Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota House Bill HF1383 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1.1 A bill for an act
2	2	1.2 relating to child care; establishing a program to assist families with the cost of
3	3	1.3 child care; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 142A.44, subdivision 2;
4	4	1.4 proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 142D.
5	5	1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
6	6	1.6 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 142A.44, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
7	7	1.7 Subd. 2.Development.In developing the plan and implementing the program under
8	8	1.8this section, the commissioner shall:
9	9	1.9 (1) identify ways to integrate the functions, administrative structures, and funding
10	10	1.10mechanisms of early care and learning programs administered by the state with the great
11	11	1.11start scholarships program;
12	12	1.12 (2) consider the recommendations made by the Great Start for All Minnesota Children
13	13	1.13Task Force under Laws 2021, First Special Session chapter 7, article 14, section 18,
14	14	1.14subdivision 2;
15	15	1.15 (3) create a process and timeline to transition the following families to the great start
16	16	1.16scholarships program by July 1, 2028:
17	17	1.17 (i) families with at least one child receiving an early learning scholarship under section
18	18	1.18142D.25; and
19	19	1.19 (ii) families with at least one child who is not yet in kindergarten and is receiving child
20	20	1.20care assistance under section 142E.04 or 142E.08 for care received from a provider licensed
21	21	1.21under Minnesota Rules, chapter 9502 or 9503, or Tribally licensed, or a Head Start program
22	22	1.22that has a rating under section 142D.13; and
23	23	1Section 1.
24	24	REVISOR DTT/NS 25-0374602/13/25
25	25	State of Minnesota
26	26	This Document can be made available
27	27	in alternative formats upon request
28	28	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
29	29	H. F. No. 1383
30	30	NINETY-FOURTH SESSION 2.1 (iii) families with at least one child receiving a great start affordability scholarship under
31	31	2.2section 142D.26;
32	32	2.3 (4) create mechanisms for members of local communities, including families and members
33	33	2.4of the early care and learning workforce, to have input in decisions regarding needs and
34	34	2.5preferences for early care and learning options;
35	35	2.6 (5) develop a proposed method for funding early care and learning slots in response to
36	36	2.7local need through contracts with eligible providers that may be used to deliver services
37	37	2.8that meet quality and compensation standards with the intent to build early care and learning
38	38	2.9capacity statewide for children from birth to kindergarten entry; and
39	39	2.10 (6) consider how to maximize available federal resources while maintaining access to
40	40	2.11child care assistance funding under sections 142E.04 or 142E.08 for school-age children.
41	41	2.12The commissioner, in consultation with an appropriate state agency, may seek federal
42	42	2.13technical assistance or outside consultation as necessary to provide minimally burdensome
43	43	2.14program access to all participating families.
44	44	2.15 Sec. 2. [142D.26] GREAT START AFFORDABILITY SCHOLARSHIPS.
45	45	2.16 Subdivision 1.Establishment; purpose.The commissioner of children, youth, and
46	46	2.17families shall establish a great start affordability scholarship program. The purpose of the
47	47	2.18program is to increase the affordability of high-quality early care and learning for families
48	48	2.19with children from birth to kindergarten entry, to meet as near as possible the standard that
49	49	2.20no Minnesota family pay more than seven percent of annual income for early care and
50	50	2.21learning.
51	51	2.22 Subd. 2.Family and child eligibility.(a) For a family to receive a scholarship under
52	52	2.23this section, parents or guardians must:
53	53	2.24 (1) have income less than 150 percent of the state median income; and
54	54	2.25 (2) have an eligible child as defined in section 142D.25, subdivision 2, paragraph (b),
55	55	2.26who is not concurrently a recipient of child care assistance under chapter 142E, or an early
56	56	2.27learning scholarship under section 142D.25.
57	57	2.28 (b) A child who receives a scholarship under this section must continue to receive the
58	58	2.29scholarship each year until the child is eligible for kindergarten under section 120A.20,
59	59	2.30provided the child's family complies with the renewal requirements in subdivision 4,
60	60	2.31paragraph (b), and provided money is available.
61	61	2Sec. 2.
62	62	REVISOR DTT/NS 25-0374602/13/25 3.1 (c) A child from an adjoining state whose family resides at a Minnesota address as
63	63	3.2assigned by the United States Postal Service, who has received developmental screening
64	64	3.3under sections 142D.09 to 142D.093, who intends to enroll in a Minnesota school district,
65	65	3.4and whose family meets the criteria of paragraph (a) is eligible for a scholarship under this
66	66	3.5section.
