SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 Senators Alexander, Carlton, Constantine, Cowin, Lynn, Miller,
12 and Wasserman Schultz moved the following amendment:
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14 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
15 Delete everything after the enacting clause
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17 and insert:
18 Section 1. Part V of chapter 1002, Florida Statutes,
19 consisting of sections 1002.51, 1002.53, 1002.55, 1002.57,
20 1002.59, 1002.61, 1002.63, 1002.65, 1002.67, 1002.69, 1002.71,
21 1002.73, and 1002.75, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
22 PART V
23 VOLUNTARY PREKINDERGARTEN EDUCATION PROGRAM
24 1002.51 Definitions.--As used in this part, the term:
25 (1) "Advisory council" means the Florida Child
26 Development Advisory Council created under s. 1002.73.
27 (2) "Child development provider" means a provider
28 eligible to deliver the prekindergarten program under s.
29 1002.55.
30 (3) "Department" means the Department of Education.
31 (4) "Kindergarten eligibility" means the eligibility
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
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1 of a child for admission to kindergarten in a public school
2 under s. 1003.21(1)(a)2.
3 (5) "Prekindergarten director" means an onsite person
4 ultimately responsible for the overall operation of a child
5 development provider or, alternatively, of the provider's
6 prekindergarten program, regardless of whether the person is
7 the owner of the provider.
8 (6) "Regional child development board" or "board"
9 means a regional child development board created under s.
10 411.01.
11 1002.53 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program;
12 eligibility and enrollment.--
13 (1) There is created the Voluntary Prekindergarten
14 Education Program within the Department of Education. The
15 program shall take effect in each county at the beginning of
16 the 2005-2006 school year and shall be organized, designed,
17 and delivered in accordance with s. 1(b) and (c), Art. IX of
18 the State Constitution.
19 (2) Each child who is a resident of the state who will
20 have attained the age of 4 years on or before September 1 of
21 the school year is eligible for the Voluntary Prekindergarten
22 Education Program during that school year. The child remains
23 eligible until the child attains kindergarten eligibility or
24 is admitted to kindergarten, whichever occurs first.
25 (3) The parent of each child eligible under subsection
26 (2) may enroll the child in one of the following programs:
27 (a) A prekindergarten program delivered by a child
28 development provider under s. 1002.55;
29 (b) A summer prekindergarten program delivered by a
30 public school under s. 1002.61; or
31 (c) A school-year prekindergarten program delivered by
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 a public school under s. 1002.63.
2
3 However, a child may not be enrolled in more than one of these
4 programs.
5 (4)(a) Each parent enrolling a child in the Voluntary
6 Prekindergarten Education Program must complete and submit an
7 application to the regional child development board through
8 the single point of entry established under s. 411.01.
9 (b) The application must be submitted on forms
10 prescribed by the department and must be accompanied by a
11 certified copy of the child's birth certificate. The forms
12 must include a certification, in substantially the form
13 provided in s. 1002.69(5)(b)2., that the parent chooses the
14 child development provider or public school in accordance with
15 this section and directs that payments for the program be made
16 to the provider or school. The department may authorize
17 alternative methods for submitting proof of the child's age in
18 lieu of a certified copy of the child's birth certificate.
19 (c) Each regional child development board shall
20 coordinate with each of the school districts within the
21 board's county or multicounty region in the development of
22 procedures for the enrollment of children in prekindergarten
23 programs delivered by public schools.
24 (5) The regional child development board shall provide
25 each parent enrolling a child in the Voluntary Prekindergarten
26 Education Program with a profile of every child development
27 provider and public school delivering the program within the
28 board's county or multicounty region. The profiles shall be
29 provided to parents in a format prescribed by the department.
30 The profiles must include, at a minimum, the following
31 information about each provider and school:
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1 (a) The provider's or school's services, curriculum,
2 teacher credentials, and teacher-to-student ratio; and
3 (b) The provider's or school's kindergarten readiness
4 rate calculated in accordance with s. 1002.65(3)(c) and s.
5 1002.67, based upon the most recent available results of the
6 statewide kindergarten screening.
7 (6)(a) A parent may enroll his or her child with any
8 child development provider that is eligible to deliver the
9 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program under this part;
10 however, the child development provider may determine whether
11 to admit any child. A regional child development board or the
12 department may not limit the number of students admitted by
13 any child development provider for enrollment in the program;
14 however, a child development provider may not exceed its
15 licensed capacity in accordance with ss. 402.301-402.319 as a
16 result of admissions in the prekindergarten program.
17 (b) A parent may enroll his or her child with any
18 public school within the school district which is eligible to
19 deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program under
20 this part, subject to available space. Each school district
21 may limit the number of students admitted by any public school
22 for enrollment in the program; however, the school district
23 must provide for the admission of every eligible child within
24 the district whose parent enrolls the child in the summer
25 prekindergarten program under s. 1002.61.
26 (c) A child development provider or public school may
27 not discriminate against a parent or child, including the
28 refusal to admit a child for enrollment in the Voluntary
29 Prekindergarten Education Program, because of the parent's or
30 child's race, color, or national origin.
31 1002.55 Prekindergarten program delivered by child
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 development providers.--
2 (1) Each regional child development board shall
3 administer the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program at
4 the county or regional level for students enrolled under s.
5 1002.53(3)(a) in a prekindergarten program delivered by a
6 child development provider.
7 (2) To be eligible to deliver the prekindergarten
8 program, a child development provider must meet each of the
9 following requirements:
10 (a) The child development provider must be one of the
11 following types of providers:
12 1. A nonpublic school exempt from licensure under s.
13 402.3025(2) which is accredited by an accrediting association
14 in the National Council for Private School Accreditation, the
15 Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation,
16 or the Florida Association of Academic Nonpublic Schools or
17 which holds a current Gold Seal Quality Care designation under
18 s. 402.281;
19 2. A child care facility licensed under s. 402.305,
20 family day care home licensed under s. 402.313, or large
21 family child care home licensed under s. 402.3131, which
22 facility or home holds a current Gold Seal Quality Care
23 designation under s. 402.281 or meets or exceeds the Gold Seal
24 Quality Care program standards, as verified by the regional
25 child development board, but does not hold the designation; or
26 3. A faith-based child care provider exempt from
27 licensure under s. 402.316 which is accredited by an
28 accrediting association in the National Council for Private
29 School Accreditation, the Commission on International and
30 Trans-Regional Accreditation, or the Florida Association of
31 Academic Nonpublic Schools or which holds a current Gold Seal
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 Quality Care designation under s. 402.281.
2 (b) The child development provider must have, for each
3 prekindergarten class, at least one teacher or child care
4 personnel who meets each of the following requirements:
5 1. The teacher or child care personnel must hold, at a
6 minimum, one of the following credentials:
7 a. A Child Development Associate credential issued by
8 the National Credentialing Program of the Council for
9 Professional Regulation; or
10 b. A credential approved by the Department of Children
11 and Family Services as being equivalent to or greater than the
12 credential described in sub-subparagraph a.
13
14 The Department of Children and Family Services may adopt rules
15 under s. 120.536(1) and s. 120.54 which provide criteria and
16 procedures for the approval of equivalent credentials under
17 sub-subparagraph b.
18 2. The teacher or child care personnel must
19 successfully complete an emergent literacy training course
20 approved by the department as meeting or exceeding the minimum
21 standards adopted under s. 1002.59. This subparagraph does not
22 apply to a teacher or child care personnel who successfully
23 completes approved training in early literacy and language
24 development under s. 402.305(2)(d)4., s. 402.313(6), or s.
25 402.3131(5) before the establishment of the emergent literacy
26 training course under s. 1002.59 or January 1, 2005, whichever
27 occurs later.
28 (c) The child development provider must have a
29 prekindergarten director who has a prekindergarten director
30 credential that is approved by the department as meeting or
31 exceeding the minimum standards adopted under s. 1002.57.
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1 Successful completion of a child care facility director
2 credential under s. 402.305(2)(f) before the establishment of
3 the prekindergarten director credential under s. 1002.57 or
4 July 1, 2005, whichever occurs later, satisfies the
5 requirement for a prekindergarten director credential under
6 this paragraph.
7 (d) The child development provider must register with
8 the regional child development board on forms prescribed by
9 the department.
10 (e) The child development provider must deliver the
11 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program in accordance with
12 this part.
13 (3) A teacher or child care personnel, in lieu of the
14 minimum credentials and courses required under paragraph
15 (2)(b), may hold one of the following educational credentials:
16 (a) A bachelor's or higher degree in early childhood
17 education, prekindergarten or primary education, preschool
18 education, or family and consumer science;
19 (b) A bachelor's or higher degree in elementary
20 education, if the teacher or child care personnel has been
21 certified to teach children any age from birth through 6th
22 grade, regardless of whether the teaching certificate is
23 current;
24 (c) An associate's or higher degree in child
25 development;
26 (d) An associate's or higher degree in an unrelated
27 field, at least 6 credit hours in early childhood education or
28 child development, and at least 480 hours experience in
29 teaching or providing child care services for children any age
30 from birth through 8 years of age; or
31 (e) An educational credential approved by the
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 department as being equivalent to or greater than an
2 educational credential described in this subsection. The
3 department may adopt criteria and procedures for the approval
4 of equivalent educational credentials under this paragraph.
5 1002.57 Prekindergarten director credential.--
6 (1) By July 1, 2005, the department, with the advice
7 of the advisory council, shall adopt minimum standards for a
8 credential for prekindergarten directors of child development
9 providers delivering the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
10 Program. The credential must encompass requirements for
11 education and onsite experience.
12 (2) The educational requirements must include training
13 in the following:
14 (a) Professionally accepted standards for
15 prekindergarten programs, child development, and strategies
16 and techniques to address the age-appropriate progress of
17 prekindergarten students in attaining the performance
18 standards adopted by the department under s. 1002.65;
19 (b) Strategies that allow students with disabilities
20 and other special needs to derive maximum benefit from the
21 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program; and
22 (c) Program administration and operations, including
23 management, organizational leadership, and financial and legal
24 issues.
25 (3) The prekindergarten director credential must meet
26 or exceed the requirements of the Department of Children and
27 Family Services for the child care facility director
28 credential under s. 402.305(2)(f), and successful completion
29 of the prekindergarten director credential satisfies these
30 requirements for the child care facility director credential.
31 (4) The department shall, to the maximum extent
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 practicable, award credit to a person who successfully
2 completes the child care facility director credential under s.
3 402.305(2)(f) for those requirements of the prekindergarten
4 director credential which are duplicative of requirements for
5 the child care facility director credential.
6 1002.59 Emergent literacy training course.--By January
7 1, 2005, the department, with the advice of the advisory
8 council, shall adopt minimum standards for a training course
9 in emergent literacy for teachers and child care personnel of
10 the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program. The course
11 shall comprise 5 clock hours and shall provide instruction in
12 strategies and techniques to address the age-appropriate
13 progress of prekindergarten students in the development of
14 emergent literacy skills, including oral communication,
15 knowledge of print and letters, phonemic and phonological
16 awareness, and vocabulary and comprehension development. The
17 course shall also provide resources containing strategies that
18 allow students with disabilities and other special needs to
19 derive maximum benefit from the Voluntary Prekindergarten
20 Education Program. The course must meet or exceed the
21 requirements of the Department of Children and Family Services
22 for approved training in early literacy and language
23 development under ss. 402.305(2)(d)4., 402.313(6), and
24 402.3131(5), and successful completion of the training course
25 satisfies these requirements for approved training.
