Senate Bill sb1622c1
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Florida Senate - 2004 CS for SB 1622
By the Committees on Education; Military and Veterans'
Affairs, Base Protection, and Spaceports; and Senators Fasano,
Clary, Crist, Siplin, Lynn, Wasserman Schultz, Haridopolos,
Miller and Bullard
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to military families; amending
3 s. 295.01, F.S.; revising certain requirements
4 relating to scholarships for children of
5 deceased veterans; amending s. 445.007, F.S.;
6 providing for the appointment of a military
7 representative to certain regional workforce
8 boards; amending s. 464.009, F.S.; providing
9 for licensure by endorsement of certain nurses
10 licensed in another state that is a member of
11 the Nurse Licensure Compact; amending s.
12 464.022, F.S.; providing that certain nurses
13 relocating to this state may perform nursing
14 services for a period of 120 days after
15 submitting application for licensure; amending
16 s. 1002.39, F.S.; revising eligibility
17 requirements for military dependents applying
18 for a John M. McKay Scholarship; requiring the
19 State Board of Education to adopt rules;
20 amending s. 1003.05, F.S.; directing the
21 Department of Education to assist in the
22 development of memoranda of agreement between
23 school districts and military installations;
24 creating s. 1008.221, F.S.; providing for
25 alternate assessments for the grade 10 FCAT for
26 certain military dependents; amending s.
27 1009.21, F.S.; classifying certain liaison
28 officers and their spouses and dependent
29 children as residents for tuition purposes;
30 directing Workforce Florida, Inc., to establish
31 an employment advocacy and assistance program
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1 targeting military spouses and dependents;
2 directing the Florida Housing Finance
3 Corporation to assess the housing needs of
4 Florida's military families; requiring a
5 report; providing an effective date.
6
7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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9 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 295.01, Florida
10 Statutes, is amended to read:
11 295.01 Children of deceased or disabled veterans;
12 education.--
13 (1) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the
14 state to provide educational opportunity at state expense for
15 dependent children either of whose parents was a resident of
16 the state at the time such parent entered the Armed Forces
17 and:
18 (a) Died as a result of service-connected injuries,
19 disease, or disability sustained while on active duty; in that
20 service or from injuries sustained or disease contracted
21 during a period of wartime service as defined in s. 1.01(14)
22 or has died since or may hereafter die from diseases or
23 disability resulting from such war service, or
24 (b) Has been:
25 1. Determined by the United States Department of
26 Veterans Affairs or its predecessor to have a
27 service-connected 100-percent total and permanent disability
28 rating for compensation;,
29 2. Determined to have a service-connected total and
30 permanent disability rating of 100 percent and is in receipt
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1 of disability retirement pay from any branch of the United
2 States Armed Services;, or
3 3. Issued a valid identification card by the
4 Department of Veterans' Affairs in accordance with s. 295.17,
5
6 when the parents of such children have been bona fide
7 residents of the state for 5 years next preceding their
8 application for the benefits hereof, and subject to the rules,
9 restrictions, and limitations hereof.
10 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 445.007, Florida
11 Statutes, is amended to read:
12 445.007 Regional workforce boards; exemption from
13 public meetings law.--
14 (1) One regional workforce board shall be appointed in
15 each designated service delivery area and shall serve as the
16 local workforce investment board pursuant to Pub. L. No.
17 105-220. The membership of the board shall be consistent with
18 Pub. L. No. 105-220, Title I, s. 117(b), and contain one
19 representative from a nonpublic postsecondary educational
20 institution that is an authorized individual training account
21 provider within the region and confers certificates and
22 diplomas, one representative from a nonpublic postsecondary
23 educational institution that is an authorized individual
24 training account provider within the region and confers
25 degrees, and three representatives of organized labor. The
26 board shall include one representative from a military
27 installation if a military installation is located within the
28 region. Individuals serving as members of regional workforce
29 development boards or local WAGES coalitions, as of June 30,
30 2000, are eligible for appointment to regional workforce
31 boards, pursuant to this section. It is the intent of the
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1 Legislature that, whenever possible and to the greatest extent
2 practicable, membership of a regional workforce board include
3 persons who are current or former recipients of welfare
4 transition assistance as defined in s. 445.002(3) or workforce
5 services as provided in s. 445.009(1), or that such persons be
6 included as ex officio members of the board or of committees
7 organized by the board. The importance of minority and gender
8 representation shall be considered when making appointments to
9 the board. If the regional workforce board enters into a
10 contract with an organization or individual represented on the
11 board of directors, the contract must be approved by a
12 two-thirds vote of the entire board, and the board member who
13 could benefit financially from the transaction must abstain
14 from voting on the contract. A board member must disclose any
15 such conflict in a manner that is consistent with the
16 procedures outlined in s. 112.3143.
