Senate Bill sb3036e1
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to early childhood education;
3 creating part V of ch. 1002, F.S.; creating the
4 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program;
5 implementing s. 1(b) and (c), Art. IX of the
6 State Constitution; providing definitions for
7 purposes of the program; providing eligibility
8 and enrollment requirements; authorizing
9 parents to enroll their children in a program
10 delivered by a child development provider, a
11 summer program delivered by a public school, or
12 a school-year program delivered by a public
13 school; requiring school districts to admit all
14 eligible children in the summer program;
15 prohibiting specified acts of discrimination
16 and certain limits on enrollment; specifying
17 eligibility requirements for child development
18 providers and public schools that deliver the
19 program; providing for the adoption of rules;
20 requiring the Department of Education establish
21 a credential for prekindergarten directors and
22 an emergent literacy training course for
23 teachers and child care personnel of the
24 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program;
25 requiring the credential and course to provide
26 training and resources containing strategies
27 that maximize the program's benefits for
28 students with disabilities and other special
29 needs; providing that the credential and course
30 satisfy certain credentialing and training
31 requirements; specifying eligibility
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1 requirements for school districts that deliver
2 the school-year prekindergarten program;
3 creating a demonstration program in specified
4 school districts; directing the Office of
5 Program Policy Analysis and Government
6 Accountability to evaluate the demonstration
7 program; requiring the demonstration districts
8 to submit data; providing for the future
9 expiration of the demonstration program;
10 authorizing providers and schools to select or
11 design curricula used for the program under
12 specified conditions; directing the Department
13 of Education to adopt performance standards and
14 approve curricula; requiring providers and
15 schools to be placed on probation and use the
16 approved curricula under certain circumstances;
17 requiring improvement plans and corrective
18 actions from providers and schools under
19 certain circumstances; requiring regional child
20 development boards and school districts to
21 verify the compliance of child development
22 providers and public schools; authorizing the
23 removal of providers and schools from
24 eligibility to deliver the program for
25 noncompliance; requiring the Department of
26 Education to adopt a statewide kindergarten
27 screening; requiring certain students to take
28 the statewide screening; specifying
29 requirements for screening instruments and
30 kindergarten readiness rates; providing funding
31 and reporting requirements; specifying the
2
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1 calculation of per-student allocations;
2 providing for advance payments to child
3 development providers and public schools based
4 upon student enrollment; providing for the
5 documentation and certification of student
6 attendance; requiring parents to verify student
7 attendance and certify the choice of provider
8 or school; providing for the reconciliation of
9 advance payments based upon certified student
10 attendance; requiring students to comply with
11 attendance policies and authorizing the
12 dismissal of students for noncompliance;
13 prohibiting regional child development boards
14 from withholding funds for administrative
15 costs; providing for the allocation of
16 administrative funds among regional child
17 development boards; prohibiting certain fees or
18 charges; limiting the use of state funds;
19 providing powers and duties of the Department
20 of Education, the Division of Early Childhood
21 Education, and the Chancellor for Early
22 Childhood Education; requiring the Department
23 of Education to adopt procedures for the
24 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program;
25 limiting the department's authority; creating
26 the Florida Child Development Advisory Council;
27 providing for the appointment and membership of
28 the advisory council; providing membership and
29 meeting requirements; authorizing council
30 members to receive per diem and travel
31 expenses; requiring the Department of Education
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1 to provide staff for the advisory council;
2 providing for the adoption of rules; amending
3 s. 411.01, F.S.; conforming provisions to the
4 transfer of the Florida Partnership for School
5 Readiness to the Agency for Workforce
6 Innovation; deleting provisions for the
7 appointment and membership of the partnership;
8 redesignating school readiness coalitions as
9 regional child development boards; deleting
10 obsolete references to repealed programs;
11 deleting obsolete provisions governing the
12 phase in of school readiness programs; deleting
13 provisions governing the measurement of school
14 readiness, the school readiness uniform
15 screening, and performance-based budgeting in
16 school readiness programs; specifying
17 requirements for school readiness performance
18 standards; clarifying rulemaking requirements;
19 limiting the Agency for Workforce Innovation's
20 authority; revising requirements for school
21 readiness programs; specifying that school
22 readiness programs must enhance the progress of
23 children in certain skills; requiring regional
24 child development boards to obtain certain
25 health information before enrolling a child in
26 the school readiness program; requiring the
27 Agency for Workforce Innovation to administer a
28 quality-assurance system and identify best
29 practices for regional child development
30 boards; requiring a reduction in the number of
31 boards in accordance with specified standards;
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1 directing the Agency for Workforce Innovation
2 to adopt procedures for the merger of boards;
3 revising appointment and membership
4 requirements for the boards; directing the
5 Agency for Workforce Innovation to adopt
6 criteria for the appointment of certain
7 members; requiring each board to specify terms
8 of board members; prohibiting board members
9 from voting under certain circumstances;
10 providing a definition for purposes of the
11 single point of entry; requiring regional child
12 development boards to use a statewide
13 information system; requiring the Agency for
14 Workforce Innovation to approve payment rates
15 and consider the access of eligible children
16 before approving proposals to increase rates;
17 deleting requirements for the minimum number of
18 children served; providing requirements for
19 developmentally appropriate curriculum used for
20 school readiness programs; authorizing
21 contracts for the continuation of school
22 readiness services under certain circumstances;
23 requiring the Agency for Workforce Innovation
24 to adopt criteria for the approval of school
25 readiness plans; revising requirements for
26 school readiness plans; providing requirements
27 for the approval and implementation of plan
28 revisions; revising competitive procurement
29 requirements for regional child development
30 boards; authorizing the boards to designate
31 certified public accountants as fiscal agents;
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1 clarifying age and income eligibility
2 requirements for school readiness programs;
3 revising eligibility requirements for certain
4 at-risk children; revising funding
5 requirements; revising requirements for the
6 adoption of a formula for the allocation of
7 certain funds among the regional child
8 development boards; prohibiting certain
9 transfers without specific legislative
10 authority; deleting an obsolete provision
11 requiring a report; deleting the expiration of
12 eligibility requirements for certain children
13 from families receiving temporary cash
14 assistance; amending s. 11.45, F.S.;
15 authorizing the Auditor General to conduct
16 audits of the school readiness system;
17 conforming provisions; amending s. 20.15, F.S.;
18 creating the Division of Early Childhood
19 Education within the Department of Education;
20 specifying that the Commissioner of Education
21 does not appoint members of the Florida Child
22 Development Advisory Council; amending s.
23 20.50, F.S.; creating the Office of Child
24 Development within the Agency for Workforce
25 Innovation; providing that the office
26 administers the school readiness system;
27 amending s. 125.901, F.S.; conforming
28 provisions; amending ss. 216.133 and 216.136,
29 F.S.; redesignating the School Readiness
30 Program Estimating Conference as the Child
31 Development Programs Estimating Conference;
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1 requiring the estimating conference to develop
2 certain estimates and forecasts for the Florida
3 Prekindergarten Education Program; directing
4 the Department of Education to provide certain
5 information to the estimating conference;
6 conforming provisions; creating s. 402.265,
7 F.S.; prohibiting certain transfers without
8 specific legislative authority; amending ss.
9 402.3016, 411.011, 411.226, 411.227, 624.91,
10 1001.23, 1002.22, and 1003.54, F.S.; conforming
11 provisions to the transfer of the Florida
12 Partnership for School Readiness to the Agency
13 for Workforce Innovation and to the
14 redesignation of the school readiness
15 coalitions as regional child development
16 boards; requiring the Department of Education
17 to submit a report; requiring the Governor to
18 submit certain recommendations as part of the
19 Governor's recommended budget; abolishing the
20 Florida Partnership for School Readiness and
21 providing for the transfer of the partnership
22 to the Agency for Workforce Innovation;
23 repealing ss. 411.012 and 1008.21, F.S.,
24 relating to the voluntary universal
25 prekindergarten education program and the
26 school readiness uniform screening; providing
27 appropriations; providing for the allocation of
28 appropriations among certain school districts;
29 providing effective dates.
30
31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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1 Section 1. Part V of chapter 1002, Florida Statutes,
2 consisting of sections 1002.51, 1002.53, 1002.55, 1002.57,
3 1002.59, 1002.61, 1002.63, 1002.65, 1002.67, 1002.69, 1002.71,
4 1002.73, and 1002.75, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
5 PART V
6 FLORIDA PREKINDERGARTEN EDUCATION PROGRAM
7 1002.51 Definitions.--As used in this part, the term:
8 (1) "Advisory council" means the Florida Child
9 Development Advisory Council created under s. 1002.73.
10 (2) "Chancellor for Early Childhood Education" or
11 "chancellor" means the director of the Division of Early
12 Childhood Education of the Department of Education.
13 (3) "Child development provider" means a provider
14 eligible to deliver the prekindergarten program under s.
15 1002.55.
16 (4) "Department" means the Department of Education.
17 (5) "Kindergarten eligibility" means the eligibility
18 of a child for admission to kindergarten in a public school
19 under s. 1003.21(1)(a)2.
20 (6) "Prekindergarten director" means an onsite person
21 ultimately responsible for the overall operation of a child
22 development provider or, alternatively, of the provider's
23 prekindergarten program, regardless of whether the person is
24 the owner of the provider.
25 (7) "Regional child development board" or "board"
26 means a regional child development board created under s.
27 411.01.
28 1002.53 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program;
29 eligibility and enrollment.--
30 (1) There is created the Florida Prekindergarten
31 Education Program within the Department of Education. The
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1 program shall take effect in each county at the beginning of
2 the 2005-2006 school year and shall be organized, designed,
3 and delivered in accordance with s. 1(b) and (c), Art. IX of
4 the State Constitution.
5 (2) Each child who is a resident of the state who will
6 have attained the age of 4 years on or before September 1 of
7 the school year is eligible for the Florida Prekindergarten
8 Education Program during that school year. The child remains
9 eligible until the child attains kindergarten eligibility or
10 is admitted to kindergarten, whichever occurs first.
11 (3) The parent of each child eligible under subsection
12 (2) may enroll the child in one of the following programs:
13 (a) A prekindergarten program delivered by a child
14 development provider under s. 1002.55;
15 (b) A summer prekindergarten program delivered by a
16 public school under s. 1002.61; or
17 (c) A school-year prekindergarten program delivered by
18 a public school under s. 1002.63.
19
20 However, a child may not be enrolled in more than one of these
21 programs.
22 (4)(a) Each parent enrolling a child in the Florida
23 Prekindergarten Education Program must complete and submit an
24 application to the regional child development board through
25 the single point of entry established under s. 411.01.
26 (b) The application must be submitted on forms
27 prescribed by the department and must be accompanied by a
28 certified copy of the child's birth certificate. The forms
29 must include a certification, in substantially the form
30 provided in s. 1002.69(5)(b)2., that the parent chooses the
31 child development provider or public school in accordance with
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1 this section and directs that payments for the program be made
2 to the provider or school. The department may authorize
3 alternative methods for submitting proof of the child's age in
4 lieu of a certified copy of the child's birth certificate.
5 (c) Each regional child development board shall
6 coordinate with each of the school districts within the
7 board's county or multicounty region in the development of
8 procedures for the enrollment of children in prekindergarten
9 programs delivered by public schools.
10 (5) The regional child development board shall provide
11 each parent enrolling a child in the Florida Prekindergarten
12 Education Program with a profile of every child development
13 provider and public school delivering the program within the
14 board's county or multicounty region. The profiles shall be
15 provided to parents in a format prescribed by the department.
16 The profiles must include, at a minimum, the following
17 information about each provider and school:
18 (a) The provider's or school's services, curriculum,
19 teacher credentials, and teacher-to-student ratio; and
20 (b) The provider's or school's kindergarten readiness
21 rate calculated in accordance with s. 1002.65(3)(c) and s.
22 1002.67, based upon the most recent available results of the
23 statewide kindergarten screening.
24 (6)(a) A parent may enroll his or her child with any
25 child development provider that is eligible to deliver the
26 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program under this part;
27 however, the child development provider may determine whether
28 to admit any child. A regional child development board or the
29 department may not limit the number of students admitted by
30 any child development provider for enrollment in the program;
31 however, a child development provider may not exceed its
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1 licensed capacity in accordance with ss. 402.301-402.319 as a
2 result of admissions in the prekindergarten program.
3 (b) A parent may enroll his or her child with any
4 public school within the school district which is eligible to
5 deliver the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program under
6 this part, subject to available space. Each school district
7 may limit the number of students admitted by any public school
8 for enrollment in the program; however, the school district
9 must provide for the admission of every eligible child within
10 the district whose parent enrolls the child in the summer
11 prekindergarten program under s. 1002.61.
12 (c) A child development provider or public school may
13 not discriminate against a parent or child, including the
14 refusal to admit a child for enrollment in the Florida
15 Prekindergarten Education Program, because of the parent's or
16 child's race, color, or national origin.
17 1002.55 Prekindergarten program delivered by child
18 development providers.--
19 (1) Each regional child development board shall
20 administer the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program at
21 the county or regional level for students enrolled under s.
22 1002.53(3)(a) in a prekindergarten program delivered by a
23 child development provider.
24 (2) To be eligible to deliver the prekindergarten
25 program, a child development provider must meet each of the
26 following requirements:
27 (a) The child development provider must be one of the
28 following types of providers:
29 1. A nonpublic school exempt from licensure under s.
30 402.3025(2) which is accredited by an accrediting association
31 in the National Council for Private School Accreditation, the
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1 Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation,
2 or the Florida Association of Academic Nonpublic Schools or
3 which holds a current Gold Seal Quality Care designation under
4 s. 402.281;
5 2. A child care facility licensed under s. 402.305,
6 family day care home licensed under s. 402.313, or large
7 family child care home licensed under s. 402.3131, which
8 facility or home holds a current Gold Seal Quality Care
9 designation under s. 402.281 or meets or exceeds the Gold Seal
10 Quality Care program standards, as verified by the regional
11 child development board, but does not hold the designation; or
12 3. A faith-based child care provider exempt from
13 licensure under s. 402.316 which is accredited by an
14 accrediting association in the National Council for Private
15 School Accreditation, the Commission on International and
16 Trans-Regional Accreditation, or the Florida Association of
17 Academic Nonpublic Schools or which holds a current Gold Seal
18 Quality Care designation under s. 402.281.
19 (b) The child development provider must have, for each
20 prekindergarten class, at least one teacher or child care
21 personnel who meets each of the following requirements:
22 1. The teacher or child care personnel must hold, at a
23 minimum, one of the following credentials:
24 a. A Child Development Associate credential issued by
25 the National Credentialing Program of the Council for
26 Professional Regulation; or
27 b. A credential approved by the Department of Children
28 and Family Services as being equivalent to or greater than the
29 credential described in sub-subparagraph a.
30
31
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1 The Department of Children and Family Services may adopt rules
2 under s. 120.536(1) and s. 120.54 which provide criteria and
3 procedures for the approval of equivalent credentials under
4 sub-subparagraph b.
