By: Carona S.B. No. 1194
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of certain facilities, homes, and
agencies that provide child-care services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 42.001, Human Resources Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 42.001. PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to
protect the health, safety, and well-being of the children of the
state who reside in child-care facilities by establishing statewide
minimum standards for their safety and protection and by regulating
the facilities through a licensing program [or by requiring
child-care facilities to be regulated by alternative accreditation
bodies]. It is the policy of the state to ensure the protection of
all children under care in child-care facilities and to encourage
and assist in the improvement of child-care programs. It is also the
intent of the legislature that freedom of religion of all citizens
is inviolate. With respect to a school or child-care facility
sponsored by a religious organization, nothing in this chapter
gives a governmental agency authority to regulate, control,
supervise, or in any way be involved in the:
(1) form, manner, or content of religious instruction,
ministry, teaching, or the curriculum offered by the school or
facility;
(2) ability of the school or facility to select and
supervise qualified personnel, and otherwise control the terms of
employment, including the right to employ individuals who share the
religious views of the school or facility;
(3) internal self-governance and autonomy of the
school or facility; or
(4) religious environment of the school or facility,
such as symbols, art, icons, and scripture.
SECTION 2. Subdivisions (4) through (11), Section 42.002,
Human Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
(4) "Child-care institution" means a child-care
facility that is licensed to provide [provides] care for more than
12 children for 24 hours a day, including facilities known as
children's homes, halfway houses, residential treatment centers,
emergency shelters, and therapeutic camps.
(5) "Foster group home" means a child-care facility
that is licensed to provide [provides] care for 7 to 12 children,
including children who are related to the caretaker, for 24 hours a
day.
(6) "Foster home" means a child-care facility that is
licensed to provide [provides] care for not more than six children,
including children who are related to the caretaker, for 24 hours a
day.
(7) "Day-care center" means a child-care facility that
is licensed to provide [provides] care for more than 12 children
under 14 years of age for less than 24 hours a day.
(8) "Group day-care home" means a child-care facility
that is licensed to provide [provides] care for 7 to 12 children
under 14 years of age for less than 24 hours a day.
(9) "Family home" means a home that provides regular
care in the caretaker's own residence for not more than six children
under 14 years of age, excluding children who are related to the
caretaker, and that provides care after school hours for not more
than six additional elementary school children, but the total
number of children, including children who are related to the
caretaker, does not exceed 12 at any given time. The term does not
include a home that provides care exclusively for any number of
children who are related to the caretaker. A family home must be
listed or registered with the department, depending on the number
of children who receive care in the home.
(10) "Agency foster group home" means a facility that
is verified to provide [provides] care for seven to 12 children,
including children who are related to the caretaker, for 24 hours a
day, is used only by a licensed child-placing agency, and meets
department standards.
(11) "Agency foster home" means a facility that is
verified to provide [provides] care for not more than six children,
including children who are related to the caretaker, for 24 hours a
day, is used only by a licensed child-placing agency, and meets
department standards.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 42.041, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 42.041. REQUIRED LICENSE [OR ACCREDITATION].
SECTION 4. Subsections (a), (b), and (d), Section 42.041,
Human Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) No person may operate a child-care facility or
child-placing agency without a license issued by the department [or
a certificate to operate under accreditation issued by the
department under Subchapter E].
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) a state-operated facility;
(2) an agency foster home or agency foster group home;
(3) a facility that is operated in connection with a
shopping center, business, religious organization, or
establishment where children are cared for during short periods
while parents or persons responsible for the children are attending
religious services, shopping, or engaging in other activities on or
near the premises, including but not limited to retreats or classes
for religious instruction;
(4) a school or class for religious instruction that
does not last longer than two weeks and is conducted by a religious
organization during the summer months;
(5) a youth camp licensed by the Texas Department of
Health;
(6) a facility licensed, [operated,] certified, or
registered by another state agency;
(7) an educational facility accredited by the Texas
Education Agency, the Texas Private School Accreditation
Commission, or the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or
an open-enrollment charter school granted a charter under
Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code, that operates primarily
for educational purposes for children who are at least five years of
age;
(7-a) [in grades kindergarten and above,] an
after-school program operated directly by an accredited
educational facility or open-enrollment charter school, or an
after-school program operated by another entity under contract with
the educational facility or open-enrollment charter school, if the
Texas Education Agency, the Texas Private School Accreditation
Commission, or the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has
approved the curriculum content of the after-school program
operated under the contract;
(8) an educational facility that operates solely for
educational purposes for children who are at least five years of age
[in grades kindergarten] through at least grade two, that does not
provide custodial care for more than one hour during the hours
before or after the customary school day, and that is a member of an
organization that promulgates, publishes, and requires compliance
with health, safety, fire, and sanitation standards equal to
standards required by state, municipal, and county codes;
(9) a kindergarten or prekindergarten [preschool]
educational program for children who are at least three years of age
but younger than six years of age that is operated as part of a
public school or a private school accredited by the Texas Education
Agency, the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission, or the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, that offers
educational programs through grade six, and that does not provide
custodial care during the hours before or after the customary
school day;
(10) a family home, whether registered or listed;
(11) an educational facility that is integral to and
inseparable from its sponsoring religious organization or an
educational facility both of which do not provide custodial care
for more than two hours maximum per day, and that offers educational
programs for children age five and above in one or more of the
following: kindergarten through at least grade three, elementary,
or secondary grades;
(12) an emergency shelter facility providing shelter
to minor mothers who are the sole support of their natural children
under Section 32.201, Family Code, unless the facility would
otherwise require a license as a child-care facility under this
section;
(13) a juvenile detention facility certified under
Section 51.12, Family Code, or Section 141.042(d), a juvenile
facility providing services solely for the Texas Youth Commission,
or any other correctional facility for children operated or
regulated by another state agency or by a political subdivision of
the state;
(14) an elementary-age (ages 5-13) recreation program
operated by a municipality provided the governing body of the
municipality annually adopts standards of care by ordinance after a
public hearing for such programs, that such standards are provided
to the parents of each program participant, and that the ordinances
shall include, at a minimum, staffing ratios, minimum staff
qualifications, minimum facility, health, and safety standards,
and mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing the adopted local
standards; and further provided that parents be informed that the
program is not licensed by the state and the program may not be
advertised as a child-care facility; or
(15) an annual youth camp held in a municipality with a
population of more than 1.5 million that operates for not more than
three months and that has been operated for at least 10 years by a
nonprofit organization that provides care for the homeless.
