PROSPECT Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5475 To establish competitive Federal grants that will empower community colleges and minority-serving institutions to become incubators for infant and toddler child care talent, training, and access on their campuses and in their communities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 18, 2019 Mrs. HAYES (for herself and Mr. NORCROSS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish competitive Federal grants that will empower community colleges and minority-serving institutions to become incubators for infant and toddler child care tal- ent, training, and access on their campuses and in their communities, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Preparing and 4 Resourcing Our Student Parents and Early Childhood 5 Teachers Act’’ or the ‘‘PROSPECT Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5475.IH H5475 2 •HR 5475 IH SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. Sec. 3. Findings. TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT OF INFANT AND TODDLER CHILD CARE LEADERSHIP GRANTS Sec. 101. Purpose. Sec. 102. Definitions. Sec. 103. Authorization of appropriations. Subtitle A—General Provisions Sec. 111. Program authorized. Sec. 112. Application; selection criteria. Sec. 113. Amount, duration, and administration of grants. Subtitle B—Planning and Implementation Grants Sec. 121. Grants authorized. Sec. 122. Planning grants. Sec. 123. Access grants providing infant and toddler child care for community college or minority-serving institution student parents. Sec. 124. Impact grants. Sec. 125. Pipeline grants. Sec. 126. Evaluation criteria for grants. Sec. 127. Report to Congress. Sec. 128. Nondiscrimination in programs and activities. TITLE II—CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM Sec. 201. Eligibility. Sec. 202. Conforming amendments. Sec. 203. Increased Federal matching payments for child care. TITLE III—OUTREACH REGARDING THE DEPENDENT CARE ALLOWANCE FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID Sec. 301. Sharing dependent care allowance information for Federal student aid. SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds the following: 4 (1) A child’s brain grows at a faster rate be- 5 tween birth and age 3 than at any later point in the 6 child’s lifetime. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5475.IH H5475 3 •HR 5475 IH (2) Decades of research shows that children 1 under age 3 that receive quality child care are more 2 likely to have the behavioral, cognitive, and language 3 skills development necessary for success in school, 4 college, and life. 5 (3) According to a 2018 survey, 83 percent of 6 parents with a child under age 5 responded that 7 finding quality, affordable child care was a serious 8 problem in their area. 9 (4) In 2017, on average, center-based child care 10 for an infant cost 61 percent more than for a pre- 11 schooler, over $11,000 annually per child, and in 28 12 States, more than the cost of public college tuition. 13 (5) In the 2015–2016 academic year, approxi- 14 mately 4,300,000 postsecondary education students 15 were raising children while in college, and over half 16 of those students had children preschool-aged or 17 younger. 18 (6) According to a 2016 survey, 95 percent of 19 child care centers at 2-year and 4-year colleges 20 across the United States had a waiting list, with the 21 average list containing 82 children. 22 (7) Student parents were 20 percent more likely 23 to leave college without a degree than students with- 24 out children. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5475.IH H5475 4 •HR 5475 IH (8) The Child Care Access Means Parents in 1 School Federal Grant program under subpart 7 of 2 part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070e et seq.) helps over 3,300 4 students at institutions of higher education afford 5 child care each year, but this program impacts just 6 0.5 percent of the entire student parent population, 7 and many institutions of higher education do not 8 open their subsidized child care programs to children 9 under age 3. 10 (9) The share of community colleges and 4-year 11 institutions of higher education with on-campus 12 child care has been in decline. Community colleges 13 saw a 10 percent decrease in the number of cam- 14 puses with child care between 2002 and 2017. 15 (10) Student parents are more likely to be en- 16 rolled at community colleges and minority-serving 17 institutions than other institutions of higher edu- 18 cation. Over a quarter of all community college stu- 19 dents are parents, and in the 2015–2016 academic 20 year, 40 percent of Black women attending college 21 were parents, 3 times the rate for White male col- 22 lege students. 23 (11) Community colleges and minority-serving 24 institutions lead the higher education sector in edu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Dec 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5475.IH H5475 5 •HR 5475 IH cating infant and toddler child care providers, espe- 1 cially child care providers of color, so they are the 2 optimal actors for driving quality infant and toddler 3 child care access in their regions. 4 TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT OF IN- 5 FANT AND TODDLER CHILD 6 CARE LEADERSHIP GRANTS 7 SEC. 101. PURPOSE. 8 The purposes of this title are to expand access to in- 9 fant and toddler child care for children of students at pub- 10 lic community colleges and at minority-serving institutions 11 and to grow, diversify, and strengthen the workforce pipe- 12 line of highly effective infant and toddler child care pro- 13 viders, especially in communities of color and infant and 14 toddler child care deserts. 15 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 16 In this title: 17 (1) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu- 18 nity college’’ means a public institution of higher 19 education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher 20 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), that 21 provides an educational program of not less than 2 22 years that culminates in an associate degree and is 23 acceptable for full credit toward a baccalaureate de- 24 gree. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5475.IH H5475 6 •HR 5475 IH (2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE OR MINORITY-SERV- 1 ING INSTITUTION STUDENT PARENT.—The term 2 ‘‘community college or minority-serving institution 3 student parent’’ means an individual who— 4 (A) is a parent or legal guardian of a child 5 who qualifies for infant and toddler child care; 6 and 7 (B) is a full-time or part-time student at 8 a community college or minority-serving institu- 9 tion participating in an eligible entity. 10 (3) CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING.—The 11 term ‘‘culturally responsive teaching’’ means teach- 12 ing— 13 (A) using the cultural characteristics, expe- 14 riences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse 15 students as conduits for teaching them more ef- 16 fectively; and 17 (B) based on understanding the influences 18 of race, culture, and ethnicity in teaching and 19 learning and using the cultural experiences and 20 contributions of different ethnic groups as in- 21 strumental tools for teaching academic and so- 22 cial knowledge and skills. 