Florida Senate - 2011                (Corrected Copy)    SB 1254
       
       
       
       By Senator Wise
       
       
       
       
       5-00141G-11                                           20111254__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to auditory-oral education programs;
    3         providing a short title; amending s. 1002.20, F.S.;
    4         revising provisions relating to public school choice
    5         options for parents of public school students to
    6         include auditory-oral education programs; creating s.
    7         1002.391, F.S; providing definitions; providing that a
    8         parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing may
    9         enroll the child in an auditory-oral education program
   10         at a school accredited by OPTION Schools, Inc., or at
   11         a school in which the supervisor and the majority of
   12         faculty are certified as Listening and Spoken Language
   13         Specialists by the Alexander Graham Bell Academy for
   14         Listening and Spoken Language; providing that the
   15         child may continue attending the school and complete
   16         the development of listening and spoken language
   17         skills if specified criteria are met; requiring that
   18         the level of services be determined by the individual
   19         educational plan team or individualized family support
   20         plan team; providing that a child is no longer
   21         eligible under certain circumstances; amending s.
   22         1011.62, F.S.; revising provisions relating to the
   23         funding model for exceptional student education
   24         programs to require the Department of Education to
   25         review and revise the descriptions of services and
   26         supports in the matrix of services used to determine
   27         exceptional education cost factors; providing an
   28         effective date.
   29  
   30  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   31  
   32         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Auditory Oral
   33  Education Act.”
   34         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section
   35  1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   36         1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public
   37  school students must receive accurate and timely information
   38  regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed
   39  of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12
   40  students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory
   41  rights including, but not limited to, the following:
   42         (6) EDUCATIONAL CHOICE.—
   43         (a) Public school choices.—Parents of public school
   44  students may seek whatever public school choice options that are
   45  applicable to their students and are available to students in
   46  their school districts. These options may include controlled
   47  open enrollment, single-gender programs, lab schools, school
   48  district virtual instruction programs, charter schools, charter
   49  technical career centers, magnet schools, alternative schools,
   50  special programs, auditory-oral education programs, advanced
   51  placement, dual enrollment, International Baccalaureate,
   52  International General Certificate of Secondary Education (pre
   53  AICE), Advanced International Certificate of Education, early
   54  admissions, credit by examination or demonstration of
   55  competency, the New World School of the Arts, the Florida School
   56  for the Deaf and the Blind, and the Florida Virtual School.
   57  These options may also include the public school choice options
   58  of the Opportunity Scholarship Program and the McKay
   59  Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program.
   60         Section 3. Section 1002.391, Florida Statutes, is created
   61  to read:
   62         1002.391 Auditory-oral education programs.—
   63         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   64         (a) “Auditory-oral education program” means a program that
   65  develops and relies solely on listening skills and uses an
   66  implant or assistive hearing device for the purpose of relying
   67  on speech and spoken language skills as the method of
   68  communication.
   69         (b) “Deaf or hard of hearing” means aided or unaided
   70  hearing loss that impacts the processing of linguistic
   71  information and adversely affects performance in the educational
   72  environment. The degree of loss may range from mild to profound
   73  in accordance with the criteria established by rule of the State
   74  Board of Education.
   75         (c) “School” means a public or private school located in
   76  this state which meets the following requirements:
   77         1. Is accredited by OPTION Schools, Inc., to teach children
   78  who have obtained an implant or assistive hearing device; or
   79         2. Has a supervisor and a majority of the faculty who
   80  provide direct services to children and who are certified by the
   81  Alexander Graham Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language
   82  as Listening and Spoken Language Specialists.
   83         (2)(a) The parent of a child who meets the requirements in
   84  paragraph (b) may enroll the child in an auditory-oral education
   85  program at a school of choice under s. 1002.20.
   86         (b) Any child who is deaf or hard of hearing and who
   87  enrolls in an auditory-oral education program at a school, as
   88  defined in this section, may continue attending the school and
   89  complete the development of listening and spoken language skills
   90  at the school if the child:
   91         1. Has received an implant or assistive hearing device;
   92         2.a. Is between the ages of 3 and 7 years; or
   93         b. Is between the ages of 2 and 7 years when the school
   94  district elects to serve children with disabilities who are
   95  under the age of 3 years; and
   96         3. Is a resident of the state.
   97         (3) The level of services shall be determined by the
   98  individual educational plan team or individualized family
   99  support plan team, which includes the child’s parent in
  100  accordance with the rules of the State Board of Education. A
  101  child is eligible for services under this section until the end
  102  of the school year in which he or she reaches the age of 7 years
  103  or after grade 2, whichever comes first.
  104         Section 4. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section
  105  1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  106         1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual
  107  allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
  108  district for operation of schools is not determined in the
  109  annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
  110  the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
  111  follows:
  112         (1) COMPUTATION OF THE BASIC AMOUNT TO BE INCLUDED FOR
  113  OPERATION.—The following procedure shall be followed in
  114  determining the annual allocation to each district for
  115  operation:
  116         (e) Funding model for exceptional student education
  117  programs.—
  118         1.a. The funding model uses basic, at-risk, support levels
  119  IV and V for exceptional students and career Florida Education
  120  Finance Program cost factors, and a guaranteed allocation for
  121  exceptional student education programs. Exceptional education
  122  cost factors are determined by using a matrix of services to
  123  document the services that each exceptional student will
  124  receive. The nature and intensity of the services indicated on
  125  the matrix shall be consistent with the services described in
  126  each exceptional student’s individual educational plan. The
  127  Department of Education shall review and revise the descriptions
  128  of the services and supports included in the matrix of services
  129  for exceptional students and shall implement those revisions
  130  before the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year.
  131         b. In order to generate funds using one of the two weighted
  132  cost factors, a matrix of services must be completed at the time
  133  of the student’s initial placement into an exceptional student
  134  education program and at least once every 3 years by personnel
  135  who have received approved training. Nothing listed in the
  136  matrix shall be construed as limiting the services a school
  137  district must provide in order to ensure that exceptional
  138  students are provided a free, appropriate public education.
  139         c. Students identified as exceptional, in accordance with
  140  chapter 6A-6, Florida Administrative Code, who do not have a
  141  matrix of services as specified in sub-subparagraph b. shall
  142  generate funds on the basis of full-time-equivalent student
  143  membership in the Florida Education Finance Program at the same
  144  funding level per student as provided for basic students.
  145  Additional funds for these exceptional students will be provided
  146  through the guaranteed allocation designated in subparagraph 2.
  147         2. For students identified as exceptional who do not have a
  148  matrix of services and students who are gifted in grades K
  149  through 8, there is created a guaranteed allocation to provide
  150  these students with a free appropriate public education, in
  151  accordance with s. 1001.42(4)(m) and rules of the State Board of
  152  Education, which shall be allocated annually to each school
  153  district in the amount provided in the General Appropriations
  154  Act. These funds shall be in addition to the funds appropriated
  155  on the basis of FTE student membership in the Florida Education
  156  Finance Program, and the amount allocated for each school
  157  district shall not be recalculated during the year. These funds
  158  shall be used to provide special education and related services
  159  for exceptional students and students who are gifted in grades K
  160  through 8. Beginning with the 2007-2008 fiscal year, a
  161  district’s expenditure of funds from the guaranteed allocation
  162  for students in grades 9 through 12 who are gifted may not be
  163  greater than the amount expended during the 2006-2007 fiscal
  164  year for gifted students in grades 9 through 12.
  165         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.