5 2. The teacher or child care personnel must
6 successfully complete an emergent literacy training course
7 approved by the department as meeting or exceeding the minimum
8 standards adopted under s. 1002.59. This subparagraph does not
9 apply to a teacher or child care personnel who successfully
10 completes approved training in early literacy and language
11 development under s. 402.305(2)(d)4., s. 402.313(6), or s.
12 402.3131(5) before the establishment of the emergent literacy
13 training course under s. 1002.59 or January 1, 2005, whichever
14 occurs later.
15 (c) The child development provider must have a
16 prekindergarten director who has a prekindergarten director
17 credential that is approved by the department as meeting or
18 exceeding the minimum standards adopted under s. 1002.57.
19 Successful completion of a child care facility director
20 credential under s. 402.305(2)(f) before the establishment of
21 the prekindergarten director credential under s. 1002.57 or
22 July 1, 2005, whichever occurs later, satisfies the
23 requirement for a prekindergarten director credential under
24 this paragraph.
25 (d) The child development provider must register with
26 the regional child development board on forms prescribed by
27 the department.
28 (e) The child development provider must deliver the
29 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program in accordance with
30 this part.
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1 (3) A teacher or child care personnel, in lieu of the
2 minimum credentials and courses required under paragraph
3 (2)(b), may hold one of the following educational credentials:
4 (a) A bachelor's or higher degree in early childhood
5 education, prekindergarten or primary education, preschool
6 education, or family and consumer science;
7 (b) A bachelor's or higher degree in elementary
8 education, if the teacher or child care personnel has been
9 certified to teach children any age from birth through 6th
10 grade, regardless of whether the teaching certificate is
11 current;
12 (c) An associate's or higher degree in child
13 development;
14 (d) An associate's or higher degree in an unrelated
15 field, at least 6 credit hours in early childhood education or
16 child development, and at least 480 hours experience in
17 teaching or providing child care services for children any age
18 from birth through 8 years of age; or
19 (e) An educational credential approved by the
20 department as being equivalent to or greater than an
21 educational credential described in this subsection. The
22 department may adopt criteria and procedures for the approval
23 of equivalent educational credentials under this paragraph.
24 1002.57 Prekindergarten director credential.--
25 (1) By July 1, 2005, the department, with the advice
26 of the advisory council, shall adopt minimum standards for a
27 credential for prekindergarten directors of child development
28 providers delivering the Florida Prekindergarten Education
29 Program. The credential must encompass requirements for
30 education and onsite experience.
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1 (2) The educational requirements must include training
2 in the following:
3 (a) Professionally accepted standards for
4 prekindergarten programs, child development, and strategies
5 and techniques to address the age-appropriate progress of
6 prekindergarten students in attaining the performance
7 standards adopted by the department under s. 1002.65;
8 (b) Strategies that allow students with disabilities
9 and other special needs to derive maximum benefit from the
10 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program; and
11 (c) Program administration and operations, including
12 management, organizational leadership, and financial and legal
13 issues.
14 (3) The prekindergarten director credential must meet
15 or exceed the requirements of the Department of Children and
16 Family Services for the child care facility director
17 credential under s. 402.305(2)(f), and successful completion
18 of the prekindergarten director credential satisfies these
19 requirements for the child care facility director credential.
20 (4) The department shall, to the maximum extent
21 practicable, award credit to a person who successfully
22 completes the child care facility director credential under s.
23 402.305(2)(f) for those requirements of the prekindergarten
24 director credential which are duplicative of requirements for
25 the child care facility director credential.
26 1002.59 Emergent literacy training course.--By January
27 1, 2005, the department, with the advice of the advisory
28 council, shall adopt minimum standards for a training course
29 in emergent literacy for teachers and child care personnel of
30 the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program. The course
31 shall comprise 5 clock hours and shall provide instruction in
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1 strategies and techniques to address the age-appropriate
2 progress of prekindergarten students in the development of
3 emergent literacy skills, including oral communication,
4 knowledge of print and letters, phonemic and phonological
5 awareness, and vocabulary and comprehension development. The
6 course shall also provide resources containing strategies that
7 allow students with disabilities and other special needs to
8 derive maximum benefit from the Florida Prekindergarten
9 Education Program. The course must meet or exceed the
10 requirements of the Department of Children and Family Services
11 for approved training in early literacy and language
12 development under ss. 402.305(2)(d)4., 402.313(6), and
13 402.3131(5), and successful completion of the training course
14 satisfies these requirements for approved training.
15 1002.61 Summer prekindergarten program delivered by
16 public schools; demonstration program.--
17 (1) Each school district shall administer the Florida
18 Prekindergarten Education Program at the district level for
19 students enrolled under s. 1002.53(3)(b) in a summer
20 prekindergarten program delivered by a public school.
21 (2) Each district school board shall determine which
22 public schools in the school district are eligible to deliver
23 the summer prekindergarten program. The school district shall
24 use educational facilities available in the public schools
25 during the summer term for the summer prekindergarten program.
26 (3) Each public school delivering the summer
27 prekindergarten program must have at least one certified
28 teacher for every 10 students in the Florida Prekindergarten
29 Education Program. As used in this subsection, the term
30 "certified teacher" means a teacher holding a valid Florida
31 teaching certificate under s. 1012.56 who has the
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1 qualifications required by the district school board to
2 instruct students in the summer prekindergarten program. In
3 selecting instructional staff for the summer prekindergarten
4 program, each school district shall give priority to teachers
5 who have experience or coursework in early childhood
6 education.
7 (4) Each public school delivering the summer
8 prekindergarten program must also:
9 (a) Register with the regional child development board
10 on forms prescribed by the department; and
11 (b) Deliver the Florida Prekindergarten Education
12 Program in accordance with this part.
13 (5)(a) There is created a summer prekindergarten
14 demonstration program that shall be implemented during summer
15 2004 in the Baker, Duval, Hillsborough, Martin, Miami-Dade,
16 Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Santa Rosa, and Wakulla school
17 districts. The demonstration program shall implement the
18 summer prekindergarten program delivered by public schools
19 within the demonstration districts.
20 (b) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
21 Government Accountability shall develop a research design for
22 the demonstration program which ensures that students in the
23 demonstration program are demographically representative of
24 students statewide and that the sample size is sufficient to
25 generate statistically valid conclusions. The sample must be
26 selected to ensure that the results obtained from the
27 demonstration program are applicable statewide with
28 statistical confidence.
29 (c) Each demonstration district and demonstration
30 school shall implement the demonstration program in accordance
31
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1 with the research design developed under paragraph (b) and, to
2 the maximum extent practicable, in accordance with this part.
3 (d) Each demonstration district shall submit to the
4 Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
5 Accountability the results of the statewide kindergarten
6 screening administered under s. 1002.67 for students who
7 completed the summer prekindergarten demonstration program.
8 (e) By January 15, 2005, the Office of Program Policy
9 Analysis and Government Accountability shall conduct an
10 evaluation of the demonstration program in consultation with
11 the Legislature. Each demonstration district shall submit data
12 about the demonstration program as requested by the Office of
13 Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability for
14 purposes of the evaluation.
15 (f) This subsection expires July 1, 2005.
16 1002.63 School-year prekindergarten program delivered
17 by public schools.--
18 (1) Each school district eligible under subsection (3)
19 may administer the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program
20 at the district level for students enrolled under s.
21 1002.53(3)(c) in a school-year prekindergarten program
22 delivered by a public school.
23 (2) The district school board of each school district
24 eligible under subsection (3) shall determine which public
25 schools in the district are eligible to deliver the
26 prekindergarten program during the school year.
27 (3) To be eligible to deliver the prekindergarten
28 program during the school year, each school district must meet
29 both of the following requirements:
30 (a) The district school board must certify to the
31 State Board of Education:
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1 1. That the school district has reduced the average
2 class size in each classroom in accordance with s. 1003.03 and
3 the schedule in s. 1(a), Art. IX of the State Constitution;
4 and
5 2. That the school district has sufficient
6 satisfactory educational facilities and capital outlay funds
7 to continue reducing the average class size in each classroom
8 in an elementary school for each year in accordance with the
9 class-size reduction schedule and to achieve full compliance
10 with the maximum class sizes in s. 1(a), Art. IX of the State
11 Constitution by the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year.
12 (b) The Commissioner of Education must certify to the
13 State Board of Education that the department has reviewed the
14 school district's educational facilities, capital outlay
15 funds, and projected student enrollment and concurs with the
16 district school board's certification under paragraph (a).
17 (4) Each public school delivering the school-year
18 prekindergarten program must:
19 (a) Register with the regional child development board
20 on forms prescribed by the department; and
21 (b) Deliver the Florida Prekindergarten Education
22 Program in accordance with this part.
23 1002.65 Performance standards; curriculum and
24 accountability.--
25 (1) By January 1, 2005, the department, with the
26 advice of the advisory council, shall develop and adopt
27 performance standards for students in the Florida
28 Prekindergarten Education Program. The performance standards
29 must address the age-appropriate progress of students in the
30 development of:
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1 (a) The capabilities, capacities, and skills required
2 under s. 1(b), Art. IX of the State Constitution; and
3 (b) Emergent literacy skills, including oral
4 communication, knowledge of print and letters, phonemic and
5 phonological awareness, and vocabulary and comprehension
6 development.
7 (2)(a) Each child development provider and public
8 school may select or design the curriculum that the provider
9 or school uses to implement the Florida Prekindergarten
10 Education Program, except as otherwise required for a provider
11 or school that is placed on probation under paragraph (3)(c).
12 (b) Each child development provider's and public
13 school's curriculum must be developmentally appropriate and
14 must:
15 1. Be based upon reading research;
16 2. Enhance the age-appropriate progress of students in
17 attaining the performance standards adopted by the department
18 under subsection (1); and
19 3. Prepare students to be assessed as ready for
20 kindergarten based upon the statewide kindergarten screening
21 administered under s. 1002.67.
22 (c) The department shall review and approve curricula
23 for use by child development providers and public schools that
24 are placed on probation under paragraph (3)(c). The department
25 shall maintain a list of the curricula approved under this
26 paragraph. Each approved curriculum must meet the requirements
27 of paragraph (b).
28 (3)(a) Each regional child development board and
29 school district shall verify compliance with this part of the
30 child development providers or public schools, as applicable,
31
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1 delivering the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program
2 within the district.
3 (b) A regional child development board or the
4 department may remove a child development provider, and a
5 school district or the department may remove a public school,
6 from eligibility to deliver the Florida Prekindergarten
7 Education Program and receive state funds for the program, if
8 the provider or school fails or refuses to comply with this
9 part.
10 (c) Beginning with the kindergarten readiness rates
11 for students completing the Florida Prekindergarten Education
12 Program during the 2005-2006 school year who are administered
13 the statewide kindergarten screening during the 2006-2007
14 school year:
15 1. Of the students who are administered the statewide
16 kindergarten screening under s. 1002.67, if less than 85
17 percent of the students from a child development provider's or
18 public school's prekindergarten program are assessed as ready
19 for kindergarten based upon the results of the statewide
20 kindergarten screening, the regional child development board
21 or school district, as applicable, shall require the provider
22 or school to submit an improvement plan for approval by the
23 regional child development board or school district, as
24 applicable, and to implement the plan.
25 2. If a child development provider or public school
26 fails to meet the 85-percent kindergarten readiness rate for 2
27 consecutive years, the regional child development board or
28 school district, as applicable, shall place the provider or
29 school on probation and must require the provider or school to
30 take certain corrective actions, including the use of a
31 curriculum approved by the department under paragraph (2)(c).
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1 3. A child development provider or public school that
2 is placed on probation must continue the corrective actions
3 required under subparagraph 2., including the use of a
4 curriculum approved by the department, until the provider or
5 school meets the 85-percent kindergarten readiness rate, based
6 upon the results of the statewide kindergarten screening.
7 1002.67 Statewide kindergarten screening.--
8 (1) The department, with the advice of the advisory
9 council, shall adopt a statewide kindergarten screening that
10 assesses the readiness of each student for kindergarten based
11 upon the performance standards adopted by the department under
12 s. 1002.65(1) for the Florida Prekindergarten Education
13 Program. The department shall require that each school
14 district administer the statewide kindergarten screening to
15 every kindergarten student in the school district within 30
16 school days after the student's entry into kindergarten.
17 (2) The statewide kindergarten screening shall provide
18 objective data on each student's progress in attaining the
19 performance standards adopted by the department under s.
20 1002.65(1).
21 (3) The statewide kindergarten screening shall
22 incorporate mechanisms for recognizing potential variations in
23 kindergarten readiness rates for students with disabilities.
24 (4) Each parent who enrolls his or her child in the
25 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program must submit the
26 child for the statewide kindergarten screening, regardless of
27 whether the child is admitted to kindergarten in a public
28 school or nonpublic school. Each school district shall
29 designate public schools to administer the statewide
30 kindergarten screening for children admitted to kindergarten
31 in a nonpublic school.
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1 (5) The department shall adopt procedures for the
2 calculation of each child development provider's and public
3 school's kindergarten readiness rate. The kindergarten
4 readiness rates must be based exclusively upon the results of
5 the statewide kindergarten screening and must not consider
6 students who are not administered the statewide kindergarten
7 screening.
8 (6)(a) During the 2004-2005 through 2006-2007 school
9 years, the department shall continue the statewide
10 administration of the Early Screening Inventory-Kindergarten
11 developmental screening instrument as the statewide
12 kindergarten screening. The department may administer
13 additional instruments but only if the instruments are
14 administered statewide. For purposes of s. 1002.65(3)(c), the
15 Early Screening Inventory-Kindergarten developmental screening
16 instrument shall be used to calculate kindergarten readiness
17 rates.
18 (b) By January 15, 2006, the department, with the
19 advice of the advisory council, shall recommend to the
20 Legislature valid and reliable screening instruments for the
21 statewide kindergarten screening. The Legislature shall review
22 the recommendations of the department at the 2006 Regular
23 Session and shall adopt screening instruments for the
24 statewide kindergarten screening.
25 (c) Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, the
26 department shall administer the screening instruments adopted
27 by the Legislature under paragraph (b). During the 2006-2007
28 school year, the department shall continue administration of
29 the Early Screening Inventory-Kindergarten developmental
30 screening instrument for purposes of obtaining baseline data
31
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1 that compares the kindergarten readiness rates of the
2 instruments.
3 (d) The Legislature shall review, at the 2007 Regular
4 Session, the baseline data obtained under paragraph (c) and
5 the 85-percent kindergarten readiness rate in s.
6 1002.65(3)(c). The screening instruments adopted by the
7 Legislature under paragraph (b) shall be used to calculate the
8 kindergarten readiness rates for students completing the
9 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program during the 2006-2007
10 school year who are administered the statewide kindergarten
11 screening during the 2007-2008 school year and for subsequent
12 school years.
13 1002.69 Funding; financial and attendance reporting.--
14 (1) There is created a categorical fund for the
15 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program. Categorical funds
16 appropriated for the program shall be in addition to funds
17 appropriated based upon full-time equivalent student
18 membership in the Florida Education Finance Program.
19 (2) A full-time equivalent student in the Florida
20 Prekindergarten Education Program shall be calculated as
21 follows:
22 (a) For a student in a prekindergarten program
23 delivered by a child development provider: 540 hours.
24 (b) For a student in a summer prekindergarten program
25 delivered by a public school: 300 hours.
