families, with Senate President Karen Spilka saying the state can't afford not to take action.
The Senate plans to put the bill (S 2619) on the floor on Thursday, March 14…
The sweeping reform bill is aimed at aiding child care and early education providers, fortifying the pipeline of workers entering that field, and helping more families access the costly service vital to their economic success.
"[Early education] increases a student's success later on in their life -- throughout their whole life, research shows, it increases their success. It allows parents to jump back into their jobs and gives educators a career path that they can be in for the long haul," Spilka said…
"This comprehensive legislation offers an important step towards fulfilling our vision of affordable child care options for families; significantly better pay and benefits for early educators; a permanent, stable source of funding for providers; high-quality programs and services for children; and substantial relief for businesses and our entire economy. Massachusetts has made a major down payment on this vision over the past few years, and the Senate’s bill is the next step on the path to fulfilling it," said a statement from Deb Fastino, director of the Common Start Coalition.
She continued, "Fully implementing this transformative proposal would make Massachusetts more affordable for many families, greatly improve our state’s economic competitiveness, and increase racial and gender equity in our communities."