Bill
SB 5279
SB 5279 lets licensed child care staff meet qualification requirements via documented experience-based competency during a transition period ending Aug 1, 2028, with reviews and po
Bill information
- Bill Number: SB 5279
- Title: Concerning qualifications for child care providers
- Status: Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education at 8:00 AM
- Introduced: January 15, 2025
- Legislature: Washington, 69th Legislature, 2025 Regular Session
- Version: S-0575.1SENATE BILL 5279
Overview
SB 5279 would allow, through a defined transition period, experience-based competency to fulfill certain child care staff qualification requirements in lieu of holding an early childhood education (ECE) initial, short, or state certificate. It also directs the creation of a stakeholder group to review and streamline qualification rules and to consider recognizing equivalent out-of-state education and training. The bill establishes a sunset/expiration for the new processes and requires a legislative report.
Key Provisions
1) Experience-based competency as an alternative to formal certification (new Sec. 1)
- Transition period: Licensed child care providers may demonstrate experience-based competency as an alternative means to satisfy staff qualification requirements through at least August 1, 2028.
- Eligibility criteria (must be documented in the department’s electronic workforce registry):
- Active employment in a position that requires an ECE initial, short, or state certificate.
- Employment in a licensed or certified child care center or licensed family home with no break since August 1, 2021, or a cumulative total of seven years in such settings.
- Completion and ongoing compliance with all health and safety and child care or school-age care basics training required by the department.
- Recognition process:
- The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) must establish a process to proactively recognize fulfillment of staff qualification requirements for providers meeting the criteria in subsection (1).
- The process may not require providers to submit an application; DCYF must notify providers whose qualifications have been fulfilled.
- Limitations:
- DCYF may impose more restrictive requirements for programs serving Early Achievers or similar initiatives, including excluding experience-based competency as an alternative or excluding it from counting toward professional development points.
2) Stakeholder group and reporting (new Sec. 2)
- DCYF must convene a stakeholder group to identify strategies to improve early learning and school-age staff qualification requirements and verification processes.
- Objectives include streamlining/clarifying administrative rules, policies, and recognizing equivalent out-of-state education and training.
- Required participants (minimum):
- Family home and child care center providers, including at least one provider from a larger center (national chain or 10+ sites).
- Representation from: statewide child care resource and referral network; community-based training organizations; organizations representing family day care providers and licensed centers; out-of-school time intermediary; refugee/immigrant communities; bilingual providers; early learning advocates; private/independent schools; and the state board for community and technical colleges.
- Reporting deadline: DCYF must report to the Legislature by December 1, 2026 on identified strategies and implementation timelines (RCW 43.01.036 compliance).
- Sunsetting: This section expires July 1, 2028.
Impact and scope
- Affects licensed child care providers, licensed family homes, and staff who work in early learning and school-age care settings.
- Creates a transitional pathway to meet staff qualification requirements without immediate certification, subject to lengthy criteria and training requirements.
- Encourages stakeholder engagement to harmonize and potentially recognize out-of-state credentials.
- Sets a finite window for the experience-based pathway (through August 1, 2028) and requires a legislative reporting process.
Procedural and timeline notes
- First reading and referral: January 15, 2025, to Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education.
- Public hearing: February 4, 2025, at 8:00 AM (as noted in actions).
- Stakeholder group reporting due by December 1, 2026.
- Section 2 expiration: July 1, 2028.
- The bill explicitly preserves Department discretion to impose stricter standards for certain programs and to exempt or include experience-based competency in professional development calculations.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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