26 1002.61 Summer prekindergarten program delivered by
27 public schools; demonstration program.--
28 (1) Each school district shall administer the
29 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program at the district
30 level for students enrolled under s. 1002.53(3)(b) in a summer
31 prekindergarten program delivered by a public school.
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 (2) Each district school board shall determine which
2 public schools in the school district are eligible to deliver
3 the summer prekindergarten program. The school district shall
4 use educational facilities available in the public schools
5 during the summer term for the summer prekindergarten program.
6 (3) Each public school delivering the summer
7 prekindergarten program must have at least one certified
8 teacher for every 10 students in the Voluntary Prekindergarten
9 Education Program. As used in this subsection, the term
10 "certified teacher" means a teacher holding a valid Florida
11 teaching certificate under s. 1012.56 who has the
12 qualifications required by the district school board to
13 instruct students in the summer prekindergarten program. In
14 selecting instructional staff for the summer prekindergarten
15 program, each school district shall give priority to teachers
16 who have experience or coursework in early childhood
17 education.
18 (4) Each public school delivering the summer
19 prekindergarten program must also:
20 (a) Register with the regional child development board
21 on forms prescribed by the department; and
22 (b) Deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
23 Program in accordance with this part.
24 (5)(a) There is created a summer prekindergarten
25 demonstration program that shall be implemented during summer
26 2004 in the Baker, Duval, Hillsborough, Martin, Miami-Dade,
27 Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Santa Rosa, and Wakulla school
28 districts. The demonstration program shall implement the
29 summer prekindergarten program delivered by public schools
30 within the demonstration districts.
31 (b) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
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1 Government Accountability shall develop a research design for
2 the demonstration program which ensures that students in the
3 demonstration program are demographically representative of
4 students statewide and that the sample size is sufficient to
5 generate statistically valid conclusions. The sample must be
6 selected to ensure that the results obtained from the
7 demonstration program are applicable statewide with
8 statistical confidence.
9 (c) Each demonstration district and demonstration
10 school shall implement the demonstration program in accordance
11 with the research design developed under paragraph (b) and, to
12 the maximum extent practicable, in accordance with this part.
13 (d) Each demonstration district shall submit to the
14 Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
15 Accountability the results of the statewide kindergarten
16 screening administered under s. 1002.67 for students who
17 completed the summer prekindergarten demonstration program.
18 (e) By January 15, 2005, the Office of Program Policy
19 Analysis and Government Accountability shall conduct an
20 evaluation of the demonstration program in consultation with
21 the Legislature. Each demonstration district shall submit data
22 about the demonstration program as requested by the Office of
23 Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability for
24 purposes of the evaluation.
25 (f) This subsection expires July 1, 2005.
26 1002.63 School-year prekindergarten program delivered
27 by public schools.--
28 (1) Each school district eligible under subsection (3)
29 may administer the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
30 at the district level for students enrolled under s.
31 1002.53(3)(c) in a school-year prekindergarten program
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 delivered by a public school.
2 (2) The district school board of each school district
3 eligible under subsection (3) shall determine which public
4 schools in the district are eligible to deliver the
5 prekindergarten program during the school year.
6 (3) To be eligible to deliver the prekindergarten
7 program during the school year, each school district must meet
8 both of the following requirements:
9 (a) The district school board must certify to the
10 State Board of Education:
11 1. That the school district has reduced the average
12 class size in each classroom in accordance with s. 1003.03 and
13 the schedule in s. 1(a), Art. IX of the State Constitution;
14 and
15 2. That the school district has sufficient
16 satisfactory educational facilities and capital outlay funds
17 to continue reducing the average class size in each classroom
18 in an elementary school for each year in accordance with the
19 class-size reduction schedule and to achieve full compliance
20 with the maximum class sizes in s. 1(a), Art. IX of the State
21 Constitution by the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year.
22 (b) The Commissioner of Education must certify to the
23 State Board of Education that the department has reviewed the
24 school district's educational facilities, capital outlay
25 funds, and projected student enrollment and concurs with the
26 district school board's certification under paragraph (a).
27 (4) Each public school delivering the school-year
28 prekindergarten program must:
29 (a) Register with the regional child development board
30 on forms prescribed by the department; and
31 (b) Deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
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1 Program in accordance with this part.
2 1002.65 Performance standards; curriculum and
3 accountability.--
4 (1) By January 1, 2005, the department, with the
5 advice of the advisory council, shall develop and adopt
6 performance standards for students in the Voluntary
7 Prekindergarten Education Program. The performance standards
8 must address the age-appropriate progress of students in the
9 development of:
10 (a) The capabilities, capacities, and skills required
11 under s. 1(b), Art. IX of the State Constitution; and
12 (b) Emergent literacy skills, including oral
13 communication, knowledge of print and letters, phonemic and
14 phonological awareness, and vocabulary and comprehension
15 development.
16 (2)(a) Each child development provider and public
17 school may select or design the curriculum that the provider
18 or school uses to implement the Voluntary Prekindergarten
19 Education Program, except as otherwise required for a provider
20 or school that is placed on probation under paragraph (3)(c).
21 (b) Each child development provider's and public
22 school's curriculum must be developmentally appropriate and
23 must:
24 1. Be based upon reading research;
25 2. Enhance the age-appropriate progress of students in
26 attaining the performance standards adopted by the department
27 under subsection (1); and
28 3. Prepare students to be assessed as ready for
29 kindergarten based upon the statewide kindergarten screening
30 administered under s. 1002.67.
31 (c) The department shall review and approve curricula
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1 for use by child development providers and public schools that
2 are placed on probation under paragraph (3)(c). The department
3 shall maintain a list of the curricula approved under this
4 paragraph. Each approved curriculum must meet the requirements
5 of paragraph (b).
6 (3)(a) Each regional child development board and
7 school district shall verify compliance with this part of the
8 child development providers or public schools, as applicable,
9 delivering the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
10 within the district.
11 (b) A regional child development board or the
12 department may remove a child development provider, and a
13 school district or the department may remove a public school,
14 from eligibility to deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten
15 Education Program and receive state funds for the program, if
16 the provider or school fails or refuses to comply with this
17 part.
18 (c) Beginning with the kindergarten readiness rates
19 for students completing the Voluntary Prekindergarten
20 Education Program during the 2005-2006 school year who are
21 administered the statewide kindergarten screening during the
22 2006-2007 school year:
23 1. Of the students who are administered the statewide
24 kindergarten screening under s. 1002.67, if less than 85
25 percent of the students from a child development provider's or
26 public school's prekindergarten program are assessed as ready
27 for kindergarten based upon the results of the statewide
28 kindergarten screening, the regional child development board
29 or school district, as applicable, shall require the provider
30 or school to submit an improvement plan for approval by the
31 regional child development board or school district, as
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1 applicable, and to implement the plan.
2 2. If a child development provider or public school
3 fails to meet the 85-percent kindergarten readiness rate for 2
4 consecutive years, the regional child development board or
5 school district, as applicable, shall place the provider or
6 school on probation and must require the provider or school to
7 take certain corrective actions, including the use of a
8 curriculum approved by the department under paragraph (2)(c).
9 3. A child development provider or public school that
10 is placed on probation must continue the corrective actions
11 required under subparagraph 2., including the use of a
12 curriculum approved by the department, until the provider or
13 school meets the 85-percent kindergarten readiness rate, based
14 upon the results of the statewide kindergarten screening.
15 1002.67 Statewide kindergarten screening.--
16 (1) The department, with the advice of the advisory
17 council, shall adopt a statewide kindergarten screening that
18 assesses the readiness of each student for kindergarten based
19 upon the performance standards adopted by the department under
20 s. 1002.65(1) for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
21 Program. The department shall require that each school
22 district administer the statewide kindergarten screening to
23 every kindergarten student in the school district within 30
24 school days after the student's entry into kindergarten.
25 (2) The statewide kindergarten screening shall provide
26 objective data on each student's progress in attaining the
27 performance standards adopted by the department under s.
28 1002.65(1).
29 (3) The statewide kindergarten screening shall
30 incorporate mechanisms for recognizing potential variations in
31 kindergarten readiness rates for students with disabilities.
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1 (4) Each parent who enrolls his or her child in the
2 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program must submit the
3 child for the statewide kindergarten screening, regardless of
4 whether the child is admitted to kindergarten in a public
5 school or nonpublic school. Each school district shall
6 designate public schools to administer the statewide
7 kindergarten screening for children admitted to kindergarten
8 in a nonpublic school.
9 (5) The department shall adopt procedures for the
10 calculation of each child development provider's and public
11 school's kindergarten readiness rate. The kindergarten
12 readiness rates must be based exclusively upon the results of
13 the statewide kindergarten screening and must not consider
14 students who are not administered the statewide kindergarten
15 screening.
16 (6)(a) During the 2004-2005 through 2006-2007 school
17 years, the department shall continue the statewide
18 administration of the Early Screening Inventory-Kindergarten
19 developmental screening instrument as the statewide
20 kindergarten screening. The department may administer
21 additional instruments but only if the instruments are
22 administered statewide. For purposes of s. 1002.65(3)(c), the
23 Early Screening Inventory-Kindergarten developmental screening
24 instrument shall be used to calculate kindergarten readiness
25 rates.
26 (b) By January 15, 2006, the department, with the
27 advice of the advisory council, shall recommend to the
28 Legislature valid and reliable screening instruments for the
29 statewide kindergarten screening. The Legislature shall review
30 the recommendations of the department at the 2006 Regular
31 Session and shall adopt screening instruments for the
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1 statewide kindergarten screening.
2 (c) Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, the
3 department shall administer the screening instruments adopted
4 by the Legislature under paragraph (b). During the 2006-2007
5 school year, the department shall continue administration of
6 the Early Screening Inventory-Kindergarten developmental
7 screening instrument for purposes of obtaining baseline data
8 that compares the kindergarten readiness rates of the
9 instruments.
10 (d) The Legislature shall review, at the 2007 Regular
11 Session, the baseline data obtained under paragraph (c) and
12 the 85-percent kindergarten readiness rate in s.
13 1002.65(3)(c). The screening instruments adopted by the
14 Legislature under paragraph (b) shall be used to calculate the
15 kindergarten readiness rates for students completing the
16 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program during the
17 2006-2007 school year who are administered the statewide
18 kindergarten screening during the 2007-2008 school year and
19 for subsequent school years.
20 1002.69 Funding; financial and attendance reporting.--
21 (1) There is created a categorical fund for the
22 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program. Categorical funds
23 appropriated for the program shall be in addition to funds
24 appropriated based upon full-time equivalent student
25 membership in the Florida Education Finance Program.
26 (2) A full-time equivalent student in the Voluntary
27 Prekindergarten Education Program shall be calculated as
28 follows:
29 (a) For a student in a prekindergarten program
30 delivered by a child development provider: 540 hours.
31 (b) For a student in a summer prekindergarten program
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1 delivered by a public school: 300 hours.
2 (c) For a student in a school-year prekindergarten
3 program delivered by a public school: 540 hours.
