K.S.A. § 75-7719 — KS Code / Chapter 75 / Article 77 / Section 75-7719
75-7719 - Restrictions on persons maintaining or residing, working or volunteering at a day care facility; exceptions; criminal history check; fingerprinting; fees; day care criminal background and fingerprinting fund.
Status: in_force

75-7719. Restrictions on persons maintaining or residing, working or volunteering at a day care facility; exceptions; criminal history check; fingerprinting; fees; day care criminal background and fingerprinting fund. (a) No person shall knowingly maintain a day care facility if an employee in this state or in other states or the federal government:

(1) (A) Has been convicted of a crime that is classified as a person felony under the Kansas criminal code;

(B) has been convicted of a felony under K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 21-36a01 through 21-36a17, prior to their transfer, or article 57 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, or any felony violation of any provision of the uniform controlled substances act prior to July 1, 2009;

(C) has been convicted of any act that is described in articles 34, 35 or 36 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, prior to their repeal, or article 54, 55 or 56 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, or K.S.A. 21-6104, 21-6325, 21-6326, 21-6418 through 21-6422 or 21-6424, and amendments thereto, or been convicted of an attempt under K.S.A. 21-3301, prior to its repeal, or K.S.A. 21-5301, and amendments thereto, to commit any such act or been convicted of conspiracy under K.S.A. 21-3302, prior to its repeal, or K.S.A. 21-5302, and amendments thereto, to commit such act, or similar statutes of any other state or the federal government;

(D) has been convicted of any act that is described in K.S.A. 21-4301 or 21-4301a, prior to their repeal, or K.S.A. 21-6401, and amendments thereto, or similar statutes of any other state or the federal government; or

(E) has been convicted of any act that is described in K.S.A. 21-3718 or 21-3719, prior to their repeal, or K.S.A. 21-5812, and amendments thereto, or similar statutes of any other state or the federal government;

(2) except as provided in subsection (b), has been adjudicated a juvenile offender because of having committed an act which, if committed by an adult, would constitute the commission of a felony and that is a crime against persons, is any act described in articles 34, 35 or 36 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, prior to their repeal, or article 54, 55 or 56 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, or K.S.A. 21-6104, 21-6325, 21-6326, 21-6418 through 21-6422 or 21-6424, and amendments thereto, or similar statutes of any other state or the federal government, or is any act described in K.S.A. 21-4301 or 21-4301a, prior to their repeal, or K.S.A. 21-6401, and amendments thereto, or similar statutes of any other state or the federal government;

(3) has been convicted or adjudicated of a crime that requires registration as a sex offender under the Kansas offender registration act, K.S.A. 22-4901 et seq., and amendments thereto, as a sex offender in any other state or on the national sex offender registry;

(4) has committed an act of physical, mental or emotional abuse or neglect or sexual abuse and is listed in the child abuse and neglect registry maintained by the Kansas department for children and families pursuant to K.S.A. 38-2226, and amendments thereto, or any similar child abuse and neglect registries maintained by any other state or the federal government and:

(A) Has failed to successfully complete a corrective action plan that has been deemed appropriate and approved by the Kansas department for children and families or requirements of similar entities in any other state or the federal government; or

(B) such person's record has not been expunged;

(5) has had a child removed from the home based on a court order pursuant to K.S.A. 38-2251, and amendments thereto, in this state, or a court order from any other state based upon a similar statute that finds the child to be deprived or a child in need of care based on a finding of physical, mental or emotional abuse or neglect or sexual abuse and the child has not been returned to the home or the child has reached the age of majority before being returned to the home and such person has failed to satisfactorily complete a corrective action plan approved by the department of health and environment;

(6) has had parental rights terminated pursuant to the revised Kansas code for care of children, or a similar statute of other states;

(7) has signed a diversion agreement pursuant to K.S.A. 22-2906 et seq., and amendments thereto, or an immediate intervention agreement pursuant to K.S.A. 38-2346, and amendments thereto, involving a charge of child abuse or a sexual offense; or

(8) has an infectious or contagious disease.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions in subsection (a), no person shall maintain a day care facility if such person has been found to be a person in need of a guardian or a conservator, or both, as provided in K.S.A. 59-3050 through 59-3095, and amendments thereto.

(c) Any person who resides in a day care facility and who has been found to be in need of a guardian or a conservator, or both, shall be counted in the total number of children allowed in care.

(d) In accordance with this subsection, the director of the Kansas office of early childhood shall have access to any court orders or adjudications of any court of record, any records of such orders or adjudications, criminal history record information, including, but not limited to, diversion agreements in the possession of the Kansas bureau of investigation and any report of investigations as authorized by K.S.A. 38-2226, and amendments thereto, or the Kansas department for children and families or court of this state concerning employees in a day care facility. The director shall have access to these records for the purpose of determining whether or not the home meets the requirements of this section, K.S.A. 59-2132, and amendments thereto, and K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 75-7708 and 75-7713, and amendments thereto.

(e) In accordance with this subsection, the director is authorized to conduct national criminal history record checks to determine criminal history on employees in a day care facility. In order to conduct a national criminal history check, the director shall require fingerprinting for identification and determination of criminal history in accordance with K.S.A. 22-4714, and amendments thereto.

(f) (1) The director of the Kansas office of early childhood shall adopt rules and regulations to fix a fee for fingerprinting employees in a day care facility, as may be required by the Kansas office of early childhood to reimburse the Kansas office of early childhood for the cost of the fingerprinting.

(2) The director shall remit all moneys received from the fees established under this section to the state treasurer in accordance with K.S.A. 72-4215, and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance, the state treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in the state treasury to the credit of the day care criminal background and fingerprinting fund.

(g) The day care criminal background and fingerprinting fund is hereby created in the state treasury to be administered by the director of the Kansas office of early childhood. All moneys credited to the day care criminal background and fingerprinting fund shall be used to pay local and state law enforcement officers and agencies for the processing of fingerprints and criminal history background checks for the Kansas office of early childhood. All expenditures from the day care criminal background and fingerprinting fund shall be made in accordance with appropriation acts upon warrants of the director of accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the director or the director's designee.

(h) The director shall notify the day care applicant or licensee within seven days by certified mail, with return receipt requested, when the result of the national criminal history record check or other appropriate review reveals unfitness specified in subsection (a)(1) through (a)(8) of the person who is the subject of the review.

(i) No day care facility or the employees thereof shall be liable for civil damages to any person who is refused employment or discharged from employment by reason of such facility's compliance with this section, if such facility acts in good faith to comply with this section.

(j) For the purpose of subsection (a)(3), a person listed in the child abuse and neglect central registry shall not be prohibited from being an employee in a day care facility unless such person has:

(1) Had an opportunity to be interviewed and present information during the investigation of the alleged act of abuse or neglect; and

(2) been given notice of the agency decision and an opportunity to appeal such decision to the director and to the courts pursuant to the Kansas judicial review act.

(k) No person shall maintain a day care facility unless such person is a high school graduate or the equivalent thereof, except that, if extraordinary circumstances exist, the director of the Kansas office of early childhood may exercise discretion to make exceptions from this requirement. This subsection shall not apply to any person who was maintaining a day care facility on the day immediately prior to July 1, 2010.

(l) This section shall take effect on and after July 1, 2026.