1-1     By:  Wohlgemuth, Naishtat                             H.B. No. 1178
 1-2          (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini)
 1-3           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 2, 2001;
 1-4     April 3, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
 1-5     and Human Services; April 24, 2001, reported adversely, with
 1-6     favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays
 1-7     0; April 24, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-8     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1178               By:  Shapleigh
 1-9                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-10                                   AN ACT
1-11     relating to the regulation of child-care facilities and agencies.
1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13           SECTION 1. Section 42.001, Human Resources Code, as amended
1-14     by Chapters 664 and 1063, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular
1-15     Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
1-16           Sec. 42.001.  PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to
1-17     protect the health, safety, and well-being of the children of the
1-18     state who reside in child-care facilities by establishing statewide
1-19     minimum standards for their safety and protection and by regulating
1-20     the facilities through a licensing program or by requiring
1-21     child-care facilities to be regulated by alternative accreditation
1-22     bodies.  It is the policy of the state to ensure the protection of
1-23     all children under care in child-care facilities and to encourage
1-24     and assist in the improvement of child-care programs.  It is also
1-25     the intent of the legislature that freedom of religion of all
1-26     citizens is inviolate.  With respect to a school or child-care
1-27     facility sponsored by a religious organization, nothing in this
1-28     chapter gives a governmental agency authority to regulate, control,
1-29     supervise, or in any way be involved in the:
1-30                 (1)  form, manner, or content of religious instruction,
1-31     ministry, teaching, or the curriculum offered by the school or
1-32     facility;
1-33                 (2)  ability of the school or facility to select and
1-34     supervise qualified personnel, and otherwise control the terms of
1-35     employment, including the right to employ individuals who share the
1-36     religious views of the school or facility;
1-37                 (3)  internal self-governance and autonomy of the
1-38     school or facility; or
1-39                 (4)  religious environment of the school or facility,
1-40     such as symbols, art, icons, and scripture.
1-41           SECTION 2. Section 42.002(3), Human Resources Code, as
1-42     amended by Chapters 1022 and 1063, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
1-43     Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
1-44                 (3)  "Child-care facility" means a facility licensed,
1-45     certified, or registered by the department to provide assessment,
1-46     care, training, education, custody, treatment, or supervision for a
1-47     child who is not related by blood, marriage, or adoption to the
1-48     owner or operator of the facility, for all or part of the 24-hour
1-49     day, whether or not the facility is operated for profit or charges
1-50     for the services it offers.
1-51           SECTION 3. Section 42.041(b), Human Resources Code, as
1-52     amended by Chapters 1063 and 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
1-53     Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
1-54           (b)  This section does not apply to:
1-55                 (1)  a state-operated facility;
1-56                 (2)  an agency foster home or agency foster group home;
1-57                 (3)  a facility that is operated in connection with a
1-58     shopping center, business, religious organization, or establishment
1-59     where children are cared for during short periods while parents or
1-60     persons responsible for the children are attending religious
1-61     services, shopping, or engaging in other activities on or near the
1-62     premises, including but not limited to retreats or classes for
1-63     religious instruction;
1-64                 (4)  a school or class for religious instruction that
 2-1     does not last longer than two weeks and is conducted by a religious
 2-2     organization during the summer months;
 2-3                 (5)  a youth camp licensed by the Texas Department of
 2-4     Health;
 2-5                 (6)  a facility licensed, operated, certified, or
 2-6     registered by another state agency;
 2-7                 (7)  an educational facility accredited by the Texas
 2-8     Education Agency or the Southern Association of Colleges and
 2-9     Schools that operates primarily for educational purposes in grades
2-10     kindergarten and above, an after-school program operated directly
2-11     by an accredited educational facility, or an after-school program
2-12     operated by another entity under contract with the educational
2-13     facility, if the Texas Education Agency or Southern Association of
2-14     Colleges and Schools has approved the curriculum content of the
2-15     after-school program operated under the contract;
2-16                 (8)  an educational facility that operates solely for
2-17     educational purposes in grades kindergarten through at least grade
2-18     two, that does not provide custodial care for more than one hour
2-19     during the hours before or after the customary school day, and that
2-20     is a member of an organization that promulgates, publishes, and
2-21     requires compliance with health, safety, fire, and sanitation
2-22     standards equal to standards required by state, municipal, and
2-23     county codes;
2-24                 (9)  a kindergarten or preschool educational program
2-25     that is operated as part of a public school or a private school
2-26     accredited by the Texas Education Agency, that offers educational
2-27     programs through grade six, and that does not provide custodial
2-28     care during the hours before or after the customary school day;
2-29                 (10)  a family home, whether registered or listed;
2-30                 (11)  an educational facility that is integral to and
