AN ACT Relating to child care; amending RCW 28A.34.010, 28A.34.020, 28A.34.150, 74.15.020, 28A.58.441, 84.52.053, and 84.55.070; adding new sections to chapter 28A.34 RCW; creating a new section; and making appropriations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The availability and quality of child care is becoming an increasingly important factor for many families as indicated by the following findings:

(a) The percentage of women in the work force has risen from thirty-four percent in 1950 to fifty-six percent in 1987.

(b) The percentage of women in the work place who have children has increased from twenty-two percent in 1950 to sixty-five percent in 1987.

(c) In 1950, only twelve percent of the women in the work place had at least one child under age six. By 1987, that percentage had increased to fifty-seven percent.

(d) The fastest growing segment of the work force is that of women with children aged three to five. By 1995, it is estimated that about two-thirds of all new workers will be women and approximately eighty percent of these working women will have children during their work years.

(2) In recognition of current and projected labor market trends, the legislature finds that the provision of affordable, quality child care must become a paramount interest of the state. Therefore, the legislature declares its intent to begin addressing this issue by focusing on the provision of child care programs through school districts.

Sec. 2. Section 28A.34.010, chapter 223, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. and RCW 28A.34.010 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The board of directors of any school district shall have the power to establish and maintain nursery schools and to provide before-and-after-school and vacation child care in connection with the common schools of said district located at such points as the board of directors shall deem most suitable for the convenience of the public, for the care and instruction of infants and children residing in said district.

(2) The school board shall establish such courses, activities, rules, and regulations governing nursery schools and before-and-after-school and vacation child care as it may deem best: PROVIDED, That these courses and activities shall meet the minimum standard for such nursery schools as established by the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, or its successor agency, and the ((~~state board of education~~)) superintendent of public instruction: PROVIDED FURTHER, That in developing such courses, activities, rules, and regulations the school district shall provide ample opportunities for parents to be involved.

(3) Except as otherwise provided by state or federal law, the school district board of directors may fix a reasonable charge for the care and instruction of children attending such schools pursuant to RCW 28A.34.150(2).

(4) The board of directors may, if necessary, supplement such funds as are received ((~~for~~)) by the superintendent of public instruction or any agency of the federal government, by an appropriation from the general school fund of the district.

Sec. 3. Section 28A.34.020, chapter 223, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. and RCW 28A.34.020 are each amended to read as follows:

Expenditures under federal funds and/or state appropriations made to carry out the purposes of this chapter shall be made by warrants issued by the state treasurer upon order of the superintendent of public instruction. The ((~~state board of education~~)) superintendent of public instruction shall make necessary rules and regulations to carry out the purpose of RCW 28A.34.010.

Sec. 4. Section 1, chapter 487, Laws of 1987 and RCW 28A.34.150 are each amended to read as follows:

As a supplement to the authority otherwise granted by this chapter respecting the care or instruction, or both, of children in general, the board of directors of any school district may only utilize funds outside the state basic education appropriation and the state school transportation appropriation to:

(1) Contract with public ((~~and~~)) or private governmental or nongovernmental nonsectarian entities to conduct all or any portion of the management and operation of a child care program authorized under RCW 28A.34.010, at a school district site or elsewhere;

(2) Establish charges based upon costs incurred under this section and provide for the reduction or waiver of charges in individual cases based upon the financial ability of the parents or legal guardians of enrolled children to pay the charges, or upon their provision of other valuable consideration to the school district; and

(3) Transport children enrolled in a child care program to the program and to related sites using district-owned school buses and other motor vehicles, or by contracting for such transportation and related services: PROVIDED, That no child three years of age or younger shall be transported under the provisions of this section unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 28A.34 RCW to read as follows:

Facilities for child care programs established under RCW 28A.34.010 shall provide for a physical environment conducive to learning and reflective of the needs of children. The facilities will comply with an annual fire, health, and safety inspection by local officials. Adequate provision shall be made to ensure the facility provides for accessibility, safety, and comfort of handicapped children.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 28A.34 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules as necessary under chapter 34.05 RCW to govern the qualifications of persons assigned child care responsibilities under a school district child care program authorized under RCW 28A.34.010. In developing such rules, the superintendent shall take into consideration, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) Personnel qualifications set forth under rules adopted by the department of community development to implement the early childhood education and assistance program established under chapter 28A.34A RCW;

(b) Rules as may be adopted by the state board of education pursuant to RCW 28A.34.120 relating to standards and procedures for voluntary accreditation of public and nonpublic preschools; and

Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the superintendent of public instruction from establishing qualifications in coordination with the department of social and health services pursuant to an interagency agreement.

(2) The superintendent of public instruction may adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW establishing program design guidelines for child care programs authorized under RCW 28A.34.010. In developing such guidelines the superintendent shall take into consideration the program design requirements adopted by rule by the department of community development for the early childhood education and assistance program established under chapter 28A.34A RCW.

