Photo: Tatiana Syrikova from Pexels
There’s some good news for early education in Washington, D.C.
The Build Back Better bill has been passed by the House, bringing it one step closer to becoming law.
Next, the bill will have to make it through the Senate.
As Representative Katherine Clark (D-Massachusetts) explains, this legislation is vitally important.
“The Build Back Better Act is a once-in-a-generation investment in families. It will help us recover today and rebuild a stronger tomorrow. With this bill, we are fundamentally improving the lives of workers, women, children, and seniors and ensuring that the wealthiest Americans and corporations pay their fair share,” Clark says in a statement.
“When I first ran for Congress, I had a dream that every child in America could have access to a great start through universal pre-kindergarten. With today’s bill, what was once a moonshot will soon be reality. What’s more, we are lowering the cost of child care for 20 million families and finally honoring our child care workers with livable wages.”
Among the bill’s proposals, Clark says, is:
• expanding “the basic promise of free schooling in America for the first time in 100 years with universal pre-kindergarten for all 3- and 4-year-olds, approximately 6 million children”
• slashing “child care costs for families earning up to 250% of their state’s median income,” and
• raising “the wages of providers and early educators”
The bill would also extend “the American Rescue Plan’s expanded Child Tax Credit through 2022 to provide families $300/month per child under 6 or $250/month per child ages 6 to 17. This will continue the largest one-year reduction in child poverty in history.”
As Build Back Better moves through the Senate, parts of the bill could and likely will change, but we still expect to see a significant investment in early education and care.
As CNBC reports, “Congress will leave Washington for Thanksgiving week, setting up a December rush to approve the bill [in the Senate] before the capital’s attention turns to the 2022 midterm elections.”
Senators Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Charles Schumer (D-New York) have said they expect the Senate to pass Build Back Better, and Schumer would like to see it happen by Christmas.
We’ll be keeping an eye on this important bill’s progress, so please stay tuned for updates.
Eye on Early Education is a blog of Strategies for Children, an organization that works to ensure that Massachusetts invests the resources needed for all children, from birth to age five, to access high-quality early education programs that prepare them for success in school and life. The blogger, 
eyeonearlyeducation.org 
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