Introduced Version
HOUSE BILL No. 1253
_____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 12-17.2.
Synopsis: Child care. Makes various changes to align the language in
the following provisions with the current language in the definition for
"child care home": (1) The applicability for the child care article. (2)
The voucher program eligibility. Provides that a granted waiver or
variance expires three years after the date that the waiver or variance
becomes effective. Provides that, not later than June 30, 2026, the
division of family resources (division) shall establish an organizational
license category for multi-state child care centers operating under one
owner, and that in establishing the organizational license category, the
division must do certain things. Removes the requirement that a child
receiving child care from a school must be the child of a student or
employee of the school.
Effective: July 1, 2025.
Heine, DeVon, Heaton
January 9, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Family, Children and Human
Affairs.
2025 IN 1253—LS 7209/DI 148 Introduced
First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
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a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
HOUSE BILL No. 1253
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
human services.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1 SECTION 1. IC 12-17.2-1-1, AS AMENDED BY P.L.134-2024,
2 SECTION 3, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
3 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 1. Except as provided in IC 12-17.2-3.5, this
4 article does not apply to the following:
5 (1) A child care center or child care home licensed or operated by
6 any of the following:
7 (A) Programs for children in grades kindergarten through 12
8 that are operated under the authority of the department of
9 education or that are operated with the assistance of the
10 department of education.
11 (B) The division of mental health and addiction.
12 (C) The Indiana department of health.
13 (D) The department of correction.
14 (2) A person who provides child care in the person's residential
15 structure, if the person:
16 (A) does not receive regular compensation for child care;
17 (B) cares only for children who are related to the provider; for
2025 IN 1253—LS 7209/DI 148 2
1 whom the provider is a parent, stepparent, guardian,
2 custodian, or other relative;
3 (C) cares for less than eight (8) children, but not more than
4 three (3) children who are less than twelve (12) months of
5 age, not including a child who is: for whom the provider is
6 a parent, stepparent, guardian, custodian, or other
7 relative;
8 (i) a relative of a provider;
9 (ii) under the custody or guardianship of a provider; or
10 (iii) at least fourteen (14) years of age and does not require
11 child care; or
12 (D) cares for an individual who is at least fourteen (14)
13 years of age and does not require child care;
14 (D) (E) provides child care for less than six (6) hours per day;
15 but not more than thirty (30) hours per week. or
16 (F) provides child care for less than ten (10) consecutive
17 days, not including Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays.
18 (3) A county jail or detention center.
19 SECTION 2. IC 12-17.2-2-8, AS AMENDED BY P.L.134-2024,
20 SECTION 4, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
21 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 8. The division shall exempt from licensure the
22 following programs:
23 (1) A program for children enrolled in grades kindergarten
24 through 12 that is operated by the department of education or a
25 public or private school.
26 (2) A program for children who become at least three (3) years of
27 age as of December 1 of a particular school year (as defined in
28 IC 20-18-2-17) that is operated by the department of education or
29 a public or private school.
30 (3) A nonresidential program for a child that provides child care
31 for less than four (4) hours a day.
32 (4) A recreation program for children that operates for not more
33 than ninety (90) days in a calendar year.
34 (5) A program whose primary purpose is to provide social,
35 recreational, or religious activities for school age children, such
36 as scouting, boys club, girls club, sports, or the arts.
37 (6) A program operated to serve migrant children that:
38 (A) provides services for children from migrant worker
39 families; and
40 (B) is operated during a single period of less than one hundred
41 twenty (120) consecutive days during a calendar year.
42 (7) A child care ministry registered under IC 12-17.2-6.
2025 IN 1253—LS 7209/DI 148 3
1 (8) A child care home if the provider operates to serve migrant
2 children.
3 (9) A child care program operated by a public or private school
4 that does the following:
5 (A) Provides day care on school property for children of
6 students or employees of schools in the school corporation in
7 which the public or private school is located.
8 (B) Complies with health, safety, and sanitation standards as
9 determined by the division under section 4 of this chapter for
10 child care centers or in accordance with a variance or waiver
11 of a rule governing child care centers approved by the division
12 under section 10 of this chapter.
13 (C) Substantially complies with the fire and life safety rules as
14 determined by the state fire marshal under rules adopted by the
15 division under section 4 of this chapter for child care centers
16 or in accordance with a variance or waiver of a rule governing
17 child care centers approved by the division under section 10 of
18 this chapter.
19 (10) A school age child care program (commonly referred to as a
20 latch key program) established under IC 20-26-5-2 that is
21 operated by:
22 (A) the department of education;
23 (B) a public or private school; or
24 (C) a public or private organization under a written contract
25 with:
26 (i) the department of education; or
27 (ii) a public or private school.
