Governor Brown Signs Bill to Assist Low Income Parents Who are Seeking Education with Child Care

17Oct
by La Comadre

At La Comadre, we are well aware of the cost of child care and how those costs can prevent parents from working additional hours, continuing their own education, and even taking a break from the care-giving grind. Last week Governor Brown signed a bill that would help low income parents who are seeking to educate themselves.

AB 273 adds language to the state education code that gives poor parents who are enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) or high school equivalency courses to the opportunity to have subsidized child care. The state department of education will be sending a notice out to child care and preschool programs that they fund to not turn away families with a parent who is pursuing English language courses or courses to obtain a high school diploma/equivalency.

Compared to other states, California has the highest share of adults with limited English proficiency and the lowest share of adults who have a high school diploma according to data from the California Budget and Policy Center. Education and English language proficiency are important for low income Californians as they seek to advance themselves in our society. This bill will make is easier for these parents to obtain that training.

AB 273 was introduced by Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters). Earlier this year, she said, “If you can’t learn English, you can’t finish your GED, enter job training or pursue higher education. If you can’t afford child care, you can’t get to your classes. This bill will help people who want to work take the first steps to get the training they need.”

“With the recent debate in our country over immigrants’ rights and the struggle people are having finding employment, I wanted my first bill to be one that would empower Californians to get the education needed to find a job,” Aguiar-Curry continued.

This is the type of family friendly legislation that we like to see. When parents are encouraged to learn, they set an example for their children.

What do you think?

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La Comadre

La Comadre

We are Moms, Tias, Ninas and Play-Tias who love children in our lives and we want to help every child succeed in school. Navigating schools and education—from preschool to college—is hard. We want to help each other with this.
We are all in this together with you. We want to be a resource for you and for all of the children you love. Whether you need some info or you have info to share, you know where to go…LA Comadre.

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