77R7739 SGA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the regulation of child-care facilities and agencies.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 42.001, Human Resources Code, as amended
1-5 by Chapters 664 and 1063, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular
1-6 Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 42.001. PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to
1-8 protect the health, safety, and well-being of the children of the
1-9 state who reside in child-care facilities by establishing statewide
1-10 minimum standards for their safety and protection and by regulating
1-11 the facilities through a licensing program or by requiring
1-12 child-care facilities to be regulated by alternative accreditation
1-13 bodies. It is the policy of the state to ensure the protection of
1-14 all children under care in child-care facilities and to encourage
1-15 and assist in the improvement of child-care programs. It is also
1-16 the intent of the legislature that freedom of religion of all
1-17 citizens is inviolate. With respect to a school or child-care
1-18 facility sponsored by a religious organization, nothing in this
1-19 chapter gives a governmental agency authority to regulate, control,
1-20 supervise, or in any way be involved in the:
1-21 (1) form, manner, or content of religious instruction,
1-22 ministry, teaching, or the curriculum offered by the school or
1-23 facility;
1-24 (2) ability of the school or facility to select and
1-25 supervise qualified personnel, and otherwise control the terms of
1-26 employment, including the right to employ individuals who share the
1-27 religious views of the school or facility;
2-1 (3) internal self-governance and autonomy of the
2-2 school or facility; or
2-3 (4) religious environment of the school or facility,
2-4 such as symbols, art, icons, and scripture.
2-5 SECTION 2. Section 42.002(3), Human Resources Code, as
2-6 amended by Chapters 1022 and 1063, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
2-7 Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
2-8 (3) "Child-care facility" means a facility licensed,
2-9 certified, or registered by the department to provide assessment,
2-10 care, training, education, custody, treatment, or supervision for a
2-11 child who is not related by blood, marriage, or adoption to the
2-12 owner or operator of the facility, for all or part of the 24-hour
2-13 day, whether or not the facility is operated for profit or charges
2-14 for the services it offers.
2-15 SECTION 3. Section 42.041(b), Human Resources Code, as
2-16 amended by Chapters 1063 and 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
2-17 Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
2-18 (b) This section does not apply to:
2-19 (1) a state-operated facility;
2-20 (2) an agency foster home or agency foster group home;
2-21 (3) a facility that is operated in connection with a
2-22 shopping center, business, religious organization, or establishment
2-23 where children are cared for during short periods while parents or
2-24 persons responsible for the children are attending religious
2-25 services, shopping, or engaging in other activities on or near the
2-26 premises, including but not limited to retreats or classes for
2-27 religious instruction;
3-1 (4) a school or class for religious instruction that
3-2 does not last longer than two weeks and is conducted by a religious
3-3 organization during the summer months;
3-4 (5) a youth camp licensed by the Texas Department of
3-5 Health;
3-6 (6) a facility licensed, operated, certified, or
3-7 registered by another state agency;
3-8 (7) an educational facility accredited by the Texas
3-9 Education Agency or the Southern Association of Colleges and
3-10 Schools that operates primarily for educational purposes in grades
3-11 kindergarten and above, an after-school program operated directly
3-12 by an accredited educational facility, or an after-school program
3-13 operated by another entity under contract with the educational
3-14 facility, if the Texas Education Agency or Southern Association of
3-15 Colleges and Schools has approved the curriculum content of the
3-16 after-school program operated under the contract;
3-17 (8) an educational facility that operates solely for
3-18 educational purposes in grades kindergarten through at least grade
3-19 two, that does not provide custodial care for more than one hour
3-20 during the hours before or after the customary school day, and that
3-21 is a member of an organization that promulgates, publishes, and
3-22 requires compliance with health, safety, fire, and sanitation
3-23 standards equal to standards required by state, municipal, and
3-24 county codes;
3-25 (9) a kindergarten or preschool educational program
3-26 that is operated as part of a public school or a private school
3-27 accredited by the Texas Education Agency, that offers educational
4-1 programs through grade six, and that does not provide custodial
4-2 care during the hours before or after the customary school day;
4-3 (10) a family home, whether registered or listed;
4-4 (11) an educational facility that is integral to and
4-5 inseparable from its sponsoring religious organization or an
4-6 educational facility both of which do not provide custodial care
4-7 for more than two hours maximum per day, and that offers
4-8 educational programs for children age five and above in one or more
