Rule Making Update – April 4, 2023
Recently Completed Rules
Early Learning Child Care – Emergency exits and access to licensed space
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) has completed rules to clarify:
- The agency’s authority to access licensed space and the consequences for refusing access.
- The requirement for two emergency exits for each floor of licensed space in family home child cares and describe the specific criteria for each exit.
- Child care providers ensure nondiscrimination of LGBTQIA+ children enrolled in child care.
- Immunization requirements with chapter 246-105 WAC under which child care providers who enroll unimmunized children must notify the parents or guardians that children who are not immunized within 30 days of enrollment, will be excluded from care.
Specifically, DCYF created new WAC 110-300-0035 and amended WACs 10-300-0005, 110-300-0030, 110-300-0166, and 110-300-0210. The final rules were filed as WSR 23-07-066 and will become permanent rules on Monday, April 10, 2023.
Proposed Rules
Quality Foundational Standards for Outdoor Nature-Based Child Care: DCYF is repealing chapter 110-300E WAC as it will be replaced by the new chapter 110-302 WAC. The new chapter establishes licensing requirements for outdoor nature-based child care.
The proposals were developed and piloted in outdoor preschool programs during a 2017-2021 Outdoor Preschool Pilot in partnership with pilot participants, outdoor child care advisory group members, and stakeholders. The chapter being repealed, chapter 110-300E WAC, describes the current process for licensing Outdoor Nature-Based (ONB) programs. The agency proposed new chapter 100-302 WAC Foundational Quality Standards for Outdoor Nature-Based Programs under WSR 22-23-072 on November 10, 2022. Once chapter 110-302 WAC is effective, chapter 110-300E will not be needed.
To learn more about the Outdoor Preschool Pilot or licensing ONB programs, please see https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/licensed-provider/onb.
Submit comments: The last day to submit feedback on the proposed rules is Tuesday, April 25, 2023. You can provide feedback using one of the following methods:
Equal weight is given to all comments, whether they are made online, by email, or voicemail.
Questions?
For questions about DCYF rules, email dcyf.rulescoordinator@dcyf.wa.gov.
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