In Louisiana, early childhood educators are expected to live in poverty—while parents are expected to pay college-level prices just to go back to work. Meanwhile, nearly 8 in 10 child care centers say they may close within six months due to skyrocketing costs and stagnant funding.

This is not sustainable—for providers, for families, or for the state.

Early childhood education is more than just child care. It’s brain development. It’s language, social-emotional growth, and early literacy. It’s the foundation for everything that comes after. And yet, the very people who provide this essential work—mostly women, often women of color—are being paid as little as $9.77 an hour across the state. Many can’t afford to keep their centers open, let alone support themselves or their staff.

Louisiana’s economy cannot function if families can’t find or afford child care. But right now, over 5,000 children sit on a waitlist for the state’s Child Care Assistance Program. That means thousands of parents are being forced out of the workforce. And thousands of young children are missing critical opportunities for early learning.

We are calling on Governor Jeff Landry and the Louisiana State Legislature to take urgent action before this system collapses further. Specifically, we ask the state to:

• Allocate at least $100 million in the next budget to fully fund early childhood education access and eliminate the Child Care Assistance waitlist.
• Provide emergency stabilization grants to centers at risk of closure.
• Support a livable base wage of at least $16/hour for early childhood educators so they are no longer forced to live in poverty to do essential work.

Our children deserve a strong start. Our educators deserve dignity. And Louisiana deserves an early education system built to last—not barely surviving on the edge of collapse.

Sign this petition to demand action now. Because early learning isn’t a luxury—it’s a right.