While a complete overhaul of America鈥檚 broken child-care market could ease the strain on families, it would require big investments that likely will remain off the political table. While President-elect Trump for decreasing child-care costs via tariffs, neither he nor has endorsed any specific policies.

There is, however, a partial solution that would bring immediate relief to parents, offset recent price increases, and boost mothers鈥� employment rates: update the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), a tax credit for working families.

As it stands, the CDCTC is not particularly generous, doesn鈥檛 keep pace with inflation, and is only available to some working parents paying for care. The maximum credit for most families with two or more children is $1,200 per year鈥攁 number that hasn鈥檛 been updated . 

Proposed updates to the CDCTC would more than offset increases in child-care prices driven by post-pandemic inflation. The introduced last January would increase benefits so that working families could receive up to $8,000 each year鈥�$4,000 per child for up to two children鈥攁nd tie benefit levels to inflation so that the tax credit鈥檚 value would not erode over time.

To understand how this change would affect a typical family, consider a married couple with two children and average, middle-class incomes. Suppose that they were paying $15,000 a year for child care before the pandemic. An approximately 20% increase in the cost of living since then has added an extra $3,000 to their child-care bill. However, the proposed CDCTC expansion would increase their benefits by $6,800, more than covering the extra cost.

The proposed changes are very similar to a under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated would cost the federal government . This compares to more than $110 billion for the better-known Child Tax Credit expansion. And a permanent increase in CDCTC generosity would have broad benefits for the economy that could help to offset some of its costs. For example, my research suggests that expanding the credit would increase tax revenues by who could access child care needed to join the labor force.

A reformed child care credit would bring additional benefits for lower-income families. Under the current system, benefits kick in only at higher income levels because the credit is nonrefundable: It does not help those who earn too little to pay taxes after deductions. My own calculations show that a married couple with two children would need to earn nearly $30,000 to receive any benefit from the CDCTC and nearly $40,000 to be eligible for the full $1,200 credit. As a result, the credit fails to reach the lowest-income families, even as child care consumes a larger portion of their household budgets.

In line with this, my research shows that allowing families to receive a tax refund would to an additional 5 percent of single parents, who are already working and paying for care but have incomes too low to benefit from a nonrefundable tax credit. Thus, like the , the CDCTC would reduce poverty, which could translate to more opportunities for those families and lower government costs in the long term.

Several other proposed adjustments to the federal tax code target the high cost of child care, but none would offset price increases for many families.

For example, the contribution limit for dependent care flexible spending accounts, which allow families to set aside money before taxes and then spend it on child care. The contribution limit has been capped at $5,000 since 1986, and the proposed legislation would increase it to $10,000 or more. This may sound like a big change, but it wouldn鈥檛 make much of a dent into families鈥� care costs. For the middle-class married couple with two children, doubling the contribution limit would, at most, generate an additional $600 per year in tax savings. Moreover, of workers have access to these accounts, and most of the .

Another proposal would increase the tax break for businesses that provide child care to their employees. Unfortunately for parents, very few employers appear interested in going this route. Only about of corporate tax returns include claims for the Employer-Provided Child Care Credit. As a result, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service deems the credit to have 鈥�.鈥�

Adjusting the tax code won鈥檛 solve America鈥檚 child-care crisis. It won鈥檛, for instance, directly increase pay among workers, who tend to than animal caretakers and parking lot attendants. It won鈥檛 shorten for care. And it won鈥檛 fully offset the average family鈥檚 child-care costs. Fixing these aspects of our broken market are worthwhile ambitions, but they will require significant increases in government spending that are unlikely to pass Congress anytime soon. In the meantime, if policymakers want to bring immediate relief to , updating the child care credit is a promising option.

How could a system millions rely on simply not exist?

Wuori鈥檚 answer: That a “crisis of misunderstanding” has turned early childhood centers into an exceedingly expensive and “industrialized form of babysitting” based on the false idea that child care is somehow separate and distinct from education. Instead, Wuori says babies learn from birth 鈥� and some research suggests even before that 鈥� and their time outside the home should be treated as schooling, not as a place for them to be watched over while their parents work. 

In not embracing learning as an essential purpose, the current child care system, Wuori says, is harmful both educationally and economically for children, their parents, child care workers and society at large.

鈥淎ll environments for young children are learning environments,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he question ultimately comes down to, 鈥淚s your child in a good one?鈥�

Wuori, who espouses a “transformative鈥� investment of public funding in early child care, began his own career in the field over three decades ago in the classroom. Teaching in an afterschool program 鈥渓it the fire鈥� in his interest in child development and inspired him to return to graduate school.

After teaching kindergarten in South Carolina public schools for five years, he moved into school district leadership before spending 14 years as the deputy director of South Carolina’s Early Childhood Education Agency, . 

He eventually founded a public policy consultancy practice, , focused on the needs of America’s young children and their families. Through his work, he partners with state elected leaders and advises them on early childhood policy topics. 

