Minimum requirements regarding space and lighting

1. Each operator shall provide adequate indoor and outdoor space for the daily activities of all children within the licensed capacity of the child care center. 2. Adequate space must include a minimum of thirty-five square feet [3.25 square meters] of space per child indoors and a minimum of seventy-five square feet [6.97 square meters] of play space per child outdoors. Indoor space considered must exclude bathrooms, pantries, passageways leading to outdoor exits, areas occupied by furniture or appliances that children should not play on or under, and space children are not permitted to occupy. If available outdoor play space does not accommodate the licensed capacity of the child care center at one time, the total appropriate outdoor play space available must not be less than what is required for the number of children in the largest class or group of the center multiplied by seventy-five square feet [6.97 square meters]. Operators who provide seventy-five square feet [6.97 square meters] of separate indoor recreation space per child for the largest class or group are exempt from the outdoor space requirement. The child care center operator shall prepare a written schedule of outdoor or separate indoor recreation space playtime which limits use of the play area to its capacity, giving every child an opportunity to play daily. 3. The child care center must be properly lighted. If the lighting of the child care center appears questionable, the department may require the operator to obtain additional lights so that a minimum of sixty-five foot-candles of light is used in the areas generally used for children's activities.