2-31     inseparable from its sponsoring religious organization or an
2-32     educational facility both of which do not provide custodial care
2-33     for more than two hours maximum per day, and that offers
2-34     educational programs for children age five and above in one or more
2-35     of the following:  kindergarten through at least grade three,
2-36     elementary, or secondary grades;
2-37                 (12)  an emergency shelter facility providing shelter
2-38     to minor mothers who are the sole support of their natural children
2-39     under Section 32.201, Family Code, unless the facility would
2-40     otherwise require a license as a child-care facility under this
2-41     section;
2-42                 (13)  a juvenile detention facility certified under
2-43     Section 51.12, Family Code, or Section 141.042(d), a juvenile
2-44     facility providing services solely for the Texas Youth Commission,
2-45     or any other correctional facility for children operated or
2-46     regulated by another state agency or by a political subdivision of
2-47     the state;
2-48                 (14)  an elementary-age (ages 5-13) recreation program
2-49     operated by a municipality provided the governing body of the
2-50     municipality annually adopts standards of care by ordinance after a
2-51     public hearing for such programs, that such standards are provided
2-52     to the parents of each program participant, and that the ordinances
2-53     shall include, at a minimum, staffing ratios, minimum staff
2-54     qualifications, minimum facility, health, and safety standards, and
2-55     mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing the adopted local
2-56     standards; and further provided that parents be informed that the
2-57     program is not licensed by the state and the program may not be
2-58     advertised as a child-care facility; or
2-59                 (15)  an annual youth camp held in a municipality with
2-60     a population of more than 1.5 million that operates for not more
2-61     than three months and that has been operated for at least 10 years
2-62     by a nonprofit organization that provides care for the homeless.
2-63           SECTION 4. Section 42.042(g), Human Resources Code, as
2-64     amended by Chapters 1063 and 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
2-65     Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
2-66           (g)  In promulgating minimum standards the department may
2-67     recognize and treat differently the types of services provided by
2-68     the following:
2-69                 (1)  registered family homes;
 3-1                 (2)  child-care facilities, including child-care
 3-2     institutions, foster group homes, foster homes, group day-care
 3-3     homes, and day-care centers;
 3-4                 (3)  child-placing agencies;
 3-5                 (4)  agency foster homes; and
 3-6                 (5)  agency foster group homes.
 3-7           SECTION 5. Section 42.044(c), Human Resources Code, as
 3-8     amended by Chapters 1022 and 1063, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
 3-9     Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as follows:
3-10           (c)  The department must investigate a facility regulated
3-11     under this chapter or a registered family home when a complaint is
3-12     received.  The representative of the department must notify the
3-13     operator of a registered family home or the director or authorized
3-14     representative of a regulated facility when a complaint is being
3-15     investigated and report in writing the results of the investigation
3-16     to the family home's operator or to the regulated facility's
3-17     director or the director's authorized representative.
3-18           SECTION 6. Section 42.052(c), Human Resources Code, as
3-19     amended by Chapters 1022, 1063, and 1217, Acts of the 75th
3-20     Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as
3-21     follows:
3-22           (c)  A family home that provides care for compensation for
3-23     three or fewer children, excluding children who are related to the
3-24     caretaker, shall list with the department if the home provides
3-25     regular care in the caretaker's own residence.  The home may
3-26     register with the department.
3-27           SECTION 7. Section 42.052(f), Human Resources Code, as
3-28     amended by Chapters 1022, 1063, and 1217, Acts of the 75th
3-29     Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as
3-30     follows:
3-31           (f)  To remain listed or registered with the department, a
3-32     family home must comply with the department's rules and standards,
3-33     if applicable, and any provision of this chapter that applies to a
3-34     listed or registered family home.
3-35           SECTION 8. Section 42.052(j), Human Resources Code, as added
3-36     by Chapter 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session,
3-37     1997, is repealed.
3-38           SECTION 9. Section 42.057, Human Resources Code, as added by
3-39     Chapter 1022, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
3-40     is repealed.
3-41           SECTION 10. Section 42.057, Human Resources Code, as added by
3-42     Chapter 1217, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,
3-43     is repealed.
3-44           SECTION 11. Section 42.072(d), Human Resources Code, as
3-45     amended by Chapters 1022, 1063, and 1217, Acts of the 75th
3-46     Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, is reenacted to read as
3-47     follows:
3-48           (d)  The department by rule may provide for denial of an
3-49     application or renewal for a licensed facility or for listing or
3-50     registering a family home or may revoke a facility's license or a
3-51     family home's listing or registration based on findings of
3-52     background or criminal history as a result of a background or
3-53     criminal history check.
3-54           SECTION 12.  Section 44.061, Human Resources Code, is
3-55     repealed.
3-56           SECTION 13.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
3-57     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
3-58     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
3-59     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
3-60     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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