26 (c) For a student in a school-year prekindergarten
27 program delivered by a public school: 540 hours.
28
29 A student may not be reported for funding purposes as more
30 than one full-time equivalent student.
31
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1 (3)(a) The base student allocation per full-time
2 equivalent student in the Florida Prekindergarten Education
3 Program shall be provided in the General Appropriations Act
4 and shall be equal, regardless of whether the student is
5 enrolled in a prekindergarten program delivered by a child
6 development provider, a summer prekindergarten program
7 delivered by a public school, or a school-year prekindergarten
8 program delivered by a public school.
9 (b) Each county's allocation per full-time equivalent
10 student in the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program shall
11 be calculated annually by multiplying the base student
12 allocation provided in the General Appropriations Act by the
13 county's district cost differential provided in s. 1011.62(2).
14 Each child development provider and public school shall be
15 paid in accordance with the county's allocation per full-time
16 equivalent student.
17 (4)(a) Each regional child development board shall
18 maintain through the single point of entry established under
19 s. 411.01 a current database of the students enrolled in the
20 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program for each county
21 within the board's region.
22 (b) The department shall adopt procedures for the
23 payment of child development providers and public schools
24 delivering the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program. The
25 procedures shall provide for the advance payment of providers
26 and schools based upon student enrollment in the program, the
27 certification of student attendance, and the reconciliation of
28 advance payments based upon the certified student attendance.
29 The procedures shall provide for the monthly distribution of
30 funds by the department to the regional child development
31
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1 boards for payment by the boards to child development
2 providers and public schools.
3 (5)(a) Each parent enrolling his or her child in the
4 Florida Prekindergarten Education Program must agree to comply
5 with the attendance policy of the child development provider
6 or district school board, as applicable. Upon enrollment of
7 the child, the child development provider or public school, as
8 applicable, must provide the child's parent with a copy of the
9 provider's or school district's attendance policy, as
10 applicable.
11 (b)1. Each child development provider's and district
12 school board's attendance policy must require the parent of
13 each student in the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program
14 to verify, each month, the student's attendance on the prior
15 month's certified student attendance.
16 2. The parent must submit the verification of the
17 student's attendance to the child development provider or
18 public school on forms prescribed by the department. The forms
19 must include, in addition to the verification of the student's
20 attendance, a certification, in substantially the following
21 form, that the parent continues to choose the child
22 development provider or public school in accordance with s.
23 1002.53 and directs that payments for the program be made to
24 the provider or school:
25
26 VERIFICATION OF STUDENT'S ATTENDANCE
27 AND CERTIFICATION OF PARENTAL CHOICE
28
29 I, ...(Name of Parent)..., swear (or affirm) that my child,
30 ...(Name of Student)..., attended the Florida Prekindergarten
31 Education Program on the days listed above and certify that I
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1 continue to choose ...(Name of Provider or School)... to
2 deliver the program for my child and direct that program funds
3 be paid to the provider or school for my child.
4
5 ...(Signature of Parent)...
6 ...(Date)...
7
8 3. The child development provider or public school
9 must submit each original signed form to the regional child
10 development board. The regional child development board shall
11 keep the original signed forms or reproductions of the forms,
12 such as digital images or microfilm, in accordance with
13 chapter 119. The department shall adopt procedures for the
14 review of the original signed forms against the certified
15 student attendance. The review procedures shall provide for
16 the use of selective inspection techniques, including, but not
17 limited to, random sampling. Each regional child development
18 board must comply with the review procedures.
19 (c) A child development provider or school district,
20 as applicable, may dismiss a student who does not comply with
21 the provider's or district's attendance policy. A student
22 dismissed under this paragraph is not removed from the Florida
23 Prekindergarten Education Program and may continue in the
24 program through reenrollment with another child development
25 provider or public school. Notwithstanding s. 1002.53(6)(b), a
26 school district is not required to provide for the admission
27 of a student dismissed under this paragraph.
28 (6) A regional child development board may not
29 withhold for administrative costs any portion of the funds
30 distributed to the board for payment to child development
31 providers and public schools. The department shall annually
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1 allocate administrative funds to each regional child
2 development board from funds provided in the General
3 Appropriations Act for that purpose. The administrative funds
4 must only be used for administration of the Florida
5 Prekindergarten Education Program. The department shall
6 allocate the administrative funds based upon each regional
7 child development board's student enrollment in the program.
8 The amount of each regional child development board's
9 administrative funds may not exceed 3 percent of the funds
10 paid by the board to child development providers and public
11 schools.
12 (7) Except as otherwise expressly authorized by law, a
13 child development provider or public school may not:
14 (a) Impose or collect a fee or charge for services
15 provided for a child enrolled in the Florida Prekindergarten
16 Education Program during a period reported for funding
17 purposes; or
18 (b) Require a child to enroll for, or require the
19 payment of any fee or charge for, supplemental services as a
20 condition of admitting a child for enrollment in the Florida
21 Prekindergarten Education Program.
22 (8) State funds provided for the Florida
23 Prekindergarten Education Program may not be used for the
24 transportation of students to and from the program. A parent
25 is responsible for the transportation of his or her child to
26 and from the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program,
27 regardless of whether the program is delivered by a child
28 development provider or a public school.
29 1002.71 Department of Education; Division of Early
30 Childhood Education; powers and duties.--
31
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1 (1) The Division of Early Childhood Education of the
2 Department of Education, under the direction of the chancellor
3 and with the advice of the advisory council, shall administer
4 the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program at the statewide
5 level. The division shall administer the powers and duties
6 assigned to the department under this part.
7 (2) The department shall adopt procedures for:
8 (a) Enrolling children in and determining the
9 eligibility of children for the Florida Prekindergarten
10 Education Program under s. 1002.53.
11 (b) Providing parents with profiles of child
12 development providers and public schools under s. 1002.53.
13 (c) Registering and determining the eligibility of
14 child development providers to deliver the program under s.
15 1002.55.
16 (d) Verifying Gold Seal Quality Care program standards
17 under s. 1002.55.
18 (e) Approving prekindergarten director credentials
19 under s. 1002.55 and s. 1002.57.
20 (f) Approving emergent literacy training courses under
21 s. 1002.55 and s. 1002.59.
22 (g) Certifying the eligibility of school districts to
23 deliver the school-year prekindergarten program under s.
24 1002.63.
25 (h) Verifying the compliance of child development
26 providers and public schools, and removing providers or
27 schools from eligibility to deliver the program for
28 noncompliance, under s. 1002.65.
29 (i) Approving improvement plans of child development
30 providers and public schools under s. 1002.65.
31
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1 (j) Placing child development providers and public
2 schools on probation and requiring corrective actions under s.
3 1002.65.
4 (k) Administering the statewide kindergarten screening
5 and calculating kindergarten readiness rates under s. 1002.67.
6 (l) Distributing funds to regional child development
7 boards under s. 1002.69.
8 (m) Paying child development providers and public
9 schools under s. 1002.69.
10 (n) Documenting and certifying student enrollment and
11 student attendance under s. 1002.69.
12 (o) Reconciling advance payments in accordance under
13 s. 1002.69.
14 (p) Reenrolling students dismissed by a child
15 development provider or public school for noncompliance with
16 the provider's or school district's attendance policy under s.
17 1002.69.
18 (q) Allocating administrative funds among regional
19 child development boards under s. 1002.69.
20 (4) Except as otherwise provided by law, the
21 department does not have authority to:
22 (a) Impose requirements on a child development
23 provider that does not deliver the Florida Prekindergarten
24 Education Program or receive state funds under this part.
25 (b) Impose requirements on a regional child
26 development board which are not necessary for the
27 administration of the Florida Prekindergarten Education
28 Program under this part.
29 (c) Administer powers and duties assigned to the
30 Agency for Workforce Innovation or a regional child
31 development board under s. 411.01.
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1 1002.73 Florida Child Development Advisory Council.--
2 (1) There is created the Florida Child Development
3 Advisory Council within the Department of Education. The
4 purpose of the advisory council is to advise the Department of
5 Education and the Agency for Workforce Innovation on the child
6 development policy of this state, including advice relating to
7 administration of the Florida Prekindergarten Education
8 Program under this part and the school readiness programs
9 under s. 411.01.
10 (2) The advisory council shall be composed of the
11 following members:
12 (a) Eleven members appointed by the Governor, as
13 follows:
14 1. The chair of the advisory council and one other
15 member, who must both meet the same qualifications as
16 private-sector business members appointed to a regional child
17 development board under s. 411.01(5)(a)6.
18 2. A representative of nonpublic schools accredited by
19 accrediting associations in either the National Council for
20 Private School Accreditation or the Commission on
21 International and Trans-Regional Accreditation.
22 3. A representative of nonpublic schools accredited by
23 accrediting associations in the Florida Association of
24 Academic Nonpublic Schools.
25 4. A representative of licensed child care facilities.
26 5. A representative of licensed or registered family
27 day care homes.
28 6. A representative of licensed large family child
29 care homes.
30 7. A representative of faith-based child care
31 providers.
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1 8. A representative of programs for prekindergarten
2 children with disabilities under the federal Individuals with
3 Disabilities Education Act.
4 9. A public school classroom teacher.
5 10. A district superintendent of schools.
6
7 The members appointed under this paragraph must be
8 geographically and demographically representative of the
9 state. The members shall be appointed to terms of 3 years
10 each, except that, to establish staggered terms, one-half of
11 the members shall be appointed to initial terms of 2 years
12 each. Appointed members may serve a maximum of two consecutive
13 terms.
14 (b) The director of the Florida Head Start-State
15 Collaboration Office.
16 (c) A chair of a regional child development board who
17 shall be selected by the chairs of the regional child
18 development boards.
19 (d) An executive director of a regional child
20 development board who shall be selected by the executive
21 directors of the regional child development boards.
22 (e) The chair of the Child Care Executive Partnership.
23 (f) The chair or executive director of Workforce
24 Florida, Inc., or his or her designee.
25 (g) The director of the Division of Community Colleges
26 of the Department of Education.
27 (h) The Secretary of Health or his or her designee.
28 (i) The director of the Child Care Services Program
29 Office of the Department of Children and Family Services.
30 (j) The Deputy Director for Child Development of the
31 Agency for Workforce Innovation.
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1 (k) The Chancellor for Early Childhood Education.
2 (l) Two members appointed by and who serve at the
3 pleasure of the President of the Senate and two members
4 appointed by and who serve at the pleasure of the Speaker of
5 the House of Representatives, who must each meet the same
6 qualifications as private-sector business members appointed to
7 a regional child development board under s. 411.01(5)(a)6.
8 (3) The advisory council shall meet at least quarterly
9 but may meet as often as necessary to carry out its duties and
10 responsibilities.
11 (4)(a) Each member of the advisory council shall serve
12 without compensation but is entitled to per diem and travel
13 expenses for attendance of council meetings as provided in s.
14 112.061.
15 (b) Each member of the advisory council is subject to
16 the ethics provisions in part III of chapter 112.
17 (c) For purposes of tort liability, each member of the
18 advisory council shall be governed by s. 768.28.
19 (5) The department shall provide staff and
20 administrative support for the advisory council.
21 1002.75 Rulemaking authority.--The State Board of
22 Education shall adopt rules under s. 120.536(1) and s. 120.54
23 to administer the provisions of this part conferring duties
24 upon the department. The state board shall adopt initial rules
25 for the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program by January
26 1, 2005.
27 Section 2. Effective July 1, 2004, section 411.01,
28 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
29 411.01 Florida Partnership for School readiness
30 programs; regional child development boards school readiness
31 coalitions.--
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1 (1) SHORT TITLE.--This section may be cited as the
2 "School Readiness Act."
3 (2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--
4 (a) The Legislature recognizes that school readiness
5 programs increase children's chances of achieving future
6 educational success and becoming productive members of
7 society. It is the intent of the Legislature that the such
8 programs be developmentally appropriate, research-based,
9 involve parents as their child's first teacher, serve as
10 preventive measures for children at risk of future school
11 failure, enhance the educational readiness of eligible
12 children, and support family education. Each school readiness
13 program shall provide the elements necessary to prepare
14 at-risk children for school, including health screening and
15 referral and an appropriate educational program.
16 (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that school
17 readiness programs be operated on a full-day, year-round basis
18 to the maximum extent possible to enable parents to work and
19 become financially self-sufficient.
20 (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that school
21 readiness programs not exist as isolated programs, but build
22 upon existing services and work in cooperation with other
23 programs for young children, and that school readiness
24 programs be coordinated and funding integrated to achieve full
25 effectiveness.
26 (d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
27 administrative staff at the state level for school readiness
28 programs be kept to the minimum necessary to administer carry
29 out the duties of the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
30 Partnership for School Readiness, as the school readiness
31 programs are to be regionally locally designed, operated, and
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1 managed, with the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
2 Partnership for School Readiness adopting a system for
3 measuring school readiness; developing school readiness
4 program performance standards and, outcome measures
5 measurements, and data design and review; and approving and
6 reviewing regional child development boards and local school
7 readiness coalitions and plans.
8 (e) It is the intent of the Legislature that
9 appropriations for combined school readiness programs shall
10 not be less than the programs would receive in any fiscal year
11 on an uncombined basis.
12 (f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
13 school readiness program coordinate and operate in conjunction
14 with the district school systems. However, it is also the
15 intent of the Legislature that the school readiness program
16 not be construed as part of the system of free public schools
17 but rather as a separate program for children under the age of
18 kindergarten eligibility, funded separately from the system of
19 free public schools, utilizing a mandatory sliding fee scale,
20 and providing an integrated and seamless system of school
21 readiness services for the state's birth-to-kindergarten
22 population.
23 (g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
24 federal child care income tax credit be preserved for school
25 readiness programs.
26 (h) It is the intent of the Legislature that school
27 readiness services shall be an integrated and seamless system
28 of services with a developmentally appropriate education
29 component for the state's eligible birth-to-kindergarten
30 population described in subsection (6) and shall not be
31 construed as part of the seamless K-20 education system except
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1 for the administration of the uniform screening system upon
2 entry into kindergarten.
3 (3) PARENTAL PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL READINESS
4 PROGRAMS PROGRAM.--
5 (a) The school readiness program shall be phased in on
6 a coalition-by-coalition basis. Each coalition's school
7 readiness program shall have available to it funding from all
8 the coalition's early education and child care programs that
9 are funded with state, federal, lottery, or local funds,
10 including but not limited to Florida First Start programs,
11 Even-Start literacy programs, prekindergarten early
12 intervention programs, Head Start programs, programs offered
13 by public and private providers of child care, migrant
14 prekindergarten programs, Title I programs, subsidized child
15 care programs, and teen parent programs, together with any
16 additional funds appropriated or obtained for purposes of this
17 section. These programs and their funding streams shall be
18 components of the coalition's integrated school readiness
19 program, with the goal of preparing children for success in
20 school.
21 (b) Nothing contained in This section does not act is
22 intended to:
23 (a)1. Relieve parents and guardians of their own
24 obligations to prepare ready their children for school; or
25 (b)2. Create any obligation to provide publicly funded
26 school readiness programs or services beyond those authorized
27 by the Legislature.
