# Texas child care, camp and ratio rules

Source: https://backpr.com/resources/states/texas. Last updated: 2026-10-19.

Checked October 2026 against Texas's official rules and federal sources. General information, not legal advice; confirm with the agency.

### Child care licensing
Child-care centers, licensed and registered child-care homes, and listed family homes are regulated by HHSC under Human Resources Code Chapter 42. Programs that offer before- or after-school care or school-age program services are licensed under their own standards (26 TAC Chapter 744), which use the center ratios and group sizes.

After-school and recreation programs: Exempt programs include before/after-school programs run by (or under contract with) a school accredited by TEA or another recognized body, municipal recreation programs for ages 5-13 that meet city standards of care, neighborhood recreation programs, single-skill programs (such as sports or dance), short-term programs running less than 3 consecutive weeks and fewer than 40 days a year, programs where parents stay on the premises, and youth camps licensed by DSHS (26 TAC §§745.115-745.129; HRC §42.041(b)). Most of these exemptions come with conditions, such as telling parents the program is not licensed and running background checks.

Licensing agency: Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), Child Care Regulation (https://www.hhs.texas.gov/providers/child-care-regulation)

### Staff-to-child ratios in licensed centers
| Ages | Children per staff member | Largest group |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 3 years | 1:15 | 30 |
| 4 years | 1:18 | 35 |
| 5 years | 1:22 | 35 |
| School-age (6-13 years) | 1:26 | 35 |

Rule: 26 TAC §746.1601 (ratios) and §746.1609 (maximum group size); 26 TAC §744.1601 and §744.1607 apply the same numbers to licensed school-age and before/after-school programs. These figures apply to centers licensed for 13 or more children. Ratios are based on the group's 'specified age': the age of the middle child when the children are listed from youngest to oldest (26 TAC §746.1603). Texas lists 6-8 years and 9-13 years separately, and both are 26 children per caregiver with a group of 35. Centers caring for 12 or fewer children follow different rules (Division 3, starting at §746.1701).

Sources: HHSC Minimum Standards for Child-Care Centers (26 TAC Ch. 746), revised December 2025 (https://www.hhs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/doing-business-with-hhs/provider-portal/protective-services/ccl/min-standards/chapter-746-centers.pdf); HHSC Minimum Standards for School-Age and Before or After-School Programs (26 TAC Ch. 744) (https://www.hhs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/chapter-744-school-age.pdf); HHSC Child Care Regulation Handbook, 2300 Exemption Categories and Types (https://fhb.hhs.texas.gov/node/310056); HHSC Minimum Standards page (https://www.hhs.texas.gov/providers/child-care-regulation/minimum-standards)

### Summer camps
Day camps, resident camps, and travel camps that meet the state's youth camp definition need a DSHS youth camp license before operating (Health and Safety Code Chapter 141; 25 TAC Chapter 265, Subchapter B). A program counts as a youth camp only if it serves at least 5 minors away from their parents for 4 or more consecutive days, 4 or more hours a day, only during school vacations, for no more than 120 days a year, and offers at least two outdoor specialized activities such as swimming, archery, or horseback riding (25 TAC §265.11). A program that misses any of these criteria is not a youth camp but may need a child care license from HHSC. The Legislature rewrote the camp safety law in 2025 (HB 1 and SB 1), and DSHS adopted new rules in early 2026.

Sources: DSHS Youth Camp Program (https://www.dshs.texas.gov/youth-camp-program); DSHS License Qualification Package (youth camp definition) (https://www.dshs.texas.gov/youth-camp-program/license-qualification-package-youth-camp-program); 25 TAC Ch. 265 Subch. B, rules as in effect 02/02/2026 (DSHS PDF) (https://www.dshs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/youthcamp/pdf/25-tac-p1-ch-265-subch-b-master-rules-as-of-02.02.2026.pdf); DSHS Youth Camp Laws and Rules (https://www.dshs.texas.gov/youth-camp-program/laws-rules-youth-camp-program)

### Background checks
In licensed child care, staff and others who need a check must have a criminal history check (fingerprint-based for most staff), a check of the DFPS central registry of child abuse and neglect, a SEMARC check (misconduct findings held by HHSC's Employee Misconduct Registry, TEA, and the Texas Juvenile Justice Department), and, for child day-care operations, a National Sex Offender Registry check. People who lived outside Texas in the past 5 years also need out-of-state criminal, abuse/neglect registry, and sex offender registry checks. Fingerprint-based checks must be renewed at least every 5 years (26 TAC §§745.609-745.621). Licensed youth camps must run a criminal background check and a sex offender registry check on every adult staff member and adult volunteer before they have unsupervised contact with campers, and repeat both checks every year (25 TAC §265.12(f)).

Sources: HHSC Background Check Rules, 26 TAC Ch. 745 Subch. F (revised 8/2026) (https://www.hhs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/doing-business-with-hhs/provider-portal/protective-services/ccl/min-standards/745-sub-f-background-checks.pdf); 25 TAC §265.12(f), youth camp background checks (DSHS PDF) (https://www.dshs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/youthcamp/pdf/25-tac-p1-ch-265-subch-b-master-rules-as-of-02.02.2026.pdf)

### Giving medication
Centers need the parent's authorization before giving any medication: in writing (signed and dated), electronically, or by phone for a single dose. An authorization expires after one year. Medication must be in its original container labeled with the child's full name, given as the label or the child's health-care professional directs, and logged with the child's name, medication, date, time, amount, and the staff member's name. Records must be kept 3 months (26 TAC §§746.3803-746.3809). A center that will not give medication must tell parents in writing before enrollment (§746.3811).

Sources: HHSC Minimum Standards for Child-Care Centers, Subchapter S Division 2 (https://www.hhs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/doing-business-with-hhs/provider-portal/protective-services/ccl/min-standards/chapter-746-centers.pdf)

### Reporting child abuse
Anyone who has reasonable cause to believe a child has been abused or neglected must report immediately. Professionals, including teachers, day-care employees, and anyone licensed by the state or working for a state-licensed facility who has direct contact with children, must report within 24 hours and cannot hand the duty to someone else (Texas Family Code §261.101). Hotline: 1-800-252-5400 (https://www.txabusehotline.org).

Sources: Texas Family Code §261.101 (official statutes) (https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/FA/htm/FA.261.htm); DFPS: Report Abuse (https://www.dfps.texas.gov/Contact_Us/report_abuse.asp); Child Welfare Information Gateway: Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect (https://www.childwelfare.gov/resources/mandatory-reporting-child-abuse-and-neglect/)