Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2469 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R16345 MM-D
2	2	By: Menéndez S.B. No. 2469
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the regulation of certain day-care centers.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 42.0441, Human Resources Code, is
12	12	amended to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 42.0441. INSPECTION RESULTS FOR CERTAIN
14	14	NONRESIDENTIAL CHILD-CARE FACILITIES; OPPORTUNITY TO CURE. (a)
15	15	Immediately after completing a monitoring inspection of a licensed
16	16	day-care center, licensed group day-care home, or registered family
17	17	home under Section 42.044, the authorized representative of the
18	18	commission [department] shall review the results of the monitoring
19	19	inspection with a representative of the facility and give the
20	20	facility an opportunity to respond to the inspection results.
21	21	(b) The authorized representative of the commission shall
22	22	provide a day-care center, group day-care home, or family home an
23	23	opportunity to immediately cure a violation of a minimum standard
24	24	that does not pose a risk to a child's safety. If the center or home
25	25	immediately cures the violation, the authorized representative may
26	26	not include the violation in the inspection results or report.
27	27	SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
28	28	is amended by adding Section 42.04426 to read as follows:
29	29	Sec. 42.04426. REGISTRY OF DAY-CARE VIOLATIONS; VIOLATION
30	30	NOTICE, APPEAL, AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. (a) The commission shall
31	31	establish a registry of day-care violations. If the commission
32	32	determines an employee of a day-care center, group day-care home,
33	33	or family home is responsible for a violation, the commission shall
34	34	record in the registry:
35	35	(1) the employee's name, address, and social security
36	36	number;
37	37	(2) the name and address of the center or home where
38	38	the violation occurred;
39	39	(3) the date the violation occurred; and
40	40	(4) a description of the violation.
41	41	(b) The commission shall give written notice of the
42	42	commission's determination of a violation occurring at a day-care
43	43	center, group day-care home, or family home to any employee of the
44	44	center or home who is responsible for the violation.
45	45	(c) The notice must include:
46	46	(1) a brief summary of the commission's determination;
47	47	(2) a statement of the employee's right to a hearing on
48	48	the commission's determination; and
49	49	(3) a statement notifying the employee that if the
50	50	employee fails to timely respond to the notice, the commission's
51	51	determination of the employee's responsibility for the violation
52	52	will be recorded in the commission's registry of day-care
53	53	violations.
54	54	(d) Not later than the 30th day after the date the notice is
55	55	received, the employee notified may accept the commission's
56	56	determination or may submit a written request to the commission for
57	57	a hearing on that determination.
58	58	(e) If the employee notified of the violation accepts the
59	59	commission's determination or fails to timely respond to the
60	60	notice, the commission shall add the determination to the
61	61	commission's registry of day-care violations.
62	62	(f) If the employee requests a hearing, the commission
63	63	shall:
64	64	(1) set a date for a hearing;
65	65	(2) give written notice of the hearing date to the
66	66	employee; and
67	67	(3) designate an administrative law judge to conduct
68	68	the hearing.
69	69	(g) The administrative law judge shall make findings of fact
70	70	and conclusions of law and shall promptly issue a decision
71	71	regarding the occurrence of the violation.
72	72	(h) The administrative law judge shall give notice of the
73	73	decision to the employee allegedly responsible for the violation.
74	74	The notice must include:
75	75	(1) separate statements of the findings of fact and
76	76	conclusions of law;
77	77	(2) a statement of the employee's right to judicial
78	78	review of the decision; and
79	79	(3) a statement that the violation will be recorded in
80	80	the commission's registry of day-care violations if:
81	81	(A) the employee does not request judicial review
82	82	of the decision; or
83	83	(B) the decision is sustained by the court.
84	84	(i) Not later than the 30th day after the date the employee
85	85	receives notice of the administrative law judge's decision, the
86	86	employee may file a petition for judicial review contesting the
87	87	decision. If the employee does not request judicial review of the
88	88	decision, the commission shall record the violation in the
89	89	commission's registry of day-care violations.
90	90	(j) Judicial review of the decision:
91	91	(1) is instituted by filing a petition as provided by
92	92	Subchapter G, Chapter 2001, Government Code; and
93	93	(2) is under the substantial evidence rule.
94	94	(k) If the court sustains the administrative law judge's
95	95	decision on the occurrence of the violation, the commission shall
96	96	record the violation in the commission's registry of day-care
97	97	violations.
98	98	(l) The commission shall make the commission's registry of
99	99	day-care violations available to a day-care center, group day-care
100	100	home, or family home.
101	101	SECTION 3. Section 42.0704, Human Resources Code, is
102	102	amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
103	103	(e) The enforcement policy must include a process to appeal
104	104	a commission determination of a violation of this chapter or a
105	105	commission rule by a day-care center, group day-care home, or
106	106	family home. The center or home may request a hearing before an
107	107	administrative law judge of the State Office of Administrative
108	108	Hearings on the issue of whether the center or home committed the
109	109	violation. If the administrative law judge finds no violation
110	110	occurred:
111	111	(1) the administrative law judge shall order the
112	112	commission to remove the violation from the center's or home's
113	113	record; and
114	114	(2) the commission shall remove the violation from the
115	115	record not later than the 10th business day after the date the order
116	116	is issued.
117	117	SECTION 4. (a) The Health and Human Services Commission
118	118	shall study the violations the commission found at each licensed
119	119	day-care center, licensed group day-care home, or registered family
120	120	home during the preceding ten years to determine the ten licensing
121	121	standards most frequently violated. The commission shall:
122	122	(1) determine whether the violations pose a risk to
123	123	the health or safety of children at a center or home; and
124	124	(2) provide educational materials to centers and homes
125	125	regarding:
126	126	(A) the importance of following the identified
127	127	licensing standards; and
128	128	(B) ways to cure and prevent the identified
129	129	violations.
130	130	(b) The Health and Human Services Commission may form a work
131	131	group consisting of commission employees, child-care providers,
132	132	community stakeholders, child-care workers, and parents of
133	133	children attending a day-care center or family home to perform the
134	134	study required by Subsection (a) of this section.
135	135	(c) The Health and Human Services Commission shall complete
136	136	the study required by Subsection (a) of this section and submit a
137	137	report on the study results to the legislature not later than
138	138	September 1, 2026.
139	139	(d) This section expires September 1, 2027.
140	140	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.