La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § CLXV-1105

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section CLXV-1105 - Unified Quality Rating System for Child Care Facilities

A. The unified quality rating system consists of five star ratings that may be awarded to child care facilities based on the level of quality of early child care and education provided by child care facilities serving children from birth through age five. The unified quality rating system is designed to recognize the quality of early care and education provided, communicate the level of quality, and support improvements of child care facilities.

1. To be eligible for participation in the unified quality rating system, a type III early learning center must:

a. have current academic approval issued by the department in compliance with §313 of Bulletin 140- Louisiana Early Childhood Care and Education Network; and

b. have a valid type III early learning center license issued by the LDE in compliance with Bulletin 137- Louisiana Early Learning Center Licensing Regulations.

2. To be eligible for participation in the unified quality rating system, a family child care home must:

a. have current academic approval issued by the department in compliance with §313 of Bulletin 140- Louisiana Early Childhood Care and Education Network; and

b. be registered and have current certification for CCAP issued by LDE in compliance with this Bulletin.

3. A child care facility is participating in the unified quality rating system if it is eligible for participation and has notified the LDE of the desire to participate and willingness to sign the required documents verifying eligibility for tax credits.

B. A star rating shall be awarded to an eligible, participating child care facility based on the performance rating the facility receives on its annual performance profile issued by the LDE as part of the early childhood care and education accountability system (ECCE accountability system). The ECCE accountability system was created pursuant to R.S. 17:407.23(B)(3) and Bulletin 140, and is used to evaluate the performance of publicly-funded early childhood care and education sites, which include child care facilities and community networks in preparing children for kindergarten and to assign a performance profile to each site, which include child care facilities and community networks.

1. All publicly funded early childhood care and education sites, which include eligible child care, are required to participate in the ECCE accountability system pursuant to §501 of Bulletin 140, and each publicly-funded site, which includes eligible child care facilities must receive a performance profile based its performance each school year.

2. Performance profiles for publicly-funded sites, which include eligible child care facilities, must include a performance rating as provided in §509 of Bulletin 140.

3. Performance rating calculations for publicly-funded sites, which include eligible child care, are made in accordance with §503 and §509 of Bulletin 140.

C. Star Ratings for Child Care Facilities

1. An eligible, participating child care facility that earns a performance rating score of 3.00 through 3.74 on its performance profile issued by the LDE shall be awarded a one star quality rating.

2. An eligible, participating child care facility that earns a performance rating score of 3.75 through 4.49 on its performance profile issued by the LDE shall be awarded a two star quality rating.

3. An eligible, participating child care facility that earns a performance rating score of 4.50 through 5.24 on its performance profile issued by the LDE shall be awarded a three star quality rating.

4. An eligible, participating child care facility that earns a performance rating score of 5.25 through 5.99 on its performance profile issued by the LDE shall be awarded a four star quality rating.

5. An eligible, participating care facility that earns a performance rating score of 6.00 through 7.00 on its performance profile issued by the LDE shall be awarded a five star quality rating.

D. The state superintendent of education (state superintendent), in specific instances, may waive compliance with a requirement if it is determined that the economic or adverse impact is sufficiently great to make compliance impractical, as long as the health and well-being of the staff and/or children are not imperiled. If it is determined that the facility or individual is meeting or exceeding the intent of a requirement, the requirement may be deemed to be met. The decision to grant or deny a waiver rests with the sole discretion of the state superintendent.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § CLXV-1105

Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 412122 (10/1/2015), Amended LR 431285 (7/1/2017), Amended LR 481009 (4/1/2022).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with 45 CFR Part 98 and R.S. 17:407.26.