The Washington Market School

Health Department actions — May & October 2026: programme closed and re-opened in May (tribunal: sustained, $1,500 penalty); three citations open from 5 October, hearing 4 November

What the Health Department’s record says

May. On 27 May 2026 a non-routine monitoring inspection closed the programme (“Monitoring Inspection Non-Routine - Reinspection Required; Program closed”), citing three sections, all recorded as CORRECTED:

• Section 3.07 — public-health hazard. The Health Code’s general provision covering conduct or conditions detrimental to health and safety; under our standing rule its register wording is not reproduced. — recorded CORRECTED.
• Section 47.23(a) — public-health hazard. Register wording: “Constant and competent supervision provided by adequate staff for children and groups of children” — recorded CORRECTED.
• Section 47.11(a) — critical violation. Register wording: “Permittee/applicant failed to submit a written safety plan; written safety plan is Not approved; staff Not trained, drilled in plan; training, drills Not evaluated; plan Not maintained and updated.” — recorded CORRECTED.

The programme passed re-inspection the next day, 28 May. For 11 June the register carries two entries: a non-routine monitoring inspection passed with no violations, and a compliance inspection whose summary reads “Previously closed program re-opened.” The summons from 27 May (OATH ticket 0611626D0; charges 47.23(a), 3.07 and 47.11(a)) was heard on 16 September 2026: sustained, penalty $1,500.

October. On 5 October 2026 a further non-routine monitoring inspection ended “Monitoring Inspection Non-Routine - Reinspection Required; Fines pending,” with three citations recorded OPEN as of 17 October 2026:

• Section 47.23(a) — public-health hazard. Register wording: “Constant and competent supervision provided by adequate staff for children and groups of children” — recorded OPEN.
• Section 47.11(a) — critical violation. Register wording: “Permittee/applicant failed to submit a written safety plan; written safety plan is Not approved; staff Not trained, drilled in plan; training, drills Not evaluated; plan Not maintained and updated.” — recorded OPEN.
• Section 47.19(g) — critical violation. Register wording: “Child care service failed to Notify DOHMH within 24 hours of child abuse allegation/indication or record of criminal activity of individuals associated with child care service; serious injury, death or loss of a child.” — recorded OPEN.

The October summons (OATH ticket 1213526D0) is scheduled for hearing on 4 November 2026. Permit 5879 (55 Hudson Street, ages 2–5, capacity 140) was renewed in August and runs to 25 August 2028; the programme is open and permitted. The 134 Duane Street campus (permit 7297) is not involved in either action; its latest inspection, 3 March 2026, passed with no violations.

What this means & what parents should know

“Program closed” is the Department’s strongest routine action short of revoking a permit: in May the inspector ordered the programme to stop operating until the hazards were fixed, and on the register’s sequence it was closed for one day. “Fines pending” in October means a second summons has been issued, and “Reinspection Required” means a follow-up visit must confirm the items are corrected. A public-health hazard is the Department’s most serious category and must be corrected immediately; a critical violation must be corrected within two weeks; a general violation is the lowest category and is re-checked at the next routine inspection.

• Supervision (47.23(a)) — cited in both May and October: the inspector recorded that children were not under the constant, competent supervision of enough staff at the time of the visit.
• Written safety plan (47.11(a)) — also cited both times: every programme must have a Health Department–approved written safety plan, train and drill its staff on it, evaluate the drills and keep the plan current; the inspector recorded that this requirement was not met. The register lists the ways the rule can be broken and does not say which applied.
• 24-hour notification (47.19(g)) — October: a programme must tell the Health Department within 24 hours of any of these events: an allegation or indication of child abuse, learning of a criminal record of someone associated with the programme, or a serious injury, death or loss of a child. The inspector recorded that a required notification was not made in time; the register does not say which kind of event was involved, and we do not speculate.
• Section 3.07 — May: the general public-health-hazard provision; it was recorded corrected on the day and was part of the summons the tribunal sustained in September.

What happens next. The 4 November hearing decides the October summons (sustained, dismissed, or default); a re-inspection must separately confirm the three items are fixed. We will update this notice with both, and publish the tribunal’s outcome whatever it is — a dismissal as prominently as a sustained finding. Worth asking the school: what the May and October inspections found and what has changed since; whether the written safety plan is now approved and drilled; how each classroom is staffed to meet the supervision ratios; and what its notification and off-site procedures now are.

The May citations were adjudicated on 16 September 2026 (sustained). The October citations are the Department’s allegations and are not yet adjudicated: the school is entitled to a hearing, and adjudication can end in dismissal. The quoted wording is the Health Department’s own, as published on its Child Care Connect register, with our plain-English translation; we name no individual. If you are the school and this is wrong or incomplete, tell us — corrections run same day, and we will publish your response alongside.