Federal Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) has indicated that she is ready to discuss the financial disagreements surrounding the “Kindergarten Start Opportunity and Quality Development Act” which she proposed. Prien told Welt am Sonntag that early childhood education is a shared duty among the federal government, the states, and the municipalities, and therefore, new nationwide standards must be financed and implemented collectively. She stressed that the current focus must be on finding a viable solution, and she confirmed that there is currently a “good exchange” of views with the individual states.
The conference of the states’ youth and family ministers unanimously rejected the law in its current version at the end of July, citing that the federal government’s funding promises are insufficient compared to the existing Kindergarten Quality Act, which expires at the end of 2026. Under the proposed plan, the federal government intends to support the states with nearly 1.5 billion euros over the next two years, after which these subsidies will decline. From 2030, only 993 million euros are scheduled annually. Prior to this, the existing Kindergarten Quality Act provided the states with two billion euros each year.
Prien emphasized that the core difference between the new law and the previous one is the move away from time-limited support programs. Nothing will be cut, she clarified, adding that without this new legislation, there would be no federal funding available in the future. Instead, the new law aims to provide long-term, reliable financing, thereby offering planning security for both states and local municipalities.
Through this legislation, Prien intends to ensure uniformly high standards in early childhood education across the country for the first time. States will be required to test the language proficiency of all children at the age of four and assess their developmental status in areas such as self-regulation, gross and fine motor skills, and mathematical abilities. Where deficits are identified, mandatory remedial support must be provided. Prien called the Act “the biggest educational policy project of this coalition-and the key to a turnaround in educational policy.” She added, “For the first time, we are registering the language skills of children nationwide and ensuring they receive the support they need early on. This strengthens the transition to school and the entire educational chain from the very beginning.”
Prien also aims to transfer the logic of the “Start Opportunity Program,” which is designed for schools in disadvantaged areas, into the kindergarten system. Kindergartens located in socially challenging environments will, according to the plan, receive special support and increased staffing. Prien described this as a “real system change,” noting that “previously, the educational success of many children depended heavily on their residential address.”
