Florida Senate - 2018                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1520
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì408868_Î408868                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs (Hutson)
       recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 32 - 92
    4  and insert:
    5  membership organizations that provide child care must be
    6  licensed as a child care facility as required under this
    7  chapter. Notwithstanding licensure, all personnel as defined in
    8  s. 402.302 of such membership organizations shall meet
    9  background screening requirements through the department
   10  pursuant to ss. 402.305 and 402.3055.
   11         Section 2. Present subsections (1) through (14) of section
   12  402.302, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (2)
   13  through (15), respectively, a new subsection (1) is added to
   14  that section, present subsections (1) and (2) of that section
   15  are amended, present subsections (15) through (18) of that
   16  section are redesignated as subsections (17) through (20),
   17  respectively, and a new subsection (16) is added to that
   18  section, to read:
   19         402.302 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
   20         (1) “After-school program” means child care for school-age
   21  children during out-of-school times, including, but not limited
   22  to, before school or after school, school breaks, and inservice
   23  planning days.
   24         (a) The term includes, but is not limited to, a program
   25  that does not require a parent to be in attendance while the
   26  child is at the facility and satisfies three or more of the
   27  following elements:
   28         1. Provides transportation to or from the facility where
   29  the program is offered.
   30         2. Provides meals or snacks to children participating in
   31  the program.
   32         3. Provides more than one type of activity, including but
   33  not limited to educational, artistic, athletic, or self-directed
   34  activities.
   35         4. Provides tutoring or homework assistance, or includes a
   36  specific time for children to complete homework while at the
   37  program.
   38         5. Advertises or holds itself out as providing child care
   39  or being an after-school program.
   40         6. Takes children on field trips.
   41         (b) The term does not include:
   42         1. A program on a public or nonpublic school site which is
   43  operated and staffed directly by the school or through a formal
   44  agreement between the school and a provider to serve children
   45  who attend that school. A lease for space or user agreement is
   46  not considered a formal agreement.
   47         2. A program that is solely instructional or tutorial.
   48         3. An open-access program. For purposes of this
   49  subparagraph, the term “open-access program” means a program
   50  that allows children to come and go at will. Such a program may
   51  not serve children for more than 4 hours per regular school day;
   52  may not advertise or otherwise represent that it provides child
   53  care or after school care, is an after-school program, or offers
   54  supervision; may not provide supervision; may not provide
   55  transportation, directly or indirectly; may not provide meals or
   56  snacks outside of the federal Afterschool Meal Program; and may
   57  not deliver a school readiness program pursuant to s. 1002.88.
   58         4. A program that does not hold a Gold Seal Quality Care
   59  designation under s. 402.281 which provides child care
   60  exclusively for children in grades 6 through 12.
   61         (2)(1) “Child care” means the care, protection, and
   62  supervision of a child, for a period of less than 24 hours a day
   63  on a regular basis, which supplements parental care, enrichment,
   64  and health supervision for the child, in accordance with his or
   65  her individual needs, and for which a payment, fee, or grant is
   66  made for care. A nominal membership fee constitutes a fee for
   67  care. Child care may also include, but is not limited to,
   68  providing transportation, food services, educational activities,
   69  and instructional activities.
   70         (3)(2) “Child care facility” includes any child care center
   71  after school program or child care arrangement that which
   72  provides child care for more than five children unrelated to the
   73  operator and which receives a payment, fee, or grant for any of
   74  the children receiving care, wherever operated, regardless of
   75  and whether or not operated for profit. The following are not
   76  included:
   77         (a) Public schools and nonpublic schools and their integral
   78  programs that operate during regular school hours, except for
   79  programs as provided in s. 402.3025;
   80         (b) Summer camps having children in full-time residence;
   81         (c) Summer day camps;
   82         (d) Bible schools normally conducted during vacation
   83  periods; and
   84         (e) Operators of transient establishments, as defined in
   85  chapter 509, which provide child care services solely for the
   86  guests of their establishment or resort, provided that all child
   87  care personnel of the establishment are screened according to
   88  the level 2 screening requirements of chapter 435.
