Child care/community pathway

AN ACT Relating to child care provider qualifications, including 1
redesigning the community-based training pathway for licensed child 2
care providers; amending RCW 43.216.755; and creating a new section.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the current 5
community-based training pathway for licensed child care providers to 6
meet professional education requirements required for licensure, 7
called provider access to a community equivalent or PACE, is 8
underutilized. This community-based pathway is not as accessible as 9
it should be and many individuals drop out of this program based on 10
the overly rigorous curriculum and significant time commitment.11
The legislature further finds that the building bridges 12
community-based pathway that was discontinued due to lack of funding 13
was an effective community-based pathway that could allow more 14
individuals to meet professional education requirements required for 15
licensure. For those reasons, the legislature intends for the 16
department of children, youth, and families to redesign the current 17
community-based training pathway based on the building bridges 18
curriculum. 19
H-0762.2
HOUSE BILL 1649
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Dent, Eslick, Penner, Burnett, Jacobsen, and
Graham
Read first time 01/28/25. Referred to Committee on Early Learning &
Human Services.
p. 1 HB 1649
Sec. 2. RCW 43.216.755 and 2020 c 342 s 2 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) By ((July)) August 1, ((2021)) 2025, the department shall 3
implement a redesigned noncredit-bearing, community-based training 4
pathway for licensed child care providers to meet professional 5
education requirements associated with child care licensure that is 6
modeled after the building bridges community-based pathway . The 7
community-based training pathway must be offered as an alternative to 8
existing credit-bearing pathways available to providers , and will 9
replace the provider access to a community equivalent pathway.10
(2) The department shall consult with the following stakeholders 11
in the development and implementation of the community-based training 12
pathway: The statewide child care resource and referral network, a 13
community-based training organization that provides training to 14
licensed family day care providers, a statewide organization that 15
represents the interests of family day care providers, a statewide 16
organization that represents the interests of licensed child day care 17
centers, an organization that represents the interests of refugee and 18
immigrant communities, a bilingual child care provider whose first 19
language is not English, an organization that advocates for early 20
learning, an organization representing private and independent 21
schools, and the state board for community and technical colleges.22
(3) The community-based training pathway must:23
(a) Align with adopted core competencies for early learning 24
professionals; 25
(b) Be made available to providers in multiple languages;26
(c) Include culturally relevant practices; ((and))27
(d) Be made available at low cost to providers and at prices 28
comparable to the cost of similar community-based trainings, not to 29
exceed ((two hundred and fifty dollars)) $250 per person; ((and))30
(e) Be accessible to providers in rural and urban settings; and31
(f) Be made available in the communities where child care centers 32
operate and in an online format. 33
(4) The department shall allow licensed child care providers 34
until at least August 1, ((2026)) 2035, or until at least 10 years 35
following the full implementation by the department of all components 36
of the community-based training pathway, whichever is later, to:37
(a) Comply with child care licensing rules that require a 38
provider to hold an early childhood education initial certificate 39
p. 2 HB 1649
((or)), an early childhood education short certificate ((; or)), or an 1
early childhood education state certificate;2
(b) Complete community-based pathway trainings; or3
(c) Demonstrate to the department work experience-based 4
competency after having worked in a licensed child care setting for 5
at least three years, which is not required to be a continuous three-6
year period, but could include multiple periods of work in a licensed 7
child care setting at different times. 8
(5) ((For the purposes of this section, "demonstrated competence" 9
means an individual has shown that he or she has the skills to 10
complete the required work independently. )) The department may not 11
require licensed child care providers to complete annual in-service 12
training requirements in order to demonstrate work experience-based 13
competency described under subsection (4)(c) of this section.14
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p. 3 HB 1649