HB 1725

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to military families; amending s. 295.01,
3	F.S.; revising certain requirements relating to
4	scholarships for children of deceased veterans; amending
5	s. 445.007, F.S.; providing for the appointment of a
6	military representative to certain regional workforce
7	boards; amending s. 464.009, F.S.; providing for licensure
8	by endorsement of certain nurses licensed in another state
9	that is a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact; amending
10	s. 464.022, F.S.; providing that certain nurses relocating
11	to this state may perform nursing services for a period of
12	120 days after submitting application for licensure;
13	amending s. 1002.39, F.S.; revising eligibility
14	requirements for military dependents applying for a John
15	M. McKay Scholarship; amending s. 1003.05, F.S.; directing
16	the Department of Education to assist in the development
17	of memoranda of agreement between school districts and
18	military installations; creating s. 1008.221, F.S.;
19	providing for alternate assessments for the grade 10 FCAT
20	for certain military dependents; amending s. 1009.21,
21	F.S.; classifying certain liaison officers and their
22	spouses and dependent children as residents for tuition
23	purposes; directing Workforce Florida, Inc., to establish
24	an employment advocacy and assistance program targeting
25	military spouses and dependents; directing the Florida
26	Housing Finance Corporation to assess the housing needs of
27	Florida's military families; requiring a report; providing
28	an effective date.
29
30	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32	Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 295.01, Florida
33	Statutes, is amended to read:
34	295.01  Children of deceased or disabled veterans;
35	education.--
36	(1)  It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state to
37	provide educational opportunity at state expense for dependent
38	children either of whose parents was a resident of the state at
39	the time such parent entered the Armed Forces and:
40	(a)  Died while on active duty as a result of service-
41	connected injuries, disease, or disability; in that service or
42	from injuries sustained or disease contracted during a period of
43	wartime service as defined in s. 1.01(14) or has died since or
44	may hereafter die from diseases or disability resulting from
45	such war service, or
46	(b)  Has been:
47	1.  Determined by the United States Department of Veterans
48	Affairs or its predecessor to have a service-connected 100-
49	percent total and permanent disability rating for compensation;,
50	2.  Determined to have a service-connected total and
51	permanent disability rating of 100 percent and is in receipt of
52	disability retirement pay from any branch of the United States
53	Armed Services;, or
54	3.  Issued a valid identification card by the Department of
55	Veterans' Affairs in accordance with s. 295.17,
56
57	when the parents of such children have been bona fide residents
58	of the state for 5 years next preceding their application for
59	the benefits hereof, and subject to the rules, restrictions, and
60	limitations hereof.
61	Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 445.007, Florida
62	Statutes, is amended to read:
63	445.007  Regional workforce boards; exemption from public
64	meetings law.--
65	(1)  One regional workforce board shall be appointed in
66	each designated service delivery area and shall serve as the
67	local workforce investment board pursuant to Pub. L. No. 105-
68	220. The membership of the board shall be consistent with Pub.
69	L. No. 105-220, Title I, s. 117(b), and contain one
70	representative from a nonpublic postsecondary educational
71	institution that is an authorized individual training account
72	provider within the region and confers certificates and
73	diplomas, one representative from a nonpublic postsecondary
74	educational institution that is an authorized individual
75	training account provider within the region and confers degrees,
76	and three representatives of organized labor. The board shall
77	include one representative from a military installation if a
78	military installation is located within the region. Individuals
79	serving as members of regional workforce development boards or
80	local WAGES coalitions, as of June 30, 2000, are eligible for
81	appointment to regional workforce boards, pursuant to this
82	section. It is the intent of the Legislature that, whenever
83	possible and to the greatest extent practicable, membership of a
84	regional workforce board include persons who are current or
85	former recipients of welfare transition assistance as defined in
86	s. 445.002(3) or workforce services as provided in s.
87	445.009(1), or that such persons be included as ex officio
88	members of the board or of committees organized by the board.
