HB 0571 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to governmental reorganization;
3	transferring the school readiness services system within
4	the Agency for Workforce Innovation to the Executive
5	Office of the Governor; transferring the responsibilities
6	for regulating and licensing child care facilities from
7	the Department of Children and Family Services to the
8	Department of Business and Professional Regulation;
9	providing legislative intent with respect to funding
10	school readiness and prekindergarten programs; amending
11	ss. 411.01 and 411.0105, F.S., relating to the Florida
12	Partnership for School Readiness, the Early Learning
13	Opportunities Act, and the Even Start Family Literacy
14	Programs; conforming provisions to changes made by the
15	act; amending s. 402.302, F.S.; revising definitions;
16	amending s. 402.3025, F.S.; requiring the Department of
17	Education to adopt a uniform curriculum for children in
18	child care programs; requiring standards and curriculum
19	for promoting reading readiness; requiring a program of
20	literacy assistance for parents of preschool children;
21	providing legislative intent with respect to funding
22	programs for preschool children; amending s. 402.30501,
23	F.S.; authorizing the Department of Education to modify
24	certain child care courses; amending s. 402.3115, F.S.;
25	requiring the Department of Business and Professional
26	Regulation to work with local governmental agencies to
27	eliminate duplicative inspections of child care
28	facilities; providing an effective date.
29
30	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32	Section 1. (1) The school readiness services system
33	provided under s. 20.50(2)(c), Florida Statutes, is transferred
34	from the Agency for Workforce Innovation to the Executive Office
35	of the Governor by a type two transfer, as provided in s.
36	20.06(2), Florida Statutes.
37	(2) The regulation and licensure of child care facilities
38	under ss. 402.301-402.319, Florida Statutes, is transferred from
39	the Department of Children and Family Services to the Department
40	of Business and Professional Regulation by a type two transfer,
41	as provided in s. 20.06(2), Florida Statutes.
42	Section 2. It is the intent of the Legislature that:
43	(1) The school readiness program that serves children from
44	birth to 4 years of age shall develop a unified funding formula
45	that considers all available funds that can be funneled into a
46	single funding stream.
47	(2) The prekindergarten program that serves children who
48	are 4 years of age shall receive allocations of state funds
49	based on an equitable funding formula that is based on the
50	number of children served.
51	Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4), paragraphs (b)
52	and (c) of subsection (9), and subsection (10) of section
53	411.01, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
54	411.01 Florida Partnership for School Readiness; school
55	readiness coalitions.--
56	(4) FLORIDA PARTNERSHIP FOR SCHOOL READINESS.--
57	(a) The Florida Partnership for School Readiness was
58	created to fulfill three major purposes: to administer school
59	readiness program services that help parents prepare eligible
60	children for school; to coordinate the provision of school
61	readiness services on a full-day, full-year, full-choice basis
62	to the extent possible in order to enable parents to work and be
63	financially self-sufficient; and to establish a uniform
64	screening instrument to be implemented by the Department of
65	Education and administered by the school districts upon entry
66	into kindergarten to assess the readiness for school of all
67	children. Readiness for kindergarten is the outcome measure of
68	the success of each school readiness program that receives state
69	or federal funds. The partnership is assigned to the Executive
70	Office of the GovernorAgency for Workforce Innovationfor
71	administrative purposes.
72	(9) FUNDING; SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM.--
73	(b) Notwithstanding s. 20.50:
74	1. The Executive Office of the GovernorAgency for
75	Workforce Innovationshall administer school readiness funds,
76	plans, and policies pursuant to the contract with the Florida
77	Partnership for School Readiness and shall prepare and submit a
78	unified budget request for the school readiness program in
79	accordance with chapter 216.
80	2. All instructions to local school readiness coalitions
81	shall emanate from the Executive Office of the GovernorAgency
82	for Workforce Innovationpursuant to policies of the
83	Legislature, plans of the Florida Partnership for School
84	Readiness, and the contract between the Florida Partnership for
85	School Readiness and the Executive Office of the Governor
86	agency.
87	(c) The Executive Office of the GovernorAgency for
88	Workforce Innovationshall prepare a plan that provides for the
89	distribution and expenditure of all state and federal school
90	readiness funds for children participating in public or private
91	school readiness programs based upon an equity and performance
92	funding formula. The plan shall be submitted to the Governor and
93	the Legislative Budget Commission. Upon approval, the
94	Legislative Budget Commission shall authorize the transfer of
95	funds to the Executive Office of the GovernorAgency for
96	Workforce Innovationfor distribution in accordance with the
97	provisions of the formula.
