In the following,
8VAC20-781-260 F. For children under 10 years of age, the licensee shall ensure sight and sound supervision by staff who are always physically present without separation by a physical barrier, except that staff need only be able to hear a child who is using the restroom provided that:
I propose that "without a separation by a physical barrier" be removed from this standard. This is unclear and helpful. If I help a baby get into their crib for a nap, that is a physical barrier and this language makes me think that I can no longer put children in cribs for naps. It doesn't make any sense.
Similarly, if my classroom's sleep space is separated from the play space or changing space by a baby gate, I can still see and hear the children in any of the areas due to the thoughtful design of our nursery space. This new wording of the regulation will be unnecessarily prohibitive and will directly and negatively impact the children in my care. The current regulations of maintaining sight and sound supervision are sufficient in meeting this need for supervised care.
Please remove the confusing "without a separation by a physical barrier" to help increase quality of care for children in early childhood programs. Thank you.