Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) oversees school districts and educational service districts that provide institutional education services.  As part of its duties, the OSPI has numerous and broad responsibilities prescribed in statute, including:

• making rules and regulations necessary for the administration of public education requirements;
• preparing courses of study and other materials and books for the discharge of education duties;
• fulfilling financial responsibilities, including distributing legislatively allocated funds to districts for the operation of the public school system, and awarding numerous state and federally funded grants; and
• satisfying numerous reporting and other duties assigned by the Legislature.

 
Career and Technical Education.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs support local middle and high school programs that provide academic and technical skills for all students.  Teachers participate in the professional development of curricula and instruction, standards and assessment, and academic integration.  Every CTE course is approved by the OSPI.  The CTE classes fall into one of 16 career clusters, which are groupings of jobs and industries that are related by skills or products.  The Human Services Career Cluster is organized into seven career pathways, including an early childhood development and services pathway.
 
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is responsible for overseeing the state's programs related to children and youth, including child welfare, juvenile rehabilitation, and child care and early learning.  In its child care and early learning portfolio, the DCYF is responsible for regulating and licensing child care businesses, administering the state's child care subsidy program, Working Connections Child Care, as well as various state-funded early learning programs, including the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and the Birth-to-Three ECEAP program, among others.  The DCYF also administers the Early Achievers program, which is the state's quality rating and improvement system for child care and early learning programs.
 
Legislation enacted in 2021 established the Fair Start for Kids Account (account), allowing expenditures exclusively for child care and early learning purposes.  A number of spending goals and strategies are outlined for the account.  Among these goals and strategies is providing professional development opportunities and supporting the substitute pool for child care and early learning providers.

Child Care Worker Pilot Program.
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) must establish a child care worker pilot program (pilot program) to promote opportunities for students to earn credit and experience by participating in courses and hands-on work practices as part of the early childhood development and services career pathway of career and technical education (CTE). 
 
The OSPI must select up to four school districts that choose to participate in the child care worker pilot program during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.  Participating school districts must agree to establish or expand student instruction in courses that are part of the CTE early childhood development and services career pathway, and preference must be given to school districts that have or are pursuing career launch programs.  To be eligible, a school district must, at a minimum:

• describe how pilot program funds would be used to establish or expand the CTE early childhood development and services career pathway;
• demonstrate community support for the established or expanded instructional offerings, including describing the actual or perceived need and efforts to coordinate instructional offerings with community colleges, child care providers, and organizations that support access to high quality child care and early learning programs; and
• agree to coordinate and collaborate with other school districts participating in the pilot program.

 
School districts participating in the pilot program are responsible for:

• coordinating background checks for participating students;
• connecting students with local community colleges offering coursework in early learning that meets early achievers requirements;
• coordinating with organizations that support access to high quality child care and early learning programs for the purpose of supporting students in professional settings and communicating with child care providers;
• providing a stipend or hourly wage to the students; and
• supporting efforts of qualifying students to earn dual credit, work credit, or both.

The OSPI must administer a grant program to provide grants to eligible school districts that participate in the pilot program; establish requirements for the grant application and award process, the number of awards, and the authorized use of funds; and begin distributing funds by September 1, 2023, with the distribution of funds completed by September 1, 2024.
 
Grant recipients must submit information to the OSPI by September 1, 2024, and September 1, 2025, detailing the use of grant funds.  By November 10, 2025, the OSPI must report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature with findings from and recommendations regarding the pilot program, including whether the program should be extended, expanded, or both, a compilation of the use of grant funds, and options for further supporting and promoting opportunities for students to earn credit and experience by participating in the CTE early childhood development and services career pathway.
 
The OSPI must also select one or two high schools that offer established courses in the CTE early childhood development and services career pathway for the purpose of consulting with the applicable schools and districts and developing model materials to be employed by other school districts with an interest in establishing or expanding similar instructional offerings to students.
 
Model Program Manual for Youth Caregivers.
By December 1, 2023, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) must develop and publish on its website a model program manual for a program to assist middle and high school aged youth who routinely care for younger relatives, such as siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, and other young children while those children's parents are away at work or school.  In developing the manual, the DCYF must consult with organizations that currently operate similar, well-established programs.
 
The manual must contain guidance regarding, but not limited to:

• providing key curriculum covering topics such as child development, nutrition, and home safety;
• incorporating elements of experiential learning and peer learning and support;
• proficiency with cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid; and
• the benefits of partnering with community-based organizations to provide program content and reach youth most in need of the program.

 
Supporting and Expanding Availability of Substitute Child Care Providers.
The DCYF must develop detailed recommendations regarding ways to utilize funds, in line with the spending goals and strategies identified for the Fair Start for Kids Account, to continue to expand the substitute pool for child care and early learning providers and provide additional career coaching to substitute providers.
 
The DCYF must provide a report with relevant data to Legislature by December 1, 2023, detailing the recommendations and including an update as to any milestones achieved as of the reporting date and projections for achievement of future goals.
 
Supporting Efforts to Establish New Child Care and Early Learning Programs.
The DCYF must administer a grant program to provide grants to one or more organizations that focus on working with child care workers to establish new affordable, high quality child care and early learning programs.  The DCYF must establish requirements for the application and grant award process, the number of awards, and the authorized use of grant funds, and must begin distributing funds by September 1, 2023.
 
At a minimum, to be eligible for grant funding, an organization must:

• provide professional development services for child care providers and early childhood educators, including training and mentorship programs;
• provide resources to assist with child care provider and facility licensing;
• contribute to or host a system of shared resources and consulting related to operating a child care business; and
• facilitate a substitute child care provider program.

 
Grant recipients must provide information to the DCYF by October 1, 2024, detailing the use of grant funds.  The DCYF must compile the information submitted by grantees and provide a report on the grant program and use of funds to the Legislature by December 1, 2024.