Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2886 To establish universal child care and early learning programs. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 28, 2021 Mr. JONES (for himself, Mr. CARSON, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. JACOBS of California, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. BUSH, Ms. MENG, and Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To establish universal child care and early learning programs. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Universal Child Care 4 and Early Learning Act’’. 5 TITLE I—CHILD CARE AND 6 EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS 7 SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF PURPOSES. 8 The purposes of this title are— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2886.IH H2886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2886 IH (1) to provide all young children with a fair and 1 full opportunity to reach their full potential, by es- 2 tablishing and expanding programs, to create uni- 3 versal, comprehensive child care and early learning 4 programs that are available to all young children; 5 (2) to ensure that families can access afford- 6 able, high-quality child care and early learning pro- 7 grams regardless of circumstance; 8 (3) to promote the school readiness of all young 9 children by enhancing their cognitive, social, emo- 10 tional, and physical development— 11 (A) in a learning environment that sup- 12 ports children’s growth in language, literacy, 13 mathematics, science, cognitive abilities, social 14 and emotional functioning, creative arts, phys- 15 ical skills, and approaches to learning; and 16 (B) through the provision to children and 17 their families of health, educational, nutritional, 18 social, and other services that are determined, 19 based on family needs assessments, to be nec- 20 essary; 21 (4) to recognize and build upon the experience 22 and success gained through the Head Start pro- 23 gram, the military child care program, and similar 24 efforts; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2886.IH H2886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2886 IH (5) to provide that decisions on the nature of 1 such child care and early learning programs be made 2 at the community level with the full involvement of 3 parents, family members, and other individuals and 4 organizations in the community; and 5 (6) to establish the legislative framework for 6 child care and early learning services. 7 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 8 For purposes of this title: 9 (1) CHILD CARE AND EARLY LEARNING PRO- 10 GRAM.—The term ‘‘child care and early learning 11 program’’ means any program that provides child 12 care and early learning services in child care and 13 early learning centers (including schools) or in fam- 14 ily child care homes. 15 (2) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 16 ‘‘child with a disability’’ means— 17 (A) a child with a disability, as defined in 18 section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabil- 19 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)); and 20 (B) an infant or toddler with a disability, 21 as defined in section 632(5) of such Act (20 22 U.S.C. 1432(5)). 23 (3) COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘community’’ 24 means a city, county, or multicity or multicounty 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2886.IH H2886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2886 IH unit within a State, an Indian reservation (including 1 Indians in any nearby off-reservation area des- 2 ignated by an appropriate tribal government in con- 3 sultation with the Secretary), or a neighborhood or 4 other area (irrespective of boundaries or political 5 subdivisions) that provides a suitable organizational 6 base and possesses the commonality of interest need- 7 ed to operate a child care and early learning pro- 8 gram. 9 (4) COVERED CHILD.—The term ‘‘covered 10 child’’ means a child who— 11 (A) is— 12 (i) not younger than 6 weeks of age; 13 and 14 (ii) not yet required to attend school, 15 under the laws of compulsory school at- 16 tendance of the State in which the child re- 17 sides; and 18 (B) meets the requirements of regulations 19 issued under section 124. 20 (5) DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNER.—The term 21 ‘‘dual language learner’’ means a child who is ac- 22 quiring two or more languages at the same time, or 23 a child who is learning a second language while con- 24 tinuing to develop the child’s first language, includ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2886.IH H2886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2886 IH ing a child who may also be identified by a State or 1 locality as ‘‘bilingual’’, ‘‘an English language learn- 2 er’’, ‘‘limited English proficient’’, ‘‘an English learn- 3 er’’, or a child who speaks a ‘‘language other than 4 English’’. 5 (6) FAMILY LITERACY SERVICES.—The term 6 ‘‘family literacy services’’ means services that— 7 (A) are family literacy services, as defined 8 in section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 9 U.S.C. 9832); and 10 (B) meet the requirements of section 641A 11 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a). 12 (7) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘finan- 13 cial assistance’’ includes assistance provided by 14 grant, agreement, or contract, for which payments 15 may be made in installments and in advance or by 16 way of reimbursement with necessary adjustments 17 on account of overpayments or underpayments. 18 (8) FULL-WORKING-DAY.—The term ‘‘full-work- 19 ing-day’’ means not less than 10 hours per day. 20 Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to re- 21 quire an entity to provide services to a child who has 22 not reached the age of compulsory school attendance 23 for more than the number of hours per day per- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2886.IH H2886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2886 IH mitted by State law (including regulation) for the 1 provision of services to such a child. 2 (9) HEALTH.—The term ‘‘health’’, when used 3 to refer to services or care provided to children en- 4 rolled in a child care and early learning program, 5 their parents, or their siblings, shall be interpreted 6 to refer to both physical and mental health. 7 (10) HOMELESS CHILD.—The term ‘‘homeless 8 child’’ means an individual described in section 9 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 10 Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)). 11 (11) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ means an in- 12 dividual who is— 13 (A) a member of an Indian tribe or band, 14 as membership is defined by the tribe or band, 15 including— 16 (i) any tribe or band terminated since 17 1940; and 18 (ii) any tribe or band recognized by 19 the State in which the tribe or band re- 20 sides; 21 (B) a descendant of an individual de- 22 scribed in subparagraph (A); 23 (C) considered by the Secretary of the In- 24 terior to be an Indian for any purpose; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2886.IH H2886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2886 IH (D) an Eskimo, Aleut, or other Alaska Na- 1 tive; or 2 (E) a member of an organized Indian 3 group that received a grant under the Indian 4 Education Act of 1988 as in effect on October 5 19, 1994. 