89	The importance of minority and gender representation shall be
90	considered when making appointments to the board. If the
91	regional workforce board enters into a contract with an
92	organization or individual represented on the board of
93	directors, the contract must be approved by a two-thirds vote of
94	the entire board, and the board member who could benefit
95	financially from the transaction must abstain from voting on the
96	contract. A board member must disclose any such conflict in a
97	manner that is consistent with the procedures outlined in s.
98	112.3143.
99	Section 3.  Present subsections (3), (4), and (5) of
100	section 464.009, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
101	subsections (4), (5), and (6), respectively, and a new
102	subsection (3) is added to that section to read:
103	464.009  Licensure by endorsement.--
104	(3)  An applicant for licensure by endorsement who is
105	relocating to this state pursuant to his or her military-
106	connected spouse's official military orders and who is licensed
107	in another state that is a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact
108	shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of subsection
109	(1) and shall be issued a license by endorsement upon submission
110	of the appropriate application and fees and completion of the
111	criminal background check required under subsection (4).
112	Section 4.  Subsection (8) of section 464.022, Florida
113	Statutes, is amended to read:
114	464.022  Exceptions.--No provision of this part shall be
115	construed to prohibit:
116	(8)  Any nurse currently licensed in another state or
117	territory of the United States from performing nursing services
118	in this state for a period of 60 days after furnishing to the
119	employer satisfactory evidence of current licensure in another
120	state or territory and having submitted proper application and
121	fees to the board for licensure prior to employment. If the
122	nurse licensed in another state or territory is relocating to
123	this state pursuant to his or her military-connected spouse's
124	official military orders, this period shall be 120 days after
125	furnishing to the employer satisfactory evidence of current
126	licensure in another state or territory and having submitted
127	proper application and fees to the board for licensure prior to
128	employment. The board may extend this time for administrative
129	purposes when necessary.
130	Section 5.  Subsection (2) of section 1002.39, Florida
131	Statutes, is amended to read:
132	1002.39  The John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with
133	Disabilities Program.--There is established a program that is
134	separate and distinct from the Opportunity Scholarship Program
135	and is named the John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with
136	Disabilities Program, pursuant to this section.
137	(2)  SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.--The parent of a public
138	school student with a disability who is dissatisfied with the
139	student's progress may request and receive from the state a John
140	M. McKay Scholarship for the child to enroll in and attend a
141	private school in accordance with this section if:
142	(a)  By assigned school attendance area or by special
143	assignment, the student has spent the prior school year in
144	attendance at a Florida public school. Prior school year in
145	attendance means that the student was enrolled and reported by a
146	school district for funding during the preceding October and
147	February Florida Education Finance Program surveys in
148	kindergarten through grade 12. However, this paragraph does not
149	apply to a dependent child of a member of the United States
150	Armed Forces who transfers to a school in this state from out of
151	state or from a foreign country pursuant to a parent's permanent
152	change of station orders.
153	(b)  The parent has obtained acceptance for admission of
154	the student to a private school that is eligible for the program
155	under subsection (4) and has notified the school district of the
156	request for a scholarship at least 60 days prior to the date of
157	the first scholarship payment. The parental notification must be
158	through a communication directly to the district or through the
159	Department of Education to the district in a manner that creates
160	a written or electronic record of the notification and the date
161	of receipt of the notification.
162
163	This section does not apply to a student who is enrolled in a
164	school operating for the purpose of providing educational
165	services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice commitment
166	programs. For purposes of continuity of educational choice, the
167	scholarship shall remain in force until the student returns to a
168	public school or graduates from high school. However, at any
169	time, the student's parent may remove the student from the
170	private school and place the student in another private school
171	that is eligible for the program under subsection (4) or in a
172	public school as provided in subsection (3).
