The Florida Senate

239.5144  Employment Taskforce for Adults with Disabilities; membership; duties.--There is established the Employment Task Force for Adults with Disabilities, to be composed of an equal number of members appointed by the Commissioner of Education and the Executive Director of the State Board of Community Colleges. The commissioner shall appoint an additional member to serve as chairperson. Composition of the task force must include representation from organizations and state agencies that provide services to people with disabilities and people who receive services through programs that enroll adults with disabilities.

(1)  The task force shall:

(a)  Review current programs that provide education for adults with disabilities and identify those that are appropriately funded by the Workforce Development Education Fund or the categorical fund created in Specific Appropriations 119-A and 157-A of the Conference Report on House Bill 4201. If the task force identifies programs that are appropriate for funding from both sources, it shall define conditions of the programs or the students that make the dual funding appropriate.

(b)  Identify and classify programs conducted for adults with disabilities and report the number of adults with disabilities enrolled in those programs and in other workforce development education programs during the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 school years.

(c)  Review the expenditure of funds by school districts and community colleges for educational programs for adults with disabilities. This review includes identifying programs in which funds are used with maximum efficiency and an analysis of the characteristics of effective and efficient funding methods.

(d)  Identify and recommend remedies for conditions that could preclude the participation of people who are capable of working toward competitive employment.

(2)  The Department of Education shall provide staff to assist the task force. Task force members may be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061.

(3)  The task force shall submit a report to the Commissioner of Education by December 1, 1998. The report may include recommendations for changes in policy, rule, or law to increase the effectiveness of programs that enroll adults with disabilities.

History.--s. 25, ch. 98-58.