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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 and early learning 2
providers; amending s. 170.201, F.S.; providing an 3
exemption for public and private preschools from 4
specified special assessments levied by a 5
municipality; defining the term "preschool"; amending 6
s. 402.305, F.S.; revising licensing standards for all 7
licensed child care facilities and minimum standards 8
and training requirements for child care personnel; 9
requiring the Department of Children and Families to 10
conduct specified screenings of child care personnel 11
within a specified timeframe and issue provisional 12
approval of such personnel under certain conditions; 13
providing an exception; revising minimum standards for 14
sanitation and safety of child care facilities; 15
removing provisions relating to educating parents and 16
children about specified topics; removing provisions 17
relating to specialized child care facilities for the 18
care of mildly ill children; amending s. 402.306, 19
F.S.; requiring a county commission to annually affirm 20
certain decisions; amending s. 402.3115, F.S.; 21
expanding the types of providers to be considered when 22
developing and implementing a plan to eliminate 23
duplicative and unnecessary inspections; revising 24
requirements for an abbreviated inspection plan for 25
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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
certain child care facilities; amending s. 4 02.316, 26
F.S.; providing that certain child care facilities are 27
exempt from specified requirements; authorizing 28
certain exempt child care facilities to submit an 29
application for licensure to the department or a local 30
licensing agency; requiring the departme nt and the 31
local licensing agency to adopt rules; amending s. 32
1002.59, F.S.; conforming cross -references; providing 33
an effective date. 34
35
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 36
37
Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 170.201, Florida 38
Statutes, is amended to read: 39
170.201 Special assessments. — 40
(2) Property owned or occupied by a religious institution 41
and used as a place of worship or education; by a public or 42
private preschool, elementary school, middle school, or high 43
school; or by a governmentally financed, insured, or subsidized 44
housing facility that is used primarily for persons who are 45
elderly or disabled shall be exempt from any special assessment 46
levied by a municipality to fund any service if the municipality 47
so desires. As used in this subsection, the term "religious 48
institution" means any church, synagogue, or other established 49
physical place for worship at which nonprofit religious services 50
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and activities are regularly conducted and carried on and the 51
term "governmentally financed, insured, or subsidized housing 52
facility" means a facility that is financed by a mortgage loan 53
made or insured by the United States Department of Housing and 54
Urban Development under s. 8, s. 202, s. 221(d)(3) or (4), s. 55
232, or s. 236 of the Natio nal Housing Act and is owned or 56
operated by an entity that qualifies as an exempt charitable 57
organization under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. As 58
used in this subsection, the term "preschool" means any child 59
care facility licensed under s. 402. 305. 60
Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (1), 61
paragraphs (a), (e), and (f) of subsection (2), paragraphs (a) 62
and (c) of subsection (7), and subsections (9), (13), and (17) 63
of section 402.305, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 64
402.305 Licensing standards; child care facilities. — 65
(1) LICENSING STANDARDS. —The department shall establish 66
licensing standards that each licensed child care facility must 67
meet regardless of the origin or source of the fees used to 68
operate the facility or the type of children served by the 69
facility. 70
(a) The standards shall be designed to address the 71
following areas: 72
1. the health and nutrition, sanitation, safety, 73
developmental needs, and sanitary adequate physical conditions 74
surroundings for all children served by in child care 75
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facilities. 76
2. The health and nutrition of all children in child care. 77
3. The child development needs of all children in child 78
care. 79
(c) The minimum standards for child care facilities shall 80
be adopted in the rules of the depar tment and shall address the 81
areas delineated in this section. 82
1. The department, in adopting rules to establish minimum 83
standards for child care facilities, shall recognize that 84
different age groups of children may require different 85
standards. 86
2. The department may adopt different minimum standards 87
for facilities that serve children in different age groups, 88
including school-age children. 89
3. The department may create up to three classification 90
