Bill would require all Alabama child care centers be licensed, remove religious exemption

A new bill introduced in the Alabama legislature would remove an exemption in state law that allows religiously-affiliated day cares to operate with no licensing or inspection.

The Child Care Safety Act (HB 277) would require uniform licensing and inspection standards of all child care providers – meaning that religious day care centers would be subject to the same regulation by the Alabama Department of Human Resources as non-religious day care centers.