67	67	3.6 (d) A child who receives a scholarship under this section, is at least three years old, and
68	68	3.7has not completed development screening under sections 142D.09 to 142D.093, must
69	69	3.8complete that screening within 90 days of first attending an eligible program.
70	70	3.9 Subd. 3.Early care and learning program eligibility.(a) To be eligible to accept a
71	71	3.10scholarship under this section, an early care and learning program must participate in the
72	72	3.11quality rating and improvement system under section 142D.13.
73	73	3.12 (b) An early care and learning program accepting a scholarship under this section must
74	74	3.13use the revenue to supplement and not supplant federal funding.
75	75	3.14 Subd. 4.Administration.(a) The commissioner shall establish application timelines
76	76	3.15and procedures that meet the operational needs of eligible families.
77	77	3.16 (b) A scholarship is awarded for a 12-month period. To continue to receive a scholarship
78	78	3.17for an eligible child, a family must renew a scholarship prior to the end of the award period.
79	79	3.18The commissioner must establish a process by which a family may request a modification
80	80	3.19in scholarship amount due to changes in the family's circumstances prior to renewing a
81	81	3.20scholarship.
82	82	3.21 (c) The commissioner must cancel a scholarship for an eligible child under the following
83	83	3.22conditions:
84	84	3.23 (1) the child has not been accepted and subsequently enrolled in an eligible program
85	85	3.24within three months of the scholarship award;
86	86	3.25 (2) the child moves out of state;
87	87	3.26 (3) the child no longer has scholarship-eligible costs, fees, or tuition;
88	88	3.27 (4) the child's family is unresponsive for more than 30 days; or
89	89	3.28 (5) the child's family declines to continue to receive the scholarship.
90	90	3.29 Subd. 5.Scholarship amounts.The commissioner must establish a schedule of monthly,
91	91	3.30per-child scholarship amounts based on family income. The minimum per-child scholarship
92	92	3.31amount allowed under this section is $100 per month.
93	93	3Sec. 2.
94	94	REVISOR DTT/NS 25-0374602/13/25 4.1 Subd. 6.Payment practices.(a) The commissioner must establish a system to make
95	95	4.2scholarship payments to an eligible program selected by a scholarship recipient's family.
96	96	4.3The payment system must:
97	97	4.4 (1) ensure that a program receives payment for services in accordance with a written
98	98	4.5agreement completed by the program and the scholarship recipient's family that identifies
99	99	4.6amounts awarded under this section as a state-provided benefit;
100	100	4.7 (2) make scholarship payments in advance of or at the beginning of the delivery of
101	101	4.8services;
102	102	4.9 (3) make payments based on a child's enrollment rather than attendance; and
103	103	4.10 (4) include a process for transferring scholarship awards between eligible programs,
104	104	4.11when initiated by a scholarship recipient. Under the process, the commissioner:
105	105	4.12 (i) may adjust scholarship payment schedules for eligible programs to account for changes
106	106	4.13in a scholarship recipient's enrollment; and
107	107	4.14 (ii) must specify a period of time for which scholarship payments must continue to an
108	108	4.15eligible program for a scholarship recipient who transfers to a different eligible program.
109	109	4.16 (b) Payments to eligible programs for scholarships awarded under this section must start
110	110	4.17no later than July 1, 2026.
111	111	4.18 Subd. 7.Family notifications.(a) The commissioner must notify families in the state
112	112	4.19about potential eligibility and the opportunity to apply for scholarships under this section.
113	113	4.20 (b) An eligible program must identify the portion of a scholarship recipient's tuition that
114	114	4.21is paid for under this section as state-provided assistance on any tuition billing statements
115	115	4.22provided to the recipient's family.
116	116	4.23 Subd. 8.Great start affordability scholarship account.(a) A great start affordability
117	117	4.24scholarship account is established in the special revenue fund. Money appropriated for great
118	118	4.25start affordability scholarships under this section must be transferred to the account in the
119	119	4.26special revenue fund.
120	120	4.27 (b) Money in the account is annually appropriated to the commissioner for great start
121	121	4.28affordability scholarships under this section. Any returned money is available to be regranted.
122	122	4.29 (c) The commissioner may use up to seven percent of the money under paragraph (b)
123	123	4.30for costs associated with administering and monitoring the scholarships, including but not
124	124	4.31limited to making payments to eligible programs for the administrative costs associated
125	125	4.32with accepting scholarships under this section. The payment to an eligible program for
126	126	4Sec. 2.
127	127	REVISOR DTT/NS 25-0374602/13/25 5.1administrative costs must be based on a percentage, as determined by the commissioner, of
128	128	5.2the total scholarship payment made to the eligible program.
129	129	5Sec. 2.
130	130	REVISOR DTT/NS 25-0374602/13/25