D.C. will give early educators $10,000 checks to reflect their "skill" and "worth"
CBSN
Thousands of early-childhood educators in Washington, D.C., will receive checks for at least $10,000 from their local government, after the D.C. city council voted in favor of the measure Tuesday.
Higher taxes on Washington's wealthiest residents will fund the direct payments of up to $14,000 to day care workers and other caregivers to babies through 3-year-olds. Council members last year voted to set aside some $54 million earned in the first year of the new tax to subsidize day care workers' wages through an early-childhood pay equity fund.
The D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education is developing a mechanism through which it will distribute checks. Qualified workers will likely have to apply for the funds once the grant program is established.