28 (4) AGENCY FOR WORKFORCE INNOVATION FLORIDA
29 PARTNERSHIP FOR SCHOOL READINESS.--
30 (a) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall Florida
31 Partnership for School Readiness was created to fulfill three
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1 major purposes: to administer school readiness programs at the
2 statewide level and shall program services that help parents
3 prepare eligible children for school; to coordinate the
4 regional child development boards in providing provision of
5 school readiness services on a full-day, full-year,
6 full-choice basis to the extent possible in order to enable
7 parents to work and be financially self-sufficient; and to
8 establish a uniform screening instrument to be implemented by
9 the Department of Education and administered by the school
10 districts upon entry into kindergarten to assess the readiness
11 for school of all children. Readiness for kindergarten is the
12 outcome measure of the success of each school readiness
13 program that receives state or federal funds. The partnership
14 is assigned to the Agency for Workforce Innovation for
15 administrative purposes.
16 (b) The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
17 Partnership for School Readiness shall:
18 1. Coordinate the birth-to-kindergarten services for
19 children who are eligible under pursuant to subsection (6) and
20 the programmatic, administrative, and fiscal standards under
21 pursuant to this section for all public providers of school
22 readiness programs.
23 2. Continue to provide unified leadership for school
24 readiness through regional child development boards local
25 school readiness coalitions.
26 3. Focus on improving the educational quality of all
27 publicly funded school readiness programs.
28 (c)1. The Florida Partnership for School Readiness
29 shall include the Lieutenant Governor, the Commissioner of
30 Education, the Secretary of Children and Family Services, and
31 the Secretary of Health, or their designees, and the chair of
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1 the Child Care Executive Partnership Board, and the
2 chairperson of the Board of Directors of Workforce Florida,
3 Inc. When the Lieutenant Governor or an agency head appoints a
4 designee, the designee must be an individual who attends
5 consistently, and, in the event that the Lieutenant Governor
6 or agency head and his or her designee both attend a meeting,
7 only one of them may vote.
8 2. The partnership shall also include 14 members of
9 the public who shall be business, community, and civic leaders
10 in the state who are not elected to public office. These
11 members and their families must not have a direct contract
12 with any local coalition to provide school readiness services.
13 The members must be geographically and demographically
14 representative of the state. Each member shall be appointed by
15 the Governor from a list of nominees submitted by the
16 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
17 Representatives. By July 1, 2001, four members shall be
18 appointed as follows: two members shall be from the child care
19 industry, one representing the private for-profit sector
20 appointed by the Governor from a list of two nominees
21 submitted by the President of the Senate and one representing
22 faith-based providers appointed by the Governor from a list of
23 two nominees submitted by the Speaker of the House of
24 Representatives; and two members shall be from the business
25 community, one appointed by the Governor from a list of two
26 nominees submitted by the President of the Senate and one
27 appointed by the Governor from a list of two nominees
28 submitted by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
29 Members shall be appointed to 4-year terms of office. The
30 members of the partnership shall elect a chairperson annually
31 from the nongovernmental members of the partnership. Any
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1 vacancy on the partnership shall be filled in the same manner
2 as the original appointment.
3 (d) The partnership shall meet at least quarterly but
4 may meet as often as it deems necessary to carry out its
5 duties and responsibilities. Members of the partnership shall
6 participate without proxy at the quarterly meetings. The
7 partnership may take official action by a majority vote of the
8 members present at any meeting at which a quorum is present.
9 (e) Members of the partnership are subject to the
10 ethics provisions in part III of chapter 112, and no member
11 may derive any financial benefit from the funds administered
12 by the Florida Partnership for School Readiness.
13 (f) Members of the partnership shall serve without
14 compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem
15 and travel expenses incurred in the performance of their
16 duties as provided in s. 112.061, and reimbursement for other
17 reasonable, necessary, and actual expenses.
18 (g) For the purposes of tort liability, the members of
19 the partnership and its employees shall be governed by s.
20 768.28.
21 (h) The partnership shall appoint an executive
22 director who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The
23 executive director shall perform the duties assigned to him or
24 her by the partnership. The executive director shall be
25 responsible for hiring, subject to the approval of the
26 partnership, all employees and staff members, who shall serve
27 under his or her direction and control.
28 (c)(i) For purposes of administration of the federal
29 Child Care and Development Fund, 45 C.F.R. parts 98 and 99,
30 the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership may be
31 designated by the Governor as the lead agency, and if so
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1 designated shall comply with the lead agency responsibilities
2 under pursuant to federal law.
3 (d)(j) The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
4 Partnership for School Readiness is the principal organization
5 responsible for the enhancement of school readiness for the
6 state's children, and shall:
7 1. Be responsible for the prudent use of all public
8 and private funds in accordance with all legal and contractual
9 requirements.
10 2. Provide final approval and periodic review of
11 regional child development boards coalitions and school
12 readiness plans.
13 3. Provide leadership for the enhancement of school
14 readiness in this state by aggressively establishing a unified
15 approach to the state's efforts toward enhancement of school
16 readiness. In support of this effort, the Agency for Workforce
17 Innovation partnership may develop and implement specific
18 strategies that address the state's school readiness programs.
19 4. Safeguard the effective use of federal, state,
20 local, and private resources to achieve the highest possible
21 level of school readiness for the state's children in this
22 state.
23 5. Provide technical assistance to regional child
24 development boards coalitions.
25 6. Assess gaps in service.
26 7. Provide technical assistance to counties that form
27 a regional child development board serving a multicounty
28 region coalition.
29 8.a. Adopt a system for measuring school readiness
30 that provides objective data regarding the expectations for
31 school readiness, and establish a method for collecting the
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1 data and guidelines for using the data. The measurement, the
2 data collection, and the use of the data must serve the
3 statewide school readiness goal. The criteria for determining
4 which data to collect should be the usefulness of the data to
5 state policymakers and local program administrators in
6 administering programs and allocating state funds, and must
7 include the tracking of school readiness system information
8 back to individual school readiness programs to assist in
9 determining program effectiveness.
10 b. Adopt a system for evaluating the performance of
11 students through the third grade to compare the performance of
12 those who participated in school readiness programs with the
13 performance of students who did not participate in school
14 readiness programs in order to identify strategies for
15 continued successful student performance.
16 8.9. Develop and adopt, with the advice of the Florida
17 Child Development Advisory Council created under s. 1002.73
18 and the Department of Education, performance standards and
19 outcome measures for school readiness programs. The
20 performance standards must address the age-appropriate
21 progress of children in the development of the school
22 readiness skills required under paragraph (j). The Agency for
23 Workforce Innovation shall integrate the performance standards
24 for school readiness programs into the performance standards
25 adopted by the Department of Education for the Florida
26 Prekindergarten Education Program under s. 1002.65.
27 (e)(k) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
28 may adopt rules under s. 120.536(1) and s. 120.54 necessary to
29 administer the provisions of law conferring duties upon the
30 agency, including, but not limited this section which relate
31 to, rules governing the preparation preparing and
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1 implementation of implementing the system for school readiness
2 system, the collection of collecting data, the approval of
3 regional child development boards and approving local school
4 readiness coalitions and plans, the provision of providing a
5 method whereby a regional child development board may
6 coalition can serve two or more counties, the award of
7 awarding incentives to regional child development boards
8 coalitions, and the issuance of issuing waivers.
9 (f)(l) The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
10 Partnership for School Readiness shall have all powers
11 necessary to administer carry out the purposes of this
12 section, including, but not limited to, the power to receive
13 and accept grants, loans, or advances of funds from any public
14 or private agency and to receive and accept from any source
15 contributions of money, property, labor, or any other thing of
16 value, to be held, used, and applied for the purposes of this
17 section.
18 (g) Except as otherwise provided by law, the Agency
19 for Workforce Innovation does not have authority:
20 1. To impose requirements on a child care or early
21 childhood education provider that does not deliver services
22 under a school readiness program or receive state or federal
23 funds under this section.
24 2. To administer powers and duties assigned to the
25 Department of Education or a regional child development board
26 under part V of chapter 1002.
27 (h)(m) The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
28 Partnership for School Readiness shall have a budget for the
29 school readiness system, which and shall be financed through
30 an annual appropriation made for purposes of this section
31 purpose in the General Appropriations Act.
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1 (i)(n) The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the
2 advice of the Florida Child Development Advisory Council,
3 partnership shall coordinate the efforts toward school
4 readiness in this state and provide independent policy
5 analyses and recommendations to the Governor, the State Board
6 of Education, and the Legislature.
7 (j)(o) Each regional child development board's The
8 partnership shall prepare and submit to the State Board of
9 Education a system for measuring school readiness program. The
10 system must, at a minimum, enhance the age-appropriate
11 progress of each child in the development of include a uniform
12 screening, which shall provide objective data regarding the
13 following expectations for school readiness skills which shall
14 include, at a minimum:
15 1. The child's immunizations and other health
16 requirements as necessary, including appropriate vision and
17 hearing screening and examinations.
18 2. The child's physical development.
19 1.3. The child's Compliance with rules, limitations,
20 and routines.
21 2.4. The child's Ability to perform tasks.
22 3.5. The child's Interactions with adults.
23 4.6. The child's Interactions with peers.
24 5.7. The child's Ability to cope with challenges.
25 6.8. The child's Self-help skills.
26 7.9. The child's Ability to express the child's his or
27 her needs.
28 8.10. The child's Verbal communication skills.
29 9.11. The child's Problem-solving skills.
30 10.12. The child's Following of verbal directions.
31
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1 11.13. The child's Demonstration of curiosity,
2 persistence, and exploratory behavior.
3 12.14. The child's Interest in books and other printed
4 materials.
5 13.15. The child's Paying attention to stories.
6 14.16. The child's Participation in art and music
7 activities.
8 15.17. The child's Ability to identify colors,
9 geometric shapes, letters of the alphabet, numbers, and
10 spatial and temporal relationships.
11
12 Each regional child development board shall also require that,
13 before a child is enrolled in the board's school readiness
14 program, information must first be obtained regarding the
15 child's immunizations, physical development, and other health
16 requirements as necessary, including appropriate vision and
17 hearing screening and examinations.
18 (p) The partnership shall prepare a plan for
19 implementing the system for measuring school readiness in such
20 a way that all children in this state will undergo the uniform
21 screening established by the partnership when they enter
22 kindergarten. Children who enter public school for the first
23 time in first grade must undergo a uniform screening approved
24 by the partnership for use in first grade. Because children
25 with disabilities may not be able to meet all of the
26 identified expectations for school readiness, the plan for
27 measuring school readiness shall incorporate mechanisms for
28 recognizing the potential variations in expectations for
29 school readiness when serving children with disabilities and
30 shall provide for communities to serve children with
31 disabilities.
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1 (k)(q) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
2 shall conduct studies and planning activities related to the
3 overall improvement and effectiveness of the outcome school
4 readiness measures adopted by the agency for school readiness
5 programs.
6 (l) The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the
7 advice of the Florida Child Development Advisory Council,
8 shall adopt and administer a quality-assurance system. The
9 Agency for Workforce Innovation shall use the
10 quality-assurance system to monitor and evaluate the
11 performance of each regional child development board in
12 administering the school readiness program and implementing
13 the board's school readiness plan. The quality-assurance
14 system must include, at a minimum, onsite monitoring of each
15 board's finances, management, operations, and programs.
16 (m) The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the
17 advice of the Florida Child Development Advisory Council,
18 shall identify best practices of regional child development
19 boards in order to improve the outcomes of school readiness
20 programs.
21 (r) The partnership shall establish procedures for
22 performance-based budgeting in school readiness programs.
23 (n)(s) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
24 shall submit an annual report of its activities conducted
25 under this section to the Governor, the executive director of
26 the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, the President of the
27 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
28 minority leaders of both houses of the Legislature. In
29 addition, the Agency for Workforce Innovation's partnership's
30 reports and recommendations shall be made available to the
31 State Board of Education, the Florida Child Development
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1 Advisory Council, other appropriate state agencies and
2 entities, district school boards, central agencies for child
3 care, and county health departments. The annual report must
4 provide an analysis of school readiness activities across the
5 state, including the number of children who were served in the
6 programs and the number of children who were ready for school.
7 (o)(t) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
8 shall work with regional child development boards school
9 readiness coalitions to increase parents' training for and
10 involvement in their children's preschool education and to
11 provide family literacy activities and programs.
12
13 To ensure that the system for measuring school readiness is
14 comprehensive and appropriate statewide, as the system is
15 developed and implemented, the partnership must consult with
16 representatives of district school systems, providers of
17 public and private child care, health care providers, large
18 and small employers, experts in education for children with
19 disabilities, and experts in child development.
20 (5) CREATION OF REGIONAL CHILD DEVELOPMENT BOARDS
21 SCHOOL READINESS COALITIONS.--
22 (a) Regional child development boards School readiness
23 coalitions.--
24 1. The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the
25 advice of the Florida Child Development Advisory Council
26 created under s. 1002.73, shall establish the minimum number
27 of children to be served by each regional child development
28 board through the board's school readiness program. The Agency
29 for Workforce Innovation may only approve school readiness
30 plans in accordance with this minimum number. The minimum
31
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1 number must be uniform for every regional child development
2 board and must:
3 a. Permit 30 or fewer boards to be established; and
4 b. Require each board to serve at least 2,000 children
5 based upon the average number of all children served per month
6 through the board's school readiness program during the
7 previous 12 months.
8
9 The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt procedures for
10 the merger of regional child development boards, including
11 procedures for the consolidation of merging boards and for the
12 early termination of the terms of board members, which are
13 necessary to accomplish the mergers. Each regional child
14 development board must comply with the merger procedures and
15 shall be organized in accordance with this subparagraph by
16 January 1, 2005. By June 30, 2005, each board must complete
17 the transfer of powers, duties, functions, rules, records,
18 personnel, property, and unexpended balances of
19 appropriations, allocations, and other funds to the successor
20 board, if applicable.
21 2.1. If a regional child development board coalition's
22 plan would serve fewer less than 400 birth-to-kindergarten age
23 children than the minimum number established under
24 subparagraph 1., the board coalition must either join with
25 another county to form a multicounty board coalition, enter an
26 agreement with a fiscal agent to serve more than one
27 coalition, or demonstrate to the partnership its ability to
28 effectively and efficiently implement its plan as a
29 single-county coalition and meet all required performance
30 standards and outcome measures.
31
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1 3. Each regional child development board shall be
2 composed of at least 18 members but not more than 35 members.
3 The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the advice of the
4 Florida Child Development Advisory Council, shall adopt
5 standards establishing within this range the minimum and
6 maximum number of members that may be appointed to a regional
7 child development board. These standards shall include
8 variations for a board serving a multicounty region. Each
9 regional child development board must comply with these
10 standards.
11 4. The Governor shall appoint the chair and two other
12 members of each regional child development board, who must
13 each meet the same qualifications as private-sector business
14 members appointed by the board under subparagraph 6.
15 5.2. Each regional child development board coalition
16 shall have at least 18 but not more than 25 members and such
17 members must include the following members:
18 a. A Department of Children and Family Services
19 district administrator or his or her designee who is
20 authorized to make decisions on behalf of the department.
