Dear Board Members and Staff,

Thank you for all of your hard work on the proposed language for 8VAC-20-781. I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the updated proposed standards for licensed child day centers. Following is my feedback on various sections in order of importance to me.

1.      The proposed documentation of topical ointment is superfluous and would unintentionally lead providers to decrease or stop use of necessary products.

The language of 8VAC20-781-580 A 4 (“A record shall be kept that includes the child’s name, the name of the product, date and time of use, any adverse reactions, and any application errors and action taken”) is a medication–like requirement. Many topical ointments are applied several times daily (diaper cream, sunscreen, hand lotion, etc.) and parents already approve use annually. I see no reason for this burdensome requirement and think it will hurt children and caregivers. After parental approval, documentation should not be required for each application of topical ointments. 

2.      Proposed language would prevent children two years old and younger from being on a playground with three-year-olds and above, likely resulting in reduced outdoor time and programs that don’t serve infants being unwilling to serve two-year-olds.

Section 8VAC20-781-240 G prevents infants, toddlers, twos, and preschoolers from occupying the outdoor area at the same time as children ages three and up. With proper supervision and playground protocols, I think multi-age play can be safe. This regulation will lead to unintended consequences like care providers not wanting to care for twos with threes or less time outside for all ages as age groups must be separated. At the very least, twos should be removed from the regulation as written to minimize the impact of this change. Preferably programs would be allowed to create safety policies to allow all ages to be on the playground together.

3.      Please strengthen new language restricting visual media (screens).

While 8VAC20-781-320 C is a much-needed standard, the language is not strong enough. The CDC and AAP recommend no screen-time for children under two and up to 1-hour daily until age five. I recommend zero screen-time for children under two and limiting children two and older to no more than 30 minutes per day. Personally, I do not want my child using any visual media at school and worry that the proposed regulations will allow young children to be babysat by screens.

4.      Reptiles make excellent, safe class pets.

Many day care centers I know of have reptiles (box turtle, bearded dragon, leopard gecko, blue-tongued skink) who are beloved to the children and make wonderful class pets. The new regulation 8VAC20-781-660 C forbids reptiles along with bats and monkeys (both of which are much more dangerous disease vectors). Classroom pets present great opportunities for learning, and compared to mammals, reptiles tend to be less stressed by the classroom environment. I encourage you to remove “reptiles” from the list of animals that are forbidden.

1. Maintaining infants’ daily record sheets for 60 days is an unnecessary administrative burden that pushes towards digitization of infant records with potential negative consequences for the quality of care for infants.

8VAC20-781-410 H requiring that daily records are kept for 60 calendar days is unnecessary. This will push providers towards digital systems, which ease the record keeping requirement but increase screens in the lives of the youngest children. Screens will also grab the attention of teachers who are supposed to be building a secure attachment with children. Allowing the use of paper sent home with the parent daily or whiteboards photographed and sent to the parent daily without record keeping seems adequate to me. 

6.      New language around supervision would prevent older children from going to hallway cubbies or bathroom without a teacher.

The new language around supervision is too restrictive and prevents teachers from scaffolding children’s learning to handle tasks out of direct sight supervision. 8VAC20-781-270 F requires children under ten to only be out of sight and sound supervision to use the restroom. I encourage the Board to include language allowing for other short periods of sound-only supervision, to allow children to visit hallway cubby or water fountain so that young children can build competency in a safe environment.

7.      Sandboxes with drainage are hygienic and need not be covered when not in use.

The proposed sandbox language is problematic for large sand areas, which are wonderful for young children. Many daycare sandboxes are built to allow drainage for safety and cleanliness. The new language of 8VAC20-781-260 requires sandboxes to be covered when not in use. We advocate clarification of the language to: “Sandboxes without proper drainage shall be covered when not in use.”

8.      Specifically requiring liquid soap is unnecessary.

8VAC20-781-490 specifically requires liquid soap. This specificity seems unnecessary and particularly outside, liquid soap is impractical. Please consider revising the standards to simply require soap so that centers can select the most appropriate soap for their needs.

9.      Weekly washing for soft items is not sustainable and will reduce young children’s access to soft materials. 

The intention of 8VAC20-781-430 D is to keep soft things like pillows, stuffed animals, and dress-up clothes clean. However, washing all soft things each week creates a huge burden and will decrease access to soft items. Already tired teachers will reduce the stuffed animals, dress up clothes, and floor pillows that make classrooms cozy because weekly washing is not sustainable. I recommend monthly washing instead.

2. Requiring hand washing before a diaper change is time consuming, unnecessary, and impractical (8VAC20-781-490).

3. Requiring daily sanitation of the diaper trash bin is unnecessary.

While cleaning is generally good, 8VAC20-781-500 J requires daily sanitizing of the diaper trash system, which already is mandated to be touch-free with a removeable liner. Perhaps require cleaning the exterior of the trash can, but the inside is covered with a liner and is not touched.