This bill creates a two-year pilot project to invest in the self-sufficiency of employees of child care agencies. As used in this bill, a "child care agency" or "agency" means a place or facility, regardless of whether it is currently licensed, that is operated as a family child care home, a group child care home, a child care center, or a drop-in center, that provides child care for five or more children who are not related to the primary caregiver for three or more hours per day.
This bill clarifies that an employee of a child care agency whose personal household income meets the income eligibility standards adopted under the Tennessee School Nutrition Standards Act on or after January 1, 2025, does not lose eligibility for the employee's children to receive free or reduced-price meals prior to January 1, 2027, based solely on an increase in the employee's personal or household income that is attributable to the employee receiving a wage increase from the employee's employing child care agency. This bill requires the commissioner of education ("commissioner") to recommend and the state board of education ("state board") to adopt rules to implement and administer this bill.
This bill authorizes the department of education ("department") to apply to the federal government for appropriate waivers that are necessary to implement this bill.
This bill requires the commissioner to submit a report to the governor, the chair of the education committee of the senate, the chair of the education committee of the house of representatives, and the legislative librarian regarding pilot project findings and recommendations on or before January 15, 2027.
TACIR STUDY
This bill requires TACIR to conduct a study on (i) the establishment and feasibility of a target compensation scale for employees of child care agencies; and (ii) the benefits cliff and whether public benefits program eligibility thresholds are in alignment with state program income eligibility requirements. As used in this bill, a "benefits cliff" means the loss of public benefits by employees of child care agencies whose incomes exceed public benefits eligibility thresholds following wage increases.
This bill requires all appropriate departments and agencies of this state to provide assistance to TACIR in connection with the analysis required for the study required by this bill. TACIR must submit a report disclosing the findings of the study and recommendations to the speaker of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the legislative librarian no later than January 1, 2025.
ON APRIL 1, 2024, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2063, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, direct the Tennessee advisory commission on intergovernmental relations (TACIR) to conduct a study on the following:
(1) The current landscape of child care workers in this state, including (i) demographic and racial makeup of the child care workforce; (ii) salary and wage compensation; (iii) tenure of employment at a child care agency; (iv) amount of child care workers on public assistance or working second employment; and (v) whether the child care workers have children enrolled in a child care agency;
(2) The establishment, feasibility, and impact of implementing a program that covers the cost of child care for a child care worker who (i) works at least 20 hours per week at a licensed child care agency, regardless of the employee's role at the agency; (ii) has worked continuously at a child care agency for at least 90 days; (iii) is eligible to have their children attend the child care agency at no cost, or has children that attend a licensed, certified, or registered provider that accepts and is approved to receive child care assistance payments; and (iv) is a resident of this state; and
(3) For the purpose of excluding a child care worker's income or household income level from being considered when determining eligibility as a protected population and addressing the workforce shortage by incentivizing child care workers to remain employed in the early education industry: (i) the feasibility and impact of expanding financial supports for early educators, such as through the use of the child care WAGE$ program, bonuses, and other public benefit eligibility options; (ii) the establishment and feasibility of a target compensation scale for employees of child care agencies; and (iii) the benefits cliff and whether public benefits program eligibility thresholds are in alignment with state program income eligibility requirements. For purposes of this (3), "benefits cliff" means the loss of public benefits by employees of child care agencies whose incomes exceed public benefits eligibility thresholds following wage increases.
DEPARTMENT AND AGENCY COOPERATION
This amendment requires all appropriate departments and agencies of this state to provide assistance to TACIR in connection with the analysis required in (1)-(3) above.
REPORTING
This amendment requires TACIR to submit a report disclosing the findings of the study and recommendations to the speaker of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the legislative librarian no later than January 31, 2025.