Policy Pulse #10
In each issue of the Policy Pulse, you will find an overview of what’s happening with Massachusetts and national child care policy and information on what you can do to take action and join the movement for a transformed early education and care system. You’ll also find resources, reports, and advocacy tools. In this issue we share information on Massachusetts’ FY2026 budget season, federal policy impacts on early education, the Massachusetts Interagency Taskforce’s year one report and more. We also want to know how we’re doing with the Policy Pulse. Please help us by completing this brief survey on the value of the Pulse! Let’s dive in.
What To Know
Massachusetts Early Education and Care Bills
Are you interested in what early education and care bills Massachusetts legislators will consider in the 2025-2027 legislative session? Over sixty bills related to early education and child care that were filed and sent to committees. These bills include a range of legislation that seek to improve the early education and care sector for educators, children, and families. Get the highlights and track bill progress in our new blog here!
Massachusetts Ways and Means Committees Are Considering the FY2026 budget
Earlier this week The Joint Committee on Ways and Means held an invite only hearing on education and local aid, including testimony of the Commissioner of Early Education and a panel on Early Education to hear about priorities for next year’s budget. A recording of the hearing can be found here. There will also be a public hearing net month. (see “What to Do for more information”
Inter-Agency Task Force on Early Education and Child Care Releases Goals and Year 1 Report
In January of 2024 Governor Healey created an Inter-Agency Task Force on Early Education and Child Care to form a whole of government response to increase access to affordable, high quality child care. On March 12th, the taskforce released their year 1 report, including their goals. See our blog post here, for more information, or read the full report here.
New Massachusetts Joint Committee Chairs Appointed
Last month, Massachusetts legislative committee assignments and Committee Chairs were announced. Senator Jason Lewis was re-appointed as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education and will be joined by Representative Ken Gordon as the new House Chair. Both of these chairs have been longtime supporters of early education and child care and were the lead sponsors for the bills that ultimately led to the early education reforms in the Massachusetts FY2026 budget. Representative Paul McMurtry and Senator Jacob Oliveira were appointed chairs of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development which oversees funding for apprenticeship programs and other workforce legislation that impacts early educators, working families, and all workers. You can find the full list of appointments here.
Massachusetts Leadership Reissues Guidance to Schools on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
On February 26, 2025, the Office of the Governor and Attorney General, Executive Office of Education, Department of Higher Education, and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reissued and updated joint guidance to Massachusetts educational institutions that they should continue their work to foster diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within their institutions. The guidance is directed specifically to Massachusetts Institutions of Higher Education and K-12 schools, but shows Massachusetts leadership's commitment and support of these practices as Executive Orders by President Trump and a recent "Dear Colleague" letter by the U.S. Department of Education has targeted such policies and programming in schools.
The guidance states that there is long standing legal precedence establishing that educational institutions may take steps to build meaningfully diverse student bodies. And this precedent can't be changed by an executive order or Dear Colleague Letter. You can find the joint guidance document here.
President Trump Issues an Executive Order to Close the Department of Education
On March 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order instructing the Secretary of Education to dismantle the Department of Education to the extent allowable by law. Actually eliminating the agency requires an act of Congress. However, the Secretary does have the power to reduce staff, change regulations, and move which agencies oversee certain programs.
Most of the funding and oversight for early education happens through the Department of Health and Human Services. The biggest impact to the early education sector will be felt in Public PreK, special education services for children 3 and older, and access to higher education opportunities for educators.
This order comes a week after the Trump Administration initiated a reduction of force at the Department of Education, cutting its staff in half. Those fired include much of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Federal Student Aid, and Institute of Education Sciences, which include the staff who process higher education loans and grants, determine how much Title I and IDEA (special education) funding each state gets, and oversee accountability to make sure each child receives the education they are legally guaranteed.
