Protecting Childcare from Private Equity Act

This bill, known as the "Protecting Childcare from Private Equity Act," aims to increase transparency and impose certain restrictions on private fund involvement in the childcare sector. It mandates the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to collect detailed information from "covered private funds" regarding their ownership, purchase, and sale of legal entities that provide childcare. The SEC is then required to submit an annual report to Congress containing anonymized data gathered from these funds.

A key provision of the bill establishes a four-year limitation on newly acquired childcare entities by covered private funds. During this period, the private fund is prohibited from selling any interest in the childcare entity, and the entity itself cannot make dividend payments, capital distributions, or undertake share buybacks to the fund. Furthermore, the bill directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a comprehensive study on the effects of private equity ownership on childcare providers, specifically examining aspects such as the quality of care, availability of spots, tuition costs, and employee wages. The findings of this study are to be reported to Congress within two years of the bill's enactment.