Senate Bill sb1256
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1256
By Senator Lynn
7-431B-03
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to governmental reorganization;
3 transferring the school readiness services
4 system within the Agency for Workforce
5 Innovation to the Executive Office of the
6 Governor; transferring the responsibilities for
7 regulating and licensing child care facilities
8 from the Department of Children and Family
9 Services to the Department of Business and
10 Professional Regulation; providing legislative
11 intent with respect to funding school readiness
12 and prekindergarten programs; amending ss.
13 411.01 and 411.0105, F.S., relating to the
14 Florida Partnership for School Readiness, the
15 Early Learning Opportunities Act, and the Even
16 Start Family Literacy Programs; conforming
17 provisions to changes made by the act; amending
18 s. 402.302, F.S.; revising definitions;
19 amending s. 402.3025, F.S.; requiring the
20 Department of Education to adopt a uniform
21 curriculum for children in child care programs;
22 requiring standards and curriculum for
23 promoting reading readiness; requiring a
24 program of literacy assistance for parents of
25 preschool children; providing legislative
26 intent with respect to funding programs for
27 preschool children; amending s. 402.30501,
28 F.S.; authorizing the Department of Education
29 to modify certain child care courses; amending
30 s. 402.3115, F.S.; requiring the Department of
31 Business and Professional Regulation to work
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1256
7-431B-03
1 with local governmental agencies to eliminate
2 duplicative inspections of child care
3 facilities; providing an effective date.
4
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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7 Section 1. (1) The school readiness services system
8 provided under section 20.50(2)(c), Florida Statutes, is
9 transferred from the Agency for Workforce Innovation to the
10 Executive Office of the Governor by a type two transfer, as
11 provided in section 20.06(2), Florida Statutes.
12 (2) The regulation and licensure of child care
13 facilities under sections 402.301-402.319, Florida Statutes,
14 is transferred from the Department of Children and Family
15 Services to the Department of Business and Professional
16 Regulation by a type two transfer, as provided in section
17 20.06(2), Florida Statutes.
18 Section 2. It is the intent of the Legislature that:
19 (1) The school readiness program that serves children
20 from birth to 4 years of age shall develop a unified funding
21 formula that considers all available funds that can be
22 funneled into a single funding stream.
23 (2) The prekindergarten program that serves children
24 who are 4 years of age shall receive allocations of state
25 funds based on an equitable funding formula that is based on
26 the number of children served.
27 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) and
28 paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (9) of section 411.01,
29 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
30 411.01 Florida Partnership for School Readiness;
31 school readiness coalitions.--
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1256
7-431B-03
1 (4) FLORIDA PARTNERSHIP FOR SCHOOL READINESS.--
2 (a) The Florida Partnership for School Readiness was
3 created to fulfill three major purposes: to administer school
4 readiness program services that help parents prepare eligible
5 children for school; to coordinate the provision of school
6 readiness services on a full-day, full-year, full-choice basis
7 to the extent possible in order to enable parents to work and
8 be financially self-sufficient; and to establish a uniform
9 screening instrument to be implemented by the Department of
10 Education and administered by the school districts upon entry
11 into kindergarten to assess the readiness for school of all
12 children. Readiness for kindergarten is the outcome measure of
13 the success of each school readiness program that receives
14 state or federal funds. The partnership is assigned to the
15 Executive Office of the Governor Agency for Workforce
16 Innovation for administrative purposes.
17 (9) FUNDING; SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM.--
18 (b) Notwithstanding s. 20.50:
19 1. The Executive Office of the Governor Agency for
20 Workforce Innovation shall administer school readiness funds,
21 plans, and policies pursuant to the contract with the Florida
22 Partnership for School Readiness and shall prepare and submit
23 a unified budget request for the school readiness program in
24 accordance with chapter 216.
25 2. All instructions to local school readiness
26 coalitions shall emanate from the Executive Office of the
27 Governor Agency for Workforce Innovation pursuant to policies
28 of the Legislature, plans of the Florida Partnership for
29 School Readiness, and the contract between the Florida
30 Partnership for School Readiness and the agency.
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1256
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1 (c) The Executive Office of the Governor Agency for
2 Workforce Innovation shall prepare a plan that provides for
3 the distribution and expenditure of all state and federal
4 school readiness funds for children participating in public or
5 private school readiness programs based upon an equity and
6 performance funding formula. The plan shall be submitted to
7 the Governor and the Legislative Budget Commission. Upon
8 approval, the Legislative Budget Commission shall authorize
9 the transfer of funds to the Executive Office of the Governor
10 Agency for Workforce Innovation for distribution in accordance
11 with the provisions of the formula.
