Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 28 - EDUCATION › Part CLXI - Bulletin 137-Louisiana Early Learning Center Licensing Regulations › Chapter 1 - General Provisions › Section CLXI-103 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
Academic Approval
-verification by the
				  department that a type III early learning center is meeting the performance and
				  academic standards required in
Bulletin 140-The Louisiana Early
				  Childhood Care and Education Network.
Anniversary Date
- the last day of the month
				  in which the centers original license was issued and the date by which the
				  license must be renewed each year.
APA
- Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act
				  found at
				  R.S.
				  49:950 et seq.
Behavior Management
-the ongoing positive
				  process of helping children develop inner control so that they can manage their
				  own behavior in an appropriate and acceptable manner by using corrective action
				  to change the inappropriate behavior.
Biocontaminants
-any biological contaminant
				  that includes blood and any bodily fluids, excretions, or waste that may spread
				  infectious disease.
BESE
- Louisiana state Board of Elementary
				  and Secondary Education.
Bureau
- Louisiana Bureau of Criminal
				  Identification and Information, part of the Office of State Police within the
				  Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
Bus Monitors
-staff with specific
				  transportation-related responsibilities that include assisting the driver in
				  ensuring the safety of children while they ride in, board, or exit a vehicle,
				  and during transportation emergencies.
Camp
- any place or center operated by any
				  institution, society, agency, corporation, person or persons, or any other
				  group that serves only children ages five and older and operates only when
				  schools are not in session for the summer months or school holidays.
Capacity
-the number of children the provider
				  is licensed to care for at any given time as determined by the Licensing
				  Division.
Care for Children with Disabilities
-for
				  licensing purposes, child care for a child birth through age 17 who has a
				  current individualized family services plan (IFSP) or individual education plan
				  (IEP) in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
				  or who receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
CBC-
Repealed.
CCCBC
-child care criminal background
				  check.
Center
- see
early learning
				  center
.
Center Staff
- see
staff
.
Change of Location
- change in physical
				  address/location of the center.
Change of Ownership
- a transfer of ownership
				  of a currently licensed center that is in operation and caring for children, to
				  another entity without a break in service to the children currently
				  enrolled.
Child
-person who has not reached age 13, or
				  a person with disabilities who has not yet reached age 18.
Child Care Criminal Background Check
				  (CCCBC)
-information received by the department upon request for
				  information pursuant to requirements set forth in
				  R.S.
				  17:407.42,
				  45 CFR
				  98.43(b), and Chapter 18 of
				  this Bulletin.
Child Care Health Consultant
-qualified
				  health and safety professional approved by LDH to provide training,
				  consultation, and technical assistance to in- and out-of-home child care
				  facilities and early childhood education staff (and parents) on health and
				  safety topics.
Child Care Market Rate Survey
- a survey that
				  measures the prices charged by child care providers and paid by parents in a
				  given child care market. The Child Care and Development Fund Programs require
				  states to
conduct child care market rate surveys
.
Child Care Purposes
-for early learning
				  centers, child care purposes are owning, operating or participating in the
				  governance of an early learning center; being hired by an early learning center
				  as a volunteer, staff member, employee or independent contractor of any kind;
				  or being present at an early learning center when not exempt from the
				  requirement for a CCCBC-based determination of eligibility for child care
				  purposes.
Child Day Care Center
-in accordance with
				  R.S.
				  17:407.33(3), any place or
				  center operated by any institution, political subdivision, society, agency,
				  corporation, person or persons, or any other group for the purpose of providing
				  care, supervision, and guidance of seven or more children, not including those
				  related to the caregiver, unaccompanied by parent or legal custodian, on a
				  regular basis for at least 12 1/2 hours in a continuous 7-day week.
1. If a child day care center provides
				transportation or arranges for transportation to and from the center, either
				directly or by contract with third parties, all hours that a child is being
				transported shall be included in the calculation of the hours of
				operation.
2. A child day care
				center that remains open for more than 12 1/2 hours in a continuous 7-day week,
				and in which no individual child remains for more than 24 hours in one
				continuous stay shall be known as a full-time child day care center.
3. A child day care center that remains open
				after 9 p.m. shall meet the appropriate regulations established for nighttime
				care.
Child Safety Alarm
- an ignition-based alarm
				  system that voice prompts the driver to inspect the vehicle for children before
				  exiting the vehicle.
Clock Hour
- 60 minutes.
Complaint
- an allegation that an owner,
				  provider, or staff person is violating any provision of these standards or
				  laws, or engaging in conduct, either by omission or commission, that negatively
				  affects the health, safety, or well-being of any child for which the provider
				  has responsibility.