But Wuori is perhaps best known for his social media presence on where he posts delightful videos of babies, using them to explain key child development concepts. His feed, which has amassed a prominent following, was recently described in a New York Times as 鈥渆ducational, but also, simply put 鈥� 鈥榓wwwww.鈥欌��

Your baby learns to speak – not just from listening – but from watching.

I鈥檝e written many times about the keen observational powers of babies. Infants are expert observers of their parents鈥� faces, which (among other lessons) provide important clues as to how mom and dad鈥�

鈥� Dan Wuori (@DanWuori)

Days before the official release of his book, The Daycare Myth: What We Get Wrong about Early Care and Education (and What We Should Do about It), Wuori spoke with 蜜桃影视鈥檚 Amanda Geduld.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

蜜桃影视: Your book makes the argument that day care doesn鈥檛 exist. I think readers will hear that and say, 鈥淲ell, my kid is in day care. So what do you mean that it doesn’t exist?鈥� Can you explain what you mean?

Dan Wuori: What I mean by that is that for the better part of 100 years, we have had a policy in place 鈥� one that has really created services that are designed to support parental employment more than they are designed to support the optimal development of young children. The central thesis of the book is that we have fooled ourselves into thinking that there is this thing called day care, or child care, that is separate and distinct from education鈥� 

What we know from decades of science at this point is that that’s simply not the case. We know that young children are learning, not only from day one, but increasingly, we have this understanding that some very powerful early forms of learning actually may begin in utero. And so that’s a very different proposition, right? 

鈥� This artificial distinction between care and education is really what I’m talking about 鈥� We have conceptualized child care as almost like a holding facility, right? We’re thinking about very custodial forms of care, and that translates, in many cases, into policy. We have states that are proposing, for example, as a solution to the financial crisis that the child care industry finds itself in, deregulating in ways that sort of strip away any requirement other than those that just entail the very basic health and safety of those kids. And that is a very low bar, and, frankly, a dangerous bar, and one that frankly, we end up paying for in the long term.

You also note that the vocabulary we use matters. If we’re getting rid of the term day care, what should we be using instead?

The truth is the term day care has fallen very much out of fashion even in the field in recent years and been replaced with child care. What I would love to see is an acknowledgement that this is all either early childhood education or early care and learning. Because some acknowledgement that ultimately these are not simply holding facilities for children, [but[ that these are powerful learning laboratories, and developmental spaces, and that’s true regardless of what the sign out front says. 

All environments for young children are learning environments. The question ultimately comes down to 鈥淚s your child in a good one?鈥�

You talk also about how our current model, 鈥淪imply doesn’t work, and it doesn’t because it can’t work.鈥� Can you explain a little bit of what you mean by that? 

What I’m talking about in that section is our current economic model for child care. What we know about child care is that it is sort of like a broken, three-legged stool. We know, for example, that parents are paying more for child care in most every state at this point than they pay for in-state college tuition or for their housing costs. And so that it is unaffordable to parents in really significant ways. 

We know concurrently that for the business owners themselves, this is not a profit-making venture 鈥� Providers are scarcely keeping their doors open, and the whole sad thing is sort of cobbled together on the backs of a low-income workforce that is almost exclusively female, and in many states, majority women of color, who are literally subsidizing the cost of care to families in the form of their low wages. 

They are highly dependent on public assistance programs themselves, making at or near minimum wage in most states. And in fact, according to some recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making roughly 60 cents an hour less than we pay dog walkers in this country.

The whole thing gets down to: we talk about all of those different forms of crisis that the field is in. There’s a compensation crisis, and there’s an access crisis, and there’s an affordability crisis. But the book makes the case that all of those crises are really a side effect of the fundamental crisis in the field, which is a crisis of understanding. 

That we are failing to acknowledge these settings for what they truly are, and that as a result not only are we sub-optimizing this incredibly powerful window of human development, but we are saddling taxpayers 鈥� for decades to come for the result of our inaction and our failure to get things right in the early years in ways that are ultimately far more costly than doing things right in the first place.

Throughout the book, you make arguments for why we need to shift this system 鈥� for economic reasons, for educational reasons and just because it’s the right thing to do. What would a shift in this system look like, both practically on the ground and in terms of outcomes?

Yeah, I think about that question in two categories, really. The big picture message of the book is that we need transformative public investment in young children and families. I have also worked in the public policy space and with policymakers long enough to know that transformative system change very rarely happens in one fell swoop. So while making the case, for example, that early childhood development needs to be seen as a public good instead of a private market service, the book 鈥� also suggests then both some low-hanging fruit in terms of things that we could do proactively right now in ways to help improve compensation, for example, but also there’s an entire chapter that is dedicated to what I have labeled sort of forms of public policy malpractice 鈥� examples of federal and state policy where maybe with all the right intentions, the execution of our policy is actually exacerbating some of the financial crisis in the field. 

