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Bill

A 1624

Relates to creating a set of media literacy standards for students in grades kindergarten through twelve

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Marianne Buttenschon and 5 co-sponsors

Prohibits charging parents fees on days when care is unavailable due to COVID-19 exposure/contraction and requires retroactive reimbursements for pre-enactment charges.

REFERRED TO EDUCATION
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Bill Summary · A 1624

Summary of Bill A 1624

Note on title discrepancy: The bill text provided concerns child care providers and COVID-19-related service disruptions. The title listed as “Relates to creating a set of media literacy standards for students in grades kindergarten through twelve” appears to be inconsistent with the introduced version. This summary focuses on the actual bill text related to child care providers and COVID-19 fee recovery.

Overview and Purpose

  • Purpose: Prohibit charging parents fees for child care on days when the provider or a staff member cannot provide services due to contraction of or exposure to COVID-19; require reimbursement of previously charged fees for such days; apply retroactively to December 1, 2021.
  • Scope: Applies to child care providers operating licensed facilities or registered family day care providers in New Jersey.

Key Provisions

  1. Prohibition on Fees on Disrupted Days

    • A child care provider shall not charge a parent any fees for days when the provider, an assistant provider, substitute provider, alternate provider, or other employee cannot provide services due to COVID-19 contraction or exposure.
    • This prohibition applies notwithstanding any other law or regulation.

  2. Definitions

    • “Child care provider” means:
      • A licensed facility operator under P.L.1983, c.492 (C.30:5B-1 et seq.), or
      • A registered family day care provider under P.L. 1987, c. 27 (C.30:5B-16).

  3. Reimbursement Obligation (Pre-Enactment Fees)

    • If, prior to enactment, a provider charged a parent fees for days when services could not be provided due to COVID-19, the provider must reimburse the parent in an amount equal to those fees.

  4. Effective Date and Retroactivity

    • The act takes effect immediately.
    • Section 2’s reimbursement requirement is retroactive to December 1, 2021.

Affected Parties

  • Parents and families who paid fees for days when care could not be provided due to COVID-19.
  • Licensed child care facilities and registered family day care providers in New Jersey.
  • Potentially, staff scheduling and administrative operations within providers to ensure fee refunds.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Introduced: January 9, 2024 (Assembly).
  • Initial Referral: Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee.
  • Legislative Action: As of January 10, 2025, “REFERRED TO EDUCATION.”
  • Related/Preceding Legislation: Related bills A 8222 and A 1695 (prior-session references).

Additional Context

  • Fiscal impact: Not specified in the text provided; the bill would impose refund obligations on providers for past charges, which could entail administrative processes and potential cashflow considerations.
  • Enforcement: No specific enforcement mechanism is detailed in the provided text; likely to be addressed in the bill’s full language or implementing regulations if enacted.

If you’d like, I can synthesize this into a brief one-page briefing or compare it with related bills (A 8222, A 1695) for context.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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