Historic Expansion of Early Childhood Education Celebrated Connecticut policymakers, early childhood educators, and parent advocates gathered at the state Capitol Tuesday to celebrate the passage of legislation laying the groundwork for a historic expansion of early childhood education.
The expansion, passed during the recently adjourned legislative session, included three bills — Senate Bill 1, House Bill 5003, and House Bill 7288 — that will significantly increase the availability of affordable child care for families across Connecticut. Together, the measures aim to eliminate long-standing barriers that have kept thousands of children from accessing early learning programs.
During a widely attended press conference in the Capitol’s Old Appropriations Room, supporters said the new laws marked a turning point in how the state supports working families and values the child care workforce.
Senate President Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said legislators realized the urgency of addressing longstanding inequities in access to early childhood education.
“More and more, we realized that our education system was, in many ways, missing the critically important first five years of life,” Looney said. “When you talk to any kindergarten teacher, he or she can tell you — almost after the first few days — whether that child has been through a quality daycare or preschool program. Those children who are not ready for kindergarten when they get there are greatly at risk.”
Senate Bill 1, the state Senate’s top legislative priority of this year’s session, will create a first-in-the-nation, independent investment vehicle to support expanded access to child care. The Early Childhood Education Endowment will be supported by expected surplus funding, capped at $300 million this year and utilizing the total expected surplus in subsequent years.
The endowment will eventually support the creation of an estimated 16,000 additional preschool and infant toddler child care spaces by 2030. These new slots will be free or reduced cost, depending on the income of the households enrolling their children in qualifying programs. Families earning less than $100,000 will receive free child care, while households earning more will have access to child care at a cost that will not exceed 7% of their income.
Sen. Doug McCrory, co-chair of the Education Committee, said the new investments represented an essential step toward closing opportunity gaps that often begin before children enter classrooms.
“Having quality early childhood care, it kind of levels the playing field for all our children in the state of Connecticut,” McCrory, D-Hartford, said.
The bills include significant investments in Connecticut’s early education workforce. They contain up to $80 million in bonding to launch a new Child Care Facilities Grant Program for the construction and renovation of licensed child care centers and home-based providers. Another provision includes a pilot program to subsidize health insurance for child care workers, with $10 million available through Access Health CT.
Sen. Ceci Maher, co-chair of the legislature’s Committee on Children, thanked the early childhood workers including those who attended Tuesday’s event.
“You are all the reasons why we are here, because every single day, you show up for our children, you show up to create the next generations — to teach, to help them learn,” Maher, D-Wilton, said.
Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye said the passage of the bills positioned Connecticut as a national model that found a way to address the inherent tension between the competing priorities of quality, affordability, and access to child care.
“The governor and the legislators committed to using surplus net funds now and in the future,” Bye said. “That’s a Connecticut innovation and, as the fund grows, more communities and more families will have access.”
Gov. Ned Lamont said increasing access to child care represented an important step for Connecticut’s economy and its future.
“If this is going to be a state of affordability and opportunity, it starts right there at the very beginning of life,” Lamont said. “Paid family medical leave, take care of those kids, get them into quality early childhood education, and make sure they can go as far as their dreams will take them.”
