Stephen F. Austin State University is moving to quietly wind down a staple of campus and community life: its Early Childhood Laboratory at the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center. The phaseout will start with the infant room in the 2027–28 academic year and eventually shutter the entire program, wiping out roughly 72 high-quality child care seats in an East Texas community that already struggles to find openings for young children. Families who depend on the lab, along with the education students who train there, say the impact will be swift and painful. University leaders point to budget pressures and rising operating costs as the driving reasons.
As reported by The Texas Tribune, the university said parent fees have not covered the cost of running the program, and SFA has picked up about $750,000 in shortfalls over the last five years. Korbin Pate, SFA’s executive director of marketing and communications, told the outlet the institution cannot raise tuition and is wrestling with inflationary costs familiar to other state universities. The Texas Tribune also notes the lab serves children from 8 weeks to 5 years old and operates five classrooms, highlighting how many families and age groups will feel the closure.
Tuition and timeline
SFA’s Early Childhood Laboratory lists 2026–27 monthly rates ranging from $1,070 for infant care to $885 for Pre-K II, according to figures posted on the program’s website. In a letter shared with staff, Provost Dr. Jordan Barkley laid out a phased transition and told the lab’s director that the university will stop accepting new infant enrollments beginning with the 2027–28 academic year, according to local reporting. The plan gives families and campus students some lead time to seek alternatives as classrooms wind down one by one.
A training ground that’s shrinking
For years, the lab has pulled double duty as both a trusted community child care provider and a hands-on training site for early childhood education students. SFA officials now say student placements in the program have dropped by about 30% in the last five years. Rebecca Boyett, the lead infant-room teacher, told The Texas Tribune that “the opportunity for students to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world experiences is an irreplaceable part of their education.” Staff say that shrinking practicum placements, combined with the mounting deficit, are weakening the program’s academic case inside the university.
What this means for East Texas
Advocates warn the closure fits a broader pattern in rural Texas. Research from Children At Risk shows many Texas communities, especially in East Texas, are stuck in persistent child care deserts where subsidized and high-quality seats fall well short of demand. For low-income families near SFA, losing 72 university-run slots will tighten an already narrow set of options and push more pressure onto a thin local provider network.
Next steps and response
SFA says it will phase the program out gradually and is discussing ways to reduce disruption for enrolled families and for students who rely on the lab for field experience. In the meantime, community members are beginning to organize and voice concerns to campus leaders, while early childhood advocates point to policy gaps that leave rural providers particularly exposed when institutional budgets get squeezed.