   89         (16) “School age child” means a child who is at least 5
   90  years of age and no older than 12 years of age by September 1 of
   91  the beginning of the school year who is enrolled in kindergarten
   92  or a higher grade.
   93         Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
   94  402.305, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   95         402.305 Licensing standards; child care facilities.—
   96         (1) LICENSING STANDARDS.—The department shall establish
   97  licensing standards that each licensed child care facility must
   98  meet regardless of the origin or source of the fees used to
   99  operate the facility or the type of children served by the
  100  facility.
  101         (c) The minimum standards for child care facilities shall
  102  be adopted in the rules of the department and shall address the
  103  areas delineated in this section.
  104         1. The department, in adopting rules to establish minimum
  105  standards for child care facilities, shall recognize that
  106  different age groups of children may require different
  107  standards. The department may adopt different minimum standards
  108  for facilities that serve children in different age groups,
  109  including school-age children. The department shall also adopt
  110  by rule a definition for child care which distinguishes between
  111  child care programs that require child care licensure and after
  112  school programs that do not require licensure.
  113         2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
  114  contrary, minimum child care licensing standards shall be
  115  developed to provide for reasonable, affordable, and safe
  116  before-school and after-school care.
  117         3.After-school Programs that otherwise meet the criteria
  118  for exclusion from child care licensure as an after-school
  119  program may provide snacks and meals through the federal
  120  Afterschool Meal Program (AMP) administered by the Department of
  121  Health in accordance with federal regulations and standards. The
  122  Department of Health shall consider meals to be provided through
  123  the AMP only if the program is actively participating in the
  124  AMP, is in good standing with the department, and the meals meet
  125  AMP requirements.
  126         4. Standards, at a minimum, shall allow for a credentialed
  127  director to supervise multiple before-school and after-school
  128  program sites.
  129         (6) SQUARE FOOTAGE PER CHILD.—Minimum standards shall be
  130  established by the department by rule.
  131         (a) A child care facility that holds a valid license on
  132  October 1, 1992, must have a minimum of 20 square feet of usable
  133  indoor floor space for each child and a minimum of 45 square
  134  feet of usable outdoor play area for each child. Outdoor play
  135  area shall be calculated at the rate of 45 feet per child in any
  136  group using the play area at one time. A minimum play area shall
  137  be provided for one half of the licensed capacity. This standard
  138  applies as long as the child care facility remains licensed at
  139  the site occupied on October 1, 1992, and shall not be affected
  140  by any change in the ownership of the site.
  141         (b)1. A child care facility that does not hold a valid
  142  license on October 1, 1992, and seeks regulatory approval to
  143  operate as a child care facility must have a minimum of 35
  144  square feet of usable floor space for each child and a minimum
  145  of 45 square feet of usable outdoor play area for each child.
  146         2. A membership organization affiliated with a national
  147  organization which is licensed after July 1, 2018, and before
  148  June 30, 2020, for an after-school program, is exempt from
  149  facility requirements related to square footage for usable
  150  indoor floor space, square footage for usable outdoor play area,
  151  and restroom and bath facilities. Such an organization that
  152  remodels its facility or begins using a new facility on or after
  153  July 1, 2020, shall meet the square footage requirements for
  154  usable indoor floor space and usable outdoor play area specified
  155  in subparagraph (b)1., and any restroom and bath facility
  156  requirements specified by rule.
  157  
  158  The minimum standard for outdoor play area does not apply in
  159  calculating square footage for children under 1 year of age.
  160  However, appropriate outdoor infant equipment shall be
  161  substituted for outdoor play space. The centers shall provide
  162  facilities and equipment conducive to the physical activities
  163  appropriate for the age and physical development of the child.
  164  
  165  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  166  And the title is amended as follows:
  167         Delete line 7
  168  and insert:
  169         school program”; revising definitions of the terms
  170         “child care” and “child care facility”; amending s.
  171         402.305, F.S.; providing exemptions from facility
  172         requirements; conforming