鈥� I see policymakers increasingly saying to me, 鈥淵ou know what I get the brain development pieces of this. I know this is important. I know we need to do better. What I don’t know is, how do we pay for it?鈥� 

And one of the major messages in the book is we are already paying for it. We’re just doing it in the dumbest possible ways. We are very much taking out, at scale, a payday loan that we are meeting our very basic immediate financial needs at the highest possible long-term cost to taxpayers 鈥� We’re paying more in terms of remediation and retention and special education throughout our K鈥�12 system. We are paying for worse health outcomes 鈥� that could be mitigated against by doing right in the early years 鈥�

There’s an anecdote later on in the book that was recounted to you about how much some of these early child care and education teachers are struggling financially. Can you share that?

I had the good fortune two summers ago to partner with the state of Kansas on a listening tour as they were assessing the strength of their early childhood system. I traveled across the state, talking with business leaders and early childhood providers and parents, and got into a conversation with a child care provider. 

We鈥檙e there, and I was asking her, 鈥淲hat do you need most? How could state policymakers help support you?鈥� And she said, 鈥淥h, well, you know, the thing that I really need the most is a floating substitute who could sort of go from classroom to classroom.鈥�

And I said, 鈥淥h, that makes a lot of sense. Like, somebody to help give teachers a break or use the restroom or have lunch to themselves?鈥� And she said, 鈥淥h no, we mostly have that covered. I’m worried that I need to give them time to get to the bank.鈥�

鈥� And so I said, 鈥淥h, you know, to deposit their checks?鈥� And she said, 鈥淥h, no. Not that kind of bank. I can’t pay them enough to feed their families, and so I try to make time for them each week to be able to visit the local food bank.鈥�

And boy, that just 鈥� I mean, to this day, that’s one of the most upsetting stories that has been conveyed to me in this field in my career. These women, who are literally being entrusted to help co-construct the brains of young children, are making so little that we would have to be sending them to a food bank despite their full-time employment in what I could argue is the world’s most critical profession.

One framing motif that you use throughout the book is the food pyramid (released in 1992 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture based on what turned out to be of healthy eating). Can you explain why you chose that motif and how it reflects what’s happening in this day care myth?

I use that food pyramid example as sort of a framing around an area of public policy that we got boldly and catastrophically wrong and raise the question for readers: Where might we be doing that currently? What’s happening in our public policy that 20 years from now, we might look back at and say, 鈥淲ow. We can hardly believe we ever got something so wrong.鈥� 

And the book really makes the case that right now in our approach to young children and families we have created 鈥� this bizarro world for children that 鈥� in so many ways unexamined 鈥� is precisely the opposite of what we know from the science of early development 鈥�

One good example of that is that we know that the earliest weeks and months of life in particular play an absolutely critical role in attachment 鈥� And so then we juxtapose that against knowing that this is a country where 1-in-4 American mothers have to return to the workforce within two weeks of giving birth. And you know that in our early childhood settings we are seeing data that suggests that the teachers in those programs turn over to the tune of about 40% a year 鈥� And so during precisely the weeks and months of life that young children most need continuous, stable, nurturing relationships, we are seeing those relationships interrupted 鈥� both by a lack of paid family leave provisions and through our terrible misunderstanding of the importance of out-of-home, early childhood settings, in ways that are bound to fail us later on. 

鈥� My hope is that the book is an opportunity for us to press pause and to really rethink some of the underlying assumptions around how we have structured provisions for young children and families in this country and to come together on a bipartisan basis. One thing that I feel very strongly about 鈥� and I’m very proud of in the book 鈥� is this idea that 鈥� if ever there was an issue that really should bring us together across the partisan continuum, this ought to be it, because it makes sense for children, it makes sense for the strength of nuclear families, it makes sense in terms of our economy, it it makes sense for taxpayers 鈥� There really is something for everyone 鈥� hopefully in this conversation and hopefully in the book.

was released on July 29 by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Office of Science, Technology, and Innovation. As a whole, according to the report, the state is considered to be improving innovation capacity compared to the rest of the country.

Machelle Baker Sanders, North Carolina’s commerce secretary, said in a that the report shows that we must continue to improve the 鈥渓evel of prosperity鈥� throughout the state.

鈥淔aced with a dynamic and competitive economy, the best approach is to shape it rather than be shaped by it. We must continue to innovate — to create and adopt new products, services, and business models that add value and improve economic well-being,鈥� Sanders said.

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The report tracks North Carolina鈥檚 performance across 42 innovation measures. Those statistics are then weighed against those of the United States overall and six key comparison states (California, Massachusetts, Georgia, Virginia, Colorado, and Washington). These measures provide insights into the links between innovation, resources, and economic results in the state.

According to the researchers鈥� findings, North Carolina matches or outperforms the United States as a whole in about half of the measured categories.

