Nashville Councilman files bill to make childcare more affordable
Nashville has a childcare crisis. Daycare costs more than college tuition. Even if a family can afford it, there’s no guarantee they can find it. Davidson County has a daycare deficit. According to the Nashville Chamber, the area lacks 2,750 childcare spots.
“Families are being forced out our city,” says Nashville Councilman Rollin Horton. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Horton has set out to solve the problem and is introducing Codes for Kids, a piece of legislation that will make childcare more accessible and affordable.
“Codes for Kids will remove red tape in our city’s zoning code that prevents Davidson County from expanding childcare access and drives up costs for providers and parents,” Horton tells TENNBEAT.
“Accessibility is the primary issue,” says Shetika Davis, who recently opened Bridging the Gap Learning, a daycare in East Nashville. “If we didn’t make it so difficult and expensive to build childcare, affordability wouldn’t be an issue. But to make childcare affordable, cities have to make it accessible. Right now, you have to jump through hundreds of hoops to open one. It’s a bunch of government bureaucracy.”
A 2025 State of Tennessee Study came to the same conclusion as Davis. Local zoning laws prevent many municipalities — including Nashville — from meeting demand and delivering affordable options. The report recommended amending the zoning code and making it easier to build daycares.
Horton’s bill adopts several suggestions from the study, including eliminatingblanket bans on childcare services that exist in certain areas and streamlining the time consuming and expensive permitting processes for providers.
“Our zoning codes reflect our priorities,” says Horton. “They decide what can be built, where it can be built, how much of it can be built and how hard it is to build. Our current policies don’t prioritize parents or kids. Codes for Kids changes that and puts families first.”
Removing 1,000 ft Blanket Ban
In many areas in Davidson County, it is illegal to have more than one daycare within 1,000 feet of each other. This type of exclusionary zoning law is typically used for noxious uses such as wastewater facilities and vape shops.
Davis says when she was searching for spaces, she called codes countless times to inquire about the legality of potential properties. Did the code allow for a daycare?
She said the department dashed several proposed sites, citing existing facilities within 1,000 feet.
“This policy is a part of our problem,” says Horton. It severely limits the amount of available land and commercial space where childcare centers can be built. It’s created a self-inflicted scarcity.”
Because spots are so scarce, some parents are willing to pay for childcare while they’re still at home with their little one. Omar Perez and his wife Angela are expecting their second child in July. They got on the waitlist of 18 weeks after they found out she was pregnant. The school year starts until August. Both he and his wife plan to take advantage of their employer’s parental leave and stay home with their newborn for the first few months.
“If our baby is called up on the waitlist before our paternity and maternity leave ends, we will pay just for the first few months — even though we will still be at home with her. We simply can’t afford to lose our spot. It’s too hard to find childcare.”
Codes for Kids will make childcare easier to find. It will eliminate the 1,000 foot blanket bans and allow for multiple daycares to built in an area so long as the meet the state and local standards.
Streamlining Permitting Process
The legislation will also streamline the permitting process.
Right now in Nashville, daycare providers are required to receive a special exemption from the Board of Zoning Appeals even if a site and the operator meet all the conditions for a childcare facility set forth by the state and local government. Approval is subjective, meaning operators can be denied for no real reason at all.
The Board of Zoning Appeals often adds 4-6 months onto an operator’s timeline and in many cases thousands in attorneys fees, as it is difficult to navigate the system without specialized knowledge.
“Everyday we aren’t open, we are bleeding money,” says Davis. “Daycare owners are still paying rent while they wait for permits. When they prolong the timelines, they increase costs.”
These prolonged timelines are passed down to parents. In Nashville, the average childcare waitlist ranges anywhere from 6 months to 1 year. Many mothers get on waitlists the moment they find out they’re pregnant.
These waitlists aren’t just inconvenient. They’re expensive. Molly Wright, a Charlotte Park resident and mother, says she and her husband spent $500 to secure a spot for their daughter on the waitlist of a new Nashville daycare set to open in March.
Wright spoke in support of the center at the Board of Zoning Appeals last year. She saw firsthand the failures of our city’s system.
“The special exemption didn’t accomplish anything except delay the daycare and increase the costs for providers and parents,” says Wright. “I’m glad this bill will remove the requirement for it (special exemption).”
Codes for Kids will allow daycares that meet all the conditions set forth by the state and local government to be built by right — without a special exemption from Board of Zoning Appeals — just like schools or churches.
“These zoning changes may seem small, but they are significant,” says Horton. “They will allow our city to expand childcare access. For too long, parents have been forced to choose between their kid or their career. It doesn’t have to be that way. ”
Tamika White, Political Director for SEIU Local 2025, a labor union representing thousands of workers across Tennessee, says when lawmakers like Horton address childcare issues, they address labor issues.
“Childcare issues are labor issues. Parents who can’t afford quality care, or can’t find it, can’t work,” says White.
More than 122,000 Tennesseans aren’t working because of childcare barriers.
“SEIU is proud to support this piece of legislation,” says White. “Davidson County workers deserve abundant and affordable daycare options.”
Horton’s bill will be formally filed today.