HB 1600 Pennsylvania House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

An Act amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Human Services Code, in departmental powers and duties as to supervision, providing for Keystone STARS Program; and, in departmental powers and duties as to licensing, further providing for fees, providing for Keystone STARS Program and further providing for definition.

HB 1600 amends Pennsylvania's Human Services Code to establish specific requirements for the Keystone STARS Program, a quality rating system for child-care facilities. The bill requires participating child-care centers and family child-care homes to display their STAR-level rating on their public website and provide it to parents at enrollment. It also mandates that the state department issue visible placards with facilities' ratings and develop a rubric outlining how providers can improve their rating through staff training, program quality, family partnerships, and leadership. This directly affects licensed child-care providers and parents seeking early childhood education services.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jun 2025

Committee Review

Jun 2026

House Passage

Jul 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jun 11, 2025 Last action Jun 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Printer's No. PN1909 → Printer's No. PN1944 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated to reflect its progression from the initial introduction to a version amended and reported from committee. The substantive text remains largely consistent, though it includes minor formatting adjustments and the addition of 'Child Care Facility' terminology in several places to align with other sections of the act.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; the text describes the same requirements for the Keystone STARS Program.

TECHNICAL

The bill header was updated to reflect the new Printer's Number (PN 1944) and added a note indicating the prior version (PN 1909).

The list of sponsors was updated to include a new sponsor, Hanbridge, and remove the original list of sponsors.

Minor text changes were made throughout the bill to insert the phrase 'Child Care Facility' next to 'certified child-care provider' in various sections, likely to improve clarity or consistency with other parts of the law.

Page numbers and footer text were updated to reflect the new version of the bill.

TIMELINE

The legislative history was updated to show that the bill was reported from the Committee on Children and Youth and amended on June 17, 2025, replacing the original introduction date and committee referral.

Floor votes · House Jul 9, 2025

How they voted

176–27

Passed

Total votes 203

Jul 9, 2025

D Democratic102

102 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican101

74 Yea 27 Nay

73% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported as committed

upper

Jul 23, 2025

Committee

Referred to Aging & Youth

upper

Jul 9, 2025

Lower · Passed

Third consideration and final passage

lower

Jul 9, 2025

Lower · Passed

Re-reported as committed

lower

Jul 8, 2025

Committee

Re-committed to Appropriations

lower

Jul 8, 2025

Lower · Passed

Re-reported as committed

lower

Jun 17, 2025

Committee

Re-committed to Rules

lower

Jun 17, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported as amended

lower

Jun 11, 2025

Committee

Referred to Children & Youth

lower

1 primary · 11 co-sponsors