1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to child care; requiring child care centers to use video security cameras 
1.3 	to monitor infants and toddlers; appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 
1.4 	2024, section 142D.23, subdivision 3; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
1.5 	Statutes, chapter 142B.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. [142B.68] VIDEO SECURITY CAMERAS IN CHILD CARE CENTERS.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) For the purposes of this section, the terms defined in this 
1.9 	subdivision have the meanings given.
1.10 	(b) "Facility" means the indoor and outdoor space in which child care is provided that 
1.11 	is owned, leased, or operated by a licensed child care center.
1.12 	(c) "Video security camera" means a video camera or other device that captures or 
1.13 	records video.
1.14 		Subd. 2.Requirements for video security cameras. (a) By January 1, 2026, a licensed 
1.15 	child care center must have video security cameras to monitor and record infants and toddlers 
1.16 	in public and shared areas of the facility as provided under this subdivision.
1.17 	(b) A licensed child care center must have at least one video security camera in each 
1.18 	room designated for infants or toddlers. The camera must be positioned to provide maximum 
1.19 	visibility of the room. If one camera is not sufficient to view at least 80 percent of the square 
1.20 	footage of the room, the center must place an additional camera or cameras in the room to 
1.21 	achieve maximum visibility of the room.
2.1 	(c) A licensed child care center must have a sufficient number of video security cameras 
2.2 	to provide visibility of all outdoor recreational equipment used by infants or toddlers and 
2.3 	at least 80 percent of the square footage of a fenced-in outdoor space used by infants or 
2.4 	toddlers.
2.5 	(d) The video security cameras must:
2.6 	(1) be turned on and recording at all times the licensed child care center is in operation;
2.7 	(2) record and display the accurate date and time;
2.8 	(3) have a display resolution of 720p or higher; and
2.9 	(4) have a frames per second rate of 15 or higher.
2.10 		Subd. 3.Retention and disposal of recordings; access to recordings. (a) A licensed 
2.11 	child care center must retain video security camera recordings required under this section 
2.12 	for 60 calendar days after the date of the recording. Except as provided under paragraphs 
2.13 	(b), (c), and (d), a licensed child care center must dispose of video security camera recordings 
2.14 	required under this section after 60 calendar days.
2.15 	(b) A licensed child care center that receives notice from a law enforcement official of 
2.16 	a suspected crime committed against a child at the center may not dispose of any video 
2.17 	security camera recordings required under this section until the law enforcement investigation 
2.18 	of the suspected crime is complete.
2.19 	(c) A licensed child care center must retain video security camera recordings related to 
2.20 	an incident that the center must report to the commissioner under Minnesota Rules, part 
2.21 	9503.0130, for six months from the date of the incident.
2.22 	(d) A licensed child care center may retain video security camera recordings required 
2.23 	under this section to use for training center employees. Any recordings used for training 
2.24 	purposes must redact, as defined under section 13.825, subdivision 1, identifying information 
2.25 	on children shown or heard in the recording, unless a parent or legal guardian has provided 
2.26 	written consent providing that the center may use unredacted recordings of the parent's or 
2.27 	guardian's child.
2.28 	(e) A licensed child care center must adhere to additional requirements issued by the 
2.29 	commissioner regarding the retention and disposal of video security camera recordings 
2.30 	required under this section.
2.31 	(f) A licensed child care center must establish appropriate security safeguards for the 
2.32 	video security camera recordings required under this section, including procedures for 
3.1 	ensuring that the recordings are only accessible to persons whose work assignment reasonably 
3.2 	requires access to the recordings, and are only accessed by those persons for purposes 
3.3 	described in the procedure. All queries and responses, and all actions in which the recordings 
3.4 	are accessed, shared, or disseminated, must be recorded in a data audit trail. Data contained 
3.5 	in the audit trail are subject to the same requirements as the underlying recording under this 
3.6 	section.
3.7 		Subd. 4.Dissemination of recordings. (a) A licensed child care center may not sell, 
3.8 	share, transmit, or disseminate a video security camera recording required under this section 
3.9 	to any person except as authorized by this section.
3.10 	(b) A child care center must disseminate a video security camera recording required 
3.11 	under this section pursuant to a valid court order, search warrant, or subpoena in a civil, 
3.12 	criminal, or administrative proceeding, including an investigation by the commissioner.
3.13 	(c) A licensed child care center must establish a process by which a parent or legal 
3.14 	guardian may review, but not obtain a copy of, a video security camera recording required 
3.15 	under this section if the parent or guardian provides:
3.16 	(1) documentation of visible marks on a child, such as bruises or swelling that has 
3.17 	persisted for more than 24 hours, or a child's physical impediment, such as a limp that was 
3.18 	not previously present; or
3.19 	(2) documentation from a physician of a child's physical injury.
