Bill Text: IA SF379 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the licensure of child care programs operated or contracted for by a school district or accredited nonpublic school and including effective date provisions. (Formerly SSB 1048.)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-30 - Withdrawn. S.J. 737. [SF379 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-SF379-Introduced.html

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Senate File 379 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO SSB
                                     1048)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the licensure of child care programs
  2    operated or contracted for by a school district or
  3    accredited nonpublic school and including effective date
  4    provisions.
  5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 237A.1, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code
  1  2 2015, is amended by striking the paragraph.
  1  3    Sec. 2.  Section 279.49, subsection 1, Code 2015, is amended
  1  4 by striking the subsection.
  1  5    Sec. 3.  Section 279.49, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2015, are
  1  6 amended to read as follows:
  1  7    2.  The board of directors of a school corporation may
  1  8 operate or contract for the operation of a program to provide
  1  9 child care to children not enrolled in school or to students
  1 10 enrolled in kindergarten through grade six before and after
  1 11 school, or to both. Programs operated or contracted by a board
  1 12 shall either meet standards for child care programs adopted
  1 13 by the state board of education or shall be licensed by the
  1 14 department of human services under chapter 237A as a child care
  1 15 center. A program operated by a board under contract which is
  1 16 not located on property owned or leased by the board must be
  1 17 licensed by the department of human services. Notwithstanding
  1 18 requirements of the department of human services regarding
  1 19 space allocated to child care centers licensed under chapter
  1 20 237A, a program operated or contracted by a board which is
  1 21 located on school grounds may define alternative spaces,
  1 22 in policy and procedures, appropriate to meet the needs of
  1 23 children in the program if the primary space is required for
  1 24 another use.
  1 25    3.  a.  The person employed to be responsible for a program
  1 26 operated or contracted by a board that is not licensed by the
  1 27 department of human services shall be an appropriately licensed
  1 28 teacher under chapter 272 or shall meet other standards adopted
  1 29 by the state board of education.
  1 30    b.  An employee of a program operated or contracted by a
  1 31 board shall be subject to a background investigation at least
  1 32 once every five years after the employee's initial date of
  1 33 hire.
  1 34    Sec. 4.  Section 280.3A, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  1 35 follows:
  2  1    280.3A  Accredited nonpublic school child care programs.
  2  2    Authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic schools
  2  3  school may operate or contract for the operation of a child
  2  4 care programs, as defined program, as described in section
  2  5 279.49, subsection 1. The provisions of section 279.49 as
  2  6 they relate to child care programs of a school corporation and
  2  7 its board of directors apply to the child care programs of the
  2  8 accredited nonpublic school and the authority in charge.
  2  9    Sec. 5.  EFFECTIVE DATE AND IMPLEMENTATION.  This Act takes
  2 10 effect January 1, 2016, except that the department of human
  2 11 services may begin implementation prior to January 1, 2016, to
  2 12 the extent necessary to transition to full implementation of
  2 13 the provisions of this Act.
  2 14                           EXPLANATION
  2 15 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2 16 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 17    Under current law, either the department of human services
  2 18 (DHS) or the department of education (DE) is required to
  2 19 license a child care program operated by or contracted for by a
  2 20 school district or accredited nonpublic school to provide child
  2 21 care to children not enrolled in school or to students enrolled
  2 22 in kindergarten through grade six before and after school, or
  2 23 to both.
  2 24    This bill provides that DHS shall be the only state agency
  2 25 responsible for the licensure of such child care programs and
  2 26 requires DHS to issue such licenses. The bill provides that
  2 27 a program operated or contracted by a board of directors of a
  2 28 school corporation that is located on school grounds may define
  2 29 alternative spaces appropriate to meet the needs of children
  2 30 in the child care program under certain circumstances. An
  2 31 employee of a child care program operated or contracted by a
  2 32 board shall be subject to a background investigation once every
  2 33 five years.
  2 34    Conforming Code changes are made striking Code section
  2 35 237A.1, subsection 3, paragraph "b", relating to the definition
  3  1 of "child care" for purposes of DHS licensure and DE child care
  3  2 programs provided for under Code sections 279.49 and 280.3A,
  3  3 striking references in Code section 279.49 relating to child
  3  4 care programs not licensed or approved by DHS, and amending
  3  5 Code section 280.3A relating to accredited nonpublic school
  3  6 child care programs.
  3  7    The bill takes effect January 1, 2016, except that DHS may
  3  8 begin implementation prior to that date.
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