By Jai’Michael Anderson

The Early Learning Campus Parent Coalition visited the University of Louisville provost’s office in Grawmeyer Hall on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. The group delivered a petition demanding that the university reconsider its recent end of partnership with the Family Scholar House, a nonprofit that helps manage the ELC.

The ELC provides childcare to about 150 children of faculty, students, community members and residents of the Family Scholar House, which provides housing and resources to student-parents and their children.

The group delivered a petition with 2,500 signatures and a signed banner created by the children. Though Provost Katie Cardarelli was not in town to receive their messages, U of L spokesperson John Karman promised to relay the materials.

U of L spokesperson John Karman, right, accepts the hand-delivered petition and artwork from families of the Early Learning Campus on March 4, 2026. (Photo by Jayson Myers / The Louisville Cardinal)

Remington Smith, an associate professor with two children enrolled in the ELC, helped lead the initiative.

“Our message has been clear to Provost Cardarelli and President Bradley,” said Smith. “Part of it (the petition) is messaging to the wider community because I do believe that the U of L administration has been downplaying what the Early Learning Campus actually is.”

In 2025, U of L spent state funds to cover a $1.7 million deficit in the College of Education and Human Development, which helps run the ELC. In a recent interview with The Cardinal, Cardarelli said the university should fund other programs that align with its “core mission” instead of providing childcare.

Since opening in 2008, the ELC has been a training ground for future educators. U of L education majors engage in hands-on learning, research and student teaching with the program.

The university has foregrounded community engagement and hands-on learning experiences in its strategic plan. Smith says the ELC exemplifies these initiatives.

“I don’t understand why they are framing it in such a way that denigrates the work of both the ELC and the College of [Education],” Smith said.

Families of the Early Learning Campus Meet at Grawmeyer Hall to voice their concerns on March 4, 2026. (Photo by Jayson Myers / The Louisville Cardinal)

The parents are also demanding full budget transparency. Cardarelli told The Cardinal that the ELC has lost $4.5 million in the past five years, but parents say they were not aware of potential threats to this resource.

Parents want to know how the shortfall occurred. Smith believes they should have been consulted before the university made a final decision.

“The university has made a fundamental mistake that has harmed a lot of families [and] hurt a lot of people in the community,” said Smith.

The ELC will close on June 30. With long wait lists for childcare around the city, parents argue that they were not given enough time to find other arrangements.

“It shows that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of what the childcare situation looks like in the state,” said Smith who’s daughter was on the ELC’s waitlist for a full year.

Sarah Exner, U of L Nurse Anesthesia Program manager, has a one year-old and a three year-old enrolled in the ELC. She signed up for the ELC’s waitlist after finding out she was pregnant. Neither of her children were accepted until they were around six months old.

“For infants and toddlers it can be very difficult to find a place,” said Exner. “Many places are telling me maybe next June, of 2027, will be when they can first take my one-year-old.”

A child enrolled in the ELC joins the demand to reinstate U of L’s partnership with the program, March, 4, 2026. (Photo by Jai’Michael Anderson / The Louisville Cardinal)

Parents value the ELC for its high accreditation and unique approach to child learning. It is one of the only early childhood programs that meets national standards for high quality education.

Exner said the program’s child-led curriculum enhances creativity, fosters independence and social skills and makes kids more inquisitive.

She agrees with Smith that the program is well-aligned with U of L’s mission: “to educate and serve the public through transformative teaching, innovative research, and engaged partnerships — advancing knowledge and improving quality of life and health across Kentucky’s communities.”

“There are so many elements that just align with U of L’s principles and values,” said Exner. “We’re just asking for the university to reconsider… and reverse their decision to close. I think that it shouldn’t be something that we just put on the chopping block because there’s challenges with the budget.”

“We’re asking for creative leadership [and] partnership with those impacted, to find a way forward,” she said.

In a statement to The Louisville Cardinal, Karman upheld the university’s stance on the decision.

“We appreciate that the families are upset and understand the importance of finding quality child care, but the university cannot continue to support the ELC’s losses,” he said.”These are tough budgetary times for higher education, and we have to prioritize programs that serve the entire campus community, not just a small segment of it.”

That afternoon, the Family Scholar House announced that the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative will take over the ELC’s management in August 2026.

Photo by Jayson Myers / The Louisville Cardinal