Child care licensing

AN ACT Relating to modifying licensing requirements for child 1
care and early learning providers; amending RCW 43.216.250, 2
43.216.255, and 43.216.600; and repealing RCW 43.216.755.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 43.216.250 and 2021 c 304 s 9 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
It shall be the secretary's duty with regard to licensing under 7
this chapter: 8
(1) In consultation and with the advice and assistance of persons 9
representative of the various type agencies to be licensed, and 10
subject to RCW 43.216.255, to designate categories of child care 11
facilities or outdoor locations for which separate or different 12
requirements shall be developed as may be appropriate whether because 13
of variations in the ages and other characteristics of the children 14
served, variations in the purposes and services offered or size or 15
structure of the agencies to be licensed, or because of any other 16
factor relevant thereto; 17
(2)(a) In consultation with the state fire marshal's office, the 18
secretary shall use an interagency process to address health and 19
safety requirements for child care programs that serve school-age 20
children and are operated in buildings that contain public or private 21
H-0413.1
HOUSE BILL 1363
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Caldier, Manjarrez, Barnard, Connors, Eslick,
McClintock, Dye, Schmidt, Jacobsen, Graham, Mendoza, Couture, Corry,
Waters, and Engell
Read first time 01/17/25. Referred to Committee on Early Learning &
Human Services.
p. 1 HB 1363
schools that safely serve children during times in which school is in 1
session; 2
(b) Any requirements in (a) of this subsection as they relate to 3
the physical facility, including outdoor playgrounds, do not apply to 4
before-school and after-school programs that serve only school-age 5
children and operate in the same facilities used by public or private 6
schools; 7
(3) In consultation and with the advice and assistance of parents 8
or guardians ((,)) and persons representative of the various type 9
agencies to be licensed, and subject to RCW 43.216.255, to adopt and 10
publish minimum requirements for licensing applicable to each of the 11
various categories of agencies to be licensed under this chapter;12
(4) In consultation with law enforcement personnel, the secretary 13
shall investigate the conviction record or pending charges of each 14
agency and its staff seeking licensure or relicensure, and other 15
persons having unsupervised access to children in child care;16
(5) To satisfy the shared background check requirements provided 17
for in RCW 43.216.270 and 43.20A.710, the department of children, 18
youth, and families and the department of social and health services 19
shall share federal fingerprint-based background check results as 20
permitted under the law. The purpose of this provision is to allow 21
both departments to fulfill their joint background check 22
responsibility of checking any individual who may have unsupervised 23
access to vulnerable adults, children, or juveniles. Neither 24
department may share the federal background check results with any 25
other state agency or person; 26
(6) To issue, revoke, or deny licenses to agencies pursuant to 27
this chapter. Licenses shall specify the category of child care that 28
an agency is authorized to render and the ages and number of children 29
to be served; 30
(7) To prescribe the procedures and the form and contents of 31
reports necessary for the administration of this chapter and to 32
require regular reports from each licensee; 33
(8) To inspect agencies periodically to determine whether or not 34
there is compliance with this chapter and the requirements adopted 35
under this chapter; 36
(9) To review requirements adopted under this chapter at least 37
every two years and to adopt appropriate changes after consultation 38
with affected groups for child care requirements; and39
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(10) To consult with public and private agencies in order to help 1
them improve their methods and facilities for the care and early 2
learning of children. 3
Sec. 2. RCW 43.216.255 and 2021 c 304 s 10 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) No later than November 1, 2016, the department shall 6
implement a single set of licensing standards for child care and the 7
early childhood education and assistance program. The department 8
shall produce the single set of licensing standards within the 9
department's available appropriations. The new licensing standards 10
must: 11
(a) Provide minimum licensing requirements for child care and 12
preschool programs, subject to subsection (2) of this section;13
(b) Rely on the standards established in the early achievers 14
program to address quality issues in participating early childhood 15
programs; 16
(c) Take into account the separate needs of family care 17
providers, outdoor nature-based child care providers, and child care 18
centers; and 19
(d) Promote the continued safety of child care settings.20
(2) The licensing standards established and implemented by the 21
department must align with the following:22
(a) Providers may not be required to earn early childhood 23
education certification or equivalent credentials as part of staff 24
qualification requirements;25
(b) For each classroom or well-defined space of a child care 26
center, the maximum group sizes and ratios of center staff members to 27
children, including children related to staff or the licensee, must 28
be:29
(i) For preschoolers (30 months through six years of age who are 30
not attending kindergarten or elementary school), a maximum group 31
size of 21 with a ratio of no less than one to 11; and32
(ii) For school-age children (five years through 12 years of age 33
who are enrolled in or attending kindergarten or elementary school), 34
a maximum group size of 31 with a ratio of no less than one to 16; 35
and36
(c) Licensed indoor early learning program space must have a 37
minimum of 34 square feet per child in attendance and further comply 38
with the requirements of this chapter.39
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(3) Private schools that operate early learning programs and do 1
not receive state subsidy payments shall be subject to the minimum 2
health and safety standards as defined in RCW 43.216.395(2)(b), the 3
health and safety requirements under chapter 28A.195 RCW, and the 4
requirements necessary to assure a sufficient early childhood 5
education to meet usual requirements needed for transition into 6
elementary school. The state, and any agency thereof, shall not 7
restrict or dictate any specific educational or other programs for 8
early learning programs operated by private schools except for 9
programs that receive state subsidy payments. 10
Sec. 3. RCW 43.216.600 and 2021 c 199 s 311 are each amended to 11
read as follows: 12
(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 13
specific purpose, the department shall provide professional 14
development supports to aid eligible providers in reaching the 15
professional education and training standards adopted by the 16
department. Professional development supports may include:17
(a) Department-required trainings for child care providers 18
conducted by department-approved trainers; 19
(b) Trainings for license-exempt family, friend, and neighbor 20
child care providers conducted by department-approved trainers;21
(c) Early achievers scholarships; 22
(d) ((Community-based training pathways and systems developed 23
under RCW 43.216.755;24
(e))) Supporting a nonprofit organization that provides 25
relationship-based professional development support to family, 26
friend, and neighbor caregivers, child care centers, and licensed 27
family home providers, and their work to help providers start their 28
businesses; and 29
(((f))) (e) Other professional development activities such as 30
updating training content, data collection and reporting, trainer 31
recruitment, retention, program monitoring, and trainings delivered 32
by department-approved trainers on topics such as small business 33
management, antibias and antiracist training, providing care for 34
children with developmental disabilities, social-emotional learning, 35
implementing inclusionary practices in early learning environments, 36
infant and toddler care, dual language program development, and 37
providing trauma-informed care. 38
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(2) For the purposes of this section, "eligible provider" means: 1
(a) An owner of a licensed or certified child care center, licensed 2
or certified outdoor nature-based care, or licensed family home 3
provider accepting state subsidy; (b) an employee of a licensed or 4
certified child care center, licensed or certified outdoor nature-5
based care, or a licensed family home provider; (c) a contractor or 6
provider of the early childhood education and assistance program or 7
birth to three early childhood education and assistance program; or 8
(d) an early achievers coach. 9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. RCW 43.216.755 (Child care providers — 10
Community-based training pathway) and 2020 c 342 s 2 are each 11
repealed.12
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