Requires Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to issue vouchers in amount of monthly loan repayment amount for loan borrowers who have child enrolled in Grow NJ Kids-rated child care program.

A1640

ASSEMBLY, No. 1640

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman MELINDA KANE

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires Higher Education Student Assistance
Authority to issue vouchers in amount of monthly loan repayment amount for loan
borrowers who have child enrolled in Grow NJ Kids-rated child care program.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act

concerning student loan repayment vouchers for certain borrowers and
supplementing chapter 71C of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

�����
1.�� As
used in this act:

���� �Approved program� means a
licensed child care center, a school- or center-based preschool program, a Head
Start program, or a registered family child care provider which has achieved a
Grow NJ Kids rating of at least three.

���� �Authority� means the Higher
Education Student Assistance Authority� established pursuant to
N.J.S.18A:71A-3.

���� �Grow NJ Kids� means New
Jersey�s quality rating improvement system designed to raise the quality of
child care and early learning programs.

���� �Program� means the Grow NJ
Kids Student Loan
Voucher
Program
established pursuant to section 2 of this act.

���� �Program participant� means a
State or federal student aid loan program

borrower who has a child enrolled in an approved program and who has applied
and been accepted by the authority for participation in the Grow NJ Kids
Student Loan
Voucher
Program.

����� 2.�� There is established a
Grow NJ Kids Student Loan
Voucher

Program within the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.� Under the
program, the authority shall
issue a voucher
to an eligible borrower in the amount of
the principal monthly loan repayment
amount for an eligible borrower who has a child enrolled in an approved
program.� The State shall appropriate such amounts as may be necessary to offset
the loan principal amounts
provided through
the vouchers authorized
under the program.

����� 3.�� To be eligible to
participate in the program, an applicant shall:

���� a.��� be a resident of the
State;

���� b.��� provide evidence of his
child�s enrollment in an approved program;

���� c.��� submit an application to
participate in the program to the authority in a time and manner as determined
by the authority;

���� d.
��� have an individual annual income of no greater than $75,000 or a
combined household income of no greater than $150,000; and

���� e.���
satisfy
any additional criteria the authority may establish.

����� 4.�� a.� A program
participant shall enter into a contract with the authority.� The contract shall
specify the amount of the monthly
voucher

to be
issued to a
program participant.

���� b.��� A program participant
who has entered into a contract with the authority may nullify the contract by
notifying the authority in writing and assuming full responsibility for the
total monthly loan repayment amount.

���� 5.��� A program participant
shall immediately notify the authority if:

���� a.��� there is a change in the
tuition amount charged by the approved program;

���� b.��� the child is no longer
enrolled in the approved program; or

���� c.��� the child transfers from
the approved program to another approved program, or to another child care
program that does not have a Grow NJ Kids rating of at least three.

����

�����
6.�� The
authority shall provide:

���� a.��� each licensed child care
center, school- or center-based preschool program, Head Start program, or
registered family child care provider with information on the Grow NJ Kids
Student Loan Voucher Program
; and

���� b.��� information
on the Grow NJ Kids Student Loan Voucher Program to the general public through
the authority�s website and through other relevant outreach to loan borrowers
as determined by the authority.

���� 7.��� An approved program
shall publicize the Grow NJ Kids Student Loan Voucher

Program
within their facility, on their websites, and through any other relevant
communications to individuals, as deemed appropriate by the approved program.

���� 8.��� The authority shall
adopt in accordance with the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement
the provisions of this act.

���� 9.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes a Grow
NJ Kids Student Loan Voucher Program within the Higher Education Student
Assistance Authority. Grow NJ Kids is New Jersey�s quality rating improvement
system designed to raise the quality of child care and early learning programs.�
Under the bill, the authority will issue vouchers to eligible borrowers in the
amount of the principal monthly loan repayment amount for an eligible borrower
who has a child enrolled in an approved program.� The bill defines an �approved
program� as a licensed child care center, a school- or center-based preschool
program, a Head Start program, or a registered family child care provider which
has achieved a Grow NJ Kids rating of at least three.� The bill provides that
the State will appropriate such amounts as may be necessary to offset the loan
principal amounts provided through the vouchers authorized under the program.

���� In order to be eligible to
participate in the program, an applicant must:

�

be a resident of the State;

�

provide evidence of his child�s enrollment in an approved
program;

�

submit an application to participate in the program to the
authority in a time and manner as determined by the authority;

�

have an individual annual income of no greater than $75,000 or a
combined household income of no greater than $150,000; and

�

satisfy any additional criteria the authority may establish.

���� Under the bill, the authority
will provide:

�

each licensed child care center, school- or center-based
preschool program, Head Start program, or registered family child care provider
with information on the Grow NJ Kids Student Loan Voucher Program; and

�

information on the Grow NJ Kids Student Loan Voucher Program to
the general public through the authority�s website and through other relevant
outreach to loan borrowers as determined by the authority.

���� The bill requires an approved
program to publicize the Grow NJ Kids Student Loan Voucher Program within their
facility, on their websites, and through any other relevant communications to
individuals, as deemed appropriate by the approved program.