17 Section 3. Present subsections (3), (4), and (5) of
18 section 464.009, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
19 subsections (4), (5), and (6), respectively, and a new
20 subsection (3) is added to that section to read:
21 464.009 Licensure by endorsement.--
22 (3) An applicant for licensure by endorsement who is
23 relocating to this state pursuant to his or her
24 military-connected spouse's official military orders and who
25 is licensed in another state that is a member of the Nurse
26 Licensure Compact shall be deemed to have satisfied the
27 requirements of subsection (1) and shall be issued a license
28 by endorsement upon submission of the appropriate application
29 and fees and completion of the criminal background check
30 required under subsection (4).
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1 Section 4. Subsection (8) of section 464.022, Florida
2 Statutes, is amended to read:
3 464.022 Exceptions.--No provision of this part shall
4 be construed to prohibit:
5 (8) Any nurse currently licensed in another state or
6 territory of the United States from performing nursing
7 services in this state for a period of 60 days after
8 furnishing to the employer satisfactory evidence of current
9 licensure in another state or territory and having submitted
10 proper application and fees to the board for licensure prior
11 to employment. If the nurse licensed in another state or
12 territory is relocating to this state pursuant to his or her
13 military-connected spouse's official military orders, this
14 period shall be 120 days after furnishing to the employer
15 satisfactory evidence of current licensure in another state or
16 territory and having submitted proper application and fees to
17 the board for licensure prior to employment. The board may
18 extend this time for administrative purposes when necessary.
19 Section 5. Subsections (2) and (8) of section 1002.39,
20 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
21 1002.39 The John M. McKay Scholarships for Students
22 with Disabilities Program.--There is established a program
23 that is separate and distinct from the Opportunity Scholarship
24 Program and is named the John M. McKay Scholarships for
25 Students with Disabilities Program, pursuant to this section.
26 (2) SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.--The parent of a public
27 school student with a disability who is dissatisfied with the
28 student's progress may request and receive from the state a
29 John M. McKay Scholarship for the child to enroll in and
30 attend a private school in accordance with this section if:
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1 (a) By assigned school attendance area or by special
2 assignment, the student has spent the prior school year in
3 attendance at a Florida public school. Prior school year in
4 attendance means that the student was enrolled and reported by
5 a school district for funding during the preceding October and
6 February Florida Education Finance Program surveys in
7 kindergarten through grade 12. However, this paragraph does
8 not apply to a dependent child of a member of the United
9 States Armed Forces who transfers to a school in this state
10 from out of state or from a foreign country pursuant to a
11 parent's permanent change of station orders. A dependent child
12 of a member of the United States Armed Forces who transfers to
13 a school in this state from out of state or from a foreign
14 country pursuant to a parent's permanent change of station
15 orders must meet all other eligibility requirements to
16 participate in the program.
17 (b) The parent has obtained acceptance for admission
18 of the student to a private school that is eligible for the
19 program under subsection (4) and has notified the school
20 district of the request for a scholarship at least 60 days
21 prior to the date of the first scholarship payment. The
22 parental notification must be through a communication directly
23 to the district or through the Department of Education to the
24 district in a manner that creates a written or electronic
25 record of the notification and the date of receipt of the
26 notification.
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28 This section does not apply to a student who is enrolled in a
29 school operating for the purpose of providing educational
30 services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice commitment
31 programs. For purposes of continuity of educational choice,
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1 the scholarship shall remain in force until the student
2 returns to a public school or graduates from high school.
3 However, at any time, the student's parent may remove the
4 student from the private school and place the student in
5 another private school that is eligible for the program under
6 subsection (4) or in a public school as provided in subsection
7 (3).
8 (8) RULES.--The State Board of Education shall may
9 adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to
10 administer this section, including rules that school districts
11 must use to expedite the development of a matrix of services
12 based on a current individual education plan from another
13 state or a foreign country for a transferring student with a
14 disability who is a dependent child of a member of the United
15 States Armed Forces. The rules must identify the appropriate
16 school district personnel who must complete the matrix of
17 services. For purposes of these rules, a transferring
18 student with a disability is one who was previously enrolled
19 as a student with a disability in an out-of-state or an
20 out-of-country public or private school or agency program and
21 who is transferring from out of state or from a foreign
22 country pursuant to a parent's permanent change of station
23 orders. However, the inclusion of eligible private schools
24 within options available to Florida public school students
25 does not expand the regulatory authority of the state, its
26 officers, or any school district to impose any additional
27 regulation of private schools beyond those reasonably
28 necessary to enforce requirements expressly set forth in this
29 section.
