Senate File 379 - Introduced SENATE FILE 379 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1048) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the licensure of child care programs 1 operated or contracted for by a school district or 2 accredited nonpublic school and including effective date 3 provisions. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 1119SV (3) 86 rh/nh

S.F. 379 Section 1. Section 237A.1, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code 1 2015, is amended by striking the paragraph. 2 Sec. 2. Section 279.49, subsection 1, Code 2015, is amended 3 by striking the subsection. 4 Sec. 3. Section 279.49, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2015, are 5 amended to read as follows: 6 2. The board of directors of a school corporation may 7 operate or contract for the operation of a program to provide 8 child care to children not enrolled in school or to students 9 enrolled in kindergarten through grade six before and after 10 school, or to both. Programs operated or contracted by a board 11 shall either meet standards for child care programs adopted 12 by the state board of education or shall be licensed by the 13 department of human services under chapter 237A as a child care 14 center. A program operated by a board under contract which is 15 not located on property owned or leased by the board must be 16 licensed by the department of human services. Notwithstanding 17 requirements of the department of human services regarding 18 space allocated to child care centers licensed under chapter 19 237A, a program operated or contracted by a board which is 20 located on school grounds may define alternative spaces, 21 in policy and procedures, appropriate to meet the needs of 22 children in the program if the primary space is required for 23 another use. 24 3. a. The person employed to be responsible for a program 25 operated or contracted by a board that is not licensed by the 26 department of human services shall be an appropriately licensed 27 teacher under chapter 272 or shall meet other standards adopted 28 by the state board of education. 29 b. An employee of a program operated or contracted by a 30 board shall be subject to a background investigation at least 31 once every five years after the employee’s initial date of 32 hire. 33 Sec. 4. Section 280.3A, Code 2015, is amended to read as 34 follows: 35 -1- LSB 1119SV (3) 86 rh/nh 1/ 3

S.F. 379 280.3A Accredited nonpublic school child care programs. 1 Authorities in charge of an accredited nonpublic schools 2 school may operate or contract for the operation of a child 3 care programs, as defined program, as described in section 4 279.49 , subsection 1 . The provisions of section 279.49 as 5 they relate to child care programs of a school corporation and 6 its board of directors apply to the child care programs of the 7 accredited nonpublic school and the authority in charge. 8 Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE AND IMPLEMENTATION. This Act takes 9 effect January 1, 2016, except that the department of human 10 services may begin implementation prior to January 1, 2016, to 11 the extent necessary to transition to full implementation of 12 the provisions of this Act. 13 EXPLANATION 14 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 15 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 16 Under current law, either the department of human services 17 (DHS) or the department of education (DE) is required to 18 license a child care program operated by or contracted for by a 19 school district or accredited nonpublic school to provide child 20 care to children not enrolled in school or to students enrolled 21 in kindergarten through grade six before and after school, or 22 to both. 23 This bill provides that DHS shall be the only state agency 24 responsible for the licensure of such child care programs and 25 requires DHS to issue such licenses. The bill provides that 26 a program operated or contracted by a board of directors of a 27 school corporation that is located on school grounds may define 28 alternative spaces appropriate to meet the needs of children 29 in the child care program under certain circumstances. An 30 employee of a child care program operated or contracted by a 31 board shall be subject to a background investigation once every 32 five years. 33 Conforming Code changes are made striking Code section 34 237A.1, subsection 3, paragraph “b”, relating to the definition 35 -2- LSB 1119SV (3) 86 rh/nh 2/ 3

S.F. 379 of “child care” for purposes of DHS licensure and DE child care 1 programs provided for under Code sections 279.49 and 280.3A, 2 striking references in Code section 279.49 relating to child 3 care programs not licensed or approved by DHS, and amending 4 Code section 280.3A relating to accredited nonpublic school 5 child care programs. 6 The bill takes effect January 1, 2016, except that DHS may 7 begin implementation prior to that date. 8 -3- LSB 1119SV (3) 86 rh/nh 3/ 3