House Bill 0239c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 239

        By the Committee on Education/K-12 and Representatives
    Wise, Chestnut and Eggelletion





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the College Fast Start

  3         Program; creating s. 239.515, F.S.;

  4         establishing the College Fast Start Program;

  5         providing legislative intent; defining terms;

  6         providing procedures for application to

  7         participate in the program; providing

  8         guidelines for program approval; providing

  9         requirements for approved programs; requiring

10         an advisory council to review proposals and

11         recommend an order of priority for funding;

12         providing membership of the advisory council;

13         providing for funding of the program; providing

14         methodology for competitive funding of approved

15         programs; providing requirements for the

16         continuation of funding for programs; requiring

17         an interim report to the Florida Governor's

18         Alliance for the Employment of Disabled

19         Citizens; requiring an annual end-of-the-year

20         report to the alliance; requiring the alliance

21         and the Postsecondary Education Planning

22         Commission to develop specifications and

23         procedures for the transmission of such data;

24         requiring the alliance to report to the

25         Governor, the Legislature, and the Commissioner

26         of Education annually on the effectiveness of

27         the program; providing an effective date.

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29  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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  1         Section 1.  Section 239.515, Florida Statutes, is

  2  created to read:

  3         239.515  College Fast Start Program.--

  4         (1)  There is established a College Fast Start Program

  5  to increase the number of students with disabilities in grades

  6  6 through 12 who are admitted to and successfully complete an

  7  associate in arts degree or an associate in science degree or

  8  a workforce development program. The goal of the program is

  9  the completion of a degree or occupational completion points

10  by, and placement into competitive employment of, students who

11  were identified as having a disability, in accordance with the

12  requirements of chapter 6A-6, Florida Administrative Code,

13  prior to their senior year in high school and who otherwise

14  would be unlikely to seek admission to a community college,

15  state university, or independent postsecondary vocational

16  institution without special support and recruitment efforts.

17  As part of the College Fast Start Program, the Florida

18  Governor's Alliance for the Employment of Disabled Citizens,

19  in cooperation with community colleges, independent

20  postsecondary institutions, high schools, businesses, and

21  agencies serving youth with disabilities, shall sponsor

22  programs to develop leadership skills, career counseling, and

23  motivation and shall provide grants for internships to further

24  prepare students with disabilities for postsecondary education

25  and employment opportunities.

26         (2)  As used in this section:

27         (a)  "The alliance" means the Florida Governor's

28  Alliance for the Employment of Disabled Citizens.

29         (b)  "Program participant" means a community college,

30  public university, independent postsecondary institution, high

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 239

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  1  school, agency serving youth with disabilities, or a

  2  consortium of the above.

  3         (3)  To apply to participate in the College Fast Start

  4  Program, a potential program participant must submit a

  5  proposal to the Florida Governor's Alliance for the Employment

  6  of Disabled Citizens. Each proposal must contain the following

  7  information:

  8         (a)  A statement of purpose, which includes a

  9  description of the need for, and the results expected from,

10  the proposed program.

11         (b)  An identification of the service area which names

12  the schools to be served and provides community and school

13  demographics on the number and types of students with

14  disabilities and the number of high school graduates within

15  the area with a disability.

16         (c)  An identification of existing programs for

17  providing employment training for persons with disabilities.

18         (d)  A description of the proposed training and

19  modifications needed to accommodate students who would

20  participate in the program. At least 40 percent of the

21  students participating in any one year must be in grades 6

22  through 9.

23         (e)  A description of the program activities, which

24  must support the following goals:

25         1.  To motivate students to pursue a postsecondary

26  education.

27         2.  To develop students' basic learning and leadership

28  skills.

29         3.  To develop collaboration with the STARS program.

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  1         (f)  An evaluation component that provides for the

  2  collection, maintenance, retrieval, and analysis of the data

  3  required by this section.

  4         (4)  The alliance shall consider proposals to determine

  5  which proposals to implement as programs that will strengthen

  6  the educational motivation and preparation of students with

  7  disabilities to seek postsecondary education or job training.

  8  In selecting proposals for approval, the alliance shall give

  9  preference to:

10         (a)  Proposals submitted by a postsecondary institution

11  and a business partner that include innovative approaches,

12  provide a great variety of activities, and interact with

13  business and industry in the development of the learning

14  experience.

15         (b)  A program that will use institutional, federal, or

16  private resources to supplement state appropriations.

17         (c)  Proposals that demonstrate commitment to the

18  program by proposing to match the grant funds equally in cash

19  or services, with cash being the preferred contribution.

20         (d)  Proposals that demonstrate an interest in cultural

21  diversity and that address the unmet regional employment needs

22  of varying communities.

23         (e)  A program that identifies potential student

24  participants from among students who are not already enrolled

25  in similar programs that assist students with disabilities.

26         (f)  A program that includes a parental involvement

27  component.

28         (5)  Program applicants that are approved to

29  participate in the program must implement procedures which

30  provide consistent contact with students from the point at

31  which the student is selected to participate in the program

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  1  until he or she enrolls in a postsecondary education

  2  institution. These procedures must assist students in

  3  selecting courses required for graduation from high school and

  4  must include occupational forecasting for future job

  5  availability and requirements for those positions.

  6  Institutions that participate must provide on-campus academic

  7  or job training activities, job profiling and career

  8  counseling activities during summer vacation, and

  9  opportunities for interacting with business leaders and

10  employers, mentors, tutors, or role models. Each program

11  participant is encouraged to use its resources to meet program

12  objectives. Each program participant must establish an

13  advisory committee composed of high school and middle school

14  personnel and business leaders to provide advice and

15  assistance in implementing the program.

