Early Education and Support Division
Subject: Changes in Law Affecting Child Care and Development Programs
Number: 07-01
Date: January 2007
Expires: Until Rescinded
Authority: Education Code sections 8222, 8222.5, 8250, 8499, 17609, 17610, 17610.1 and 17612; Food and Agricultural Code sections 13181, 13183, 13185, and 13186; Health and Safety Code Section 1596.794
ATTENTION: Executive Officers and Program Directors of All Child Care and Development Programs
Purpose
The purpose of this Management Bulletin is to provide child care and development contractors with a description of the programmatic and policy direction changes made necessary as a result of statutes enacted in the last legislative session.
Statutory Changes
Assembly Bill 1808; Committee on Budget (Chapter 75, Effective July 12, 2006)
Assembly Bill (AB) 1808 amended California Education Code (EC) Section 8222 and deleted EC Section 8222.5. The specific changes and impact on child development contractors were described in Management Bulletin 06-16.
AB 1967; Committee on Education (Chapter 730, Effective January 1, 2007): Technical Clean-Up
AB 1967 made technical amendments to EC sections 8250 and 8499(b). In Section 8250, the term severely handicapped was replaced with severely disabled and the reference to children with special needs was changed to children with exceptional needs. In Section 8499(b) the definition of child care was changed to thirteen instead of twelve to reflect the correct age eligibility and the term special needs was replaced with exceptional needs.
AB 2865; Torrico (Chapter 865, Effective January 1, 2007): Pest Management
AB 2865 amends EC sections17609, 17610, 17610.1, and 17612; Food and Agricultural Code sections 13181, 13183, 13185, and 13186; and added Health and Safety Code Section 1596.794.
The EC was amended to expand the definition of “school-site” to include licensed child care facilities for purposes of the Healthy Schools Act (HSA) of 2000. The purpose of the HSA is to facilitate the adoption of effective least toxic pest management practices at school sites in order to reduce children’s exposure to toxic pesticides. The HSA also includes the voluntary adoption of integrated pest management (IPM).
IPM is defined as a pest management strategy that focuses on long-term prevention or suppression of pest problems through a combination of actions such as monitoring for pest presence, using non-chemical practices in areas where pests are usually found to make the area less attractive to pest development, and improving sanitation. Pesticides used should only be those that pose the least possible hazard and are effective in a way that minimizes risks to people, property, and the environment.
AB 2865 requires licensed child development centers to:
- Provide annual written notification with specified information on pesticides to all staff and parents. The notice must also include the Department of Pesticide Regulations (DPR) IPM Web site at http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pestmgt/schoolipm.htm.
- Provide the opportunity for interested staff and parents to register with the facility if they want to be notified about individual pesticide applications at the school site before they occur.
- Post warning signs at each of the facilities where pesticides will be applied. These signs must be posted 24 hours before and 72 hours after applications.
- Maintain records of all pesticide use at the facility for four years and make the records available to the public upon request.
- Inform contractors hired to apply pesticides at the center that the facility must comply with the HSA. Any person hired to apply pesticides at the center shall provide the facility with certain listed information at least 120 hours in advance of any pesticide application.
The use of certain pesticides is prohibited at school sites. A list of prohibited pesticides is available at http://apps.cdpr.ca.gov/schoolipm/school_ipm_law/prohibited_prods.pdf.
AB 2865 requires the DPR to do all of the following:
- Promote and facilitate the voluntary adoption of IPM programs at child day care facilities through:
- Modifying the DPR’s existing integrated pest management program for school sites for the child day care setting;
- Creating or modifying existing education and information materials on IPM for the child day care setting;
- Making the materials available to child day care facilities and establishing a process for systematically updating them.
- Prepare a school site pesticide use reporting form to be used by licensed pest control businesses when they apply pesticides at a child care center. Licensed pest control businesses also must submit the form to DPR at least annually when they apply pesticides at a child care center. The forms can be found on the Pesticide Use Reporting Forms Web site at http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pur/forms/purforms.htm.
- Establish and maintain the IPM Web site with information on pesticide products; a directory of resources describing and promoting least-hazardous pest management practices; and ways to reduce the use of pesticides at child day care facilities.
- Offer training on the HSA and IPM to “school sites” including child care centers.
The DPR has also created a publication entitled "The Healthy Schools Act and Child Care Facilities" available at http://apps.cdpr.ca.gov/schoolipm/childcare/ab2865_faq.pdf.
The California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division, shall serve as the liaison to licensed child care facilities, as needed, but is not responsible for enforcing the provisions of the law.
The complete text of the chaptered legislation for AB 2865 is available at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/asm/ab_2851-2900/ab_2865_bill_20060930_chaptered.pdf.
Please direct any questions you may have to your assigned Early Education and Support Division Field Services Consultant available at http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/assignments.asp.
This Management Bulletin is mandatory only to the extent that it cites a specific statutory and/or regulatory requirement. Any portion of this Management Bulletin that is not supported by a specific statutory and/or regulatory requirement is not prescriptive pursuant to California Education Code Section 33308.5.