Since our last federal update in June, there has been a flurry of activity in Washington related to federal early care and education policy. Below is a roundup of events over the past three months that have a direct impact on early education.

SEED Act

With all of the recent actions by the Trump administration that could weaken federal ECE programs (see below), it’s nice to have some good news to share. On September 18, President Trump signed into law the Supporting Early Childhood Educators’ Deductions (SEED) Act, which was tucked into a broader legislative package focused on sanctions against Russia and Iran. 

First introduced back in 2021, this law will allow early educators to take advantage of the same federal tax deduction K-12 teachers can claim to help offset the cost of out-of-pocket classroom expenses. Specifically, early educators will now be able to deduct up to $350 for personal money they spend on classroom supplies, professional development, and educational materials. With early educators nationwide being paid a median wage of only $13.07 per hour, every little bit of financial assistance is important.

PDG B-5 Announcement

In another bit of good news, last week the Administration for Children and Families released a notice of funding opportunity for a new round of grants as part of the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program. While the program was established in 2015, it has taken different forms over the years, and this latest announcement continues that trend by renaming the grants as SMART grants (Strategic Measurement, Analytics, and Results using Technology).

An estimated 25 states and territories will receive one-year awards ranging from $500,000 to $15 million to make investments in technology and analytic data infrastructure for statewide ECE systems. The funding opportunity lists two priority areas: technology infrastructure investment and innovation testing investment. Technology infrastructure investments are designed to support systems that advance data collection or utilization, such as statewide operational systems, data systems, data linkages, and dashboards. Innovation testing investments, on the other hand, are designed to support states that already have strong technology infrastructure and are ready to move to the next level by monitoring implementation, assessing overall participation, and determining whether a specific strategy is producing the intended results. 

As usual with the PDG B-5 program, states and territories are required to contribute 30 percent of the federal share of whatever award amount is received. Applications must be submitted by November 20 to be considered.

Head Start

Individuals and organizations across the country are finalizing and submitting their comments regarding the administration’s attempted overhaul of Head Start. As a reminder, comments must be submitted by October 6. In a sign of the large amount of concern generated by the proposed rule, over 18,000 comments have already been received as of September 28. Once the comment period is closed, the Department of Health & Human Service is required to review and respond to the comments before issuing a final rule. The exact timing of a final rule is still unclear, but we should likely have more information about the content of the final rule by sometime near the end of 2026. The proposed rule envisions that implementation of the final rule would take place over a five-year time horizon covering 2027 through 2031.

CCDBG

The administration also continues to make changes to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program that helps parents with low incomes afford child care while they work or attend school. As I mentioned in our last update, the administration’s final rule rescinding several Biden-era requirements took effect July 13. Those requirements included capping family co-payments at seven percent of income, paying providers prospectively, paying providers based on enrollment rather than attendance, and providing some services via grants or contracts. 

On September 5, news broke that the administration plans to attempt another change to CCDBG, this time by allowing married couples with a stay-at-home spouse to collect child care subsidies. According to reporting, under the draft rule, which has yet to be officially released, married couples with a stay-at-home spouse would be able to collect child care subsidies that usually provide about $9,000 per child per year. The announcement has drawn a mixed reaction from conservatives due to disagreements over the proper role of the federal government in shaping family policy.

There is no doubt that stay-at-home parents should be supported and included as a part of any child care plan, but the immediate concern with the plan is that it would take money away from working parents and their child care providers. Currently, only about 14 percent of families eligible for federal child care assistance actually receive it, so any proposal to expand the pool of eligible parents must be accompanied by increases in funding for the program, something that seems to be missing from what we know so far about the administration’s plan.

New Child Care Legislation

Finally, the midterm elections are just over a month away, which means that there will soon be a heavy focus on the 2028 presidential election. California Representative Ro Khanna, widely believed to be weighing a presidential run, made news last week when he announced a nearly $1 trillion proposal aimed at building a universal child care system. Titled the “Free Child Care for America Act,” the proposal is similar to legislation Rep. Khanna has introduced in Congress in past sessions, with an emphasis on three distinct child care options: funding for traditional child care settings; grants to support stay-at-home parents; and compensation programs for kin caregivers, including grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

The plan’s emphasis on choice mirrors the recently announced Child Care Choice Guarantee proposal from Project 2029. That proposal provides families with two options: free, publicly funded child care spots in a range of trusted settings, including centers, Head Start, home-based providers, and schools; and a financial stipend equal to $1,000 per month for families who prefer to provide full-time care themselves or with the help of a relative or other trusted individual. With the 2028 presidential campaign slowly starting to take shape, we can expect to see more bold child care proposals from candidates who recognize that one of the biggest affordability issues facing families today is the high cost of child care.