Democratic reconciliation bill would require special college degrees to teach preschool

A provision in the House version of Democrats’ massive infrastructure and social welfare spending bill would require preschool teachers to have a special bachelor’s degree within seven years of the passage of the bill.

The provision, which would require teachers to have a degree in early childhood education or a “related field,” is attached to a portion of the bill that funds universal pre-K. Proponents of the policy say that requiring preschool teachers to have four-year degrees would increase the quality of preschool education and increase teacher pay.