The Fiscal Year 2026 budget and four-year financial plan that was proposed just over a month ago created an avalanche of threats to the physical, emotional, educational, and financial wellbeing of working families with children. The final budget approved by the DC Council Monday, July 28th, was able to buffer the budget against some of these threats – notably, our collective action advocacy was able to add $12 million for early childhood education programs and protect $2.4 million for vulnerable District youth – but significant gaps still remain.Â
In a challenging budget climate with threats at the federal level and comparatively stagnant revenue projections for the District, the Mayor and Council were faced with many tough choices about how to prioritize resources. It was clear from the start, however, that this budget was one that sought to prioritize corporate interests over District residents. Alongside our allies at the Fair Budget Coalition, DC Action advocates for investing in the full range of supports children, youth, and families need to thrive but the Council came up short of meeting those needs. Ultimately, the FY26 budget fails to adequately fund early education, health care for immigrant and low income residents, emergency rental assistance, food access, housing for homeless families and individuals, victim services and public safety programs, and more. While there are certainly some bright spots in the budget, especially related to out-of-school-time funding and youth homelessness investments, ultimately the FY26 budget risks growing DC’s inequality and worsening existing disparities between Black and White residents and low-income and wealthy households. (See DC Action’s recap of the Council’s initial budget votes for more information.)
Of additional concern, for the second year in a row, the District’s Chief Financial Officer overstepped his authority to approve appropriatable resources available to the Council and early childhood education was again caught in the cross hairs (see DCPFI’s budget recap for more context). The CFO forced the Council to make sizable last minute budget cuts (i.e. 9 pm Sunday night amendment circulations!) and of the $30 million in forced reductions, the Chairman chose to pull back $5.5 million previously allocated to the child care subsidy program and $1.5 million previously allocated for the early childhood educator pay equity fund program. These two programs were already dangerously underfunded at the Council’s first vote and the additional cuts made yesterday all but guarantee pay cuts for early educators, hundreds of families losing access to their child care vouchers, and parents navigating a subsidy waitlist for the first time in 30 years. Â
The Council attempted to limit the harm of the cuts to early education – and other programs – by tying the last minute cuts to a potential restoration of funding should revenue become available in the fall. Of the items to be funded with potential fall resources, a dais amendment was approved by members to prioritize the child care subsidy program as first in line for funding and pay equity fund second – this is thanks to both sustained and rapid response advocacy on the part of many early childhood education advocates. DC Action is grateful the Council recognized how essential these two programs are for sustaining our early education system and giving children their best starts, but still it will not be enough to avoid the ramifications of an underfunded system: learning loss, waitlists, job loss for educators and parents, shrinking child care supply, reductions in quality of care, higher tuitions, and more. DC Action and the Under 3 DC Coalition will work closely with the Council and Office of State Superintendent of Education to minimize these harms as much as possible.  Â
Unfortunately, the Council also missed the opportunity at Monday’s vote to pass tax-equity measures that would have raised new revenue to invest in kids and families. A capital gains reform amendment would have helped the District to more fairly tax the wealth of the District’s top 1% of households and subsequently invested that revenue in a child tax credit for DC’s lowest income families, restoring the child and adolescent mobile behavioral health unit (ChAMPS), and vouchers for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. We are grateful to the 5 Councilmembers – Parker, Nadeau, Lewis George, Allen, and White – who voted in favor of this wealth tax amendment and look forward to working alongside them to bring forward an ever bolder proposal in the fall to address the many shortcomings in the District’s FY26 budget and four-year financial plan.
Onward!