Child care., the official text

First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)

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  HOUSE ENROLLED ACT No. 1253

   AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning human services.

   Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:

   SECTION 1. IC 12-17.2-2-8, AS AMENDED BY P.L.134-2024,
SECTION 4, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 8. The division shall exempt from licensure the
following programs:

      (1) A program for children enrolled in grades kindergarten
      through 12 that is operated by the department of education or a
      public or private school.
      (2) A program for children who become at least three (3) years of
      age as of December 1 of a particular school year (as defined in
      IC 20-18-2-17) that is operated by the department of education or
      a public or private school.
      (3) A nonresidential program for a child that provides child care
      for less than four (4) hours a day.
      (4) A recreation program for children that operates for not more
      than ninety (90) days in a calendar year.
      (5) A program whose primary purpose is to provide social,
      recreational, or religious activities for school age children, such
      as scouting, boys club, girls club, sports, or the arts.
      (6) A program operated to serve migrant children that:

         (A) provides services for children from migrant worker
         families; and
         (B) is operated during a single period of less than one hundred

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         twenty (120) consecutive days during a calendar year.
      (7) A child care ministry registered under IC 12-17.2-6.
      (8) A child care home if the provider operates to serve migrant
      children.
      (9) A child care program operated by a public or private school
      that does the following:

         (A) Provides day care on school property for children of
         students or employees of schools in the school corporation in
         which the public or private school is located.
         (B) Complies with health, safety, and sanitation standards as
         determined by the division under section 4 of this chapter for
         child care centers or in accordance with a variance or waiver
         of a rule governing child care centers approved by the division
         under section 10 of this chapter.
         (C) Substantially complies with the fire and life safety rules as
         determined by the state fire marshal under rules adopted by the
         division under section 4 of this chapter for child care centers
         or in accordance with a variance or waiver of a rule governing
         child care centers approved by the division under section 10 of
         this chapter.
      (10) A school age child care program (commonly referred to as a
      latch key program) established under IC 20-26-5-2 that is
      operated by:
         (A) the department of education;
         (B) a public or private school; or
         (C) a public or private organization under a written contract
         with:

            (i) the department of education; or
            (ii) a public or private school.
      (11) A child care program that:
         (A) is operated by a public or private organization under a
         contract with a public or private school;
         (B) serves children who are enrolled in the public or private
         school in:
            (i) grades kindergarten through 12; or
            (ii) a preschool program offered by a public or private
            school as described in this subdivision; and
         (C) serves children who are:
            (i) attending school through remote or e-learning due to a
            disaster emergency declared under IC 10-14-3-12 or
            IC 10-14-3-29; or
            (ii) participating in a learning recovery program that

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            administers an assessment to measure student learning loss
            and provides Indiana academic standards aligned
            instruction.
      (12) An educational program:
         (A) consisting of a group of not more than ten (10) students
         who attend the educational program in lieu of attending
         prekindergarten or kindergarten through grade 12 at a public
         or private school;
         (B) whose students meet in a single classroom in person or
         outside a classroom and which may include mixed age level
         groupings; and
         (C) that is under the supervision of a teacher or tutor.
      (13) If located in the same public or private school building:
         (A) a preschool program that is operated by the public or
         private school; and
         (B) either or both of the following:
            (i) A child care program described in subdivision (9).
            (ii) A school age child care program described in
            subdivision (10).
      (14) A child care program operated by a public or private school
      that does the following:
         (A) Provides day care on school property for children of
         employees of a business or organization with which the school
         has entered into a contract to provide services. If the school
         property is owned by the school, the school property must have
         been both:
            (i) owned by the school; and
            (ii) used for child care;
         on or before January 1, 2024.
         (B) Complies with health, safety, and sanitation standards as
         determined by the division under section 4 of this chapter for
         child care centers or in accordance with a variance or waiver
         of a rule governing child care centers approved by the division
         under section 10 of this chapter.
         (C) Substantially complies with the fire and life safety rules as
         determined by the state fire marshal under rules adopted by the
         division under section 4 of this chapter for child care centers
         or in accordance with a variance or waiver of a rule governing
         child care centers approved by the division under section 10 of
         this chapter.
   SECTION 2. IC 12-17.2-2-11 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 11. A waiver or

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variance granted under section 10 of this chapter and a waiver or
variance renewed under section 12 of this chapter expires on the earlier
of the following:

      (1) The date when the license affected by the waiver or variance
      expires.
      (2) The date set by the division for the expiration of the waiver or
      variance.
      (3) The occurrence of the event set by the division for the
      expiration of the waiver or variance.
      (4) Two (2) Three (3) years after the date that the waiver or
      variance becomes effective.
   SECTION 3. IC 12-17.2-2-15 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 15. (a) Not later than June 30,
2026, the division shall establish an organizational license category
for multi-site child care centers operating under one (1) owner.
   (b) In establishing the license category under subsection (a), the
division shall do the following:
      (1) Allow an owner to make a single license application for
      one (1) or more child care centers and assign each owner's
      license a unique license number.
      (2) Allow an owner to pay a single licensure fee even if
      applying for multiple child care center locations, which must
      be equal to the fee that the owner would pay for each separate
      child care license under section 2 of this chapter.
      (3) Assign each owner a separate location number for each
      facility.
      (4) Monitor each facility separately by location number to
      ensure that each facility separately meets important health
      and safety standards.
      (5) Inspect each location number separately for compliance,
      create separate plans of correction for each location number,
      and provide location number based enforcement that does not
      affect the other location numbers.
      (6) Provide maximum flexibility to an owner when the owner
      is considering adding new locations to serve a community's
      need for licensed child care.
      (7) Reduce redundancy in the application process for an
      owner.
      (8) Reduce the administrative burden to the state in reviewing
      multiple licenses for a single owner.
      (9) Consider the maximum efficiencies for the organizational

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      license holder to drive down operational costs for the child
      care center owner.
   SECTION 4. IC 22-12-7-15 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 15. (a) Except as provided by subsection
(c), if a property is inspected by the department or plans were
reviewed by the department, neither the department nor a political
subdivision may require compliance with a new or different set of
building, fire safety, or equipment laws than were originally
enforced by the department:
      (1) before July 1, 2025; or
      (2) two (2) years after the earlier of the date of the:

         (A) initial inspection; or
         (B) plan review.
   (b) A child care home (as defined in IC 12-7-2-28.6) that was
licensed to operate in a Class 2 structure by the office of the
secretary of family and social services before July 1, 2025, may
continue to operate in the structure notwithstanding the provisions
of this article and 675 IAC 13.
   (c) Subsection (a) does not apply to any of the following:
      (1) Any:
         (A) fraud;
         (B) material misrepresentation; or
         (C) other act of bad faith;
      that results in misapplication of the appropriate
      requirements.
      (2) A change of use or occupancy of the structure or
      equipment.
      (3) A condition imposed in a variance issued by the:
         (A) department; or
         (B) commission.
      (4) Any new construction, addition, or alteration of the
      structure or equipment.
      (5) A violation that would qualify for an emergency order
      under section 6(a)(1) of this chapter.
      (6) Any maintenance requirements.
   SECTION 5. An emergency is declared for this act.

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Speaker of the House of Representatives

President of the Senate

President Pro Tempore

Governor of the State of Indiana

Date:                             Time:

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