COACH Act
- Bill Number
- S. 3155
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Commerce
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-11-07: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
- Last Updated
- 2026-04-21T18:02:24Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The COACH Act aims to support small businesses operating as child care providers by requiring the Small Business Administration (SBA) to create and maintain a comprehensive resource guide. This guide will offer practical advice to help these businesses manage operations, comply with laws, and access funding, addressing challenges in the child care sector.
Key Provisions
- Resource Guide Development: The SBA Administrator must publish or update a resource guide within one year of the bill's enactment and at least every five years thereafter. The guide applies to various child care business models (e.g., centers, home-based providers) as determined by the SBA.
- Content of the Guide: It includes practical guidance on:
- Operations, such as marketing and management planning.
- Finances, including planning, funding sources, payroll, and insurance.
- Compliance with laws, like tax rules under the Internal Revenue Code and the Small Business Act.
- Training and safety, covering equipment and materials.
- Quality standards, including eligibility for funding under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG), a federal program that provides grants to states for child care services.
- Other relevant topics as decided by the SBA.
- Consultation Process: Before creating or updating the guide, the SBA must consult with:
- The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
- Lead state agencies responsible for CCDBG programs.
- Local or regional child care resource and referral organizations (groups that connect families with child care options).
- Other relevant groups as identified by the SBA.
- Publication and Accessibility: The guide must be posted on the SBA's public website in English and the 10 most commonly spoken non-English languages in the U.S., including Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, and Korean, to ensure broad access.
- Distribution Requirements:
- The SBA must share the guide with its internal offices (e.g., district offices) and consultation partners.
- SBA-supported networks, such as women's business centers (organizations aiding women entrepreneurs), small business development centers (local advising hubs), SCORE (mentoring from retired executives), and Veteran Business Outreach Centers (support for veteran-owned businesses), must distribute the guide and related resources to child care providers, including sole proprietors (individual business owners) and those with limited administrative capacity (e.g., smaller or less resourced operations).
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- This bill amends the Small Business Act (a key federal law supporting small businesses) by adding a new Section 49 dedicated to the child care resource guide and renumbering the existing Section 49 to Section 50.
- It introduces a mandatory, recurring obligation for the SBA to produce and disseminate child care-specific resources, which did not previously exist in this targeted form. No other major alterations to the Small Business Act are made.
Potential Impacts
- On Government Agencies: The SBA will face new administrative duties, including guide development, consultations, multilingual publishing, and coordination with distribution networks, potentially increasing workload but also enhancing its role in the child care sector. HHS and state CCDBG agencies may see indirect benefits through better-informed providers but no new funding or mandates.
- On Citizens: Small child care business owners, especially sole proprietors and those in underserved communities (via multilingual access), will gain free, centralized resources to improve business viability, potentially leading to more stable child care options for families. This could indirectly support working parents by strengthening the child care workforce.
- On International Relations: No direct impacts, as the bill focuses on domestic small businesses and U.S.-based child care.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Primary Beneficiaries: Small business child care providers, including home-based operators, centers, and sole proprietors, particularly those with limited resources.
- Government Entities: SBA (leads implementation), HHS, state CCDBG lead agencies, and local child care resource organizations.
- Support Organizations: Women's business centers, small business development centers, SCORE chapters, and Veteran Business Outreach Centers, which must help distribute materials.
- Indirectly Affected: Families seeking child care, as improved provider resources could enhance service quality and availability.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: The bill builds on existing frameworks like the Small Business Act and CCDBG without creating new regulatory burdens; it emphasizes voluntary guidance rather than enforcement. Multilingual requirements promote equal access under federal non-discrimination principles but do not impose penalties for non-compliance.
- Constitutional: No apparent conflicts; it aligns with Congress's authority to regulate commerce and support small businesses (Article I, Section 8). It avoids First Amendment issues by focusing on informational resources.
- Political: As a bipartisan bill (introduced by Sens. Klobuchar and Curtis), it highlights cross-party support for child care and small business aid, potentially serving as a model for future targeted SBA initiatives amid ongoing debates on workforce and family policies. No funding is authorized, so implementation relies on existing SBA budgets, which could limit scope if resources are constrained.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (1)
Recent Actions
- 2025-11-07: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
- 2025-11-07: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Convening Operations Assistance for Childcare Heroes Act — issued 2025-11-07 — PDF (5 pages)