SB151 - Early childhood education and childcare.

Senate Bill No. 151 CHAPTER 108 An act to amend Section 8245.5 of the Education Code, and to amend Sections 10227.5, 10277.1, 10277.2, 10277.3, 10277.4, and 10277.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to early childhood education and childcare, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget. [ Approved by Governor September 17, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State September 17, 2025. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 151, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. Early childhood education and childcare. (1) Existing law, the Child Care and Developmental Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of childcare and development services for children up to 13 years of age. Existing law authorizes, upon departmental approval, the use of appropriated funds for alternative payment programs to allow for maximum parental choice. Existing law authorizes those programs to include, among other things, a subsidy that follows the family from one provider to another, or choices among hours of service. Under existing law, effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, reimbursement of state-subsidized childcare and development providers and license-exempt providers is to be based on the maximum authorized hours of care, as specified. Existing law, the Early Education Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program. Under existing law, commencing January 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026, reimbursement of California state preschool family childcare home education network providers is to be based on the maximum certified hours of care, as specified. This bill would extend the period in which reimbursement of state-subsidized childcare and development providers, license-exempt providers, and California state preschool family childcare home education network providers is based on the maximum authorized or certified, as applicable, hours of care to July 1, 2028. (2) Existing law allocates certain appropriated funds to the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education to provide specified family childcare providers and childcare centers with a monthly cost of care plus rate commencing January 1, 2024, and through June 30, 2026. The monthly cost of care plus rate is a supplemental monthly payment to those providers and centers. Existing law establishes the base amount of the monthly cost of care plus rate and, for the period from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, provides for an increase to that base amount. This bill would extend the payment of the monthly cost of care plus rate, including the increase, indefinitely, for those family childcare providers and childcare centers. The bill would additionally establish a one-time payment to family daycare providers for the total amount of the increase for each month or partial month occurring between July 1, 2025, and December 30, 2025. The bill would require the payment to be paid to providers by January 1, 2026, contingent on full ratification by September 30, 2025, of the tentative agreement received between the State of California and the Child Care Providers United - California (CCPU) on August 7, 2025. The bill would specify that, if full ratification of the tentative agreement is not achieved by September 30, 2025, the January 1, 2026, deadline for the payment would not be applicable; however, the bill would require, if the payment is not made by January 1, 2026, that providers receive an increase to the one-time payment, as specified. The bill would also require those family daycare providers and childcare centers to receive a one-time, per-child stabilization payment. That payment would be $431 for licensed family childcare providers and childcare centers and $300 for license-exempt family childcare providers. The bill would require, if the tentative agreement described above is ratified by September 30, 2025, this one-time payment to be made to family childcare providers by January 1, 2026. This bill would appropriate $157,852,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Social Services for the purpose of making those one-time stabilization payments to family childcare providers and childcare centers, as specified. The bill would also approve the agreement dated August 7, 2025, entered into by the Governor and Child Care Providers United - California, in its sole capacity as the certified provider organization representing family childcare providers, as specified. (3) Existing law establishes, and appropriates funds to, the Joint Child Care Providers United - State of California Training Partnership Fund and the Child Care Providers United - California (CCPU) Workers Health Care Fund. Existing law also appropriates funds to the State Department of Social Services for a one-time contribution payable to Child Care Providers United - California (CCPU), or its designee, for the establishment of the CCPU Retirement Trust. This bill would, for each year of the tentative agreement described above, from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2028, inclusive, require funds to be allocated in the annual Budget Act, upon approval of the Department of Finance, to those funds and trust. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: YES Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 8245.5 of the Education Code is amended to read: 8245.5. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, for the 2022–23 fiscal year only, contracting agencies operating a California state preschool program shall be reimbursed according to paragraph (2), if they meet either of the following requirements: (A) The program is open and operating in accordance with their approved program calendar and remains open and offering services through the program year. (B) The program operated by the contracting agency is closed by local or state public health order or guidance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Reimbursement pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be 100 percent of the contract maximum reimbursable amount or net reimbursable program costs, whichever is less, pursuant to guidance released by the Superintendent. (3) A California state preschool program that is physically closed as described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but funded to be operational, shall provide distance learning services, as specified by the Superintendent, for the program. A contractor specified in paragraph (1) shall submit a distance learning plan to the department overseeing their contract pursuant to guidance from the Superintendent. (b) Notwithstanding any other law, reimbursement for full-day and part-day California state preschool family childcare home education network providers for the 2022–23 fiscal year shall be based on the maximum certified hours of care for all families, including families certified for a variable schedule, regardless of attendance. (c) Notwithstanding any other law, commencing July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2025, inclusive, if a program is open and operating in accordance with their approved program calendar and remains open and offering services through the program year, the contract reimbursement amount shall be based on the lesser of either of the following: (1) One hundred percent of the contract maximum reimbursable amount. (2) Net reimbursable program