80R7574 UM-F
 
  By: Swinford H.B. No. 1786
 
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an exemption for certain programs from the child-care
licensing requirements.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Section 42.041(b), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
       (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
State Health Services;
             (6)  a facility licensed, operated, certified, or
registered by another state agency;
             (7)  an educational facility accredited by the Texas
Education Agency or the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools that operates primarily for educational purposes in grades
kindergarten and above, an after-school program operated directly
by an accredited educational facility, or an after-school program
operated by another entity under contract with the educational
facility, if the Texas Education Agency or 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 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 preschool educational program
that is operated as part of a public school or a private school
accredited by the Texas Education Agency, 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; or
             (16)  a food distribution program that:
                   (A)  serves an evening meal to children two years
of age or older; and
                   (B)  is operated by a nonprofit food bank in a
nonprofit, religious, or educational facility for not more than two
hours a day on regular business days.
       SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.