S.B. No. 1098

AN ACT

relating to the rights of a parent or guardian with a child in certain child-care facilities.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Kairo and the Kids' Law.

SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Section 42.04271 to read as follows:

Sec. 42.04271. RIGHTS OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN WITH CHILD IN CERTAIN CHILD-CARE FACILITIES. (a) This section applies only to a day-care center, group day-care home, before-school program, after-school program, school-age program, or registered family home.

(b) A parent or guardian of a child at a child-care facility has the right to:

(1) enter and examine the child-care facility during the facility's hours of operation without advance notice;

(2) file a complaint against the child-care facility;

(3) review the child-care facility's publicly accessible records;

(4) review the child-care facility's written records concerning the parent's or guardian's child;

(5) receive from the child-care facility the commission's inspection reports for the child-care facility and information about how to access the child-care facility's compliance history online;

(6) have the child-care facility comply with a court order preventing another parent or guardian from visiting or removing the parent's or guardian's child;

(7) be provided the contact information for the division responsible for regulating the child-care facility, including the division's name, address, and phone number;

(8) inspect any video recordings of an alleged incident of abuse or neglect involving the parent's or guardian's child, provided that:

(A) video recordings of the alleged incident are available;

(B) the parent or guardian of the child is not allowed to retain any part of the video recording depicting a child who is not the parent's or guardian's child; and

(C) the parent or guardian of any other child captured in the video recording receives notice from the facility under Subsection (c);

(9) obtain a copy of the child-care facility's policies and procedures;

(10) review, on the request of the parent or guardian, the facility's:

(A) staff training records; and

(B) any in-house staff training curriculum used by the facility; and

(11) be free from any retaliatory action by the child-care facility for exercising any of the parent's or guardian's rights.

(c) Before allowing a parent or guardian to inspect a video recording under Subsection (b)(8), a child-care facility must provide written notice to the parent or guardian of any other child captured in the video recording.

(d) This section does not affect the ability of a law enforcement agency or the department to access a video recording as part of an investigation of an incident depicted in the video recording.

(e) A child-care facility shall provide the parent or guardian of the child with a written copy of the rights listed in Subsection (b) not later than the child's first day at the facility.

SECTION 3. Not later than September 30, 2023, a child-care facility shall provide the information required by Section 42.04271, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act, to the parent or guardian of each child enrolled at the facility on the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1098 passed the Senate on April 27, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1; and that the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 27, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1098 passed the House, with amendment, on May 24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 137, Nays 1, one present not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

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Date

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Governor