When we began our work on your 89th legislative agenda, working conditions were top of mind for members. One particular issue began to come to the forefront: the right to high-quality affordable childcare.
In our 2023-2024 Texas AFT member survey, 45% of educators who needed regular childcare said they had trouble accessing or affording it, and our statewide legislative workshops confirmed what the data was already telling us. Many working parents, including school employees, find that their income does not keep pace with the costs of childcare, if that care is even available, and many educators will make the choice to exit the profession rather than face an untenable financial equation.
Recognizing the importance of this topic, the Senate Natural Resources and Economic Development (NRED) Committee held an interim hearing last November. Their charge was to make recommendations, within existing resources, to maintain childcare availability to support a growing workforce.
The 89th session began with multiple pre-filed childcare bills. There were a few themes in what these bills were intended to do:
- Increase access to childcare and early education opportunities by increasing appropriations and expanding pre-K eligibility
- Address the pre-K funding gap (the state directly funds only half of the full day of pre-K that school districts are required to provide to eligible four-year-olds)
- Research and identify barriers and opportunities to improve the childcare and early learning landscape in Texas
What Happened for Childcare and Early Learning
The ultimate results of these legislative efforts were a mixed bag.
We applaud the provision of House Bill 2 by Rep. Brad Buckley that allows the children of teachers to be eligible for pre-K in the district where they work. This long-sought benefit was not extended to all employees, however, and Texas AFT will push to include all district employees in a future session. The House version of HB 2 would have extended public school pre-K eligibility to include all 3- and 4-year-olds with disabilities; this provision did not make it into the final version of the bill.
It should also be noted that there was a significant increase in the appropriation for childcare scholarships provided by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Approximately 95,000 families are on the waiting list for a scholarship, and the $100 million should enable more working families to access high-quality childcare for their children.
HB 2 also increased the Early Education Allotment (EEA) by adding a small weight to all Kindergarten through third-grade students in average daily attendance (ADA). Previously, this allotment only included low-income or emergent bilingual students. This change could add around $90 million to district coffers, but HB 2 also adds some significant early literacy and numeracy requirements to districts. It is unclear how much of these new funds will be available to fund pre-K once these other program requirements are fulfilled. The bill did not address the overall gap created by the half-day funding formula.
Unfortunately, HB 2 created some potential pro/’;.blems for tuition-based pre-K programs and the construction of new pre-K facilities. School districts may offer tuition-based pre-K to families outside of eligibility for free pre-K if they have space available; this tuition is often competitive with other local programs and helps to offset the state funding gaps.
Starting in the 2027-2028 school year, schools will not be able to offer tuition-based pre-K unless the Texas Education Agency (TEA) verifies that an eligible private childcare provider is unavailable to serve the families seeking to enroll. Intermediary organizations identified by TEA would also verify the availability of private childcare providers before a school district could repurpose, lease, or build a classroom for pre-K students. This seems to first protect private business in an area where significant gaps in childcare availability already exist and could inhibit a district from serving as many students as they otherwise might.
Future Opportunities for Childcare
Other legislation that was passed in the 89th session might give more insight into the overall childcare landscape and create data to inform future action.
- HB 117 by Rep. Allan Schoolcraft establishes the Governor’s Task Force on Governance of Early Childhood Education and Care under the Texas Education Agency to address governance challenges impacting early childhood education in Texas.
- HB 4903 by Rep. Caroline Harris Davila establishes a Quad-Agency Child Care Initiative that brings the TWC, Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), and TEA together to review and streamline state regulations that impact childcare programs.
- HB 3963 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione creates an Early Childhood Integrated Data System to better assess the effectiveness of current policies and better understand where families are enrolling and gaps in supply.
As with all issues, the wheels of progress often turn slowly, but there is reason to believe that the groundwork laid in the 89th session will pave the way for positive future action with regard to childcare. The working families of Texas deserve no less.