STATEHOUSE (Feb. 19, 2025) – The Indiana House of Representatives passed State Rep. Dave Heine's (R-Fort Wayne) legislation that relieves child care licensing restrictions in an effort to increase accessibility for Hoosier families across the state.
House Bill 1253 would help expand the pool of available child care options by reducing regulations around child care services provided through schools and other educational institutions. Proposed legislation would empower school facilities that provide child care to serve children within the entire school corporation, rather than being limited to serving only the students or employees of the school.
Heine said this bill seeks to include more Hoosiers for eligibility of childcare vouchers by allowing families to utilize childcare waivers for longer periods of time. This legislation would extend the expiration date from two years to three years.
"Child care accessibility is a top concern for Hoosier families and this bill offers a practical solution to increase capacity and ensure that these providers can operate more efficiently," Heine said. "House Bill 1253 is a step in the right direction to remove regulations that reduce access to care."
Proposed legislation would allow multi-site child care center owners to have a single license rather than an individual license for each facility under their operation. Heine said this would require a single application for a child care home license, one payment for said license fee and a more transparent and less redundant application process. Owners of child care centers would be given more flexibility when adding new locations to other child care centers, each of which will be required to be inspected on a case-by-case basis to ensure compliance with safety and health standards.
Heine said this bill is geared toward reducing administrative burden while also maximizing the efficiency of the licensing process to reduce operational child care costs for Hoosier families.
House Bill 1253 has passed out of the full House with bipartisan support and now moves to the Senate for further consideration. For more information, or to watch session and committee meetings live, visit iga.in.gov.
-30-
State Rep. Dave Heine (R-Fort Wayne) represents House District 85,
which includes a portion of Allen County.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
