Florida Senate - 2025 SB 738 By Senator Burton 12-00462C-25 2025738__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to child care and early learning 3 providers; amending s. 170.201, F.S.; exempting public 4 and private preschools from specified special 5 assessments levied by a municipality; defining the 6 term preschool; amending s. 402.305, F.S.; revising 7 licensing standards for all licensed child care 8 facilities and minimum standards and training 9 requirements for child care personnel; requiring the 10 Department of Children and Families to conduct 11 specified screenings of child care personnel within a 12 specified timeframe and issue provisional approval of 13 such personnel under certain conditions; providing an 14 exception; revising minimum standards for sanitation 15 and safety of child care facilities; making technical 16 changes; deleting provisions relating to educating 17 parents and children about specified topics; deleting 18 provisions relating to specialized child care 19 facilities for the care of mildly ill children; 20 amending s. 402.306, F.S.; requiring a county 21 commission to affirm annually certain decisions; 22 amending s. 402.3115, F.S.; expanding the types of 23 providers to be considered when developing and 24 implementing a plan to eliminate duplicative and 25 unnecessary inspections; revising requirements for an 26 abbreviated inspection plan for certain child care 27 facilities; requiring the department to review and 28 update certain elements included in such abbreviated 29 inspections; requiring the department to revise the 30 abbreviated inspection plan as necessary; amending s. 31 402.316, F.S.; providing that certain child care 32 facilities are exempt from specified requirements; 33 amending s. 627.70161, F.S.; defining the term large 34 family child care home; providing that specified 35 insurance provisions apply to large family child care 36 homes; amending s. 1002.59, F.S.; conforming a cross 37 reference; providing an effective date. 38 39 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 40 41 Section 1.Subsection (2) of section 170.201, Florida 42 Statutes, is amended to read: 43 170.201Special assessments. 44 (2)Property owned or occupied by a religious institution 45 and used as a place of worship or education; by a public or 46 private preschool, elementary school, middle school, or high 47 school; or by a governmentally financed, insured, or subsidized 48 housing facility that is used primarily for persons who are 49 elderly or disabled shall be exempt from any special assessment 50 levied by a municipality to fund any service if the municipality 51 so desires. As used in this subsection, the term religious 52 institution means any church, synagogue, or other established 53 physical place for worship at which nonprofit religious services 54 and activities are regularly conducted and carried on and the 55 term governmentally financed, insured, or subsidized housing 56 facility means a facility that is financed by a mortgage loan 57 made or insured by the United States Department of Housing and 58 Urban Development under s. 8, s. 202, s. 221(d)(3) or (4), s. 59 232, or s. 236 of the National Housing Act and is owned or 60 operated by an entity that qualifies as an exempt charitable 61 organization under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. As 62 used in this subsection, the term preschool means any child 63 care facility licensed under s. 402.305. 64 Section 2.Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (1), 65 paragraphs (a), (e), and (f) of subsection (2), paragraphs (a) 66 and (c) of subsection (7), and subsections (9), (13), and (17) 67 of section 402.305, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 68 402.305Licensing standards; child care facilities. 69 (1)LICENSING STANDARDS.The department shall establish 70 licensing standards that each licensed child care facility must 71 meet regardless of the origin or source of the fees used to 72 operate the facility or the type of children served by the 73 facility. 74 (a)The standards shall be designed to address the 75 following areas: 76 1.the health and nutrition, sanitation, safety, 77 developmental needs, and sanitary adequate physical conditions 78 surroundings for all children served by in child care 79 facilities. 80 2.The health and nutrition of all children in child care. 81 3.The child development needs of all children in child 82 care. 83 (c)The minimum standards for child care facilities shall 84 be adopted in the rules of the department and shall address the 85 areas delineated in this section. 86 1.The department, in adopting rules to establish minimum 87 standards for child care facilities, shall recognize that 88 different age groups of children may require different 89 standards. 90 2.The department may adopt different minimum standards for 91 facilities that serve children in different age groups, 92 including school-age children. 93 3.The department may create up to three classification 94 levels for violations of licensing standards that directly 95 relate to the health and safety of a child. A class three 96 violation is the least serious in nature and must be the same 97 incident of noncompliance that occurs at least three times 98 within a 2-year period. 