81R534 UM-D
By: Hartnett H.B. No. 1540
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to license requirements for certain child-care programs
operated by public or private schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 42.041(b) and (b-1), Human Resources
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) a state-operated facility;
(2) an agency foster home or agency foster group home;
(3) a facility that is operated in connection with a
shopping center, business, religious organization, or
establishment where children are cared for during short periods
while parents or persons responsible for the children are attending
religious services, shopping, or engaging in other activities on or
near the premises, including but not limited to retreats or classes
for religious instruction;
(4) a school or class for religious instruction that
does not last longer than two weeks and is conducted by a religious
organization during the summer months;
(5) a youth camp licensed by the Department of State
Health Services;
(6) a facility licensed, operated, certified, or
registered by another state agency;
(7) subject to Subsection (b-1), an educational
facility that is accredited by the Texas Education Agency, the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or an accreditation
body that is a member of the Texas Private School Accreditation
Commission and that operates primarily for educational purposes in
grades kindergarten and above[, an after-school program operated
directly by an accredited educational facility, or an after-school
program operated by another entity under contract with the
educational facility, if the Texas Education Agency, the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools, or the other accreditation
body, as applicable, has approved the curriculum content of the
after-school program operated under the contract];
(8) an educational facility that operates solely for
educational purposes in grades kindergarten through at least grade
two, that does not provide custodial care for more than one hour
during the hours before or after the customary school day, and that
is a member of an organization that promulgates, publishes, and
requires compliance with health, safety, fire, and sanitation
standards equal to standards required by state, municipal, and
county codes;
(9) a kindergarten [or preschool] educational program
that is operated as part of a public school or a private school
accredited by the Texas Education Agency, that offers educational
programs through grade six, and that does not provide custodial
care during the hours before or after the customary school day;
(10) a family home, whether registered or listed;
(11) subject to Subsection (b-1), an educational
facility that is integral to and inseparable from its sponsoring
religious organization or an educational facility both of which do
not provide custodial care for more than two hours maximum per day,
and that offers educational programs for children age four and
above in one or more of the following: preschool, kindergarten
through at least grade three, elementary, or secondary grades;
(12) an emergency shelter facility providing shelter
to minor mothers who are the sole support of their natural children
under Section 32.201, Family Code, unless the facility would
otherwise require a license as a child-care facility under this
section;
(13) a juvenile detention facility certified under
Section 51.12, Family Code, a juvenile correctional facility
certified under Section 51.125, Family Code, a juvenile facility
providing services solely for the Texas Youth Commission, or any
other correctional facility for children operated or regulated by
another state agency or by a political subdivision of the state;
(14) an elementary-age (ages 5-13) recreation program
operated by a municipality provided the governing body of the
municipality annually adopts standards of care by ordinance after a
public hearing for such programs, that such standards are provided
to the parents of each program participant, and that the ordinances
shall include, at a minimum, staffing ratios, minimum staff
qualifications, minimum facility, health, and safety standards,
and mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing the adopted local
standards; and further provided that parents be informed that the
program is not licensed by the state and the program may not be
advertised as a child-care facility;
(15) an annual youth camp held in a municipality with a
population of more than 1.5 million that operates for not more than
three months and that has been operated for at least 10 years by a
nonprofit organization that provides care for the homeless; or
(16) a food distribution program that:
(A) serves an evening meal to children two years
of age or older; and
(B) is operated by a nonprofit food bank in a
nonprofit, religious, or educational facility for not more than two
hours a day on regular business days.
(b-1) The following exemptions apply only to an educational
facility that operates in a county that has a population of less
than 25,000:
(1) the exemption provided under Subsection (b)(7) to
a facility accredited by an accreditation body that is a member of
the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission[, an
after-school program operated directly by the accredited
educational facility, or an after-school program operated by
another entity under contract with the accredited educational
facility]; and
(2) the exemption provided under Subsection (b)(11) to
a facility that offers educational programs for children who are
four years of age.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.