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Ohio bill would exempt military-certified family child care providers from state licensure
Summary
House Bill 464, introduced in the 136th General Assembly by Representative Richardson, would amend Ohio Revised Code section 5104.02 to add an exemption for family child care providers certified by any branch of the U.S. armed forces, including the Coast Guard.
Representative Richardson introduced House Bill No. 464 in the 136th General Assembly (2025-2026) to amend section 5104.02 of the Ohio Revised Code and add an explicit licensure exemption for family child care providers certified by any branch of the United States armed forces, including the United States Coast Guard. The proposal appears in the bill text as a new subsection (12).
The change would add to a list of programs already exempt from Chapter 5104 licensing requirements, such as short-term programs, worship-based care when a parent is present, supervised training that does not exceed eight hours per week, certain youth development programs, and programs regulated by other state departments. The bill text states: “A program that is certified as a family child care provider by any branch of the United States armed forces, including the United States coast guard.”
The bill text also restates other licensing provisions. Under current Section 5104.02 as shown in the introduced draft, the director of children and youth is responsible for licensing child care centers and family child care homes and for enforcing Chapter 5104 and the rules promulgated under it. Existing exemptions in the section include programs that operate for two consecutive weeks or less and not more than six weeks total in a calendar year; care provided during religious activities when at least one parent is participating and readily available; supervised extracurricular instruction not exceeding eight hours per week; certain youth development programs serving children ages five and older operated by local governments and park districts; home-education learning pods; and programs certified under federal tax-exempt status (26 U.S.C. 501(a) and (c)(3)), among others.
As introduced, H.B. 464 also contains a Section 2 statement repealing the existing text of section 5104.02 and replacing it with the amended version in the bill draft. The introduced text does not record any legislative action such as committee referral, vote, or effective date.
The sponsor did not include legislative findings or fiscal notes in the provided text. The bill, if enacted, would remove state licensure oversight for family child care providers operating under armed forces certification; the introduced text does not specify any alternative oversight or reporting requirements tied to that exemption.
For readers tracking next steps: this text is the bill as introduced in the General Assembly; the provided document does not show committee assignments, hearings, or votes. Any change to licensure law would require the standard legislative process in the General Assembly before becoming law.
