Even before Covid-19 forced millions of parents to work and study from home while caring for their children and supervising their schoolwork, just 18 percent of student parents earned an associate or bachelor’s degree within six years. Now, amid a pandemic that has decimated an already fragile child care sector, advocates for student parents worry that even fewer of them will graduate on time, if at all. [...]

For the students, as well as faculty and staff members affected by the closures, finding a new spot in a community-based center isn’t easy. Many day cares are operating at reduced capacity because of health restrictions or staff shortages, and some 20,000 have shut down permanently, according to estimates by the Center for American Progress.