DEL Licensing Capacity Clarification

Some of you may have received an email from WFIS expressing concern over changes to the way in which the licensed capacity of an early childhood classroom is determined. The information below clarifies current policies regarding licensed capacity of a DEL licensed classroom or center.

• DEL licensing, at the time of initial licensing, needs to make sure that any new space complies with local fire marshall space use requirements.
• DEL licensors use that initial space determination to set a capacity limit for the program.
• The state fire marshall office recently (2 years ago) changed their space regulations for child care to include adults in the SQFT determination (35 sq. ft. per individual, 20 children max).
• DEL does NOT have any influence over creation or enforcement of fire marshall rules.
• At annual licensing inspections, DEL staff look at capacity of the space based on the fire marshall inspection done when the program was initially created/opened.
• Fire Marshall standards changed, but in a prospective way for child care; that is, the new standards will impact new programs or growing programs – it is not applied retroactively by DEL to existing programs.
• If providers are concerned about the “new” (2 years old) fire marshall standards, they need to follow up with that entity, not DEL.
• DEL's original intent was to simplify the process by including the fire marshall standards in their new proposed standards, but after the confusion, they just referred to their rules to reinforce that they don’t have a role in setting that. Nothing in DEL's rules changed.

Feel free to contact me if you have additional questions at kaitlyn.oleary@seattlearch.org.