Student parents face the challenge of juggling coursework, jobs and child care, yet many are forced to cut back on classes or put their education on hold due to soaring daycare costs and depleting spots. In just two years, Austin has seen a 44% decrease in subsidized childcare availability, leaving parents scrambling for options that simply don’t exist. While UT offers some support, long waitlists and limited availability leave many in limbo.
If student parents are expected to thrive academically and familially, not just survive, both the University and the city must make daycare access a true priority.
Elizabeth Gomez, nuclear pharmacist and UT alum, discusses her experience attending university while pregnant.
“I wish they had more options (and space) at the time … because I was so distracted with pharmacy school and (felt) the pressure to do well,” Gomez said. “If (only) I had the extra time and social support. … I had just moved to Austin to go to school, … so it was just me.”
UT currently has three childhood development centers available to students, faculty and staff for children 6 weeks to 5 years old. These locations contain 575 childcare spaces with prices for low-income households ranging from $875 to $985 per month. However, even with the expansion of the San Jacinto and Capitol Complex locations in 2022 and 2023, the centers still boast around a one to two-year wait for infants and toddlers, arguably when parents need help the most as they get acclimated to parenthood.
“When I calculated out when my son was going to be born, they already had a waitlist, so they didn’t have room for anyone who was going to be born that time of year,” Gomez said. “(The center) needs to be so much bigger for the student population size that we have.”
While looking for options off-campus might seem like a solution, those alternatives don’t fare well either.
Austin has seven total childcare deserts, defined as ZIP codes where “the number of children under age 6 with working parents is three times greater than the licensed capacity of childcare providers in the area,” and 60 subsidy deserts. For every 100 low-income families, there are only five-and-a-half spots for subsidized care.
“The options that were available at that time in Austin, where I lived, were much too expensive,” Gomez said. “If it was something that (my family) might have been able to afford, it didn’t look safe.”
In November, voters approved Proposition A, which called for a 2.5-cent tax rate increase in Travis County. The increase could provide a real solution to Austin’s childcare crisis, generating $75 million annually to expand subsidized daycare. For student parents at UT, this would mean more affordable options near campus, easing financial strain and helping them stay in school.
While some oppose the tax hike, investing in child care strengthens the economy, reduces social service costs and supports working families, making it a realistic, immediate solution.
Austin’s childcare crisis is putting student parents in an impossible position. With fewer affordable options and long waitlists, many are forced to put their education on hold.
It’s time for Austin to invest in its students and the families who make this city their home.
Lam is a computer science freshman from Mansfield, Texas.