173	Section 6.  Subsection (2) of section 1003.05, Florida
174	Statutes, is amended to read:
175	1003.05  Assistance to transitioning students from military
176	families.--
177	(2)  The Department of Education shall facilitate the
178	development and implementation of memoranda of agreement between
179	school districts and military installations which address
180	strategies for assisting military students in the transition to
181	Florida schools. identify its efforts and strategies for
182	assisting military-connected students in transitioning to the
183	Florida school system, including the identification of
184	acceptable equivalence for curriculum and graduation
185	requirements, and report its findings to the Governor, the
186	President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
187	Representatives by October 1, 2003.
188	Section 7.  Section 1008.221, Florida Statutes, is created
189	to read:
190	1008.221  Dependent children of military personnel
191	transferring to Florida schools; equivalencies for standardized
192	tests.--A dependent child of a member of the United States Armed
193	Forces who enters a public school at the 12th grade from out of
194	state or from a foreign country and provides satisfactory proof
195	of attaining a score on an approved alternative assessment that
196	is concordant to a passing score on the grade 10 FCAT shall
197	satisfy the assessment requirement for a standard high school
198	diploma as provided in s. 1003.43(5)(a). For purposes of this
199	section, approved alternative assessments are the SAT and ACT.
200	Section 8.  Paragraph (k) is added to subsection (10) of
201	section 1009.21, Florida Statutes, to read:
202	1009.21  Determination of resident status for tuition
203	purposes.--Students shall be classified as residents or
204	nonresidents for the purpose of assessing tuition in community
205	colleges and state universities.
206	(10)  The following persons shall be classified as
207	residents for tuition purposes:
208	(k)  Active duty members of a foreign nation's military who
209	are serving as liaison officers and are residing or stationed in
210	this state, and their spouses and dependent children, attending
211	a community college or state university within 50 miles of the
212	military establishment where the foreign liaison officer is
213	stationed.
214	Section 9.  (1)  The Legislature finds that military
215	families are faced with a variety of challenges, including
216	frequent relocations, recurring deployments, lengthy periods of
217	separation, and heightened anxiety and uncertainty during
218	periods of conflict. A military spouse's ability to gain job
219	skills and maintain a career contributes to the financial well-
220	being of the family, spouse satisfaction with military life, and
221	military retention and readiness. Military spouses are often
222	required to terminate their employment in order to support their
223	spouse's highly mobile military commitment. The unemployment
224	rate for military spouses is approximately four times the
225	civilian unemployment rate, and military spouse earnings are
226	significantly lower than those of their comparably educated
227	civilian peers.  Recognizing the employment challenges faced by
228	military spouses and the importance of military families to our
229	communities and economy, the Legislature declares its intent to
230	establish an employment advocacy and assistance program to serve
231	Florida's military families.
232	(2)  Workforce Florida, Inc., shall establish an employment
233	advocacy and assistance program targeting military spouses and
234	dependents. This program shall deliver employment assistance
235	services through military family employment advocates colocated
236	within selected one-stop career centers. Persons eligible for
237	assistance through this program shall include spouses and
238	dependents of active-duty military personnel, Florida National
239	Guard members, and military reservists.
240	(3)  Military family employment advocates are responsible
241	for providing the following services and activities:
242	(a)  Coordination of employment assistance services through
243	military base family support centers, Florida's one-stop career
244	centers, and veteran-support organizations.
245	(b)  Training to one-stop career center managers and staff
246	on the unique employment needs and skills of military family
247	members.
248	(c)  Promoting and marketing the benefits of employing
249	military family members to prospective employers.
250	(d)  Assisting employment-seeking military family members
251	through job counseling, job search and placement services, the
252	dissemination of information on educational and training
253	programs, and the availability of support services.
254	(e)  Other employment assistance services Workforce
255	Florida, Inc., deems necessary.
256	(4)  Workforce Florida, Inc., may enter into agreements
257	with public and private entities to provide services authorized
258	under this section.
259	Section 10.  The Florida Housing Finance Corporation shall
260	undertake an assessment of the needs of active duty military
261	personnel and their families living in Florida for affordable
262	housing. The needs assessment shall provide information on the
263	population characteristics of the service personnel and their
264	families having total gross incomes of up to 80 percent of the
265	local area's median income who are living off base, including,
266	but not limited to, the number of households by family size,
267	income, and current tenancy; the condition of existing housing;
268	and the availability of homeowner and rental housing that is
269	affordable to these service personnel and their families. The
270	corporation shall report its findings and recommendations to the
271	Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
272	of Representatives, the Senate Minority Leader, and the House
273	Minority Leader by December 31, 2004.
274	Section 11.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a
275	law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.