Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, requires the department to administer childcare and development programs that offer a full range of services to eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age, inclusive.
Existing law, the Early Education Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program.
Those acts authorize a person to serve in an instructional capacity in a childcare and development program or a preschool program if they possess a current credential issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing authorizing teaching service in elementary school or a single-subject credential in home economics, and 12 units in early childhood education or child development, or both, or 2 years' experience in early childhood education or a childcare and development program.
This bill would, notwithstanding those provisions, commencing July 1, 2026, require a California state preschool program or a childcare and development program to allow 2 years from an individual's date of hire as a teacher in one of those programs to pursue necessary credentials or complete additional coursework to meet the requirements of their position if certain conditions are met, including, among others, that no more than one teacher per classroom is allowed to work toward their credential or complete additional coursework pursuant to this provision. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2029.
Existing law, the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of daycare centers by the State Department of Social Services. The act authorizes the department to issue provisional licenses to operate daycare facilities if the Director of Social Services determines the facility is in substantial compliance with licensure requirements, provided that no life safety risks are involved. The act prohibits a person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation from operating, establishing, managing, conducting, or maintaining a child daycare facility without a current valid license.
This bill would deem a California state preschool program or Head Start provider, if that provider is licensed as a child daycare facility to provide services to preschool children, to be operating under a license that permits the provision of services to infants, toddlers, or both, if the facility's existing license is not on probation and the provider has submitted a complete application to the department for licensure to provide services to infants, toddlers, or both. The bill would provide that this authority expires when the department either issues or denies a license or 2 years after the facility began operating under this authority. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2029.