6 (12) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 7 means an Indian tribe, within the meaning of part 8 A of title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). 10 (13) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 11 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 12 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 13 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 14 (14) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 15 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 16 such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and 17 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 18 (15) LOCALITY.—The term ‘‘locality’’ means 19 any city, municipality, county, or other political sub- 20 division of a State having general governmental pow- 21 ers, or any combination of such political subdivi- 22 sions. 23 (16) LOW-INCOME.—The term ‘‘low-income’’, 24 used with respect to a child or other individual, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2886.IH H2886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2886 IH means an individual in a family with a family in- 1 come that is not more than 200 percent of the pov- 2 erty line. 3 (17) MIGRANT OR SEASONAL CHILD CARE AND 4 EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘migrant or 5 seasonal child care and early learning program’’ 6 means— 7 (A) with respect to services for migrant 8 farmworkers, a child care and early learning 9 program that serves families who are engaged 10 in agricultural labor and who have changed 11 their residence from one geographic location to 12 another in the preceding 2-year period; and 13 (B) with respect to services for seasonal 14 farmworkers, a child care and early learning 15 program that serves families who are engaged 16 primarily in seasonal agricultural labor and who 17 have not changed their residence to another ge- 18 ographic location in the preceding 2-year pe- 19 riod. 20 (18) MILITARY CHILD CARE PROGRAM.—The 21 term ‘‘military child care program’’ means the pro- 22 gram carried out under subchapter II of chapter 88 23 of title 10, United States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2886.IH H2886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2886 IH (19) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘‘Native 1 Hawaiian’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 2 tion 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517). 4 (20) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 5 means the official poverty line (as defined by the Of- 6 fice of Management and Budget) based on the most 7 recent data available from the Bureau of the Cen- 8 sus— 9 (A) adjusted to reflect the percentage 10 change in the Consumer Price Index For All 11 Urban Consumers, issued by the Bureau of 12 Labor Statistics, during the annual or other in- 13 terval immediately preceding the date on which 14 such adjustment is made; and 15 (B) adjusted for family size. 16 (21) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—The 17 term ‘‘professional development’’ means the career- 18 pathway aligned mechanisms that contribute to en- 19 suring that a member of the early care and edu- 20 cation workforce, in any setting, has or is working 21 towards obtaining the degrees and other credentials 22 needed to demonstrate the necessary knowledge and 23 competencies for quality provision of child care and 24 early learning services. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2886.IH H2886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2886 IH (22) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The 1 term ‘‘scientifically valid research’’ includes applied 2 research, basic research, and field-initiated research, 3 in which the rationale, design, and interpretation are 4 soundly developed in accordance with principles of 5 scientific research. 6 (23) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 7 means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 8 (24) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 9 (A) a State, as defined in section 637 of 10 the Head Start Act; and 11 (B) the Republic of Palau— 12 (i) for each of fiscal years 2022 13 through 2026; and 14 (ii) (if legislation approving a new 15 agreement regarding United States assist- 16 ance for the Republic of Palau has not 17 been enacted by September 30, 2024), for 18 each subsequent fiscal year for which such 19 legislation has not been enacted. 20 (25) TRIBAL LAND.—The term ‘‘tribal land’’ 21 means a reservation, the land of an Indian tribe, or 22 land designated by Hawaii as under the control of 23 Native Hawaiians for purposes of this title. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2886.IH H2886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2886 IH (26) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal 1 organization’’ means— 2 (A) the recognized governing body of any 3 Indian tribe, and any legally established organi- 4 zation of Indians which is controlled, sanc- 5 tioned, or chartered by such governing body or 6 which is democratically elected by the adult 7 members of the Indian community to be served 8 by such organization and which includes the 9 maximum participation of Indians in all phases 10 of its activities, except that in any case where 11 a contract is let or grant made to an organiza- 12 tion to perform services benefitting more than 13 one Indian tribe, the approval of each such In- 14 dian tribe shall be a prerequisite to the letting 15 or making of such contract or grant; and 16 (B) includes a Native Hawaiian organiza- 17 tion, as defined in section 6207 of the Elemen- 18 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 19 U.S.C. 7517) and a private nonprofit organiza- 20 tion established for the purpose of serving 21 youth who are Indians or Native Hawaiians. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2886.IH H2886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2886 IH SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; APPRO- 1 PRIATIONS. 2 (a) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be 3 appropriated and there are appropriated to carry out this 4 title (other than the activities described in subsection (b)), 5 including meeting the entitlement requirements of section 6 111(b), such sums as may be necessary. 7 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 8 authorized to be appropriated to carry out activities under 9 sections 135, 136, 137, 138, 151, 152, and such adminis- 10 trative activities as the Secretary determines to be nec- 11 essary and appropriate to carry out this title, 12 $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2032. 13 Subtitle A—Prime Sponsors and 14 Providers 15 SEC. 111. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR CHILD CARE AND 16 EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide finan- 18 cial assistance for carrying out child care and early learn- 19 ing programs under this title to prime sponsors, to provide 20 family-centered services to children to promote their devel- 21 opment and learning, pursuant to plans and applications 22 approved in accordance wit [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]