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TITLE 26HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PART 1HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION
CHAPTER 744MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR SCHOOL-AGE AND BEFORE OR AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
SUBCHAPTER APURPOSE, SCOPE, AND DEFINITIONS
DIVISION 3DEFINITIONS
RULE §744.123What do certain words and terms mean when used in this chapter?

    (B) Confirmation that the person received home-schooling that adequately addressed basic competencies such as basic reading, writing, and math skills, which would otherwise have been documented by a high school diploma.

  (33) Individual activities--Opportunities for the child to work independently or to be away from the group but supervised.

  (34) Inflatable--An amusement ride or device, consisting of air-filled structures designed for use by children, as specified by the manufacturer, which may include bouncing, climbing, sliding, or interactive play. They are made of flexible fabric, kept inflated by continuous air flow by one or more blowers, and rely upon air pressure to maintain their shape.

  (35) Instructor-led training--Training characterized by the communication and interaction that takes place between the student and the instructor. The training must include an opportunity for the student to interact with the instructor to obtain clarifications and information beyond the scope of the training materials. For such an opportunity to exist, the instructor must communicate with the student in a timely fashion, including answering questions, providing feedback on skills practice, providing guidance or information on additional resources, and proactively interacting with students. Examples of this type of training include, classroom training, web-based on-line facilitated learning, video-conferencing, or other group learning experiences.

  (36) Janitorial duties--Those duties that involve the cleaning and maintenance of the operation's building, rooms, furniture, etc. Cleaning and maintenance include such duties as cleansing carpets, washing cots, and sweeping, vacuuming, or mopping a restroom or a classroom. Sweeping up after an activity or mopping up a spill in a classroom that is immediately necessary for the children's safety is not considered a janitorial duty.

  (37) Local sanitation official--A sanitation official designated by the city or county government.

  (38) Multi-site operations--Two or more operations owned by the same person or entity, but the operations have separate permits. These operations may have centralized business functions, record keeping, and leadership.

  (39) Natural environment--Settings that are natural or typical for all children of the same age without regard to ability or disability. For example, a natural environment for learning social skills is a play group of peers.

  (40) Nighttime care--Care given on a regular or frequent basis to children who are starting or continuing their night sleep, or to children who spend the night or part of the night at the operation between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

  (41) Operation--A person or entity offering a before or after-school program or school-age program that is subject to Licensing's regulation. An operation includes the grounds where the program is offered, any person involved in providing the program, and any equipment used in providing the program.

  (42) Operation director--A director at your operation who is not supervised by a program director. An operation that has an operation director cannot have a program director or a site director.

  (43) Owner--The sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, or other type of business entity who owns the operation.

  (44) Permit holder--The owner of the operation that is granted the permit.

  (45) Permit is no longer valid--For purposes of this chapter, a permit remains valid through the renewal process. A permit only becomes invalid when your:

    (A) Operation voluntarily closes;

    (B) Operation must close because of an enforcement action in Chapter 745, Subchapter L of this title (relating to Enforcement Actions);

    (C) Permit expires according to §745.481 of this title (relating to When does my permit expire?); or

    (D) Operation must close because its permit is automatically revoked according to Texas Human Resources Code §§42.048(e), 42.052(j), or 42.054(f).

  (46) Physical activity (moderate)--Levels of activity for a child that are at intensities faster than a slow walk, but still allow the child to talk easily. Moderate physical activity increases heart rate and breathing rate.

  (47) Physical activity (vigorous)--Rhythmic, repetitive physical movement for a child that uses large muscle groups, causing the child to breathe rapidly and only enabling the child to speak in short phrases. Typically, the child's heart rate is substantially increased and the child is likely to be sweating while engaging in the vigorous physical activity.

  (48) Pre-kindergarten age child--A child who is three or four years of age before the beginning of the current school year.

  (49) Premises--See the term "grounds" and its definition in this section.

  (50) Program--The services and activities provided by an operation.

  (51) Program director--A director who oversees your program at multi-site operations and supervises a site director at each operation.

  (52) Regular--On a recurring, scheduled basis. Note: For the definition of "regularly or frequently present at an operation" as it applies to background checks, see §745.601 of this title.

  (53) Safety belt--A lap belt and any shoulder straps included as original equipment on or added to a vehicle.

  (54) Sanitize--The use of a disinfecting product that provides instructions specific for sanitizing and is registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to substantially reduce germs on inanimate objects to levels considered safe by public health requirements. Many bleach and hydrogen peroxide products are EPA-registered. You must follow the product's labelling instructions for sanitizing or disinfecting, depending on the surface (paying attention to any instructions regarding contact time and toxicity on surfaces likely to be mouthed by children). If you use bleach instead of an approved disinfecting product, you must follow these steps in order:

    (A) Washing with water and soap;

    (B) Rinsing with clear water;

    (C) Soaking in or spraying on a bleach solution for at least two minutes;

    (D) Rinsing with cool water only those items that children are likely to place in their mouths; and

    (E) Allowing the surface or item to air-dry.

  (55) School-age child--A child who is five years of age and older and is enrolled in or has completed kindergarten.

  (56) School-age program--An operation that provides supervision and recreation, skills instruction, or skills training for at least two hours a day and three days a week to children who attend pre-kindergarten through grade six. A school-age program operates before or after the customary school day and may also operate during school holidays, the summer period, or any other time when school is not in session.

  (57) Screen time activity--An activity during which a child views media content on a cell or mobile phone, tablet, computer, television, video, film, or DVD. Screen time activities do not include video chatting with a child's family or assistive and adaptive computer technology used by a child with special care needs on a consistent basis.

  (58) Self-instructional training--Training designed to be used by one individual working alone and at the individual's own pace to complete lessons or modules. Lessons or modules commonly include questions with clear right and wrong answers. An example of this type of training is web-based training. Self-study training is also a type of self-instructional training.

  (59) Self-study training--Non-standardized training where an individual reads written materials, watches a training video, or listens to a recording to obtain certain knowledge that is required for annual training. Self-study training is limited to three hours of annual training per year.

  (60) Site director--A director who has on-site responsibility at a specific operation, but who is supervised by a program director.

  (61) Special care needs--A child with special care needs is a child who has:

    (A) A chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition or a disability and who also requires assistance beyond that required by a child generally to perform tasks that are within the typical chronological range of development, including the movement of large or small muscles, learning, talking, communicating, comprehension, emotional regulation, self-help, social skills, emotional well-being, seeing, hearing, and breathing; or

Cont'd...

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