23 (4) DROP-IN.—The term ‘‘drop-in’’, when used 24 with respect to child care— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5475.IH H5475 7 •HR 5475 IH (A) means child care that— 1 (i) does not require prescheduling a 2 definite number of scheduled days or hours 3 per week; or 4 (ii) is short term, such as less than 5 5 hours per day; and 6 (B) includes child care described in sub- 7 paragraph (A) that requires parents to provide 8 24-hour notice before using the child care or 9 provides child care subject to availability. 10 (5) DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNER.—The term 11 ‘‘dual language learner’’ means a child who— 12 (A) is acquiring 2 or more languages at 13 the same time; or 14 (B) is learning a second language while 15 continuing to develop the child’s first language, 16 including a child who may also be identified by 17 a State or locality as bilingual or limited 18 English proficient or as an English language 19 learner, an English learner, or a child who 20 speaks a language other than English. 21 (6) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR PREPARA- 22 TION PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘early childhood educa- 23 tor preparation program’’ means a postsecondary 24 course of study that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5475.IH H5475 8 •HR 5475 IH (A) is designed to prepare individuals to 1 teach in early childhood settings serving chil- 2 dren between birth and age 5; and 3 (B) leads to a degree (including an associ- 4 ate’s, bachelor’s, or graduate degree) or a State 5 or nationally recognized credential enabling in- 6 dividuals to teach in early childhood settings, 7 including a child development associate creden- 8 tial or a State teaching license. 9 (7) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 10 ty’’ means— 11 (A) a community college; 12 (B) a minority-serving institution; or 13 (C) a consortium of 2 or more community 14 colleges or minority-serving institutions. 15 (8) FLEX INFANT AND TODDLER CHILD 16 CARE.—The term ‘‘flex infant and toddler child 17 care’’ means infant and toddler child care for which 18 a child is registered to attend weekly, but for a total 19 of less than five days per week. 20 (9) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 21 has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of 22 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 23 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5475.IH H5475 9 •HR 5475 IH (10) INFANT AND TODDLER CHILD CARE.—The 1 term ‘‘infant and toddler child care’’ means child 2 care for children who are under the age of 3 as of 3 the first day of the academic year of the applicable 4 community college or minority-serving institution. 5 (11) INFANT AND TODDLER CHILD CARE 6 DESERT.—The term ‘‘infant and toddler child care 7 desert’’ means a community that the State or tribal 8 entity involved determines has a low supply of qual- 9 ity, affordable infant and toddler child care. 10 (12) INFANT OR TODDLER WITH A DIS- 11 ABILITY.—The term ‘‘infant or toddler with a dis- 12 ability’’ has the meaning given the term in section 13 632 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 14 Act (20 U.S.C. 1432). 15 (13) LOW-INCOME.—The term ‘‘low-income’’ 16 means an individual from a family with an income 17 at or below 150 percent of the poverty line (as de- 18 fined by the Office of Management and Budget and 19 revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) 20 of the Community Services Block Grant Act) appli- 21 cable to a family of the size involved. 22 (14) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 23 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an insti- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5475.IH H5475 10 •HR 5475 IH tution described in section 371(a) of the Higher 1 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 2 (15) NONTRADITIONAL HOURS.—The term 3 ‘‘nontraditional hours’’ means— 4 (A) the hours before 9 a.m. and after 4 5 p.m.; and 6 (B) any hours during weekends, breaks 7 during the academic year, and holidays. 8 (16) ON-CAMPUS.—The term ‘‘on-campus’’, 9 when used with respect to a childcare center, means 10 a childcare center that is located on the campus of 11 a community college or minority-serving institution. 12 (17) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 13 means the Secretary of Education. 14 (18) SERVICE AREA.—The term ‘‘service area’’, 15 when used with respect to an eligible entity, means 16 the area served by the eligible entity. 17 (19) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 18 ing given the term in section 103 of the Higher 19 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003). 20 SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 21 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 22 this title a total of $9,000,000,000 for fiscal years 2020 23 through 2024. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5475.IH H5475 11 •HR 5475 IH Subtitle A—General Provisions 1 SEC. 111. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available 3 under section 103, the Secretary shall award to eligible 4 entities— 5 (1) planning grants under section 122; 6 (2) access grants under section 123, which will 7 provide free high-quality child care for as many as 8 500,000 infants and toddlers who have a community 9 college or minority-serving institution student par- 10 ent, helping to reduce barriers that impact the abil- 11 ity of community college or minority-serving institu- 12 tion student parents attending community college or 13 a minority-serving institution to graduate, and re- 14 ducing their postgraduation debt; 15 (3) impact grants under section 124, which will 16 expand the supply and quality of child care in the 17 community by providing training, mentorship, tech- 18 nical support, and expansion funding to new and ex- 19 isting child care providers in the service area of the 20 eligible entity; and 21 (4) pipeline grants under section 125, which 22 will fund eligible entities to— 23 (A) launch and expand early childhood ed- 24 ucator preparation programs; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5475.IH H5475 12 •HR 5475 IH (B) form strategic partnerships with re- 1 gional institutions to expand, diversify, and 2 strengthen the workforce pipeline for infant and 3 toddler care providers. 4 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering this title, 5 the Secretary shall— 6 (1) consult with the Secretary of Health and 7 Human Services with respect to all grants carried 8 out under this Act; and 9 (2) consult with the Administrator of the Small 10 Business Administration with respect to impact 11 grants carried out under section 124. 12 SEC. 112. APPLICATION; SELECTION CRITERIA. 13 (a) APPLICATION.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—An e [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]