4
5 A student may not be reported for funding purposes as more
6 than one full-time equivalent student.
7 (3)(a) The base student allocation per full-time
8 equivalent student in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
9 Program shall be provided in the General Appropriations Act
10 and shall be equal, regardless of whether the student is
11 enrolled in a prekindergarten program delivered by a child
12 development provider, a summer prekindergarten program
13 delivered by a public school, or a school-year prekindergarten
14 program delivered by a public school.
15 (b) Each county's allocation per full-time equivalent
16 student in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
17 shall be calculated annually by multiplying the base student
18 allocation provided in the General Appropriations Act by the
19 county's district cost differential provided in s. 1011.62(2).
20 Each child development provider and public school shall be
21 paid in accordance with the county's allocation per full-time
22 equivalent student.
23 (4)(a) Each regional child development board shall
24 maintain through the single point of entry established under
25 s. 411.01 a current database of the students enrolled in the
26 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program for each county
27 within the board's region.
28 (b) The department shall adopt procedures for the
29 payment of child development providers and public schools
30 delivering the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program.
31 The procedures shall provide for the advance payment of
18
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 providers and schools based upon student enrollment in the
2 program, the certification of student attendance, and the
3 reconciliation of advance payments based upon the certified
4 student attendance. The procedures shall provide for the
5 monthly distribution of funds by the department to the
6 regional child development boards for payment by the boards to
7 child development providers and public schools.
8 (5)(a) Each parent enrolling his or her child in the
9 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program must agree to
10 comply with the attendance policy of the child development
11 provider or district school board, as applicable. Upon
12 enrollment of the child, the child development provider or
13 public school, as applicable, must provide the child's parent
14 with a copy of the provider's or school district's attendance
15 policy, as applicable.
16 (b)1. Each child development provider's and district
17 school board's attendance policy must require the parent of
18 each student in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
19 Program to verify, each month, the student's attendance on the
20 prior month's certified student attendance.
21 2. The parent must submit the verification of the
22 student's attendance to the child development provider or
23 public school on forms prescribed by the department. The forms
24 must include, in addition to the verification of the student's
25 attendance, a certification, in substantially the following
26 form, that the parent continues to choose the child
27 development provider or public school in accordance with s.
28 1002.53 and directs that payments for the program be made to
29 the provider or school:
30
31 VERIFICATION OF STUDENT'S ATTENDANCE
19
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 AND CERTIFICATION OF PARENTAL CHOICE
2
3 I, ...(Name of Parent)..., swear (or affirm) that my child,
4 ...(Name of Student)..., attended the Voluntary
5 Prekindergarten Education Program on the days listed above and
6 certify that I continue to choose ...(Name of Provider or
7 School)... to deliver the program for my child and direct that
8 program funds be paid to the provider or school for my child.
9
10 ...(Signature of Parent)...
11 ...(Date)...
12
13 3. The child development provider or public school
14 must submit each original signed form to the regional child
15 development board. The regional child development board shall
16 keep the original signed forms or reproductions of the forms,
17 such as digital images or microfilm, in accordance with
18 chapter 119. The department shall adopt procedures for the
19 review of the original signed forms against the certified
20 student attendance. The review procedures shall provide for
21 the use of selective inspection techniques, including, but not
22 limited to, random sampling. Each regional child development
23 board must comply with the review procedures.
24 (c) A child development provider or school district,
25 as applicable, may dismiss a student who does not comply with
26 the provider's or district's attendance policy. A student
27 dismissed under this paragraph is not removed from the
28 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program and may continue
29 in the program through reenrollment with another child
30 development provider or public school. Notwithstanding s.
31 1002.53(6)(b), a school district is not required to provide
20
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 for the admission of a student dismissed under this paragraph.
2 (6) A regional child development board may not
3 withhold for administrative costs any portion of the funds
4 distributed to the board for payment to child development
5 providers and public schools. The department shall annually
6 allocate administrative funds to each regional child
7 development board from funds provided in the General
8 Appropriations Act for that purpose. The administrative funds
9 must only be used for administration of the Voluntary
10 Prekindergarten Education Program. The department shall
11 allocate the administrative funds based upon each regional
12 child development board's student enrollment in the program.
13 The amount of each regional child development board's
14 administrative funds may not exceed 3 percent of the funds
15 paid by the board to child development providers and public
16 schools.
17 (7) Except as otherwise expressly authorized by law, a
18 child development provider or public school may not:
19 (a) Impose or collect a fee or charge for services
20 provided for a child enrolled in the Voluntary Prekindergarten
21 Education Program during a period reported for funding
22 purposes; or
23 (b) Require a child to enroll for, or require the
24 payment of any fee or charge for, supplemental services as a
25 condition of admitting a child for enrollment in the Voluntary
26 Prekindergarten Education Program.
27 (8) State funds provided for the Voluntary
28 Prekindergarten Education Program may not be used for the
29 transportation of students to and from the program. A parent
30 is responsible for the transportation of his or her child to
31 and from the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program,
21
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 regardless of whether the program is delivered by a child
2 development provider or a public school.
3 1002.71 Department of Education; powers and duties.--
4 (1) The Department of Education, with the advice of
5 the advisory council, shall administer the Voluntary
6 Prekindergarten Education Program at the statewide level.
7 (2) The department shall adopt procedures for:
8 (a) Enrolling children in and determining the
9 eligibility of children for the Voluntary 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 (j) Placing child development providers and public
22
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 schools on probation and requiring corrective actions under s.
2 1002.65.
3 (k) Administering the statewide kindergarten screening
4 and calculating kindergarten readiness rates under s. 1002.67.
5 (l) Distributing funds to regional child development
6 boards under s. 1002.69.
7 (m) Paying child development providers and public
8 schools under s. 1002.69.
9 (n) Documenting and certifying student enrollment and
10 student attendance under s. 1002.69.
11 (o) Reconciling advance payments in accordance under
12 s. 1002.69.
13 (p) Reenrolling students dismissed by a child
14 development provider or public school for noncompliance with
15 the provider's or school district's attendance policy under s.
16 1002.69.
17 (q) Allocating administrative funds among regional
18 child development boards under s. 1002.69.
19 (3) Notwithstanding s. 402.265 and s. 411.01(10), the
20 Department of Education, the Agency for Workforce Innovation,
21 the Department of Children and Family Services, and the
22 regional child development boards may enter into interagency
23 agreements that provide for the integration of, and shall
24 provide interagency access among these agencies to, databases
25 containing records, data, or other information relating to the
26 following:
27 (a) Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program;
28 (b) School readiness programs; or
29 (c) Licensure or registration, inspection, and
30 disciplinary actions of child care facilities, family day care
31 homes, and large family child care homes.
23
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1
2 These databases may comprise individual records of students,
3 child development providers, and public schools in the
4 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program and individual
5 records of students and providers in school readiness
6 programs. The agencies must protect the confidentiality of
7 school readiness records in accordance with s. 411.011. These
8 databases may also include the statewide child care resource
9 and referral network established under s. 402.27 and each
10 regional child development board's single point of entry
11 established under s. 411.01.
12 (4) Except as otherwise provided by law, the
13 department does not have authority to:
14 (a) Impose requirements on a child development
15 provider that does not deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten
16 Education Program or receive state funds under this part.
17 (b) Impose requirements on a regional child
18 development board which are not necessary for the
19 administration of the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
20 Program under this part.
21 (c) Administer powers and duties assigned to the
22 Agency for Workforce Innovation or a regional child
23 development board under s. 411.01.
24 1002.73 Florida Child Development Advisory Council.--
25 (1) There is created the Florida Child Development
26 Advisory Council within the Department of Education. The
27 purpose of the advisory council is to advise the Department of
28 Education and the Agency for Workforce Innovation on the child
29 development policy of this state, including advice relating to
30 administration of the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
31 Program under this part and the school readiness programs
24
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 under s. 411.01.
2 (2) The advisory council shall be composed of the
3 following members:
4 (a) Eleven members appointed by the Governor, as
5 follows:
6 1. The chair of the advisory council and one other
7 member, who must both meet the same qualifications as
8 private-sector business members appointed to a regional child
9 development board under s. 411.01(5)(a)6.
10 2. A representative of nonpublic schools accredited by
11 accrediting associations in either the National Council for
12 Private School Accreditation or the Commission on
13 International and Trans-Regional Accreditation.
14 3. A representative of nonpublic schools accredited by
15 accrediting associations in the Florida Association of
16 Academic Nonpublic Schools.
17 4. A representative of licensed child care facilities.
18 5. A representative of licensed or registered family
19 day care homes.
20 6. A representative of licensed large family child
21 care homes.
22 7. A representative of faith-based child care
23 providers.
24 8. A representative of programs for prekindergarten
25 children with disabilities under the federal Individuals with
26 Disabilities Education Act.
27 9. A public school classroom teacher.
28 10. A district superintendent of schools.
29
30 The members appointed under this paragraph must be
31 geographically and demographically representative of the
25
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 state. The members shall be appointed to terms of 3 years
2 each, except that, to establish staggered terms, one-half of
3 the members shall be appointed to initial terms of 2 years
4 each. Appointed members may serve a maximum of two consecutive
5 terms.
6 (b) The director of the Florida Head Start-State
7 Collaboration Office.
8 (c) A chair of a regional child development board who
9 shall be selected by the chairs of the regional child
10 development boards.
11 (d) An executive director of a regional child
12 development board who shall be selected by the executive
13 directors of the regional child development boards.
14 (e) The chair of the Child Care Executive Partnership.
15 (f) The chair or executive director of Workforce
16 Florida, Inc., or his or her designee.
17 (g) The director of the Division of Community Colleges
18 of the Department of Education.
19 (h) The Secretary of Health or his or her designee.
20 (i) The director of the Child Care Services Program
21 Office of the Department of Children and Family Services.
22 (j) The Deputy Director for Child Development of the
23 Agency for Workforce Innovation.
24 (k) The Commissioner of Education or his or her
25 designee.
26 (l) Two members appointed by and who serve at the
27 pleasure of the President of the Senate and two members
28 appointed by and who serve at the pleasure of the Speaker of
29 the House of Representatives, who must each meet the same
30 qualifications as private-sector business members appointed to
31 a regional child development board under s. 411.01(5)(a)6.
26
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 (3) The advisory council shall meet at least quarterly
2 but may meet as often as necessary to carry out its duties and
3 responsibilities.
4 (4)(a) Each member of the advisory council shall serve
5 without compensation but is entitled to per diem and travel
6 expenses for attendance of council meetings as provided in s.
7 112.061.
8 (b) Each member of the advisory council is subject to
9 the ethics provisions in part III of chapter 112.
10 (c) For purposes of tort liability, each member of the
11 advisory council shall be governed by s. 768.28.
12 (5) The department shall provide staff and
13 administrative support for the advisory council.
14 1002.75 Rulemaking authority.--The State Board of
15 Education shall adopt rules under s. 120.536(1) and s. 120.54
16 to administer the provisions of this part conferring duties
17 upon the department. The state board shall adopt initial rules
18 for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program by January
19 1, 2005.
20 Section 2. Effective July 1, 2004, section 411.01,
21 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
22 411.01 Florida Partnership for School readiness
23 programs; regional child development boards school readiness
24 coalitions.--
25 (1) SHORT TITLE.--This section may be cited as the
26 "School Readiness Act."
