Children

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary provided does not contain specific details on how disputes over property rights will be resolved, leaving this as an open question.

Child Care Property Rights Act

This law allows child care agencies to lease or buy underutilized school property and classifies child care homes as residential for zoning purposes.

What This Bill Does

• Extends the requirement for local education agencies (LEAs) to report unused or vacant property to include areas with child care agencies.
• Gives child care agencies a right of first refusal to lease or buy underutilized school property at fair market value, similar to public charter schools.
• Permits host schools' fire inspections and facilities to be sufficient for provisional licenses for child care agencies operating within them.
• Classifies child care family homes as residential properties for zoning, land use development, fire safety, sanitation, and building codes.

Who It Names or Affects

• Child care agencies
• Local education agencies (LEAs)
• Host schools

Terms To Know

child care agency

A place or facility, regardless of whether it is currently licensed, that operates as a family child care home, group child care home, child care center, drop-in center, or provides care for five or more unrelated children.

host school

A public or private school with a child care agency or early learning program not affiliated with the school.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how disputes over property rights between child care agencies and schools will be resolved.
• It is unclear if all local governing bodies will comply with treating child care family homes as residential properties.

Official Summary Text

This bill makes several changes and additions to present
law concerning child care agencies.

USE OF UNDERUTILIZED OR VACANT LEA PROPERTY

Present law requires LEAs in which one or more public charter schools operate to annually report underutilized and vacant property belonging to the LEA. A public charter sc
hool operating within the geographic boundaries of an LEA, excluding public charter schools in the achievement school district, has a right of first refusal to purchase or lease, at or below fair market value, underutilized or vacant property reported by
t
he LEA.

This bill changes present law by extending the requirement to report underutilized and vacant LEA property to LEAs in which one or more child care agencies are located.

This bill adds to present law by extending to child care agencies the same
right of first refusal to purchase or lease, at or below fair market value, underutilized or vacant property reported by the LEA as public charter schools have under present law. The procedure for sales and leases of vacant or underutilized LEA property
t
o a child care agency would be the same as the process for such sales and leases to public charter schools under present law. For purposes of this bill, "child care agency" means a place or facility, regardless of whether it is currently licensed, that i
s
operated as a family child care home, a group child care home, a child care center, or a drop-in center, or that provides child care for five or more children who are not related to the primary caregiver for three or more hours per day.

HOST SCHOOLS

Present law authorizes a person who does not have an existing child care agency license to apply for a provisional license, the purpose of which is to permit the applicant to begin the operation of a child care agency after meeting certain minimum require
m
ents and to demonstrate during the provisional licensing period that it has the ability to attain and maintain compliance with all licensing laws and regulations. Present law specifies five minimum requirements that an applicant must meet for issuance of

a provisional license, one of which is that the facility that is proposed for the care of children has received fire safety and environmental safety approval. If the department of human services determines that any of the five criteria for a provisional
l
icense are not met, then the department is authorized to deny the application for a provisional license.

This bill adds that, a host school's fire inspection is sufficient to meet the department's requirements for a provisional license for a child care a
gency or early learning program in the host school for same age children as in the host school and the host school's facilities, such as a playground for the same age children as in the child care agency or early learning program in the host school, is su
f
ficient to meet the department's requirements for an application for a provisional license. For purposes of this bill, a "host school" is a public or private school that has a child care agency or early learning program in the school not affiliated with
s
uch school.

LOCAL REGULATION

This bill requires municipal and county governing bodies to treat a child care family home as residential property in the application of local regulations for zoning, land use development, fire and safety, sanitation, and bu
ilding codes. For purposes of this bill, a "child care family home" means a setting in which a caregiver provides child care in a family residence or a residence with a homelike environment. This bill specifies that, for zoning purposes, residential pro
p
erty use includes single-family residential zoning. For a child care family home, this bill prohibits a local governing authority from imposing:

(1) Stricter requirements than those provided by the division of fire prevention; or

(2) Any additional
regulations that do not apply to other residential properties.

ON MARCH 31, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1379, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 revises this bill's provisions concerning child care agencies' use of vacant and und
erutilized LEA property, host schools, and local regulation.

CHILD CARE AGENCIES USE OF VACANT AND UNDERUTILIZED LEA PROPERTY

Like the introduced bill, this amendment
extend
s
the requirement to report underutilized and vacant LEA property to LEAs in whi
ch one or more child care agencies are located
, provided that the child care agency is licensed by the department of human services.

Under this amendment, a
child care agency that is operating in an LEA that does not have one or more public charter schoo
ls operating within the geographic boundaries of the LEA has a right of first refusal to:

(
1
) Purchase vacant
LEA
property at or below fair market value for child care purposes; or

(
2
) Lease underutilized
LEA
property or vacant property at or below fa
ir market value for child care purposes. A lease agreement executed between a child care agency and an LEA must not reflect any outstanding bonded debt on the underutilized property or vacant property, except as agreed upon to reflect any necessary costs

associated with the occupation or remodeling of the agency.

If one or more public charter schools operate in the LEA in which a child care agency also operates, then
the
child care agency operating in the LEA has a right of second refusal to purchase vac
ant property or lease underutilized property or vacant property.

HOST SCHOOLS

The provisions of this amendment concerning host schools are substantially similar to the introduced bill, except that this amendment specifies that the department of human se
rvices is prohibited from
deny
ing
a provisional license if:

(
1
) A host school's fire inspection is sufficient to meet the department's requirements for a provisional license for a child care agency or early learning program operating at the host school
for same age children as in the host school; and

(
2
) The host school's facilities are sufficient to meet the department's requirements for a provisional license.

