§346-152 Exclusions; exemptions. (a) Nothing in this part shall be construed to include:
(1) A person caring for children who is related to each child by blood, marriage, or adoption as:
(A) An aunt, uncle, grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great grandparent, first cousin, niece, nephew, grandniece, grandnephew, great aunt, or great uncle;
(B) A stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, or stepsister; or
(C) The spouse of a person named in subparagraph (A) or (B), even if the marriage is terminated by death, separation, or divorce;
(2) A person, group of persons, or facility caring for a child less than six hours a week;
(3) A kindergarten, school, or child care program licensed or certified by the department of education or the United States Department of Defense and located on federal property, or a classroom administered by the executive office on early learning pursuant to section 302L-7;
(4) A program that provides exclusively for a specialized training or skill development for children who are eligible pupils in grades kindergarten through twelve in public or private schools, including but not limited to programs providing activities including athletic sports, foreign language, the Hawaiian language, dance, drama, music, or martial arts;
(5) A multiservice organization or community association, duly incorporated under the laws of the State, that operates for the purpose of promoting recreation, health, safety, or social group functions for eligible pupils in public and private schools through seventeen years of age;
(6) Programs for children four years of age and older that operate for no more than two consecutive calendar weeks in a three-month period;
(7) A provider agency operating or managing a homeless facility or any other program for homeless persons authorized under part XVII;
(8) After-school, weekend, and summer recess programs conducted by the department of education pursuant to section 302A-408;
(9) Child care programs conducted by counties pursuant to section 302A-408; provided that each county adopts rules for its programs;
(10) Any person who enters a home in a child caring capacity and only cares for children who are of that household;
(11) A person caring for two or fewer children unrelated to the caregiver by blood, marriage, or adoption as described in paragraph (1); and
(12) A child care program licensed by the Hawaii council of private schools. A child care program claiming an exemption under this paragraph shall submit an application for the exemption on a form provided by the department and shall provide to the department evidence that the licensing standards of the Hawaii council of private schools meet or exceed the department's standards for a comparable program, including a monitoring component. Upon application of a child care program for the exemption under this paragraph, the department shall have the discretion to determine whether the licensing standards of the Hawaii council of private schools meet or exceed the department's standards.
(b) Staff members of programs taught solely in Hawaiian that promote fluency in the Hawaiian language shall be exempt from any rules requiring academic training or certification.
(c) Minimum health and safety requirements or standards as required by federal law may be imposed on any of the groups listed in this section that provide child care for a child whose family receives a child care subsidy from the department.
(d) Any person or child care facility asserting an exemption under this section shall:
(1) Cooperate with the department in investigations relating to unlicensed or unregistered child care;
(2) Have the burden of proving that the person or child care facility falls within an exemption pursuant to subsection (a); and
(3) Provide verification to the department that the person or child care facility falls within an exemption pursuant to subsection (a). [L 1985, c 208, pt of §2; am L 1986, c 79, §1; am L 1988, c 125, §2; am L 1991, c 212, §5; am L 1992, c 114, §1; am L 1997, c 250, §1 and c 350, §17; am L 1998, c 212, §3; am L 2002, c 33, §2; am L 2007, c 249, §21; am L 2010, c 89, §5; am L 2012, c 163, §1; am L 2013, c 140, §1; am L 2019, c 276, §11; am L 2020, c 66, §2]
Attorney General Opinions
No exemption for child care program connected with religious organization or offering some religious instruction. Att. Gen. Op. 85-25.