Yesterday, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed into law a bill that will correct a discrepancy in licensing requirements for before- and after-school child care facilities that operate in public and private school buildings. This bill is said to save taxpayers a significant amount of money.

From the press release:

House Bill 1776, sponsored by State Rep. David Frockt of Seattle’s 46th District, will direct the state’s Department of Early Learning to develop specific rules for school-based child care operations aimed at lessening the financial burden on schools to accommodate those facilities in their buildings.

Under current law, schools are required to spend substantial dollars to build out or retrofit school spaces to comply with licensing requirements governing child-care facilities, even though the school buildings already comply with their own set of safety requirements.

“The idea behind this bill is for the State to streamline regulations so that kids in Seattle schools would not have to make so many transitions during the school day,” Frockt said. “It makes no sense for a school to be deemed safe for education during regular hours, but unsafe when considered for child care programs before and after those regular hours. I am confident that this law will lead to children having access to quality childcare with no compromise on safety. And I believe it will save money in the long run for Seattle taxpayers and for child care program providers."

“We thank Rep. Frockt for his efforts to pass HB 1776, which was a priority for Seattle Public Schools this session, said Seattle Schools Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield. “This legislation will ensure that child care regulations are rewritten to recognize that school buildings themselves are already heavily regulated and safe for occupancy by school-aged children, while preventing taxpayer dollars from being spent on needless bureaucratic requirements.”

To illustrate the financial burden imposed by current regulations, it cost Seattle Public Schools more than $300,000 to retrofit a room for an onsite child care facility at the newly opened McDonald Elementary School (temporarily located at Lincoln High School). Yet, if that same facility was used as a classroom during the school day, no additional accommodations would be required.

“We know that onsite before- and after-school child care at a school provides many benefits for students and families,” Enfield said. “But in these challenging economic times, it is critical to keep as many of our dollars as possible in the classroom, supporting our teachers and students, rather than going to unnecessary construction costs.”