27 (2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--
28 (a) The Legislature recognizes that school readiness
29 programs increase children's chances of achieving future
30 educational success and becoming productive members of
31 society. It is the intent of the Legislature that the such
27
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 programs be developmentally appropriate, research-based,
2 involve parents as their child's first teacher, serve as
3 preventive measures for children at risk of future school
4 failure, enhance the educational readiness of eligible
5 children, and support family education. Each school readiness
6 program shall provide the elements necessary to prepare
7 at-risk children for school, including health screening and
8 referral and an appropriate educational program.
9 (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that school
10 readiness programs be operated on a full-day, year-round basis
11 to the maximum extent possible to enable parents to work and
12 become financially self-sufficient.
13 (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that school
14 readiness programs not exist as isolated programs, but build
15 upon existing services and work in cooperation with other
16 programs for young children, and that school readiness
17 programs be coordinated and funding integrated to achieve full
18 effectiveness.
19 (d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
20 administrative staff at the state level for school readiness
21 programs be kept to the minimum necessary to administer carry
22 out the duties of the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
23 Partnership for School Readiness, as the school readiness
24 programs are to be regionally locally designed, operated, and
25 managed, with the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
26 Partnership for School Readiness adopting a system for
27 measuring school readiness; developing school readiness
28 program performance standards and, outcome measures
29 measurements, and data design and review; and approving and
30 reviewing regional child development boards and local school
31 readiness coalitions and plans.
28
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 (e) It is the intent of the Legislature that
2 appropriations for combined school readiness programs shall
3 not be less than the programs would receive in any fiscal year
4 on an uncombined basis.
5 (f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
6 school readiness program coordinate and operate in conjunction
7 with the district school systems. However, it is also the
8 intent of the Legislature that the school readiness program
9 not be construed as part of the system of free public schools
10 but rather as a separate program for children under the age of
11 kindergarten eligibility, funded separately from the system of
12 free public schools, utilizing a mandatory sliding fee scale,
13 and providing an integrated and seamless system of school
14 readiness services for the state's birth-to-kindergarten
15 population.
16 (g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the
17 federal child care income tax credit be preserved for school
18 readiness programs.
19 (h) It is the intent of the Legislature that school
20 readiness services shall be an integrated and seamless system
21 of services with a developmentally appropriate education
22 component for the state's eligible birth-to-kindergarten
23 population described in subsection (6) and shall not be
24 construed as part of the seamless K-20 education system except
25 for the administration of the uniform screening system upon
26 entry into kindergarten.
27 (3) PARENTAL PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL READINESS
28 PROGRAMS PROGRAM.--
29 (a) The school readiness program shall be phased in on
30 a coalition-by-coalition basis. Each coalition's school
31 readiness program shall have available to it funding from all
29
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 the coalition's early education and child care programs that
2 are funded with state, federal, lottery, or local funds,
3 including but not limited to Florida First Start programs,
4 Even-Start literacy programs, prekindergarten early
5 intervention programs, Head Start programs, programs offered
6 by public and private providers of child care, migrant
7 prekindergarten programs, Title I programs, subsidized child
8 care programs, and teen parent programs, together with any
9 additional funds appropriated or obtained for purposes of this
10 section. These programs and their funding streams shall be
11 components of the coalition's integrated school readiness
12 program, with the goal of preparing children for success in
13 school.
14 (b) Nothing contained in This section does not act is
15 intended to:
16 (a)1. Relieve parents and guardians of their own
17 obligations to prepare ready their children for school; or
18 (b)2. Create any obligation to provide publicly funded
19 school readiness programs or services beyond those authorized
20 by the Legislature.
21 (4) AGENCY FOR WORKFORCE INNOVATION FLORIDA
22 PARTNERSHIP FOR SCHOOL READINESS.--
23 (a) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall Florida
24 Partnership for School Readiness was created to fulfill three
25 major purposes: to administer school readiness programs at the
26 statewide level and shall program services that help parents
27 prepare eligible children for school; to coordinate the
28 regional child development boards in providing provision of
29 school readiness services on a full-day, full-year,
30 full-choice basis to the extent possible in order to enable
31 parents to work and be financially self-sufficient; and to
30
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 establish a uniform screening instrument to be implemented by
2 the Department of Education and administered by the school
3 districts upon entry into kindergarten to assess the readiness
4 for school of all children. Readiness for kindergarten is the
5 outcome measure of the success of each school readiness
6 program that receives state or federal funds. The partnership
7 is assigned to the Agency for Workforce Innovation for
8 administrative purposes.
9 (b) The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
10 Partnership for School Readiness shall:
11 1. Coordinate the birth-to-kindergarten services for
12 children who are eligible under pursuant to subsection (6) and
13 the programmatic, administrative, and fiscal standards under
14 pursuant to this section for all public providers of school
15 readiness programs.
16 2. Continue to provide unified leadership for school
17 readiness through regional child development boards local
18 school readiness coalitions.
19 3. Focus on improving the educational quality of all
20 publicly funded school readiness programs.
21 (c)1. The Florida Partnership for School Readiness
22 shall include the Lieutenant Governor, the Commissioner of
23 Education, the Secretary of Children and Family Services, and
24 the Secretary of Health, or their designees, and the chair of
25 the Child Care Executive Partnership Board, and the
26 chairperson of the Board of Directors of Workforce Florida,
27 Inc. When the Lieutenant Governor or an agency head appoints a
28 designee, the designee must be an individual who attends
29 consistently, and, in the event that the Lieutenant Governor
30 or agency head and his or her designee both attend a meeting,
31 only one of them may vote.
31
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 2. The partnership shall also include 14 members of
2 the public who shall be business, community, and civic leaders
3 in the state who are not elected to public office. These
4 members and their families must not have a direct contract
5 with any local coalition to provide school readiness services.
6 The members must be geographically and demographically
7 representative of the state. Each member shall be appointed by
8 the Governor from a list of nominees submitted by the
9 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
10 Representatives. By July 1, 2001, four members shall be
11 appointed as follows: two members shall be from the child care
12 industry, one representing the private for-profit sector
13 appointed by the Governor from a list of two nominees
14 submitted by the President of the Senate and one representing
15 faith-based providers appointed by the Governor from a list of
16 two nominees submitted by the Speaker of the House of
17 Representatives; and two members shall be from the business
18 community, one appointed by the Governor from a list of two
19 nominees submitted by the President of the Senate and one
20 appointed by the Governor from a list of two nominees
21 submitted by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
22 Members shall be appointed to 4-year terms of office. The
23 members of the partnership shall elect a chairperson annually
24 from the nongovernmental members of the partnership. Any
25 vacancy on the partnership shall be filled in the same manner
26 as the original appointment.
27 (d) The partnership shall meet at least quarterly but
28 may meet as often as it deems necessary to carry out its
29 duties and responsibilities. Members of the partnership shall
30 participate without proxy at the quarterly meetings. The
31 partnership may take official action by a majority vote of the
32
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 members present at any meeting at which a quorum is present.
2 (e) Members of the partnership are subject to the
3 ethics provisions in part III of chapter 112, and no member
4 may derive any financial benefit from the funds administered
5 by the Florida Partnership for School Readiness.
6 (f) Members of the partnership shall serve without
7 compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem
8 and travel expenses incurred in the performance of their
9 duties as provided in s. 112.061, and reimbursement for other
10 reasonable, necessary, and actual expenses.
11 (g) For the purposes of tort liability, the members of
12 the partnership and its employees shall be governed by s.
13 768.28.
14 (h) The partnership shall appoint an executive
15 director who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The
16 executive director shall perform the duties assigned to him or
17 her by the partnership. The executive director shall be
18 responsible for hiring, subject to the approval of the
19 partnership, all employees and staff members, who shall serve
20 under his or her direction and control.
21 (c)(i) For purposes of administration of the federal
22 Child Care and Development Fund, 45 C.F.R. parts 98 and 99,
23 the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership may be
24 designated by the Governor as the lead agency, and if so
25 designated shall comply with the lead agency responsibilities
26 under pursuant to federal law.
27 (d)(j) The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
28 Partnership for School Readiness is the principal organization
29 responsible for the enhancement of school readiness for the
30 state's children, and shall:
31 1. Be responsible for the prudent use of all public
33
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 and private funds in accordance with all legal and contractual
2 requirements.
3 2. Provide final approval and periodic review of
4 regional child development boards coalitions and school
5 readiness plans.
6 3. Provide leadership for the enhancement of school
7 readiness in this state by aggressively establishing a unified
8 approach to the state's efforts toward enhancement of school
9 readiness. In support of this effort, the Agency for Workforce
10 Innovation partnership may develop and implement specific
11 strategies that address the state's school readiness programs.
12 4. Safeguard the effective use of federal, state,
13 local, and private resources to achieve the highest possible
14 level of school readiness for the state's children in this
15 state.
16 5. Provide technical assistance to regional child
17 development boards coalitions.
18 6. Assess gaps in service.
19 7. Provide technical assistance to counties that form
20 a regional child development board serving a multicounty
21 region coalition.
22 8.a. Adopt a system for measuring school readiness
23 that provides objective data regarding the expectations for
24 school readiness, and establish a method for collecting the
25 data and guidelines for using the data. The measurement, the
26 data collection, and the use of the data must serve the
27 statewide school readiness goal. The criteria for determining
28 which data to collect should be the usefulness of the data to
29 state policymakers and local program administrators in
30 administering programs and allocating state funds, and must
31 include the tracking of school readiness system information
34
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 back to individual school readiness programs to assist in
2 determining program effectiveness.
3 b. Adopt a system for evaluating the performance of
4 students through the third grade to compare the performance of
5 those who participated in school readiness programs with the
6 performance of students who did not participate in school
7 readiness programs in order to identify strategies for
8 continued successful student performance.
9 8.9. Develop and adopt, with the advice of the Florida
10 Child Development Advisory Council created under s. 1002.73
11 and the Department of Education, performance standards and
12 outcome measures for school readiness programs. The
13 performance standards must address the age-appropriate
14 progress of children in the development of the school
15 readiness skills required under paragraph (j). The Agency for
16 Workforce Innovation shall integrate the performance standards
17 for school readiness programs into the performance standards
18 adopted by the Department of Education for the Voluntary
19 Prekindergarten Education Program under s. 1002.65.
20 (e)(k) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
21 may adopt rules under s. 120.536(1) and s. 120.54 necessary to
22 administer the provisions of law conferring duties upon the
23 agency, including, but not limited this section which relate
24 to, rules governing the preparation preparing and
25 implementation of implementing the system for school readiness
26 system, the collection of collecting data, the approval of
27 regional child development boards and approving local school
28 readiness coalitions and plans, the provision of providing a
29 method whereby a regional child development board may
30 coalition can serve two or more counties, the award of
31 awarding incentives to regional child development boards
35
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 coalitions, and the issuance of issuing waivers.
2 (f)(l) The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
3 Partnership for School Readiness shall have all powers
4 necessary to administer carry out the purposes of this
5 section, including, but not limited to, the power to receive
6 and accept grants, loans, or advances of funds from any public
7 or private agency and to receive and accept from any source
8 contributions of money, property, labor, or any other thing of
9 value, to be held, used, and applied for the purposes of this
10 section.