99 4.The department shall also adopt by rule a definition for 100 child care which distinguishes between child care programs that 101 require child care licensure and after-school programs that do 102 not require licensure. Notwithstanding any other provision of 103 law to the contrary, minimum child care licensing standards 104 shall be developed to provide for reasonable, affordable, and 105 safe before-school and after-school care. After-school programs 106 that otherwise meet the criteria for exclusion from licensure 107 may provide snacks and meals through the federal Afterschool 108 Meal Program (AMP) administered by the Department of Health in 109 accordance with federal regulations and standards. The 110 Department of Health shall consider meals to be provided through 111 the AMP only if the program is actively participating in the 112 AMP, is in good standing with the department, and the meals meet 113 AMP requirements. Standards, at a minimum, shall allow for a 114 credentialed director to supervise multiple before-school and 115 after-school sites. 116 (2)PERSONNEL.Minimum standards for child care personnel 117 shall include minimum requirements as to: 118 (a)Good moral character based upon screening as defined in 119 s. 402.302(15). This screening shall be conducted as provided in 120 chapter 435, using the level 2 standards for screening provided 121 set forth in that chapter, and include employment history 122 checks, a search of criminal history records, sexual predator 123 and sexual offender registries, and child abuse and neglect 124 registry of any state in which the current or prospective child 125 care personnel resided during the preceding 5 years. The 126 department shall complete the screening and provide the results 127 to the child care facility within 3 business days. If the 128 department is unable to complete the screening within 3 business 129 days, the department shall issue the current or prospective 130 child care personnel a 45-day provisional-hire status while all 131 required information is being requested and the department is 132 awaiting results unless the department has reason to believe a 133 disqualifying factor may exist. During the 45-day period, the 134 current or prospective child care personnel must be under the 135 direct supervision of a screened and trained staff member when 136 in contact with children. 137 (e)Minimum training requirements for child care personnel. 138 1.Such minimum standards for training shall ensure that 139 all child care personnel take an approved 40-clock-hour 140 introductory course in child care, which course covers at least 141 the following topic areas: 142 a.State and local rules and regulations which govern child 143 care. 144 b.Health, safety, and nutrition. 145 c.Identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect. 146 d.Child development, including typical and atypical 147 language, cognitive, motor, social, and self-help skills 148 development. 149 e.Observation of developmental behaviors, including using 150 a checklist or other similar observation tools and techniques to 151 determine the childs developmental age level. 152 f.Specialized areas, including computer technology for 153 professional and classroom use and early literacy and language 154 development of children from birth to 5 years of age, as 155 determined by the department, for owner-operators and child care 156 personnel of a child care facility. 157 g.Developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum 158 disorder and Down syndrome, and early identification, use of 159 available state and local resources, classroom integration, and 160 positive behavioral supports for children with developmental 161 disabilities. 162 163 Within 90 days after employment, child care personnel shall 164 begin training to meet the training requirements. Child care 165 personnel shall successfully complete such training within 1 166 year after the date on which the training began, as evidenced by 167 passage of a competency examination. Successful completion of 168 the 40-clock-hour introductory course shall articulate into 169 community college credit in early childhood education, pursuant 170 to ss. 1007.24 and 1007.25. Exemption from all or a portion of 171 the required training shall be granted to child care personnel 172 based upon educational credentials or passage of competency 173 examinations. Child care personnel possessing a 2-year degree or 174 higher that includes 6 college credit hours in early childhood 175 development or child growth and development, or a child 176 development associate credential or an equivalent state-approved 177 child development associate credential, or a child development 178 associate waiver certificate shall be automatically exempted 179 from the training requirements in sub-subparagraphs b., d., and 180 e. 181 2.The introductory course in child care shall stress, to 182 the extent possible, an interdisciplinary approach to the study 183 of children. 184 2.3.The introductory course shall cover recognition and 185 prevention of shaken baby syndrome; prevention of sudden infant 186 death syndrome; recognition and care of infants and toddlers 187 with developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum 188 disorder and Down syndrome; and early childhood brain 189 development within the topic areas identified in this paragraph. 190 3.4.On an annual basis in order to further their child 191 care skills and, if appropriate, administrative skills, child 192 care personnel who have fulfilled the requirements for the child 193 care training shall be required to take an additional 1 194 continuing education unit of approved inservice training, or 10 195 clock hours of equivalent training, as determined by the 196 department. 