wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1648 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that the COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on all people, but had a particularly dramatic impact on child care and the child care industry. Many child care facilities closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and providers left the child care field. It became clear during the COVID-19 pandemic how critical child care is to the success of every industry as parents need child care to work.
The legislature further finds that because of the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the child care industry, the plans of many child care providers to receive education were put on hold as efforts were focused on addressing the immediate needs of child care providers and families. Additionally, the current market-based funding model results in wages so low that affording college tuition is often impossible for child care providers. The limited availability of college courses in multiple languages and the scarcity of early childhood education college programs further hinders access to required training and certification.
For those reasons, the legislature intends to delay the requirement for child care providers to meet certification and training qualification conditions. Additionally, to recognize the professionalism and experience of individuals currently in the child care field, the legislature intends to add a work equivalency option as an alternative to certification requirements for all child care positions. This work equivalency alternative should take into account the years of service child care providers have committed to educating children, while allowing for upward mobility within the field. Without this alternative, there is an education cliff that discourages child care professionals to remain in the field.
2.
The community-based training pathway must:
a. Align with adopted core competencies for early learning professionals;
b. Be made available to providers in multiple languages;
c. Include culturally relevant practices;
d. Be made available at low cost to providers and at prices comparable to the cost of similar community-based trainings, not to exceed $250 per person;
e. Be accessible to providers in rural and urban settings; and
f. Be made available in an online format.
The department shall allow licensed child care providers until at least August 1, 2035, or until at least 10 years following the full implementation by the department of all components of the community-based training pathway, whichever is later, to:
Comply with child care licensing rules that require a provider to hold an early childhood education initial certificate , an early childhood education short certificate, or an early childhood education state certificate;
Complete community-based pathway trainings; or
Demonstrate to the department work experience-based competency after having worked in a licensed child care setting for at least three years, which is not required to be a continuous three-year period, but could include multiple periods of work in a licensed child care setting at different times.
The department may not require licensed child care providers to complete annual in-service training requirements in order to demonstrate work experience-based competency described under subsection (3)(c) of this section.
After August 1, 2033, the department must allow all child care providers who are hired for the first time into a role requiring an early childhood education initial, short, or state certification a minimum of 10 years from the person's date of hire into the role requiring such certification to meet the requirements of subsection (3) of this section.