levels for violations of licensing standards that di rectly 91
relate to the health and safety of a child. A class three 92
violation is the least serious in nature and must be the same 93
incident of noncompliance that occurs at least three times 94
within a 2-year period. 95
4. The department shall also adopt by rule a definition 96
for child care which distinguishes between child care programs 97
that require child care licensure and after -school programs that 98
do not require licensure. Notwithstanding any other provision of 99
law to the contrary, minimum child care licensing s tandards 100
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shall be developed to provide for reasonable, affordable, and 101
safe before-school and after-school care. After-school programs 102
that otherwise meet the criteria for exclusion from licensure 103
may provide snacks and meals through the federal Afterschoo l 104
Meal Program (AMP) administered by the Department of Health in 105
accordance with federal regulations and standards. The 106
Department of Health shall consider meals to be provided through 107
the AMP only if the program is actively participating in the 108
AMP, is in good standing with the department, and the meals meet 109
AMP requirements. Standards, at a minimum, shall allow for a 110
credentialed director to supervise multiple before -school and 111
after-school sites. 112
(2) PERSONNEL.—Minimum standards for child care personne l 113
shall include minimum requirements as to: 114
(a) Good moral character based upon screening as defined 115
in s. 402.302(15). This screening shall be conducted as provided 116
in chapter 435, using the level 2 standards for screening 117
provided set forth in that chapter, and include employment 118
history checks, a search of criminal history records, sexual 119
predator and sexual offender registries, and child abuse and 120
neglect registry of any state in which the current or 121
prospective child care personnel resided during the preceding 5 122
years. The department shall complete the screening and provide 123
the results to the child care facility within 3 business days 124
from the receipt of the criminal history record check. If the 125
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department is unable to complete the screening within 3 business 126
days, the department shall issue the current or prospective 127
child care personnel a 45 -day provisional-hire status while all 128
required information is being requested and the department is 129
awaiting results unless the department has reason to believe a 130
disqualifying factor may exist. During the 45 -day period, the 131
current or prospective child care personnel must be under the 132
direct supervision of a screened and trained staff member when 133
in contact with children. 134
(e) Minimum training requirements for c hild care 135
personnel. 136
1. Such minimum standards for training shall ensure that 137
all child care personnel take an approved 40 -clock-hour 138
introductory course in child care, which course covers at least 139
the following topic areas: 140
a. State and local rules an d regulations which govern 141
child care. 142
b. Health, safety, and nutrition. 143
c. Identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect. 144
d. Child development, including typical and atypical 145
language, cognitive, motor, social, and self -help skills 146
development. 147
e. Observation of developmental behaviors, including using 148
a checklist or other similar observation tools and techniques to 149
determine the child's developmental age level. 150
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f. Specialized areas, including computer technology for 151
professional and classroo m use and early literacy and language 152
development of children from birth to 5 years of age, as 153
determined by the department, for owner -operators and child care 154
personnel of a child care facility. 155
g. Developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum 156
disorder and Down syndrome, and early identification, use of 157
available state and local resources, classroom integration, and 158
positive behavioral supports for children with developmental 159
disabilities. 160
h. Online training coursework, provided at no cost by t he 161
department, to meet minimum training standards for child care 162
personnel. 163
164
Within 90 days after employment, child care personnel shall 165
begin training to meet the training requirements. Child care 166
personnel shall successfully complete such training within 1 167
year after the date on which the training began, as evidenced by 168
passage of an in-person or online a competency examination. 169
Successful completion of the 40 -clock-hour introductory course 170
shall articulate into community college credit in early 171
childhood education, pursuant to ss. 1007.24 and 1007.25. 172
Exemption from all or a portion of the required training shall 173
be granted to child care personnel based upon educational 174