197 4.5.Child care personnel shall be required to complete 0.5 198 continuing education unit of approved training or 5 clock hours 199 of equivalent training, as determined by the department, in 200 early literacy and language development of children from birth 201 to 5 years of age one time. The year that this training is 202 completed, it shall fulfill the 0.5 continuing education unit or 203 5 clock hours of the annual training required in subparagraph 3. 204 4. 205 5.6.Procedures for ensuring the training of qualified 206 child care professionals to provide training of child care 207 personnel, including onsite training, shall be included in the 208 minimum standards. It is recommended that the state community 209 child care coordination agencies (central agencies) be 210 contracted by the department to coordinate such training when 211 possible. Other district educational resources, such as 212 community colleges and career programs, can be designated in 213 such areas where central agencies may not exist or are 214 determined not to have the capability to meet the coordination 215 requirements set forth by the department. 216 6.7.Training requirements do shall not apply to certain 217 occasional or part-time support staff, including, but not 218 limited to, swimming instructors, piano teachers, dance 219 instructors, and gymnastics instructors. 220 7.8.The child care operator shall be required to take 221 basic training in serving children with disabilities within 5 222 years after employment, either as a part of the introductory 223 training or the annual 8 hours of inservice training. 224 (f)Periodic health examinations for child care facility 225 drivers. 226 (7)SANITATION AND SAFETY. 227 (a)Minimum standards must shall include requirements for 228 sanitary and safety conditions, first aid treatment, emergency 229 procedures, and pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The 230 minimum standards must shall require that at least one staff 231 person trained in person in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, as 232 evidenced by current documentation of course completion, must be 233 present at all times that children are present. 234 (c)Some type of communications system, such as a pocket 235 pager or beeper, shall be provided to a parent whose child is in 236 drop-in child care to ensure the immediate return of the parent 237 to the child, if necessary. 238 (9)ADMISSIONS AND RECORDKEEPING. 239 (a)Minimum standards must shall include requirements for 240 preadmission and periodic health examinations, requirements for 241 immunizations, and requirements for maintaining emergency 242 information and health records on all children. 243 (b)During the months of August and September of each year, 244 each child care facility shall provide parents of children 245 enrolled in the facility detailed information regarding the 246 causes, symptoms, and transmission of the influenza virus in an 247 effort to educate those parents regarding the importance of 248 immunizing their children against influenza as recommended by 249 the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers 250 for Disease Control and Prevention. 251 (c)During the months of April and September of each year, 252 at a minimum, each facility shall provide parents of children 253 enrolled in the facility information regarding the potential for 254 a distracted adult to fail to drop off a child at the facility 255 and instead leave the child in the adults vehicle upon arrival 256 at the adults destination. The child care facility shall also 257 give parents information about resources with suggestions to 258 avoid this occurrence. The department shall develop a flyer or 259 brochure with this information that shall be posted to the 260 departments website, which child care facilities may choose to 261 reproduce and provide to parents to satisfy the requirements of 262 this paragraph. 263 (b)(d)Because of the nature and duration of drop-in child 264 care, requirements for preadmission and periodic health 265 examinations and requirements for medically signed records of 266 immunization required for child care facilities shall not apply. 267 A parent of a child in drop-in child care shall, however, be 268 required to attest to the childs health condition and the type 269 and current status of the childs immunizations. 270 (c)(e)Any child shall be exempt from medical or physical 271 examination or medical or surgical treatment upon written 272 request of the parent or guardian of such child who objects to 273 the examination and treatment. However, the laws, rules, and 274 regulations relating to contagious or communicable diseases and 275 sanitary matters shall not be violated because of any exemption 276 from or variation of the health and immunization minimum 277 standards. 278 (13)PLAN OF ACTIVITIES.Minimum standards shall ensure 279 that each child care facility has and implements a written plan 280 for the daily provision of varied activities and active and 281 quiet play opportunities appropriate to the age of the child. 282 The written plan must include a program, to be implemented 283 periodically for children of an appropriate age, which will 284 assist the children in preventing and avoiding physical and 285 mental abuse. 