21 b. A district superintendent of schools or his or her
22 designee who is authorized to make decisions on behalf of the
23 district.
24 c. A regional workforce development board executive
25 chair or director or his or her designee, where applicable.
26 d. A county health department director or his or her
27 designee.
28 e. A children's services council or juvenile welfare
29 board chair or executive director, if applicable.
30 f. An agency head of a local child care licensing
31 agency as defined in s. 402.302, where applicable head.
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1 g. A president of a community college or his or her
2 designee.
3 g. One member appointed by a Department of Children
4 and Family Services district administrator.
5 h. One member appointed by a board of county
6 commissioners.
7 i. One member appointed by a district school board.
8 i.j. A central child care agency administrator, where
9 applicable.
10 j.k. A Head Start director.
11 k.l. A representative of private child care providers,
12 including family day care homes.
13 l.m. A representative of faith-based child care
14 providers.
15 m. A representative of programs for children with
16 disabilities under the federal Individuals with Disabilities
17 Education Act.
18 6. Including the members appointed by the Governor
19 under subparagraph 4., more than one-third of the coalition
20 members of each regional child development board must be
21 private-sector business members who do not have, and none of
22 whose relatives as defined in s. 112.3143 has, a substantial
23 financial interest in the design or delivery of the Florida
24 Prekindergarten Education Program created under part V of
25 chapter 1002 or the board's school readiness program from the
26 private sector, and neither they nor their families may earn
27 an income from the early education and child care industry. To
28 meet this requirement a regional child development board
29 coalition must appoint additional members from a list of
30 nominees submitted presented to the board coalition by a
31 chamber of commerce or economic development council within the
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1 geographic region served by area of the board coalition. The
2 Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt criteria for the
3 appointment of private-sector business members. These criteria
4 must include standards for determining whether a member or
5 relative has a substantial financial interest in the design or
6 delivery of the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program or
7 the board's school readiness program.
8 7.3. A No member of a regional child development board
9 coalition may not appoint a designee to act in his or her
10 place. A member may send a representative to board coalition
11 meetings, but that representative does not will have no voting
12 privileges. When a district superintendent of schools or a
13 district administrator for the Department of Children and
14 Family Services appoints a designee to a regional child
15 development board school readiness coalition, the designee is
16 will be the voting member of the board coalition, and any
17 individual attending in the designee's his or her place,
18 including the district administrator or superintendent, does
19 not will have no voting privileges.
20 8.4. Each member Members of a regional child
21 development board is the coalition are subject to s. 112.313,
22 s. 112.3135, and s. 112.3143 the ethics provisions in part III
23 of chapter 112. For purposes of s. 112.3143(3)(a), each member
24 is a local public officer who must abstain from voting when a
25 voting conflict exists.
26 9.5. For the purposes of tort liability, each member
27 or employee of a regional child development board the members
28 of the school readiness coalition and its employees shall be
29 governed by s. 768.28.
30
31
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1 10.6. A regional child development board serving a
2 multicounty region coalitions shall include representation
3 from each county.
4 11.7. Each regional child development board shall
5 establish The terms for of all appointed members of the board.
6 The terms coalition must be staggered and must be a uniform
7 length that does not exceed 4 years per term. Appointed
8 members may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. When a
9 vacancy occurs in an appointed position, the board coalition
10 must advertise the vacancy.
11 (b) Program participation.--The school readiness
12 program shall be established for children younger than from
13 birth to 5 years of age or until the child enters kindergarten
14 eligibility as defined in s. 1002.51. The program shall be
15 administered by the regional child development board school
16 readiness coalition. Within funding limitations, the regional
17 child development board school readiness coalition, along with
18 all providers, shall make reasonable efforts to accommodate
19 the needs of children for extended-day and extended-year
20 services without compromising the quality of the program.
21 (c) Program expectations.--
22 1. The school readiness program must meet the
23 following expectations:
24 a. The program must, at a minimum, enhance the
25 age-appropriate progress of each child in the development of
26 the school readiness skills required under paragraph (4)(j)
27 prepare preschool children to enter kindergarten ready to
28 learn, as measured by the performance standards and outcome
29 measures adopted criteria established by the Agency for
30 Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School Readiness.
31
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1 b. The program must provide extended-day and
2 extended-year services to the maximum extent possible to meet
3 the needs of parents who work.
4 c. There must be coordinated staff development and
5 teaching opportunities.
6 d. There must be expanded access to community services
7 and resources for families to help achieve economic
8 self-sufficiency.
9 e. There must be a single point of entry and unified
10 waiting list. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the term
11 "single point of entry" means an integrated information system
12 that allows a parent to enroll his or her child in the school
13 readiness program at various locations throughout the county
14 or multicounty region served by a regional child development
15 board, that may allow a parent to enroll his or her child by
16 telephone or through an Internet website, and that uses a
17 unified waiting list to track eligible children waiting for
18 enrollment in the school readiness program. The Agency for
19 Workforce Innovation shall establish a single statewide
20 information system that integrates each regional child
21 development board's single point of entry, and each board must
22 use the statewide system.
23 f. The Agency for Workforce Innovation must consider
24 the access of eligible children to the school readiness
25 program, as demonstrated in part by waiting lists, before
26 approving a proposed increase in payment rates submitted by a
27 regional child development board.
28 f. As long as funding or eligible populations do not
29 decrease, the program must serve at least as many children as
30 were served prior to implementation of the program.
31
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1 g. There must be a community plan to address the needs
2 of all eligible children.
3 h. The program must meet all state licensing
4 guidelines, where applicable.
5 2. The regional child development board school
6 readiness coalition must implement a comprehensive program of
7 school readiness services that enhance the cognitive, social,
8 and physical development of children to achieve the
9 performance standards and outcome measures adopted specified
10 by the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership. At a
11 minimum, these programs must contain the following elements:
12 a. Developmentally appropriate curriculum designed to
13 enhance the age-appropriate progress of children in attaining
14 the performance standards adopted by the Agency for Workforce
15 Innovation under subparagraph (4)(d)8.
16 b. A character development program to develop basic
17 values.
18 c. An age-appropriate assessment of each child's
19 development.
20 d. A pretest administered to children when they enter
21 a program and a posttest administered to children when they
22 leave the program.
23 e. An appropriate staff-to-children staff-to-child
24 ratio.
25 f. A healthy healthful and safe environment.
26 g. A resource and referral network to assist parents
27 in making an informed choice.
28 (d) Implementation.--
29 1. A regional child development board may not
30 implement the school readiness program is to be phased in.
31 until the board is authorized coalition implements its plan,
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1 the county shall continue to receive the services identified
2 in subsection (3) through the various agencies that would be
3 responsible for delivering those services under current law.
4 Plan implementation is subject to approval of the board's
5 school readiness coalition and the plan by the Agency for
6 Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School Readiness.
7 2. Each regional child development board school
8 readiness coalition shall develop a plan for implementing the
9 school readiness program to meet the requirements of this
10 section and the performance standards and outcome measures
11 adopted established by the Agency for Workforce Innovation
12 partnership. The plan must include a written description of
13 the role of the program in the coalition's effort to meet the
14 first state education goal, readiness to start school,
15 including a description of the plan to involve the
16 prekindergarten early intervention programs, Head Start
17 Programs, programs offered by public or private providers of
18 child care, preschool programs for children with disabilities,
19 programs for migrant children, Title I programs, subsidized
20 child care programs, and teen parent programs. The plan must
21 also demonstrate how the program will ensure that each
22 3-year-old and 4-year-old child in a publicly funded school
23 readiness program receives scheduled activities and
24 instruction designed to enhance the age-appropriate progress
25 of the prepare children in attaining the performance standards
26 adopted by the Agency for Workforce Innovation under
27 subparagraph (4)(d)8 to enter kindergarten ready to learn.
28 Before Prior to implementation of the school readiness
29 program, the regional child development board school readiness
30 coalition must submit the plan to the Agency for Workforce
31 Innovation partnership for approval. The Agency for Workforce
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1 Innovation partnership may approve the plan, reject the plan,
2 or approve the plan with conditions. The Agency for Workforce
3 Innovation Florida Partnership for School Readiness shall
4 review school readiness coalition plans at least annually.
5 3. If the Agency for Workforce Innovation determines
6 during the annual review of school readiness plans, or through
7 monitoring and performance evaluations conducted under the
8 quality-assurance system, that a regional child development
9 board has not substantially implemented its plan or has not
10 substantially met the performance standards and outcome
11 measures adopted by the agency, the Agency for Workforce
12 Innovation may reject the board's plan and contract with a
13 qualified entity to continue school readiness services in the
14 board's county or multicounty region until the board is
15 reestablished through resubmission of a school readiness plan
16 and approval by the agency.
17 4.3. The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the
18 advice of the Florida Child Development Advisory Council,
19 shall adopt criteria for the approval of school readiness
20 plans. The criteria must be consistent with the performance
21 standards and outcome measures adopted by the agency and must
22 require each approved plan to for the school readiness program
23 must include the following minimum standards and provisions:
24 a. A sliding fee scale establishing a copayment for
25 parents based upon their ability to pay, which is the same for
26 all program providers, to be implemented and reflected in each
27 program's budget.
28 b. A choice of settings and locations in licensed,
29 registered, religious-exempt, or school-based programs to be
30 provided to parents.
31
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1 c. Instructional staff who have completed the training
2 course as required in s. 402.305(2)(d)1., as well as staff who
3 have additional training or credentials as required by the
4 Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership. The plan must
5 provide a method for assuring the qualifications of all
6 personnel in all program settings.
7 d. Specific eligibility priorities for children within
8 the regional child development board's coalition's county or
9 multicounty region in accordance with pursuant to subsection
10 (6).
11 e. Performance standards and outcome measures adopted
12 established by the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
13 or alternatively, standards and outcome measures to be used
14 until such time as the partnership adopts such standards and
15 outcome measures.
16 f. Payment Reimbursement rates adopted that have been
17 developed by the regional child development board and approved
18 by the Agency for Workforce Innovation coalition. Payment
19 Reimbursement rates shall not have the effect of limiting
20 parental choice or creating standards or levels of services
21 that have not been authorized by the Legislature.
22 g. Systems support services, including a central
23 agency, child care resource and referral, eligibility
24 determinations, training of providers, and parent support and
25 involvement.
26 h. Direct enhancement services to families and
27 children. System support and direct enhancement services shall
28 be in addition to payments for the placement of children in
29 school readiness programs.
30 i. The A business organization of the regional child
31 development board plan, which must include the board's
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1 articles of incorporation and bylaws if the board is organized
2 as a corporation. If the board is not organized as a
3 corporation or other business entity, the plan must include
4 the contract with a fiscal school readiness agent if the
5 coalition is not a legally established corporate entity. A
6 regional child development board Coalitions may contract with
7 other regional child development boards coalitions to achieve
8 efficiency in multicounty multiple-county services, and these
9 such contracts may be part of the board's school readiness
10 coalition's business plan.
11 j. Strategies to meet the needs of unique populations,
12 such as migrant workers.
13
14 As part of the school readiness plan, the regional child
15 development board coalition may request the Governor to apply
16 for a waiver to allow the board coalition to administer the
17 Head Start Program to accomplish the purposes of the school
18 readiness program. If a any school readiness plan
19 demonstrates can demonstrate that specific statutory goals may
20 can be achieved more effectively by using procedures that
21 require modification of existing rules, policies, or
22 procedures, a request for a waiver to the Agency for Workforce
23 Innovation partnership may be submitted made as part of the
24 plan. Upon review, the Agency for Workforce Innovation
25 partnership may grant the proposed modification.
26 5.4. Persons with an early childhood teaching
27 certificate may provide support and supervision to other staff
28 in the school readiness program.
29 6.5. A regional child development board The coalition
30 may not implement its school readiness plan until the board it
31 submits the plan to and receives approval from the Agency for
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1 Workforce Innovation partnership. Once the plan is has been
2 approved, the plan and the services provided under the plan
3 shall be controlled by the regional child development board
4 coalition rather than by the state agencies or departments.
5 The plan shall be reviewed and revised as necessary, but at
6 least biennially. A regional child development board may not
7 implement the revisions until the board submits the revised
8 plan to and receives approval from the Agency for Workforce
9 Innovation. If the Agency for Workforce Innovation rejects a
10 revised plan, the board must continue to operate under its
11 prior approved plan.
12 7.6. Sections The following statutes will not apply to
13 local coalitions with approved plans: ss. 125.901(2)(a)3.,
14 411.221, and 411.232 do not apply to a regional child
15 development board with an approved school readiness plan. To
16 facilitate innovative practices and to allow the regional
17 local establishment of school readiness programs, a regional
18 child development board school readiness coalition may apply
19 to the Governor and Cabinet for a waiver of, and the Governor
20 and Cabinet may waive, any of the provisions of ss. 411.223,
21 411.232, and 1003.54, if the waiver is necessary for
22 implementation of the board's coalition's school readiness
23 plan.
24 8.7. Two or more counties may join for purposes the
25 purpose of planning and implementing a school readiness
26 program.
27 9.8. A regional child development board coalition may,
28 subject to approval by of the Agency for Workforce Innovation
29 partnership as part of the board's school readiness
30 coalition's plan, receive subsidized child care funds for all
31
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1 children eligible for any federal subsidized child care
2 program and be the provider of the program services.
3 10.9. A regional child development board may
4 Coalitions are authorized to enter into multiparty contracts
5 with multicounty service providers in order to meet the needs
6 of unique populations such as migrant workers.
7 (e) Requests for proposals; payment schedule.--
8 1. At least once every 3 years, beginning July 1,
9 2001, Each regional child development board coalition must
10 comply with follow the competitive procurement requirements of
11 s. 287.057 for the procurement of commodities or contractual
12 services from the funds described in paragraph (9)(d) school
13 readiness programs. The period of a contract for purchase of
14 these commodities or contractual services, together with any
15 renewal of the original contract, may not exceed 3 years.
16 2. Each regional child development board coalition
17 shall adopt develop a payment schedule that encompasses all
18 programs funded by the board under this section that
19 coalition. The payment schedule must take into consideration
20 the relevant market rate, must include the projected number of
21 children to be served, and must be submitted for approval by
22 to the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership for
23 information. Informal child care arrangements shall be
24 reimbursed at not more than 50 percent of the rate developed
25 for a family day care home childcare.
