81R30404 UM-D

By: Hartnett, et al. H.B. No. 1540

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1540:

By: Rose C.S.H.B. No. 1540

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to license requirements and fees for certain child-care programs operated by public or private schools.

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 Department of State Health Services;

(6) a facility licensed, operated, certified, or registered by another state agency;

(7) [subject to Subsection (b-1),] an educational facility that is accredited by the Texas Education Agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or an accreditation body that is a member of the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission and that operates primarily for educational purposes in grades prekindergarten [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, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or the other accreditation body, as applicable, 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 in prekindergarten [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 prekindergarten or 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) [subject to Subsection (b-1),] 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 an educational program [programs] for children [age four and above] in one or more of the following: prekindergarten [preschool, kindergarten] through at least grade three, elementary grades, 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, a juvenile correctional facility certified under Section 51.125, Family Code, 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;

(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;

(17) a before-school or after-school program operated by an educational facility that is accredited by the Texas Education Agency, or an after-school program operated by an entity under a contract with that educational facility, if the program:

(A) requires all children to be under the direct supervision of a staff person at all times;

(B) requires all children to be signed in and out by a staff person;

(C) requires a staff person to verify the identity of a nonparent who takes possession of a child from the program;

(D) requires all injuries or illnesses that require medical attention to be reported to the principal of the educational facility;

(E) maintains a written list of symptoms, illnesses, and diseases that require exclusion from attendance;

(F) keeps all medications that are administered to children in the program under locked control;

(G) requires training for all staff, including:

(i) a high school diploma, general education development certificate, or certificate of high school equivalency;

(ii) emergency procedures training;

(iii) 15 hours of training annually in child development, health and safety, and discipline; and

(iv) field trip procedure training;

(H) requires monthly fire drills for the program; and

(I) maintains records of the following:

(i) a list of all children in attendance that is accurate at all times;

(ii) parent contact information that is regularly updated to reflect the correct contact information;

(iii) a list for each child of the child's allergies;

(iv) all reported injuries or illnesses;

(v) written parental permission for transportation of a child;

(vi) written parental permission to administer medication to a child;

(vii) the medications administered to a child;

(viii) written parental permission to obtain emergency medical care for a child; and

(ix) written parental permission for a person who is a nonparent to take possession of a child from the program; or

(18) a before-school or after-school program operated by an educational facility that is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools or an accreditation body that is a member of the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission, or a before-school or after-school program operated by an entity under contract with that educational facility if the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools or the accreditation body that is a member of the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission, as applicable, has approved the curriculum content of the before-school or after-school program.

SECTION 2. Section 42.054(c), Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) The department shall charge each licensed child-care facility an annual license fee in the amount of $35 plus $2 [$1] for each child the child-care facility is permitted to serve. The fee is due on the date on which the department issues the child-care facility's initial license and on the anniversary of that date.

SECTION 3. Section 42.041(b-1), Human Resources Code, is repealed.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.