Duckworth, Clark Reintroduce Bill Providing Affordable and Accessible Child Care for Parenting Students

Duckworth, Clark Reintroduce Bill Providing Affordable and Accessible Child Care for Parenting Students

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA-5) today reintroduced legislation to help increase access to on-campus child care for the more than 3 million parenting students currently enrolled in postsecondary education programs. Despite the latest cuts from the Trump Administration, the Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS) Reauthorization Act would reauthorize and increase funding for the only federal program that exclusively supports on-campus child care services and ensure the U.S. Department of Education is meeting the needs of parenting students.

"Whether by illegally withholding CCAMPIS funding or repeatedly calling to eliminate the program altogether, it's deeply cruel that Donald Trump is working to rip yet another lifeline away from student parents across the country," said Senator Duckworth. "No parent should be forced to drop out of college or take on even more debt just to complete their education. Our legislation would help provide student parents access to the child care they deserve so they can focus on their education and build a stronger future for their families."

"The skyrocketing cost of child care is holding parents back," said House Democratic Whip Clark. "You should be able to raise a family while pursuing an education, advancing in your career, and building a better future for your child. This legislation reflects what Democrats are fighting for everyday: empowering more people to pursue their American Dream without going into debt."

Parenting students already graduate with much higher levels of debt compared to non-parenting students and have more difficulty paying that debt off while making ends meet. Since 2004, the number of parents enrolled in college has grown by 30 percent, while the share of institutions offering on-campus child care services has declined by 14 percent. This leaves parenting students stuck in the middle as they face both exorbitant tuition costs and a lack of options for safe, affordable, on-campus child care.

The Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS) Reauthorization Act would:

• Reauthorize the CCAMPIS program through Fiscal Year 2031
• Authorize the CCAMPIS funding level at $500 million per year
• Increase the minimum grant award that eligible institutions of higher education can receive to $75,000 per year and set a maximum grant award of $2 million per year
• Eliminate barriers for parenting students to access child care services supported by a CCAMPIS grant
• Streamline program requirements and enhance U.S. Department of Education technical assistance to make it easier for eligible institutions to apply for a CCAMPIS grant
• Help connect parenting students to benefit programs that help with food, housing and health care services
• Enhance program transparency and accountability by collecting disaggregated data on the parenting students served by the program

Along with Duckworth, the legislation is co-sponsored in the Senate by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).

Along with Clark, the legislation is co-led in the House by Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO-07) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02).

The legislation has been endorsed by the following organizations: American Association of University Women (AAUW), Ascend at the Aspen Institute, California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economy, Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations (CCWRO), EdTrust, First Five Years Fund, Generation Hope, Green River College (Auburn, WA), Institute for Women's Policy Research, Madison Area Technical College, National Women's Law Center, New America Higher Education Policy Program, Save the Children, SchoolHouse Connection, The Institute for College Access and Success, Today's Students Coalition, Trellis Strategies, UCLA, and Walla Walla Community College.

Duckworth has been a strong supporter of expanding and protecting the CCAMPIS program. She originally authored the CCAMPIS Reauthorization Act in 2016 while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and has been championing ever since. This year, Duckworth requested an immediate investigation into the legality of the Trump Administration's withholding of applications for CCAMPIS grants for the 2025-2026 academic year.

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