The report said that North Carolina鈥檚 statewide innovation ecosystem is healthy, and the state has improved since the early 2000s at a rate comparable to the country as a whole. However, the state鈥檚 poverty rate is above the national average, and income and wages of residents are also behind, despite having one of the fastest growing populations.

Janet Cowell, chair of the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology & Innovation, said that technology and innovation are key to a growing economy.

鈥淎s this report shows, North Carolina has achieved a leading role in the 鈥榖asic鈥� and early-stage 鈥榓pplied鈥� research that forms the foundation for breakthrough innovations,鈥� Cowell said in a press release. 鈥淏ut it also shows that we have room for improvement in scaling and converting those innovations to commercial uses and in ensuring that more sectors and regions of our state participate in and benefit from that activity.鈥�

More on the report’s findings

According to the report, both academic and business research and development have grown faster than the national average since 2000, providing a strong foundation for economic growth. North Carolina鈥檚 research and development performs well above the national average, and the state鈥檚 academic institutions generate a significant amount of intellectual property.

North Carolina ranks 16th nationwide for the percentage of people who have jobs related to science and engineering. Researchers considered the following as science and engineering jobs: engineers, and computer, mathematical, life, physical, and social scientists. STEM teachers are not included.

Between 2003 and 2020, the state鈥檚 science and engineering workforce increased by 50%. This is 25 percentage points higher than the national average. But the report also found that the state graduates a lower proportion of science and engineering students compared to other states.

North Carolina ranks 28th in the nation when analyzing the ratio of science and engineering bachelor鈥檚 degrees to the population aged 18鈥�24 years, which “represents the extent to which a state prepares young people to enter technology-intensive occupations that are fundamental to a knowledge-based, technology-driven economy,” the report says. The state鈥檚 results are below the nationwide average, which means there is room for improvement.

People with degrees in computer and mathematical sciences; the biological, agricultural, or environmental life sciences; physical sciences; social sciences; psychology; engineering; and health fields are included in this measure. People who have doctorates from foreign institutions and/or are over the age of 75 are excluded.

The report said the relatively low percentage of trained engineers in North Carolina鈥檚 workforce is a cause for concern because regions with a high concentration of engineers have a greater capacity for innovation and often lead in key industries.

An educated, skilled workforce is viewed as a key to success in an innovative economy, the report said.

North Carolina ranks 21st in the nation for educational attainment, based on a composite score that uses data for residents over the age of 25.

About 10% of North Carolinians over the age of 25 have not completed high school. A quarter of them completed their education with a high school degree, and 19.3% completed have a high school degree with some college experience. One in 10 have completed with an associate degree, 22.8% completed with a bachelor鈥檚 degree, and 13.2% completed with a graduate or professional degree.

Across North Carolina, the majority of counties have relatively low educational attainment levels, researchers found. Out of 100 counties, 83 have an educational composite score below the United States average composite score. The counties that have an above average score are either in urban areas, adjacent to universities or urban areas, or have a large number of retirees or military personnel.

North Carolina has a of reaching 2 million North Carolinians aged 25-44 with a degree or credential by 2030.

The 2011 State of the North Carolina Workforce report found that people without a high school diploma were more likely to be unemployed. It also was found that more than half of new jobs in the state required at least some postsecondary education, particularly in STEM areas.

鈥淭hese facts, combined with the educational attainment findings presented above, make it clear that North Carolina must improve the educational attainment levels of its citizens in order to generate innovative ideas, to support the expansion of a knowledge-based economy, and to increase the economic well-being and quality of life of its citizens,鈥� the Tracking Innovation report said.

Public investment in education is a part of environmental and infrastructure measures in the report.

Based on data gathered between 2001 and 2022, the report found that North Carolina has decreased state funding for higher education. It has also spent less on elementary and secondary education.

Between 2002 and 2021, the entire country鈥檚 average elementary and secondary public school current expenditures as a percentage of state gross domestic product decreased by 5.3%. North Carolina鈥檚 percentage decreased by 12.9%.

Courtesy of  .

鈥淔or each measure, a higher value indicates that a state has made financial support of the respective education level more of a priority. Investments in public pre-kindergarten through grade 12 are important for preparing a broadly educated and innovation-capable workforce,鈥� the report said. 鈥淚nvestments in public postsecondary education are critical to increase the ability of public academic institutions to prepare students for skilled and well-paying employment.”

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Access to child care and securing a solid workforce at child care centers is a 鈥渃risis鈥� for which many federal and state entities have been searching for solutions.

For advocates and economic experts, the role of businesses and employers is becoming more and more important to not only ending in Ohio, but also keeping the state from taking a big economic hit because of it.

In a recent panel discussion hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, policy advisors and local child care advocates emphasized the need for public-private partnerships, and creating more incentives for the workforce to stay in child care.

