Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
chapter
Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers [8 VAC 20 ‑ 781]
Action Revisions to the Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers
Stage Proposed
Comment Period Ends 1/30/2026
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1/14/26  9:55 am
Commenter: Anonymous

Lapses in supervision should be reported to parents but not the Department
 

Parents should absolutely be made aware of lapses in supervision of their child, but the requirement to report every lapse in supervision, for any period of time, to the Department will have harmful consequences, including discrimination against neurodivergent children. All young children occasionally wander away or hide when they don't want to move to a different activity (e.g., come inside from the playground, change classrooms). This tendency is sometimes higher in children with neurodevelopmental diagnoses like autism or ADHD, and childcare centers will be disinclined to enroll students with these diagnoses under the belief that doing so will result in more reports to the Department and endanger their licensure. 

CommentID: 238919