Expanding On-Campus Child Care to Help Student Parents Succeed Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1403 To amend the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program under the Higher Education Act of 1965. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 9, 2019 Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding On-Campus 4 Child Care to Help Student Parents Succeed Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CHILD CARE ACCESS MEANS PARENTS IN SCHOOL. 6 Section 419N of the Higher Education Act of 1965 7 (20 U.S.C. 1070e) is amended— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1403 IS (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to fa- 3 cilitate the success of low-income parents in postsecondary 4 education through the provision of subsidized child care 5 services, including campus-based child care services.’’; 6 (2) in subsection (b)— 7 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara- 8 graphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following: 9 ‘‘(A) MINIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant 10 under this section shall be awarded in an 11 amount that is not less than $50,000. 12 ‘‘(B) CCAMPIS INCREASE.— 13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For any fiscal 14 year for which the amount appropriated 15 under subsection (h) is not less than 16 $140,000,000, the Secretary may increase 17 the amount of a grant awarded under this 18 section to an eligible institution of higher 19 education if the institution submits an ap- 20 plication that— 21 ‘‘(I) demonstrates the success of 22 the eligible institution of higher edu- 23 cation in serving a significant number 24 of low-income student parents, which 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1403 IS may include graduation, transfer, or 1 retention rates for full-time and part- 2 time students receiving subsidies for 3 child care under this section; 4 ‘‘(II) demonstrates the need for 5 additional funds; and 6 ‘‘(III) provides information re- 7 garding the planned use of additional 8 funds to— 9 ‘‘(aa) improve the quality of 10 a campus-based child care facil- 11 ity; 12 ‘‘(bb) provide child care sub- 13 sidies to additional student par- 14 ents; or 15 ‘‘(cc) provide support serv- 16 ices to student parents. 17 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The in- 18 crease paid to an eligible institution of 19 higher education under clause (i) for a fis- 20 cal year shall not exceed an amount equal 21 to 20 percent of the amount of the annual 22 grant payment received by the institution 23 under paragraph (3)(B) for the fiscal year 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1403 IS preceding the fiscal year for which the in- 1 crease is paid. 2 ‘‘(iii) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION OF 3 HIGHER EDUCATION.—In this subpara- 4 graph, the term ‘eligible institution of 5 higher education’ means an institution of 6 higher education that has received a grant 7 under this section for not less than the pe- 8 riod of 3 consecutive fiscal years preceding 9 the fiscal year in which the increase is paid 10 under clause (i).’’; 11 (B) in paragraph (3)— 12 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 13 ‘‘4 years’’ and inserting ‘‘5 years’’; and 14 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 15 ‘‘subsection (e)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub- 16 section (e)(3)’’; 17 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘exceeds 18 $350,000’’ and all that follows through the pe- 19 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘exceeds 20 $300,000, except for institutions that are eligi- 21 ble for assistance under title III or V.’’; and 22 (D) by striking paragraph (5) and insert- 23 ing the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1403 IS ‘‘(5) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants funds under this 1 section shall be used by an institution of higher edu- 2 cation to support accessible high-quality child care 3 services for low-income parents enrolled in postsec- 4 ondary education. Grant funds under this section 5 may be used— 6 ‘‘(A) to support or establish a campus- 7 based child care program primarily serving the 8 needs of low-income students enrolled at the in- 9 stitution of higher education; 10 ‘‘(B) to provide child care subsidies or a 11 sliding fee scale for low-income student parents; 12 ‘‘(C) to provide affordable and accessible 13 before and after school services for children of 14 low-income student parents; 15 ‘‘(D) to provide support services for low-in- 16 come student parents; or 17 ‘‘(E) to enhance the quality of campus- 18 based child care services, including improve- 19 ments to— 20 ‘‘(i) move to the next tier or level of 21 the State tiered and transparent system 22 for measuring the quality of child care pro- 23 viders; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1403 IS ‘‘(ii) implement the training and pro- 1 fessional development required for child 2 care providers through the Child Care and 3 Development Block Grant Act of 2014 4 (Public Law 113–186); or 5 ‘‘(iii) implement quality improvements 6 toward achieving accreditation from a na- 7 tionally recognized accrediting body.’’; 8 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 9 following: 10 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher 12 education desiring a grant under this section shall 13 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 14 in such manner, and accompanied by such informa- 15 tion as the Secretary may require. Such application 16 shall— 17 ‘‘(A) demonstrate that the institution is an 18 eligible institution described in subsection 19 (b)(4); 20 ‘‘(B) specify the amount of funds re- 21 quested; 22 ‘‘(C) demonstrate the need of low-income 23 students at the institution for accessible and af- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1403 IS fordable child care services by including in the 1 application— 2 ‘‘(i) information regarding student de- 3 mographics; 4 ‘‘(ii) an assessment of child care ca- 5 pacity on or near campus; 6 ‘‘(iii) information regarding the exist- 7 ence of waiting lists for child care services 8 on or near campus; 9 ‘‘(iv) information regarding additional 10 needs created by concentrations of poverty 11 or by geographic isolation; and 12 ‘‘(v) other relevant data; 13 ‘‘(D) contain a description of the activities 14 to be assisted, including whether the grant 15 funds will support an existing child care pro- 16 gram or a new child care program; 17 ‘‘(E) identify the resources, including tech- 18 nical expertise and financial support, the insti- 19 tution will draw upon to support the child care 20 program and the participation of low-income 21 