H.R. 5524 — Universal Prekindergarten and Early Childhood Education Act of 2025

This section establishes a competitive grant program administered by the Secretary of Education, using amounts appropriated under section 3, under which states may receive funds to pay the federal share—not more than 80%—of establishing or expanding full-day prekindergarten programs located in public schools. Such programs must (1) permit voluntary enrollment by parents of each 3- or 4-year-old child, regardless of family income, at a school in which the child may enroll for kindergarten; (2) operate the length of the regular school year; (3) be taught by teachers with qualifications equivalent to those of other grades in the school; and (4) meet any additional criteria required by the Secretary. Grant funds must supplement, not supplant, other federal early childhood education funds.

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act: (1) "full-day" as a program with a minimum of a 6-hour schedule per day; (2) "Secretary" as the Secretary of Education; (3) "State" as having the meaning given that term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); (4) "parent" as having the meaning given that term in section 8101; and (5) "public school" as having the meaning given the terms "elementary school" or "secondary school" in section 8101, except that the term does not include private schools.