The first section of this Act provides its short title, allowing it to be informally referred to as the "Preparing and Resourcing Our Student Parents and Early Childhood Teachers Act" or the "PROSPECT Act."

The section outlines the table of contents for an act that includes various titles and sections related to grants and programs supporting infant and toddler child care, as well as child care and development block grants. It details the structure of the act, listing key components like purpose, definitions, and specific types of grants, along with provisions for program administration, eligibility, funding, and outreach activities.

Congress has identified several key issues related to childcare, highlighting that a child's brain develops rapidly in the early years and quality childcare can support their future success. However, childcare is often unaffordable for many families, and student parents face significant challenges in accessing childcare, with limited availability at colleges and universities, particularly for children under age 3.

The section aims to increase access to child care for infants and toddlers who have parents attending public community colleges and minority-serving institutions. It also seeks to enhance the workforce by making it more diverse and strengthening the skills of child care providers, focusing especially on underserved communities and areas lacking adequate child care.

This section of the bill provides definitions for key terms related to education and child care, such as “community college,” “dual language learner,” and “minority-serving institution.” It covers terminology that clarifies different educational programs, child care services, and other related concepts to ensure a clear understanding of the provisions mentioned in the bill.

There is a total of $9 billion authorized to be set aside for the implementation of this title, to be spent over the five fiscal years from 2026 to 2030.

The section outlines a program where the Secretary will use funds to provide various types of grants to eligible entities. These grants include planning grants for developing plans, access grants to offer free child care to infants and toddlers of student parents, impact grants to enhance child care quality and availability, and pipeline grants for training early childhood educators and building partnerships to strengthen the workforce. The Secretary will coordinate with health and business officials in managing these grants.

The section outlines the application process and selection criteria for grants aimed at improving infant and toddler child care in colleges. It details what must be included in grant applications, how grants will be prioritized, and the special considerations that may lead to additional funding, with a focus on areas lacking child care services and supporting low-income and minority communities.

The section describes the rules for grant amounts and durations under subtitle B, stating that grants to individual community colleges or minority-serving institutions cannot exceed $20 million, while those to a consortium can go up to $220 million. Grants typically last 4 years, except for 1-year planning grants, and eligible entities can enter annual grant competitions to receive various grants, including multiple overlapping ones, without affecting grants from other federal laws.

The Secretary is authorized to give grants to eligible entities, which include planning grants to assess child care needs, access grants for free child care for children under 3, impact grants to enhance child care services, and pipeline grants to support and grow the early childhood educator workforce.

Eligible entities receiving grants under this section must use the funds to form a committee to reflect on community needs, assess infant and toddler child care needs, plan for expanded access to child care, and develop a proposal focusing on parents with children under age 3. They must report the needs assessment results, the proposal, and any additional grant applications to the Secretary within 30 days after the grant period ends.

An eligible entity receiving a grant under this section must use the funds to provide free infant and toddler childcare for student parents at community colleges or minority-serving institutions by expanding, operating, or collaborating with child care centers, ensuring priority for low-income student parents, and adhering to quality and licensing standards. Furthermore, grant recipients must report annually on various metrics, such as the demographics of participating parents and children, compliance with disability standards, and the rates of student persistence and completion, while maintaining individuals' privacy.

Grants under this section are intended to expand and improve child care in communities by providing resources like training, funding, and support for child care providers, with a focus on increasing access to quality care for infants and toddlers, particularly in underserved areas. The program also emphasizes professional development in multiple languages, support for historically underrepresented groups, and requires annual reporting on the grant's impact, ensuring diversity and privacy in the disclosed information.

Grants under this section aim to improve the workforce for infant and toddler child care providers, especially in underserved areas, by funding activities like developing educational programs, hiring faculty, coordinating with community colleges, enhancing child care centers for training, awarding student microgrants, and forming partnerships with high schools and universities. Reporting on the results includes data on student demographics, microgrant usage, and partnerships, ensuring privacy and statistical reliability.

The section outlines how the effectiveness of different types of educational grants will be evaluated each year, focusing on the impact on students, child care services, and educator preparation programs. It includes criteria like the number of students benefiting from the grants, use of child care services, professional development provided, and outcomes related to persistence and completion of educational programs.

The Secretary is required to create and submit a yearly report to Congress about the grant program. This report must include the latest evaluation results and updates on the achievements of the grants based on recent reports from sections 122(b), 123(c), 124(c), and 125(b).

The section outlines that no person in the United States can be discriminated against based on their race, religion, sex, or several other personal characteristics in programs funded by this title. It also states that any violations will be treated like those under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and clarifies that this section does not alter existing provisions of a related child care law.

The section amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act to broaden the definition of what counts as a job training or educational program for eligibility purposes, including higher education and secondary education programs. It also ensures that state eligibility standards for child care aid cannot be more restrictive than federal standards.

The section updates the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act to include references to a new act called the Preparing and Resourcing Our Student Parents and Early Childhood Teachers Act, ensuring that child care centers covered by this new act are appropriately identified in the existing law.

The amendment to the Social Security Act allows the federal government to match a state's spending on child care. This amount is either based on the state's approved funding or is calculated by considering the state's assistance for infants and toddlers and other children, with a focus on those areas where market rates or an approved cost estimation model is used.

Section 301 modifies the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include information about a dependent care allowance for students with dependents, which can affect their financial aid. It explains that these students may qualify for additional allowances in their cost of attendance and provides guidance on how they can apply for this assistance.