98	(10) SCHOOL READINESS UNIFORM SCREENING.--The Department
99	of Education shall implement a school readiness uniform
100	screening, including a pilot program during the 2001-2002 school
101	year, to validate the system recommended by the Florida
102	Partnership for School Readiness as part of a comprehensive
103	evaluation design. Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, the
104	department shall require that all school districts administer
105	the school readiness uniform screening to each kindergarten
106	student in the district school system upon the student's entry
107	into kindergarten. Children who enter public school for the
108	first time in first grade must undergo a uniform screening
109	adopted for use in first grade. The department shall incorporate
110	school readiness data into the K-20 data warehouse for
111	longitudinal tracking. Notwithstanding s. 1002.22, the
112	department shall provide the partnership and the Executive
113	Office of the GovernorAgency for Workforce Innovationwith
114	complete and full access to kindergarten uniform screening data
115	at the student, school, district, and state levels in a format
116	that will enable the partnership and the Executive Office of the
117	Governoragencyto prepare reports needed by state policymakers
118	and local school readiness coalitions to access progress toward
119	school readiness goals and provide input for continuous
120	improvement of local school readiness services and programs.
121	Section 4. Section 411.0105, Florida Statutes, is amended
122	to read:
123	411.0105 Early Learning Opportunities Act and Even Start
124	Family Literacy Programs; lead agency.--For purposes of
125	administration of the Early Learning Opportunities Act and the
126	Even Start Family Literacy Programs, pursuant to Pub. L. No.
127	106-554, the Executive Office of the GovernorAgency for
128	Workforce Innovationis designated as the lead agency and must
129	comply with lead agency responsibilities pursuant to federal
130	law.
131	Section 5. Subsections (4) and (14) of section 402.302,
132	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
133	402.302 Definitions.--
134	(4) "Department" means the Department of Business and
135	Professional RegulationChildren and Family Services.
136	(14) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Business and
137	Professional RegulationChildren and Family Services.
138	Section 6. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1) of
139	section 402.3025, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph
140	(e) is added to that subsection, to read:
141	402.3025 Public and nonpublic schools.--For the purposes
142	of ss. 402.301-402.319, the following shall apply:
143	(1) PUBLIC SCHOOLS.--
144	(c) The DepartmentState Boardof Education shall adopt
145	rules to implement this subsection, including a uniform
146	curriculumstandards for programs in subparagraphs (a)2. and 3.,
147	which takes into accountrecognizethe vulnerability of children
148	under 5 years of age and make special provisions to ensure their
149	health and safety. Such rules shall include, but not be limited
150	to, facilities,personnel staffing and qualifications,
151	transportation, and health and safety practices. In preparing
152	such rules, the Commissioner of Education shall review the
153	standards already existing in the state and the recommendations
154	of appropriate professional and accreditation agencies.
155	(d) The Department of Education shall monitor and enforce
156	monitoring and enforcement ofcompliance with age-appropriate
157	standards established by rule of the State Board of Education
158	shall be the responsibility of the Department of Education. The
159	rules shall provide age-appropriate standards and a curriculum
160	for promoting early childhood preparation for reading. The
161	curriculum shall provide for activities that nurture development
162	stages and foster brain development so that a child is ready to
163	learn to read and is able to read at or above grade level after
164	reaching grade one.
165	(e) The Department of Education shall adopt rules for a
166	program to offer literacy assistance to parents of preschool
167	children. The program shall be designed to increase parents'
168	training for and involvement in their children's preschool
169	education and to provide family literacy activities.
170	Section 7. It is the intent of the Legislature that the
171	funds allocated for child care and school readiness in birth-to-
172	4-year-old programs be combined whenever possible.
173	Section 8. Section 402.30501, Florida Statutes, is amended
174	to read:
175	402.30501 Modification of introductory child care course
176	for community college credit authorized.--The Department of
177	EducationChildren and Family Servicesmay modify the 40-clock-
178	hour introductory course in child care under s. 402.305 or s.
179	402.3131 to meet the requirements of articulating the course to
180	community college credit. Any modification must continue to
181	provide that the course satisfies the requirements of s.
182	402.305(2)(d).
183	Section 9. Section 402.3115, Florida Statutes, is amended
184	to read:
185	402.3115 Elimination of duplicative and unnecessary
186	inspections; abbreviated inspections.--The Department of
187	Business and Professional RegulationChildren and Family
188	Servicesand local governmental agencies that license child care
189	facilities shall develop and implement a plan to eliminate
190	duplicative and unnecessary inspections of child care
191	facilities. In addition, the department and the local
192	governmental agencies shall develop and implement an abbreviated
193	inspection plan for child care facilities that have had no Class
194	1 or Class 2 deficiencies, as defined by rule, for at least 2
195	consecutive years. The abbreviated inspection must include those
196	elements identified by the department and the local governmental
197	agencies as being key indicators of whether the child care
198	facility continues to provide quality care and programming.
199	Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.