286 (17)SPECIALIZED CHILD CARE FACILITIES FOR THE CARE OF 287 MILDLY ILL CHILDREN.Minimum standards shall be developed by the 288 department, in conjunction with the Department of Health, for 289 specialized child care facilities for the care of mildly ill 290 children. The minimum standards shall address the following 291 areas: personnel requirements; staff-to-child ratios; staff 292 training and credentials; health and safety; physical facility 293 requirements, including square footage; client eligibility, 294 including a definition of mildly ill children; sanitation and 295 safety; admission and recordkeeping; dispensing of medication; 296 and a schedule of activities. 297 Section 3.Subsection (1) of section 402.306, Florida 298 Statutes, is amended to read: 299 402.306Designation of licensing agency; dissemination by 300 the department and local licensing agency of information on 301 child care. 302 (1)(a)Any county whose licensing standards meet or exceed 303 state minimum standards may: 304 1.(a)Designate a local licensing agency to license child 305 care facilities in the county; or 306 2.(b)Contract with the department to delegate the 307 administration of state minimum standards in the county to the 308 department. 309 (b)The decision to designate a local licensing agency 310 under subparagraph (a)1. must be annually affirmed by a majority 311 vote of the county commission. 312 Section 4.Section 402.3115, Florida Statutes, is amended 313 to read: 314 402.3115Elimination of duplicative and unnecessary 315 inspections; abbreviated inspections. 316 (1)The Department of Children and Families and local 317 governmental agencies that license child care facilities shall 318 develop and implement a plan to eliminate duplicative and 319 unnecessary inspections of child care facilities, family day 320 care homes, and large family child care homes. 321 (2)(a)In addition, The department and the local 322 governmental agencies shall develop and implement an abbreviated 323 inspection plan for child care facilities that meet all of the 324 following conditions: 325 1.Have been licensed for at least 2 consecutive years. 326 2.Have not had a no Class 1 deficiency, as defined by 327 rule, for at least 2 consecutive years. 328 3.Have not had more than three of the same or Class 2 329 deficiencies, as defined by rule, for at least 2 consecutive 330 years. 331 4.Have received at least two full onsite renewal 332 inspections in the most recent 2 years. 333 5.Do not have any current uncorrected violations. 334 6.Do not have any open regulatory complaints or active 335 child protective services investigations. 336 (b)The abbreviated inspection must include those elements 337 identified by the department and the local governmental agencies 338 as being key indicators of whether the child care facility 339 continues to provide quality care and programming. The 340 department shall review and update these elements every 5 years. 341 (3)The department shall revise the plan under subsection 342 (1) as necessary to maintain the validity and effectiveness of 343 inspections. 344 Section 5.Subsection (1) of section 402.316, Florida 345 Statutes, is amended to read: 346 402.316Exemptions. 347 (1)The provisions of ss. 402.301-402.319, except for the 348 requirements regarding screening of child care personnel, shall 349 not apply to a child care facility which is an integral part of 350 church or parochial schools, or a child care facility that 351 solely provides child care to eligible children as defined in s. 352 402.261(1)(c), conducting regularly scheduled classes, courses 353 of study, or educational programs accredited by, or by a member 354 of, an organization which publishes and requires compliance with 355 its standards for health, safety, and sanitation. However, such 356 facilities shall meet minimum requirements of the applicable 357 local governing body as to health, sanitation, and safety and 358 shall meet the screening requirements pursuant to ss. 402.305 359 and 402.3055. Failure by a facility to comply with such 360 screening requirements shall result in the loss of the 361 facilitys exemption from licensure. 362 Section 6.Section 627.70161, Florida Statutes, is amended 363 to read: 364 627.70161Family day care and large family child care 365 insurance. 366 (1)PURPOSE AND INTENT.The Legislature recognizes that 367 family day care homes and large family child care homes fulfill 368 a vital role in providing child care in Florida. It is the 369 intent of the Legislature that residential property insurance 370 coverage should not be canceled, denied, or nonrenewed solely on 371 the basis of the family day care or child care services at the 372 residence. The Legislature also recognizes that the potential 373 liability of residential property insurers is substantially 374 increased by the rendition of child care services on the 375 premises. The Legislature therefore finds that there is a public 376 need to specify that contractual liabilities that arise in 377 connection with the operation of the family day care home or 378 large family child care home are excluded from residential 379 property insurance policies unless they are specifically 380 included in such coverage. 