3.20 	(d) An employee of a licensed child care center who is the subject of proposed disciplinary 
3.21 	action by the center based upon evidence obtained by a video security camera must be given 
3.22 	access to that evidence for purposes of defending against the proposed action. An employee 
3.23 	who obtains a recording or a copy of the recording must treat the recording or copy 
3.24 	confidentially and must not further disseminate it to any other person except as required 
3.25 	under law. The employee must not keep the recording or copy or a portion of the recording 
3.26 	or copy after it is no longer needed for purposes of defending against a proposed action.
3.27 		Subd. 5.Hold harmless. (a) The commissioner may not issue a fix-it ticket, correction 
3.28 	order, or order of conditional license against a child care center license holder for a licensing 
3.29 	violation that does not imminently endanger the health or safety of the children served by 
3.30 	the center, if the only source of evidence for the violation is video security camera recordings 
3.31 	reviewed as part of an investigation under subdivision 4, paragraph (b). This paragraph 
3.32 	expires upon implementation of the child care weighted risk system under section 142B.171. 
3.33 	The commissioner shall notify the revisor of statutes when the system has been implemented.
4.1 	(b) Upon implementation of the child care weighted risk system under section 142B.171, 
4.2 	the commissioner may not take a licensing action against a child care center license holder 
4.3 	for a violation that counts as 6.5 or below for a child care center in the weighted risk system, 
4.4 	if the only source of evidence for the violation is video security camera recordings reviewed 
4.5 	as part of an investigation under subdivision 4, paragraph (b).
4.6 		Subd. 6.Written policy required. A licensed child care center must have a written 
4.7 	policy on the center's use of video security cameras that includes the following:
4.8 	(1) the days and times the video security cameras in the facility are in use;
4.9 	(2) the locations of all areas monitored by video security cameras in the facility;
4.10 	(3) the center's retention and disposal policies and procedures for the video security 
4.11 	camera recordings required under this section;
4.12 	(4) the center's policies governing access to the video security camera recordings required 
4.13 	under this section; and
4.14 	(5) the center's security safeguards and procedures regarding employee access to the 
4.15 	recordings.
4.16 		Subd. 7.Notices. (a) A licensed child care center must notify all parents and legal 
4.17 	guardians who apply to enroll or enroll a child in the center about the use of video security 
4.18 	cameras in the facility. At the time of a child's enrollment, the center must provide parents 
4.19 	and legal guardians with the video security camera policy required under subdivision 6.
4.20 	(b) A licensed child care center must post a sign at each facility entrance accessible to 
4.21 	visitors that states: "Video security cameras are present to record persons and activities."
4.22 		Subd. 8.Data practices. Video footage collected or maintained by the commissioner 
4.23 	under this section is classified as welfare data under section 13.46.
4.24 		Subd. 9.Annual audit. The commissioner must conduct, as part of the annual licensing 
4.25 	inspection required under this chapter, an audit to determine whether the center's use of 
4.26 	video security cameras complies with the requirements of this section, including but not 
4.27 	limited to all requirements in subdivision 3.

4.28 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 142D.23, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
4.29 		Subd. 3.Eligible uses of money. Grantees must use money received under this section, 
4.30 	either directly or through grants to eligible child care providers, for one or more of the 
4.31 	following purposes:
5.1 	(1) the purchase of computers or mobile devices for use in business management;
5.2 	(2) access to the Internet through the provision of necessary hardware such as routers 
5.3 	or modems or by covering the costs of monthly fees for Internet access;
5.4 	(3) covering the costs of subscription to child care management software;
5.5 	(4) covering the costs of training in the use of technology for business management 
5.6 	purposes; or
5.7 	(5) covering the costs of video security cameras and related training required for licensed 
5.8 	child care centers under section 142B.68; or
5.9 	(5) (6) other services as determined by the commissioner.

5.10 	Sec. 3. APPROPRIATION; CHILD CARE PROVIDER ACCESS TO 
5.11 	TECHNOLOGY GRANTS.
 5.12 	$250,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $250,000 in fiscal year 2027 are appropriated from the 
5.13 	general fund to the commissioner of children, youth, and families for the child care provider 
5.14 	access to technology grants program under Minnesota Statutes, section 142D.23, subdivision 
5.15 	3, clause (5). The base for this appropriation is $250,000 in fiscal year 2028 and beyond. 
5.16 	Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 16B.98, subdivision 14, the amount for 
5.17 	administrative costs under this paragraph is $0.