How the Department of Education Supports Babies and Toddlers

• IDEA is a federal law guaranteeing preschoolers, children, and youth with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education. This law makes sure infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities or in a few states, who are at risk of developing these problems without services, are identified and supported. These early intervention services — like physical or occupational therapy — make sure children get the supports they need for proper development, and they can prevent or reduce the need for more costly special education services later on. They also support families, helping them navigate their child’s unique needs and potential challenges.  
• Any disruption to IDEA funding or administrative changes that weaken the program would have severe consequences, potentially delaying or reducing access to early intervention services when they are most effective. Without these supports, children may also not be able to attend child care — forcing caregivers out of the workforce.  

• Over 1.5 million young children receive early education services through Title I, the federal education funding that supplements resources for education in low-income communities. Young learners in these communities have access to fewer resources, potentially setting back their learning at an early age. When school districts choose to provide preschool services under Title I, they must meet Head Start quality standards, ensuring  services that can help children do better in school and later in the workforce. 

Early childhood education is a highly skilled profession: 78% of early educators in center-based programs and 75% in family child care homes have a degree or some college credit. An estimated one in five early educators report having student loan debt, and while many early educators ultimately seek Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), a large share of the workforce who own a small, home-based business or who work in a for-profit center are not even eligible for this critical program.  

Despite their critical role in building the brains of young children, early educators are one of the lowest-paid professions in the United States. The average salary for an early educator with a Bachelor’s degree teaching babies and toddlers in a child care center is $27,700 per year — thousands of dollars less than a teacher for older children or in a Head Start or PreK program. Black and Latina educators make even less. As a result, 13% of early educators live in poverty, 22% experience food insecurity, and 43% participate or more public support programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.  

In 2018, more than half of the U.S. population lived in a child care desert — a community with either no licensed child care options or where there are three or more children for each licensed slot. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already dire situation, with 2 in 3 center directors reporting staffing shortages in 2024. When it is difficult to recruit and retain early educators, the child care crisis only gets worse. Cuts to public student loan forgiveness programs such as PSLF  would further hamper the early childhood education workforce by further disincentivizing post-secondary students to enter one of the lowest-paying fields.