By Wohlgemuth H.B. No. 1178
77R3609 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
2-1 supervise qualified personnel, and otherwise control the terms of
2-2 employment, including the right to employ individuals who share the
2-3 religious views of the school or facility;
2-4 (3) internal self-governance and autonomy of the
2-5 school or facility; or
2-6 (4) religious environment of the school or facility,
2-7 such as symbols, art, icons, and scripture.
2-8 SECTION 2. Section 42.002(3), Human Resources Code, as
2-9 amended by Chapters 1022 and 1063, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
2-10 Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
2-11 (3) "Child-care facility" means a facility licensed,
2-12 certified, or registered by the department to provide assessment,
2-13 care, training, education, custody, treatment, or supervision for a
2-14 child who is not related by blood, marriage, or adoption to the
2-15 owner or operator of the facility, for all or part of the 24-hour
2-16 day, whether or not the facility is operated for profit or charges
2-17 for the services it offers.
2-18 SECTION 3. Section 42.041(b), Human Resources Code, as
2-19 amended by Chapters 1063 and 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
2-20 Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
2-21 (b) This section does not apply to:
2-22 (1) a state-operated facility;
2-23 (2) an agency foster home or agency foster group home;
2-24 (3) a facility that is operated in connection with a
2-25 shopping center, business, religious organization, or establishment
2-26 where children are cared for during short periods while parents or
2-27 persons responsible for the children are attending religious
3-1 services, shopping, or engaging in other activities on or near the
3-2 premises, including but not limited to retreats or classes for
3-3 religious instruction;
3-4 (4) a school or class for religious instruction that
3-5 does not last longer than two weeks and is conducted by a religious
3-6 organization during the summer months;
3-7 (5) a youth camp licensed by the Texas Department of
3-8 Health;
3-9 (6) a facility licensed, operated, certified, or
3-10 registered by another state agency;
3-11 (7) an educational facility accredited by the Texas
3-12 Education Agency or the Southern Association of Colleges and
3-13 Schools that operates primarily for educational purposes in grades
3-14 kindergarten and above, an after-school program operated directly
3-15 by an accredited educational facility, or an after-school program
3-16 operated by another entity under contract with the educational
3-17 facility, if the Texas Education Agency or Southern Association of
3-18 Colleges and Schools has approved the curriculum content of the
3-19 after-school program operated under the contract;
3-20 (8) an educational facility that operates solely for
3-21 educational purposes in grades kindergarten through at least grade
3-22 two, that does not provide custodial care for more than one hour
3-23 during the hours before or after the customary school day, and that
3-24 is a member of an organization that promulgates, publishes, and
3-25 requires compliance with health, safety, fire, and sanitation
3-26 standards equal to standards required by state, municipal, and
3-27 county codes;
4-1 (9) a kindergarten or preschool educational program
4-2 that is operated as part of a public school or a private school
4-3 accredited by the Texas Education Agency, that offers educational
4-4 programs through grade six, and that does not provide custodial
4-5 care during the hours before or after the customary school day;
4-6 (10) a family home, whether registered or listed;
4-7 (11) an educational facility that is integral to and
4-8 inseparable from its sponsoring religious organization or an
4-9 educational facility both of which do not provide custodial care
4-10 for more than two hours maximum per day, and that offers
4-11 educational programs for children age five and above in one or more
4-12 of the following: kindergarten through at least grade three,
4-13 elementary, or secondary grades;
4-14 (12) an emergency shelter facility providing shelter
4-15 to minor mothers who are the sole support of their natural children
4-16 under Section 32.201, Family Code, unless the facility would
4-17 otherwise require a license as a child-care facility under this
4-18 section;
4-19 (13) a juvenile detention facility certified under
4-20 Section 51.12, Family Code, or Section 141.042(d), a juvenile
4-21 facility providing services solely for the Texas Youth Commission,
4-22 or any other correctional facility for children operated or
4-23 regulated by another state agency or by a political subdivision of
4-24 the state;
4-25 (14) an elementary-age (ages 5-13) recreation program
4-26 operated by a municipality provided the governing body of the
4-27 municipality annually adopts standards of care by ordinance after a
5-1 public hearing for such programs, that such standards are provided
5-2 to the parents of each program participant, and that the ordinances
5-3 shall include, at a minimum, staffing ratios, minimum staff
5-4 qualifications, minimum facility, health, and safety standards, and
5-5 mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing the adopted local
5-6 standards; and further provided that parents be informed that the
5-7 program is not licensed by the state and the program may not be
5-8 advertised as a child-care facility; or
5-9 (15) an annual youth camp held in a municipality with
5-10 a population of more than 1.5 million that operates for not more
5-11 than three months and that has been operated for at least 10 years
5-12 by a nonprofit organization that provides care for the homeless.
