rolled on a full-time or part-time basis in the qualified 
early childhood educator program for which the grant was 
awarded. 
(e) GRANT DISBURSEMENT.—Payments under this 
section to an eligible institution shall be made in accord-
ance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary for 
such purpose and in such manner as will best accomplish 
the purposes of this section, provided— 
(1) any disbursement made by crediting a grant 
recipient’s account shall be limited to tuition and 
fees and other materials necessary for the comple-
tion of coursework in a qualified early childhood ed-
ucator program as determined by the Secretary; and 
(2) not less than 85 percent of any funds pro-
vided to an eligible institution under subsection (a) 
shall be advanced to the institution prior to the start 
of each payment period and shall be based upon an 
amount requested by the institution as needed to 
cover the total cost of grants awarded to eligible re-
cipients until such time as the Secretary determines 
and publishes in the Federal Register with an oppor-
tunity for comment, an alternative payment system 
that provides payments to institutions in an accurate 
and timely manner, except that this sentence shall 
not be construed to limit the authority of the Sec-
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retary to place an institution on a reimbursement 
system of payment. 
(f) DIRECT PAYMENT.—Nothing in this section shall 
be construed to prohibit the Secretary from making a 
grant directly to an eligible individual in a case in which 
an institution of higher education with a qualified early 
childhood educator program does not participate in the 
program under subsection (a). 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 
individual’’ means an individual who is enrolled on 
a full-time or part-time basis in a qualified early 
childhood educator program. 
(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 102 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 
(3) QUALIFIED EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR 
PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘qualified early childhood ed-
ucator program’’ means a course of study leading to 
an associate’s degree or a certificate in early child-
hood education or a related field from an institution 
of higher education. 
(4) LICENSED EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM.— 
The term ‘‘licensed early learning program’’ means 
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any State-licensed or State-regulated program or 
provider, regardless of setting or funding source, 
that provides early care and education for children 
from birth to kindergarten entry, including pro-
grams operated by child care centers and in family 
child care homes. 
(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030. 
(2) LIMITATION.—Of the amount made avail-
able under paragraph (1) in any fiscal year, not 
more than 3 percent may be used by the Secretary 
for evaluation, monitoring, salaries, and administra-
tive expenses. 
Æ 
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