credentials or passage of competency examinations. Child care 175
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personnel possessing a 2 -year degree or higher that includes 6 176
college credit hours in early childhood development or child 177
growth and development, or a child development associate 178
credential or an equivalent state -approved child development 179
associate credential, or a child devel opment associate waiver 180
certificate shall be automatically exempted from the training 181
requirements in sub-subparagraphs b., d., and e. 182
2. The introductory course in child care shall stress, to 183
the extent possible, an interdisciplinary approach to the stu dy 184
of children. 185
2.3. The introductory course shall cover recognition and 186
prevention of shaken baby syndrome; prevention of sudden infant 187
death syndrome; recognition and care of infants and toddlers 188
with developmental disabilities, including autism spectr um 189
disorder and Down syndrome; and early childhood brain 190
development within the topic areas identified in this paragraph. 191
3.4. On an annual basis in order to further their child 192
care skills and, if appropriate, administrative skills, child 193
care personnel who have fulfilled the requirements for the child 194
care training shall be required to take an additional 1 195
continuing education unit of approved inservice training, or 10 196
clock hours of equivalent training, as determined by the 197
department. 198
4.5. Child care personnel shall be required to complete 199
0.5 continuing education unit of approved training or 5 clock 200
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hours of equivalent training, as determined by the department, 201
in early literacy and language development of children from 202
birth to 5 years of age one time. The year that this training is 203
completed, it shall fulfill the 0.5 continuing education unit or 204
5 clock hours of the annual training required in subparagraph 3. 205
4. 206
5.6. Procedures for ensuring the training of qualified 207
child care professionals to provide training of child care 208
personnel, including onsite training, shall be included in the 209
minimum standards. It is recommended that the state community 210
child care coordination agencies (central agencies) be 211
contracted by the department to coor dinate such training when 212
possible. Other district educational resources, such as 213
community colleges and career programs, can be designated in 214
such areas where central agencies may not exist or are 215
determined not to have the capability to meet the coordina tion 216
requirements set forth by the department. 217
6.7. Training requirements do shall not apply to certain 218
occasional or part-time support staff, including, but not 219
limited to, swimming instructors, piano teachers, dance 220
instructors, and gymnastics instruct ors. 221
7.8. The child care operator shall be required to take 222
basic training in serving children with disabilities within 5 223
years after employment, either as a part of the introductory 224
training or the annual 8 hours of inservice training. 225
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(f) Periodic health examinations for child care facility 226
drivers. 227
(7) SANITATION AND SAFETY. — 228
(a) Minimum standards must shall include requirements for 229
sanitary and safety conditions, first aid treatment, emergency 230
procedures, and pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitat ion. The 231
minimum standards must shall require that at least one staff 232
person trained in person in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, as 233
evidenced by current documentation of course completion, must be 234
present at all times that children are present. 235
(c) Some type of communications system, such as a pocket 236
pager or beeper, shall be provided to a parent whose child is in 237
drop-in child care to ensure the immediate return of the parent 238
to the child, if necessary. 239
(9) ADMISSIONS AND RECORDKEEPING. — 240
(a) Minimum standards shall include requirements for 241
preadmission and periodic health examinations, requirements for 242
immunizations, and requirements for maintaining emergency 243
information and health records on all children. 244
(b) During the months of August and Septemb er of each 245
year, each child care facility shall provide parents of children 246
enrolled in the facility detailed information regarding the 247
causes, symptoms, and transmission of the influenza virus in an 248
effort to educate those parents regarding the importance of 249
immunizing their children against influenza as recommended by 250
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the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers 251
for Disease Control and Prevention. 252
(c) During the months of April and September of each year, 253
at a minimum, each facility s hall provide parents of children 254
enrolled in the facility information regarding the potential for 255