5-13 SECTION 4. Section 42.042(g), Human Resources Code, as
5-14 amended by Chapters 1063 and 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
5-15 Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
5-16 (g) In promulgating minimum standards the department may
5-17 recognize and treat differently the types of services provided by
5-18 the following:
5-19 (1) registered family homes;
5-20 (2) child-care facilities, including child-care
5-21 institutions, foster group homes, foster homes, group day-care
5-22 homes, and day-care centers;
5-23 (3) child-placing agencies;
5-24 (4) agency foster homes; and
5-25 (5) agency foster group homes.
5-26 SECTION 5. Section 42.044(c), Human Resources Code, as
5-27 amended by Chapters 1022 and 1063, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
6-1 Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
6-2 (c) The department must investigate a facility regulated
6-3 under this chapter or a registered family home when a complaint is
6-4 received. The representative of the department must notify the
6-5 operator of a registered family home or the director or authorized
6-6 representative of a regulated facility when a complaint is being
6-7 investigated and report in writing the results of the investigation
6-8 to the family home's operator or to the regulated facility's
6-9 director or the director's authorized representative.
6-10 SECTION 6. Section 42.052(c), Human Resources Code, as
6-11 amended by Chapters 1022, 1063, and 1217, Acts of the 75th
6-12 Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as
6-13 follows:
6-14 (c) A family home that provides care for compensation for
6-15 three or fewer children, excluding children who are related to the
6-16 caretaker, shall list with the department if the home provides
6-17 regular care in the caretaker's own residence. The home may
6-18 register with the department.
6-19 SECTION 7. Section 42.052(f), Human Resources Code, as
6-20 amended by Chapters 1022, 1063, and 1217, Acts of the 75th
6-21 Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as
6-22 follows:
6-23 (f) To remain listed or registered with the department, a
6-24 family home must comply with the department's rules and standards,
6-25 if applicable, and any provision of this chapter that applies to a
6-26 listed or registered family home.
6-27 SECTION 8. Section 42.052(i), Human Resources Code, is
7-1 repealed.
7-2 SECTION 9. Section 42.052(j), Human Resources Code, as added
7-3 by Chapter 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session,
7-4 1997, is repealed.
7-5 SECTION 10. Section 42.057, Human Resources Code, as added by
7-6 Chapter 1022, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
7-7 is repealed.
7-8 SECTION 11. Section 42.057, Human Resources Code, as added by
7-9 Chapter 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
7-10 is repealed.
7-11 SECTION 12. Section 42.072(d), Human Resources Code, as
7-12 amended by Chapters 1022, 1063, and 1217, Acts of the 75th
7-13 Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as
7-14 follows:
7-15 (d) The department by rule may provide for denial of an
7-16 application or renewal for a licensed facility or for listing or
7-17 registering a family home or may revoke a facility's license or a
7-18 family home's listing or registration based on findings of
7-19 background or criminal history as a result of a background or
7-20 criminal history check.
7-21 SECTION 13. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
7-22 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
7-23 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
7-24 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
7-25 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.