Sec. 7. Section 2, chapter 172, Laws of 1967 as last amended by section 912, chapter 176, Laws of 1988 and RCW 74.15.020 are each amended to read as follows:

For the purpose of chapter 74.15 RCW and RCW 74.13.031, and unless otherwise clearly indicated by the context thereof, the following terms shall mean:

(1) "Department" means the state department of social and health services;

(2) "Secretary" means the secretary of social and health services;

(3) "Agency" means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or facility which receives children, expectant mothers, or persons with developmental disabilities for control, care, or maintenance outside their own homes, or which places, arranges the placement of, or assists in the placement of children, expectant mothers, or persons with developmental disabilities for foster care or placement of children for adoption, and shall include the following irrespective of whether there is compensation to the agency or to the children, expectant mothers or persons with developmental disabilities for services rendered:

(a) "Group-care facility" means an agency, other than a foster-family home, which is maintained and operated for the care of a group of children on a twenty-four hour basis;

(b) "Child-placing agency" means an agency which places a child or children for temporary care, continued care, or for adoption;

(c) "Maternity service" means an agency which provides or arranges for care or services to expectant mothers, before or during confinement, or which provides care as needed to mothers and their infants after confinement;

(d) "Day-care center" means an agency which regularly provides care for a group of children for periods of less than twenty-four hours;

(e) "Foster-family home" means an agency which regularly provides care on a twenty-four hour basis to one or more children, expectant mothers, or persons with developmental disabilities in the family abode of the person or persons under whose direct care and supervision the child, expectant mother, or person with a developmental disability is placed;

(f) "Crisis residential center" means an agency which is a temporary protective residential facility operated to perform the duties specified in chapter 13.32A RCW, in the manner provided in RCW 74.13.032 through 74.13.036.

(4) "Agency" shall not include the following:

(a) Persons related by blood or marriage to the child, expectant mother, or persons with developmental disabilities in the following degrees: Parent, grandparent, brother, sister, stepparent, stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, and/or first cousin;

(b) Persons who are legal guardians of the child, expectant mother, or persons with developmental disabilities;

(c) Persons who care for a neighbor's or friend's child or children, with or without compensation, where the person does not engage in such activity on a regular basis, or where parents on a mutually cooperative basis exchange care of one another's children, or persons who have the care of an exchange student in their own home;

(d) Nursery schools or kindergartens which are engaged primarily in educational work with preschool children and in which no child is enrolled on a regular basis for more than four hours per day;

(e) Schools, including boarding schools, which are engaged primarily in education, operate on a definite school year schedule, follow a stated academic curriculum, accept only school-age children and do not accept custody of children;

(f) Nursery schools and before-and-after-school and vacation child care programs established under RCW 28A.34.010;

(g) Seasonal camps of three months' or less duration engaged primarily in recreational or educational activities;

((~~(g)~~)) (h) Hospitals licensed pursuant to chapter 70.41 RCW when performing functions defined in chapter 70.41 RCW, nursing homes licensed under chapter 18.51 RCW and boarding homes licensed under chapter 18.20 RCW;

((~~(h)~~)) (i) Licensed physicians or lawyers;

((~~(i)~~)) (j) Facilities providing care to children for periods of less than twenty-four hours whose parents remain on the premises to participate in activities other than employment;

((~~(j)~~)) (k) Facilities approved and certified under chapter 71A.22 RCW;

((~~(k)~~)) (l) Any agency having been in operation in this state ten years prior to June 8, 1967, and not seeking or accepting moneys or assistance from any state or federal agency, and is supported in part by an endowment or trust fund;

((~~(l)~~)) (m) Persons who have a child in their home for purposes of adoption, if the child was placed in such home by a licensed child-placing agency, an authorized public or tribal agency or court or if a preplacement report has been filed under chapter 26.33 RCW and the placement has been approved by the court;

((~~(m)~~)) (n) An agency operated by any unit of local, state, or federal government or an agency, located within the boundaries of a federally recognized Indian reservation, licensed by the Indian tribe;

((~~(n)~~)) (o) An agency located on a federal military reservation, except where the military authorities request that such agency be subject to the licensing requirements of this chapter.

(5) "Requirement" means any rule, regulation or standard of care to be maintained by an agency.

Sec. 8. Section 2, chapter 250, Laws of 1981 as last amended by section 13, chapter 59, Laws of 1983 and RCW 28A.58.441 are each amended to read as follows:

School districts shall establish the following funds in addition to those provided elsewhere by law:

(1) A general fund for maintenance and operation of the school district to account for all financial operations of the school district except those required to be accounted for in another fund.

(2) A capital projects fund shall be established for major capital purposes. All statutory references to a "building fund" shall mean the capital projects fund so established. Money to be deposited into the capital projects fund shall include, but not be limited to, bond proceeds, proceeds from excess levies authorized by RCW 84.52.053, state apportionment proceeds as authorized by RCW 28A.41.143, and earnings from capital projects fund investments as authorized by RCW 28A.58.435 and 28A.58.440.