12 Section 4. Section 411.0105, Florida Statutes, is
13 amended to read:
14 411.0105 Early Learning Opportunities Act and Even
15 Start Family Literacy Programs; lead agency.--For purposes of
16 administration of the Early Learning Opportunities Act and the
17 Even Start Family Literacy Programs, pursuant to Pub. L. No.
18 106-554, the Executive Office of the Governor Agency for
19 Workforce Innovation is designated as the lead agency and must
20 comply with lead agency responsibilities pursuant to federal
21 law.
22 Section 5. Subsections (4) and (14) of section
23 402.302, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
24 402.302 Definitions.--
25 (4) "Department" means the Department of Business and
26 Professional Regulation Children and Family Services.
27 (14) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Business and
28 Professional Regulation Children and Family Services.
29 Section 6. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1) of
30 section 402.3025, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph
31 (e) is added to that subsection, to read:
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1256
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1 402.3025 Public and nonpublic schools.--For the
2 purposes of ss. 402.301-402.319, the following shall apply:
3 (1) PUBLIC SCHOOLS.--
4 (c) The Department State Board of Education shall
5 adopt rules to implement this subsection, including a uniform
6 curriculum standards for programs in subparagraphs (a)2. and
7 3., which takes into account recognize the vulnerability of
8 children under 5 years of age and make special provisions to
9 ensure their health and safety. Such rules shall include, but
10 not be limited to, facilities, personnel staffing and
11 qualifications, transportation, and health and safety
12 practices. In preparing such rules, the Commissioner of
13 Education shall review the standards already existing in the
14 state and the recommendations of appropriate professional and
15 accreditation agencies.
16 (d) The Department of Education shall monitor and
17 enforce monitoring and enforcement of compliance with
18 age-appropriate standards established by rule of the State
19 Board of Education shall be the responsibility of the
20 Department of Education. The rules shall provide
21 age-appropriate standards and a curriculum for promoting early
22 childhood preparation for reading. The curriculum shall
23 provide for activities that nurture development stages and
24 foster brain development so that a child is ready to learn to
25 read and is able to read at or above grade level after
26 reaching grade one.
27 (e) The Department of Education shall adopt rules for
28 a program to offer literacy assistance to parents of preschool
29 children. The program shall be designed to increase parents'
30 training for and involvement in their children's preschool
31 education and to provide family literacy activities.
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1256
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1 Section 7. It is the intent of the Legislature that
2 the funds allocated for child care and school readiness in
3 birth-to-4-year-old programs be combined whenever possible.
4 Section 8. Section 402.30501, Florida Statutes, is
5 amended to read:
6 402.30501 Modification of introductory child care
7 course for community college credit authorized.--The
8 Department of Education Children and Family Services may
9 modify the 40-clock-hour introductory course in child care
10 under s. 402.305 or s. 402.3131 to meet the requirements of
11 articulating the course to community college credit. Any
12 modification must continue to provide that the course
13 satisfies the requirements of s. 402.305(2)(d).
14 Section 9. Section 402.3115, Florida Statutes, is
15 amended to read:
16 402.3115 Elimination of duplicative and unnecessary
17 inspections; abbreviated inspections.--The Department of
18 Business and Professional Regulation Children and Family
19 Services and local governmental agencies that license child
20 care facilities shall develop and implement a plan to
21 eliminate duplicative and unnecessary inspections of child
22 care facilities. In addition, the department and the local
23 governmental agencies shall develop and implement an
24 abbreviated inspection plan for child care facilities that
25 have had no Class 1 or Class 2 deficiencies, as defined by
26 rule, for at least 2 consecutive years. The abbreviated
27 inspection must include those elements identified by the
28 department and the local governmental agencies as being key
29 indicators of whether the child care facility continues to
30 provide quality care and programming.
31 Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
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Florida Senate - 2003 SB 1256
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Transfers the school readiness services system within the
Agency for Workforce Innovation to the Executive Office
4 of the Governor. Transfers the regulation and licensure
of child care facilities from the Department of Children
5 and Family Services to the Department of Business and
Professional Regulation. Requires the Department of
6 Education to adopt a uniform curriculum for children in
child care programs and provide standards for promoting
7 reading readiness. Provides for a program of literacy
assistance for parents of preschool children. Provides
8 requirements for funding. (See bill for details.)
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