House Bill hb1015c1
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 1015
By the Committee on General Education and Representatives
Harrell and Fiorentino
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to learning disabilities in
3 young children; creating s. 240.5311, F.S.;
4 creating the Learning Gateway Project to
5 provide grants to universities to establish a
6 statewide consortium to address learning
7 disabilities; providing for administration of
8 the project; providing project functions;
9 providing for regional Learning Gateway Centers
10 and specifying services of the centers;
11 requiring a report; requiring an appropriation;
12 requiring the Department of Education to
13 finalize all rules by a date certain to
14 implement the Individuals with Disabilities
15 Education Act; requiring the Department of
16 Education to report by a specific date on
17 needed rule authority to implement the
18 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act;
19 providing an effective date.
20
21 WHEREAS, disabilities place children at risk for
22 significant learning and adaptation problems in school, and,
23 over time, adversely affect students' school performance as
24 well as their social, physical, and emotional functioning and
25 quality of life, and
26 WHEREAS, while the impact of disabilities on a child's
27 performance may not be evident until the elementary school
28 years, warning signs or precursors of learning disabilities
29 may be exhibited much earlier, and
30 WHEREAS, while no single risk factor can accurately
31 predict the occurrence of a learning disability, the presence
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 1015
185-733-01
1 of multiple risks assists in identifying those children who
2 are most vulnerable, and
3 WHEREAS, labeling of a young child can create
4 inaccurate, stigmatizing long-term misconceptions about the
5 child's potential as a competent learner and citizen, and
6 WHEREAS, specific programs that qualify under Part B
7 and Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
8 exist to provide services to children with established
9 disabling conditions and moderate-to-severe developmental
10 delays and to their families, and
11 WHEREAS, parents are usually the best and most
12 important source of support for their children, but access to
13 information and services is often inconsistent, fragmented,
14 and difficult to locate, and
15 WHEREAS, the benefits to be generated by early
16 identification and intervention with respect to learning
17 problems, learning disabilities, and mild developmental delays
18 are significant in the lives of children and their families,
19 NOW, THEREFORE,
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21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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23 Section 1. Section 240.5311, Florida Statutes, is
24 created to read:
25 240.5311 Learning Gateway Project.--
26 (1) There is created the Learning Gateway Project to
27 provide grants to eligible universities to establish an
28 integrated approach for health care providers and parents to
29 lessen the effects of learning disabilities for children
30 through prevention, early identification, early education, and
31 appropriate intervention. Parental consent shall be required
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 1015
185-733-01
1 for all services provided pursuant to the Learning Gateway
2 Project, including initial contact and further referral for
3 evaluation and services. The selected universities shall form
4 a statewide consortium and shall select a university with a
5 medical program to serve as lead university for the
6 consortium.
7 (2) The Learning Gateway Project shall:
8 (a) Be administered by the Department of Education to
9 provide grants to eligible state universities for the purpose
10 of developing a statewide catalog of programs, resources, and
11 funds that assist children with learning disabilities. The
12 state universities identified in the Learning Gateway Project
13 shall work collaboratively to develop this project and use the
14 expertise, resources, faculty, and students within the
15 universities to develop the project. Under the direction of
16 the Learning Gateway Project, the participating universities
17 may use their students to design brochures, perform research,
18 collect data on community resources and programs, and develop
19 and maintain a website, through coordination with the State
20 Technology Office, to give parents, teachers, and
21 practitioners information about early warning signs of
22 learning disabilities, Learning Gateway Centers, and
23 community-based programs.
24 (b) Work collaboratively with representatives of state
25 and local agencies and private programs to develop a
26 comprehensive list of regional providers.
27 (c) Identify the factors that interfere with or
28 inhibit normal development and learning. The Learning Gateway
29 Project shall bring together research that integrates the
30 disciplines relevant to the diagnosis, causes, treatment, and
31 intervention of early learning disabilities.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 1015
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1 (d) Establish guidelines for screening children. The
2 guidelines should incorporate relevant research on the
3 indicators most likely to predict early learning problems,
4 mild developmental delays, child-specific precursors of school
5 failure, and other related developmental indicators in the
6 domains of cognition, communication, attention, perception,
7 behavior, and social, emotional, sensory, and motor
8 functioning.
9 (e) Adopt a checklist for physicians, health care
10 personnel, and school personnel in implementing more effective
11 screening for precursors of learning disabilities and mild
12 developmental delays. Such information shall be prepared so
13 that it can be appropriately presented as part of routine
14 clinic sessions for immunization visits and visits under the
15 "Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,
16 and Children" (WIC) under s. 383.011 and other well-child
17 appointments.
18 (f) Identify the elements of an effective
19 research-based curriculum for each learning disability.
20 (g) Develop a model system of care, through the
21 establishment of regional Learning Gateway Centers, that
22 builds upon, integrates, and identifies the gaps in existing
23 services.
24 (h) Develop two brochures and a website, in
25 coordination with the State Technology Office, to distribute
26 information.
