EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 568
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR GREGORY (21).
2129S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 210.221, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to child
care facility licenses.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 210.221, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 210.221, 2
to read as follows:3
210.221. 1. The department of elementary and 1
secondary education shall have the following powers and 2
duties: 3
(1) After inspection, to grant licenses to persons to 4
operate child-care facilities if satisfied as to the good 5
character and intent of the applicant an d that such 6
applicant is qualified and equipped to render care or 7
service conducive to the welfare of children. Each license 8
shall specify its effective dates and whether it is 9
temporary, the kind of child-care services the licensee is 10
authorized to perform, the number of children that can be 11
received or maintained, and their ages; 12
(2) To inspect the conditions of the homes and other 13
places in which the applicant operates a child -care 14
facility, inspect their books and records, premises and 15
children being served, examine their officers and agents, 16
deny, suspend, place on probation or revoke the license of 17
such persons as fail to obey the provisions of sections 18 SB 568 2
210.201 to 210.245 or the rules and regulations made by the 19
department of elemen tary and secondary education. The 20
commissioner also may revoke or suspend a license when the 21
licensee surrenders the license; 22
(3) To promulgate and issue rules and regulations the 23
department deems necessary or proper in order to establish 24
standards of service and care to be rendered by such 25
licensees to children. No rule or regulation promulgated by 26
the department shall in any manner restrict or interfere 27
with any religious instruction, philosophies or ministries 28
provided by the facility and shall not apply to facilities 29
operated by religious organizations which are not required 30
to be licensed; 31
(4) To approve training concerning the safe sleep 32
recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 33
accordance with section 210.223; [and] 34
(5) To determine what records shall be kept by such 35
persons and the form thereof, and the methods to be used in 36
keeping such records, and to require reports to be made to 37
the department at regular intervals ; and 38
(6) To grant a temporary child care license to a child 39
care provider who is not on probation or who does not have a 40
current letter of censure, upon submittal of a complete 41
license application to the department of elementary and 42
secondary education to expand an existing site or to add a 43
new location; provided, that the child care provider 44
completes any background check required for licensure and 45
also submits a fire safety and a sanitation inspection 46
approved for the site being expanded or added. Temporary 47
licenses shall be valid for a duration of no longer than 48
twelve months from the date of issuance or until the 49
department makes a final determination on full licensure . 50 SB 568 3
2. Any child-care facility may request a variance from 51
a rule or regulation promulgated pursua nt to this section. 52
The request for a variance shall be made in writing to the 53
department of elementary and secondary education and shall 54
include the reasons the facility is requesting the 55
variance. The department shall approve any variance request 56
that does not endanger the health or safety of the children 57
served by the facility. The burden of proof at any appeal 58
of a disapproval of a variance application shall be with the 59
department of elementary and secondary education. Local 60
inspectors may grant a variance, subject to approval by the 61
department of elementary and secondary education. 62
3. The department shall deny, suspend, place on 63
probation or revoke a license if it receives official 64
written notice that the local governing body has f ound that 65
license is prohibited by any local law related to the health 66
and safety of children. The department may deny an 67
application for a license if the department determines that 68
a home or other place in which an applicant would operate a 69
child-care facility is located within one thousand feet of 70
any location where a person required to register under 71
sections 589.400 to 589.425 either resides, as that term is 72
defined in subsection 3 of section 566.147, or regularly 73
receives treatment or service s, excluding any treatment or 74
services delivered in a hospital, as that term is defined in 75
section 197.020, or in facilities owned or operated by a 76
hospital system. The department may, after inspection, find 77
the licensure, denial of licensure, suspens ion or revocation 78
to be in the best interest of the state. 79
4. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is 80
defined in section 536.010, that is created under the 81
authority delegated in sections 210.201 to 210.245 shall 82 SB 568 4
become effective only if i t complies with and is subject to 83
all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, 84
section 536.028. All rulemaking authority delegated prior 85
to August 28, 1999, is of no force and effect and repealed. 86
Nothing in this section shall be interpre ted to repeal or 87
affect the validity of any rule filed or adopted prior to 88
August 28, 1999, if it fully complied with all applicable 89
provisions of law. This section and chapter 536 are 90
nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the 91
general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay 92
the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are 93
subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of 94
rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after 95
August 28, 1999, shall be inva lid and void. 96