(1) PUBLIC SCHOOLS.—

(a) The following programs for children shall not be deemed to be child care and shall not be subject to the provisions of ss. 402.301-402.319:

1. Programs for children in 5-year-old kindergarten and grades one or above.

2. Programs for children who are at least 3 years of age, but who are under 5 years of age, provided the programs are operated and staffed directly by the schools and provided the programs meet age-appropriate standards as adopted by the State Board of Education.

3. Programs for children under 3 years of age who are eligible for participation in the programs under the existing or successor provisions of Pub. L. No. 94-142 or Pub. L. No. 99-457, provided the programs are operated and staffed directly by the schools and provided the programs meet age-appropriate standards as adopted by the State Board of Education.

(b) The following programs for children shall be deemed to be child care and shall be subject to the provisions of ss. 402.301-402.319:

1. Programs for children who are under 5 years of age when the programs are not operated and staffed directly by the schools.

2. Programs for children under 3 years of age who are not eligible for participation in the programs under existing or successor provisions of Pub. L. No. 94-142 or Pub. L. No. 99-457.

(c) The monitoring and enforcement of compliance with age-appropriate standards established by rule of the State Board of Education shall be the responsibility of the Department of Education.

(2) NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS.—

(a) Programs for children under 3 years of age shall be deemed to be child care and subject to the provisions of ss. 402.301-402.319.

(b) Programs for children in 5-year-old kindergarten and grades one or above shall not be deemed to be child care and shall not be subject to the provisions of ss. 402.301-402.319.

(c) Programs for children who are at least 3 years of age, but under 5 years of age, shall not be deemed to be child care and shall not be subject to the provisions of ss. 402.301-402.319 relating to child care facilities, provided the programs in the schools are operated and staffed directly by the schools, provided a majority of the children enrolled in the schools are 5 years of age or older, and provided there is compliance with the screening requirements for personnel pursuant to s. 402.305. A nonpublic school may designate certain programs as child care, in which case these programs shall be subject to the provisions of ss. 402.301-402.319.

(d)1. Programs for children who are at least 3 years of age, but under 5 years of age, which are not licensed under ss. 402.301-402.319 shall substantially comply with the minimum child care standards promulgated pursuant to ss. 402.305-402.3055.

2. The department or local licensing agency shall enforce compliance with such standards, where possible, to eliminate or minimize duplicative inspections or visits by staff enforcing the minimum child care standards and staff enforcing other standards under the jurisdiction of the department.

3. The department or local licensing agency may commence and maintain all proper and necessary actions and proceedings for any or all of the following purposes:

a. To protect the health, sanitation, safety, and well-being of all children under care.

b. To enforce its rules and regulations.

c. To use corrective action plans, whenever possible, to attain compliance prior to the use of more restrictive enforcement measures.

d. To make application for injunction to the proper circuit court, and the judge of that court shall have jurisdiction upon hearing and for cause shown to grant a temporary or permanent injunction, or both, restraining any person from violating or continuing to violate any of the provisions of ss. 402.301-402.319. Any violation of this section or of the standards applied under ss. 402.305-402.3055 which threatens harm to any child in the school’s programs for children who are at least 3 years of age, but are under 5 years of age, or repeated violations of this section or the standards under ss. 402.305-402.3055, shall be grounds to seek an injunction to close a program in a school.

e. To impose an administrative fine, not to exceed $100, for each violation of the minimum child care standards promulgated pursuant to ss. 402.305-402.3055.

4. It is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, for any person willfully, knowingly, or intentionally to:

a. Fail, by false statement, misrepresentation, impersonation, or other fraudulent means, to disclose in any required written documentation for exclusion from licensure pursuant to this section a material fact used in making a determination as to such exclusion; or

b. Use information from the criminal records obtained under s. 402.305 or s. 402.3055 for any purpose other than screening that person for employment as specified in those sections or release such information to any other person for any purpose other than screening for employment as specified in those sections.

5. It is a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, for any person willfully, knowingly, or intentionally to use information from the juvenile records of any person obtained under s. 402.305 or s. 402.3055 for any purpose other than screening for employment as specified in those sections or to release information from such records to any other person for any purpose other than screening for employment as specified in those sections.

(e) The department and the nonpublic school accrediting agencies are encouraged to develop agreements to facilitate the enforcement of the minimum child care standards as they relate to the schools which the agencies accredit.

(3) INSPECTION FEE.—The department shall establish a fee for inspection activities performed pursuant to this section, in an amount sufficient to cover costs. However, the amount of such fee for the inspection of a school shall not exceed the fee imposed for child care licensure pursuant to s. 402.315.

History.—s. 3, ch. 88-391; s. 1, ch. 89-296; s. 35, ch. 90-347; ss. 1, 2, ch. 93-115; s. 94, ch. 2000-349; s. 50, ch. 2013-18; s. 21, ch. 2016-238; s. 25, ch. 2017-3.