26 (f) Requirements relating to fiscal agents.--If a
27 regional child development board the local coalition is not a
28 legally organized as a corporation or other business
29 established corporate entity, the board coalition must
30 designate a fiscal agent, which may be a public entity, or a
31 private nonprofit organization, or a certified public
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1 accountant who holds a license under chapter 473. The fiscal
2 agent must shall be required to provide financial and
3 administrative services under pursuant to a contract or
4 agreement with the regional child development board school
5 readiness coalition. The fiscal agent may not provide direct
6 early childhood education or child care services; however, a
7 fiscal agent may provide those such services upon written
8 request of the regional child development board coalition to
9 the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership and upon the
10 approval of the such request by the agency partnership. The
11 cost of the financial and administrative services shall be
12 negotiated between the fiscal agent and the regional child
13 development board school readiness coalition. If the fiscal
14 agent is a provider of early childhood education and child
15 care programs, the contract must specify that the fiscal agent
16 shall will act on policy direction from the regional child
17 development board coalition and must will not receive policy
18 direction from its own corporate board regarding disbursal of
19 the regional child development board's coalition funds. The
20 fiscal agent shall disburse funds in accordance with the
21 regional child development board's approved coalition school
22 readiness plan and based on billing and disbursement
23 procedures approved by the Agency for Workforce Innovation
24 partnership. The fiscal agent must conform to all
25 data-reporting requirements established by the Agency for
26 Workforce Innovation partnership.
27 (g) Evaluation and annual report.--Each regional child
28 development board school readiness coalition shall conduct an
29 evaluation of the effectiveness of the school readiness
30 program, including performance standards and outcome measures,
31 and shall provide an annual report and fiscal statement to the
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1 Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
2 Readiness. This report must conform to the content and format
3 specifications set by the Agency for Workforce Innovation
4 Florida Partnership for School Readiness. The Agency for
5 Workforce Innovation partnership must include an analysis of
6 the regional child development board's coalition reports in
7 the agency's its annual report.
8 (6) PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.--Each regional child
9 development board's The school readiness program shall be
10 established for children younger than under the age of
11 kindergarten eligibility as defined in s. 1002.51. Priority
12 for participation in the school readiness program shall be
13 given to children age 3 years to school entry who are served
14 by the Family Safety Program Office of the Department of
15 Children and Family Services or a community-based lead agency
16 under pursuant to chapter 39 and for whom child care is needed
17 to minimize risk of further abuse, neglect, or abandonment.
18 Other eligible populations include children who meet one or
19 more of the following criteria:
20 (a) Children under the age of kindergarten eligibility
21 who are:
22 1. Children determined to be at risk of abuse,
23 neglect, or exploitation who are currently clients of the
24 Family Safety Program Office of the Department of Children and
25 Family Services, but who are not otherwise given priority
26 under this subsection.
27 2.1. Children at risk of welfare dependency, including
28 economically disadvantaged children, children of participants
29 in the welfare transition program, children of migrant
30 farmworkers, and children of teen parents.
31
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1 3.2. Children of working families whose family income
2 does not exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
3 4.3. Children for whom the state is paying a relative
4 caregiver payment under s. 39.5085.
5 (b) Three-year-old children and 4-year-old children
6 who may not be economically disadvantaged but who have
7 disabilities, have been served in a specific part-time or
8 combination of part-time exceptional education programs with
9 required special services, aids, or equipment, and were
10 previously reported for funding part time with the Florida
11 Education Finance Program as exceptional students.
12 (c) Economically disadvantaged children, children with
13 disabilities, and children at risk of future school failure,
14 from birth to 4 years of age, who are served at home through
15 home visitor programs and intensive parent education programs
16 such as the Florida First Start Program.
17 (d) Children who meet federal and state eligibility
18 requirements for eligibility for the migrant preschool program
19 but who do not meet the criteria of economically
20 disadvantaged.
21
22 As used in this subsection, the term An "economically
23 disadvantaged" child means a child whose family income does
24 not exceed is below 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
25 Notwithstanding any change in a family's economic status, but
26 subject to additional family contributions in accordance with
27 the sliding fee scale, a child who meets the eligibility
28 requirements upon initial registration for the program remains
29 shall be considered eligible until the child reaches
30 kindergarten eligibility as defined in s. 1002.51 age.
31 (7) PARENTAL CHOICE.--
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1 (a) The school readiness program shall provide
2 parental choice through pursuant to a purchase service order
3 that ensures, to the maximum extent possible, flexibility in
4 school readiness programs and payment arrangements. According
5 to federal regulations requiring parental choice, a parent may
6 choose an informal child care arrangement. The purchase order
7 must bear the name of the beneficiary and the program provider
8 and, when redeemed, must bear the signature of both the
9 beneficiary and an authorized representative of the provider.
10 (b) If it is determined that a provider has provided
11 any cash to the beneficiary in return for receiving the
12 purchase order, the regional child development board coalition
13 or its fiscal agent shall refer the matter to the Division of
14 Public Assistance Fraud for investigation.
15 (c) The office of the Chief Financial Officer shall
16 establish an electronic transfer system for the disbursement
17 of funds in accordance with this subsection. Each regional
18 child development board School readiness coalitions shall
19 fully implement the electronic funds transfer system within 2
20 years after plan approval of the board's school readiness
21 plan, unless a waiver is obtained from the Agency for
22 Workforce Innovation partnership.
23 (8) STANDARDS; OUTCOME MEASURES.--All publicly funded
24 school readiness programs must shall be required to meet the
25 performance standards and outcome measures adopted developed
26 and approved by the Agency for Workforce Innovation
27 partnership. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall consult
28 with the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
29 Accountability shall provide consultation to the partnership
30 in the development of the measures and standards. These
31
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1 performance standards and outcome measures shall apply be
2 applicable on a statewide basis.
3 (9) FUNDING; SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM.--
4 (a) It is the intent of this section to establish an
5 integrated and quality seamless service delivery system for
6 all publicly funded early childhood education and child care
7 programs operating in this state.
8 (b) Notwithstanding s. 20.50:
9 1. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall
10 administer school readiness funds, plans, and policies
11 pursuant to the contract with the Florida Partnership for
12 School Readiness and shall prepare and submit a unified budget
13 request for the school readiness system program in accordance
14 with chapter 216.
15 2. All instructions to regional child development
16 boards for the administration of this section local school
17 readiness coalitions shall emanate from the Agency for
18 Workforce Innovation in accordance with the pursuant to
19 policies of the Legislature, plans of the Florida Partnership
20 for School Readiness, and the contract between the Florida
21 Partnership for School Readiness and the agency.
22 (c) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt
23 prepare a formula plan that provides for the allocation among
24 the regional child development boards distribution and
25 expenditure of all state and federal school readiness funds
26 for children participating in public or private school
27 readiness programs based upon an equity and performance
28 funding formula. The allocation formula must plan shall be
29 submitted to the Governor and the Legislative Budget
30 Commission. Upon approval, the Legislative Budget Commission
31 shall authorize the allocation transfer of funds by to the
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1 Agency for Workforce Innovation for distribution in accordance
2 with the provisions of the allocation formula.
3 (d) All state funds budgeted for a county for the
4 programs specified in subsection (3), along with the pro rata
5 share of the state administrative costs of those programs in
6 the amount as determined by the partnership, all federal,
7 funds and required local maintenance-of-effort or matching
8 funds provided to a regional child development board for a
9 county for programs specified in subsection (3), and any
10 additional funds appropriated or obtained for purposes of this
11 section, shall be used by transferred for the benefit of the
12 board coalition for implementation of its school readiness
13 plan, including the hiring of staff to effectively operate the
14 board's coalition's school readiness program. As part of plan
15 approval and periodic plan review, the Agency for Workforce
16 Innovation partnership shall require that administrative costs
17 be kept to the minimum necessary for efficient and effective
18 administration of the school readiness plan, but total
19 administrative expenditures must shall not exceed 5 percent
20 unless specifically waived by the Agency for Workforce
21 Innovation partnership. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
22 partnership shall annually report to the Legislature any
23 problems relating to administrative costs.
24 (e) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
25 shall annually distribute, to a maximum extent practicable,
26 all eligible funds provided under this section as block grants
27 to the regional child development boards. assist coalitions in
28 integrating services and funding to develop a quality service
29 delivery system. Subject to appropriation, the partnership may
30 also provide financial awards to coalitions demonstrating
31
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1 success in merging and integrating funding streams to serve
2 children and school readiness programs.
3 (f) State funds appropriated for the school readiness
4 program may not be used for the construction of new facilities
5 or the purchase of buses. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
6 partnership shall present to the Legislature recommendations
7 for providing necessary transportation services for school
8 readiness programs.
9 (g) All cost savings and all revenues received through
10 a mandatory sliding fee scale shall be used to help fund each
11 regional child development board's the local school readiness
12 program.
13 (10) UNAUTHORIZED TRANSFERS.--Notwithstanding any
14 other law to the contrary, the Agency for Workforce Innovation
15 may not transfer to the Department of Education, through an
16 interagency agreement or through any other means, any of the
17 agency's powers, duties, functions, rules, records, personnel,
18 property, or unexpended balances of appropriations,
19 allocations, or other funds, any of which have been or which
20 may be authorized for administration of s. 402.25, s. 402.27,
21 s. 402.3016, s. 402.3017, s. 402.3018, s. 402.3051, s.
22 409.178, or this section, without specific legislative
23 authority by express reference to this subsection.
24 (10) SCHOOL READINESS UNIFORM SCREENING.--The
25 Department of Education shall implement a school readiness
26 uniform screening, including a pilot program during the
27 2001-2002 school year, to validate the system recommended by
28 the Florida Partnership for School Readiness as part of a
29 comprehensive evaluation design. Beginning with the 2002-2003
30 school year, the department shall require that all school
31 districts administer the school readiness uniform screening to
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1 each kindergarten student in the district school system upon
2 the student's entry into kindergarten. Children who enter
3 public school for the first time in first grade must undergo a
4 uniform screening adopted for use in first grade. The
5 department shall incorporate school readiness data into the
6 K-20 data warehouse for longitudinal tracking. Notwithstanding
7 s. 1002.22, the department shall provide the partnership and
8 the Agency for Workforce Innovation with complete and full
9 access to kindergarten uniform screening data at the student,
10 school, district, and state levels in a format that will
11 enable the partnership and the agency to prepare reports
12 needed by state policymakers and local school readiness
13 coalitions to access progress toward school readiness goals
14 and provide input for continuous improvement of local school
15 readiness services and programs.
16 (11) REPORTS.--The Office of Program Policy Analysis
17 and Government Accountability shall assess the implementation,
18 efficiency, and outcomes of the school readiness program and
19 report its findings to the President of the Senate and the
20 Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 1, 2002.
21 Subsequent reviews shall be conducted at the direction of the
22 Joint Legislative Auditing Committee.
23 (11)(12) CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.--In the event of a
24 conflict between the provisions of this section and federal
25 requirements, the federal requirements shall control.
26 (12)(13) PLACEMENTS.--Notwithstanding any other
27 provision of this section to the contrary, and for fiscal year
28 2003-2004 only, the first children to be placed in the school
29 readiness program shall be those from families receiving
30 temporary cash assistance and subject to federal work
31 requirements. Subsequent placements shall be made in
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1 accordance with subsection (6) pursuant to the provisions of
2 this section. This subsection expires July 1, 2004.
3 Section 3. Effective July 1, 2004, paragraph (a) of
4 subsection (3) of section 11.45, Florida Statutes, is amended
5 to read:
6 11.45 Definitions; duties; authorities; reports;
7 rules.--
8 (3) AUTHORITY FOR AUDITS AND OTHER ENGAGEMENTS.--
9 (a) The Auditor General may, by pursuant to his or her
10 own authority, or at the direction of the Legislative Auditing
11 Committee, conduct audits or other engagements as determined
12 appropriate by the Auditor General of:
13 1. The accounts and records of any governmental entity
14 created or established by law.
15 2. The information technology programs, activities,
16 functions, or systems of any governmental entity created or
17 established by law.
18 3. The accounts and records of any charter school
19 created or established by law.
20 4. The accounts and records of any direct-support
21 organization or citizen support organization created or
22 established by law. The Auditor General may is authorized to
23 require and receive any records from the direct-support
24 organization or citizen support organization, or from its
25 independent auditor.
26 5. The public records associated with any
27 appropriation made by the General Appropriations Act to a
28 nongovernmental agency, corporation, or person. All records of
29 a nongovernmental agency, corporation, or person for with
30 respect to the receipt and expenditure of the such an
31 appropriation are shall be public records and shall be treated
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1 in the same manner as other public records are under general
2 law.
3 6. State financial assistance provided to any nonstate
4 entity.
5 7. The Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation
6 created under pursuant to s. 215.56005.
7 8. The Florida Virtual School created under pursuant
8 to s. 1002.37.
9 9. Any purchases of federal surplus lands for use as
10 sites for correctional facilities as described in s. 253.037.
11 10. Enterprise Florida, Inc., including any of its
12 boards, advisory committees, or similar groups created by
13 Enterprise Florida, Inc., and programs. The audit report may
14 not reveal the identity of any person who has anonymously made
15 a donation to Enterprise Florida, Inc., under pursuant to this
16 subparagraph. The identity of a donor or prospective donor to
17 Enterprise Florida, Inc., who desires to remain anonymous and
18 all information identifying the such donor or prospective
19 donor are confidential and exempt from the provisions of s.
20 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. The
21 Such anonymity shall be maintained in the auditor's report.
22 11. The Florida Development Finance Corporation or the
23 capital development board or the programs or entities created
24 by the board. The audit or report may not reveal the identity
25 of any person who has anonymously made a donation to the board
26 under pursuant to this subparagraph. The identity of a donor
27 or prospective donor to the board who desires to remain
28 anonymous and all information identifying the such donor or
29 prospective donor are confidential and exempt from the
30 provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
31
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1 Constitution. The Such anonymity shall be maintained in the
2 auditor's report.
3 12. The records pertaining to the use of funds from
4 voluntary contributions on a motor vehicle registration
5 application or on a driver's license application authorized
6 under pursuant to ss. 320.023 and 322.081.
7 13. The records pertaining to the use of funds from
8 the sale of specialty license plates described in chapter 320.
9 14. The transportation corporations under contract
10 with the Department of Transportation that are acting on
11 behalf of the state to secure and obtain rights-of-way for
12 urgently needed transportation systems and to assist in the
13 planning and design of the such systems under pursuant to ss.
14 339.401-339.421.
15 15. The acquisitions and divestitures related to the
16 Florida Communities Trust Program created under pursuant to
17 chapter 380.
18 16. The Florida Water Pollution Control Financing
19 Corporation created under pursuant to s. 403.1837.
20 17. The school readiness system, including the
21 regional child development boards, Florida Partnership for
22 School Readiness created under pursuant to s. 411.01.
23 18. The Florida Special Disability Trust Fund
24 Financing Corporation created under pursuant to s. 440.49.
25 19. Workforce Florida, Inc., or the programs or
26 entities created by Workforce Florida, Inc., created under
27 pursuant to s. 445.004.
28 20. The corporation defined in s. 455.32 which that is
29 under contract with the Department of Business and
30 Professional Regulation to provide administrative,
31 investigative, examination, licensing, and prosecutorial
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1 support services in accordance with the provisions of s.
2 455.32 and the practice act of the relevant profession.
3 21. The Florida Engineers Management Corporation
4 created under pursuant to chapter 471.
5 22. The Investment Fraud Restoration Financing
6 Corporation created under pursuant to chapter 517.
7 23. The books and records of any permitholder that
8 conducts race meetings or jai alai exhibitions under chapter
9 550.
10 24. The corporation defined in part II of chapter 946,
11 cited known as the Prison Rehabilitative Industries and
12 Diversified Enterprises, Inc., or PRIDE Enterprises.
13 Section 4. Subsections (3) and (6) of section 20.15,
14 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
15 20.15 Department of Education.--There is created a
16 Department of Education.
17 (3) DIVISIONS.--The following divisions of the
18 Department of Education are established:
19 (a) Division of Community Colleges.