28 (11) A child care program that:
29 (A) is operated by a public or private organization under a
30 contract with a public or private school;
31 (B) serves children who are enrolled in the public or private
32 school in:
33 (i) grades kindergarten through 12; or
34 (ii) a preschool program offered by a public or private
35 school as described in this subdivision; and
36 (C) serves children who are:
37 (i) attending school through remote or e-learning due to a
38 disaster emergency declared under IC 10-14-3-12 or
39 IC 10-14-3-29; or
40 (ii) participating in a learning recovery program that
41 administers an assessment to measure student learning loss
42 and provides Indiana academic standards aligned
2025 IN 1253—LS 7209/DI 148 4
1 instruction.
2 (12) An educational program:
3 (A) consisting of a group of not more than ten (10) students
4 who attend the educational program in lieu of attending
5 prekindergarten or kindergarten through grade 12 at a public
6 or private school;
7 (B) whose students meet in a single classroom in person or
8 outside a classroom and which may include mixed age level
9 groupings; and
10 (C) that is under the supervision of a teacher or tutor.
11 (13) If located in the same public or private school building:
12 (A) a preschool program that is operated by the public or
13 private school; and
14 (B) either or both of the following:
15 (i) A child care program described in subdivision (9).
16 (ii) A school age child care program described in
17 subdivision (10).
18 (14) A child care program operated by a public or private school
19 that does the following:
20 (A) Provides day care on school property for children of
21 employees of a business or organization with which the school
22 has entered into a contract to provide services. If the school
23 property is owned by the school, the school property must have
24 been both:
25 (i) owned by the school; and
26 (ii) used for child care;
27 on or before January 1, 2024.
28 (B) Complies with health, safety, and sanitation standards as
29 determined by the division under section 4 of this chapter for
30 child care centers or in accordance with a variance or waiver
31 of a rule governing child care centers approved by the division
32 under section 10 of this chapter.
33 (C) Substantially complies with the fire and life safety rules as
34 determined by the state fire marshal under rules adopted by the
35 division under section 4 of this chapter for child care centers
36 or in accordance with a variance or waiver of a rule governing
37 child care centers approved by the division under section 10 of
38 this chapter.
39 SECTION 3. IC 12-17.2-2-11 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
40 FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 11. A waiver or
41 variance granted under section 10 of this chapter and a waiver or
42 variance renewed under section 12 of this chapter expires on the earlier
2025 IN 1253—LS 7209/DI 148 5
1 of the following:
2 (1) The date when the license affected by the waiver or variance
3 expires.
4 (2) The date set by the division for the expiration of the waiver or
5 variance.
6 (3) The occurrence of the event set by the division for the
7 expiration of the waiver or variance.
8 (4) Two (2) Three (3) years after the date that the waiver or
9 variance becomes effective.
10 SECTION 4. IC 12-17.2-2-15 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
11 CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
12 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 15. (a) Not later than June 30,
13 2026, the division shall establish an organizational license category
14 for multi-state child care centers operating under one (1) owner.
15 (b) In establishing the license category under subsection (a), the
16 division shall do the following:
17 (1) Allow an owner to make a single license application for
18 one (1) or more child care centers.
19 (2) Allow an owner to pay a single licensure fee, even if
20 applying for multiple child care center licenses.
21 (3) Provide maximum flexibility to an owner when the owner
22 is considering adding new locations to serve a community's
23 need for licensed child care.
24 (4) Reduce redundancy in the application process for an
25 owner.
26 (5) Reduce the administrative burden to the state in reviewing
27 multiple licenses for a single owner.
28 (6) Monitor each location to ensure that each location meets
29 important health and safety standards.
30 (7) Inspect each location separately for compliance, create
31 separate plans of correction, and provide location based
32 enforcement that does not affect the other locations.
33 (8) Consider the maximum efficiencies for the organizational
34 license holder to drive down operational costs for the child
35 care center owner.
36 SECTION 5. IC 12-17.2-3.5-3.5, AS AMENDED BY THE
37 TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS BILL OF THE 2025 GENERAL
38 ASSEMBLY, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
39 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 3.5. A child care provider is eligible to receive a
40 voucher payment if the provider complies with this chapter and meets
41 any of the following:
42 (1) Does not receive regular compensation.
2025 IN 1253—LS 7209/DI 148 6
1 (2) Cares only for children who are related to the provider. for
2 whom the provider is a parent, stepparent, guardian,
3 custodian, or other relative.
4 (3) Cares for less than eight (8) children, but not more than
5 three (3) children who are less than twelve (12) months of age,
6 not including children for whom the provider is a parent,
7 stepparent, guardian, custodian, or other relative. or
8 (4) Cares for an individual who is at least fourteen (14) years
9 of age and does not require child care.
10 (5) Provides child care for less than six (6) hours per day.
11 (6) Provides child care for less than ten (10) consecutive days,
12 not including Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays.
13 (4) (7) Operates to serve migrant children.
2025 IN 1253—LS 7209/DI 148