Florida's State Board of Education has approved a new Health and Safety Checklists and Inspections rule requiring at least one inspection each year for all child care providers offering the School Readiness (SR) Program. Although most Pinellas County child care licensing regulations exceed the minimum SR standards, there are some new requirements that SR providers will have to meet. The new SR health and safety requirements include:
Discipline
Parent/Guardian received written notification of an Expulsion Policy
Transportation
The program's transportation log needs to be maintained for 15 months
Field Trips
Written parental permission must be obtained and documentation maintained for 15 months
Fire Drills/Emergency Preparedness
12 Fire Drills
Fire Drill records must be kept for 15 months
Emergency Drill, 1 for each type
Emergency plan must include parent/guardian reunification and how you will meet the needs of children with special needs
Emergency Drill records must be kept for 15 months
Incident Reports
Must be kept for 15 months
Medication records
Must be kept for 15 months
We anticipate these monitoring visits to be part of your annual renewal licensing inspection starting in March 2017, however, the actual start date has not yet been determined. We will send out additional information as we learn more.
Please note that ALL School Readiness providers will receive an annual health and safety monitoring and must meet each requirement in order to deliver an SR program.
GOOD NEWS! There are time frames built into the rule text to help current providers initially come into compliance. Corrective action will not be issued prior to the established deadlines. Any issues of non-compliance identified prior to the following established timelines will be provided technical support and assistance:
March 30, 2017 - Training Requirements
June 30, 2017 - All other standards
October 25, 2018 - Active Credential Requirements
If you have questions, please call
your SR/VPK Contract Specialist
Sponsorship by Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas County., Florida's Office of Early Learning, 64% Federal Funds