Criminal Background Check
				  (CBC)
-Repealed.
Department
-Louisiana Department of
				  Education, also referenced as LDOE or LDE.
Independent Contractors
-individuals who are
				  not employees of the center, but who render professional, therapeutic, or
				  enrichment services within an early learning center Independent contractors
				  include, but are not limited to, dance instructors, gymnastic or sports
				  instructors, computer instructors, speech therapists, nutritionists, early
				  interventionists, nurses and other licensed health care professionals, local
				  school district staff, departmental staff other than those responsible for
				  inspecting centers, contracted bus drivers, cafeteria and maintenance
				  personnel, electricians, plumbers and photographers, and other outside
				  contractors.
Infant
-a child who has not yet reached
				  his/her first birthday.
Key Orientation Training Module 1-
a
				  self-paced, online training provided by the department for new early learning
				  staff that addresses early childhood professionalism, health and safety,
				  licensing and hazards.
Key Orientation Training Module 2-
a
				  self-paced, online training provided by the department for new early learning
				  staff that addresses child development, early learning and development
				  standards (ELDS), and learning activities.
Key Orientation Training Module 3-
a
				  self-paced, online training provided by the department for new early learning
				  staff that addresses teacher-child interaction, child guidance, and classroom
				  management.
LDH
-Louisiana Department of Health.
License
-any license issued by the
				  department to operate an early learning center.
License Type
-the type of license applied for
				  or held by an early learning center, which include type I, type II, and type
				  III licenses.
Local Education Agency (LEA)
-a public board
				  of education or other public authority legally constituted within the state
				  either to provide administrative control or directions of, or perform a service
				  function for, public elementary and secondary schools in a city, parish, school
				  district, or other political subdivision of the state. The term includes an
				  educational service agency and any other public institution or agency having
				  administrative control and direction of a public elementary or secondary
				  school, including a public charter school that is established as an LEA under
				  state law.
Licensing Division
-Repealed.
Mandated Reporter
-professionals who may
				  work with children in the course of their professional duties and who
				  consequently are required to report all suspected cases of child abuse and
				  neglect. This includes any person who provides training or supervision of a
				  child, such as a public or private school teacher, teacher's aide,
				  instructional aide, school principal, school staff member, social worker,
				  probation officer, any other child care institution staff member, licensed or
				  unlicensed day care provider, any individual who provides such services to a
				  child, or any other person made a mandatory reporter under Children's Code
				  article 603 or other applicable law.
Medication
-all internally and externally
				  administered drugs, whether over-the-counter or prescribed.
Monitor
-see
bus monitors
or
monitor of a provisionally employed staff member
.
Monitor of a Provisionally Employed Staff
				  Member
-an adult staff member for whom a center has a CCCBC-based
				  determination of eligibility for child care purposes (or prior to October 1,
				  2018, a satisfactory CBC), who is designated by the center to monitor a
				  specific person or persons who are provisionally employed staff members at the
				  center.
Nighttime Care
-care provided after 9 p.m.
				  and prior to 5 a.m. in which no individual child remains for more than 24 hours
				  in one continuous stay.
Non-Vehicular Excursion
-any activity that
				  takes place outside of the licensed area that is within a safe, reasonable,
				  walking distance, and that does not require transportation in a motor vehicle.
				  This does not include walking with children to and from schools.
Notice
-written notice to an early learning
				  center is considered given:
1. when it
				is sent by email or fax to the email address or fax number furnished by the
				center on the center's current application for licensure or renewal;
2.  when it is hand-delivered to a staff
				member at the center; or
3.  on the
				fifth calendar day after it was mailed to the mailing address furnished by the
				center on the center's current application for licensure or renewal.
Office of Early Childhood
-Repealed.
Office of Public Health
-Louisiana Department
				  of Health, Office of Public Health.
OSFM
-Office of the State Fire Marshal
Office of Public Health
-Louisiana Department
				  of Health, Office of Public Health.
Owner
or
Operator
- the
				  individual who exercises ownership or control over an early learning center,
				  whether such ownership or control is direct or indirect.
Parent
-parent or legal custodian.
Posted
- prominently displayed in a
				  conspicuous location in an area accessible to and regularly used by
				  parents.
Prekindergarten Programs
-
1. per
				R.S.
				17:24.8(A), the youngest age
				at which a child may enter prekindergarten at a local public school is four
				years on or before September 30 of the calendar year in which the school year
				begins;
2. per
				R.S.
				17:24.8(B), the youngest age
				at which a child may enter prekindergarten at a BESE-approved nonpublic school
				is 3 years old by September 30 of the year in which the child enrolls in
				prekindergarten
.
