 |
Ohio Administrative Code (Last Updated: January 12, 2021) |
 |
3301 Department of Education - Administration and Director |
|
Chapter3301-37. Child Day-Care Programs |
3301-37-02. Compliance and investigation
-
(A) No school district board of education, county board of DD, educational service center, or eligible nonpublic school shall operate, establish, manage, conduct or maintain a preschool program, including head start, without a license issued under sections 3301.52 to 3301.59 of the Revised Code and this chapter of the Administrative Code.
(B) Programs exclusively for children whose parent is enrolled in an adult education program are exempt from these rules provided all of the following apply:
(1) At least one parent is on the premises and readily available at all times.
(2) The program is provided on a part time basis during hours of operation.
(C) Programs operated by a county board of DD for children under the age of three are not required to be licensed through the department of education. Programs operated by a county board of DD for preschool children age three and older are required to be licensed.
(D) Programs in a building with a preschool program licensed by the department of job and family services or the department of education will be considered to meet the requirements of building standards provided:
(1) The approval is relevant to an existing preschool program licensed in that building.
(2) The existing license issued is submitted with the program's application for licensing.
(3) A building plan is submitted with the application.
(E) The governing body responsible for the preschool program's operation shall be responsible for securing a license for the facility in which the preschool program operates.
(1) If the program is relocated to a new facility, the governing body shall be responsible for notifying the department .
(a) If the new facility is not currently licensed by the department an application must be completed in accordance with sections 3301.52 to 3301.59 of the Revised Code and this chapter of the Administrative Code.
(b) If the new facility is currently licensed by the department for preschool , the existing license will be amended .
(2) If the program is transferred to another governing body to operate the program but remains in the same facility, both governing bodies are responsible for notifying the department. The new governing body shall apply for a license.
(F) Programs will receive at least one on-site inspection in a twelve month period. Visits may be unannounced at the discretion of the department.
(G) Data collected during a licensing inspection may be used in other inspections conducted by the department with regard to specific program performance standards.
(H) Records and reports related to the program shall be submitted as requested by the department.
(I) The most recent written compliance reports and the program's corrective action plan shall remain posted in a conspicuous place near the posted program license until the next compliance report is received from the department.
(J) All complaints and reports concerning the operation of programs regulated by this chapter of the Administrative Code and sections 3301.52 to 3301.59 of the Revised Code, shall be reported to the office of early learning and school readiness. The name and phone numbers of both parties shall be posted in a conspicuous place near the posted program license.
(K) All actions of the department with respect to licensing a preschool program, refusal to license or revocation of a license, shall be in conformity with sections 3301.57 and 3301.58 and Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(1) Those licensing actions which shall afford the right to an administrative hearing include:
(a) The proposal to deny a license;
(b) The proposal to revoke a license
(2) Those licensing actions that are of an administrative nature shall not afford the right to an administrative hearing. These actions include:
(a) Refusal to submit a corrective action plan in accordance with section 3301.58 of the Revised Code.
(b) Rejection of any application for licensure for procedural reasons such as, but not limited to, incomplete submission, use of invalid form, or failure to make information available to the department or failure to make information available during an inspection.
(L) A request for any administrative hearing afforded pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code and this chapter of the administrative code shall be made in writing to the department of education, office of early learning and school readiness, and shall be considered to have been made as of the date the said request is postmarked. Requests received by means other than the postal service shall be considered received when time-date stamped upon receipt by the office of early childhood education, department of education.
(M) The department may deny or revoke a license if the applicant knowingly makes a false statement on the application, does not comply with the requirements of this chapter of the Administrative Code, or has pleaded guilty or been convicted of an offense described in section 3301.541 of the Revised Code.
(N) If the department revokes a license or refuses to renew a license, the program or fiscal agent shall not be issued a license within two years from the date of revocation of a license or refusal to renew a license.
(O) The following are identified as "serious risk" violations of a license due to the great risk of harm to children:
(1) Child is left unattended outside of facility/building or during a swimming activity;
(2) Child left unattended on a field trip or in a vehicle or, otherwise, transportation policies are not followed;
(3) Falsified information is submitted that puts a child at risk;
(4) Program fails to report suspected abuse, neglect, or endangering;
(5) Medication is dispensed to the wrong child or the wrong dosage is administered;
(6) Involvement of staff in inappropriate discipline, or physical abuse, neglect, or endangerment is substantiated by a public service finding;
(7) Employee refuses to be fingerprinted and remains employed, or a person remains employed with a known prohibited conviction;
(8) Swimming activity takes place without a lifeguard or a lifegaurd is used to count in ratio, swimming site is accessible to children without staff supervision, or swimming activity takes place in a lake, pond, or river;
(9) Firearms are on the premises without prior approval;
(10) The department or its representatives are denied access to conduct a rule compliance review pursuant to Chapter 3301-37 of the Administrative Code.
(P) Any serious risk violation described in, but not necessarily limited to, paragraph (O) of this rule, as reviewed by the department at its discretion and in conjunction with other violations of the rules in this chapter, may result in any of the following:
(1) Prohibition of the issuance of a license pursuant to this chapter;
(2) Initiation of the process for license revocation;
(3) Non-renewal of a license issued pursuant to this chapter; or
(4) Loss of funding.
(Q) Any entity with serious risk violations shall immediately report the violation to the department and provide documentation of correction .