a distracted adult to fail to drop off a child at the facility 256
and instead leave the child in the adult's vehicle upon arrival 257
at the adult's destination. The child care facility shall also 258
give parents information about resources with suggestions to 259
avoid this occurrence. The department shall develop a flyer or 260
brochure with this information that shall be posted to the 261
department's website, which child care fa cilities may choose to 262
reproduce and provide to parents to satisfy the requirements of 263
this paragraph. 264
(b)(d) Because of the nature and duration of drop -in child 265
care, requirements for preadmission and periodic health 266
examinations and requirements for me dically signed records of 267
immunization required for child care facilities shall not apply. 268
A parent of a child in drop -in child care shall, however, be 269
required to attest to the child's health condition and the type 270
and current status of the child's immuni zations. 271
(c)(e) Any child shall be exempt from medical or physical 272
examination or medical or surgical treatment upon written 273
request of the parent or guardian of such child who objects to 274
the examination and treatment. However, the laws, rules, and 275
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regulations relating to contagious or communicable diseases and 276
sanitary matters shall not be violated because of any exemption 277
from or variation of the health and immunization minimum 278
standards. 279
(13) PLAN OF ACTIVITIES. —Minimum standards shall ensure 280
that each child care facility has and implements a written plan 281
for the daily provision of varied activities and active and 282
quiet play opportunities appropriate to the age of the child. 283
The written plan must include a program, to be implemented 284
periodically for children of an appropriate age, which will 285
assist the children in preventing and avoiding physical and 286
mental abuse. 287
(17) SPECIALIZED CHILD CARE FACILITIES FOR THE CARE OF 288
MILDLY ILL CHILDREN. —Minimum standards shall be developed by the 289
department, in conjunction with the Department of Health, for 290
specialized child care facilities for the care of mildly ill 291
children. The minimum standards shall address the following 292
areas: personnel requirements; staff -to-child ratios; staff 293
training and credentials; healt h and safety; physical facility 294
requirements, including square footage; client eligibility, 295
including a definition of "mildly ill children"; sanitation and 296
safety; admission and recordkeeping; dispensing of medication; 297
and a schedule of activities. 298
Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 402.306, Florida 299
Statutes, is amended to read: 300
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402.306 Designation of licensing agency; dissemination by 301
the department and local licensing agency of information on 302
child care.— 303
(1)(a) Any county whose licensing standa rds meet or exceed 304
state minimum standards may: 305
1.(a) Designate a local licensing agency to license child 306
care facilities in the county; or 307
2.(b) Contract with the department to delegate the 308
administration of state minimum standards in the county to th e 309
department. 310
(b) The decision to designate a local licensing agency 311
under subparagraph (a)1. must be annually affirmed by a majority 312
vote of the county commission. 313
Section 4. Section 402.3115, Florida Statutes, is amended 314
to read: 315
402.3115 Elimination of duplicative and unnecessary 316
inspections; abbreviated inspections. — 317
(1) The Department of Children and Families and local 318
governmental agencies that license child care facilities shall 319
develop and implement a plan to eliminate duplicative and 320
unnecessary inspections of child care facilities , family day 321
care homes, and large family child care homes . 322
(2)(a) In addition, The department and the local 323
governmental agencies shall develop and implement an abbreviated 324
inspection plan for child care facil ities, family day care 325
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homes, and large family child care homes that meet all of the 326
following conditions: 327
1. Have been licensed for at least 2 consecutive years. 328
2. Have not had a no Class 1 deficiency, as defined by 329
rule, for at least 2 consecutive years. 330
3. Have not had more than three of the same or Class 2 331
deficiencies, as defined by rule, for at least 2 consecutive 332
years. 333
4. Have received at least two full onsite renewal 334
inspections in the most recent 2 years. 335
5. Do not have any current unc orrected violations. 336
6. Do not have any open regulatory complaints or active 337
child protective services investigations . 338
(b) The abbreviated inspection must include those elements 339
identified by the department and the local governmental agencies 340
as being key indicators of whether the child care facility 341