students in the program (such as accessing so- 22 cial services funding, using student activity fees 23 to help pay the costs of child care, using re- 24 sources obtained by meeting the needs of par- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1403 IS ents who are not low-income students, and ac- 1 cessing foundation, corporate, or other institu- 2 tional support) and demonstrate that the use of 3 the resources will not result in increases in stu- 4 dent tuition; 5 ‘‘(F) contain an assurance that the institu- 6 tion will meet the child care needs of low-in- 7 come students through the provision of services, 8 or through a contract for the provision of serv- 9 ices; 10 ‘‘(G) describe the extent to which the child 11 care program will coordinate with the institu- 12 tion’s early childhood education curriculum, to 13 the extent the curriculum is available, to meet 14 the needs of the students in the early childhood 15 education program at the institution, and the 16 needs of the parents and children participating 17 in the child care program assisted under this 18 section; 19 ‘‘(H) in the case of an institution seeking 20 assistance for a new child care program— 21 ‘‘(i) provide a timeline, covering the 22 period from receipt of the grant through 23 the provision of the child care services, de- 24 lineating the specific steps the institution 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1403 IS will take to achieve the goal of providing 1 low-income students with child care serv- 2 ices; 3 ‘‘(ii) specify any measures the institu- 4 tion will take to assist low-income students 5 with child care during the period before 6 the institution provides child care services; 7 ‘‘(iii) include a plan for identifying re- 8 sources needed for the child care services, 9 including space in which to provide child 10 care services, and technical assistance if 11 necessary; and 12 ‘‘(iv) include plans to assure quality of 13 campus-based child care facilities; 14 ‘‘(I) in the case of an institution seeking 15 assistance for a campus-based child care pro- 16 gram in existence on the date of the applica- 17 tion— 18 ‘‘(i) provide information regarding the 19 number of low-income students served 20 through campus-based child care on such 21 date; 22 ‘‘(ii) provide information on the age 23 groups of children to be served; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1403 IS ‘‘(iii) specify any measures the institu- 1 tion will take to assist students eligible 2 under this section who are waitlisted for 3 the campus-based child care program; 4 ‘‘(iv) provide information regarding 5 the application of subsidies or a sliding fee 6 scale for child care services; 7 ‘‘(v) specify what staff positions will 8 be supported by funding under this sec- 9 tion, and how those staff positions support 10 the purpose under subsection (a); 11 ‘‘(vi) provide information on the total 12 number of children served by the campus- 13 based child care program, and number of 14 children of students served; and 15 ‘‘(vii) specify if funding will be used to 16 enhance program quality as described in 17 subsection (b)(5)(E); 18 ‘‘(J) in the case of an institution seeking 19 assistance that will contract for the provision of 20 child care services— 21 ‘‘(i) provide information on the age 22 groups of children to be served; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1403 IS ‘‘(ii) provide information regarding 1 the application of subsidies or a sliding fee 2 scale for child care services; and 3 ‘‘(iii) provide information regarding 4 parameters the institution will use in se- 5 lecting child care providers in contracting 6 for the provision of services, including— 7 ‘‘(I) assessment of program qual- 8 ity; and 9 ‘‘(II) geographic location; 10 ‘‘(K) contain an assurance that any child 11 care facility assisted under this section will 12 meet the applicable State and local government 13 licensing, certification, approval, or registration 14 requirements; 15 ‘‘(L) describe how information regarding 16 the availability of subsidized child care will be 17 provided to students; 18 ‘‘(M) contain an assurance that the insti- 19 tution, when applicable, will make information 20 available to students receiving child care serv- 21 ices provided under this section about the eligi- 22 bility of such students for assistance under the 23 supplemental nutrition assistance program 24 under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1403 IS U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) and the program of block 1 grants for States for temporary assistance for 2 needy families established under part A of title 3 IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et 4 seq.); 5 ‘‘(N) contain an abstract summarizing the 6 contents of such application and how the insti- 7 tution intends to achieve the purpose under 8 subsection (a); and 9 ‘‘(O) contain a plan for any child care fa- 10 cility assisted under this section to become ac- 11 credited within 3 years of the date the institu- 12 tion first receives assistance under this section. 13 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 14 may provide technical assistance to eligible institu- 15 tions to help such institutions qualify for, apply for, 16 and maintain a grant under this section.’’; 17 (4) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 18 following: 19 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall give 21 priority in awarding grants under this section— 22 ‘‘(A) first to institutions of higher edu- 23 cation that submit applications describing pro- 24 grams that leverage significant local or institu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1403.IS S1403 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1403 IS tional resources, including in-kind contribu- 1 tions, to support the activities assisted under 2 this section; and 3 ‘‘(B) to institutions of higher education 4 that submit applications describing programs 5 that utilize a sliding fee scale for child care 6 services provided under this section in order to 7 support a high number of low-income parents 8 pursuing postsecondary education at the insti- 9 tution, after the institution gives priority to in- 10 stitutions described in subparagraph (A). 11 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not 12 give priority in awarding grants under this section 13 to institutions of higher education that propose 14 projects that are designed to increase access to edu- 15 cational choice.’’; 16 (5) in subsection (e)— 17 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking the 18 semicolon at the end of clause (i) and inserting 19 the following: ‘‘which shall include— 20 ‘‘ [Text truncated for display. 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