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School-based programs will allow credentialed Department staff to visit the programs while in operation and inspect the documents that are required by this Article to be kept on the premises and provided upon request. Such inspections will occur at least once per year.
(Added City Record 6/12/2018, eff. 7/12/2018)
(a) Imminent or public health hazards.
(1) If the Department determines that a program is being operated in a manner that may give rise to an imminent or public health hazard as defined in 24 RCNY Health Code § 43.01, or is maintaining one or more conditions that constitute an imminent or public health hazard, or that its operation otherwise presents an unreasonable risk of endangering the health or safety of children or other persons, the Commissioner or the Commissioner's designee may order such program to close and to discontinue operations if the program is unable to correct the hazard, without further proceedings, by service of an order upon the school, or person(s) or entity managing or in control of such program.
(2) An order issued pursuant to this subdivision will provide the school, or person(s) or entity in control, an opportunity to object or contest the order in order to determine whether the public health hazard does not exist or has been corrected and if the hearing provided by subdivision (b) of this section is required.
(b) When a program subject to this Article is ordered closed, the Department will schedule a hearing at the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) Trials Division within 15 business days of closure. The purpose of the hearing is to allow the program to show cause why its continued operation is not a public health or imminent health hazard and why it should be allowed to reopen.
(c) The Commissioner or the Commissioner's designee may require any school that consistently fails to correct or repeats violations to prepare a corrective action plan in which factors contributing to violations are analyzed and a plan is created to address and correct violations to prevent their recurrence.
(d) Additional operating terms and conditions authorized. The Department may authorize the reopening of a program that has been ordered closed upon its determination that continuing operation will not present any unreasonable risk to any person and may impose such additional conditions upon reopening and continuing operation that it deems appropriate.
(e) Service of orders. Service of any order issued pursuant to this Article may be made upon any person to whom the order is addressed, to the person in charge of a school, to a person or entity that owns or operates the school, or upon any other person of suitable age and discretion who is asserting ownership, management or control of such program. Service of any order may be made in any manner provided in 24 RCNY Health Code § 3.05(b), or successor provision, and may be delivered to an owner or operator's home, or business address of the school listed in the notice submitted to the Department, or at the place where the program is being operated.
(f) Posting orders to close; notifying parents. Upon issuing an order to close a program for any reason, the Department will post a copy of the closing order at the entrance to the premises subject to such order and will notify and provide a copy of the closing order to the parents or other persons who arrive at the program to pick up children attending the program.
(g) Operation in violation of order prohibited. No person can remove an order posted pursuant to this section, or open to the public or operate a program in violation of an order issued pursuant to this section.
(h) Department authority not limited by this section. Nothing in this Article can be construed to limit the authority of the Department to take any authorized action it deems appropriate in the protection of children or staff participating in a program subject to this Article, including issuance of summonses seeking monetary penalties for violations cited by the Department, or commencing actions concerning the ongoing ability to operate such a program.
(Added City Record 12/26/2019, eff. 1/25/2020)
This Article must be liberally construed for the protection of the health of children attending programs regulated by this Article. If any provision of this Article is adjudged invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this Article.
(Added City Record 12/26/2019, eff. 1/25/2020)
When used in this article and in 24 RCNY Health Code Articles 49 and 51:
(a) School means a public or private elementary or junior high school where more than six children are received for instruction, but does not include a day care service attached to an elementary or junior high school. The term school shall include a kindergarten conducted as part of an elementary school by the Board of Education.
(b) Children's institution means a congregate institution, group residence, group home or other place where, for compensation or otherwise, seven or more children under 21 years of age are received for day and night care apart from their parents or guardians. The term children's institution shall not, however, include a children's overnight camp as defined by 24 RCNY Health Code § 48.03(b), a boarding school as governed by 24 RCNY Health Code § 49.11, or a children's hospital.
§ 45.03 Statement of Policy; Scope of 24 RCNY Health Code Article 45.
(a) It is hereby recognized that other State and City agencies, including among others, the Board of Education, the State Department of Social Welfare, and the State Department of Health, have important functions in areas relating to the health and welfare of children. The Department shall, therefore, as far as possible, administer the provisions of 24 RCNY Health Code Articles 45 through 51 with due regard to the duties and responsibilities of such other agencies, and shall, as far as possible, coordinate its activities with theirs. The provisions of these articles are not intended and shall not be construed to interfere with the teaching of religion. It is further recognized that experimentation and the testing of new ideas are of great importance in raising standards relating to schools and children's institutions. The provisions of 24 RCNY Health Code Articles 45 through 51 shall not be interpreted to favor any specific doctrine of child care or early childhood education, but shall be applied so as to permit experimental programs of all kinds consistent with the health, safety and welfare of children.
(b) The provisions of 24 RCNY Health Code Article 45 shall apply to schools and children's institutions and the provisions of 24 RCNY Health Code § 45.09(b), (c) and (d) shall also apply to public and private high schools.
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