The federal government is supporting the states and local authorities in expanding all-day education and childcare options for children and young people with a major funding package - a total of 3.5 billion euros. Of this amount, 750 million euros will be made available in advance - starting in 2021 - to accelerate expansion and will be distributed by the states in accordance with an administrative agreement between the federal and state governments. These funds granted in advance are intended to effectively drive forward the gradual introduction of the legal entitlement to all-day care in practice (planned for elementary school children from 2026), and in particular to accelerate the necessary structural expansions at schools, daycare centers and extracurricular after-school care offerings.
Now, the Bundestag has decided that the federal states will be given more time to call up these advance financial aids for the expansion of all-day care and to implement construction measures. Originally, the option to draw down the "acceleration funds" was to end on December 31, 2021. The All-Day Financial Assistance Act and the corresponding administrative agreement on its implementation now provide for an extension of one year, i.e., until the end of 2022, and the states must comply with this (All-Day Financial Assistance Adjustment Act, BR-Drucksache 808/21 dated November 26, 2021).
This deadline extension now gives public and private sponsors of educational facilities more time for planning and construction. This is necessary because there have been considerable delays due to the tense situation in the trades and due to supply bottlenecks against the backdrop of the COVID 19 pandemic in the construction sector. Without the extension, there would have been a risk that municipalities and private education providers would have been "left stranded" with costs for necessary but currently unfinished construction projects (according to the bill, loc. cit., verbatim).
The contact person for education law in our law firm is Dr. Cathrin Correll, attorney-at-law.