11 (g) Except as otherwise provided by law, the Agency
12 for Workforce Innovation does not have authority:
13 1. To impose requirements on a child care or early
14 childhood education provider that does not deliver services
15 under a school readiness program or receive state or federal
16 funds under this section.
17 2. To administer powers and duties assigned to the
18 Department of Education or a regional child development board
19 under part V of chapter 1002.
20 (h)(m) The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
21 Partnership for School Readiness shall have a budget for the
22 school readiness system, which and shall be financed through
23 an annual appropriation made for purposes of this section
24 purpose in the General Appropriations Act.
25 (i)(n) The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the
26 advice of the Florida Child Development Advisory Council,
27 partnership shall coordinate the efforts toward school
28 readiness in this state and provide independent policy
29 analyses and recommendations to the Governor, the State Board
30 of Education, and the Legislature.
31 (j)(o) Each regional child development board's The
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1 partnership shall prepare and submit to the State Board of
2 Education a system for measuring school readiness program. The
3 system must, at a minimum, enhance the age-appropriate
4 progress of each child in the development of include a uniform
5 screening, which shall provide objective data regarding the
6 following expectations for school readiness skills which shall
7 include, at a minimum:
8 1. The child's immunizations and other health
9 requirements as necessary, including appropriate vision and
10 hearing screening and examinations.
11 2. The child's physical development.
12 1.3. The child's Compliance with rules, limitations,
13 and routines.
14 2.4. The child's Ability to perform tasks.
15 3.5. The child's Interactions with adults.
16 4.6. The child's Interactions with peers.
17 5.7. The child's Ability to cope with challenges.
18 6.8. The child's Self-help skills.
19 7.9. The child's Ability to express the child's his or
20 her needs.
21 8.10. The child's Verbal communication skills.
22 9.11. The child's Problem-solving skills.
23 10.12. The child's Following of verbal directions.
24 11.13. The child's Demonstration of curiosity,
25 persistence, and exploratory behavior.
26 12.14. The child's Interest in books and other printed
27 materials.
28 13.15. The child's Paying attention to stories.
29 14.16. The child's Participation in art and music
30 activities.
31 15.17. The child's Ability to identify colors,
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1 geometric shapes, letters of the alphabet, numbers, and
2 spatial and temporal relationships.
3
4 Each regional child development board shall also require that,
5 before a child is enrolled in the board's school readiness
6 program, information must first be obtained regarding the
7 child's immunizations, physical development, and other health
8 requirements as necessary, including appropriate vision and
9 hearing screening and examinations.
10 (p) The partnership shall prepare a plan for
11 implementing the system for measuring school readiness in such
12 a way that all children in this state will undergo the uniform
13 screening established by the partnership when they enter
14 kindergarten. Children who enter public school for the first
15 time in first grade must undergo a uniform screening approved
16 by the partnership for use in first grade. Because children
17 with disabilities may not be able to meet all of the
18 identified expectations for school readiness, the plan for
19 measuring school readiness shall incorporate mechanisms for
20 recognizing the potential variations in expectations for
21 school readiness when serving children with disabilities and
22 shall provide for communities to serve children with
23 disabilities.
24 (k)(q) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
25 shall conduct studies and planning activities related to the
26 overall improvement and effectiveness of the outcome school
27 readiness measures adopted by the agency for school readiness
28 programs.
29 (l) The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the
30 advice of the Florida Child Development Advisory Council,
31 shall adopt and administer a quality-assurance system. The
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1 Agency for Workforce Innovation shall use the
2 quality-assurance system to monitor and evaluate the
3 performance of each regional child development board in
4 administering the school readiness program and implementing
5 the board's school readiness plan. The quality-assurance
6 system must include, at a minimum, onsite monitoring of each
7 board's finances, management, operations, and programs.
8 (m) The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the
9 advice of the Florida Child Development Advisory Council,
10 shall identify best practices of regional child development
11 boards in order to improve the outcomes of school readiness
12 programs.
13 (r) The partnership shall establish procedures for
14 performance-based budgeting in school readiness programs.
15 (n)(s) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
16 shall submit an annual report of its activities conducted
17 under this section to the Governor, the executive director of
18 the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, the President of the
19 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
20 minority leaders of both houses of the Legislature. In
21 addition, the Agency for Workforce Innovation's partnership's
22 reports and recommendations shall be made available to the
23 State Board of Education, the Florida Child Development
24 Advisory Council, other appropriate state agencies and
25 entities, district school boards, central agencies for child
26 care, and county health departments. The annual report must
27 provide an analysis of school readiness activities across the
28 state, including the number of children who were served in the
29 programs and the number of children who were ready for school.
30 (o)(t) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
31 shall work with regional child development boards school
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1 readiness coalitions to increase parents' training for and
2 involvement in their children's preschool education and to
3 provide family literacy activities and programs.
4
5 To ensure that the system for measuring school readiness is
6 comprehensive and appropriate statewide, as the system is
7 developed and implemented, the partnership must consult with
8 representatives of district school systems, providers of
9 public and private child care, health care providers, large
10 and small employers, experts in education for children with
11 disabilities, and experts in child development.
12 (5) CREATION OF REGIONAL CHILD DEVELOPMENT BOARDS
13 SCHOOL READINESS COALITIONS.--
14 (a) Regional child development boards School readiness
15 coalitions.--
16 1. The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the
17 advice of the Florida Child Development Advisory Council
18 created under s. 1002.73, shall establish the minimum number
19 of children to be served by each regional child development
20 board through the board's school readiness program. The Agency
21 for Workforce Innovation may only approve school readiness
22 plans in accordance with this minimum number. The minimum
23 number must be uniform for every regional child development
24 board and must:
25 a. Permit 30 or fewer boards to be established; and
26 b. Require each board to serve at least 2,000 children
27 based upon the average number of all children served per month
28 through the board's school readiness program during the
29 previous 12 months.
30
31 The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt procedures for
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1 the merger of regional child development boards, including
2 procedures for the consolidation of merging boards and for the
3 early termination of the terms of board members, which are
4 necessary to accomplish the mergers. Each regional child
5 development board must comply with the merger procedures and
6 shall be organized in accordance with this subparagraph by
7 January 1, 2005. By June 30, 2005, each board must complete
8 the transfer of powers, duties, functions, rules, records,
9 personnel, property, and unexpended balances of
10 appropriations, allocations, and other funds to the successor
11 board, if applicable.
12 2.1. If a regional child development board coalition's
13 plan would serve fewer less than 400 birth-to-kindergarten age
14 children than the minimum number established under
15 subparagraph 1., the board coalition must either join with
16 another county to form a multicounty board coalition, enter an
17 agreement with a fiscal agent to serve more than one
18 coalition, or demonstrate to the partnership its ability to
19 effectively and efficiently implement its plan as a
20 single-county coalition and meet all required performance
21 standards and outcome measures.
22 3. Each regional child development board shall be
23 composed of at least 18 members but not more than 35 members.
24 The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the advice of the
25 Florida Child Development Advisory Council, shall adopt
26 standards establishing within this range the minimum and
27 maximum number of members that may be appointed to a regional
28 child development board. These standards shall include
29 variations for a board serving a multicounty region. Each
30 regional child development board must comply with these
31 standards.
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1 4. The Governor shall appoint the chair and two other
2 members of each regional child development board, who must
3 each meet the same qualifications as private-sector business
4 members appointed by the board under subparagraph 6.
5 5.2. Each regional child development board coalition
6 shall have at least 18 but not more than 25 members and such
7 members must include the following members:
8 a. A Department of Children and Family Services
9 district administrator or his or her designee who is
10 authorized to make decisions on behalf of the department.
11 b. A district superintendent of schools or his or her
12 designee who is authorized to make decisions on behalf of the
13 district.
14 c. A regional workforce development board executive
15 chair or director or his or her designee, where applicable.
16 d. A county health department director or his or her
17 designee.
18 e. A children's services council or juvenile welfare
19 board chair or executive director, if applicable.
20 f. An agency head of a local child care licensing
21 agency as defined in s. 402.302, where applicable head.
22 g. A president of a community college or his or her
23 designee.
24 g. One member appointed by a Department of Children
25 and Family Services district administrator.
26 h. One member appointed by a board of county
27 commissioners.
28 i. One member appointed by a district school board.
29 i.j. A central child care agency administrator, where
30 applicable.
31 j.k. A Head Start director.
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1 k.l. A representative of private child care providers,
2 including family day care homes.
3 l.m. A representative of faith-based child care
4 providers.
5 m. A representative of programs for children with
6 disabilities under the federal Individuals with Disabilities
7 Education Act.
8 6. Including the members appointed by the Governor
9 under subparagraph 4., more than one-third of the coalition
10 members of each regional child development board must be
11 private-sector business members who do not have, and none of
12 whose relatives as defined in s. 112.3143 has, a substantial
13 financial interest in the design or delivery of the Voluntary
14 Prekindergarten Education Program created under part V of
15 chapter 1002 or the board's school readiness program from the
16 private sector, and neither they nor their families may earn
17 an income from the early education and child care industry. To
18 meet this requirement a regional child development board
19 coalition must appoint additional members from a list of
20 nominees submitted presented to the board coalition by a
21 chamber of commerce or economic development council within the
22 geographic region served by area of the board coalition. The
23 Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt criteria for the
24 appointment of private-sector business members. These criteria
25 must include standards for determining whether a member or
26 relative has a substantial financial interest in the design or
27 delivery of the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program or
28 the board's school readiness program.
29 7.3. A No member of a regional child development board
30 coalition may not appoint a designee to act in his or her
31 place. A member may send a representative to board coalition
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1 meetings, but that representative does not will have no voting
2 privileges. When a district superintendent of schools or a
3 district administrator for the Department of Children and
4 Family Services appoints a designee to a regional child
5 development board school readiness coalition, the designee is
6 will be the voting member of the board coalition, and any
7 individual attending in the designee's his or her place,
8 including the district administrator or superintendent, does
9 not will have no voting privileges.
10 8.4. Each member Members of a regional child
11 development board is the coalition are subject to s. 112.313,
12 s. 112.3135, and s. 112.3143 the ethics provisions in part III
13 of chapter 112. For purposes of s. 112.3143(3)(a), each member
14 is a local public officer who must abstain from voting when a
15 voting conflict exists.
16 9.5. For the purposes of tort liability, each member
17 or employee of a regional child development board the members
18 of the school readiness coalition and its employees shall be
19 governed by s. 768.28.
20 10.6. A regional child development board serving a
21 multicounty region coalitions shall include representation
22 from each county.
23 11.7. Each regional child development board shall
24 establish The terms for of all appointed members of the board.
25 The terms coalition must be staggered and must be a uniform
26 length that does not exceed 4 years per term. Appointed
27 members may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. When a
28 vacancy occurs in an appointed position, the board coalition
29 must advertise the vacancy.
30 (b) Program participation.--The school readiness
31 program shall be established for children younger than from
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1 birth to 5 years of age or until the child enters kindergarten
2 eligibility as defined in s. 1002.51. The program shall be
3 administered by the regional child development board school
4 readiness coalition. Within funding limitations, the regional
5 child development board school readiness coalition, along with
6 all providers, shall make reasonable efforts to accommodate
7 the needs of children for extended-day and extended-year
8 services without compromising the quality of the program.
