(a) A family child care home, group child care home or child care center that lacks approved kindergarten status for purposes of § 49-6-201 shall not enroll or continue to enroll any child five (5) years of age during the period of the local education agency‘s regular school year, without first obtaining from the child’s parents or legal guardians a signed acknowledgment of the fact that the child’s attendance at the family child care home, group child care home or child care center does not satisfy the mandatory kindergarten prerequisite for the child’s enrollment in the first grade.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 71-3-512

  • agency: means and only where the context requires in any other provision of law, a place or facility, regardless of whether it is currently licensed, that is operated as a family child care home, a group child care home, a child care center, or a drop-in center, as those terms are defined in this part, or that provides child care for five (5) or more children who are not related to the primary caregiver for three (3) or more hours per day. See Tennessee Code 71-3-501
  • Child care: means the provision of supervision and protection, and, at a minimum, meeting the basic needs, of a child or children for less than twenty-four (24) hours a day. See Tennessee Code 71-3-501
  • Child care center: means any place or facility operated by any person or entity that provides child care for three (3) or more hours per day for at least thirteen (13) children who are not related to the primary caregiver. See Tennessee Code 71-3-501
  • Department: means the department of human services. See Tennessee Code 71-3-501
  • Family child care home: means any place or facility that is operated by any person or entity that provides child care for three (3) or more hours per day for at least five (5) children but not more than seven (7) children who are not related to the primary caregiver. See Tennessee Code 71-3-501
  • Group child care home: means any place or facility operated by any person or entity that provides child care for three (3) or more hours per day for at least eight (8) children who are not related to the primary caregiver. See Tennessee Code 71-3-501
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Any such signed acknowledgment shall be retained by the family child care home, group child care home or child care center for a period of two (2) years. Failure to comply with the requirements of this section may subject the family child care home, group child care home, or child care center to probation, denial or revocation of the child care agency license, or to civil penalty, by the department.