SECTION 746.3701. What 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