continues to provide quality care and programming and must be 342
updated every 5 years . 343
(3) The department shall revise the plan under subsection 344
(1) as necessary to maintain the validity and effectiveness o f 345
inspections. 346
Section 5. Section 402.316, Florida Statutes, is amended 347
to read: 348
402.316 Exemptions. — 349
(1) The provisions of ss. 402.301 -402.319, except for the 350
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requirements regarding screening of child care personnel, shall 351
not apply to a child car e facility which is an integral part of 352
church or parochial schools , or a child care facility that 353
solely provides child care to eligible children as defined in s. 354
402.261(1)(c), conducting regularly scheduled classes, courses 355
of study, or educational prog rams accredited by, or by a member 356
of, an organization which publishes and requires compliance with 357
its standards for health, safety, and sanitation. However, such 358
facilities shall meet minimum requirements of the applicable 359
local governing body as to heal th, sanitation, and safety and 360
shall meet the screening requirements pursuant to ss. 402.305 361
and 402.3055. Failure by a facility to comply with such 362
screening requirements shall result in the loss of the 363
facility's exemption from licensure. 364
(2) The provisions of ss. 402.301 -402.319 do not apply to 365
a child care facility or family day care home if the child care 366
facility or family day care home has a certificate issued by the 367
United States Department of Defense or by the United States 368
Coast Guard to provide child care and has completed background 369
screening by the United States Department of Defense pursuant to 370
34 U.S.C. s. 20351 and 32 C.F.R. part 86 and received a 371
favorable suitability and fitness determination. If the child 372
care facility or family day care home elects to serve children 373
ineligible for care under the Department of Defense Instruction 374
6060.02, the child care facility or family day care home must be 375
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licensed under chapter 402. 376
(3)(2) Any county or city with state or local child care 377
licensing programs in existence on July 1, 1974, will continue 378
to license the child care facility facilities as covered by such 379
programs, notwithstanding the exemption under provisions of 380
subsection (1), desiring to be licensed, is authorized to do so 381
by submitting an application to the department or local 382
licensing agency pursuant to s. 402.308(4) until and unless the 383
licensing agency makes a determination to exempt them . 384
(4)(3) The department and the local licensing agency 385
pursuant to s. 402.308(4) shall adopt r ules to administer and 386
implement the provisions of this section, including, but not 387
limited to, any assessments of previous licensure history Any 388
child care facility covered by the exemption provisions of 389
subsection (1), but desiring to be included in this act, is 390
authorized to do so by submitting notification to the 391
department. Once licensed, such facility cannot withdraw from 392
the act and continue to operate . 393
Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 1002.59, Florida 394
Statutes, is amended to read: 395
1002.59 Emergent literacy and performance standards 396
training courses.— 397
(1) The department, in collaboration with the Just Read, 398
Florida! Office, shall adopt minimum standards for courses in 399
emergent literacy for prekindergarten instructors. Each course 400
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must consist of 5 clock hours and provide instruction in 401
strategies and techniques to address the age -appropriate 402
progress of prekindergarten students in developing emergent 403
literacy skills, including oral communication, knowledge of 404
print and letters, phonological and phonemic awareness, 405
vocabulary and comprehension development, and foundational 406
background knowledge designed to correlate with the content that 407
students will encounter in grades K -12, consistent with the 408
evidence-based content and strategies grounded in the science of 409
reading identified pursuant to s. 1001.215(7). The course 410
standards must be reviewed as part of any review of subject 411
coverage or endorsement requirements in the elementary, reading, 412
and exceptional student educational areas conducted pur suant to 413
s. 1012.586. Each course must also provide resources containing 414
strategies that allow students with disabilities and other 415
special needs to derive maximum benefit from the Voluntary 416
Prekindergarten Education Program. Successful completion of an 417
emergent literacy training course approved under this section 418
satisfies requirements for approved training in early literacy 419
and language development under ss. 402.305(2)(e)4., 402.313(6), 420
and 402.3131(5) ss. 402.305(2)(e)5., 402.313(6), and 421
402.3131(5). 422
Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 423