16         (6)  An advisory council shall review each proposal and

17  recommend to the alliance an order of priority for funding the

18  proposals. The advisory council shall consist of the following

19  10 members and shall designate a meeting facilitator from

20  among the members:

21         (a)  Three persons with disabilities, appointed by the

22  Governor.

23         (b)  Two representatives of private or community-based

24  organizations, one each appointed by the President of the

25  Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

26         (c)  One representative of the State University System,

27  appointed by the chair of the Board of Regents.

28         (d)  One representative of the Community College

29  System, appointed by the chair of the State Board of Community

30  Colleges.

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  1         (e)  One representative of the Independent Colleges and

  2  Universities of Florida, appointed by the president of the

  3  Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.

  4         (f)  One representative of a public school district,

  5  appointed by the Commissioner of Education.

  6         (g)  One representative of the Postsecondary Education

  7  Planning Commission, appointed by the chair of the commission.

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  9  Each member shall be appointed for a 3-year, staggered term of

10  office. Members may serve no more than two consecutive terms.

11  A vacancy must be filled with a person of the same status as

12  the original appointee who shall serve for the remainder of

13  the term. Members are entitled to per diem and travel expenses

14  as provided in s. 112.061 while performing council duties.

15         (7)  Funding for the College Fast Start Program shall

16  be provided annually in the General Appropriations Act. From

17  these funds, an annual allocation shall be provided to the

18  alliance to conduct the program. Approved programs must be

19  funded competitively according to the following methodology:

20         (a)  Eighty percent of funds appropriated annually to

21  the College Fast Start Program must be distributed as grants

22  to projects that include, at the minimum:

23         1.  A summer business internship program.

24         2.  A minimum number of hours of academic instructional

25  and developmental activities, career counseling, and personal

26  counseling.

27         (b)  The remaining 20 percent of funds appropriated

28  annually may be used by the Florida Governor's Alliance for

29  the Employment of Disabled Citizens for college preparatory

30  leadership training programs.

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  1         (c)  Subject to legislative appropriations, funds for

  2  the continuation of projects that satisfy the minimum

  3  requirements shall be increased each year by the same

  4  percentage as the rate of inflation. Projects funded for 3

  5  consecutive years must have a cumulative institutional cash

  6  match of not less than 50 percent of the total cost of the

  7  project over the 3-year period. Any College Fast Start Program

  8  operating for 3 years which does not provide the minimum 50

  9  percent institutional cash match shall not be considered for

10  continued funding.

11         (8)  On or before February 15 of each year, each

12  participant or consortium of participants shall submit to the

13  alliance an interim report of program expenditures and

14  participant information as requested by the alliance.

15         (9)  On or before October 15 of each year, each program

16  participant shall submit to the alliance an end-of-the-year

17  report on the effectiveness of its participation in the

18  program during the preceding fiscal year. The end-of-the-year

19  report must include, without limitation:

20         (a)  An itemization of program expenditures by funding

21  category, including:  state grant funds, institutional

22  matching contributions disaggregated by cash and in-kind

23  services, and outside funding sources disaggregated by cash

24  and in-kind services.

25         (b)  The number of students participating by grade

26  level, gender, race, and disability.

27         (c)  The student identification number and social

28  security number, if available, the name of the public school

29  attended, and the gender, ethnicity, grade level, and grade

30  point average of each student participant at the time of entry

31  into the program.

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  1         (d)  The grade point average, grade, and promotion

  2  status of each student participant at the end of the academic

  3  year and notification of suspension or expulsion of a

  4  participant, if applicable.

  5         (e)  The number and percentage of high school

  6  participants who satisfactorily complete 2 sequential years of

  7  a foreign language and Levels 2 and 3 mathematics and science

  8  courses.

  9         (f)  The number and percentage of participants eligible

10  for high school graduation who receive a standard high school

11  diploma or a high school equivalency diploma pursuant to s.

12  229.814.

13         (g)  The number and percentage of 12th grade

14  participants who are accepted for enrollment and who enroll in

15  a postsecondary institution and the program of study in which

16  they are enrolled.

17         (h)  The number of participants who receive

18  scholarships, grant aid, and work-study awards.

19         (i)  The number and percentage of participants who

20  enroll in a public postsecondary institution and who fail to

21  achieve a passing score, as defined in State Board of

22  Education rule, on college placement tests pursuant to s.

23  240.117.

24         (j)  The number and percentage of participants who

25  enroll in a postsecondary institution and have a minimum

26  cumulative grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, or its

27  equivalent, by the end of the second semester.

28         (k)  A statement of how the program addresses the three

29  program goals identified in paragraph (3)(e).

30         (l)  A brief description and analysis of program

31  characteristics and activities critical to program success.

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  1         (m)  A description of the cooperation received from

  2  other units, organizations, businesses, or agencies.

  3         (n)  An explanation of the program's outcomes,

  4  including data related to student performance on the measures

  5  provided for in paragraph (3)(f).

  6

  7  The Postsecondary Education Planning Commission, in

  8  consultation with the alliance and the Department of

  9  Education, shall develop specifications and procedures for the

10  collection and transmission of the data.

11         (10)  By February 15 of each year, the alliance shall

12  submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the

13  Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Commissioner

14  of Education a report that evaluates the effectiveness of the

15  College Fast Start Program. The report must be based upon

16  information provided by program participants, the Board of

17  Regents, the State Board of Community Colleges, and the

18  Division of Workforce Development pursuant to subsections (1)

19  and (7). To the extent feasible, the performance of College

20  Fast Start Program participants must be compared to the

21  performance of comparable cohorts of students in public school

22  and postsecondary education.

23         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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