RECAP of the May 14, 2025 EEC Board Meeting: Updates on the State Budget, CPPI, and the New Educator Credential

At Neighborhood Villages, we prioritize keeping up with the policy landscape in the early education and care field, both across the country and in Massachusetts. That includes tuning-in to the monthly meetings of the Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care (“EEC Board”), to stay apprised of updates and to identify opportunities for how we can work with government and other stakeholders to improve our early education and care system.

The primary topics of this month’s Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) Board meeting were updates on: (1) the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 State Budget, (2) the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI), and (3) the new educator credential.

For additional detail on any of the meeting topics, view the slides here or watch the recording on YouTube. 

Here’s what you need to know…

If You Are a Provider:

1. Commissioner Amy Kershaw announced that EEC will be able to make all payments to providers participating in the Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) program through May, but without action on the FY25 Supplemental Budget, payments for June to providers will be delayed. EEC is hopeful that the legislature will take action on the supplemental budget but EEC has begun letting providers know about the potential delay.

2. EEC staff presented on the status of the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI). They provided an overview of the program and shared key changes. CPPI is a program that funds Massachusetts districts to expand access to high quality preschool. Moving forward, EEC wants to sustain the program, create better consistency, learn, and provide greater guidance to grantees. EEC plans to release a guidance document detailing information about the program, lessons learned, and outcomes. EEC also discussed key changes to the program.

   EEC confirmed that current grantees should plan on sustained funding. Funding will occur in three phases: Phase 1 - Grant application opens for current grantees to renew funding for existing programs. Phase 2 - Separate application for funding for expanded operations of current grantees. Phase 3 - Grant application opens for new communities to apply. Phases 2 and 3 are contingent on the outcome of the state budget process and level of funding for CPPI.

If You are an Early Childhood Educator:

1. Secretary of Education Partrick Tutwiler discussed the Literacy Launch program. The legislature granted $20 million for FY2025 to create this program to accelerate the implementation of evidence-based early literacy instruction, expand access to high quality materials, and support selected school districts to build out systems of support and provide broad based professional development and coaching. Also, Executive Office of Education in coordination with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) recently announced the launch of Literacy Launch Institutes for teachers serving students in Pre-K through grade 3. It is a free 4 day differentiated professional learning program. You can learn more about it here.

2. Commissioner Kershaw announced IT barriers have delayed the early education scholarship program application launch. Once it is posted, EEC anticipates extending the availability of the scholarship until December due to the delay.

3. EEC staff and a panel of the new educator credential working group provided an update on the new educator credential. The panel of the working group included 3 child care providers and an afterschool/out-of-school time provider. They shared their experience in the working group and thoughts about the credential. EEC is developing a new accessible, inclusive, and competency based credential system to support professional advancement across the field. They are working on identifying clear and accessible entry points and planning a staged and careful launch. They have sought and received feedback from the sector and are being careful about providing support systems. The credential will have two different pathways, a higher education pathway and a professional development pathway that is outside of higher education but of similar quality. The pathway will also include educator endorsements and leader levels. 

   EEC wants to honor and value the expertise of those in the field so they have been working with a host of stakeholders of each program type to inform the credential structures, salary scale, and leadership competencies. These stakeholder meetings and working group conversations will be ongoing. See the image below of their draft new credential pathway.

EEC staff provided a high level timeline of the work that remains. Currently, the focus is on the foundational certificate, creating trainings for the different leader levels, and developing a new educator portal. EEC will then revise its regulations to comply with the new credentialing process. This will include a public comment period. This work will continue through the summer of 2026.

If You are Parent/Guardian or Child Care Advocate:

1. Commissioner Kershaw announced new personnel updates. Tim Keane has been hired as the new Director of Residential and Placement Services, Julia Bucek has been hired as the new Director of Policy, and Bernadette Estacio has been hired as the first ever Director of Training.

2. EEC staff presented on the status of the FY26 state budget process. The Governor and House of Representatives previously released their proposals. The Senate Committee on Ways and Means (SWM) finalized their proposal on May 22nd and the budget process now goes to the conference committee. EEC staff emphasised three watch areas in the House proposal: (1) the House reduced agency operating funds and this level of reduction would require a reduction of staff; (2) the House made a reduction to CPPI funding that would not allow them to continue funding current grants and eliminate the possibility of issuing new planning grants*; and (3) the House’s funding levels for the CCFA caseload would “complicate” the agency’s ability to reopen access to new voucher placements. EEC is currently working with the Senate on the budget. They also discussed the SWM budget proposal and emphasized that the reduction in the quality and improvement line item could hurt agency staffing, but the funding for CPPI would allow EEC to continue to fulfill the support for their current grantees and the children they support. Also, SWM provided sufficient funding for CCFA to support the children currently receiving support but it would not allow EEC to open access to new children. 

The next EEC Board meeting will take place in Needham on June 11, 2025.

*The House’s FY26 proposal funds CPPI at $10 million, $7 million less than it was funded in FY25.