DEL seeking comments on proposed aligned licensing rules

DEL is soliciting comments on its proposed aligned licensing rules. The purpose of the proposed rules is to:

• align foundational standards of care for early learning programs administered by family home and center child care providers while accommodating unique differences between their environments;
• better equip early learning providers with the necessary skills and knowledge to administer programs that fully protect the health and safety of children in their care while delivering the best possible care;
• address critical health and safety needs of children enrolled in early learning programs;
• promote cultural diversity; and
• meet federal requirements.

The proposed rules and small business economic impact statement are available at https://del.wa.gov/providers-educators/laws-rules-and-performance-standards/del-rules-under-development/early-start-act.

DEL will accept comments through June 27. Comments may be made online at https://del.wa.gov/PolicyProposalComment/Detail.aspx, by email to rules@del.wa.gov, or in person at one of these hearings:

June 26 6:00 – 7:30	Everett Library Auditorium 2702 Hoyt Avenue, Everett
June 26 7:00 – 8:00	Chehalis Library Meeting Room 400 N Market Blvd., Chehalis
June 27 5:00 – 7:30	Yakima Room, Greenough Conference Center 33 S. 2nd Ave., Yakima

This is the first of three rule making phases under which DEL will adopt the rules negotiated by family home, center, and Head Start/ECEAP providers, families, and DEL Licensors. The three phases are:

1. Proposed new sections in chapter 170-300 WAC and amended WAC 170-300-0005 Definitions filed in May 2019 with a planned adoption at the end of the comment period. Final rules will be filed with a delayed effective date of Summer 2019;
2. Proposed amendments to current WACs 170-300-0148 Gardens in outdoor early learning program space, 170-300-0235 Safe water sources, 170-300-0291 Infant and toddler safe sleep practices, 170-300-0400 Application materials, 170-300-0410 License and program location, and 170-300-0465 Retaining facility and program records expected to be filed in February 2019 with a planned effective date of Summer 2019 to coincide with the new rules adopted in Phase 1; and
3. In 2020, amend chapter 170-300 WAC to insert weights after a weight validated study is conducted.

Last negotiated rulemaking session next month

After nine months of negotiating, the Department of Early Learning is planning the last session for negotiating the Standards Alignment licensing rules. Negotiators will meet on March 3 and 4 for a final review of all negotiated revisions. The original draft rules with negotiated revisions can be read online at https://del.wa.gov/PolicyProposalComment/Detail.aspx and DEL is accepting comments through February 22. Comments will be delivered to the negotiators in time to be considered for the final review.

Negotiated rulemaking is when a state agency collaborates with stakeholders who are impacted by a rule to develop and agree to the rule language. Teams representing family home child care providers, center child care providers, parents of enrolled children, Head Start/ECEAP providers and DEL licensing staff began negotiating the aligned standards in June 2017. Each month, a small group with representatives from each team would meet to review draft rules and negotiate revisions. Those revisions were taken to a monthly meeting where all negotiators would discuss, refine and measure consensus.

We have a lot to celebrate as we wrap up negotiations. There are just a handful of sections for which negotiators still have to reach consensus. The high success rate is entirely due to the negotiators’ collaborative spirit and hard work. Each participant was deeply committed and generously gave time and energy – including many weekends – to the project. We are also celebrating transparent negotiations that stakeholders were able to follow by attending a session or watching on DEL’s YouTube channel. During negotiations, more than 1,000 comments were submitted by the public and informed the negotiators’ work.

Statewide, representative stakeholders have contributed during every step of the Standards Alignment project. DEL is committed to continuing to engage with stakeholders once the rules are adopted and implementation begins.

After negotiations are done, DEL expects to file with the Code Reviser proposed rules by May 2 and solicit comments on those rules before adopting final rules at the end of June. After the rules are adopted, there will be a year-long implementation phase before the rules take effect in the summer of 2019.

If you have questions about the negotiated rulemaking process please e-mail rules@del.wa.gov.

Negotiated Rule Making Starts Today

We are starting a negotiated rule making and public comment process today for DEL’s updated, aligned, and weighted set of rules for Family Home and Center child care facilities. Check out the website for lots and lots of detail on the process.

This process is the required next step to completing our Standards Alignment process. The Early Start Act of 2016 mandated that DEL “align” its licensing rules for family homes and child care centers. This is essentially a re-write of the entire licensing WAC, and we’ve taken the opportunity as part of this do something long requested by our providers – “weighting” the rules so everyone shares the same sense of the importance of one rule over another in ensuring safety. The end result should be a progression of standards and regulations between licensed child care, Early Achievers, and ECEAP. The early learning system will have a unified set of regulations that are easy to understand by providers in the field.

Many agencies would choose at this point to negotiate separately the set of aligned rules with each group of “affected parties,” and then hold a protracted public comment process. Instead, DEL has chosen to gather public comments and negotiate the rules with people and organizations affected by them, all at the same time. 

I actually think this is a good idea – to get the interested parties all at one table together, trying to reach some sort of consensus. Adding parents and the public to the process will, I hope, vastly improve the quality of the outcome. The early learning field has made such great strides in the past few years in part because so many groups have often come together with one goal in mind: the health and well being of our state’s littlest learners. This process shouldn’t be any different.

People are obviously going to come at this from different perspectives and experiences. That’s a good thing. There may at times even be a little tension. That’s ok too. Push and pull is a healthy part of democracy. It ensures all groups and individuals are respected, considered, and protected. I’m confident about the great intentions of everyone who’s participating, whether it be in the formal negotiations, through alignment cafes, or by submitting comments as individuals. I’m also impressed by the work the DEL team has done thus far to get us all to this point. I look forward to the results.

Ross Hunter

Director, Washington State Department of Early Learning