HB 1086 — Child Care Initiative Funds/Reform/Study.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 21 HOUSE BILL 1086 Committee Substitute Favorable 5/12/26 Short Title:

Representatives Arp, Lambeth, Paré, and Rhyne (Primary Sponsors).

For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.

Health, if favorable, Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House April 30, 2026 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED ANACTTOESTABLISHCAREER-READYLEADTEACHERACADEMIESTOPROVIDE ALTERNATIVE PATHWAYS TO CAREERS IN CHILD CARE;

*H1086-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 SECTION 1.4.(a) Each child care career-ready lead teacher academy (academy) shall seek to enroll no less than 10 students, with a goal of enrolling 15 students in each course.

A *H1086-v-2* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 participating community college shall strive to offer an academy up to three times per year, with at least one of the three academies occurring at the end of the traditional public school calendar year to allow participation by interested high school and college students.

Upon successful completion of the academy, each student shall receive either a North Carolina Early Childhood Credential or a Provisional NC Early Childhood Credential that will enable the student to begin workingteaching as either a lead teacher or group leader in a licensed child care program immediately upon graduation.

(1) Begin full-time employment as a lead teacher in a licensed child care center or licensed family child care home within three months from the date of graduation from an academy.

SECTION 1.4.(d) The stipends provided under this section shall be available to a graduate of an academy who is employed by a licensed child care facility in this State, including a graduate who establishes a licensed family child care home.

Page 2 House Bill 1086-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 SECTION 1.7.

There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education, the sum of one million four hundred seventy-six thousand dollars ($1,476,000) in nonrecurringnonrecurringfunds funds for the Page 2 House Bill 1086-Second Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 2026-2027 fiscal year to be allocated to the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc., to provide the State match for implementing the pilot program described in this Part as follows:

SECTION 1.9.(a) As a means to assist younger individuals with a career pathway to provide child care services, the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), shall establish a Provisional EarlyEarlyChildhood ChildhoodCare Credential for individuals who are 16 or 17 years of age and preparing to work in licensed child care programs in this State.

To qualifyfor the provisional credential, an individual shall complete aneach approvedof earlythe childhoodfollowing: education course offered through a North Carolina public high school (FE11), a Career and College Promise course (EDU 119), an Intro to School-Age Care course(EDU120 orEDU 2120), aCareer andCollegePromiseWorkforce ContinuingEducation pathway (EDU 3119), or Career-Ready Lead Teacher Academy.

SECTION(1) 1.9.(b)An Byapproved Marchearly 31,childhood 2027,education thecourse Northoffered Carolinathrough Communitya Colleges System, the North Carolina Departmentpublic ofhigh Publicschool Instruction(FE11), (DPI),a theCareer North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs (NC CAP), and DCDEECollege shallPromise collaboratecourse to(EDU ensure119), thean requiredIntro child care health and safety trainings are embedded in each of the courses in subsection (a) of this section so that individuals who are working to obtainSchool-Age theCare Provisionalcourse Early(EDU Childhood120 Credentialor canEDU access2120), thea requiredCareer trainingsand throughCollege structuredPromise microWorkforce credentials,Continuing and,Education throughpathway(EDU this3119), collaboration,or DCDEECareer-Ready shallLead ensureTeacher itsAcademy. trainings are available in the Moodle platform.

The(2) CommunityA Collegesseries System,of DPI,micro NCcredentials CAP,demonstratingcompetencyin andrequired DCDEEchild shallcare alsohealth collaborate to create pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeshipsafety pathwaystrainings alignedapplicable withto theemployment Provisionalin Earlylicensed Childhoodchild Credential.care facilities.

DCDEESECTION shall1.9.(b) issueBy December 31, 2026, the ProvisionalNorth EarlyCarolina ChildhoodCommunity CredentialColleges toSystem, individualsthe whoNorth meetCarolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the requirementsNorth establishedCarolina underCenter for Afterschool Programs (NC CAP), and DCDEE shall collaborate to develop the micro credential opportunities required by subsection (a) of this section.section and through this collaboration, DCDEEshall ensure its trainings are availablein theMoodleplatform.