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鈥淭he question really isn鈥檛 whose responsibility is it, but in whose best interest it is, and there鈥檚 a real business case for employers,鈥� said Sarah Savage, senior policy analyst and policy advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Savage said on-site care and subsidies for child care are 鈥渞arely offered鈥� even among organizations with 5,000 employees or more, citing a private study from 2023 by .

That study showed 10% of employers with 5,000+ employees offer on-site care, with 40% of businesses that size offering none of the services listed, including child care referrals, tutoring, subsidies or reimbursement.

Businesses have their own roles to play, but the child care sector can鈥檛 improve without first looking at its own staffing issues, according to Kyle Fee, policy advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Fee said the workforce struggles are a 鈥渒ey constraint in the child care situation,鈥� with many of the patterns shown in workforce retainment and pay found to be 鈥渢ypical of low-wage occupations.鈥�

Citing a 2019 national survey of early care and education, Fee said 1/3 of child care centers had staff turnover of 20% or higher, with turnover higher in centers with lower pay. That turnover was also linked to the combination of pay and the amount of child care and educations services offered at those centers, according to Fee.

The profile of the workforce shows primarily younger female workers, who are 鈥渕ore diverse in terms of race and ethnicity than the broader workforce,鈥� Fee said.

In 2022, the child care workforce had the 10th lowest annual median wage nationally, just ahead of fast food workers and cashiers, and Fee said estimates for Ohio 鈥渢end to be slightly lower.鈥�

鈥淭he pay for a child care worker does not provide a living wage for single adult plus one child in any state,鈥� Fee said.

Those numbers account for those that stay in the workforce, a consistently decreasing population, according to Fee鈥檚 analysis.

He found that from 2010-2022, an average of about 15% of child care workers left the occupation, above the 8-9% of preschool and kindergarten teachers who left their profession in the same period.

In 2022, job turnover in the child care sector was 65% higher than turnover in 鈥渢ypical occupations,鈥� according to Fee.

On average, half the workers who leave the child care profession don鈥檛 re-enter the workforce at all.

鈥淭he emphasis here again is pointing on the churn among child care workers in and out of the workforce that needs further exploration,鈥� he said.

Groups in Ohio are attempting to improve the wage conditions for workers, but also keep up the quality of centers to persuade more families to enroll.

Nancy Mendez, president and chief executive officer of Northeast Ohio child care advocacy organization Starting Point, said they have been working on collaborations with Cuyahoga County to provide pre-K scholarships for those up to 300% of the federal poverty line and have used federal ARPA dollars to provide scholarships, along with bonuses for child care staff.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to do our best to help stabilize this system,鈥� said Mendez, whose organization helps child care centers maintain quality and connects parents to services in the area.

But improving wages means increasing tuition which can lower enrollment as families lack the money to keep up with rising costs of child care and everything else, leading to a never-ending cycle for centers, according to Mendez.

鈥淭here鈥檚 this chicken-and-egg thing here that鈥檚 going on that they really can鈥檛 solve,鈥� Mendez said.

The organization saw the COVID-19 pandemic鈥檚 impacts on many economic sectors throughout the state, with child care seeing a hard and sustained effect.

鈥淲e were waiting for this tsunami of low enrollment and staffing issues to kind of move on with everybody else, but what we saw was our workforce issues just continue to exacerbate,鈥� Mendez said.

Starting Point heard from 60% of the child care centers and homes they work with, who reported they were 鈥渙perating at low enrollment and mostly because of staffing issues.鈥�

To break even, Mendez said child care facilities need to be at more than 70% enrollment at least.

The lack of affordable child care combined with the staff shortages have created a situation that Mendez and policy advisors on the panel say will have its impacts on the economy. Mendez said neighboring states like Pennsylvania and Michigan have seen estimated economic losses of more than $2 billion because of a lack of child care.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be surprised if we鈥檙e looking at about $2 billion that we lose annually in Ohio due to breakdown in child care or the inability to access child care,鈥� she added.

to try to create an employer-state partnership on child care costs, along with efforts to create a tax credit targeted at child care and family costs and even a tax credit to Ohioans who contribute to child care facilities. Many of the measures are Republican-led, giving them more likelihood for passage in the GOP supermajority House and Senate.

However, the Ohio General Assembly is on break until the Fall, likely until after the November election. So, the measures won鈥檛 see possible action until the tail end of the General Assembly鈥檚 term. If no action is taken by December, the measures would need to be re-introduced in the new year.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on and .

The results come from a that polled 1,506 parents of K-12 public school students conducted by the National Parents Union between Feb. 6-8.

For the past four years, the organization has surveyed parents leading up to the State of the Union address, 鈥渂ecause we want parents to be able to give their own State of the Union,鈥� said founding president and 74 contributor Keri Rodrigues. All questions are written by parents who serve on the group鈥檚 Family Advisory Council, composed of delegates across the country that represent different intersections of American families.