Several school districts, including Somerville and Easthampton are suing the administration, saying dismantling the department is unlawful and will result in millions of students being denied crucial, legally protected services. Massachusetts Attorney General Campbell, along with 20 other state attorneys general sued to stop the Administration from dismantling ED through its reduction of force.
Congress Passes Continuing Resolution and Avoids Government Shutdown; Cuts Non-defense Spending
On March 14, 2025, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to maintain federal government funding through the end of September. The CR keeps funding at the same level set for the previous year, so it doesn’t take into consideration inflation and rising costs. This means the funding won’t go as far. Additionally, while the plan keeps the total federal funding the same, it cuts nondefense spending by $13 billion and increases defense spending by $6 billion, but gives no specifics about which funding should be kept or cut. This means the executive branch (led by the President) can impact which spending gets kept or cut, including for programs that support child care access, housing assistance, K-12 funds, and more. We will share more as the specifics of how this funding plays out unfolds.
The Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education Fires Probationary Employees
Last month probationary employees (any employee working in their position for less than 1 year, regardless of performance) across the federal government were fired. A group of states attorneys general, including Massachusetts Attorney General, sued HHS, ED, and the other agencies and departments due to these actions.
A U.S. District Judge in Maryland issued required employees be reinstated (placing the employees on administrative leave or allowing them to return back to work) for 14 days, which expires at the beginning of April. The agencies have since canceled terminations and placed employees on administrative leave. The Trump Administration has appealed the case.
What To Do
Contact Your Legislators
The Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026) Massachusetts state budget is under consideration. Now is the time to reach out to your state Representative and State Senator to tell them child care is your top issue and what your funding priorities are. Click here to find your state legislators' contact info.
Federal funding and regulations are key for early education and child care in Massachusetts. This is especially true for Head Start, CCFA, Public PreK, and Special Education Services for young children. Reach out to your federal legislators to let them know how important early education and care is to you. You can find their contact information here.
Provide Feedback on the Child Care Financial Assistance Regulations Amendments
In 2024, the Massachusetts legislature passed several early education policy reforms through the FY2025 budget which advocates had been pushing for since 2020. These included increasing income eligibility for the Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) and reducing challenges for eligible families to obtain care. The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) is now proposing changes to CCFA Program Regulations to put these reforms into practice. We put together a fact sheet to explain the changes, which you can find here. You can also review the complete changes here.
On April 3, 2025, at 6:00pm, EEC is hosting a public hearing where the public can provide feedback and comments on the changes. You can find more information about the public meeting here. You can also submit written feedback or comments to the EEC. You can give feedback until April 15, 2025, at 5:00pm.
Attend the Massachusetts Joint Ways & Means hearing on the Fy2026 Budget
Attend the Joint Committee on Ways and Means public hearing to make your thoughts on the budget known. The hearing is Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 11 am at the Massachusetts State House. Your participation and testimony are vital in highlighting the needs and concerns of the early ed community for how Massachusetts allocated funds for next year. If you are unable to attend in person, you can sign up to give virtual testimony or send written testimony to share your insights and experiences. Written testimony may be submitted to the committee by emailing Kip.Diggs@mahouse.gov
What’s Next
The next meeting of the EEC Board of Directors will be on April 9, 2025 at 1:00pm. A full schedule of meetings as well as recordings and meeting materials can be found here. We will share a full recap of this meeting in the next issue of the Policy Pulse.
The next step in the Massachusetts state budget process is the release of the House Ways and Means Committee’s proposal. The proposal is expected to be released in mid April.
The next Budget Breakdown will be Wednesday May 7 at 6:30PM. Join Neighborhood Villages and Strategies for Children to discuss the Massachusetts House Budget Recommendations and its implications for early education and childcare. Be on the lookout for the registration in early April.
Massachusetts Legislative Committees will now begin considering newly proposed Legislation. In Massachusetts each bill will receive a hearing. We will keep you posted when hearings begin (see our new blog for details on what was filed for early education and child care).
