Kidango is proud to co-sponsor AB 753 (Garcia) to provide a pathway for Early Childhood Education (ECE) Teachers. Quality child care provides a setting where young children can engage in educational and social activities that foster cognitive, emotional, and social development. Without these opportunities, they may miss out on critical learning experiences that prepare them for school and life. In addition, when families cannot access child care, their economic mobility is often limited.
Child care providers are currently struggling to hire a sufficient number of qualified teachers to keep all classrooms fully staffed and open. Furthermore, the lack of care available for infants and toddlers is acute across the state. Compounding the problem are lengthy licensing wait times.
The demand for new child care slots is apparent–according to the California Budget and Policy Center, only 14% of eligible children currently have access to ECE programs–as close to 2 million children are waiting to receive care. However, child care programs do not have a sufficient number of teachers to staff current classrooms, let alone new classrooms, and are therefore disincentivized from applying for these new contracts.
In a report released in 2022 by Child Care Resource Center, 88% of programs reported having staff leave the field for better wages and benefits. Programs also reported a range of 20%-52% decline in staffing, with one program closing an entire location due to insufficient staff. It has been widely acknowledged that the current situation is not sustainable for providers and for families.
Specifically, this bill would:
Authorize childcare and preschool programs to hire an interim associate teacher and provide them with 2 years from their hire date to obtain a Child Development Associate Teacher Permit, or equivalent permit. As a condition, the interim associate teacher must have at least six units from an accredited institution of higher education in early childhood education, child development, or human development, or a combination thereof towards their Child Development Associate Teacher Permit or equivalent and there can be no more than one interim associate teacher pursuant to this provision allowed to work per classroom.
How You Can Support This Bill
1. Submit an Organizational Support Letter for AB 753
AB 753 Template Support Letter using the Position Letter Portal for Advocates.
2. Tweet a message
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Author: Assemblymember Robert Garcia
Sponsors:
Child Action, Child Care Resource Center (CCRC),Early Edge California, Unite LA.
How You Can Support This Bill:
- Call or Send a letter to you legislators:
- Find your legislator
- Go to their website, find the contact info
- Ask them to support AB 753
- Send a letter to the Governor:
- Here is a sample support letter for AB 753. Please copy and paste onto your email or letterhead and submit via email to leg.unit@gov.ca.gov using the following subject line “RE: AB 753 (Garcia) Child Care-Addressing the Teacher Shortage. REQUEST FOR SIGNATURE”.
Show Your Support on Social Media:
Use the AB 753 Toolkit that contains social posts, graphics, and talking points.
Track this bill: To track bills, visit the California Legislative Information Inquiry System. Once you have created an account, you can click on the “My Subscriptions” tab to be notified of any hearings, amendments, and actions taken on AB 753.
For detailed instructions on how to track a bill, please click here.
