Harris County, TX, August 5, 2026 - Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo will ask her colleagues on Commissioners Court this Thursday to let the voters decide whether to continue funding Harris County’s successful early childhood education programs.
“I am not asking my colleagues to vote for a tax increase on Thursday, but rather to let the people of Harris County decide whether to continue funding our successful early childhood programs. I would happily live with the verdict of the people of this county on this issue and any issue, but we should not choose for them. Let us not fear our own constituents,” said Judge Hidalgo.
In Harris County, the average family spends more on child care than they would pay for the cost of in-state college tuition at a four-year university. (The average cost of one year of in-state college tuition at a four-year university in Texas is $8,195 according to the Education Data Initiative, while the average family in Harris County spends $11,000 per year on child care according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics). More than 30,000 families are on the waitlist for subsidized child care in Harris County (University of Houston, 2025).
Harris County invested more than $149 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding in early childhood education programs that have helped more than 97,000 families and kids since 2022. Designed with extensive input from every Commissioners Court office, these programs have increased access to high-quality childcare, expanded training for early childhood educators and increased summer learning opportunities for kids. With American Rescue Plan funding set to expire at the end of the year, and longstanding promises about a ballot item to consider making the programs permanent, these programs are already beginning to close down and all programs are set to end by December.
Early childhood investments deliver some of the highest returns of any public program, returning up to $9 per every dollar spent, according to Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child. Kids who receive high-quality early learning support are also more likely to graduate high school, avoid the criminal justice system and earn higher wages as adults.
Please see The Truth Center for common misconceptions about Judge Hidalgo’s similar proposal last year.
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Myths and Facts about the Harris County Judge’s Office