Money derived from the sale of bonds, including interest earnings thereof, may only be used for those purposes described in RCW 28A.51.010, except that accrued interest paid for bonds shall be deposited in the debt service fund.

Money to be deposited into the capital projects fund shall include but not be limited to rental and lease proceeds as authorized by RCW 28A.58.035, and proceeds from the sale of real property as authorized by RCW 28A.58.0461.

Money legally deposited into the capital projects fund from other sources may be used for the purposes described in RCW 28A.51.010, and for the purposes of:

(a) Major renovation, including the replacement of facilities and systems where periodical repairs are no longer economical. Major renovation and replacement shall include, but shall not be limited to, roofing, heating and ventilating systems, floor covering, and electrical systems.

(b) Renovation and rehabilitation of playfields, athletic fields, and other district real property.

(c) The conduct of preliminary energy audits and energy audits of school district buildings. For the purpose of this section:

(i) "Preliminary energy audits" means a determination of the energy consumption characteristics of a building, including the size, type, rate of energy consumption, and major energy using systems of the building.

(ii) "Energy audit" means a survey of a building or complex which identifies the type, size, energy use level, and major energy using systems; which determines appropriate energy conservation maintenance or operating procedures and assesses any need for the acquisition and installation of energy conservation measures, including solar energy and renewable resource measures.

(iii) "Energy capital improvement" means the installation, or modification of the installation, of energy conservation measures in a building which measures are primarily intended to reduce energy consumption or allow the use of an alternative energy source.

(d) Those energy capital improvements which are identified as being cost-effective in the audits authorized by this section.

(e) Purchase or installation of additional major items of equipment and furniture: PROVIDED, That vehicles shall not be purchased with capital projects fund money.

(3) A debt service fund to provide for tax proceeds, other revenues, and disbursements as authorized in chapter 39.44 RCW.

(4) An associated student body fund as authorized by RCW 28A.58.120.

(5) Advance refunding bond funds and refunded bond funds to provide for the proceeds and disbursements as authorized in chapter 39.53 RCW.

(6) If child care is offered by the school district pursuant to RCW 28A.34.010, a child care fund, including proceeds from one-year levies for child care programs as authorized under section 9 of this act, may be used to support a child care program established pursuant to RCW 28A.34.010.

Sec. 9. Section 3, chapter 325, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. as last amended by section 103, chapter 2, Laws of 1987 1st ex. sess. and RCW 84.52.053 are each amended to read as follows:

The limitations imposed by RCW 84.52.050 through 84.52.056, and RCW 84.52.043 shall not prevent the levy of additional taxes by school districts, when authorized so to do by the electors of such school district in the manner and for the purposes and number of years allowable under Article VII, section 2(a) of the Constitution of this state, as amended by Amendment 79 and as thereafter amended, at a special or general election to be held in the year in which the levy is made or, in the case of a proposition authorizing a one-year levy for the support of a child care program pursuant to RCW 28A.34.010, or in the case of a proposition authorizing two-year levies for maintenance and operation support of a school district or authorizing two-year through six-year levies to support the construction, modernization, or remodeling of school facilities, or both, at a special or general election to be held in the year in which the first annual levy is made: PROVIDED, That once additional tax levies have been authorized for maintenance and operation support of a school district for a two year period, no further additional tax levies for maintenance and operation support of the district for that period may be authorized.

A special election may be called and the time therefor fixed by the board of school directors, by giving notice thereof by publication in the manner provided by law for giving notices of general elections, at which special election the proposition authorizing such excess levy shall be submitted in such form as to enable the voters favoring the proposition to vote "yes" and those opposed thereto to vote "no".

Sec. 10. Section 3, chapter 228, Laws of 1981 as amended by section 2, chapter 28, Laws of 1982 1st ex. sess. and RCW 84.55.070 are each amended to read as follows:

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to a levy, including the state levy, or that portion of a levy, made by or for a taxing district for the purpose of funding a child care program as authorized under RCW 28A.34.010, or for the purpose of funding a property tax refund paid or to be paid pursuant to the provisions of chapters 84.68 RCW or attributable to a property tax refund paid or to be paid pursuant to the provisions of chapter 84.69 RCW, attributable to amounts of state taxes withheld under RCW 84.56.290 or the provisions of chapter 84.69 RCW, or otherwise attributable to state taxes lawfully owing by reason of adjustments made under RCW 84.48.080.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. The sum of five hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the general fund for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, to the superintendent of public instruction to provide start-up grants to school districts to establish before-and-after-school and vacation child care programs authorized under RCW 28A.34.010.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. The sum of five hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the general fund for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, to the child care expansion grant fund. The ______ shall provide grants pursuant to the provisions of RCW ______.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.