9 (c) Program expectations.--
10 1. The school readiness program must meet the
11 following expectations:
12 a. The program must, at a minimum, enhance the
13 age-appropriate progress of each child in the development of
14 the school readiness skills required under paragraph (4)(j)
15 prepare preschool children to enter kindergarten ready to
16 learn, as measured by the performance standards and outcome
17 measures adopted criteria established by the Agency for
18 Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School Readiness.
19 b. The program must provide extended-day and
20 extended-year services to the maximum extent possible to meet
21 the needs of parents who work.
22 c. There must be coordinated staff development and
23 teaching opportunities.
24 d. There must be expanded access to community services
25 and resources for families to help achieve economic
26 self-sufficiency.
27 e. There must be a single point of entry and unified
28 waiting list. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the term
29 "single point of entry" means an integrated information system
30 that allows a parent to enroll his or her child in the school
31 readiness program at various locations throughout the county
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1 or multicounty region served by a regional child development
2 board, that may allow a parent to enroll his or her child by
3 telephone or through an Internet website, and that uses a
4 unified waiting list to track eligible children waiting for
5 enrollment in the school readiness program. The Agency for
6 Workforce Innovation shall establish a single statewide
7 information system that integrates each regional child
8 development board's single point of entry, and each board must
9 use the statewide system.
10 f. The Agency for Workforce Innovation must consider
11 the access of eligible children to the school readiness
12 program, as demonstrated in part by waiting lists, before
13 approving a proposed increase in payment rates submitted by a
14 regional child development board.
15 f. As long as funding or eligible populations do not
16 decrease, the program must serve at least as many children as
17 were served prior to implementation of the program.
18 g. There must be a community plan to address the needs
19 of all eligible children.
20 h. The program must meet all state licensing
21 guidelines, where applicable.
22 2. The regional child development board school
23 readiness coalition must implement a comprehensive program of
24 school readiness services that enhance the cognitive, social,
25 and physical development of children to achieve the
26 performance standards and outcome measures adopted specified
27 by the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership. At a
28 minimum, these programs must contain the following elements:
29 a. Developmentally appropriate curriculum designed to
30 enhance the age-appropriate progress of children in attaining
31 the performance standards adopted by the Agency for Workforce
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1 Innovation under subparagraph (4)(d)8.
2 b. A character development program to develop basic
3 values.
4 c. An age-appropriate assessment of each child's
5 development.
6 d. A pretest administered to children when they enter
7 a program and a posttest administered to children when they
8 leave the program.
9 e. An appropriate staff-to-children staff-to-child
10 ratio.
11 f. A healthy healthful and safe environment.
12 g. A resource and referral network to assist parents
13 in making an informed choice.
14 (d) Implementation.--
15 1. A regional child development board may not
16 implement the school readiness program is to be phased in.
17 until the board is authorized coalition implements its plan,
18 the county shall continue to receive the services identified
19 in subsection (3) through the various agencies that would be
20 responsible for delivering those services under current law.
21 Plan implementation is subject to approval of the board's
22 school readiness coalition and the plan by the Agency for
23 Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School Readiness.
24 2. Each regional child development board school
25 readiness coalition shall develop a plan for implementing the
26 school readiness program to meet the requirements of this
27 section and the performance standards and outcome measures
28 adopted established by the Agency for Workforce Innovation
29 partnership. The plan must include a written description of
30 the role of the program in the coalition's effort to meet the
31 first state education goal, readiness to start school,
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1 including a description of the plan to involve the
2 prekindergarten early intervention programs, Head Start
3 Programs, programs offered by public or private providers of
4 child care, preschool programs for children with disabilities,
5 programs for migrant children, Title I programs, subsidized
6 child care programs, and teen parent programs. The plan must
7 also demonstrate how the program will ensure that each
8 3-year-old and 4-year-old child in a publicly funded school
9 readiness program receives scheduled activities and
10 instruction designed to enhance the age-appropriate progress
11 of the prepare children in attaining the performance standards
12 adopted by the Agency for Workforce Innovation under
13 subparagraph (4)(d)8 to enter kindergarten ready to learn.
14 Before Prior to implementation of the school readiness
15 program, the regional child development board school readiness
16 coalition must submit the plan to the Agency for Workforce
17 Innovation partnership for approval. The Agency for Workforce
18 Innovation partnership may approve the plan, reject the plan,
19 or approve the plan with conditions. The Agency for Workforce
20 Innovation Florida Partnership for School Readiness shall
21 review school readiness coalition plans at least annually.
22 3. If the Agency for Workforce Innovation determines
23 during the annual review of school readiness plans, or through
24 monitoring and performance evaluations conducted under the
25 quality-assurance system, that a regional child development
26 board has not substantially implemented its plan or has not
27 substantially met the performance standards and outcome
28 measures adopted by the agency, the Agency for Workforce
29 Innovation may reject the board's plan and contract with a
30 qualified entity to continue school readiness services in the
31 board's county or multicounty region until the board is
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1 reestablished through resubmission of a school readiness plan
2 and approval by the agency.
3 4.3. The Agency for Workforce Innovation, with the
4 advice of the Florida Child Development Advisory Council,
5 shall adopt criteria for the approval of school readiness
6 plans. The criteria must be consistent with the performance
7 standards and outcome measures adopted by the agency and must
8 require each approved plan to for the school readiness program
9 must include the following minimum standards and provisions:
10 a. A sliding fee scale establishing a copayment for
11 parents based upon their ability to pay, which is the same for
12 all program providers, to be implemented and reflected in each
13 program's budget.
14 b. A choice of settings and locations in licensed,
15 registered, religious-exempt, or school-based programs to be
16 provided to parents.
17 c. Instructional staff who have completed the training
18 course as required in s. 402.305(2)(d)1., as well as staff who
19 have additional training or credentials as required by the
20 Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership. The plan must
21 provide a method for assuring the qualifications of all
22 personnel in all program settings.
23 d. Specific eligibility priorities for children within
24 the regional child development board's coalition's county or
25 multicounty region in accordance with pursuant to subsection
26 (6).
27 e. Performance standards and outcome measures adopted
28 established by the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
29 or alternatively, standards and outcome measures to be used
30 until such time as the partnership adopts such standards and
31 outcome measures.
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1 f. Payment Reimbursement rates adopted that have been
2 developed by the regional child development board and approved
3 by the Agency for Workforce Innovation coalition. Payment
4 Reimbursement rates shall not have the effect of limiting
5 parental choice or creating standards or levels of services
6 that have not been authorized by the Legislature.
7 g. Systems support services, including a central
8 agency, child care resource and referral, eligibility
9 determinations, training of providers, and parent support and
10 involvement.
11 h. Direct enhancement services to families and
12 children. System support and direct enhancement services shall
13 be in addition to payments for the placement of children in
14 school readiness programs.
15 i. The A business organization of the regional child
16 development board plan, which must include the board's
17 articles of incorporation and bylaws if the board is organized
18 as a corporation. If the board is not organized as a
19 corporation or other business entity, the plan must include
20 the contract with a fiscal school readiness agent if the
21 coalition is not a legally established corporate entity. A
22 regional child development board Coalitions may contract with
23 other regional child development boards coalitions to achieve
24 efficiency in multicounty multiple-county services, and these
25 such contracts may be part of the board's school readiness
26 coalition's business plan.
27 j. Strategies to meet the needs of unique populations,
28 such as migrant workers.
29
30 As part of the school readiness plan, the regional child
31 development board coalition may request the Governor to apply
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1 for a waiver to allow the board coalition to administer the
2 Head Start Program to accomplish the purposes of the school
3 readiness program. If a any school readiness plan
4 demonstrates can demonstrate that specific statutory goals may
5 can be achieved more effectively by using procedures that
6 require modification of existing rules, policies, or
7 procedures, a request for a waiver to the Agency for Workforce
8 Innovation partnership may be submitted made as part of the
9 plan. Upon review, the Agency for Workforce Innovation
10 partnership may grant the proposed modification.
11 5.4. Persons with an early childhood teaching
12 certificate may provide support and supervision to other staff
13 in the school readiness program.
14 6.5. A regional child development board The coalition
15 may not implement its school readiness plan until the board it
16 submits the plan to and receives approval from the Agency for
17 Workforce Innovation partnership. Once the plan is has been
18 approved, the plan and the services provided under the plan
19 shall be controlled by the regional child development board
20 coalition rather than by the state agencies or departments.
21 The plan shall be reviewed and revised as necessary, but at
22 least biennially. A regional child development board may not
23 implement the revisions until the board submits the revised
24 plan to and receives approval from the Agency for Workforce
25 Innovation. If the Agency for Workforce Innovation rejects a
26 revised plan, the board must continue to operate under its
27 prior approved plan.
28 7.6. Sections The following statutes will not apply to
29 local coalitions with approved plans: ss. 125.901(2)(a)3.,
30 411.221, and 411.232 do not apply to a regional child
31 development board with an approved school readiness plan. To
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1 facilitate innovative practices and to allow the regional
2 local establishment of school readiness programs, a regional
3 child development board school readiness coalition may apply
4 to the Governor and Cabinet for a waiver of, and the Governor
5 and Cabinet may waive, any of the provisions of ss. 411.223,
6 411.232, and 1003.54, if the waiver is necessary for
7 implementation of the board's coalition's school readiness
8 plan.
9 8.7. Two or more counties may join for purposes the
10 purpose of planning and implementing a school readiness
11 program.
12 9.8. A regional child development board coalition may,
13 subject to approval by of the Agency for Workforce Innovation
14 partnership as part of the board's school readiness
15 coalition's plan, receive subsidized child care funds for all
16 children eligible for any federal subsidized child care
17 program and be the provider of the program services.
18 10.9. A regional child development board may
19 Coalitions are authorized to enter into multiparty contracts
20 with multicounty service providers in order to meet the needs
21 of unique populations such as migrant workers.
22 (e) Requests for proposals; payment schedule.--
23 1. At least once every 3 years, beginning July 1,
24 2001, Each regional child development board coalition must
25 comply with follow the competitive procurement requirements of
26 s. 287.057 for the procurement of commodities or contractual
27 services from the funds described in paragraph (9)(d) school
28 readiness programs. The period of a contract for purchase of
29 these commodities or contractual services, together with any
30 renewal of the original contract, may not exceed 3 years.
31 2. Each regional child development board coalition
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1 shall adopt develop a payment schedule that encompasses all
2 programs funded by the board under this section that
3 coalition. The payment schedule must take into consideration
4 the relevant market rate, must include the projected number of
5 children to be served, and must be submitted for approval by
6 to the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership for
7 information. Informal child care arrangements shall be
8 reimbursed at not more than 50 percent of the rate developed
9 for a family day care home childcare.
