For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall apply:

(a) “Expulsion” means the permanent dismissal of a child from a program in response to a child’s behavior.

(b) “Licensed family childcare provider” means a childcare provider who participates in a state-funded early care and education program, as defined in Section 10421, and is an individual who operates a family daycare home, as defined in § 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code, and is licensed pursuant to the requirement in § 1596.80 of the Health and Safety Code.

(c) “Program” means a general childcare and development program, as described in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 10240), a childcare and development service for children with severe disabilities, as described in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 10260), or a migrant childcare and development program, with the exception of migrant alternative payment programs, as described in Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 10235), that serves children from zero to five years of age, inclusive.

(d) “Suspension” means any removal of a child from all or part of the program day, or the prevention of a child from attending the program for one or more days, in response to the child’s behavior.

(e) “Persistent and serious behaviors” means either repeated patterns of behavior that significantly interfere with the learning of other children, or interactions with peers and adults that are not responsive to the use of developmentally appropriate guidance. This includes, but is not limited to, physical aggression, property destruction, and self-injury.

(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 915, Sec. 8. (AB 2806) Effective January 1, 2023.)