LOCAL REGULATION

This amendment redefines
"
c
hild care family home"
to
mean a family
child care home that is operated in an occupied residential dwelling
.

This amendment requires that a local governing authority apply
the
fire and safety
standards
and building codes
adopted by the state fire marshal to a child care family home
, instead
of treating a child care family home as a residential property for such purposes.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1379
By Watson

HOUSE BILL 1175
By Williams

HB1175
002869
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 13;
Title 49; Title 68 and Title 71, relative to child care.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-136(c), is amended by
deleting subdivisions (2)-(6) and substituting:
(2) An LEA in which one (1) or more public charter schools or child care
agencies operate shall submit a comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or
vacant property to the department of education and the comptroller of the treasury. The
department shall make an LEA's list available to a public charter school or child care
agency operating in the LEA or to a sponsor seeking to establish a public charter school
or child care agency in the LEA.
(3) A public charter school or child care agency may petition the comptroller of
the treasury for an audit of the list of all underutilized property or vacant property
submitted by the LEA in which the public charter school or child care agency are, or will
be, geographically located. The comptroller of the treasury is authorized to promulgate
rules, in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4,
chapter 5, for the administration of this subdivision (c)(3).
(4)
(A) A public charter school or child care agency operating within the
geographic boundaries of an LEA, excluding public charter schools in the
achievement school district, has a right of first refusal to:

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(i) Purchase vacant property listed by the LEA under this section
at or below fair market value for educational purposes or for child care
use; or
(ii) Lease underutilized property or vacant property listed by the
LEA under this section at or below fair market value for educational
purposes or for child care use. A lease agreement executed between a
public charter school and an LEA or a child care agency and an LEA must
not reflect any outstanding bonded debt on the underutilized property or
vacant property, except as agreed upon to reflect any necessary costs
associated with the occupation or remodeling of the facility.
(B) For purposes of this subsection (c):
(i) "Fair market value for educational purposes" is determined by
taking the average of two (2) separate appraisals conducted by two (2)
independent, qualified appraisers, one (1) selected by the LEA and one
(1) selected by the public charter school; and
(ii) "Child care use" is determined by taking the average of two (2)
separate appraisals, one (1) selected by the LEA and one (1) selected by
the child care agency.
(5)
(A) Upon the execution of a lease agreement pursuant to this section, a
public charter school or child care agency has unrestricted use of the property.
The public charter school or child care agency shall provide for routine
maintenance and repair so that the leased property is maintained in as good of
order as when the lease was executed. The public charter school or child care
agency is responsible for paying all utilities used by the public charter school or

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child care agency at the leased property. Extensive repairs to buildings or
facilities considered capital expenses are the responsibility of the LEA funding
body and not the public charter school or child care agency. If the public charter
school or child care agency makes extensive repairs to buildings or facilities
considered capital expenses, then the capital expenses must be credited against
the cost of the lease. Any fixtures, improvements, or tangible assets added to
leased property by the public charter school or child care agency pursuant to this
section must remain at the leased property upon the public charter school's or
child care agency's return of the leased property to the LEA.
(B) If the LEA decides to sell the school building that the public charter
school or child care agency is leasing, then the public charter school or child care
agency must be provided the right of first refusal to purchase the school building
at or below fair market value for educational purposes or for child care use, less
the value of all rental payments made to the LEA during the term of the lease.
(C) If, during the term of the lease, the public charter school or child care
agency closes or ceases using the building, then the building must be placed on
the LEA's vacant or underutilized property list pursuant to this subsection (c).
(6) If, after the purchase of vacant or underutilized property from an LEA
pursuant to this subsection (c), the public charter school or child care agency closes or
ceases using the property, then the LEA has the right of first refusal to purchase the
property from the public charter school or child care agency at or below fair market value
for educational purposes or for child care use. This subdivision (c)(6) does not require a
public charter school or child care agency to sell property owned by the public charter
school, the charter management organization, or the child care agency.

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SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-136, is amended by adding
the following as a new subsection:
(h) As used in this section, "child care agency" has the same meaning as
defined in § 71-3-501.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 71-3-501, is amended by adding the
following as a new subdivision:
( ) "Host school" means a public or private school that has a child care agency or
early learning program in the school not affiliated with such school;
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 71-3-502(d)(3), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(3) If the department determines that any of the criteria in subdivision (d)(2) has
not been, or cannot be met, then it may deny an application for a provisional license;
however:
(A) A host school's fire inspection is sufficient to meet the department's
requirements for a provisional license as described in subdivision (d)(2) for a
child care agency or early learning program in the host school for same age
children as in the host school; and
(B) The host school's facilities, such as a playground for the same age
children as in the child care agency or early learning program in the host school,
is sufficient to meet the department's requirements as described in subdivision
(d)(2) for an application for a provisional license.
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 71, Chapter 3, Part 5, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) As used in this section:

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(1) "Child care family home" means a setting in which a caregiver
provides child care in a family residence or a residence with a homelike
environment; and
(2) "Local governing authority" means the governing body of the
municipality or county where a child care family home is located.
(b) A local governing authority shall treat a child care family home as residential
property in the application of local regulations, including:
(1) Zoning;
(2) Land use development;
(3) Fire and life safety;
(4) Sanitation; and
(5) Building codes.
(c) For zoning purposes, residential property use includes single-family
residential zoning.
(d) For a child care family home, a local governing authority shall not impose:
(1) Stricter requirements than those provided by the division of fire
prevention; or
(2) Any additional regulations that do not apply to other residential
properties.
(e) This section does not restrict a local governing authority from managing the
flow of traffic and parking related to an adjacent child care family home.
SECTION 6. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.