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TITLE 26HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PART 1HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION
CHAPTER 746MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR CHILD-CARE CENTERS
SUBCHAPTER SSAFETY PRACTICES
DIVISION 1SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
RULE §746.3701What safety precautions must I take to protect children in my child-care center?

All areas accessible to a child must be free from hazards including, but not limited to, the following:

  (1) Electrical outlets accessible to a child younger than five years must have childproof covers or safety outlets;

  (2) 220-volt electrical connections within a child's reach must be covered with a screen or guard;

  (3) Air conditioners, electric fans, and heaters must be mounted out of all children's reach or have safeguards that keep any child from being injured;

  (4) Glass in sliding doors must be clearly marked with decals or other materials placed at children's eye level;

  (5) Play materials and equipment must be safe and free from sharp or rough edges and toxic paints;

  (6) Poisonous or potentially harmful plants must be inaccessible to all children;

  (7) Bottle warmers must be inaccessible to all children and used only according to manufacturer instructions;

  (8) All storage chests, boxes, trunks, or similar items with hinged lids must be equipped with a lid support designed to hold the lid open in any position, be equipped with ventilation holes, and must not have a latch that might close and trap a child inside;

  (9) All bodies of water such as pools, hot tubs, ponds, creeks, birdbaths, fountains, buckets, and rain barrels must be inaccessible to all children; and

  (10) All televisions must be anchored, so they cannot tip over. A television may be anchored to a rolling cart, as long as it is anchored in a way that the cart will not tip over.


Source Note: The provisions of this §746.3701 adopted to be effective September 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 1402; amended to be effective April 15, 2017, 42 TexReg 1575; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909; amended to be effective March 1, 2023, 48 TexReg 933

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