While some results were unsurprising 鈥� like parents welcoming more financial support 鈥� they are still important, according to Rodrigues, because they serve as an essential message to policymakers about what parents care about. 鈥淲e have these little, 鈥榃e told you so moments.鈥� I think this is yet another one.鈥�

Rodrigues said that voters are repeatedly and inaccurately told that parents are angriest about hot-button, culture war issues.

鈥淲e have consistently said to people, 鈥楶lease, listen. Look at the data …鈥� It is clear,鈥� she said.
鈥淧arents are struggling with economic issues 鈥� Inflation, the cost of living, people living on the edge. Parents and families are scared and they鈥檙e hurting.鈥� 

鈥淲e are obviously focused on education justice but economic justice for families is equally important to us,鈥� Rodrigues added later, 鈥渂ecause we really deal with the intersectional issues 鈥� we just don鈥檛 think you can separate those things.鈥�

Overall, surveyed parents ranked K-12 education as the third most important issue for the president and Congress to address, behind the economy and immigration.

鈥淚n education, we think we鈥檙e the center of the universe, and we鈥檙e not,鈥� Rodrigues said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a piece of the puzzle. It鈥檚 relevant, it鈥檚 in the mix, it鈥檚 definitely a concern. But we have to understand the intersectionality of the larger political context and where we fall in it and how it competes with other issues for the average voter and for the average American family.鈥�

According to another released by the organization in November 2023, voters trust Democrats slightly more on education and Republicans by a small margin on the economy. The majority of parents reported wanting policymakers to work together to find bipartisan education policy solutions, even if it means compromising with people they disagree with.

鈥淚t just makes me crazy that our elected officials don鈥檛 listen,鈥� Rodrigues said. 鈥淭here are really big, important things that American families want us to do,鈥� including the child tax credit, which during last week鈥檚 State of the Union, and stronger, evidence-based reading and literacy programs. 

鈥淲e can do big things,鈥� she continued. 鈥淲e can have unity 鈥� The majority of us can agree on some big, important things.鈥�

Of parents surveyed in February, 87% were in favor of expanding the child tax credit and 85% were in favor of expanding subsidies to reduce health insurance costs. The vast majority were also in favor of providing funding directly to families of K-12 public school students to help them pay for supplemental resources such as tutoring. 

The survey did not include questions about more controversial vouchers, which let parents use taxpayer money to send their kids to private schools. The National Parents Union is known for both its criticism of traditional public schools, including teachers unions, that is sometimes seen as aligning with pro-school choice education reform forces and for elevating the voices of parents, especially lower-income parents of color.

Over 80% of surveyed families want the federal government to support all K-12 public schools via counseling and mental health services, free school lunch, free, high-quality preschool programs and increased funding for schools in low-income communities.

Among the 484 parents who responded to demographic questions, 27% consider themselves to be conservative, 24% liberal and 43% moderate. They were also socioeconomically and geographically diverse. About half of respondents were white, 15% Black, 24% Hispanic or Latino and 3% Asian. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

While the vast majority of school districts across the country have received additional federal funding to address COVID-related challenges, only 27% of parents reported having seen or heard anything about how these ESSER dollars were being used in their kids鈥� schools.

Just over 70% of parents, though, did report that their child鈥檚 public school had provided laptops or tablets for students since 2021 and about 45% said schools were offering additional tutoring or counseling services, which could have been supported by pandemic relief funds.

The ESSER funding results, Rodriguez said, reveal that parents did not get the voice they were promised in how that money was spent and that “a lot of things that we actually wanted 鈥� like additional mental health support 鈥� were not realized.” 

鈥淎re we whipping laptops and chromebooks at kids? Hell yes we are. Is that necessarily a good thing? I mean a lot of parents would argue that that鈥檚 not actually getting us to the outcome.鈥� 

Pro cell phones, wary of social media use 

To help inform the survey鈥檚 focus, Rodrigues said the National Parents Union presented data to their Family Advisory Council around student use of social media and its impact on mental health. 

A new understanding emerged from these discussions: Parents view cell phones and social media as separate issues, yet the two have become convoluted. This reframing was a lesson for her, she said, both as president of the organization and as a mother.

This same distinction was borne out in the survey results, she said: Parents want their kids to have access to their phones during the school day so that they can stay in touch with them, but they also recognize the dangers of social media and its negative impact on their children.

The top reasons kids use their phone, according to surveyed parents, is to contact family members, play games, contact friends, listen to music and take videos. A majority of parents (65%) also reported that their children used their phones for social media and 83% said there should be a minimum age limit on when kids are allowed to have their own social media accounts, with the largest share (20%) citing age 13. Just under 30% of parents said their children spend somewhere between four and five hours a day on their phone. 

Despite social media concerns, nearly half of parents said their child鈥檚 cell phone use had a positive impact on them and an additional 42% said phones have about an equally positive and negative impact. 