20 (b) Division of Public Schools.
21 (c) Division of Colleges and Universities.
22 (d) Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
23 (e) Division of Blind Services.
24 (f) Division of Early Childhood Education.
25 (6) COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES.--Notwithstanding any
26 anything contained in law to the contrary, the commissioner
27 shall appoint all members of all councils and committees of
28 the Department of Education, except for the Commission for
29 Independent Education, and the Education Practices Commission,
30 and the Florida Child Development Advisory Council.
31
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1 Section 5. Effective July 1, 2004, subsection (2) of
2 section 20.50, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
3 20.50 Agency for Workforce Innovation.--There is
4 created the Agency for Workforce Innovation within the
5 Department of Management Services. The agency shall be a
6 separate budget entity, and the director of the agency shall
7 be the agency head for all purposes. The agency shall not be
8 subject to control, supervision, or direction by the
9 Department of Management Services in any manner, including,
10 but not limited to, personnel, purchasing, transactions
11 involving real or personal property, and budgetary matters.
12 (2) The Agency for Workforce Innovation is shall be
13 the designated administrative agency designated for receipt of
14 federal workforce development grants and other federal funds.
15 The agency, and shall administer carry out the duties and
16 responsibilities assigned by the Governor under each federal
17 grant assigned to the agency. The agency shall be a separate
18 budget entity and shall expend each revenue source as provided
19 by federal and state law and as provided in plans developed by
20 and agreements with Workforce Florida, Inc. The agency shall
21 prepare and submit as a separate budget entity a unified
22 budget request for workforce development, in accordance with
23 chapter 216 for, and in conjunction with, Workforce Florida,
24 Inc., and its board. The head of the agency is the director of
25 Workforce Innovation, who shall be appointed by the Governor.
26 The accountability and reporting functions of the agency shall
27 be administered by the director or his or her designee.
28 Included in These functions shall include are budget
29 management, financial management, audit, performance
30 management standards and controls, assessing outcomes of
31 service delivery, and financial administration of workforce
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1 programs under pursuant to s. 445.004(5) and (9). Within the
2 agency's overall organizational structure, The agency shall
3 include the following offices within its organizational
4 structure, which shall have the specified responsibilities:
5 (a) The Office of Workforce Services shall administer
6 the unemployment compensation program, the Rapid Response
7 program, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program, the Alien
8 Labor Certification program, and any other programs that are
9 delivered directly by agency staff rather than through the
10 one-stop delivery system. The office shall be directed by the
11 Deputy Director for Workforce Services, who shall be appointed
12 by and serve at the pleasure of the director.
13 (b) The Office of Program Support and Accountability
14 shall administer state merit system program staff within the
15 workforce service delivery system, under the pursuant to
16 policies of Workforce Florida, Inc. The office is shall be
17 responsible for delivering services through the one-stop
18 delivery system and for ensuring that participants in welfare
19 transition programs receive case management services,
20 diversion assistance, support services, including subsidized
21 child care and transportation services, Medicaid services, and
22 transition assistance to enable them to succeed in the
23 workforce. The office is shall also be responsible for program
24 quality assurance, grants and contract management,
25 contracting, financial management, and reporting. The office
26 shall be directed by the Deputy Director for Program Support
27 and Accountability, who shall be appointed by and serve at the
28 pleasure of the director. The office is shall be responsible
29 for:
30
31
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1 1. Establishing monitoring, quality assurance, and
2 quality improvement systems that routinely assess the quality
3 and effectiveness of contracted programs and services.
4 2. Annual review of each regional workforce board and
5 administrative entity to ensure that adequate systems of
6 reporting and control are in place; that, and monitoring,
7 quality assurance, and quality improvement activities are
8 conducted routinely;, and that corrective action is taken to
9 eliminate deficiencies.
10 (c) The Office of Child Development shall administer
11 the school readiness system in accordance with s. 411.01. The
12 office shall be directed by the Deputy Director for Child
13 Development, who shall be appointed by and serve at the
14 pleasure of the director.
15 (d)(c) The Office of Agency Support Services is shall
16 be responsible for procurement, human resource services, and
17 information services including delivering information on labor
18 markets, employment, occupations, and performance, and shall
19 implement and maintain information systems that are required
20 for the effective operation of the one-stop delivery system
21 and the school readiness services system, including, but not
22 limited to, those systems described in s. 445.009. The office
23 shall will be directed by under the direction of the Deputy
24 Director for Agency Support Services, who shall be appointed
25 by and serve at the pleasure of the director. The office is
26 shall be responsible for establishing:
27 1. Information systems and controls that report
28 reliable, timely and accurate fiscal and performance data for
29 assessing outcomes, service delivery, and financial
30 administration of workforce programs under pursuant to s.
31 445.004(5) and (9).
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1 2. Information systems that support service
2 integration and case management by providing for case tracking
3 for participants in welfare transition programs.
4 3. Information systems that support the school
5 readiness system services.
6 (e)(d) The Unemployment Appeals Commission, authorized
7 by s. 443.012, is shall not be subject to the control,
8 supervision, or direction by the Agency for Workforce
9 Innovation in the performance of its powers and duties but
10 shall receive any and all support and assistance from the
11 agency that is may be required for the performance of its
12 duties.
13 Section 6. Effective July 1, 2004, paragraph (b) of
14 subsection (1) of section 125.901, Florida Statutes, is
15 amended to read:
16 125.901 Children's services; independent special
17 district; council; powers, duties, and functions.--
18 (1) Each county may by ordinance create an independent
19 special district, as defined in ss. 189.403(3) and
20 200.001(8)(e), to provide funding for children's services
21 throughout the county in accordance with this section. The
22 boundaries of such district shall be coterminous with the
23 boundaries of the county. The county governing body shall
24 obtain approval, by a majority vote of those electors voting
25 on the question, to annually levy ad valorem taxes which shall
26 not exceed the maximum millage rate authorized by this
27 section. Any district created pursuant to the provisions of
28 this subsection shall be required to levy and fix millage
29 subject to the provisions of s. 200.065. Once such millage is
30 approved by the electorate, the district shall not be required
31
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1 to seek approval of the electorate in future years to levy the
2 previously approved millage.
3 (b) However, any county as defined in s. 125.011(1)
4 may instead have a governing board consisting of 33 members,
5 including: the superintendent of schools; two representatives
6 of public postsecondary education institutions located in the
7 county; the county manager or the equivalent county officer;
8 the district administrator from the appropriate district of
9 the Department of Children and Family Services, or the
10 administrator's designee who is a member of the Senior
11 Management Service or the Selected Exempt Service; the
12 director of the county health department or the director's
13 designee; the state attorney for the county or the state
14 attorney's designee; the chief judge assigned to juvenile
15 cases, or another juvenile judge who is the chief judge's
16 designee and who shall sit as a voting member of the board,
17 except that the judge may not vote or participate in setting
18 ad valorem taxes under this section; an individual who is
19 selected by the board of the local United Way or its
20 equivalent; a member of a locally recognized faith-based
21 coalition, selected by that coalition; a member of the local
22 chamber of commerce, selected by that chamber or, if more than
23 one chamber exists within the county, a person selected by a
24 coalition of the local chambers; a member of the regional
25 child development board local school readiness coalition,
26 selected by that board coalition; a representative of a labor
27 organization or union active in the county; a member of a
28 local alliance or coalition engaged in cross-system planning
29 for health and social service delivery in the county, selected
30 by that alliance or coalition; a member of the local
31 Parent-Teachers Association/Parent-Teacher-Student
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1 Association, selected by that association; a youth
2 representative selected by the local school system's student
3 government; a local school board member appointed by the chair
4 of the school board; the mayor of the county or the mayor's
5 designee; one member of the county governing body, appointed
6 by the chair of that body; a member of the state Legislature
7 who represents residents of the county, selected by the chair
8 of the local legislative delegation; an elected official
9 representing the residents of a municipality in the county,
10 selected by the county municipal league; and 4
11 members-at-large, appointed to the council by the majority of
12 sitting council members. The remaining 7 members shall be
13 appointed by the Governor in accordance with procedures set
14 forth in paragraph (a), except that the Governor may remove a
15 member for cause or upon the written petition of the council.
16 Appointments by the Governor must, to the extent reasonably
17 possible, represent the geographic and demographic diversity
18 of the population of the county. Members who are appointed to
19 the council by reason of their position are not subject to the
20 length of terms and limits on consecutive terms as provided in
21 this section. The remaining appointed members of the governing
22 board shall be appointed to serve 2-year terms, except that
23 those members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed to
24 serve 4-year terms, and the youth representative and the
25 legislative delegate shall be appointed to serve 1-year terms.
26 A member may be reappointed; however, a member may not serve
27 for more than three consecutive terms. A member is eligible to
28 be appointed again after a 2-year hiatus from the council.
29 Section 7. Effective July 1, 2004, subsection (1) of
30 section 216.133, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
31
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1 216.133 Definitions; ss. 216.133-216.137.--As used in
2 ss. 216.133-216.137:
3 (1) "Consensus estimating conference" includes the
4 Economic Estimating Conference, the Demographic Estimating
5 Conference, the Revenue Estimating Conference, the Education
6 Estimating Conference, the Criminal Justice Estimating
7 Conference, the Juvenile Justice Estimating Conference, the
8 Child Welfare System Estimating Conference, the Occupational
9 Forecasting Conference, the Child Development Programs School
10 Readiness Program Estimating Conference, the Self-Insurance
11 Estimating Conference, the Florida Retirement System Actuarial
12 Assumption Conference, and the Social Services Estimating
13 Conference.
14 Section 8. Effective July 1, 2004, subsection (10) of
15 section 216.136, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
16 216.136 Consensus estimating conferences; duties and
17 principals.--
18 (10) CHILD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS SCHOOL READINESS
19 PROGRAM ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.--
20 (a) Duties.--
21 1. The Child Development Programs School Readiness
22 Program Estimating Conference shall develop estimates and
23 forecasts of the unduplicated count of children eligible for
24 school readiness programs in accordance with the standards of
25 eligibility established in s. 411.01(6), and of children
26 eligible for the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program in
27 accordance with s. 1002.53(2), as the conference determines
28 are needed to support the state planning, budgeting, and
29 appropriations processes.
30 2. The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
31 Partnership for School Readiness shall provide information on
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1 needs and waiting lists for school readiness programs as
2 program services requested by the Child Development Programs
3 School Readiness Program Estimating Conference or individual
4 conference principals in a timely manner.
5 3. The Department of Education shall provide
6 information on needs for the Florida Prekindergarten Education
7 Program as requested by the Child Development Programs
8 Estimating Conference or individual conference principals in a
9 timely manner.
10 (b) Principals.--The Executive Office of the Governor,
11 the Director of Economic and Demographic Research, and
12 professional staff who have forecasting expertise from the
13 Florida Partnership for School Readiness, the Agency for
14 Workforce Innovation, the Department of Children and Family
15 Services, the Department of Education, the Senate, and the
16 House of Representatives, or their designees, are the
17 principals of the Child Development Programs School Readiness
18 Program Estimating Conference. The principal representing the
19 Executive Office of the Governor shall preside over sessions
20 of the conference.
21 Section 9. Section 402.265, Florida Statutes, is
22 created to read:
23 402.265 Unauthorized transfers.--Notwithstanding any
24 other law to the contrary, the Department of Children and
25 Family Services may not transfer to the Department of
26 Education, through an interagency agreement or through any
27 other means, any of the department's powers, duties,
28 functions, rules, records, personnel, property, or unexpended
29 balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds, any
30 of which have been or which may be authorized for the Child
31 Care Services Program Office or for administration of ss.
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1 402.25-402.319, without specific legislative authority by
2 express reference to this section.
3 Section 10. Effective July 1, 2004, section 402.3016,
4 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
5 402.3016 Early Head Start collaboration grants.--
6 (1) Contingent upon specific appropriations, the
7 Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
8 Readiness shall establish a program to award collaboration
9 grants to assist local agencies in securing Early Head Start
10 programs through Early Head Start program federal grants. The
11 collaboration grants shall provide the required matching funds
12 for public and private nonprofit agencies that have been
13 approved for Early Head Start program federal grants.
14 (2) Public and private nonprofit agencies providing
15 Early Head Start programs applying for collaborative grants
16 must:
17 (a) Ensure quality performance by meeting the
18 requirements in the Head Start program performance standards
19 and other applicable rules and regulations;
20 (b) Ensure collaboration with other service providers
21 at the local level; and
22 (c) Ensure that a comprehensive array of health,
23 nutritional, and other services are provided to the program's
24 pregnant women and very young children, and their families.
25 (3) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
26 shall report to the Legislature on an annual basis the number
27 of agencies receiving Early Head Start collaboration grants
28 and the number of children served.
29 (4) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
30 may adopt rules under s. 120.536(1) and s. 120.54 as necessary
31 for the award of collaboration grants to competing agencies
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1 and the administration of the collaboration grants program
2 under this section.
3 Section 11. Effective, July 1, 2004, section 411.011,
4 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
5 411.011 Records of children in school readiness
6 programs.--The individual records of children enrolled in
7 school readiness programs provided under s. 411.01, when held
8 in the possession of the regional child development board
9 school readiness coalition or the Agency for Workforce
10 Innovation Florida Partnership for School Readiness, are
11 confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07 and
12 s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. For the purposes
13 of this section, records include assessment data, health data,
14 records of teacher observations, and identifying data,
15 including the child's social security number. A parent,
16 guardian, or individual acting as a parent in the absence of a
17 parent or guardian has the right to inspect and review the
18 individual school readiness program record of his or her child
19 and to obtain a copy of the record. School readiness records
20 may be released to the United States Secretary of Education,
21 the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, and
22 the Comptroller General of the United States for the purpose
23 of federal audits; to individuals or organizations conducting
24 studies for institutions to develop, validate, or administer
25 assessments or improve instruction; to accrediting
26 organizations in order to carry out their accrediting
27 functions; to appropriate parties in connection with an
28 emergency if the information is necessary to protect the
29 health or safety of the student or other individuals; to the
30 Auditor General in connection with his or her official
31 functions; to a court of competent jurisdiction in compliance
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1 with an order of that court in accordance with pursuant to a
2 lawfully issued subpoena; and to parties to an interagency
3 agreement among regional child development boards school
4 readiness coalitions, local governmental agencies, providers
5 of school readiness programs, state agencies, and the Agency
6 for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
7 Readiness for the purpose of implementing the school readiness
8 program. Agencies, organizations, or individuals that receive
9 school readiness records in order to carry out their official
10 functions must protect the data in a manner that does will not
11 permit the personal identification of students and their
12 parents by persons other than those authorized to receive the
13 records. This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
14 Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall
15 stand repealed on October 2, 2005, unless reviewed and saved
16 from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
17 Section 12. Effective July 1, 2004, paragraph (e) of
18 subsection (2) of section 411.226, Florida Statutes, is
19 amended to read:
20 411.226 Learning Gateway.--
21 (2) LEARNING GATEWAY STEERING COMMITTEE.--
22 (e) To support and facilitate system improvements, the
23 steering committee must consult with representatives from the
24 Department of Education, the Department of Health, the Agency
25 for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
26 Readiness, the Department of Children and Family Services, the
27 Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of
28 Juvenile Justice, and the Department of Corrections and with
29 the director of the Learning Development and Evaluation Center
30 of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
31
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1 Section 13. Effective July 1, 2004, paragraph (d) of
2 subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection (2), and paragraph
3 (c) of subsection (3) of section 411.227, Florida Statutes,
4 are amended to read:
5 411.227 Components of the Learning Gateway.--The
6 Learning Gateway system consists of the following components:
7 (1) COMMUNITY EDUCATION STRATEGIES AND FAMILY-ORIENTED
8 ACCESS.--
9 (d) In collaboration with other local resources, the
10 demonstration projects shall develop public awareness
11 strategies to disseminate information about developmental
12 milestones, precursors of learning problems and other
13 developmental delays, and the service system that is
14 available. The information should target parents of children
15 from birth through age 9 and should be distributed to parents,
16 health care providers, and caregivers of children from birth
17 through age 9. A variety of media should be used as
18 appropriate, such as print, television, radio, and a
19 community-based Internet website, as well as opportunities
20 such as those presented by parent visits to physicians for
21 well-child checkups. The Learning Gateway Steering Committee
22 shall provide technical assistance to the local demonstration
23 projects in developing and distributing educational materials
24 and information.
