Social and Economic Policy
Early Care and Education
Promote the availability of safe, culturally appropriate early care and education services that support the development of young children, economic vitality for families and businesses, and living wages and training for early care and education workers.


Issue Team Chair: Karen Tvedt, ktvedt@lwvwa.org
 DOWNLOAD the Early Care and Education Issue Paper
Interested in getting involved with this topic? Contact Karen Tvedt


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Updates

Legislation


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Overview of the 2025 Legislative Session

The supplemental budget passed by the 2024 Legislature included rate increases for ECEAP ($8.3 million); infant care rate enhancements ($6.2 million); early mental health consultation ($1.75 million); contracted professional development support for child care providers ($2.5 million); the early learning facilities grant and loan program ($26.9 million); and other smaller increases.

By June 1, 2025, the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) is required to develop an implementation plan to expand access to Washington’s mixed delivery child care system. The plan must assume family financial contributions capped at no more than seven percent of household income and the provision of living wages and benefits for the child care workforce.

The League also supported eight early care and education bills that were enacted into law in 2024 including bills to: increase timeliness in processing fingerprint background checks for prospective child care workers (SB 5774); increase access to paid sick leave (SB 5793); extend the B&O tax exemption (SB 6038); adjust billing rules for early intervention services (HB 1916); allow those eligible for or receiving basic food benefits (SNAP) to meet the income eligibility requirements for Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) and categorical eligibility for ECEAP (state pre-K) (HB 1945);  reorganize and update WCCC statutes (HB 2111); make participation in ECEAP and other designated programs an approved activity for WCCC ( HB 2124 ); and strengthen the early learning facilities grant and loan program (HB 2195 ). 

With current state revenue challenges, expectations are modest for the 2025 Legislative Session. In coalition with the Early Learning Action Alliance and other early care and education advocates, the LWVWA will focus on protecting early care and education commitments made as part of the Fair Start for Kids Act.  Most immediately this includes maintaining current programs and funding, advocating targeted investments, adjusting provider requirements to align with community needs, and encouraging long-term strategies to improve the sustainability and affordability of early care and education programs.


Updates

At times during the session, an Issue Chair may write a "Weekly Update" to provide more details on what happened during the week. When they are available, they can be found below:


2025 Early Care and Education Legislation

Priority Bills

Bills in green are supported. Bills in red are opposed by the League. Bills in black the League is watching.

HB 1022 Creating a homes for heroes program. Under contract, the housing finance commission will design, develop, implement and evaluate a statewide pilot program to provide down payment and closing cost assistance to people working in targeted occupations including licensed or certified child care.

HB 1212 Siting of child care centers. Provides that cities and towns must allow child care centers, and conversion of existing buildings for use as child care centers, as an outright permitted use in all zones except industrial zones.

HB 1314 Early learning facilities grant and loan program. Companion to SB 5297. Modifies the Early Learning Facilities (ELF) program to include emergency grants, change match requirements, include tribal compact schools among eligible organizations, and provide that loans and grants may be used to support conversion of ECEAP slots to full or extended day.

HB 1350 Modernizing reimbursement rates to more accurately reflect the cost of providing high quality child care for the WCCC program.

SB 5030 Improving access to educational services by reducing barriers to obtaining vital records and allowing alternative forms of documentation. Waives fees for accessing a child’s birth certificate for a parent or guardian eligible for or receiving basic food benefits and enrolling a child in an early learning program. Provides that alternative documents may be used to show a child’s age or date of birth for ECEAP purposes.

SB 5130.  Eliminating child care licensing fees. Provides that DCYF may not charge fees to the licensee for obtaining a child care license.

SB 5297 Early learning facilities grant and loan program. Companion to HB 1314.

Other Bills
Bills in green are supported. Bills in red are opposed by the League. Bills in black the League is watching.

HB 1033 Local licensing and regulation of child care providers. No sooner than July 1, 2025, counties are allowed to adopt and maintain ordinances for the licensing and regulation of child care centers and family home providers, and in lieu of the state, assume the authority to license and regulate center and family home providers.