Parents listed a number of reasons they want their kids to take phones to school, with about 80% saying it was so they could use it in case of an emergency. About half of parents said it was an important tool for coordinating transportation to and from school, and 40% said they want their kids to be able to communicate with them about their mental health or other needs throughout the day. 

Just over half of parents believe that kids should sometimes be allowed to use their cell phones in school, while about a third believe students should be banned from using phones unless they鈥檙e needed for a medical condition or disability. There was very little parent support for locking up students鈥� cell phones in secure pouches or containers. 

鈥淚 think it goes back to something that we have been talking about since the beginning of the pandemic and the Great Parent Awakening,鈥� Rodrigues said, 鈥渨hich is that the implicit trust that parents have in schools鈥� that they’re going to tell us what’s going on and the communication 鈥� a lot of that has eroded. And that’s not toothpaste you can put back in the tube.鈥�

Disclosure: Walton Family Foundation provides financial support to the National Parents Union and to 蜜桃影视.

While 82% of parents said they are very or extremely likely to vote in the election, just 14% called K-12 education a top concern 鈥� well below the economy (53%) and slightly behind abortion (21%) and health care (17%).

Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, the advocacy group that sponsored the poll, said the numbers reflect parents鈥� hunger for change.

鈥淲e have moved into a position where we鈥檙e not going to be ignored,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e’ve seen too much.鈥�

, experts began seeing that parental outrage over closed schools, COVID protocols, and district handling of race and gender issues had given way to more immediate concerns about groceries and rent. While almost two-thirds of parents say the quality of their local schools still affects their family, 86% are more troubled by 鈥渢he rising cost of everyday purchases.鈥� 

鈥淚t’s understandable that inflation would dominate voter concerns since they encounter it every day,鈥� said John Bailey, an advisor to the Walton Family Foundation and a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. 鈥淭hese extra costs will crowd out other spending for the kids like afterschool programs and summer camps.鈥�

Just a third of parents said they know a lot about where House and Senate hopefuls stand on education. In fact, they鈥檝e heard less about schools than any other topic. 

That doesn鈥檛 mean that parents no longer care about politicians鈥� plans to improve schools. On poll questions related to education, Rodrigues noted that fewer parents are blaming the pandemic for low academic performance. They are more focused on fundamental questions about whether schools can prepare students for the future and deliver an adequate education. 

鈥淭he tide is turning,鈥� she said.

Sixty-two percent of parents said they are very or extremely concerned about schools鈥� ability to provide quality teaching and instruction, compared with 55% who feel that way about schools鈥� handling of learning loss. 

Congressional candidates might not be talking about education, but it鈥檚 still a prominent issue for gubernatorial candidates, with Republican incumbents such as Florida鈥檚 Ron DeSantis and Oklahoma鈥檚 Kevin Stitt blaming Democrats and their union supporters for long school closures, mask mandates and classroom lessons they say confuse students about race and gender. They鈥檝e sought to portray themselves as the party most concerned with parents鈥� rights. 

At least one organization is drawing attention to conservative policies some Republicans have proposed or supported, such as banning transgender students from participating in sports and restricting what students read in school. Last week, , a nonpartisan group, announced it鈥檚 spending $300,000 on ads in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Missouri. 

The Pennsylvania ad focuses on a district banning books and the Missouri spot calls out a school board member for comments about transgender students and students with disabilities. But the Ohio ad denounces a bill that would require female athletes to undergo a genital inspection if they were suspected of being transgender. Following a backlash, lawmakers the language. The state board of education is also considering urging districts not to comply with the Biden administration鈥檚 plans to extend federal protections against discrimination and harassment to transgender students. 

鈥淎cross the country, families and students are being failed by extremist politicians who care more about pushing divisive culture wars than providing a high quality age-appropriate education,鈥� Heather Harding, the organization鈥檚 executive director, said in a statement.

鈥業ndifferent and unresponsive鈥�

The campaign was formed to combat efforts by groups such as Moms for Liberty and the 1776 Project PAC, which have mobilized to elect conservative school board members. And over the summer, polls suggested that Republicans were gaining an edge with voters on education. 

But this latest survey 鈥� based on a sample of 1,022 registered voters with school-age children 鈥� shows Democrats could be regaining voters鈥� trust as the disruptions of the pandemic slowly fade.

Forty-one percent of respondents said they have more faith in Democrats to handle the challenges facing K-12 schools, compared to 29% who chose Republicans. Rodrigues said those earlier polls didn鈥檛 focus specifically on parents. Even if they don鈥檛 always approve Democrats鈥� decisions, if the question is who parents think can 鈥渢ake us into the future on education, Democrats still have that lead,鈥� she said.

The overall sample of parents leans to the left, with 51% saying they would probably or definitely vote for Democrats and 40% choosing Republicans. 

But a year ago, that might have been different, Bailey said. 

