Bill > SB857

This bill modifies the Prekindergarten Expansion Grant Program to improve accessibility and transparency for child care providers. The bill introduces several key changes, including requiring grant applications to use plain language and provide multilingual instructions, establishing a multi-year grant award process to provide greater financial stability for recipients, and mandating that the Department of Education provide 100% of grant funds by July 1st. The bill specifically prohibits using grants to supplant existing child care slots for infants and toddlers, ensuring that the program expands rather than replaces existing services. Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Education to provide technical assistance to multilingual applicants, family child care providers, and small, independent child care providers. The legislation also requires the Department to convene a workgroup to explore opportunities for incentivizing growth in child care providers with infant and toddler slots, with a report on recommendations due by December 1, 2025. The bill defines an "eligible young child" as a 3 or 4-year-old from an economically disadvantaged background (defined as a family with income no more than 300% of federal poverty guidelines) whose parent seeks to enroll them in a publicly funded prekindergarten program. The changes aim to broaden the availability of high-quality prekindergarten and school readiness services throughout the state.

Education

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0857?ys=2025RS