381 (2)DEFINITIONS.As used in this section, the term: 382 (a)Child care means the care, protection, and 383 supervision of a child, for a period of less than 24 hours a day 384 on a regular basis, which supplements parental care, enrichment, 385 and health supervision for the child, in accordance with his or 386 her individual needs, and for which a payment, fee, or grant is 387 made for care. 388 (b)Family day care home means an occupied residence in 389 which child care is regularly provided for children from at 390 least two unrelated families and which receives a payment, fee, 391 or grant for any of the children receiving care, whether or not 392 operated for a profit. 393 (c)Large family child care home means an occupied 394 residence in which child care is regularly provided for children 395 from at least two unrelated families, which receives a payment, 396 fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care, regardless 397 of whether operated for profit, and which has at least two full 398 time child care personnel on the premises during the hours of 399 operation. One of the two full-time child care personnel must be 400 the owner or occupant of the residence. A large family child 401 care home must first have operated as a licensed family day care 402 home for at least 2 years, with an operator who has held a child 403 development associate credential or its equivalent for at least 404 1 year, before seeking licensure as a large family child care 405 home. Household children under 13 years of age, when on the 406 premises of the large family child care home or on a field trip 407 with children enrolled in child care, must be included in the 408 overall capacity of the licensed home. A large family child care 409 home may provide care for one of the following groups of 410 children, which must include household children under 13 years 411 of age: 412 1.A maximum of eight children from birth to 24 months of 413 age. 414 2.A maximum of 12 children, with no more than four 415 children under 24 months of age. 416 (3)FAMILY DAY CARE AND LARGE FAMILY CHILD CARE; COVERAGE. 417 A residential property insurance policy may shall not provide 418 coverage for liability for claims arising out of, or in 419 connection with, the operation of a family day care home or 420 large family child care home, and the insurer shall be under no 421 obligation to defend against lawsuits covering such claims, 422 unless: 423 (a)Specifically covered in a policy; or 424 (b)Covered by a rider or endorsement for business coverage 425 attached to a policy. 426 (4)DENIAL, CANCELLATION, REFUSAL TO RENEW PROHIBITED.An 427 insurer may not deny, cancel, or refuse to renew a policy for 428 residential property insurance solely on the basis that the 429 policyholder or applicant operates a family day care home or 430 large family child care home. In addition to other lawful 431 reasons for refusing to insure, an insurer may deny, cancel, or 432 refuse to renew a policy of a family day care home or large 433 family child care home provider if one or more of the following 434 conditions occur: 435 (a)The policyholder or applicant provides care for more 436 children than authorized for family day care homes by s. 437 402.302; 438 (b)The policyholder or applicant fails to maintain a 439 separate commercial liability policy or an endorsement providing 440 liability coverage for the family day care home or large family 441 child care home operations; 442 (c)The policyholder or applicant fails to comply with the 443 applicable family day care home licensure and registration 444 requirements specified in chapter 402 s. 402.313; or 445 (d)Discovery of willful or grossly negligent acts or 446 omissions or any violations of state laws or regulations 447 establishing safety standards for family day care homes or large 448 family child care homes by the named insured or his or her 449 representative which materially increase any of the risks 450 insured. 451 Section 7.Subsection (1) of section 1002.59, Florida 452 Statutes, is amended to read: 453 1002.59Emergent literacy and performance standards 454 training courses. 455 (1)The department, in collaboration with the Just Read, 456 Florida! Office, shall adopt minimum standards for courses in 457 emergent literacy for prekindergarten instructors. Each course 458 must consist of 5 clock hours and provide instruction in 459 strategies and techniques to address the age-appropriate 460 progress of prekindergarten students in developing emergent 461 literacy skills, including oral communication, knowledge of 462 print and letters, phonological and phonemic awareness, 463 vocabulary and comprehension development, and foundational 464 background knowledge designed to correlate with the content that 465 students will encounter in grades K-12, consistent with the 466 evidence-based content and strategies grounded in the science of 467 reading identified pursuant to s. 1001.215(7). The course 468 standards must be reviewed as part of any review of subject 469 coverage or endorsement requirements in the elementary, reading, 470 and exceptional student educational areas conducted pursuant to 471 s. 1012.586. Each course must also provide resources containing 472 strategies that allow students with disabilities and other 473 special needs to derive maximum benefit from the Voluntary 474 Prekindergarten Education Program. Successful completion of an 475 emergent literacy training course approved under this section 476 satisfies requirements for approved training in early literacy 477 and language development under ss. 402.305(2)(e)4., 402.313(6), 478 and 402.3131(5) ss. 402.305(2)(e)5., 402.313(6), and 479 402.3131(5). 480 Section 8.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.