Public Policy Committee

PP Juliet Pailes.jpg
Juliet Pailes

Public Policy Committee

Your CAAEYC Public Policy Committee has been working diligently to advocate for policies that positively impact early childhood education in California and to create opportunities for you to learn about and participate in advocacy. Here are some key highlights of what we've been working on:

  • Advocating for Increased Funding: We have been actively engaging with policymakers to advocate for increased funding for early childhood education programs. Ensuring adequate resources are allocated to support quality early childhood education remains a top priority for us. Here are some highlights around recent advocacy events.
    • Thriving Families California Advocacy Day (February 18, 2026)
      • On February 18, CAAEYC representatives and statewide partners participated in the Thriving Families California Advocacy Day. Advocates urged state representatives to support the new alternative rate methodology, reimbursement rates, increased compensation and support for childcare providers, and to work towards fulfilling promised childcare spaces. CAAEYC advocates met with the offices of 
        • Assemblypersons Robert Garcia, Juan Carrillo, and Lori Wilson and Senators Suzette Vallardes, Rosilicie Ochoa-Bogh, Christopher Cabaldon, and Eloise Gomez-Reyes, and shared information with an additional 10 legislators via material drop off and email follow up.
    • NAEYC Public Policy Forum (February 22-24, 2026)
      • Seven California representatives attended the NAEYC Public Policy Forum in Washington D.C. at the end of February. Attendees participated in learning and networking alongside congressional leadership and staff. During congressional visits, advocates discussed increased funding for the CCDBG, Head Start and IDEA, amongst other national advocacy priorities. CAAEYC representation had meetings with the offices. 
        • Congresspersons Lateefah Simon, Norma Torres, Darrell Issa, Pete Aguilar, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Jay Obernolte, Ted Lieu, Jimmy Gomez, Julia Brownlee and Salud Carbajal; and 
        • Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla.
    • EveryChild California ECE Voices Advocacy Day (March 11, 2026)
      • CAAEYC representatives participated in the EveryChild California ECE Voices Advocacy Day as well. These advocates spoke to representatives about recalculating reimbursement rates for subsidized programs, keeping good on the promise to expand childcare slots, and about supporting SB 1110 to increase funding for administrative support to ensure programs can receive their full contract amounts through temporary enrollment shortages. CAAEYC members met with the offices of 
        • Assemblypersons Maggy Krell, Josh Hoover, David Tangipa, Joe Patterson, Pilar Schiavo, Dawn Addis, Marc Berman, Sharon Quirk-Silva and Catherine Stefani, and 
        • Senators Angelique Ashby, Roger Niello, and Marie Alvarado-Gil.
  • Promoting Advocacy/Policy presentations at the 2026 CAAEYC Conference. These include but are not limited to:
    • ECE Advocacy Fears, Tools, and Skills (Fri. 8:30am)
    • Title 22 Regulations: Children’s Personal Rights – The Power of Protection (Fri. 8:30am)
    • The State of California ECE Sector (Fri. 8:30am)
    • Budget and Legislative Perspectives: From the Experts (Fri. 1:45pm)
    • CDE and CDSS Updates (Fri. 3:45pm)
    • RAPID-California Project: Four Years of Uplifting Parent Voices through Data (Fri. 3:45pm)
    • Want to Be a New Co-Presenter at CAAEYC Conference? Bring Your Ideas to Make It Happen (Sat. 8:00am)
    • Changing Possibilities – Building Infrastructure for Early Childhood in LA (Sat. 2:00pm)
    • How to Take Action for ECE in 2026 by Navigating the Federal and State Budgets and Legislative Landscape (Sat. 2:00)
    • Revolution! Empowering Family Child Care to Change the World of ECE Advocacy (Sat. 2:00)
    • Lights, Camera, Advocacy! Using Film, Video and Storytelling to Drive Action for Early Care and Education (Sat. 4:00pm)
    • Banning Blackness in Early Childhood: Book Censorship: Anti Blackness and the Erasure of childhood (Sat. 4:00pm)
    • Language Justice in ECE: Resisting Erasure and Centering Every Child’s Voice (Sun. 8:00am)
    • Updates on California’s Early Learning Workforce (Sun. 8:00am)
    • At Its Roots: Exploring the Roots of Child Care through Advocacy and Story Telling (Sun, 10:00am)
    • Updates on the PK-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential and Child Development Permit (Sun 1:00pm)
  • Monitoring Legislative Developments: We are closely monitoring legislative developments related to early childhood education and providing input to policymakers on relevant issues. Our goal is to ensure that the voices of early childhood educators are heard in the policymaking process. Many new bills have been introduced this legislative session. See below for a few we are keeping an eye on.
  • Child Development Permit Regulations: The new Child Development Permit regulations package and the 45-day comment window is open. Our PPC has been working closely with PEACH (An Early Childhood Higher Education Collaborative) who has concerns about how these changes will likely decimate the mentor teacher pool. For more information visit Proposed Amendments to Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations Pertaining to the Child Development Permit. To view PEACH’s template letter for comment, click here.
  • May Revise Webinar: Once again, the CAAEYC PPC will host a webinar outlining the details of the Governor’s May Revise.
    • Save the Date: May 21, 2026, 6:00pm-8:00pm

We want to express our gratitude to all of you for your continued support and dedication to early childhood education. Your advocacy efforts play a crucial role in shaping policies that impact the lives of young children and their families.

If you have any questions or would like to get involved in our advocacy efforts, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Additionally, we invite you to join us for our monthly Public Policy Meetings held on the third Monday of each month at 7:30pm. Your participation and engagement are vital in our collective efforts to advocate for the needs of young children and their families. To learn more, reach out to us at publicpolicy@caeyc.org

Together, let's continue to make a meaningful impact in the field of early childhood education. Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication.

CAAEYC Public Policy Committee