wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1648 > Second Substitute

HB 1648 - Child care qualifications

Source

Section 1

  1. The legislature finds that the COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on all people, but had a particularly dramatic impact on child care and the child care industry. Many child care facilities closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and providers left the child care field. It became clear during the COVID-19 pandemic how critical child care is to the success of every industry as parents need child care to work.

  2. The legislature further finds that because of the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the child care industry, the plans of many child care providers to receive education were put on hold as efforts were focused on addressing the immediate needs of child care providers and families. Additionally, the current market-based funding model results in wages so low that affording college tuition is often impossible for child care providers. The limited availability of college courses in multiple languages and the scarcity of early childhood education college programs further hinders access to required training and certification.

  3. For those reasons, the legislature intends to delay the requirement for child care providers to meet certification and training qualification conditions. Additionally, to recognize the professionalism and experience of individuals currently in the child care field, the legislature intends to add a work equivalency option as an alternative to certification requirements. This work equivalency alternative should take into account the years of service child care providers have committed to educating children, while allowing for upward mobility within the field. Without this alternative, there is an education cliff that discourages child care professionals to remain in the field.

Section 2

  1. By July 1, 2021, the department shall implement a noncredit-bearing, community-based training pathway for licensed child care providers to meet professional education requirements associated with child care licensure. The community-based training pathway must be offered as an alternative to existing credit-bearing pathways available to providers.

2.

The community-based training pathway must:

a. Align with adopted core competencies for early learning professionals;

b. Be made available to providers in multiple languages;

c. Include culturally relevant practices;

d. Be made available at low cost to providers and at prices comparable to the cost of similar community-based trainings, not to exceed $250 per person; and

e. Be accessible to providers in rural and urban settings.

  1. The department shall allow licensed child care providers until at least August 1, 2032, or five years from the date of hire if hired on or after the effective date of this section, whichever is later, to:

    1. Comply with child care licensing rules that require a provider to hold an early childhood education initial certificate , an early childhood education short certificate, or an early childhood education state certificate;

    2. Complete community-based pathway trainings; or

    3. Demonstrate to the department experience-based competency after having worked in a licensed child care setting without a break in service for at least five years. The department must adopt policies to allow temporary breaks related to parental leave, personal illness, attending to family illness or emergency, or similar circumstances, to not be considered a break in service.

  2. The department may not require licensed child care providers to complete annual in-service training requirements in order to demonstrate experience-based competency described under subsection (3)(c) of this section.

Section 3

  1. The department of children, youth, and families shall convene a stakeholder group to assist the department in identifying strategies to improve early learning and school-age staff qualification requirements and verification processes including, but not limited to:

    1. Identifying measures to streamline and clarify relevant administrative rules and department policies;

    2. Defining criteria and methods by which to honor equivalent out-of-state education and training; and

    3. Identifying options for offering the community-based training pathway in an online format.

  2. At a minimum, the stakeholder group must include:

    1. Family home and child care center providers, including at least one provider from a child care center that is part of a national chain or has 10 or more sites; and

    2. Representation from the following organizations:

      1. The statewide child care resource and referral network;

      2. A community-based training organization that provides training to licensed family day care providers;

      3. A statewide organization that represents the interests of family day care providers;

      4. A statewide organization that represents the interests of licensed child day care centers;

    3. The statewide out-of-school time intermediary organization;

    1. An organization that represents the interests of refugee and immigrant communities;

    2. A bilingual child care provider whose first language is not English;

    3. An organization that advocates for early learning;

     ix. An organization representing private and independent schools; and
    1. The state board for community and technical colleges.

  3. The department of children, youth, and families shall report to the legislature by December 1, 2026, in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, on strategies identified by the stakeholder group and the department's plans and timelines under which to carry out those strategies.

  4. The department of children, youth, and families must convene the stakeholder group and produce the report as required in this section within existing resources.

  5. This section expires July 1, 2028.

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