HB 447 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to child care facilities exempt from 2
licensing; amending s. 402.316, F.S.; exempting a 3
child care facility licensed or certified by a branch 4
of the United States Department of Defense or the 5
United States Coast Guard from certain state licensing 6
requirements; requiring exempt facilities to meet 7
certain screening requirements; amending ss. 1002.55, 8
1002.82, and 1002.88, F.S.; conforming provisio ns to 9
changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 10
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
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Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 402.316, Florida 14
Statutes, is amended to read: 15
402.316 Exemptions. — 16
(1) Sections The provisions of ss. 402.301-402.319, except 17
for the requirements regarding screening of child care 18
personnel, do shall not apply to a child care facility that: 19
which 20
(a) Is an integral part of church or parochial schools 21
conducting regularly scheduled classe s, courses of study, or 22
educational programs accredited by, or by a member of, an 23
organization that which publishes and requires compliance with 24
its standards for health, safety, and sanitation. However, Such 25
HB 447 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
facility must facilities shall meet minimum requirements of the 26
applicable local governing body as to health, sanitation, and 27
safety; or 28
(b) Is licensed or certified as a child care facility by a 29
branch of the United States Department of Defense or the United 30
States Coast Guard. 31
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To qualify for an exemption under this subsection, a facility 33
must, at a minimum, comply with and shall meet the screening 34
requirements under pursuant to ss. 402.305 and 402.3055 , or with 35
equivalent or more stringent screening requirements . Failure by 36
A facility loses its exemption from licensure if the facility 37
fails to comply with such screening requirements shall result in 38
the loss of the facility's exemption from licensure . 39
Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 40
1002.55, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 41
1002.55 School-year prekindergarten program delivered by 42
private prekindergarten providers. — 43
(3) To be eligible to deliver the prekindergarten program, 44
a private prekindergarten provider must meet each of the 45
following requirements: 46
(a) The private prekindergarten provider must be a child 47
care facility licensed under s. 402.305, family day care home 48
licensed under s. 402.313, large family child care home licensed 49
under s. 402.3131, nonpublic school exempt from licensure under 50
HB 447 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
s. 402.3025(2), faith-based child care provider exempt from 51
licensure under s. 402.316, child development program that is 52
accredited by a national accrediting body and operates on a 53
military installation that is certified by the United States 54
Department of Defense, or privat e prekindergarten provider that 55
has been issued a provisional license under s. 402.309. A 56
private prekindergarten provider may not deliver the program 57
while holding a probation -status license under s. 402.310. 58
Section 3. Paragraph (i) of subsection (2) of section 59
1002.82, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 60
1002.82 Department of Education; powers and duties. — 61
(2) The department shall: 62
(i) Enter into a memorandum of understanding with local 63
licensing agencies and the Child Care Services Program Office of 64
the Department of Children and Families for inspections of 65
school readiness program providers to monitor and verify 66
compliance with s. 1002.88 and the health and safety checklist 67
adopted by the department. The provider contract of a school 68
readiness program provider that refuses permission for entry or 69
inspection shall be terminated. The health and safety checklist 70
may not exceed the requirements of s. 402.305 and the Child Care 71
and Development Fund pursuant to 45 C.F.R. part 98. A child care 72
provider exempt from licensure under s. 402.316(1)(b) or a child 73
development program that is accredited by a national accrediting 74
body and operates on a military installation that is certified 75
HB 447 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
by the United States Department of Defense are is exempted from 76
the inspection requirements under s. 1002.88. 77
Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 78
1002.88, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 79
1002.88 School readiness program provider standards ; 80
eligibility to deliver the school readiness program. — 81
(1) To be eligible to deliver the school readiness 82
program, a school readiness program provider must: 83
(a) Be a child care facility licensed under s. 402.305, a 84
family day care home licensed or reg istered under s. 402.313, a 85
large family child care home licensed under s. 402.3131, a 86
public school or nonpublic school exempt from licensure under s. 87
402.3025, a faith-based child care provider exempt from 88
licensure under s. 402.316, a before -school or after-school 89
program described in s. 402.305(1)(c), a child development 90
program that is accredited by a national accrediting body and 91
operates on a military installation that is certified by the 92
United States Department of Defense, an informal child care 93
provider to the extent authorized in the state's Child Care and 94
Development Fund Plan as approved by the United States 95
Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to 45 C.F.R. s. 96
98.18, or a provider who has been issued a provisional license 97
pursuant to s. 402.309. A provider may not deliver the program 98
while holding a probation -status license under s. 402.310. 99
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 100