costs. (d) Notwithstanding any other law, commencing January 1, 2023, and to July 1, 2028, inclusive, reimbursement for full-day and part-day California state preschool family childcare home education network providers shall be based on the maximum certified hours of care for all families, including families certified for a variable schedule, regardless of attendance, less any allowable administrative expenses withheld by the contractor. (e) If the provisions of subdivisions (c), (d), (f), and (g) are in conflict with the provisions of a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Section 10426 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the memorandum of understanding shall be controlling without further legislative action, except that if such provisions of a memorandum of understanding require the expenditure of funds, the provisions shall not become effective unless approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act. (f) Commencing July 1, 2025, and through June 30, 2026, if a program is open and operating in accordance with its approved program calendar and remains open and providing services to certified children throughout the program year, the contract reimbursement shall be based on the lesser of the following: (1) The maximum reimbursable amount stated in the contract. (2) Net reimbursable program costs. (g) Commencing July 1, 2026, the contract reimbursement shall be based on the lesser of the following: (1) The maximum reimbursable amount stated in the contract. (2) Net reimbursable program costs. (3) The product of the adjusted child days of enrollment for certified children times the contract rate set forth in this section. SEC. 2. Section 10227.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 10227.5. (a) Childcare providers authorized to provide services pursuant to this chapter shall submit to the alternative payment program a monthly attendance record or invoice for each child who received services that, at a minimum, documents the dates and actual times care was provided each day, including the time the child entered and the time the child left care each day. The information shall be documented on a daily basis. (b) (1) The monthly attendance record or invoice shall, at a minimum, be signed by the parent or guardian of the child receiving services and the childcare provider once per month to attest that the child’s attendance is accurately reflected. The verification of attendance shall be made by signature at the end of each month of care and under penalty of perjury by both the parent or guardian of the child receiving services and the childcare provider. (2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) and pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 10277, a childcare provider may submit a monthly attendance record or invoice without a parent’s signature when the parent has not communicated with the provider for a minimum of seven consecutive days, the provider has notified the contractor of the parent’s lack of communication in accordance with Section 18066.5 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, and the contractor has documented the provider’s unsuccessful attempts to collect a signature. (B) If the provisions of this paragraph are in conflict with the provisions of a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Section 10426, the memorandum of understanding shall be controlling without further legislative action, except that if such provisions of a memorandum of understanding require the expenditure of funds, the provisions shall not become effective unless approved by the Legislature. (c) The monthly attendance record or invoice shall be maintained by the childcare provider in the unaltered original format in which it was created, which may be in paper form or electronic format. (d) (1) The alternative payment program shall accept the monthly attendance record or invoice as documentation of the hours of care provided if the attendance record or invoice includes adequate information documented on a daily basis, including, at a minimum, the dates and actual times care was provided each day, including the time the child entered and the time the child left care each day. (2) Except as described in paragraph (3), the alternative payment program shall reimburse childcare providers based upon the following criteria: (A) The hours of service provided that are broadly consistent with certified hours of need. (B) For families with variable schedules, the actual days and hours of attendance, up to the maximum certified hours. (C) For license-exempt providers that provide part-time services, the actual days and hours of attendance, up to the maximum certified hours. (3) Effective July 1, 2025, and to July 1, 2028, inclusive, reimbursement of state-subsidized childcare and development providers, including licensed daycare centers, as defined in Section 1596.76 of the Health and Safety Code, licensed family daycare homes, as defined in Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code, and license-exempt providers, that serve children through alternative payment programs, including migrant alternative payment programs pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 10225), family childcare home education networks pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 10250), or the CalWORKs Stage 1, Stage 2, or Stage 3 programs pursuant to Chapter 21 (commencing with Section 10370), or the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children pursuant to Section 11461.6, shall be based on families’ certified need, as follows: (A) Providers shall be reimbursed based on the maximum authorized hours of care, regardless of attendance. (B) For families certified for a variable schedule, providers shall be reimbursed based on the maximum authorized hours of care. (C) For license-exempt providers that provide part-time services, providers shall be reimbursed based on the maximum authorized hours of care. (e) For purposes of reimbursement to providers through an alternative payment program, contractors shall not be required to track absences. (f) For purposes of this section, a monthly attendance record or invoice is defined as documentation that includes, at a minimum, the name of the child receiving services, the dates and actual times care was provided each day, including the time the child entered and the time the child left care each day, that is signed under penalty of perjury by both the parent or guardian and the childcare provider, attesting that the information provided is accurate. (g) For the 2025–26 fiscal year, the sum of eighty-eight million five hundred fifty thousand dollars ($88,550,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of Social Services for the purpose of reimbursement based on families’ certified need as set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d). These funds shall be available for encumbrance until June 30, 2026. (h) If subdivision (d) is in conflict with a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Section 10426, the memorandum of understanding shall be controlling without further legislative action, except that if the provisions of a memorandum of understanding require the expenditure of funds, the provisions shall not become effective unless approved by the Legislature. SEC. 3. Section 10277.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 10277.1. (a) Funding shall be allocated [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]