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Chairman Phil Mendelson 2
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 7
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 11
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To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Day Care Policy 16
Act of 1979 to update the minimum salaries child development facilities must pay assistant 17
and lead teachers beginning in January 2026 to participate in the Early Childhood Educator 18
Pay Equity Program, to incorporate the Early Childhood Educator Equitable Compensation 19
Task Force and the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund into the act , and to make 20
conforming amendments. 21
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 23
resolution may be cited as the “Early Childhood Educator Pay Scales Emergency Declaration 24
Resolution of 2025”. 25
Sec. 2. (a) Early childhood educators and child development facilities are essential to 26
providing children with foundational mental, emotional, and social skills prior to formal 27
schooling, while supplying a stable and reliable form of childcare for working families and a 28
more robust economy. Despite their importance to families’ and children’s wellbeing, early 29
childhood educators have historically been underpaid, affecting their ability to stay in the 30
profession and provide families with stable and quality childcare. To meet the needs of educators 31
and families alike, the Council adopted the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund 32
Establishment Act of 2021, effective November 21, 2021 (D.C. Law 24-45; D.C. Official Code § 33
1-325.431). 34
(b) The Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund (“pay equity fund”) was established 35
in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget to provide supplemental payments to child development facilities 36
to implement an Early Childhood Educator salary scale through the Early Childhood Educator 37
Pay Equity Program (“program”). The Fiscal Year 2025 budget necessitated reductions across 38
the District Government. Of the $70,000,000 allocated to the pay equity fund in Fiscal Year 39
2025, and annually over the next 4 years, 5% of the fund is allocated to administrative costs and 40
$12,000,000 is allocated to the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority. 41
(c) In September 2024, the Early Childhood Educator Equitable Compensation Task 42
Force (“task force”) released a new lead and assistant teacher compensation scale based on the 43
FY25 appropriation. These financial parameters required changes to the program formula and 44
salary scale to keep early childhood educator salaries comparable to D.C. Public Schools and 45
local education agencies in the District. The Council codified the recommended salary scales on 46
October 15, 2024, through emergency and temporary legislation, and they were later made 47
permanent through the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Amendment Act of 2025. 48
(d) Over the course of FY25, it became apparent that the policy measures in the 49
legislation and the compensation scale recommended by the task force were inadequate to 50
alleviate financial pressures, and expenditures for the program totaled $77,342,319. Council 51
appropriated additional funding to the program for Fiscal Year 2026, but it was insufficient to 52
cover the projected discrepancy between program costs and appropriated funds of $9,000,000. 53
Emergency legislation is therefore needed to reduce program costs to offset the gap in funding 54
for the program. 55
(e) Therefore, there exists an immediate need to amend the Day Care Policy Act to 56
update the current compensation scales to ensure the District has the new, financially feasible 57
minimum educator salaries in place by December 31, 2025. This amendment would provide 58
child development facilities in the District, with an updated salary structure that keeps the 59
program viable and within the limits established by the FY26 budget. 60
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 61
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Early 62
Childhood Educator Pay Scales Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 be adopted after a single 63
reading. 64
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 65