Providing high-quality childcare services at no cost to low-income parents attending community colleges and minority-serving institutions (MSIs) is the focus of legislation introduced by Democrats in the House and Senate.
Last week, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) unveiled the Preparing and Resourcing Our Student Parents and Early Childhood Teachers Act (PROSPECT Act) following a recent report that showed one in five college students are raising a child under age five while in school, and that many of these parents have trouble finding affordable, high-quality childcare. In December, Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Connecticut) introduced the same legislation in the House.
There are about 4.3 million college students in the U.S. who are raising children while attending school, according to Hayes’ office. Student parents are 20 percent more likely to leave college without a degree than students without children.