Legislature passed early-learning bills; state budget pauses or delays some rate increases and expansions

Courtney Parker, government affairs policy adviser at DCYF, and Nicole Rose, assistant secretary of early learning, provided a high-level summary of bills the legislature passed this session and a detailed overview of budget choices that will affect early learning programs statewide.

Parker said several bills clarify and adjust the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECAP) entitlement and eligibility rules. "House Bill 1351, as well as a portion of Senate Bill 5752, clarify and adjust ECAP entitlement and ECAP eligibility," Parker said, summarizing statutory changes that aim to reduce administrative ambiguity and increase access in some circumstances.

Parker and Nicole Rose listed other enacted measures affecting early learning operations, including bills that do the following: modify staff-qualification timelines and create a staff-qualification work group (House Bill 1648); expand allowable documents for verifying a child's age for enrollment (Senate Bill 5030); change special education funding provisions and the ESIT/ESIP multiplier (Senate Bill 5263); pause growth of some transition-to-kindergarten programs (Senate Bill 5769); require more frequent market rate and cost-of-quality studies and instruct DCYF to run a pilot licensing program for school-aged care with a municipality (Senate Bill 5752); and update local zoning and facility rules to allow childcare centers as permitted uses in more zones (Senate Bill 5509). Parker said the bills are mostly technical or implementation-focused but will require DCYF rulemaking and reporting in some instances.

Rose described a series of budget actions that will affect program timing and funding. She said the budget is "humbling, sobering, very layered," and that lawmakers balanced new investments with program delays and reductions amid a state revenue shortfall.

Key budget actions Rose highlighted included:

- Delay of the center-based base rate increase to the 80th percentile of the market-rate survey until July 1, 2026; the change is paired with an assumed savings step that removes the "hold harmless" protection for providers whose current subsidy rates exceed the new 80th percentile in fiscal year 2027.

- A collective-bargaining rollup for licensed family home and family, friend and neighbor providers, with some elements folded into the bargaining agreement and reflected in the budget.

- Delay of some expanded eligibility and a postponement of the move to 75% of state median income eligibility until July 1, 2029.

- A 3,000 slot reduction for ECAP part-day slots beginning July 1, 2025 (fiscal year 2026); DCYF staff said contractors have been notified and the reduction will also lower DCYF administrative FTE authority.

- A 5% rate increase for ECAP school-day slots effective July 1, 2025 (fiscal year 2026) and a smaller net increase of 250 school-day slots in fiscal year 2027.

- Reductions or eliminations in several Fair Start for Kids enhancements, including some trauma-informed-care and dual-language enhancements for center-based providers; in many cases the family child care enhancements bargained through the collective agreement remain.

Rose said some funds were preserved or added, including a $2 million award to Washington Communities for Children and capital-budget support for the Early Learning Facilities (ELF) grant and loan program, including minor-renovation and emergency grant funds.

She also said DCYF will conduct a cost-of-quality study and a more frequent market-rate survey as directed by statute, and that the agency will continue implementation planning while acknowledging that many operational details remain incomplete.

Several council members expressed concern about parity between centers and family-home providers and urged that provider voices be front and center in the staff-qualifications work group. Courtney Parker said DCYF will circulate recruitment information for the work group and reach out to organizations named in statute to identify representatives.

What this means: lawmakers enacted multiple bills affecting early learning policy and charged DCYF with implementation and reports, but the current budget reduces or delays some programmatic expansions and rate increases. DCYF said it will communicate implementation details to contractors and provider networks and will return to advisory groups with more concrete plans as implementation work progresses.

DCYF officials said they will pursue communication with providers about the changes and expect to present supplemental requests in a future session if state revenue improves.