MALDENE — Despite a tight state budget, the Senate next week will approve an expensive early education and childcare package aimed at expanding access to education for the state's youngest learners and making it more affordable for families. The bill will be considered, Senate President Karen Spilka said. States cannot afford not to take action.
The Senate is scheduled to table the bill (S 2619) on Thursday. No cost estimates were provided at a morning press conference at the Head Start Center, but the bill calls for sustained investment at a time when tax revenues are low.
The funding will come from $1.5 billion included in the current year's state budget signed by Gov. Maura Healey in August 2023, and will be “subject to additional spending in future fiscal years,” according to a plan summary from the Senate Ways and Means Committee. “It will become.”
Asked about the price tag on the bill, Spilka said, “When you think about the impact that participating in a program like this has on children, the positive impact that continues throughout their lives, we can't afford not to do this.” Told.
According to a 2022 Special Legislative Committee report, the average annual cost of child care in Massachusetts is more than $20,000, which is more than 22% of median household income and the wages a typical early childhood educator earns. This reflects more than 75% of the
This sweeping reform bill would support child care and early childhood education providers, strengthen the pipeline of workers entering the field, and ensure more families have access to high-cost services essential to economic success. It is intended to be.
“[Early education]increases a student's success later in life. Studies have shown that it increases success throughout the lifespan.” This allows parents to go back to work and educators to will provide a long-term career path,” Spilka said.
The bill announced Thursday is similar to a bill the Senate passed in 2022 but failed to pass the House. The exact amount of the early education and care bill is also unclear, but Senate leaders said in the special committee report that implementing the recommended changes would cost “more than $1.5 billion annually over the long term.” He pointed out that it is estimated that
Some of the changes recommended by the committee, such as expanding the child allowance, have already begun to take effect even without major legislation.
“This bill is funded by more than $1.5 billion allocated for early education and care in the fiscal year 2024 budget, an increase of 78% compared to fiscal year 2021, with additional funding available in future fiscal years. applicable,” the poll said. From the Senate Ways and Means Committee on redrafting the bill.
The bill would codify a plan to spend $1.5 billion already earmarked for the fiscal year 2024 budget. It sets out a plan for how the state can implement additional funding in the coming years, which may be appropriated in future budgets, but also obligates the state to make certain future investments. isn't it.
The Senate bill includes many of the recommendations that a 2022 legislative committee said would help make child care more affordable for families and more viable careers for people working in the field. ing.
If passed, the bill would gradually increase the cap on early education and child care subsidies, allowing more Massachusetts families to receive some level of assistance.
Current law limits subsidies to households earning less than 50% of the state's median income, or $73,000. The bill would raise the eligibility threshold to 85% of the state's median income, or $124,000 for a family of four, said Sen. Jason Lewis, co-chair of the Education Committee. Depending on available funding, the state would eventually raise the eligibility threshold to 125% of the state's median income, or $182,000 for a four-person household. Low-income households will still be prioritized.
Additionally, the bill would require parents to pay no more than 7% of their household income for children receiving subsidies.
Other parts of the legislation aim to “stabilize” health care providers by creating a permanent framework of Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) stabilization grants. These C3 grants have helped keep early education centers afloat during the pandemic, and Governor Healey is recommending $475 million to continue the grants in the pending budget. Mr Lewis said the bill would set minimum standards for the formula the government would use to distribute funds.
More than 90% of early education and care programs in the state receive these grants, according to Spilka's office.
To be eligible for this increased and more regular award, providers must demonstrate that they are willing to enroll subsidized children, which is not universal in today's early education environment. That's not the point, Lewis said.
The sweeping bill also aims to address the industry's labor shortage, which industry representatives say is one of the biggest challenges facing the system.
“This is a system-wide problem and requires a system-wide solution. It's pretty simple if you think about it that way,” Spilka said.
According to Gabriela Florio, center director of the Malden ACBD Center, where Thursday's press conference was held, there is currently a shortage of qualified teacher candidates across Action for Boston Area Development (ACBD) Head Start sites across the state. It is said that 28 classrooms are vacant.
“To meet this challenge and remain competitive in this sector, we need to provide our staff with salaries comparable to those in public schools, and annual salary increases are necessary to retain our dedicated staff. Yes, and this can only be achieved through increased financial support,” Florio said.
Teachers with degrees from Malden Head Start earned an average of just over $38,000 a year last year, about half of what public K-12 teachers make, Florio said. Thanks to the C3 subsidy and increased tax rates, the center has raised salaries by 23% this year, bringing the average annual salary for educators to just over $50,000.
The early education bill directs the Department of Early Education and Care to develop a “career ladder” for early childhood educators that establishes recommended salary and benefits guidelines for public school teachers.
Amendments to the bill are scheduled to be introduced at 4 p.m. Monday, ahead of consideration on the Senate floor Thursday.