Establishing the supporting our early education degree seekers scholarship.

 H-3363.2

SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2438

State of Washington

69th Legislature

2026 Regular Session

By House Postsecondary Education & Workforce (originally sponsored by Representatives Bergquist, Ybarra, Scott, Pollet, Reed, and Nance)

READ FIRST TIME 02/04/26.

AN ACT Relating to establishing the supporting our early education degree seekers scholarship; adding a new chapter to Title 28B RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:

(1) The share of families reporting difficulty securing a spot in licensed child care jumped from 22 percent in December 2021 to 58 percent in January 2022. The second most cited reason for staffing vacancies in licensed family homes is staffing issues and lack of staff capacity, and nearly 50 percent of child care centers report vacancies because of staffing issues. Licensed child care providers continue to struggle with recruiting and retaining staff in a tight labor market, especially as retail, hospitality, and service industries offer more competitive wages and benefits. Without targeted action, these access gaps in high quality care and their unequal impacts on women are likely to widen;