Requires 45 day notice concerning tuition rate changes by licensed child care centers.
Summary
This bill requires licensed child care centers in New Jersey to give parents or legal guardians advance notice before increasing tuition. Specifically, any change in a center’s tuition rate must be noticed 45 days before it takes effect. The notice must be provided to every affected parent or guardian and may be delivered by certified mail, receipted first-class mail, or in person by a staff member.
The bill also requires child care centers to make the notice available through electronic means, including posting it on the center’s website if one exists, and to display it in a prominent location inside the center. The measure applies to centers licensed under the state child care licensing law and takes effect immediately upon enactment.
Impact
The bill would amend and supplement New Jersey’s child care center licensing law, P.L.1983, c.492 (C.30:5B-1 et seq.), by adding a new consumer-notice requirement tied to tuition increases. It does not regulate the amount of tuition that centers may charge, but it does create a mandatory disclosure timeline and method of notice for licensed providers. The practical effect is to give families more time to plan for higher child care costs and to impose a new administrative compliance duty on licensed child care centers.
Sentiment
The available legislative history suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill, as reflected by its committee report with amendments and a unanimous 5-0 vote in the Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee. No committee transcript is available, and there is no recorded opposition in the provided materials. The bill’s purpose appears to be consumer protection and family budgeting rather than controversy over child care pricing policy.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided record. Potential areas of concern, based on the bill’s text, could include the administrative burden on child care centers, the feasibility of providing notice by certified or receipted mail, and how centers without websites would satisfy the electronic posting requirement. However, the available materials do not identify any legislators, advocates, or stakeholders raising objections.