HB 1082 Qualifications for child care providers. Companion: SB 5279. Allows licensed child care providers until at least Aug. 1, 2028 to demonstrate experience-based competency as an alternative means to comply with child care licensing rules in lieu of an early childhood education certificate. Also requires DCYF to convene a stakeholder group to assist in identifying strategies to improve early learning and school-age staff qualifications and verification processes.

HB 1128 Establishing a child care workforce standards board. Companion SB 5062. Provides that working conditions for child care workers be improved through the establishment of a workforce standards board to be comprised of employer, worker and state agency representatives. The board would adopt statewide rules and standards relating to compensation and other employment conditions of child care workers. Makes it unlawful for employers to employ child care workers for lower wages than required or violating other employment standards adopted by the board. Excludes licensing of child care facilities.

HB 1282 Improving the well-being of children in child care by enhancing transparency measures and modifying liability insurance requirements. Provides parental notification when the DCYF suspends, revokes or declines to renew a child care license. Requires licensed child care providers to post proof of insurance coverage including liability limits, early achievers rating level, and licensing information. DCYF is required to assess its website for accessibility of information and by Dec 1, review minimum liability insurance limits and make recommendations about updated limits. 

HB 1351 Adjusting age requirements for accessing the early childhood education and assistance program. Proposes adjusting age requirements for ECEAP to allow enrollment of eligible three year olds who turn three at any time during the school year.

HB 1363 Modifying licensing requirements for child care and early learning providers. Provides that providers may not be required to earn early childhood education certification or equivalent credentials as part of staff qualifications and increases child-staff ratios for preschool and school-age classrooms.

HB 1450 Relating to transition to kindergarten programs.  Modifies transition to kindergarten programs to clarify that TK programs are not part of basic education/funding and to promote a coordinated system of comprehensive early learning services that maximizes resources and ensures services are provided in the most appropriate setting. Requires collection of longitudinal data on TK students and that TK programs participate in the Early Achievers Program.

HB 1489 Relating to implementation dates for programs related to early childhood education and child care. Extends Fair Start for Kids Act implementation dates. This includes moving full implementation of ECEAP to the 2030-2031 school year. Family eligibility for Working Connections Child Care would not be increased to 75 percent of the state median income until 2031.

HB 1564 Supporting employers providing child care assistance to employees by establishing a B&O and public utility tax credit.  Establishes a B&O and public utility tax credit for employers providing child care assistance for employees. Child care assistance includes the portion of an employee’s salary or wage provided to offset child care expenses or expenses incurred in providing in-house child care for employees.

SB 5062 Establishing a child care workforce standards board. Companion to HB 1128.

SB 5310 Relating to child care subsidy rates. Provides that beginning July 1, 2025, DCYF must pay child care providers the lesser of the provider’s rate for a child not eligible for subsidy payments or the 75th percentile of the market for licensed or certified child care providers.

SB 5184 Minimum parking requirements. Finds that parking should be determined on a case-by-case basis sensitive to actual market conditions. Cities and counties may not require any minimum parking requirements for child care facilities (and other named types of facilities).

SB 5279 Relating to qualifications for child care providers. Companion HB 1082.

SB 5297 Early learning facilities grant and loan program. Companion to HB 1314.

SB 5416 Increasing affordable child care options by reducing barriers for providers. Licensing rules must be limited to those intended to protect the health and safety of children. Eliminates the requirement that providers accepting child care subsidies must participate in Early Achievers.  


How To Be Involved

  • If you are interested in a particular bill, use the links above to go to the webpage for that bill. These pages include staff summaries and reports including who testified PRO versus CON on the bill. There is also information about how to access videos of hearings that have been held. 
  • Read and take action through the LWVWA Legislative Action Newsletter, distributed each Sunday during the legislative session.
  • You may also express your opinion on legislation with the LWVWA issue chairs. We will take your perspectives under consideration as we determine our support for legislation and prepare testimony. Please direct questions or comments to Karen Tvedt, Early Care and Education Issue Chair.

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