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Committee hears broad childcare‑licensing reform; bill would separate health and safety from quality and encourage accreditation
Summary
House File 26 17 would narrow licensing to focus on health and safety, move program quality measures to accreditation, add background‑study liaisons and standard operating procedures for visits. Providers told the committee current licensing is overly punitive and citations often reflect technical or clerical errors.
The committee heard testimony in support of House File 26 17, a bill that seeks to modernize Minnesota’s child‑care licensing system by narrowing licensing to health and safety items and shifting quality measures to national accreditation standards.
Rep. Coulter, the bill’s sponsor, said the change aims to treat providers "like the educators that they are" and criticized the current system as "overly punitive rather than supportive," a point echoed by multiple providers who testified. Directors from Lakeside Early Learning, Meadow Park Preschool and Listos Preschool described…
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