SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2973
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)
_______________
SENATE, June 30, 2022.
The committee on Senate Ways and Means, to whom was referred the Senate Bill to
expand access to high-quality, affordable early education and care (Senate, No. 2883),- reports,
recommending that the same ought to pass with an amendment substituting a new draft with the
same title (Senate, No. 2973).
For the committee,
Michael J. Rodrigues
 FILED ON: 6/30/2022
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2973
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)
_______________
An Act to expand access to high-quality, affordable early education and care.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. The sixth paragraph of section 22N of chapter 7 of the General Laws, as
2 appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:-
3 Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, child care and school age programs
4 contracting with the department of early education and care or their agents shall be exempt from
5 the price limitations set forth by the bureau.
6 SECTION 2. Chapter 10 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following
7 section:-
8 Section 79. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a
9 separate fund to be known as the Early Education and Child Care Workforce Development Trust
10 Fund. The fund shall be administered by the secretary of education, in consultation with the
11 commissioner of early education and care and the commissioner of higher education, for the
12 purpose of strengthening the pipeline of early childhood educators and promoting professional
13 development opportunities for child care providers. The fund shall be credited with: (i)
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14 appropriations, bond proceeds or other money authorized or transferred by the general court and
15 specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources,
16 including, but not limited to, gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) any interest earned on such
17 money. Revenues deposited in the fund that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall not
18 revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the following fiscal year. No
19 expenditure made from the fund shall cause the fund to become deficient.
20 (b) Annually, not later than July 1, the secretary of education shall submit a report
21 detailing expenditures from the trust fund to the clerks of the senate and the house of
22 representatives, the senate and house committees on ways and means and the joint committee on
23 education.
24 SECTION 3. Chapter 15A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
25 section 19E the following 2 sections:-
26 Section 19F. (a) Subject to appropriation, the board, in consultation with the department
27 of early education and care, shall establish an early education and child care educator scholarship
28 program for early education and child care sector educators pursuant to clause (10) of section 5
29 of chapter 15D, including, but not limited to, standards and application criteria for the
30 administration of the program including mechanisms to ensure the scholarship provides
31 meaningful improvements in the delivery of high-quality early education and child care.
32 (b) The scholarship may be used to cover the cost of tuition, fees and related expenses,
33 including, but not limited to, supports unique to the diverse learning needs of the field, including
34 personal child care expenses in order to attend classes and class meetings, and other supports
35 deemed appropriate by the board for degree-granting programs for early educators who are
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36 pursuing associate-level or bachelor-level degrees to meet the teacher and program quality
37 standards of the department of early education and care.
38 (c) The amount of each scholarship shall, at a minimum, be sufficient to cover the full
39 cost of tuition and associated fees for 1 semester of classes at a community college in the
40 commonwealth.
41 (d) Eligible recipients shall be current or prospective early education and child care
42 educators and providers employed in early education and child care programs in the
43 commonwealth who commit to teaching in early education and child care programs for a term of
44 service after graduation to be determined by the board and shall reflect the diversity of the
45 commonwealth’s early education and child care workforce.
46 (e) Preference shall be given to applicants identified as providers who have displayed a
47 proven commitment to early childhood education.
48 (f) The program shall be administered by the department in a manner that ensures
49 recipients receive adequate support in selecting programs and courses that lead to credentials and
50 further their career in early education and child care.
51 Section 19G. Subject to appropriation, the board shall establish an early education and
52 child care educator loan forgiveness program for early education and child care sector educators
53 in the commonwealth pursuant to clause (10) of section 5 of chapter 15D with preference given
54 to applicants identified as providers who have displayed a proven commitment to early
55 childhood education and who work in communities predominantly serving children and families
56 with high needs, as defined under section 1A f said chapter 15D, or areas with a shortage of early
57 education and child care slots.
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58 SECTION 4. Section 1A of chapter 15D, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is
59 hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Board” the following definition:-
60 “Caregiver”, a person living with, supervising and caring for at least 1 child whose
61 parents are not living in the home with them.
62 SECTION 5. Said section 1A of said chapter 15D, as so appearing, is hereby further
63 amended by inserting after the definition of “Child care center” the following 2 definitions:-
64 “Child care provider”, a licensed or exempt center-based child care program or a licensed
65 family-based child care program located in the commonwealth.
66 “Child care subsidy”, financial assistance given to eligible parents for child care provided
67 by a child care program pursuant to a contract or agreement with the department, a child care
68 resource and referral agency or a contracted child care provider.
69 SECTION 6. Said section 1A of said chapter 15D, as so appearing, is hereby further
70 amended by inserting after the definition of “Group care facility” the following definition:-
71 “High needs”, a designation for those individuals or families whose income is not more
72 than 85 per cent of the state median income and individuals with needs that may result in the
73 individual or family needing more services, which may include, but shall not be limited to, an
74 individual or family experiencing any physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, cognitive,
75 behavioral or health-related disability or condition, exposure to domestic violence, trauma
76 history, limited English proficiency, limited literacy, homelessness or housing instability.
77 SECTION 7. Said section 1A of said chapter 15D, as so appearing, is hereby further
78 amended by inserting after the definition of “Mixed system” the following definition:-
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79 “Operational grant”, financial assistance from the commonwealth to a child care program
80 or provider used for those costs directly attributable to the financial sustainability of the program,
81 such as educator salary and benefits, instructional materials and program quality improvements.
82 SECTION 8. Said section 1A of said chapter 15D, as so appearing, is hereby further
83 amended by inserting after the definition of “Services” the following definition:-
84 “Subsidized child care provider”, a child care provider, program or individual that holds a
85 contract or voucher service agreement with the department for the provision of subsidized child
86 care services.
