California’s 2026 legislative session brought several changes affecting early childhood education, child care reimbursement, state preschool, provider training, mental health consultation, and child care facilities.

This overview highlights major changes local educational agencies (LEAs) should be aware of as they prepare for implementation. Unless otherwise specified, bills signed by the Governor take effect January 1, 2027.

State Takes Another Step Toward Reforming Child Care Reimbursement Rates

California continues its efforts to transition to a single reimbursement rate structure for subsidized child care and state preschool programs, based on the cost of providing care rather than regional market surveys. AB 1981 (Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters) builds on existing law by establishing more specific requirements for the Department of Social Services (DSS), in consultation with the California Department of Education (CDE), when developing the new rates. The bill codifies elements of the rate structure, including geographic and age-based variations, enhanced payments for nonstandard hours of care, and additional reimbursement for children with special needs. It also requires base payments to reflect a child’s maximum certified hours of care, regardless of attendance, and allows providers to receive all applicable enhanced rates for an eligible child.

The bill extends required quarterly updates on implementation of the new reimbursement structure from July 1, 2027, to July 1, 2028, and requires DSS to provide the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee with its anticipated timeline for transitioning to the new rates if they have not already taken effect. While the bill establishes more detailed requirements for rate reform, it does not establish a new implementation deadline or provide additional funding for the new rates. As an urgency measure, AB 1981 took effect on September 27, 2026.

New Law Expands Opportunities for Child Care in State-Owned Buildings

To increase availability of child care facilities, AB 2006 (Michelle Rodriguez, D-Ontario) authorizes the state to give priority to licensed child care providers, including a person who plans to apply for a child care license, seeking to operate centers in certain state-owned office buildings. The provisions apply when the state constructs, acquires, or receives an office building capable of accommodating state employees, or undertakes renovations affecting the use of at least 25% of an existing building’s net square footage that include changes to the first floor.

The Department of General Services may establish the terms and conditions for use of the space, including costs. Enrollment priority at participating centers will be given first to employees working in the building, followed by other state employees, and then families residing within five miles.

New Law Revises Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Requirements

AB 2429 (Rubio, D-Baldwin Park) revises the requirements for reimbursement of early childhood mental health consultation services provided through state preschool and subsidized child care programs. Under current law, reimbursable services must include certain mental health assessments

conducted at least twice a year, and screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with parental consent. AB 2429 removes those requirements and instead requires a relationship-based consultation model to incorporate a classroom observation tool at least once per school or program year in each setting receiving consultation services (ACEs screening becomes optional). The observation tool must assess the classroom environment, social-emotional learning climate, and teacher-child interactions to inform the activities and supports provided by the consultant. The author, a former teacher, stated, “These updates will allow consultants and educators to focus on building relationships and developing consultation plans tailored to the needs of each classroom… AB 2429 ensures that more children, families, and educators across California can benefit from this proven model.”

Early Care and Education Budget Trailer Bill Makes Significant Changes to State Preschool and Child Care Programs

As part of the 2026–27 State Budget, the Legislature approved AB 150 (Committee on Budget), an early care and education budget trailer bill that makes numerous changes to eligibility, reimbursement, and administration of subsidized child care and the California State Preschool Program (CSPP); and

AB 190 (Committee on Budget), which amended certain provisions in AB 150. As budget bills, they took effect immediately. The bill summaries can be found in our School Finance update, but the major policy changes are described here.

AB 150 expands CSPP eligibility to include children whose parents or guardians are employed by a local educational agency (LEA), revises enrollment priorities, and allows certain providers to enroll additional children who live, or whose parents work, within qualifying school boundaries after serving other eligible children. The bill also allows families to maintain their certification when transferring between CSPP providers or temporarily disenrolling. For families whose children receive child protective services or are at risk of neglect, abuse, or exploitation, the bill extends the available family fee exemption from up to 12 months to up to one certification period. CDE must implement the specified eligibility provisions through management bulletins or similar instructions by January 1, 2027, and initiate formal rulemaking by December 31, 2027.

Additionally, AB 150 increases the number of allowable paid professional development days for CSPP providers from two to five per contract period and expands reimbursement-related definitions of attendance to include certain medical and educational appointments and absences during suspension or expulsion appeals. For 2026–27, AB 150 suspends the statutory cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for state preschool and subsidized child care programs and instead provides a 2.01% adjustment to total program rates through increased Cost of Care Plus payments. Finally, AB 150 requires subsidized child care contractors, by January 1, 2027, to reimburse providers the full amount of their certificate or voucher without deducting family fees, and to collect those fees directly from families. The bill also expands health and safety training requirements for child care providers, revises requirements governing substitute adults in family child care homes, and establishes additional emergency and disaster planning requirements for licensed child care facilities.

