Session of 2025
SENATE BILL No. 207
By Committee on Ways and Means
2-5
AN ACT concerning child care; relating to the department of
administration, the Kansas children's cabinet and the department of
health and environment; establishing a pilot program to provide health
services to child care providers; making telehealth consultation services
available to eligible child care providers; providing up to $100 per
month in reimbursements for prescription medication costs to child care
providers accepted into the health services program; prohibiting cities,
counties or other political subdivisions from regulating licensed child
care providers more strictly than state law; requiring the department of
health and environment to provide a list of licensed child care providers
to any city, county or other political subdivision upon request;
providing any licensed in-home or group-home child care providers
that receive a lower tier of reimbursement under the child and adult
care food program to be matched with the top tier of funding that is
otherwise made available to other providers under the program;
developing and providing free orientation and training programs and
training materials to child care providers and licensees; allowing
orientation and training to count as continuing education hours;
requiring the department and the Kansas children's cabinet to develop a
training reimbursement program; amending K.S.A. 65-508 and
repealing the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
New Section 1. (a) The department of administration shall coordinate
with the Kansas children's cabinet and the department of health and
environment to establish a pilot program to provide health services to child
care providers working in entities licensed by the department of health and
environment.
(b) (1) The department of administration shall contract for the
provision of telehealth consultation services for child care providers that
are:
(A) A child care provider or licensee for a family child care home,
day care home or group day care home or any type of teacher or program
director in a child care facility;
(B) actively providing child care services in a licensed facility;
(C) an individual with family income equal to or less than 150% of
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36 SB 207 2
the most recent federal poverty guidelines; and
(D) not receiving employer-based insurance at the time that such
child care provider applies for the health services program.
(2) (A) The department's provision of telehealth consultation services
pursuant to this subsection shall only be provided to child care providers
or licensees for a family child care home, day care home or group day care
home for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2026.
(B) For the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2027, such services shall be
expanded to include child care center employees.
(C) For the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2028, such services shall be
expanded to include all child care providers that meet the criteria of
paragraph (1).
(c) Any child care provider that is accepted into the health services
program shall also be provided up to $100 per month in reimbursements
for prescription medication costs. Any such reimbursements may be used
for the child care provider or any dependents thereof.
(d) The department of administration may determine the best method
to limit the number of applicants for purposes of the pilot program.
(e) The department of administration shall coordinate with the Kansas
department of health and environment to verify that applicants for the
program meet the eligibility requirements of subsections (b)(1)(A) and
(B).
(f) Subject to appropriations, for two calendar years, health services
shall be provided for in this section beginning with the services in 2026,
except that the Kansas children's cabinet is directed to seek grant funding
from federal, nonprofit or any other source that may be used to offset the
costs of the program.
New Sec. 2. (a) The legislature finds that, as a matter of public policy
and fact, it is necessary to provide statewide uniform standards for
licensed child care and occupy the field of regulation of licensed child care
to ensure that no person is subjectively or arbitrarily denied the ability to
give or receive such care.
(b) No city, county or other political subdivision of this state, or any
contractor thereof, shall regulate or restrict any child care provider
licensed by the department of health and environment from providing
child care in any matter that is stricter than what is required by state law or
rules and regulations adopted by the secretary.
(c) Any existing or future law, ordinance, rule, regulation or
resolution prohibited by subsection (b) shall be null and void.
(d) Upon request of a city, county or other political subdivision of this
state, the department of health and environment shall provide to the
governing authority of such political subdivision a list of licensed child
care providers located within such political subdivision.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43 SB 207 3
New Sec. 3. (a) Subject to appropriations, for any licensed in-home
or group-home child care providers that receive a lower tier of
reimbursement from the federal government pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1766,
the state shall match funding for such providers with the top tier of funding
that is otherwise made available to other providers by 42 U.S.C. § 1766.
(b) The state shall not match funding in any fiscal year in which
enough federal or grant funding has been made available to fulfill the
highest rate of reimbursement as provided in subsection (a).
Sec. 4. K.S.A. 65-508 is hereby amended to read as follows: 65-508.
(a) Any maternity center or child care facility subject to the provisions of
this act shall:
(1) Be properly heated, plumbed, lighted and ventilated;
(2) have plumbing, water and sewerage systems which that conform
to all applicable state and local laws; and
(3) be operated with strict regard to the health, safety and welfare of
any woman or child.
(b) Every maternity center or child care facility shall furnish or cause
to be furnished for the use of each resident and employee individual towel,
wash cloth, comb and individual drinking cup or sanitary bubbling
fountain, and toothbrushes for all other than infants, and shall keep or
require such articles to be kept at all times in a clean and sanitary
condition. Every maternity center or child care facility shall comply with
all applicable fire codes and rules and regulations of the state fire marshal.