10 (f) Requirements relating to fiscal agents.--If a
11 regional child development board the local coalition is not a
12 legally organized as a corporation or other business
13 established corporate entity, the board coalition must
14 designate a fiscal agent, which may be a public entity, or a
15 private nonprofit organization, or a certified public
16 accountant who holds a license under chapter 473. The fiscal
17 agent must shall be required to provide financial and
18 administrative services under pursuant to a contract or
19 agreement with the regional child development board school
20 readiness coalition. The fiscal agent may not provide direct
21 early childhood education or child care services; however, a
22 fiscal agent may provide those such services upon written
23 request of the regional child development board coalition to
24 the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership and upon the
25 approval of the such request by the agency partnership. The
26 cost of the financial and administrative services shall be
27 negotiated between the fiscal agent and the regional child
28 development board school readiness coalition. If the fiscal
29 agent is a provider of early childhood education and child
30 care programs, the contract must specify that the fiscal agent
31 shall will act on policy direction from the regional child
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1 development board coalition and must will not receive policy
2 direction from its own corporate board regarding disbursal of
3 the regional child development board's coalition funds. The
4 fiscal agent shall disburse funds in accordance with the
5 regional child development board's approved coalition school
6 readiness plan and based on billing and disbursement
7 procedures approved by the Agency for Workforce Innovation
8 partnership. The fiscal agent must conform to all
9 data-reporting requirements established by the Agency for
10 Workforce Innovation partnership.
11 (g) Evaluation and annual report.--Each regional child
12 development board school readiness coalition shall conduct an
13 evaluation of the effectiveness of the school readiness
14 program, including performance standards and outcome measures,
15 and shall provide an annual report and fiscal statement to the
16 Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
17 Readiness. This report must conform to the content and format
18 specifications set by the Agency for Workforce Innovation
19 Florida Partnership for School Readiness. The Agency for
20 Workforce Innovation partnership must include an analysis of
21 the regional child development board's coalition reports in
22 the agency's its annual report.
23 (6) PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.--Each regional child
24 development board's The school readiness program shall be
25 established for children younger than under the age of
26 kindergarten eligibility as defined in s. 1002.51. Priority
27 for participation in the school readiness program shall be
28 given to children age 3 years to school entry who are served
29 by the Family Safety Program Office of the Department of
30 Children and Family Services or a community-based lead agency
31 under pursuant to chapter 39 and for whom child care is needed
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 to minimize risk of further abuse, neglect, or abandonment.
2 Other eligible populations include children who meet one or
3 more of the following criteria:
4 (a) Children under the age of kindergarten eligibility
5 who are:
6 1. Children determined to be at risk of abuse,
7 neglect, or exploitation who are currently clients of the
8 Family Safety Program Office of the Department of Children and
9 Family Services, but who are not otherwise given priority
10 under this subsection.
11 2.1. Children at risk of welfare dependency, including
12 economically disadvantaged children, children of participants
13 in the welfare transition program, children of migrant
14 farmworkers, and children of teen parents.
15 3.2. Children of working families whose family income
16 does not exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
17 4.3. Children for whom the state is paying a relative
18 caregiver payment under s. 39.5085.
19 (b) Three-year-old children and 4-year-old children
20 who may not be economically disadvantaged but who have
21 disabilities, have been served in a specific part-time or
22 combination of part-time exceptional education programs with
23 required special services, aids, or equipment, and were
24 previously reported for funding part time with the Florida
25 Education Finance Program as exceptional students.
26 (c) Economically disadvantaged children, children with
27 disabilities, and children at risk of future school failure,
28 from birth to 4 years of age, who are served at home through
29 home visitor programs and intensive parent education programs
30 such as the Florida First Start Program.
31 (d) Children who meet federal and state eligibility
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 requirements for eligibility for the migrant preschool program
2 but who do not meet the criteria of economically
3 disadvantaged.
4
5 As used in this subsection, the term An "economically
6 disadvantaged" child means a child whose family income does
7 not exceed is below 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
8 Notwithstanding any change in a family's economic status, but
9 subject to additional family contributions in accordance with
10 the sliding fee scale, a child who meets the eligibility
11 requirements upon initial registration for the program remains
12 shall be considered eligible until the child reaches
13 kindergarten eligibility as defined in s. 1002.51 age.
14 (7) PARENTAL CHOICE.--
15 (a) The school readiness program shall provide
16 parental choice through pursuant to a purchase service order
17 that ensures, to the maximum extent possible, flexibility in
18 school readiness programs and payment arrangements. According
19 to federal regulations requiring parental choice, a parent may
20 choose an informal child care arrangement. The purchase order
21 must bear the name of the beneficiary and the program provider
22 and, when redeemed, must bear the signature of both the
23 beneficiary and an authorized representative of the provider.
24 (b) If it is determined that a provider has provided
25 any cash to the beneficiary in return for receiving the
26 purchase order, the regional child development board coalition
27 or its fiscal agent shall refer the matter to the Division of
28 Public Assistance Fraud for investigation.
29 (c) The office of the Chief Financial Officer shall
30 establish an electronic transfer system for the disbursement
31 of funds in accordance with this subsection. Each regional
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 child development board School readiness coalitions shall
2 fully implement the electronic funds transfer system within 2
3 years after plan approval of the board's school readiness
4 plan, unless a waiver is obtained from the Agency for
5 Workforce Innovation partnership.
6 (8) STANDARDS; OUTCOME MEASURES.--All publicly funded
7 school readiness programs must shall be required to meet the
8 performance standards and outcome measures adopted developed
9 and approved by the Agency for Workforce Innovation
10 partnership. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall consult
11 with the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
12 Accountability shall provide consultation to the partnership
13 in the development of the measures and standards. These
14 performance standards and outcome measures shall apply be
15 applicable on a statewide basis.
16 (9) FUNDING; SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM.--
17 (a) It is the intent of this section to establish an
18 integrated and quality seamless service delivery system for
19 all publicly funded early childhood education and child care
20 programs operating in this state.
21 (b) Notwithstanding s. 20.50:
22 1. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall
23 administer school readiness funds, plans, and policies
24 pursuant to the contract with the Florida Partnership for
25 School Readiness and shall prepare and submit a unified budget
26 request for the school readiness system program in accordance
27 with chapter 216.
28 2. All instructions to regional child development
29 boards for the administration of this section local school
30 readiness coalitions shall emanate from the Agency for
31 Workforce Innovation in accordance with the pursuant to
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 policies of the Legislature, plans of the Florida Partnership
2 for School Readiness, and the contract between the Florida
3 Partnership for School Readiness and the agency.
4 (c) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt
5 prepare a formula plan that provides for the allocation among
6 the regional child development boards distribution and
7 expenditure of all state and federal school readiness funds
8 for children participating in public or private school
9 readiness programs based upon an equity and performance
10 funding formula. The allocation formula must plan shall be
11 submitted to the Governor and the Legislative Budget
12 Commission. Upon approval, the Legislative Budget Commission
13 shall authorize the transfer of funds to the Agency for
14 Workforce Innovation to distribute funds for distribution in
15 accordance with the allocation provisions of the formula. For
16 fiscal year 2004-2005, the Agency for Workforce Innovation
17 shall allocate funds to the regional child development boards
18 consistent with the fiscal year 2003-2004 funding allocations
19 to the local school readiness coalitions.
20 (d) All state funds budgeted for a county for the
21 programs specified in subsection (3), along with the pro rata
22 share of the state administrative costs of those programs in
23 the amount as determined by the partnership, all federal,
24 funds and required local maintenance-of-effort or matching
25 funds provided to a regional child development board for a
26 county for programs specified in subsection (3), and any
27 additional funds appropriated or obtained for purposes of this
28 section, shall be used by transferred for the benefit of the
29 board coalition for implementation of its school readiness
30 plan, including the hiring of staff to effectively operate the
31 board's coalition's school readiness program. As part of plan
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 approval and periodic plan review, the Agency for Workforce
2 Innovation partnership shall require that administrative costs
3 be kept to the minimum necessary for efficient and effective
4 administration of the school readiness plan, but total
5 administrative expenditures must shall not exceed 5 percent
6 unless specifically waived by the Agency for Workforce
7 Innovation partnership. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
8 partnership shall annually report to the Legislature any
9 problems relating to administrative costs.
10 (e) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
11 shall annually distribute, to a maximum extent practicable,
12 all eligible funds provided under this section as block grants
13 to the regional child development boards. assist coalitions in
14 integrating services and funding to develop a quality service
15 delivery system. Subject to appropriation, the partnership may
16 also provide financial awards to coalitions demonstrating
17 success in merging and integrating funding streams to serve
18 children and school readiness programs.
19 (f) State funds appropriated for the school readiness
20 program may not be used for the construction of new facilities
21 or the purchase of buses. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
22 partnership shall present to the Legislature recommendations
23 for providing necessary transportation services for school
24 readiness programs.
25 (g) All cost savings and all revenues received through
26 a mandatory sliding fee scale shall be used to help fund each
27 regional child development board's the local school readiness
28 program.
29 (10) UNAUTHORIZED TRANSFERS.--Notwithstanding any
30 other law to the contrary, the Agency for Workforce Innovation
31 may not transfer to the Department of Education, through an
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 interagency agreement or through any other means, any of the
2 agency's powers, duties, functions, rules, records, personnel,
3 property, or unexpended balances of appropriations,
4 allocations, or other funds, any of which have been or which
5 may be authorized for administration of s. 402.25, s. 402.27,
6 s. 402.3016, s. 402.3017, s. 402.3018, s. 402.3051, s.
7 409.178, or this section, without specific legislative
8 authority by express reference to this subsection.
9 (10) SCHOOL READINESS UNIFORM SCREENING.--The
10 Department of Education shall implement a school readiness
11 uniform screening, including a pilot program during the
12 2001-2002 school year, to validate the system recommended by
13 the Florida Partnership for School Readiness as part of a
14 comprehensive evaluation design. Beginning with the 2002-2003
15 school year, the department shall require that all school
16 districts administer the school readiness uniform screening to
17 each kindergarten student in the district school system upon
18 the student's entry into kindergarten. Children who enter
19 public school for the first time in first grade must undergo a
20 uniform screening adopted for use in first grade. The
21 department shall incorporate school readiness data into the
22 K-20 data warehouse for longitudinal tracking. Notwithstanding
23 s. 1002.22, the department shall provide the partnership and
24 the Agency for Workforce Innovation with complete and full
25 access to kindergarten uniform screening data at the student,
26 school, district, and state levels in a format that will
27 enable the partnership and the agency to prepare reports
28 needed by state policymakers and local school readiness
29 coalitions to access progress toward school readiness goals
30 and provide input for continuous improvement of local school
31 readiness services and programs.
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 (11) REPORTS.--The Office of Program Policy Analysis
2 and Government Accountability shall assess the implementation,
3 efficiency, and outcomes of the school readiness program and
4 report its findings to the President of the Senate and the
5 Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 1, 2002.
6 Subsequent reviews shall be conducted at the direction of the
7 Joint Legislative Auditing Committee.
8 (11)(12) CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.--In the event of a
9 conflict between the provisions of this section and federal
10 requirements, the federal requirements shall control.
11 (12)(13) PLACEMENTS.--Notwithstanding any other
12 provision of this section to the contrary, and for fiscal year
13 2003-2004 only, the first children to be placed in the school
14 readiness program shall be those from families receiving
15 temporary cash assistance and subject to federal work
16 requirements. Subsequent placements shall be made in
17 accordance with subsection (6) pursuant to the provisions of
18 this section. This subsection expires July 1, 2004.
