SECTION 747.4401. What minimum safety requirements must my active play equipment meet?

Indoor and outdoor active play equipment used both at and away from the child-care home must be safe for the children as follows:

(1) The indoor and outdoor active play equipment must be arranged so that caregivers can adequately supervise children at all times;

(2) The design, scale, and location of the equipment must be used according to the manufacturer's instructions;

(3) Equipment must not have openings or angles that can entrap a child's body or body part that has penetrated the opening;

(4) Equipment must not have protrusions or openings that can entangle something around a child's neck or a child's clothing;

(5) Equipment must be securely anchored according to manufacturer's specifications to prevent collapsing, tipping, sliding, moving, or overturning;

(6) All anchoring devices must be placed below the level of the playing surface to prevent tripping or injury resulting from a fall;

(7) Equipment must not have exposed pinch, crush, or shear points on or underneath it;

(8) Climbing equipment, swings, or inflatables must not be installed over asphalt or concrete, unless the asphalt or concrete is covered with properly installed unitary surfacing material as specified in §747.4707 of this title (relating to What are unitary surfacing materials?) and §747.4709 of this title (relating to How should unitary surfacing materials be installed?);

(9) Porches or platforms more than 20 inches in height for pre-kindergarten and younger children, and more than 30 inches in height for school-age children, must be equipped with protective barriers that surround the elevated surface, except for entrances and exits and that prevent children from crawling over or falling through the barrier, or becoming entrapped; and

(10) Stairs and steps on climbing equipment, regardless of height, must have handrails the children can reach. Rung ladders do not require handrails.

Source Note: The provisions of this §747.4401 adopted to be effective September 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 1462; amended to be effective December 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 10266; amended to be effective April 15, 2017, 42 TexReg 1906; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909