25 1. Public awareness strategies targeting parents of
26 children from birth through age 5 shall be designed to provide
27 information to public and private preschool programs, child
28 care childcare providers, pediatricians, parents, and local
29 businesses and organizations. These strategies should include
30 information on the school readiness performance standards for
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1 kindergarten adopted by the Agency for Workforce Innovation
2 School Readiness Partnership Board.
3 2. Public awareness strategies targeting parents of
4 children from ages 6 through 9 must be designed to disseminate
5 training materials and brochures to parents and public and
6 private school personnel, and must be coordinated with the
7 local school board and the appropriate school advisory
8 committees in the demonstration projects. The materials should
9 contain information on state and district proficiency levels
10 for grades K-3.
11 (2) SCREENING AND DEVELOPMENTAL MONITORING.--
12 (a) In coordination with the Agency for Workforce
13 Innovation Partnership for School Readiness, the Department of
14 Education, and the Florida Pediatric Society, and using
15 information learned from the local demonstration projects, the
16 Learning Gateway Steering Committee shall establish guidelines
17 for screening children from birth through age 9. The
18 guidelines should incorporate recent research on the
19 indicators most likely to predict early learning problems,
20 mild developmental delays, child-specific precursors of school
21 failure, and other related developmental indicators in the
22 domains of cognition; communication; attention; perception;
23 behavior; and social, emotional, sensory, and motor
24 functioning.
25 (3) EARLY EDUCATION, SERVICES AND SUPPORTS.--
26 (c) The steering committee, in cooperation with the
27 Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of
28 Education, and the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
29 Partnership for School Readiness, shall identify the elements
30 of an effective research-based curriculum for early care and
31 education programs.
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1 Section 14. Effective July 1, 2004, paragraph (a) of
2 subsection (2) of section 624.91, Florida Statutes, is amended
3 to read:
4 624.91 The Florida Healthy Kids Corporation Act.--
5 (2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--
6 (a) The Legislature finds that increased access to
7 health care services could improve children's health and
8 reduce the incidence and costs of childhood illness and
9 disabilities among children in this state. Many children do
10 not have comprehensive, affordable health care services
11 available. It is the intent of the Legislature that the
12 Florida Healthy Kids Corporation provide comprehensive health
13 insurance coverage to these such children. The corporation is
14 encouraged to cooperate with any existing health service
15 programs funded by the public or the private sector and to
16 work cooperatively with the Agency for Workforce Innovation
17 Florida Partnership for School Readiness.
18 Section 15. Subsection (1) of section 1001.23, Florida
19 Statutes, is amended to read:
20 1001.23 Specific powers and duties of the Department
21 of Education.--In addition to all other duties assigned to it
22 by law or by rule of the State Board of Education, the
23 department shall:
24 (1) Adopt the statewide kindergarten school readiness
25 uniform screening developed by the Florida Partnership for
26 School Readiness, in accordance with s. 1002.67 the criteria
27 itemized in chapter 1008.
28 Section 16. Effective July 1, 2004, paragraph (d) of
29 subsection (3) of section 1002.22, Florida Statutes, is
30 amended to read:
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1 1002.22 Student records and reports; rights of parents
2 and students; notification; penalty.--
3 (3) RIGHTS OF PARENT OR STUDENT.--The parent of any
4 student who attends or has attended any public school, area
5 technical center, or public postsecondary educational
6 institution shall have the following rights with respect to
7 any records or reports created, maintained, and used by any
8 public educational institution in the state. However,
9 whenever a student has attained 18 years of age, or is
10 attending a postsecondary educational institution, the
11 permission or consent required of, and the rights accorded to,
12 the parents of the student shall thereafter be required of and
13 accorded to the student only, unless the student is a
14 dependent student of such parents as defined in 26 U.S.C. s.
15 152 (s. 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954). The State
16 Board of Education shall adopt rules whereby parents or
17 students may exercise these rights:
18 (d) Right of privacy.--Every student has shall have a
19 right of privacy with respect to the educational records kept
20 on him or her. Personally identifiable records or reports of a
21 student, and any personal information contained therein, are
22 confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1).
23 No state or local educational agency, board, public school,
24 technical center, or public postsecondary educational
25 institution shall permit the release of the such records,
26 reports, or information without the written consent of the
27 student's parent, or of the student himself or herself if he
28 or she is qualified as provided in this subsection, to any
29 individual, agency, or organization. However, personally
30 identifiable records or reports of a student may be released
31
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1 to the following persons or organizations without the consent
2 of the student or the student's parent:
3 1. Officials of schools, school systems, technical
4 centers, or public postsecondary educational institutions in
5 which the student seeks or intends to enroll; and a copy of
6 the such records or reports shall be furnished to the parent
7 or student upon request.
8 2. Other school officials, including teachers within
9 the educational institution or agency, who have legitimate
10 educational interests in the information contained in the
11 records.
12 3. The United States Secretary of Education, the
13 Director of the National Institute of Education, the Assistant
14 Secretary for Education, the Comptroller General of the United
15 States, or state or local educational authorities who are
16 authorized to receive such information subject to the
17 conditions set forth in applicable federal statutes and
18 regulations of the United States Department of Education, or
19 in applicable state statutes and rules of the State Board of
20 Education.
21 4. Other school officials, in connection with a
22 student's application for or receipt of financial aid.
23 5. Individuals or organizations conducting studies for
24 or on behalf of an institution or a board of education for the
25 purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive
26 tests, administering student aid programs, or improving
27 instruction, if the such studies are conducted in such a
28 manner that does as will not permit the personal
29 identification of students and their parents by persons other
30 than representatives of the such organizations and if the such
31
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1 information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the
2 purpose of conducting the such studies.
3 6. Accrediting organizations, in order to carry out
4 their accrediting functions.
5 7. Regional child development boards School readiness
6 coalitions and the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
7 Partnership for School Readiness in order to carry out their
8 assigned duties.
9 8. For use as evidence in student expulsion hearings
10 conducted by a district school board under pursuant to the
11 provisions of chapter 120.
12 9. Appropriate parties in connection with an
13 emergency, if knowledge of the information in the student's
14 educational records is necessary to protect the health or
15 safety of the student or other individuals.
16 10. The Auditor General and the Office of Program
17 Policy Analysis and Government Accountability in connection
18 with their official functions; however, except when the
19 collection of personally identifiable information is
20 specifically authorized by law, any data collected by the
21 Auditor General and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and
22 Government Accountability is confidential and exempt from the
23 provisions of s. 119.07(1) and shall be protected in such a
24 way that does as will not permit the personal identification
25 of students and their parents by other than the Auditor
26 General, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
27 Accountability, and their staff, and the such personally
28 identifiable data shall be destroyed when no longer needed for
29 the Auditor General's and the Office of Program Policy
30 Analysis and Government Accountability's official use.
31
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1 11.a. A court of competent jurisdiction in compliance
2 with an order of that court or the attorney of record in
3 accordance with pursuant to a lawfully issued subpoena, upon
4 the condition that the student and the student's parent are
5 notified of the order or subpoena in advance of compliance
6 therewith by the educational institution or agency.
7 b. A person or entity pursuant to a court of competent
8 jurisdiction in compliance with an order of that court or the
9 attorney of record in accordance with pursuant to a lawfully
10 issued subpoena, upon the condition that the student, or his
11 or her parent if the student is either a minor and not
12 attending a postsecondary educational institution or a
13 dependent of such parent as defined in 26 U.S.C. s. 152 (s.
14 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954), is notified of the
15 order or subpoena in advance of compliance therewith by the
16 educational institution or agency.
17 12. Credit bureaus, in connection with an agreement
18 for financial aid that the student has executed, if the
19 provided that such information is may be disclosed only to the
20 extent necessary to enforce the terms or conditions of the
21 financial aid agreement. Credit bureaus shall not release any
22 information obtained under pursuant to this paragraph to any
23 person.
24 13. Parties to an interagency agreement among the
25 Department of Juvenile Justice, school and law enforcement
26 authorities, and other signatory agencies for the purpose of
27 reducing juvenile crime and especially motor vehicle theft by
28 promoting cooperation and collaboration, and the sharing of
29 appropriate information in a joint effort to improve school
30 safety, to reduce truancy and in-school and out-of-school
31 suspensions, and to support alternatives to in-school and
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1 out-of-school suspensions and expulsions that provide
2 structured and well-supervised educational programs
3 supplemented by a coordinated overlay of other appropriate
4 services designed to correct behaviors that lead to truancy,
5 suspensions, and expulsions, and that support students in
6 successfully completing their education. Information provided
7 in furtherance of the such interagency agreements is intended
8 solely for use in determining the appropriate programs and
9 services for each juvenile or the juvenile's family, or for
10 coordinating the delivery of the such programs and services,
11 and as such is inadmissible in any court proceedings before
12 prior to a dispositional hearing unless written consent is
13 provided by a parent or other responsible adult on behalf of
14 the juvenile.
15
16 This paragraph does not prohibit any educational institution
17 from publishing and releasing to the general public directory
18 information relating to a student if the institution elects to
19 do so. However, no educational institution shall release, to
20 any individual, agency, or organization that is not listed in
21 subparagraphs 1.-13., directory information relating to the
22 student body in general or a portion thereof unless it is
23 normally published for the purpose of release to the public in
24 general. Any educational institution making directory
25 information public shall give public notice of the categories
26 of information that it has designated as directory information
27 for with respect to all students attending the institution and
28 shall allow a reasonable period of time after the such notice
29 has been given for a parent or student to inform the
30 institution in writing that any or all of the information
31 designated should not be released.
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1 Section 17. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
2 1003.54, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
3 1003.54 Teenage parent programs.--
4 (3)
5 (c) Provision for necessary child care, health care,
6 social services, parent education, and transportation shall be
7 ancillary service components of teenage parent programs.
8 Ancillary services may be provided through the coordination of
9 existing programs and services and through joint agreements
10 between district school boards and regional child development
11 boards local school readiness coalitions or other appropriate
12 public and private providers.
13 Section 18. By January 15, 2005, the Department of
14 Education, with the advice of the Florida Child Development
15 Advisory Council created under section 1002.73, Florida
16 Statutes, shall submit recommendations to the Legislature on
17 professional development programs for the Florida
18 Prekindergarten Education Program. The recommendations must
19 comprise options for the professional development of
20 prekindergarten directors, teachers, and child care personnel.
21 The recommendations shall address curricula and appropriate
22 delivery systems for the programs and shall consider the use
23 of Internet-based applications for instruction or assessment.
24 The recommendations must also include the estimated costs of
25 the professional development programs, including nonrecurring
26 startup costs and recurring operational costs.
27 Section 19. Notwithstanding sections 216.162-216.168,
28 Florida Statutes, and under section 216.351, Florida Statutes,
29 the Governor shall submit to the Legislature, as part of the
30 Governor's recommended budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year,
31 the Governor's annual cost projections for the Florida
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1 Prekindergarten Education Program for the 5-year period ending
2 with the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The cost projections must be
3 based upon the Governor's estimate of the number of children
4 to be served annually in the Florida Prekindergarten Education
5 Program, including annual estimates for the potential shift of
6 children to the Florida Prekindergarten Education Program from
7 school readiness programs provided under section 411.01,
8 Florida Statutes.
9 Section 20. (1) Effective July 1, 2004, the Florida
10 Partnership for School Readiness is abolished. All powers,
11 duties, functions, rules, records, personnel, property, and
12 unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other
13 funds of the Florida Partnership for School Readiness are
14 transferred, effective July 1, 2004, by a type two transfer,
15 as defined in section 20.06(2), Florida Statutes, to the
16 Agency for Workforce Innovation.
17 (2) This act does not abolish the school readiness
18 coalitions but, effective July 1, 2004, redesignates the
19 coalitions as regional child development boards and, effective
20 January 1, 2005, requires a reduction in the number of boards.
21 All powers, duties, functions, rules, records, personnel,
22 property, and unexpended balances of appropriations,
23 allocations, and other funds of each school readiness
24 coalition are not transferred but shall be retained by the
25 coalition upon its redesignation as a regional child
26 development board.
27 Section 21. Sections 411.012 and 1008.21, Florida
28 Statutes, are repealed.
29 Section 22. (1) The sum of $7 million in nonrecurring
30 funds is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the
31 Department of Education to implement the summer
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1 prekindergarten demonstration program under section
2 1002.61(5), Florida Statutes, during the 2003-2004 fiscal
3 year.
4 (2) Notwithstanding section 1002.69, Florida Statutes,
5 each demonstration district's allocation of funds appropriated
6 under subsection (1) shall be based upon the district's
7 student enrollment in the demonstration program. Each
8 demonstration district's student enrollment in the
9 demonstration program, and the demographic composition of the
10 student enrollment, must be consistent with the research
11 design developed under section 1002.61(5)(b), Florida
12 Statutes. A full-time equivalent student in the summer
13 prekindergarten demonstration program shall be 300 hours, and
14 the base student allocation for the demonstration program
15 shall be $2,500 per full-time equivalent student. Each
16 district's allocation per full-time equivalent student shall
17 be calculated by multiplying the base student allocation by
18 the district cost differential provided in section 1011.62(2),
19 Florida Statutes.
20 (3) Each demonstration school have at least one
21 certified teacher for every 10 students in the demonstration
22 program. As used in this subsection, the term "certified
23 teacher" has the same meaning ascribed in section 1002.61(3),
24 Florida Statutes.
25 (4) Each demonstration district must submit all
26 information requested by the Department of Education for
27 reporting and funding purposes.
28 (5) Any unexpended balance at the end of the 2003-2004
29 fiscal year from the funds appropriated under subsection (1)
30 shall be certified forward to the 2004-2005 fiscal year and
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1 shall be used to continue implementation of the demonstration
2 program during summer 2004.
3 Section 23. Except as otherwise expressly provided in
4 this act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
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