HB 2318
In CommitteeHouse
Early achievers awards
Adjusting the early achievers quality improvement awards.
This status may be delayed. See Action History below for the latest updates.
How does a bill become law?
- Introduced: The bill is filed and assigned a number.
- Committee: A subject-matter committee holds hearings, takes public testimony, and decides whether to advance the bill.
- Floor Vote: The full chamber (House or Senate) debates and votes on the bill.
- Opposite Chamber: The bill repeats the committee and floor vote process in the other chamber.
- Governor: The Governor reviews the bill and decides whether to sign or veto it.
- Signed: The bill has been signed into law.
AI Analysis
This bill strengthens and expands Washington’s early achievers program, a quality rating and improvement system for early care and education. It mandates participation for providers receiving state funds, adds a new intermediate rating level, improves public access to quality information, and expands professional development and tribal flexibility.
- Expands the early achievers program—a quality rating and improvement system—to include licensed or certified child care centers, family home child care, outdoor nature-based child care, and early learning programs like Working Connections Child Care and ECEAP.
- Requires participation (by deadline) for providers receiving state subsidy or state-funded support; voluntary for others, and school-age providers are exempt.
- Adds an intermediate rating level between levels 3 and 4 to help providers transition to higher quality tiers.
- Requires the department to publish early achievers ratings publicly on its website within 30 days of new ratings, including licensing history (e.g., suspensions, revocations), and ensure accessibility for non-English speakers.
- Establishes a professional development pathway with scholarships and grants to help providers earn high school diplomas, degrees, or credentials in early childhood education.
- Allows tribes to participate via interlocal agreements that respect tribal sovereignty, including optional licensing and optional public posting of ratings (though providers must share ratings with families upon request).
- Permits the department to accept national accreditation as credit toward early achievers standards, if standards meet or exceed current state requirements.
Who is affected
- Child care providers receiving state subsidy — Child care providers (centers, family homes, and outdoor nature-based programs) that receive state subsidy payments must join the program by required deadlines; those not receiving subsidies may join voluntarily.
- Early learning program providers (e.g., ECEAP, Working Connections) — Providers of early childhood education and assistance programs (e.g., ECEAP) and working connections child care must participate by set deadlines.
- Parents and caregivers of young children — Parents and caregivers gain access to clear, publicly available information about program quality, licensing history, and safety indicators to help them choose care.
- Federally recognized tribes in Washington — Tribal governments may choose to participate through interlocal agreements, with flexibility around licensing and public rating disclosure, while still ensuring transparency for families.
- Early childhood educators and providers — Early childhood educators and providers gain access to professional development pathways, scholarships, and coaching to earn credentials and improve practice.
Pro/Con Analysis
Stronger case for benefits
Potential Benefits (5)
Expanding the early achievers program to include outdoor nature-based and family home providers—and mandating participation for subsidized programs—will improve access to higher-quality early learning for low- and middle-income families, especially children in underserved communities, and the professional development pathway with scholarships directly supports early educators’ career advancement and retention.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 1(2)(c), (e), (f); Sec. 1(8)Publicly publishing early achievers ratings and licensing history on the department’s website—while ensuring accessibility for non-English speakers—empowers parents and caregivers to make informed, safety-conscious choices about child care, especially those who rely on state-subsidized care and may lack resources to research quality independently.
Public SafetyPeopleRef: Sec. 1(7)(a)-(c); Sec. 1(7)(d)Mandating participation for subsidized providers ensures broader coverage of quality standards across the state’s most vulnerable early learning settings, while tribal flexibility provisions (e.g., optional public posting, interlocal agreements) aim to balance state oversight with cultural responsiveness—potentially increasing equitable access to high-quality care for Native children.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 1(3)(a)-(c); Sec. 1(13)Adding an intermediate rating level between 3 and 4 and allowing one six-month extension for exceptional circumstances reduces the risk of punitive rating drops for providers facing temporary setbacks, supporting more sustainable quality improvement and reducing churn in provider participation.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 1(4)(b); Sec. 1(10)Accepting national accreditation that meets or exceeds state standards—and exploring alternative assessment tools for tribes—may reduce duplication of effort and lower compliance costs for providers who already hold high-quality national credentials, while promoting culturally specific quality frameworks.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 1(11)(a)-(c); Sec. 1(12)
Potential Concerns (5)
Mandating participation in the early achievers program for providers receiving state subsidy may increase administrative and compliance costs for small providers (e.g., family home child care), especially those operating on thin margins; though the bill offers free first and subsequent ratings within cycle, providers must invest time and resources to meet higher quality standards and may face penalties for noncompliance.
Business & EmploymentPeopleRef: Sec. 1(3)(a), (b); RCW 43.216.135, 43.216.515Allowing fees for optional rerating requests outside the standard cycle—while capped at actual department costs—may disproportionately burden small providers who lack economies of scale and may need to rerate due to unexpected changes (e.g., staffing turnover, facility issues), potentially discouraging voluntary engagement or creating financial strain.
Business & EmploymentLean peopleRef: Sec. 1(5)(d); Sec. 1(6)(b)-(c)Reserving quality improvement awards only for programs serving ≥5% subsidized/low-income children may disincentivize providers from enrolling higher-income families or may lead to artificial enrollment shifts to meet thresholds, potentially distorting market access and reinforcing socioeconomic segregation in early learning settings.
Business & EmploymentPeopleRef: Sec. 1(9)While tribal flexibility is commendable, the requirement that tribal programs *must* participate in the early achievers program (Sec. 1(13))—even if via interlocal agreement—risks undermining tribal sovereignty, especially where tribes may prefer to use their own culturally grounded quality frameworks; the “must participate” language overrides the voluntary opt-out on licensing and public posting, creating tension between state oversight and self-determination.
Rights & LibertiesLean peopleRef: Sec. 1(13)(b)Publishing licensing history (e.g., suspensions, revocations) publicly may stigmatize providers who have rectified past issues, potentially reducing their ability to recover and reestablish trust—even if the report excludes unfounded allegations—thereby limiting reentry opportunities and potentially reducing provider diversity in underserved areas.
Public SafetyLean peopleRef: Sec. 1(7)(a); Sec. 1(7)(b)(ii)
Who Is Most Affected
Low-income families using state-subsidized child care benefit significantly from increased access to higher-quality, transparently rated programs; they gain safety assurance and better developmental outcomes for children.
Small providers (e.g., family home, nature-based) face new compliance burdens and potential costs, but also gain access to professional development and may benefit from increased parent trust; however, those on thin margins may struggle with time-intensive quality improvements.
Tribal governments gain flexibility to preserve sovereignty while still participating in quality improvement; however, the mandatory participation requirement—even via interlocal agreement—may conflict with tribal self-governance preferences.
Early childhood educators gain career advancement opportunities through scholarships and coaching, potentially improving wages and retention; however, those without time or resources to pursue credentials may be left behind.
State and local governments benefit from improved school readiness outcomes and potential long-term savings in K-12 remediation, but must allocate staff and funding to implement and monitor the expanded program.