| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to John M. McKay Scholarships for Students |
| 3 | with Disabilities Program; amending s. 1002.39, F.S.; |
| 4 | excluding hospitalized or homebound students from |
| 5 | participating in the program; excluding certain students |
| 6 | in Department of Juvenile Justice commitment programs from |
| 7 | participation; providing requirements for transfer of the |
| 8 | amount of the McKay Scholarship for students who exit a |
| 9 | Department of Juvenile Justice commitment program and |
| 10 | choose to participate in the scholarship program; |
| 11 | providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) and paragraph (e) of |
| 16 | subsection (6) of section 1002.39, Florida Statutes, are amended |
| 17 | to read: |
| 18 | 1002.39 The John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with |
| 19 | Disabilities Program.--There is established a program that is |
| 20 | separate and distinct from the Opportunity Scholarship Program |
| 21 | and is named the John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with |
| 22 | Disabilities Program, pursuant to this section. |
| 23 | (1) THE JOHN M. MCKAY SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS WITH |
| 24 | DISABILITIES PROGRAM.--The John M. McKay Scholarships for |
| 25 | Students with Disabilities Program is established to provide the |
| 26 | option to attend a public school other than the one to which |
| 27 | assigned, or to provide a scholarship to a private school of |
| 28 | choice, for students with disabilities for whom an individual |
| 29 | education plan has been written in accordance with rules of the |
| 30 | State Board of Education. For the purposes of this section, |
| 31 | students with disabilities include K-12 students who are |
| 32 | mentally handicapped, speech and language impaired, deaf or hard |
| 33 | of hearing, visually impaired, dual sensory impaired, physically |
| 34 | impaired, emotionally handicapped, specific learning disabled, |
| 35 | hospitalized or homebound, or autistic. |
| 36 | (2) SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.--The parent of a public |
| 37 | school student with a disability who is dissatisfied with the |
| 38 | student's progress may request and receive from the state a John |
| 39 | M. McKay Scholarship for the child to enroll in and attend a |
| 40 | private school in accordance with this section if: |
| 41 | (a) By assigned school attendance area or by special |
| 42 | assignment, the student has spent the prior school year in |
| 43 | attendance at a Florida public school. Prior school year in |
| 44 | attendance means that the student was enrolled and reported by a |
| 45 | school district for funding during the preceding October and |
| 46 | February Florida Education Finance Program surveys in |
| 47 | kindergarten through grade 12. |
| 48 | (b) The parent has obtained acceptance for admission of |
| 49 | the student to a private school that is eligible for the program |
| 50 | under subsection (4) and has notified the school district of the |
| 51 | request for a scholarship at least 60 days prior to the date of |
| 52 | the first scholarship payment. The parental notification must be |
| 53 | through a communication directly to the district or through the |
| 54 | Department of Education to the district in a manner that creates |
| 55 | a written or electronic record of the notification and the date |
| 56 | of receipt of the notification. |
| 57 |
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| 58 | This section does not apply to A student who is enrolled in a |
| 59 | school operating for the purpose of providing educational |
| 60 | services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice commitment |
| 61 | programs shall not receive a McKay Scholarship during the period |
| 62 | of time that he or she is enrolled in such school. For purposes |
| 63 | of continuity of educational choice, the scholarship shall |
| 64 | remain in force until the student returns to a public school or |
| 65 | graduates from high school. However, at any time, the student's |
| 66 | parent may remove the student from the private school and place |
| 67 | the student in another private school that is eligible for the |
| 68 | program under subsection (4) or in a public school as provided |
| 69 | in subsection (3). |
| 70 | (6) SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING AND PAYMENT.-- |
| 71 | (e) Following notification on July 1, September 1, |
| 72 | December 1, or February 1 of the number of program participants, |
| 73 | the Department of Education shall transfer, from General Revenue |
| 74 | funds only, the amount calculated under paragraph (b) from the |
| 75 | school district's total funding entitlement under the Florida |
| 76 | Education Finance Program and from authorized categorical |
| 77 | accounts to a separate account for the scholarship program for |
| 78 | quarterly disbursement to the parents of participating students. |
| 79 | For a student exiting a Department of Juvenile Justice |
| 80 | commitment program who chooses to participate in the scholarship |
| 81 | program, the amount of the McKay Scholarship calculated pursuant |
| 82 | to paragraph (b) shall be transferred from the school district |
| 83 | in which the student last attended a public school prior to |
| 84 | commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice. When a student |
| 85 | enters the scholarship program, the Department of Education must |
| 86 | receive all documentation required for the student's |
| 87 | participation, including the private school's and student's fee |
| 88 | schedules, at least 30 days before the first quarterly |
| 89 | scholarship payment is made for the student. The Department of |
| 90 | Education may not make any retroactive payments. |
| 91 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |