Child Care Subsidy Program; income-based eligibility for assistance.
<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 14.1 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-289.08:3, relating to early childhood care and education; Child Care Subsidy Program; income-based eligibility for assistance; development and implementation of phased reduction model; report.</p>
ChildrenEducation
Enacted
This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.
Sponsor
Locke
Last action
2026-03-14
Official status
Failed
Effective date
Not listed
Plain English Breakdown
Checked against official source text during the last sync.
Child Care Subsidy Program Income-Based Eligibility
This bill requires the Department of Education to create a phased reduction model for child care subsidies, ensuring families don't lose assistance suddenly as their income increases.
What This Bill Does
Requires the Department of Education to develop and implement a phased reduction model for the Child Care Subsidy Program.
Ensures that when a family's income goes up, their child care subsidy decreases gradually instead of stopping all at once.
Directs the Board of Education to make rules about how this phased reduction model should work.
Requires the Department of Education to report progress and results to the General Assembly.
Who It Names or Affects
Families receiving child care subsidies through the Child Care Subsidy Program
The Department of Education
Terms To Know
phased reduction model
A system where child care assistance decreases gradually as a family's income increases.
interim report
A progress update given to the General Assembly before the final results are known.
Limits and Unknowns
The bill will not take effect unless it is reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly.
It does not specify how much assistance families will receive at each income level.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment adds a requirement that the changes made by SB20 will only take effect if the same changes are passed again in the next legislative session in 2027.
Adds a clause stating that the bill's provisions will not go into effect unless they are reenacted during the 2027 legislative session.
The amendment does not specify what happens if the changes are not reenacted in 2027, leaving this detail unclear.
Plain English: The amendment adds a requirement that the new law about child care subsidies will only take effect if it is passed again in the next year's legislative session.
Adds a condition that the bill’s provisions must be reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly to become effective.
The amendment does not provide details about what happens if the law is not reenacted in 2027.
Bill History
2026-03-14House
Left in Education
2026-03-11House
Motion to rerefer to Education agreed to
2026-03-11Education
Rereferred to Education
2026-03-10House
Passed by for the day
2026-03-09House
Passed by for the day
2026-03-06House
Read second time
2026-03-04Education
Reported from Education with amendment(s) (18-Y 3-N)
2026-03-04House
House committee offered
2026-03-03Finance and Appropriations
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB20)
2026-02-18House
Placed on Calendar
2026-02-18House
Read first time
2026-02-18Education
Referred to Committee on Education
2026-02-13Senate
Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-12Senate
Read second time
2026-02-12Senate
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute Block Vote (Voice Vote)
Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N)
2026-01-27Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB20)
2026-01-22Education and Health
Reported from Education and Health and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)
2026-01-15Public Education
Assigned Education sub: Public Education
2025-11-17Senate
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100691D
2025-11-17Education and Health
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
Official Summary Text
Early childhood care and education; Child Care Subsidy Program; income-based eligibility for assistance; development and implementation of phased reduction model; report.
Requires the Department of Education to develop and implement a phased reduction model for the Child Care Subsidy Program (the Program) that provides for an assistance phase-out period during which the assistance for which a given family is eligible is reduced in proportion to increases in such family's income for the purpose of ensuring that no family receiving child care assistance under the Program experiences a sudden loss in eligibility for assistance as a result of an increase in family income. The bill requires the phased reduction model developed and implemented by the Department to consist of incremental income tiers, with each increase in income tier corresponding to a proportional reduction in the percentage of assistance for which a given family is eligible under the Program. The bill directs the Board of Education to (i) promulgate regulations for the development and implementation of the phased reduction model in accordance with the provisions of the bill and (ii) submit to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services any amendments to the current Child Care and Development Fund Plan for Virginia as are necessary to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill requires the Department of Education to provide an interim report to the General Assembly by October 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, and a summative report to the General Assembly by April 1, 2027.
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
SB 20
EDUCATION
1. After line 55, engrossed
insert
4. That the provisions of this act shall not become effective unless reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly.