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SB 293 Delaware Senate · 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026)

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CHILD CARE LICENSES FOR YOUTH CAMPS.

Summary
This Act simplifies the licensing requirements for youth camps that are accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA) by requiring that the Department of Education's Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) deem a youth camp as meeting all equivalent health and safety requirements necessary for a youth camp license if the youth camp has ACA accreditation through August 30 of the current calendar year. By streamlining the OCCL licensing requirements for youth camps, this Act also increases the availability of summer child care that is eligible for provider reimbursement from the Purchase of Care (POC) program. Under existing OCCL regulations, a youth camp has the option of applying for either license exempt status or a license. To obtain a license, a youth camp must meet very detailed and specific requirements that are challenging, if not impossible, for many youth camps. ACA accreditation requires that a camp satisfies health and safety requirements that are similar and equivalent, but not identical, to the OCCL license requirements. However, an ACA accredited but license-exempt youth camp is unable to receive POC provider reimbursement because under the state plan for the federal Child Care and Development Fund, license exempt child care providers are not eligible for provider reimbursement. This Act also codifies the following policies that are in the current OCCL child care licensing regulations: • A youth camp license and the definition of “youth camp”. • The requirement that a youth camp must have a valid Division of Public Health permit to be licensed or approved as license exempt. • The school-age care, programs, and activities that are exempt from child care license requirements. This Act is effective immediately and § 3003A(c)(4)b. of Title 14 must be implemented no later than December 31, 2026. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Issues: ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill streamlines licensing for youth camps under the Department of Education, enhancing access to educational programs and reducing administrative barriers.85% confidence
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2026
Committee Review
Jun 2026
Senate Passage
Jul 2026
House Passage
Jun 2026
Signed into Law
Aug 2026
Introduced Apr 30, 2026 Signed Aug 17, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HA 1 to SB 293 → Bill Text · 7 edits
MODERATE
The bill was substantially rewritten from a House Amendment that removed the ACA accreditation deeming provision and added a shelter requirement for outdoor camps, into a final Senate Bill that restores the ACA accreditation deeming provision, adds new health and safety requirements tied to Purchase of Care reimbursement eligibility, codifies the youth camp definition into statute, and sets an implementation deadline of December 31, 2026. The net effect is to streamline licensing for ACA-accredited youth camps so they can access federal Child Care and Development Fund provider reimbursement, which was previously unavailable to license-exempt providers.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded from a narrow amendment to the youth camp licensing requirements into a broader codification of existing OCCL regulations into statute, including the youth camp definition, license exemption categories, and public health permit requirements, while also adding new POC reimbursement eligibility criteria for youth camps.
ELIGIBILITY

ACA-accredited youth camps (accredited through August 30 of the current calendar year) are now deemed as meeting all equivalent health and safety requirements for a youth camp license under section 3003A(c)(4)b.

REQUIREMENT

Youth camps must have a valid permit from the Division of Public Health under section 122(3)g. of Title 16 to be licensed or approved as license exempt.

The House Amendment's requirement that outdoor youth camps have access to a shelter or building providing protection from inclement weather (without specific size or square footage requirements) was removed in the final bill text.

FISCAL

Youth camp licenses must include health and safety requirements necessary to qualify for Purchase of Care provider reimbursement, established in collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Services under section 512 of Title 31. This makes ACA-accredited camps eligible for POC reimbursement that was previously unavailable to license-exempt providers.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'youth camp' is codified into statute (section 3002A(7)), specifying it must operate in a space not otherwise licensed, provide recreational/athletic/educational/religious instruction, take custody of 1 or more school-age children unattended by a parent, and operate during May-September for no more than 12 weeks at 3+ hours per day or during a school year break.

SCOPE

License exemption categories are codified into statute, including youth camps with valid Division of Public Health permits and programs offering school-age care, lessons, or classes on a limited basis.

TIMELINE

Section 3003A(c)(4)b. (the ACA accreditation deeming provision) must be implemented no later than December 31, 2026.

Floor votes · Senate May 21, 2026 · House Jun 30, 2026

How they voted

20–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 21
May 21, 2026
D Democratic15
15 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican6
5 Yea 1
83% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
13
Key actions
8
Committee
2
Amendments
4
Aug 17, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by Governor
executive
Jul 1, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 2 ABSENT
upper
Jun 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed By House. Votes: 40 YES 1 ABSENT
lower
Jun 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Amendment HA 1 to SB 293 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
lower
Jun 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Education) in House with 1 Favorable, 10 On Its Merits
lower
Jun 17, 2026
Introduced
Amendment HA 1 to SB 293 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
upper
Jun 4, 2026
Introduced
Assigned to Education Committee in House
lower
May 21, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
upper
May 21, 2026
Upper · Passed
Amendment SA 1 to SB 293 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
upper
May 21, 2026
Introduced
Amendment SA 1 to SB 293 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
upper
May 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Education) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits
upper
Apr 30, 2026
Introduced
Introduced and Assigned to Education Committee in Senate
upper
22 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Brian Pettyjohn
Brian Pettyjohn
RRepublican
DE
19
P
Photo of Bryan Townsend
Bryan Townsend
DDemocratic
DE
11
P
Photo of Bryant Richardson
Bryant Richardson
RRepublican
DE
21
P
Photo of Claire Snyder-Hall
Claire Snyder-Hall
DDemocratic
DE
14
P
Photo of Darius Brown
Darius Brown
DDemocratic
DE
2
P
Photo of Dave Lawson
Dave Lawson
RRepublican
DE
15
P
Photo of Dave Sokola
Dave Sokola
DDemocratic
DE
8
P
Photo of Dave Wilson
Dave Wilson
RRepublican
DE
18
P
Photo of Frank Cooke
Frank Cooke
DDemocratic
DE
16
P
Photo of Jack Walsh
Jack Walsh
DDemocratic
DE
9
P
Photo of Josue Ortega
Josue Ortega
DDemocratic
DE
3
P
Photo of Kerri Harris
Kerri Harris
DDemocratic
DE
32
P
Photo of Laura Sturgeon
Laura Sturgeon
DDemocratic
DE
4
P
Photo of Mara Gorman
Mara Gorman
DDemocratic
DE
23
P
Photo of Marie Pinkney
Marie Pinkney
DDemocratic
DE
13
P
Photo of Melanie Ross Levin
Melanie Ross Levin
DDemocratic
DE
10
P
Photo of Nicole Poore
Nicole Poore
DDemocratic
DE
12
P
Photo of Ray Seigfried
Ray Seigfried
DDemocratic
DE
5
P
Photo of Russ Huxtable
Russ Huxtable
DDemocratic
DE
6
P
Photo of Spiros Mantzavinos
Spiros Mantzavinos
DDemocratic
DE
7
P
Photo of Stell Selby
Stell Selby
DDemocratic
DE
20
P
Photo of Trey Paradee
Trey Paradee
DDemocratic
DE
17