AB 190, the early care and education cleanup bill, made additional changes to provisions enacted in AB 150. For CSPP, the bill clarifies enrollment priorities, including the placement of children of LEA

employees within the priority sequence, and expands allowable uses of the five paid professional development days authorized under AB 150. Beginning in 2027–28, CDE is authorized to recover funds that CSPP contractors do not use to meet the requirement to enroll children with exceptional needs in at least 5% of their funded enrollment. For CSPP, AB 190 clarifies that by January 1, 2027, contractors must pay family childcare providers for CSPP services without deducting family fees, and must collect the fees directly from families. AB 190 also clarifies that certain absences related to suspension or expulsion may be counted for reimbursement purposes.

AB 190 postpones, until October 1, 2027, expanded health and safety training requirements established by AB 150. Beginning on that date, all staff providing child care at licensed child care centers or family child care homes, family child care home licensees, and substitute adults providing care in family child care homes must complete at least 15 hours of health and safety training, plus an additional hour of childhood nutrition training where applicable. Required training includes pediatric first aid, pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and preventive health practices, including infectious disease prevention, injury prevention, and lead exposure prevention. These individuals must also complete at least 12 hours of continuing education annually on specified topics, including emergency and disaster preparedness, building and premises safety, safe sleep practices, infectious disease prevention in children, and response to food allergies. Until October 1, 2027, AB 190 temporarily restores the prior requirement that at least one director or teacher at each child care center and each family child care home licensee providing care complete initial health and safety training.

Anaphylaxis instruction, including the emergency use of epinephrine auto-injectors, is already required for individuals covered by the current pediatric first aid or CPR training requirement, with individuals trained before January 1, 2026, required to comply at their next renewal. Beginning October 1, 2027, the requirement extends to all individuals covered by the expanded staff training requirements. Newly covered individuals who completed training without this instruction before October 1, 2027, must comply at their next renewal. Beginning January 1, 2028, pediatric first aid and CPR training courses must include this instruction.

The measure also further defines the state’s intended single-rate reimbursement structure, which will include CSPP and be based on the cost of providing care, including age-based rates and enhanced payments for children with special needs. DSS must identify foundational policy changes necessary to implement the new rate structure by January 10, 2028, and continue quarterly implementation reports through July 1, 2028.

Early Childhood Bills Signed Into Law

Child Care

• AB 1981 (Aguiar-Curry) – Subsidized childcare: reimbursement rates: reporting.This bill requires DSS, in consultation with CDE, to establish rates that vary by geographic region and child age, and include enhanced rates for nonstandard hours of care and children with special needs.

  The bill also extends the requirement for DSS to provide quarterly updates on implementation of the new rates from July 1, 2027, to July 1, 2028, and requires DSS to provide the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee with its anticipated timeline for transitioning to the new rates if they have not yet taken effect. DSS may implement the new requirements through all-county letters, child care bulletins, or similar written instructions.

  Chapter 567, Statutes of 2026

• AB 2006 (Rodriguez, Michelle) – State government: office buildings: daycare centers.AB 2006 authorizes priority to be given to licensed child care providers when the state constructs, acquires, or receives as a gift an office building that can accommodate state employees, or when changes are made to an existing state-owned office building that change and affect the use of at least 25% of the net square foot area of the building and include changes to the first floor. The bill subjects the use of the space to terms and conditions, including costs, established by the Director of the Department of General Services.

  Chapter 569, Statutes of 2026

• AB 2429 (Rubio, Blanca) – Childcare: mental health consultation services.AB 2429 amends the requirements that allow the reimbursement of providing an early childhood mental health consultation service in state preschool and child care and development programs administered by DSS. Specifically, the consultation service must use a relationship-based model that incorporates, at least once per school or program year, an early care and education classroom observation tool that includes measures on the classroom environment, social-emotional learning climate, and teacher and child interactions to guide the specific activities and support the consultant will provide. Twice-yearly mental health assessments are no longer required, and the ACEs screening becomes optional.

  Chapter 399, Statutes of 2026

• SB 299 (Cabaldon) – California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: day care center: zoning.This bill exempts a project that consists exclusively of a day care center that is located in a residential area from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), provided the project is not located within 3,200 feet of a facility that actively extracts or refines oil or natural gas, and is not on natural and protected lands.

  Chapter 413, Statutes of 2026

• SB 902 (Grayson) – Early childhood education and childcare: electronic signatures.SB 902 permits the use of electronic signatures for purposes of CSPP provider contracts with CDE and child care and development services administered by DSS.

  Chapter 418, Statutes of 2026

Source: Capitol Advisors Group, Early Childhood: Changes in Law 2026, October 2026.