鈥淭his time last year, parents were still juggling school quarantines, which in some ways were more disruptive than school closures,鈥� he said. Either way, a 鈥渃ommon theme is that parents are frustrated by a system they think is indifferent and unresponsive to their needs.鈥�

Disclosure: John Bailey is an adviser to the Walton Family Foundation, which provides financial support to .

Community colleges traditionally have been commuter campuses.  of the nation鈥檚 two-year schools have on-campus housing.

But on Aug. 12, 258 students at  in Wyandotte County will move into a sparkling new residence hall. Named Centennial Hall, the building has been designed to offer students a safe learning environment, privacy and camaraderie.

鈥淚 think I鈥檓 most excited about building our community and getting to know people,鈥� said Kaitlyn Bradbury, a second-year student at KCKCC who has been training to be a residential adviser at Centennial Hall. 鈥淚t鈥檚 part of that college experience.鈥�

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Greg Mosier, the college鈥檚 president, said his school鈥檚 elected board of trustees named campus housing as a top priority when he took the job in 2018.

鈥淭his building is really meant to let our students know how much we care about their success,鈥� Mosier said at the July dedication ceremony for Centennial Hall.

Bradbury鈥檚 experience so far illustrates why KCKCC leaders wanted campus housing so badly.

She graduated in 2020 from Piper High School, about a 15-minute drive from KCKCC.

Bradbury chose community college because it鈥檚 more affordable than a four-year school, and because it offered her a chance to continue playing softball at a competitive level. She could have commuted from home, but she wanted to be closer to her teammates, many of whom moved to Wyandotte County from other parts of Kansas or out of state.

For years, KCKCC has helped athletes and other students lease apartments in an aging complex near its campus. Last year, about 100 students had to be relocated because of a mold issue.

鈥淎t first I was put in a hotel and then I ended up having to move home,鈥� Bradbury said.

Eventually, the school helped her find a different apartment. This school year, she is looking forward to less drama and more time to focus on her studies as a mass communications major.

Shawn Derritt, KCKCC鈥檚 dean of student services, said that research has found that safe housing on or close to campus improves academic outcomes for community college students.

鈥淭here鈥檚 less distractions. They鈥檙e not having to commute from home,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e able to be engaged in campus activities. That allows that focus on education.鈥�

Rural community colleges in Kansas and Missouri have for years offered some form of housing for students who make their way to their campuses to participate in athletics or special programs, or who simply want an affordable option.

Residential accommodations are more unusual at two-year schools located in urban areas, like KCKCC. Johnson County Community College has no on-campus housing, and neither do the campuses of the Metropolitan Community College system in Kansas City.

With the opening of Centennial Hall, KCKCC has become part of a movement among community colleges nationwide to help students manage an ongoing affordable housing shortage.

In a  by the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, based at Temple University in Philadelphia, 52% of community college students who responded said they had difficulty finding housing or keeping up with rent and expenses. That鈥檚 higher than the 43% of four-year college students who reported experiencing housing insecurity.

 that students who are worried about having a safe place to stay in general have lower grade point averages than their peers and higher rates of anxiety and depression.

Community college students, who are more likely than students at four-year schools to come from low-income families and minority communities,  to pay for basic needs such as food and housing as a leading reason they abandon their pursuit of college credits and workforce credentials.

In response to the alarming enrollment declines 鈥� since the pandemic, community colleges around the nation have lost  鈥� and a growing awareness of student needs, more campuses are. These include partnering with nonprofits or lobbying for state funds to build residence halls.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not a four-year school, we鈥檙e not a research institute that has thousands of dollars to do stuff,鈥� Mosier said.

To fund the $20 million Centennial Hall project, Mosier secured revenue bonds that will be repaid over time with the fees students pay to live in the building.

Contracts for Centennial Hall call for students to pay $5,700 over the course of the fall and spring semesters. That amounts to about $630 a month, which is less expensive than  for apartments near the campus and includes utilities.

About 7,000 students enrolled at KCKCC in the 2021 academic year, so one residence hall won鈥檛 meet everyone鈥檚 housing needs. Children and spouses cannot live in Centennial Hall with students, and 140 of the units are reserved for student athletes, who find their way to KCKCC from around the nation and even overseas.

Most students will live in suites with four individual bedrooms and shared kitchen and bath facilities. The building has numerous gathering areas and study pods and a gaming and recreational area in the basement.

鈥淚 love that the dorms look like mini apartments,鈥� said Elizabeth Daniels, who will be a student residential adviser. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big, wide open space.鈥�

Daniels, a 2020 graduate of the Kansas City Kansas Public Schools鈥� Sumner Academy of Arts and Science, spent her first year at KCKCC at home, taking online classes for her business major.

The move to Centennial Hall will be her first opportunity to have a room to herself. At home, she shares quarters with a sibling.

She said she is looking forward to being one of the hall鈥檚 first residents.

鈥淚 really just wanted to be a part of this new experience for everybody,鈥� she said.