Chapter 15D

Section 1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the commonwealth to assure every child a fair and full opportunity to reach his full potential by providing and encouraging services which maximize a child's capacity and opportunity to learn, which strengthen family life, and …

Section 10. Subject to the requirements of chapter 30A, the department may suspend, revoke, make probationary, refuse to issue or renew the license of any person, assess a civil fine within the limits prescribed by this section, or impose any other sanctions it considers appropri…

Section 11. The board, after holding a public hearing, shall adopt, and develop a schedule for revising, program quality standards and requirements that any early education and care program or provider shall meet. The department shall develop separate but related standards for ch…

Section 12. (a) The department shall establish a comprehensive system for measuring the performance and effectiveness of programs providing early education and care and services. This system shall include, but not be limited to, outcomes of the kindergarten readiness assessment s…

Section 12A. (a)(1) The department shall develop performance standards necessary for prohibiting or significantly limiting the use of suspension and expulsion in all licensed early education and care programs pursuant to clause (t) of section 2. The standards shall be developed w…

Section 12B. (a)(1) There shall be a data advisory commission to make recommendations to improve the use of state, provider and program-level data related to the cost, quality and utilization of early education and care services. (2) The data advisory commission shall utilize dat…

Section 13. (a) The board shall, subject to appropriation, establish the Massachusetts universal pre-kindergarten program to assist in providing voluntary, universally accessible, high-quality early education and care programs and services for preschool-aged children in the commo…

Section 13A. (a) The department shall maintain, subject to appropriation, a child care financial assistance program that shall provide sufficient financial assistance to enable eligible families to afford and access high-quality early education and care for infants, toddlers, pre…

Section 14. (a) A person whose consent is required by section 2 of chapter 210 may, before surrender, request from a placement agency background information pertaining to the prospective adoptive family in which the placement agency expects to place the child if surrendered. The …

Section 15. (a) Any person who violates section 6 shall be punished for each violation by a fine of up to $5,000 or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 21/2 years, or by both. (b) Upon petition of the department, the superior court shall have jurisdiction…

Section 16. Upon petition of the department, the superior court shall have jurisdiction to enter an order permitting the department to enter and inspect, under conditions that the court considers appropriate, a facility operated by a person whom the department has reasonable caus…

Section 17. (a) As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Department of labor relations'', the department of labor relations established by section 9O of chapter 23. ''Employee organization'', an empl…

Section 18. (a) As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: ''Eligible facility'', a building, structure or site that is, or will be, owned, leased or otherwise used by 1 or more eligible organizat…

Section 19. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a budgeted fund known as the Early Education and Care Operational Grant Fund, which shall be administered by the department. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, subject to appropria…

Section 1A. As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Adoption'', the establishment of the legal relationship of parent and child pursuant to chapter 210. ''Board'', the board of early education and …

Section 2. There shall be in the executive office of education a department of early education and care, in this chapter called the department, which shall be the state agency responsible for compliance with early education and care services under the Personal Responsibility and …

Section 20. (a) The department shall, subject to appropriation, establish, distribute and maintain an operational grant program for early education and care providers to provide high-quality and sustainable education and care. (b) Eligible uses for operational grants shall includ…

Section 21. (a) The department shall maintain an early education and care career ladder as considered under clause (11) of the second paragraph of section 5. (b) The career ladder shall include, but not be limited to: (i) minimum recommended salaries and compensation for each lev…

Section 22. (a) As used in this section, the following terms shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: "Imagination Library of Massachusetts program'', a comprehensive statewide initiative to encourage children from birth to 5 years of age…

Section 3. (a) There shall be a board of early education and care, hereinafter referred to as the board. The board shall set policies and establish regulations related to early education and care programs, and services. The Board shall oversee and supervise the administration of …

Section 3A. There shall be a state advisory council on early education and care, the members of which shall represent a reasonable geographic balance and shall reflect the diversity of the commonwealth in race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. Members of the advisory cou…

Section 4. The board shall by a 2/3 vote of its members submit to the secretary, for the secretary's approval, a recommended candidate to serve as the commissioner of early education and care, in this chapter called the commissioner. The secretary may appoint the recommended cand…

Section 4A. (a) In order to facilitate the licensure process, the commissioner, with the approval of the board, shall establish sub-state regions within which all licensure or approval of child care centers and family child care homes, large family child care homes, and family ch…

Section 5. The board shall develop and annually update an implementation plan for a workforce development system designed to support the education, training and compensation of the early education and care workforce, including all center, family child care, infant, toddler, presc…

Section 6. (a) No person shall operate a school-aged child care program, a child care center, family child care home, large family child care home, placement agency, group care facility, or temporary shelter facility unless that person is licensed by the department. A department,…

Section 7. (a) The department shall issue and may renew a license to any person other than a department, agency or institution of the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, who meets applicable standards and requirements to establish and maintain or to assist in the e…

Section 7A. For the purposes of this section, ''military installation'' shall mean a base, camp, post, station, yard, center or other activity under the jurisdiction of the secretary of a United States military department or, in the case of an activity in a foreign country, under…

Section 8. (a) The board shall adopt regulations relative to the requirements for licensure and approval of school-aged child care programs, child care centers, family child care homes or large family child care homes and family foster care which are not supervised and approved b…

Section 9. (a) The department may, at any reasonable time, visit and inspect any facility operated by a person who is subject to licensure or approval under this section in order to determine whether the facility is being operated in compliance with law and with the rules and reg…