(c) (1) The secretary of health and environment with the cooperation
of the secretary for children and families shall develop and adopt rules and
regulations for the operation and maintenance of maternity centers and
child care facilities. The rules and regulations for operating and
maintaining maternity centers and child care facilities shall be designed to
promote the health, safety and welfare of any woman or child served in
such facilities by ensuring safe and adequate physical surroundings,
healthful food, adequate handwashing, safe storage of toxic substances and
hazardous chemicals, sanitary diapering and toileting, home sanitation,
supervision and care of the residents by capable, qualified persons of
sufficient number, after-hour care, an adequate program of activities and
services, sudden infant death syndrome and safe sleep practices training,
prohibition on corporal punishment, crib safety, protection from electrical
hazards, protection from swimming pools and other water sources, fire
drills, emergency plans, safety of outdoor playground surfaces, door locks,
safety gates and transportation and such appropriate parental participation
as may be feasible under the circumstances. Boarding schools are excluded
from requirements regarding the number of qualified persons who must
supervise and provide care to residents.
(2) Rules and regulations developed under this subsection shall
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43 SB 207 4
include provisions for the competent supervision and care of children in
day care facilities. For purposes of such rules and regulations, competent
supervision as this term relates to children less than five years of age
includes, but is not limited to, direction of activities, adequate oversight
including sight or sound monitoring, or both, physical proximity to
children, diapering and toileting practices; and for all children, competent
supervision includes, but is not limited to, planning and supervision of
daily activities, safe sleep practices, including, but not limited to, visual or
sound monitoring, periodic checking, emergency response procedures and
drills, illness and injury response procedures, food service preparation and
sanitation, playground supervision, pool and water safety practices.
(d) In addition to any rules and regulations adopted under this section
for safe sleep practices, child care facilities shall ensure that all of the
following requirements are met for children under 12 months of age:
(1) A child shall only be placed to sleep on a surface and in an area
that has been approved for use as such by the secretary of health and
environment;
(2) the sleep surface shall be free from soft or loose bedding,
including, but not limited to, blankets, bumpers and pillows; and
(3) the sleep surface shall be free from toys, including mobiles and
other types of play equipment or devices.
(e) Child care facilities shall ensure that children over 12 months of
age only be placed to sleep on a surface and in an area that has been
approved for use as such by the secretary of health and environment.
(f) The secretary of health and environment may exercise discretion
to make exceptions to requirements in subsections (d) and (e) where
special health needs exist.
(g) Each child cared for in a child care facility, including children of
the person maintaining the facility, shall be required to have current such
immunizations as the secretary of health and environment considers
necessary. The person maintaining a child care facility shall maintain a
record of each child's immunizations and shall provide to the secretary of
health and environment such information relating thereto, in accordance
with rules and regulations of the secretary, but the person maintaining a
child care facility shall not have such person's license revoked solely for
the failure to have or to maintain the immunization records required by
this subsection.
(h) The immunization requirement of subsection (g) shall not apply if
one of the following is obtained:
(1) Certification from a licensed physician stating that the physical
condition of the child is such that immunization would endanger the child's
life or health; or
(2) a written statement signed by a parent or guardian that the parent
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43 SB 207 5
or guardian is an adherent of a religious denomination whose teachings are
opposed to immunizations.
(i) (1) The secretary of health and environment shall develop and
provide suitable orientation and training programs at no cost to child care
providers and licensees for all positions that are required by the secretary
to meet certain orientation and training standards prior to beginning work
at a licensed facility or prior to the approval of a license.
(2) The secretary shall develop and make available suitable training
materials at no cost to all child care providers and licensees that are
required by the secretary to complete training or any equivalents thereof.
(3) Any orientation and training completed pursuant to this section
shall also count as continuing education hours in the current or next
applicable year.
(4) The secretary and the Kansas children's cabinet shall:
(A) Develop a reimbursement program for licensees for the cost of
sending child care providers to in-person training;
(B) during the 2026 regular session of the legislature, report the
estimated cost for the development of such reimbursement program to the
house of representatives committee on commerce, labor and economic
development and the senate committee on commerce; and
(C) seek the necessary funding for any licensed in-home or group-
home child care providers that receive a lower tier of reimbursement from
the federal government pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1766, to be matched with
the top tier of funding that is otherwise made available to other providers
by 42 U.S.C. § 1766.
Sec. 5. K.S.A. 65-508 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28