Does Your Daycare Use Cameras? A New Bill Wants You to Know Exactly Who Is Watching.

What This Bill Actually Does

Set the scene: You walk into a modern child care center, and you’ll almost always see dome cameras tucked into the corners of the ceiling. But what exactly happens to that footage? Is it streaming live to a manager's office? Is it saved to a cloud server for six months? Can a parent demand to see it if two toddlers get into a scuffle? Right now, Colorado law doesn't strictly dictate how daycares must communicate their security camera policies to families.

Senate Bill 26-050 is designed to fix that communication gap. The bill amends state law (C.R.S. 26.5-5-314) to require absolute transparency. It doesn’t mandate that child care centers install cameras, nor does it tell them how long they have to keep their tapes. Instead, it says that if a center uses video recording equipment, they must explicitly disclose that fact in their written policies. Furthermore, they have to lay out exactly how they handle the generated footage. That includes their specific recording, retention, and disposal policy, any privacy protections they employ, and the rules surrounding how parents or law enforcement can access the videos.

But cameras are only half of the bill. SB26-050 also requires child care centers to explicitly state in their parent policies that all child care workers are mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect under Colorado state law. Mandatory reporters are professionals who are legally obligated to report any suspicion of child abuse to the authorities. By forcing daycares to put this in writing, the state hopes to set clear expectations upfront. Parents will know exactly what legal obligations the teachers are operating under, and facilities will have a standardized way to communicate the serious nature of child welfare laws before a child even spends their first day in a classroom.

What It Means for You

For parents, this legislation is really about peace of mind and managing expectations. If your child comes home with an unexplained bruise or mentions a scary incident on the playground, your first instinct is usually to ask the daycare to "roll the tapes." Unfortunately, many parents only discover a facility's video policy after an incident has occurred. You might find out the cameras only cover the parking lot, or that the system automatically overwrites footage every 48 hours, meaning the evidence is already gone.

Under this bill, you’ll be handed a clear, written policy upfront during enrollment that details exactly what is recorded and how long it’s saved. More importantly, it requires the daycare to outline parental and legal access to that footage. Many daycares refuse to show video to parents because it captures other children, citing privacy concerns. Whether their policy is "open access" or "police only," you will know the rules of the game on day one. The mandatory reporter disclosure serves a similar purpose. It’s a straightforward heads-up that daycares aren't just babysitters; they are state-licensed professionals bound by strict laws. If a teacher asks you probing questions about a scrape on your child's arm, it’s not because they are nosy—it’s because they are legally required to document and report suspicious injuries. Having this spelled out in the handbook prevents misunderstandings between parents and staff.

Here is how you can act on this right now:

• Review your current handbook: Don't wait for the law to pass. Ask your child care provider today what their video retention and access policy is. If they don't have a formal one, suggest they create it.
• Share your perspective: If you think daycare video policies should be standardized across the state—rather than just disclosed—now is the time to contact your state senator while the bill is in committee.
• Watch for the August 2026 rollout: If the bill passes, expect to sign an updated policy acknowledgement form before the 2026 fall school year begins.

What It Means for Your Business

If you own or operate a licensed child care center, preschool, or even a drop-in recreation program, this bill adds a couple of minor but important items to your administrative checklist. The great news here is what the bill doesn't do: It doesn’t force you to buy expensive new surveillance systems, and it doesn't mandate that you hold onto server-clogging video footage for years on end. The state is simply telling you to formalize the practices you probably already have in place and make sure they are explicitly communicated to your clients.

The real compliance work here is updating your policies and procedures manual. You must put your video lifecycle in writing: How long do you keep footage before disposal? Who has access to the feeds? Do you blur other children's faces if a parent requests footage, or do you deny parental access entirely to protect privacy? Putting this in writing actually protects your business. When an angry parent demands to see a tape, having a state-mandated, pre-signed policy to point to diffuses tension and shields you from claims of unfair treatment. You’ll also need to add a boilerplate disclosure stating your staff are mandatory reporters under C.R.S. 19-3-304(2)(m). Expect the Department of Early Childhood to look for both of these written disclosures during your routine licensing inspections once the law takes effect.

While the bill wouldn't take effect until August 12, 2026, giving you plenty of time, here are the steps you should take this week to get ahead of the curve:

• Audit your camera system: Check with your IT or security vendor to confirm exactly how many days of video your system stores before it automatically overwrites. You can't write an accurate retention policy if you don't know your system's actual capacity.
• Draft your access policy: Sit down with your management team and decide exactly under what circumstances a parent or police officer can view footage. Put those boundaries in plain English.
• Update your templates: Draft the mandatory reporter statement now so it’s ready to be dropped into your next batch of parent enrollment packets.

Follow the Money

This is one of those rare pieces of legislation that costs practically nothing to implement. According to the nonpartisan Fiscal Note, SB26-050 requires exactly $0 in state revenue and $0 in state expenditures. It doesn't require any new taxpayer funding, and it won't force the state to hire any new full-time employees (0.0 FTE).

The only tangible fiscal impact falls under the category of "minimal workload." For state and local government entities that operate child care facilities—think state university campus daycares or city-run recreation centers—administrators will need to spend a few hours updating their handbooks, just like private businesses. Additionally, the Department of Early Childhood will spend a tiny bit of staff time communicating these new rules to licensed centers and adding the disclosure check to their standard licensing review process. However, this is entirely absorbed within their existing operating budget. Taxpayers won't feel a thing.

Where This Bill Stands

SB26-050 was officially introduced in the Senate on January 27, 2026, championed by Senators Janice Marchman and Scott Bright. It is currently sitting in the Senate Business, Labor, & Technology Committee, which will be its first major proving ground. One thing to note is that the bill currently lacks any House sponsors, meaning it will need to pick up a champion on the other side of the Capitol if it expects to survive the full legislative journey.

Because this is a zero-cost transparency bill that doesn't impose harsh new mandates on businesses, it has a very strong chance of sailing through committee with bipartisan support. Nobody tends to vote against basic parental disclosures. Keep an eye out for its first committee hearing over the coming weeks. If it clears the Senate and the House, and the Governor signs it, the law will officially take effect on August 12, 2026 (assuming a standard May adjournment), right in time for the fall enrollment season.