4-9 of the following: kindergarten through at least grade three,
4-10 elementary, or secondary grades;
4-11 (12) an emergency shelter facility providing shelter
4-12 to minor mothers who are the sole support of their natural children
4-13 under Section 32.201, Family Code, unless the facility would
4-14 otherwise require a license as a child-care facility under this
4-15 section;
4-16 (13) a juvenile detention facility certified under
4-17 Section 51.12, Family Code, or Section 141.042(d), a juvenile
4-18 facility providing services solely for the Texas Youth Commission,
4-19 or any other correctional facility for children operated or
4-20 regulated by another state agency or by a political subdivision of
4-21 the state;
4-22 (14) an elementary-age (ages 5-13) recreation program
4-23 operated by a municipality provided the governing body of the
4-24 municipality annually adopts standards of care by ordinance after a
4-25 public hearing for such programs, that such standards are provided
4-26 to the parents of each program participant, and that the ordinances
4-27 shall include, at a minimum, staffing ratios, minimum staff
5-1 qualifications, minimum facility, health, and safety standards, and
5-2 mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing the adopted local
5-3 standards; and further provided that parents be informed that the
5-4 program is not licensed by the state and the program may not be
5-5 advertised as a child-care facility; or
5-6 (15) an annual youth camp held in a municipality with
5-7 a population of more than 1.5 million that operates for not more
5-8 than three months and that has been operated for at least 10 years
5-9 by a nonprofit organization that provides care for the homeless.
5-10 SECTION 4. Section 42.042(g), Human Resources Code, as
5-11 amended by Chapters 1063 and 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
5-12 Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
5-13 (g) In promulgating minimum standards the department may
5-14 recognize and treat differently the types of services provided by
5-15 the following:
5-16 (1) registered family homes;
5-17 (2) child-care facilities, including child-care
5-18 institutions, foster group homes, foster homes, group day-care
5-19 homes, and day-care centers;
5-20 (3) child-placing agencies;
5-21 (4) agency foster homes; and
5-22 (5) agency foster group homes.
5-23 SECTION 5. Section 42.044(c), Human Resources Code, as
5-24 amended by Chapters 1022 and 1063, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
5-25 Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
5-26 (c) The department must investigate a facility regulated
5-27 under this chapter or a registered family home when a complaint is
6-1 received. The representative of the department must notify the
6-2 operator of a registered family home or the director or authorized
6-3 representative of a regulated facility when a complaint is being
6-4 investigated and report in writing the results of the investigation
6-5 to the family home's operator or to the regulated facility's
6-6 director or the director's authorized representative.
6-7 SECTION 6. Section 42.052(c), Human Resources Code, as
6-8 amended by Chapters 1022, 1063, and 1217, Acts of the 75th
6-9 Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as
6-10 follows:
6-11 (c) A family home that provides care for compensation for
6-12 three or fewer children, excluding children who are related to the
6-13 caretaker, shall list with the department if the home provides
6-14 regular care in the caretaker's own residence. The home may
6-15 register with the department.
6-16 SECTION 7. Section 42.052(f), Human Resources Code, as
6-17 amended by Chapters 1022, 1063, and 1217, Acts of the 75th
6-18 Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as
6-19 follows:
6-20 (f) To remain listed or registered with the department, a
6-21 family home must comply with the department's rules and standards,
6-22 if applicable, and any provision of this chapter that applies to a
6-23 listed or registered family home.
6-24 SECTION 8. Section 42.052(j), Human Resources Code, as added
6-25 by Chapter 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session,
6-26 1997, is repealed.
6-27 SECTION 9. Section 42.057, Human Resources Code, as added by
7-1 Chapter 1022, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
7-2 is repealed.
7-3 SECTION 10. Section 42.057, Human Resources Code, as added by
7-4 Chapter 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
7-5 is repealed.
7-6 SECTION 11. Section 42.072(d), Human Resources Code, as
7-7 amended by Chapters 1022, 1063, and 1217, Acts of the 75th
7-8 Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as
7-9 follows:
7-10 (d) The department by rule may provide for denial of an
7-11 application or renewal for a licensed facility or for listing or
7-12 registering a family home or may revoke a facility's license or a
7-13 family home's listing or registration based on findings of
7-14 background or criminal history as a result of a background or
7-15 criminal history check.
7-16 SECTION 12. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
7-17 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
7-18 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
7-19 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
7-20 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.