30 Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 1003.05, Florida
31 Statutes, is amended to read:
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1 1003.05 Assistance to transitioning students from
2 military families.--
3 (2) The Department of Education shall facilitate the
4 development and implementation of memoranda of agreement
5 between school districts and military installations which
6 address strategies for assisting military students in the
7 transition to Florida schools. identify its efforts and
8 strategies for assisting military-connected students in
9 transitioning to the Florida school system, including the
10 identification of acceptable equivalence for curriculum and
11 graduation requirements, and report its findings to the
12 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
13 House of Representatives by October 1, 2003.
14 Section 7. Section 1008.221, Florida Statutes, is
15 created to read:
16 1008.221 Dependent children of military personnel
17 transferring to Florida schools; equivalencies for
18 standardized tests.--A dependent child of a member of the
19 United States Armed Forces who enters a public school at the
20 12th grade from out of state or from a foreign country and
21 provides satisfactory proof of attaining a score on an
22 approved alternative assessment that is concordant to a
23 passing score on the grade 10 FCAT shall satisfy the
24 assessment requirement for a standard high school diploma as
25 provided in s. 1003.43(5)(a). For purposes of this section,
26 approved alternative assessments are the SAT and ACT.
27 Section 8. Paragraph (k) is added to subsection (10)
28 of section 1009.21, Florida Statutes, to read:
29 1009.21 Determination of resident status for tuition
30 purposes.--Students shall be classified as residents or
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1 nonresidents for the purpose of assessing tuition in community
2 colleges and state universities.
3 (10) The following persons shall be classified as
4 residents for tuition purposes:
5 (k) Active duty members of a foreign nation's military
6 who are serving as liaison officers and are residing or
7 stationed in this state, and their spouses and dependent
8 children, attending a community college or state university
9 within 50 miles of the military establishment where the
10 foreign liaison officer is stationed.
11 Section 9. (1) The Legislature finds that military
12 families are faced with a variety of challenges, including
13 frequent relocations, recurring deployments, lengthy periods
14 of separation, and heightened anxiety and uncertainty during
15 periods of conflict. A military spouse's ability to gain job
16 skills and maintain a career contributes to the financial
17 well-being of the family, spouse satisfaction with military
18 life, and military retention and readiness. Military spouses
19 are often required to terminate their employment in order to
20 support their spouse's highly mobile military commitment. The
21 unemployment rate for military spouses is approximately four
22 times the civilian unemployment rate, and military spouse
23 earnings are significantly lower than those of their
24 comparably educated civilian peers. Recognizing the
25 employment challenges faced by military spouses and the
26 importance of military families to our communities and
27 economy, the Legislature declares its intent to establish an
28 employment advocacy and assistance program to serve Florida's
29 military families.
30 (2) Workforce Florida, Inc., shall establish an
31 employment advocacy and assistance program targeting military
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1 spouses and dependents. This program shall deliver employment
2 assistance services through military family employment
3 advocates colocated within selected one-stop career centers.
4 Persons eligible for assistance through this program shall
5 include spouses and dependents of active-duty military
6 personnel, Florida National Guard members, and military
7 reservists.
8 (3) Military family employment advocates are
9 responsible for providing the following services and
10 activities:
11 (a) Coordination of employment assistance services
12 through military base family support centers, Florida's
13 one-stop career centers, and veteran-support organizations.
14 (b) Training to one-stop career center managers and
15 staff on the unique employment needs and skills of military
16 family members.
17 (c) Promoting and marketing the benefits of employing
18 military family members to prospective employers.
19 (d) Assisting employment-seeking military family
20 members through job counseling, job search and placement
21 services, the dissemination of information on educational and
22 training programs, and the availability of support services.
23 (e) Other employment assistance services Workforce
24 Florida, Inc., deems necessary.
25 (4) Workforce Florida, Inc., may enter into agreements
26 with public and private entities to provide services
27 authorized under this section.
28 Section 10. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation
29 shall undertake an assessment of the needs of active duty
30 military personnel and their families living in Florida for
31 affordable housing. The needs assessment shall provide
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1 information on the population characteristics of the service
2 personnel and their families having total gross incomes of up
3 to 80 percent of the local area's median income who are living
4 off base, including, but not limited to, the number of
5 households by family size, income, and current tenancy; the
6 condition of existing housing; and the availability of
7 homeowner and rental housing that is affordable to these
8 service personnel and their families. The corporation shall
9 report its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the
10 President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
11 Representatives, the Senate Minority Leader, and the House
12 Minority Leader by December 31, 2004.
13 Section 11. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
14 law.
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16 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
17 Senate Bill 1622
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19 The Committee Substitute revises eligibility requirements for
military dependents applying for a John M. McKay Scholarship
20 to include dependents whose parent died as a result of
conditions arising from active duty service.
21
The Committee Substitute clarifies that the waiver provided in
22 the Committee Substitute only applies to the requirement to
have attended a Florida public school in the prior year and
23 the student still must meet all other eligibility
requirements.
24
The Committee Substitute requires the State Board of Education
25 to adopt rules to expedite the development of a matrix of
services. The adopted rules must identify the personnel who
26 must complete the matrix.
27 The Committee Substitute defines the term "transferring
student with a disability" for rulemaking purposes.
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