PROSPECT Act Puts $9 Billion Toward Free Childcare for Student Parents and Boosts Early Educator Wages

If you’re a student parent trying to finish your degree while juggling astronomical childcare costs, or if you’re an early childhood educator barely making ends meet, this bill is about to get your attention. The Preparing and Resourcing Our Student Parents and Early Childhood Teachers Act (PROSPECT Act) is a massive, multi-pronged piece of legislation that authorizes $9 billion over five years (FY 2026–2030) to fundamentally change how student parents access childcare and how the early childhood workforce is trained and paid. The core goals are straightforward: make it possible for student parents at community colleges and minority-serving institutions to graduate, and build up the supply of high-quality infant and toddler care across the country.

The $9 Billion Boost: Free Childcare and Workforce Training

Title I of the PROSPECT Act establishes four new grant programs funded by that $9 billion pot, all aimed at eligible entities like community colleges and minority-serving institutions. The most impactful of these are the Access Grants (SEC. 123), designed to provide free, high-quality childcare for up to 500,000 infants and toddlers whose parents are students at these schools. This money can fund on-campus centers, pay for off-campus licensed providers, or cover drop-in and flexible care options, including during non-traditional hours like nights and weekends. For student parents, this eliminates one of the biggest barriers to graduation—the cost of care.

Crucially, the bill mandates that centers receiving Access Grants must pay their staff wages that are comparable to what elementary educators with similar experience earn in that state, and these wages must be a living wage. This is a massive shift for a sector notoriously underpaid, aiming to professionalize the early education workforce. However, the term “comparable” is subjective and lacks a clear, objective metric, which could lead to varying interpretations and enforcement challenges across different states.

Building the Pipeline and Boosting Local Supply

Beyond direct access, the bill tackles the supply problem. Impact Grants (SEC. 124) focus on boosting the local childcare ecosystem by funding technical assistance, mentorship, and microenterprise grants for new or expanding infant/toddler care providers, especially in underserved areas often called “childcare deserts.” If you’re a licensed provider looking to open a new home-based center, this grant could provide the startup cash and business support you need.

Meanwhile, Pipeline Grants (SEC. 125) aim squarely at the workforce shortage. These funds allow colleges to create new associate degree programs focused on infant/toddler care, upgrade campus centers into teaching “lab schools,” and offer microgrants directly to students in early childhood education programs to cover tuition, books, or practicum pay. This creates a clear, funded path for people—especially low-income individuals and those from underrepresented groups—to enter the profession.

Making Subsidies Work for Students

Title II takes aim at the existing federal Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, which provides subsidies to low-income families. Currently, many states make it difficult for student parents to qualify. This bill changes that by explicitly defining a “program of study at an institution of higher education” as a qualifying activity for childcare assistance (SEC. 201). Even better, it prohibits states from setting eligibility rules that are stricter than the federal baseline. If you’ve ever been denied a subsidy because your state demanded you work 30 hours a week and attend school, this provision is designed to stop that.

Title II also offers a powerful incentive for states to invest in quality care for the youngest kids. For states that pay infant and toddler providers at least 75% of the local market rate, the federal government will increase its match to 90 percent for that specific spending (SEC. 203). This significantly increases the federal investment in infant and toddler care, potentially leading to higher quality standards and better pay for those providers.

Don't Forget the Financial Aid Paperwork

Finally, Title III addresses a persistent issue in federal student aid. It requires schools to actively inform student parents that they can potentially include a dependent care allowance as part of their total cost of attendance when calculating federal financial aid (SEC. 301). This might seem like a small administrative change, but for a student parent, factoring in thousands of dollars in childcare costs can significantly increase their eligibility for grants and subsidized loans, making the difference between staying in school and dropping out.