§ 26-35. Minimum standards for children's center and family day care home personnel.

(a)

General qualifications. Personnel in both children's centers and family day care homes shall be of good character, free of mental illness and drug or excessive alcohol habits, in good health, and shall not exercise any influence detrimental to the progress or development of children. All personnel in contact with children enrolled in centers or family day care homes licensed under this article shall have an annual physical examination, including chest X-ray and blood test. The person in charge shall be at least 21 years of age, and no employee in direct supervision of children shall be under 18 years of age.

(b)

Education.

(1)

Day nursery workers caring directly for children in any day nursery shall be high school graduates. The staff member in charge of the staff and program shall have completed a minimum of six semester hours of college credits in early childhood education with passing grades.

(2)

The nursery school or kindergarten teacher in charge of curriculum, staff, and program shall have completed two years of college training including 12 semester credit hours in early childhood education with passing grades and shall have had two years of teaching experience. Teachers working directly under the person in charge of curriculum, staff, and program shall be high school graduates, and in addition shall have completed two years of college training including 12 semester hours credit in early childhood education with passing grades or shall have completed 12 semester hours credit in early childhood education with passing grades and have had two years of teaching experience.

(3)

All personnel of nursery schools and kindergartens shall continue professional training by earning at least three semester credit hours or appropriate quarter hours in early childhood education each three years, over and above the minimum requirements herein until a minimum of 30 credits have been earned.

(4)

A staff member not in charge of curriculum, staff, or program who does not fully meet requirements may be employed temporarily as a staff member of a licensed day nursery, nursery school, or kindergarten, if said staff member is in the process of acquiring the necessary educational qualifications.

(5)

An experienced staff member who does not meet the educational requirements for a staff member as outlined in this section may apply for an exemption examination approved by the license board. Successful completion of the exemption examination will serve to exempt the teacher from the college credit requirements, except that every three years the staff member shall continue professional training by earning at least three semester credit hours in early childhood education as hereinbefore required.

(6)

Members of child care staffs in children's centers caring exclusively for mentally or physically handicapped children are not required to meet the college credit requirements outlined herein for nursery school and kindergarten staff. They shall enroll in courses pertinent to work with exceptional children, when such courses are available in the county.

(c)

Number of personnel and supervision. The number of adults on the child care staff shall be no less than the following:

One adult for each ten children two years old;

One adult for each 15 children three years old;

One adult for each 20 children four years old;

One adult for each 25 children five years old or over.

(1)

In groups where children of varying ages are combined, number of staff shall be determined by the ages of the youngest children in the group. These adults shall be engaged in child care exclusively and shall regularly work no more than eight hours in 24 hours. No infants under two years of age shall be taken into a day nursery for group care unless the license board determines that no family day care home is available. A staff member qualified to be in charge shall be on the premises at all times when children are present.

(2)

In children's centers where only one child care staff member is required, at least one other person must be on the premises for emergency purposes.

(3)

The number of children in a family day care home is limited to a maximum of four children other than the children or relatives of the operator and no more than five preschool children including the pre-school-aged child or relatives of the operator may be in the family day care home at one time.

(4)

In family day care homes, there shall be one adult, the operator, who shall remain on the premises at all times when children under care are present, with at least one on-call person available for emergency purposes.

(Laws of Fla. ch. 61-2681, § 6; Laws of Fla. ch. 70-893, § 2)