Legislation

“The purpose of the Consortium is to serve the needs of the incumbent early childhood workforce and the employers of early childhood educators and to advance racial equity while meeting the needs of employers by streamlining, coordinating, and improving the accessibility of degree completion pathways for upskilling and the sustained expansion of educational pipelines at Illinois institutions of higher education.” (Public Act 102-0174).  

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=4177&ChapterID=18  

With the signing of the legislation, the Governor allocated $200 million in federal stimulus funding, provided by the Illinois Department of Higher Education, to establish the Consortium and advance its initiatives. The Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity Act, led by then-Illinois Senator Pacione Zayas in Spring 2021, was a key part of this effort. 

The legislation focused on how to best support the early childhood incumbent workforce – those working in child-care or preschool or family child-care settings – to be able to better access and complete credentials and degrees.  

A key goal of the legislation is to advance equity by creating streamlined pathways for the early childhood workforce and addressing barriers to program access. 

To review the Act, please visit: https://ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=102-0174