Bill Text: FL S0668 | 2020 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Recreation Programs

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2020-03-14 - Died in Rules [S0668 Detail]

Download: Florida-2020-S0668-Comm_Sub.html

---

       Florida Senate - 2020                              CS for SB 668
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
       Senator Book
       
       
       
       
       586-02041-20                                           2020668c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to government-sponsored recreation
    3         programs; amending s. 402.302, F.S.; revising the
    4         definition of the term “child care facility” to
    5         exclude government-sponsored recreation programs;
    6         defining the term “government-sponsored recreation
    7         program”; amending ss. 39.201, 402.305, and
    8         1002.82,F.S.; conforming cross-references; providing
    9         an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Present subsections (9) through (18) of section
   14  402.302, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (10)
   15  through (19), respectively, a new subsection (9) is added to
   16  that section, and subsection (2) of that section is amended, to
   17  read:
   18         402.302 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
   19         (2) “Child care facility” includes any child care center or
   20  child care arrangement that which provides child care for more
   21  than five children unrelated to the operator and which receives
   22  a payment, fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care,
   23  wherever operated, and whether or not operated for profit. The
   24  following are not included:
   25         (a) Public schools and nonpublic schools and their integral
   26  programs, except as provided in s. 402.3025;
   27         (b) Summer camps having children in full-time residence;
   28         (c) Summer day camps;
   29         (d) Bible schools normally conducted during vacation
   30  periods; and
   31         (e) Operators of transient establishments, as defined in
   32  chapter 509, which provide child care services solely for the
   33  guests of their establishment or resort, provided that all child
   34  care personnel of the establishment are screened according to
   35  the level 2 screening requirements of chapter 435; and
   36         (f) Government-sponsored recreation programs.
   37         (9) “Government-sponsored recreation program” means an
   38  afterschool recreation program for school-age children which has
   39  organized, regularly scheduled activities, including educational
   40  or enrichment activities, and which meets all of the following
   41  requirements:
   42         (a) Offers not more than 4 hours of programming per day.
   43  However, the program may extend its hours in order to provide
   44  services before school and on teacher planning days, holidays,
   45  and intercessions that occur during the school district’s
   46  official calendar year.
   47         (b) Is operated by a county, a municipality, or a school
   48  district that has adopted by ordinance or policy standards of
   49  care for the program which include, but are not limited to:
   50         1. Meeting minimum staff-to-children ratios in accordance
   51  with s. 402.305(4) and rules adopted by the department
   52  thereunder;
   53         2. Ensuring that all personnel meet the requirements of
   54  this section and ss. 402.305 and 402.3055;
   55         3. Meeting minimum facility, health, and safety standards,
   56  including annual fire inspections conducted by the city or
   57  county Fire Marshal;
   58         4. Ensuring annual health inspections are conducted by the
   59  Department of Health;
   60         5. Conducting regular inspection, cleaning, repair, and
   61  maintenance of buildings, grounds, and equipment;
   62         6. Ensuring at least one staff person trained in
   63  cardiopulmonary resuscitation is present at all times when
   64  children are present;
   65         7. Setting standards related to the provision of food;
   66         8. Training program employees regarding working with
   67  school-age children;
   68         9. Engaging in activities designed to address the ages,
   69  interests, and abilities of participants;
   70         10. Carrying out annual inspections of vehicles
   71  transporting children;
   72         11. Enforcing regulations related to the number of children
   73  in vehicles in accordance with vehicle capacity and searching
   74  vehicles after use to ensure no children are left in the
   75  vehicle;
   76         12. Ensuring custodial parents or guardians have reasonable
   77  access to children while the children are in care; and
   78         13. Developing age-appropriate policies relating to child
   79  discipline practices and making such policies available to
   80  parents or guardians at the time of registration.
   81         (c) Has been certified by the county, municipality, or
   82  school district as compliant with such standards of care and
   83  provides annual attestation to the department of compliance with
   84  such standards of care.
   85         (d) Provides notice to the parent or guardian of each child
   86  participating in the program that the program is not state
   87  licensed or advertised as a child care facility and provides the
   88  parent or guardian with the county’s, municipality’s, or school
   89  district’s standards of care.
   90         (e) Does not receive funding through the Child Care
   91  Development Block Grant of 2014, does not contract to provide a
   92  school readiness program pursuant to s. 1002.88, and does not
   93  have a Gold Seal Quality Care designation pursuant to s.
   94  402.281.
   95         Section 2. Subsection (6) of section 39.201, Florida
   96  Statutes, is amended to read:
   97         39.201 Mandatory reports of child abuse, abandonment, or
   98  neglect; mandatory reports of death; central abuse hotline.—
   99         (6) Information in the central abuse hotline may not be
  100  used for employment screening, except as provided in s.
  101  39.202(2)(a) and (h) or s. 402.302(16) s. 402.302(15).
  102  Information in the central abuse hotline and the department’s
  103  automated abuse information system may be used by the
  104  department, its authorized agents or contract providers, the
  105  Department of Health, or county agencies as part of the
  106  licensure or registration process pursuant to ss. 402.301
  107  402.319 and ss. 409.175-409.176. Pursuant to s. 39.202(2)(q),
  108  the information in the central abuse hotline may also be used by
  109  the Department of Education for purposes of educator
  110  certification discipline and review.
  111         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
  112  402.305, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  113         402.305 Licensing standards; child care facilities.—
  114         (2) PERSONNEL.—Minimum standards for child care personnel
  115  shall include minimum requirements as to:
  116         (a) Good moral character based upon screening as defined in
  117  s. 402.302(16) s. 402.302(15). This screening shall be conducted
  118  as provided in chapter 435, using the level 2 standards for
  119  screening set forth in that chapter, and include employment
  120  history checks, and a search of criminal history records, sexual
  121  predator and sexual offender registries, and child abuse and
  122  neglect registries registry of any state in which the current or
  123  prospective child care personnel resided during the preceding 5
  124  years.
  125         Section 4. Paragraph (y) of subsection (2) of section
  126  1002.82, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  127         1002.82 Office of Early Learning; powers and duties.—
  128         (2) The office shall:
  129         (y) Establish staff-to-children ratios that do not exceed
  130  the requirements of s. 402.302(8) or (12) s. 402.302(8) or (11)
  131  or s. 402.305(4), as applicable, for school readiness program
  132  providers.
  133         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.