An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 21 – Child Care Centers/Preschools

Section 3 P ERSONNEL R EQUIREMENTS Title 22 establishes the requirements for staff and employees working at a preschool. These requirements include obtaining criminal record clearances, necessary medical history requirements, and minimum education and experience qualifications. Child care center personnel must be competent to provide the services necessary to meet the needs of the children. 2724 DSS requires all preschools adhere to the following requirements for the preschool’s director, staff, and teachers. A. A PPROVALS A ND C LEARANCES 1. C RIMINAL R ECORD C LEARANCES All employees and volunteers subject to a criminal record review must obtain a clearance or criminal record exemption prior to employment with the child care center. 2725 To ensure the protection of the children, this clearance or exemption is required even before an employee’s or volunteer’s initial physical presence in the child care center. 2726 The DSS will conduct a criminal record review of each staff member or person working at, or associated with, the facility or having contact with the children, including governing board members and authorized representatives. 2727 These individuals must be fingerprinted and must sign a Criminal Record Statement (LIC 508). 2728 If the preschool applicant, or other person employed by the preschool at the time it applies for a license, has been convicted of a crime, other than a minor traffic violation, the application will typically be denied unless an exemption is granted. 2729 The DSS will only grant an exemption if it has substantial and convincing evidence to support a reasonable belief that the applicant and person convicted of the crime, if other than the applicant, are of good character so as to justify the issuance of a license, and the crime committed is not listed on the DSS’ non-exemptible list. 2730 Relatives and legal guardians of a child in the facility who provide volunteer assistance are exempt from the fingerprinting requirements. 2731 Volunteers and students enrolled at an accredited educational institution are also exempt as long as they spend no more than 16 hours a week at the facility and are not left alone with children in their care. 2732 The CCLD will not permit an individual to work at a preschool until his or her fingerprints have been submitted to the California Department of Justice and he or she obtains a clearance or criminal record exemption. 2733 A criminal record clearance can be transferred from another state licensed child care center by providing the DSS a signed Criminal Background Clearance Transfer Request (LIC 9182), 2734 the individual’s valid and current identification, and other documentation required by the DSS, such as a job description and Criminal Record Statement (LIC 508). 2735 The preschool must maintain documentation of criminal record clearances or criminal record exemptions in the individual’s personnel file. 2736 The documentation requirement also applies to any volunteers who are not exempt from fingerprinting. 2737 If DSS determines that any

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 632