87 SECTION 9. The second paragraph of section 2 of said chapter 15D, as so appearing, is
88 hereby amended by striking out clause (e) and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-
89 (e) establish and develop a schedule for revising: (1) a rate structure for voucher and
90 contracted payments to subsidized child care programs on behalf of low-income, at-risk and
91 other eligible children designed with a goal of meeting the cost of providing high-quality early
92 education and care services in conformity with federal and state law, regulations and quality and
93 safety standards; and (2) a sliding fee scale for participants in those programs, which is updated
94 at least every 5 years to reflect affordability standards for participating families; provided,
95 however, that recipients of subsidized child care services whose income is not more than 100 per
96 cent of the federal poverty level shall not be charged fees for care; and provided further that, a
97 public hearing under chapter 30A and the approval of the board shall be required before the
98 establishment or revision of the rate structure and sliding fee scale.
99 SECTION 10. Said second paragraph of said section 2 of said chapter 15D, as so
100 appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following clause:-
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101 (v) annually, in consultation with the data advisory commission established in section
102 12A, collect and make publicly available data from child care providers that provides
103 information on the cost and quality of early education and child care services; provided,
104 however, that the collected data shall include, but not be limited to, the: (1) number of licensed
105 or exempt child care providers; (2) per cent of children enrolled in a subsidized child care
106 program whose family has an income of not more than 85 per cent of the state median income;
107 (3) tuition charged for full-time and part-time early education and child care services by age
108 group; and (4) number of children enrolled by age group, family income range, race, ethnicity,
109 country of origin and preferred language.
110 SECTION 11. Said chapter 15D is hereby further amended by inserting after section 5
111 the following section:-
112 Section 5A. (a) There shall be an early education and child care workforce development
113 advisory council that shall consist of: the commissioner of early education and care or a
114 designee, who shall serve as co-chair; the secretary of labor and workforce development or a
115 designee, who shall serve as co-chair; the secretary of education or a designee; the house and
116 senate chairs of the joint committee on education or designees; the chairs of the joint committee
117 on labor and workforce development; 1 member who shall be appointed by the minority leader
118 of the senate; 1 member who shall be appointed by the minority leader of the house of
119 representatives; 1 member who shall be a family child care provider appointed by the
120 commissioner of early education and care; and 19 members who shall be appointed by the
121 governor, 1 of whom shall be a representative of Nurtury, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a
122 representative of the Massachusetts Association of Community Partnerships for Children, Inc., 1
123 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Child Care Resource and Referral
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124 Network, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of the MADCA, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a
125 representative of Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of the
126 Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges., 1 of whom shall be a representative of the
127 Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts Inc., 1 of whom shall be the president of a
128 community college or a designee, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Head
129 Start Association, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Association for
130 the Education of Young Children, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts
131 Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators, 1 of whom shall be a representative of
132 Strategies for Children, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Alliance of
133 Massachusetts YMCAs, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of the United Way of
134 Massachusetts Bay, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Business
135 Roundtable, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, 1
136 of whom shall be a representative of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Inc., 1 of whom
137 shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 1
138 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Independent Child Care Organization,
139 Inc. and 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Service Employees International Union Local
140 509.
141 (b) The advisory council shall regularly make recommendations to the secretary of labor
142 and workforce development, the secretary of education, the commissioner of early education and
143 care and the commissioner of higher education on the improvement of the design, oversight and
144 implementation of workforce development programs for early childhood educators.
145 The advisory council may receive and consider reports and input from expert individuals,
146 educators, early education and child care providers, parents, community-based organizations,
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147 voluntary education organizations and other relevant public and private organizations recognized
148 as having expertise in early education and child care.
149 (c) There shall be an early education and care workforce development program to
150 strengthen the pipeline of early educators and promote professional development opportunities
151 for early education and child care providers. The secretary of education, in consultation with the
152 secretary of labor and workforce development, the commissioner of early education and care and
153 the commissioner of higher education, may expend funds from the Early Education and Child
154 Care Workforce Development Trust Fund established in section 79 of chapter 10 to fund the
155 program.
156 SECTION 12. Said chapter 15D is hereby further amended by inserting after section 12
157 the following section:-
158 Section 12A. (a) There shall be a data advisory commission to promote the improved use
159 of state-level, provider-level and program-level data to inform the cost and quality of early
160 education and child care services.
161 The data advisory commission shall assist the department in identifying, analyzing and
162 making recommendations on high-impact, cost-effective data strategies for assessing the needs
163 of families and children, including, but not limited to:
164 (i) establishing a data collection and reporting system to track: (A) the total number of
165 children receiving child care subsidies, delineated by region, age, type of care and other
166 demographic characteristics; (B) the utilization of available contracted slots and vouchers by
167 region and type of care provided; and (C) the monthly average number of children on the
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168 department’s waitlist for subsidized care, delineated by region, type of care and other
169 demographic characteristics;
170 (ii) strengthening the department’s capacity to analyze and report on staffing, scheduling
171 and financial data in ways that support strategic resource allocation decisions, including a review
172 of national best practice models that ensure greater financial transparency;
173 (iii) strengthening the department’s capacity to use data to inform strategic resource
174 allocation and implementation decisions; and
175 (iv) streamlining data reporting, eliminating duplicative reporting requirements and
176 improving data quality.
177 (b) The data advisory commission shall consist of: the commissioner of early education
178 and care or a designee, who shall serve as chair; the secretary of education or a designee; 10
179 members who shall have demonstrated knowledge and experience in data collection and analysis
180 for the purpose of improving access to high-quality and affordable early education and child care
181 services, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Association for Early
182 Education & Care, Inc, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Budget and
183 Policy Center, Inc., 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Common Start Coalition, 1 of