About

The Bipartisan Congressional Pre-K and Child Care Caucus seeks to foster bipartisan and comprehensive conversations on early education to ensure our nation’s children are afforded high-quality, accessible education and child care.  The caucus aims to provide a forum for members of Congress to: 

  • Examine early education and child care;
  • Explore best practice programs; and
  • Develop policy recommendations to improve and expand early education.

We created this caucus in an effort to bring attention to the benefits of high-quality Pre-K and child care. This issue deserves national action – it’s of national importance and concern. The United States ranks 28th in early learning enrollment, with 29 percent of four-year-olds enrolled in state-funded Pre-K. This standing lags far behind our competitor nations around the world. Studies show that students who complete high-quality Pre-K programs are more likely to find academic and career success than their peers who don’t. 

It’s clear that expanding access to early education should be a priority for Congress, and this caucus will continue to increase awareness of high-quality Pre-K’s value and energize conversations on Capitol Hill around the issue. 

Caucus Highlights from the 117th Congress

  • Reps. Joaquin Castro, Katherine Clark, Suzanne Bonamici, and Caucus members led a letter to the Biden Admin requesting greater PPE for childcare providers.
  • Reps. Joaquin Castro, Katherine Clark, Suzanne Bonamici, and other Caucus members led a letter to President Biden asking the administration to prioritize reducing the cost of childcare and expanding Pre-K access in the reconciliation package.
  • Reps. Joaquin Castro, Sara Jacobs, Suzanne Bonamici, Joaquin Castro, Chrissy Houlahan, Jim Himes, Donald McEachin, and other Caucus members led a letter to House and Senate Leadership supporting the inclusion of a childcare and pre-k proposal from Senator Murray and Senator Kaine in any reconciliation package.
  • Reps. Joaquin Castro, Sara Jacobs, Suzanne Bonamici, Marc Veasey, and Marilyn Strickland led a letter to appropriators supporting increased funding for childcare in the FY23 omnibus.
  • Caucus members led a number of letters supporting appropriations funding for Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5), Child Care and Development Block Grant, and Head Start and Early Head Start programming.

Caucus Highlights from the 116th Congress

  • Hosted a kick-off event for members of Congress, staff, and their children to learn more about the importance of federal investments in early learning programs.
  • Led a briefing with the First Five Years Fund on federal funding for early learning and care programs.

Caucus Highlights from 115th Congress:

  • Arranged a kick-off event to welcome Caucus members back to Congress in conjunction with Sesame Workshop
  • Explored the benefits of early education with Council for a Strong America and Mission: Readiness to show how early learning can improve the pool of young people who meet the standards for military service
  • Welcomed new co-chair, Congressman Rodney Davis (IL-13)

Caucus Highlights from 114th Congress:

  • Launched the Caucus in April 2016 with the help of Sesame Workshop
  • Held a briefing on Head Start, featuring former director Dr. Blanca Enriquez and a Head Start grant recipient, Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP)
  • Organized a briefing on Early Education Outside the Classroom highlighting sport, TV, and literacy campaign benefits
Pre K Caucus logo

To learn more about the Congressional Pre-K Caucus, please contact here: Email Us