Premises
- buildings and land upon which
				  buildings sit, including but not limited to play yards and parking
				  areas.
Providers
- all owners, operators and
				  directors of a center.
Provisionally Employed Staff Members
-a
				  person for whom the center has requested a CCCBC-based determination of
				  eligibility for child care purposes, and for whom the department has received a
				  satisfactory fingerprint-based Louisiana or federal criminal history
				  information record, who is temporarily employed and monitored by the center
				  pending the department's receipt of the other CCCBC results and determination
				  of the person's eligibility for child care purposes.
Quiet Time
-a period when children who are in
				  full-time care are provided an appropriate environment for rest or quiet play,
				  such as a child reading a book on a mat.
Related
- or
Relative
-
				  natural or adopted child or grandchild of the caregiver or a child in legal
				  custody of caregiver.
Rest Time
- a daily period for children over
				  age 12 months during which children are placed on mats or cots or in cribs as
				  age appropriate.
Right to Review (RTR)
-Repealed.
Special Needs Care
-for licensing purposes,
				  child care for a child birth through age 17 who has a current individualized
				  family services plan (IFSP) or individual education plan (IEP) in accordance
				  with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or who receives
				  supplemental security income (SSI).
Staff
- all full-time or part-time, paid or
				  non-paid individuals that perform services for the early learning center and
				  have direct or indirect contact with children at the center.
Staff
- includes the director, child care staff, and any other
				  employees at the center such as the cook, housekeeper, driver, substitutes,
				  secretary, bookkeeper, and foster grandparents, but does not include
				  extra-curricular personnel, therapeutic professionals and other independent
				  contractors.
Staff-in-Charge
-the on-site staff member
				  appointed by the director as responsible for supervising the operation of the
				  center during the temporary absence of less than 11 consecutive business days
				  of the director or during nighttime hours.
State Central Registry
- repository within
				  the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) that identifies
				  any individual reported to have a justified (valid) finding of abuse or neglect
				  of a child or children by DCFS.
State Superintendent
- Louisiana
state superintendent
- of education.
Student Trainee
-a student who is at least
				  age 16 and present in the center as an educational course requirement. A
				  student trainee shall not be left alone with children and shall not be counted
				  in the child to staff ratio.
Supervision
-the function of observing,
				  overseeing, and guiding a child or group of children, that includes awareness
				  of and responsibility for the ongoing activity of each child and being near
				  enough to intervene if needed. Supervision requires physical presence with
				  visual contact, accountability for care of the children, knowledge of activity
				  requirements, and knowledge of the abilities and needs of the children.
Temporary Absence
- absence for running
				  errands, attending conferences, etc.
Therapeutic Professionals
-independent
				  contractors who provide therapeutic services in an early learning center,
				  including but not limited to speech therapists, nutritionists, early
				  interventionists, nurses and other licensed health care professionals who are
				  employed by a local school district or the Department of Health (LDH) or who
				  are working pursuant to an Early Steps contract with LDH, to provide
				  therapeutic services in an early learning center to a child with a disability
				  that has an active individual education plan (IEP) or individual family service
				  plan (IFSP). Therapeutic professionals are not required to be under the
				  supervision of center staff when providing such services.
Time-Out
- technique for temporarily
				  separating a child when inappropriate behavior has occurred, and is intended to
				  give a child time to calm down, thereby discouraging such behavior.
Transportation
-the arranging or providing of
				  transportation of children, whether center-provided or contract-provided, for
				  any reason, including daily transportation, transportation for field trips,
				  including parent-provided transportation for field trips, or transportation for
				  any other activity that takes place away from the licensed center.
Unlicensed Operation
- the operation of any
				  early learning center at any location, without a valid current license issued
				  by the Louisiana Department of Education, Licensing Division.
Visitor
- anyone who enters an early learning
				  center other than the parent of an enrolled child, center staff, volunteers,
				  extracurricular personnel, therapeutic professionals and other independent
				  contractors, and in the case of a church or school, any other routine
				  employees, including but not limited to a pastor, principal or teacher.
Volunteer
- a full or part-time non-paid
				  staff member.
Water Activity
- a water-related activity in
				  which children are in, on, near and accessible to, or immersed in, a body of
				  water, including but not limited to a swimming pool, wading pool, water park,
				  river, lake, or beach.
Water Play Activity
- water-related activity
				  in which there is no standing water, including but not limited to fountains,
				  sprinklers, water slip-and-slides and water tables.
Written-
includes hard-copies and electronic
				  form.
AUTHORITY
				  NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with
				  R.S.
				  17:6 and
				  17:407.31 et
				  seq.