The ProvisionalCommunityColleges EarlySystem, ChildhoodDPI, CredentialNC shallCAP, enableand thoseDCDEE individualsshall toalso workcollaborate into anycreate out-of-schoolpre-apprenticeship and summerapprenticeship programs,pathways includingaligned thosewith located at licensed child care facilities, as group leaders as defined in the childProvisional careEarly licensingChildhood rulesCredential. according to the following staff-child ratios and group sizes:

AgeDCDEE Ratioshall Staff/Childrenissue Forthe aProvisional groupEarly thatChildhood includesCredential ato childindividuals 5who yearsmeet ofthe agerequirements 1/10established Forunder asubsection group(a)ofthis ofsection.TheProvisional childrenEarlyChildhoodCredential 6shall yearsenable ofthose ageindividuals and older 1/14 to 1/16work Housein Billany 1086-Secondout-of-school Editionand Pagesummer 3programs, Generalincluding Assemblythose Oflocated Northat Carolinalicensed Session 2025 No out-of-school or summer program providing child care pursuantfacilities, toas thisgroup sectionleaders shallaccording careto forthe morefollowing thanstaff-child 25ratios childrenand ingroup onesizes: group.

House Bill 1086-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 2 Age Ratio Staff/Children For a group that includes a child 5 years of age 1/10 For a group of children 6 years of age and older 1/14 to 1/16 6 No out-of-school or summer program providing child care pursuant to this section shall care for more than 25 children in one group.

SECTION 1.9.(c) When an individual who has received a provisional credential pursuant to this section reaches 18 years of ageage, and has obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent, the individual shallmay notify the Division of Child Development and Early Education (Division) of such,such if they wish to receive the full Early Childhood Credential, and the Division shall issue the individual the full North Carolina Early Childhood Credential which shall enable that individual to be employed as a lead teacher in any licensed child care program in this State.

"(h) The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc., Special Fund is hereby established as an interest-bearing, nonreverting special fund in the Department of Health and Human Page 4 House Bill 1086-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 Services.

State funds allocated to local partnerships Page 4 House Bill 1086-Second Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available to the North CarolinaPartnership forChildren, Inc.,to reallocateto local partnerships.

AlicensedchildcarecentermayuseA thecombinedlicensed educationandchild workcare center may use the combined education and experience of two staff persons to meet the requirements for a Level II andor Level III certificatesadministrator or designation foras theset NCforth Earlyin Childhoodrules Administration Credential certificate established by the Commission and shall receive the same quality rating improvement system (QRIS) credit toward a star-rated license as the center would receive if the requirements were met bybyone onestaff person, so long as the staff person.person who has the early childhood education and experience is assigned to the center and on-site at least 20 hours per week.

To meet the requirements of this sub-subdivision, the following requirements must be met:

1.

One individual must complete EDU 261 and EDU 262 as set out in the Child Care Rules in the Administrative Code, or the equivalent, or hold an associate degree or higher in business administration or a related field, or have at least two years of verifiable business or administrative work experience.

2.

One individual must (i) hold an associate degree or bachelor's of science degree in early childhood education or child development as designated by the Commission, (ii) be responsible for the center's curriculum, program delivery, and compliance practices, and (iii) be physicallyon-site for at least the minimum number of hours required by the child care staffing requirements set out under the Child Care Rules in the Administrative Code.

The Department shall allow ana individualchild care center administrator to earn the minimumNorth mandatoryNorth Carolina EarlyChildhoodEarly Childhood Administration Credential without completing coursework in EDU 261 and EDU 262, or the equivalent of both, when the individualadministrator has (i) an associate degree or higher in business administration or a related field or (ii) two years of verifiable business or administrative work experience." SECTION 3.2.

STUDY INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR CHILD CARE PROVIDERS SECTION 4.1.(a) The Department of Insurance shall utilize a consulting firm, an actuarial firm,abrokeragefirm,oranycombinationthereoftostudythefeasibilityofestablishingfirm, a brokerage firm, or any combination thereof, to study the feasibility of establishing liability insurance coverage, including State-supported captive insurance, risk-pooling, joint underwriting association, joint reinsurance, or other organizations, for North Carolina child care providers in order to provide liability insurance coverage to participating child care providers, whichhasthepotentialtosupportriskdistributionwhilepromotingstronggovernanceandsharedwhich has the potential to support risk distribution while promoting strong governance and shared accountability.

House Bill 1086-Second Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (1) The collection of loss data and operational information from child care providers statewide in order to estimate program feasibility, premium requirements, and necessary surplus levels.

House Bill 1086-First Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (4) An analysis of conditions in the traditional, excess and surplus (E&S), and unauthorized foreign reinsurance markets, including costs, affordability, availability of liabilities coverages, and the barriers that child care providers experience in accessing adequate liability coverage.

(3) For amounts of fifteen twenty-five thousand dollars ($15,000) ($25,000) or more but less than forty thousand dollars ($40,000), more, a request for proposal process.process with solicitation in appropriate venues, including, but not limited to, websites, major newspaper portals, or other options to ensure a strong competitive process.

(4) For amounts of forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more, a request for proposal process and advertising in a major newspaper." Page 6 House Bill 1086-Second Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 PART VI.

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