Daycare children sit at the table and do crafts (symbolic photo) Photo: picture alliance / dpa
From BZ/dpa
The Federal Administrative Court has declared the upper limit for additional daycare payments in Berlin to be ineffective.
The court in Leipzig reasoned on Thursday that independent daycare operators have the autonomy to go beyond what public youth welfare providers consider necessary in their educational offerings (ref.: BVerwG 5 C 6.22).
This includes the right to cover the additional costs incurred through additional payments from the parents.
The federal judges also ordered the state of Berlin to pay back 200,000 euros to a daycare provider who had sued against the regulations.
According to the court, the provider runs three daycare centers with around 400 places. The daycare centers have bilingual offerings and more staff than is generally the case. The parents were asked to pay for the higher costs.
However, on September 1, 2018, an upper limit for additional payments of a maximum of 90 euros per month was introduced in Berlin. Because the daycare provider insisted on higher additional payments, the state in return reduced her monthly operating cost reimbursement. The operator sued against this – and, unlike in the previous instances, was now successful at the Federal Administrative Court.
The Federal Administrative Court’s decision was based on the principle of equality in the Basic Law and the principle of plurality of providers. Against this background, the strict upper limit is disproportionate.
The upper limit for additional payments of 90 euros per month was developed together with independent youth welfare providers and associations. The aim was to give all parents and children equal access to all offers, regardless of their financial possibilities. In 2018, Berlin was the first federal state to completely abolish daycare fees.