27 1. One brochure shall be designed to educate parents
28 and caretakers about the importance of prenatal care and
29 nutrition and shall identify the early warning signs of
30 disabilities that may lead to learning disabilities and
31 developmental delays. This brochure shall be distributed to
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 1015
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1 parents through early childhood programs administered by the
2 Department of Education, the Department of Health, the Florida
3 Partnership for School Readiness, the Agency for Workforce
4 Innovation, the Department of Children and Family Services,
5 the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of
6 Juvenile Justice, the Department of Corrections, and the
7 Learning Development and Evaluation Center of Florida
8 Agricultural and Mechanical University.
9 2. One brochure shall be developed to provide
10 physicians, parents, and teachers information on the Learning
11 Gateway Project and the Learning Gateway Centers, as well as
12 all the programs, facilities, resources, and services
13 available within each identified service area.
14 3. The website shall provide ready access for parents,
15 physicians, teachers, and caretakers to information regarding
16 the Learning Gateway Project and the Learning Gateway Centers
17 for the purpose of referral and information on the learning
18 disabilities addressed by the project. It shall itemize the
19 resources available for intervention, diagnosis, and
20 treatment, as well as regional listings of available related
21 services and providers, indexed by learning disability.
22 (3)(a) The Learning Gateway Centers shall develop a
23 network of all available services within each identified
24 service area and submit the list and description to the
25 Learning Gateway Project for inclusion in the website for the
26 programs available to parents, physicians, and other health
27 care providers. The Learning Gateway Centers shall use the
28 list to refer parents to programs or facilities appropriate to
29 meet their child's needs. For the purpose of serving areas of
30 the state where no services currently exist or where the
31 private providers lack the expertise to diagnose and provide
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 1015
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1 strategies for improved learning, each participating
2 university may use Learning Gateway Project funds to expand
3 the current services provided through the university to set up
4 clinics on site or at other locations to diagnose learning
5 disabilities while providing students an opportunity to
6 intern. Participating universities with comprehensive schools
7 that can diagnose difficult problems may expand existing
8 clinics to serve as a resource for children with specialized
9 problems and their parents when services are not available
10 from public or private local providers within the regional
11 Learning Gateway Center. The regional Learning Gateway
12 Centers may provide services to parents, physicians, and other
13 health care providers where there is a gap in the service
14 available from public and private providers. The Learning
15 Gateway Centers may provide direct service to children who do
16 not receive coverage under state, federal, or private
17 insurance or may contract for specialty services. Centers may
18 also provide for services to children whose parents are
19 dissatisfied with their present services.
20 (b) Learning Gateway Centers shall be the single point
21 of access for screening, assessment, integration of services,
22 linkages of providers, referrals, and services required to
23 address the needs of the children and families, using faculty,
24 graduate students, and other professionals as needed. The
25 Learning Gateway Centers shall provide to parents and
26 physicians a one-stop referral center to provide accurate
27 information on public and private professionals who can assist
28 in determining the physical, emotional, nutritional,
29 environmental, and mental factors that may be interfering with
30 learning and normal development.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 1015
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1 (c) Staff of the Learning Gateway Centers must be
2 knowledgeable about child development, early identification of
3 learning disabilities, access to needed health care services
4 and health insurance coverage for such services, and state and
5 federal funds available for services in the local area. If
6 the following services are not provided by existing service
7 systems, with the permission of the parent, the Learning
8 Gateway Centers shall:
9 1. Conduct appropriate screening or refer for such
10 services.
11 2. Develop family resource plans.
12 3. Make referrals for needed services and assist
13 families in the application process.
14 4. Provide educational and training classes for
15 parents, teachers, and caretakers.
16 (d) The specific services and supports provided by the
17 Learning Gateway Centers may include:
18 1. Speech and language therapy that is appropriate.
19 2. Comprehensive medical screening and referral.
20 3. Referral as needed for family therapy, other mental
21 health services, and treatment programs.
22 4. Therapy for learning differences in reading and
23 math, and attention to subject material for children in grades
24 K-3.
25 5. Referral for services pursuant to Part B or Part C
26 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as
27 required.
28 (e) The Learning Gateway Centers shall designate a
29 central information and referral access phone number for each
30 center, to be used to improve access to local supports and
31 services for children and their families.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 1015
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1 (f) When results of screening suggest developmental
2 problems, potential learning problems, or learning
3 disabilities, the intervention program, with permission of the
4 parent, shall refer the child to the regional Learning Gateway
5 Center for coordination of further assessment. The Learning
6 Gateway Center shall make referrals to the appropriate
7 entities within the service system.
8 (g) The Learning Gateway Centers shall provide
9 regional training and updates concerning effective
10 instructional and behavioral practices and interventions based
11 on advances in the field and for encouraging researchers to
12 regularly guide practitioners in designing and implementing
13 research-based practices.
14 (4) By January 2003, the Learning Gateway Project
15 shall report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the
16 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Commissioner
17 of Education on the progress, success, and integration of
18 services; the number, types, and outcomes of children served
19 by the Learning Gateway Centers; and the number and types of
20 referrals made through the project.
21 (5) The Learning Gateway Project must develop a
22 comprehensive list of services and funding sources available
23 to provide services for children. Relevant state agencies
24 shall assist the Learning Gateway Project in securing state
25 and federal waivers as appropriate.
26 (6) This project shall be implemented subject to the
27 General Appropriations Act.
28 Section 2. By October 15, 2001, the Florida Department
29 of Education shall finalize all administrative rule revisions
30 necessary to properly implement the 1997 amendments to the
31 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 1015
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1 Section 3. By October 15, 2001, the Florida Department
2 of Education shall report to the Governor, the Speaker of the
3 House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate the
4 additional rule authority it needs, if any, to implement the
5 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
6 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
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