The buzz on Capitol Hill these days is about a bill that would invest $10 billion in early education over ten years as part of a student loan reform bill, the latest big-ticket investment proposed for those age 0 to 5.

One of the interesting things about the legislation is how often quality is mentioned – nine times in this summary -  by lead sponsor and Education & Labor Committee Chairman Rep. George Miller. The bill would save nearly $100 billion by shifting student loans to a direct government lending program, and then spend $10 billion of that on President Barack Obama’s proposed Early Learning Challenge Fund, according to Rep. Miller. (I remember when I covered Congress and $500 million was a big deal.)

By 4 years old, children from low-income families are already 18 months behind most other 4 year-olds. From the start, education reform should include early learning, or we miss out on 5 critical years. A comprehensive range of high quality early learning opportunities from birth through age 5 is necessary to give children what they will need to grow and succeed. – “The Student Loan & Fiscal Responsibility Act.”

Here are principles Rep. Miller, D-Calif., proposed for using the $10 billion:

• Build an effective, qualified, and well-compensated early childhood workforce by supporting more effective providers with degrees in early education and providing sustained, intensive, classroom focused professional development to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood providers.
• Best practices in the classroom by implementing research-based early learning standards aligned with academic content standards for grades K-3.
• Promote parent and family involvement by developing outreach strategies to parents to improve their understanding of their children’s development.
• Fund quality initiatives that improve instructional practices, programmatic practices, and classroom environments that promote school readiness.
• Quality standards reform that moves toward pre-service training requirements for early learning providers, and adopting best practices for teacher-child ratios and group size.

The bill’s chances are cloudy because it’s still relatively early in the legislative session, an lawmakers often save heavy lifting for the final days.

Read more analysis about the bill here:

“Who Knew Student Loan Reform Could Mean So Much To Early Childhood,” The Early Ed Watch Blog, 7/15/09.

“Miller Proposes Major Student Loan Overhaul,” Politics K-12, 7/14/09.

In other news: An American family with two kids spends an average of $12,445 a year on child care, which eats up 14 percent of its annual income, Care.com reports.