(d) A [Unless accredited under Subchapter E, a] facility
exempt from the provisions of Subsection (a) of this section that
desires to receive or participate in federal or state funding shall
be required to comply with all other provisions of this chapter and
with all regulations promulgated under this chapter.
SECTION 5. Section 42.042, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (j-1) to read as follows:
(j-1) The department may grant a variance of an individual
standard prescribed in the applicable standards for good and just
cause.
SECTION 6. Subsections (c) and (d), Section 42.046, Human
Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) After receiving an application, the department shall
inspect [investigate] the applicant and the plan of care for
children, if applicable.
(d) The department shall complete the inspection
[investigation] and decide on an application within two months
after the date the department receives a completed application.
SECTION 7. Section 42.048, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
(e-1) A licensed child-placing agency that maintains an
office location at which no children reside may change the office
location without automatically revoking the agency's license under
Subsection (e) if the child-placing agency provides the department
with written notice of the proposed relocation before the
relocation occurs.
SECTION 8. Subsection (a), Section 42.0522, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A family home may not place a public advertisement that
uses the title "registered family home" or any variation of that
phrase unless the home is registered under this chapter. Any public
advertisement for a registered family home that uses the title
"registered family home" must contain a provision in bold type
stating: "THIS HOME IS REGISTERED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF
PROTECTIVE AND REGULATORY SERVICES BUT IS NOT LICENSED [OR
REGULARLY INSPECTED]."
SECTION 9. Subsection (a), Section 42.071, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The department may suspend the license of a facility or
the registration of a family home that has temporarily ceased
operation but has definite plans for starting operations again
[within the time limits of the issued license or registration].
SECTION 10. Subsection (c), Section 42.072, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) A person whose license, listing, registration, or
certification is revoked, or a corporation of which more than a 20
percent interest is owned by a person whose license, listing, or
registration is revoked, may not apply for any license, listing,
registration, or certification under this chapter before the second
anniversary of the date on which the revocation takes effect by
department or court order.
SECTION 11. Subsection (a), Section 42.076, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A person who operates a child-care facility or
child-placing agency without a license [or certificate to operate
under accreditation under Subchapter E] commits a Class B
misdemeanor.
SECTION 12. Subsection (d), Section 42.077, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) A facility or family home that receives from the
department notice that the facility's or home's [has its] license,
listing, or registration is revoked or suspended shall mail
notification of this action by certified mail to the parents or
guardian of the child served by the facility or family home. The
facility or family home shall mail the notification within five
days of the effective date of the revocation or suspension of the
license, listing, or registration, regardless of whether the
facility or home files an appeal of the revocation or suspension
with the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
SECTION 13. The heading to Section 43.003, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 43.003. LICENSE [OR ACCREDITATION] REQUIRED.
SECTION 14. Subsection (c), Section 43.003, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) An individual is not required to have a child-care
administrator license to serve as a child-care administrator for an
agency foster home or an agency foster group home [A person may
serve as the child-care administrator of a child-care institution
if the person is accredited by a private organization that has
qualifications that apply to the child-care administrators and that
meet or exceed the state's qualifications, as determined by the
department, with the exception of those qualifications relating to
the internal self-governance of the child-care institution and to
the curriculum, teaching, or instruction of the institution. This
subsection applies only to a child-care institution that operates
under a certificate to operate under accreditation issued by the
department under Subchapter E, Chapter 42].
SECTION 15. The following provisions of the Human Resources
Code are repealed:
(1) Subsection (c), Section 42.0431;
(2) Subsection (c), Section 42.048;
(3) Section 42.0505; and
(4) Subchapter E, Chapter 42.
SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.