19 Section 3. Effective July 1, 2004, paragraph (a) of
20 subsection (3) of section 11.45, Florida Statutes, is amended
21 to read:
22 11.45 Definitions; duties; authorities; reports;
23 rules.--
24 (3) AUTHORITY FOR AUDITS AND OTHER ENGAGEMENTS.--
25 (a) The Auditor General may, by pursuant to his or her
26 own authority, or at the direction of the Legislative Auditing
27 Committee, conduct audits or other engagements as determined
28 appropriate by the Auditor General of:
29 1. The accounts and records of any governmental entity
30 created or established by law.
31 2. The information technology programs, activities,
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 functions, or systems of any governmental entity created or
2 established by law.
3 3. The accounts and records of any charter school
4 created or established by law.
5 4. The accounts and records of any direct-support
6 organization or citizen support organization created or
7 established by law. The Auditor General may is authorized to
8 require and receive any records from the direct-support
9 organization or citizen support organization, or from its
10 independent auditor.
11 5. The public records associated with any
12 appropriation made by the General Appropriations Act to a
13 nongovernmental agency, corporation, or person. All records of
14 a nongovernmental agency, corporation, or person for with
15 respect to the receipt and expenditure of the such an
16 appropriation are shall be public records and shall be treated
17 in the same manner as other public records are under general
18 law.
19 6. State financial assistance provided to any nonstate
20 entity.
21 7. The Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation
22 created under pursuant to s. 215.56005.
23 8. The Florida Virtual School created under pursuant
24 to s. 1002.37.
25 9. Any purchases of federal surplus lands for use as
26 sites for correctional facilities as described in s. 253.037.
27 10. Enterprise Florida, Inc., including any of its
28 boards, advisory committees, or similar groups created by
29 Enterprise Florida, Inc., and programs. The audit report may
30 not reveal the identity of any person who has anonymously made
31 a donation to Enterprise Florida, Inc., under pursuant to this
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 subparagraph. The identity of a donor or prospective donor to
2 Enterprise Florida, Inc., who desires to remain anonymous and
3 all information identifying the such donor or prospective
4 donor are confidential and exempt from the provisions of s.
5 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. The
6 Such anonymity shall be maintained in the auditor's report.
7 11. The Florida Development Finance Corporation or the
8 capital development board or the programs or entities created
9 by the board. The audit or report may not reveal the identity
10 of any person who has anonymously made a donation to the board
11 under pursuant to this subparagraph. The identity of a donor
12 or prospective donor to the board who desires to remain
13 anonymous and all information identifying the such donor or
14 prospective donor are confidential and exempt from the
15 provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
16 Constitution. The Such anonymity shall be maintained in the
17 auditor's report.
18 12. The records pertaining to the use of funds from
19 voluntary contributions on a motor vehicle registration
20 application or on a driver's license application authorized
21 under pursuant to ss. 320.023 and 322.081.
22 13. The records pertaining to the use of funds from
23 the sale of specialty license plates described in chapter 320.
24 14. The transportation corporations under contract
25 with the Department of Transportation that are acting on
26 behalf of the state to secure and obtain rights-of-way for
27 urgently needed transportation systems and to assist in the
28 planning and design of the such systems under pursuant to ss.
29 339.401-339.421.
30 15. The acquisitions and divestitures related to the
31 Florida Communities Trust Program created under pursuant to
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 chapter 380.
2 16. The Florida Water Pollution Control Financing
3 Corporation created under pursuant to s. 403.1837.
4 17. The school readiness system, including the
5 regional child development boards, Florida Partnership for
6 School Readiness created under pursuant to s. 411.01.
7 18. The Florida Special Disability Trust Fund
8 Financing Corporation created under pursuant to s. 440.49.
9 19. Workforce Florida, Inc., or the programs or
10 entities created by Workforce Florida, Inc., created under
11 pursuant to s. 445.004.
12 20. The corporation defined in s. 455.32 which that is
13 under contract with the Department of Business and
14 Professional Regulation to provide administrative,
15 investigative, examination, licensing, and prosecutorial
16 support services in accordance with the provisions of s.
17 455.32 and the practice act of the relevant profession.
18 21. The Florida Engineers Management Corporation
19 created under pursuant to chapter 471.
20 22. The Investment Fraud Restoration Financing
21 Corporation created under pursuant to chapter 517.
22 23. The books and records of any permitholder that
23 conducts race meetings or jai alai exhibitions under chapter
24 550.
25 24. The corporation defined in part II of chapter 946,
26 cited known as the Prison Rehabilitative Industries and
27 Diversified Enterprises, Inc., or PRIDE Enterprises.
28 Section 4. Subsection (6) of section 20.15, Florida
29 Statutes, is amended to read:
30 20.15 Department of Education.--There is created a
31 Department of Education.
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 (6) COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES.--Notwithstanding any
2 anything contained in law to the contrary, the commissioner
3 shall appoint all members of all councils and committees of
4 the Department of Education, except for the Commission for
5 Independent Education, and the Education Practices Commission,
6 and the Florida Child Development Advisory Council.
7 Section 5. Effective July 1, 2004, subsection (2) of
8 section 20.50, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
9 20.50 Agency for Workforce Innovation.--There is
10 created the Agency for Workforce Innovation within the
11 Department of Management Services. The agency shall be a
12 separate budget entity, and the director of the agency shall
13 be the agency head for all purposes. The agency shall not be
14 subject to control, supervision, or direction by the
15 Department of Management Services in any manner, including,
16 but not limited to, personnel, purchasing, transactions
17 involving real or personal property, and budgetary matters.
18 (2) The Agency for Workforce Innovation is shall be
19 the designated administrative agency designated for receipt of
20 federal workforce development grants and other federal funds.
21 The agency, and shall administer carry out the duties and
22 responsibilities assigned by the Governor under each federal
23 grant assigned to the agency. The agency shall be a separate
24 budget entity and shall expend each revenue source as provided
25 by federal and state law and as provided in plans developed by
26 and agreements with Workforce Florida, Inc. The agency shall
27 prepare and submit as a separate budget entity a unified
28 budget request for workforce development, in accordance with
29 chapter 216 for, and in conjunction with, Workforce Florida,
30 Inc., and its board. The head of the agency is the director of
31 Workforce Innovation, who shall be appointed by the Governor.
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 The accountability and reporting functions of the agency shall
2 be administered by the director or his or her designee.
3 Included in These functions shall include are budget
4 management, financial management, audit, performance
5 management standards and controls, assessing outcomes of
6 service delivery, and financial administration of workforce
7 programs under pursuant to s. 445.004(5) and (9). Within the
8 agency's overall organizational structure, The agency shall
9 include the following offices within its organizational
10 structure, which shall have the specified responsibilities:
11 (a) The Office of Workforce Services shall administer
12 the unemployment compensation program, the Rapid Response
13 program, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program, the Alien
14 Labor Certification program, and any other programs that are
15 delivered directly by agency staff rather than through the
16 one-stop delivery system. The office shall be directed by the
17 Deputy Director for Workforce Services, who shall be appointed
18 by and serve at the pleasure of the director.
19 (b) The Office of Program Support and Accountability
20 shall administer state merit system program staff within the
21 workforce service delivery system, under the pursuant to
22 policies of Workforce Florida, Inc. The office is shall be
23 responsible for delivering services through the one-stop
24 delivery system and for ensuring that participants in welfare
25 transition programs receive case management services,
26 diversion assistance, support services, including subsidized
27 child care and transportation services, Medicaid services, and
28 transition assistance to enable them to succeed in the
29 workforce. The office is shall also be responsible for program
30 quality assurance, grants and contract management,
31 contracting, financial management, and reporting. The office
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 shall be directed by the Deputy Director for Program Support
2 and Accountability, who shall be appointed by and serve at the
3 pleasure of the director. The office is shall be responsible
4 for:
5 1. Establishing monitoring, quality assurance, and
6 quality improvement systems that routinely assess the quality
7 and effectiveness of contracted programs and services.
8 2. Annual review of each regional workforce board and
9 administrative entity to ensure that adequate systems of
10 reporting and control are in place; that, and monitoring,
11 quality assurance, and quality improvement activities are
12 conducted routinely;, and that corrective action is taken to
13 eliminate deficiencies.
14 (c) The Office of Child Development shall administer
15 the school readiness system in accordance with s. 411.01. The
16 office shall be directed by the Deputy Director for Child
17 Development, who shall be appointed by and serve at the
18 pleasure of the director.
19 (d)(c) The Office of Agency Support Services is shall
20 be responsible for procurement, human resource services, and
21 information services including delivering information on labor
22 markets, employment, occupations, and performance, and shall
23 implement and maintain information systems that are required
24 for the effective operation of the one-stop delivery system
25 and the school readiness services system, including, but not
26 limited to, those systems described in s. 445.009. The office
27 shall will be directed by under the direction of the Deputy
28 Director for Agency Support Services, who shall be appointed
29 by and serve at the pleasure of the director. The office is
30 shall be responsible for establishing:
31 1. Information systems and controls that report
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 reliable, timely and accurate fiscal and performance data for
2 assessing outcomes, service delivery, and financial
3 administration of workforce programs under pursuant to s.
4 445.004(5) and (9).
5 2. Information systems that support service
6 integration and case management by providing for case tracking
7 for participants in welfare transition programs.
8 3. Information systems that support the school
9 readiness system services.
10 (e)(d) The Unemployment Appeals Commission, authorized
11 by s. 443.012, is shall not be subject to the control,
12 supervision, or direction by the Agency for Workforce
13 Innovation in the performance of its powers and duties but
14 shall receive any and all support and assistance from the
15 agency that is may be required for the performance of its
16 duties.
17 Section 6. Effective July 1, 2004, paragraph (b) of
18 subsection (1) of section 125.901, Florida Statutes, is
19 amended to read:
20 125.901 Children's services; independent special
21 district; council; powers, duties, and functions.--
22 (1) Each county may by ordinance create an independent
23 special district, as defined in ss. 189.403(3) and
24 200.001(8)(e), to provide funding for children's services
25 throughout the county in accordance with this section. The
26 boundaries of such district shall be coterminous with the
27 boundaries of the county. The county governing body shall
28 obtain approval, by a majority vote of those electors voting
29 on the question, to annually levy ad valorem taxes which shall
30 not exceed the maximum millage rate authorized by this
31 section. Any district created pursuant to the provisions of
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 this subsection shall be required to levy and fix millage
2 subject to the provisions of s. 200.065. Once such millage is
3 approved by the electorate, the district shall not be required
4 to seek approval of the electorate in future years to levy the
5 previously approved millage.
6 (b) However, any county as defined in s. 125.011(1)
7 may instead have a governing board consisting of 33 members,
8 including: the superintendent of schools; two representatives
9 of public postsecondary education institutions located in the
10 county; the county manager or the equivalent county officer;
11 the district administrator from the appropriate district of
12 the Department of Children and Family Services, or the
13 administrator's designee who is a member of the Senior
14 Management Service or the Selected Exempt Service; the
15 director of the county health department or the director's
16 designee; the state attorney for the county or the state
17 attorney's designee; the chief judge assigned to juvenile
18 cases, or another juvenile judge who is the chief judge's
19 designee and who shall sit as a voting member of the board,
20 except that the judge may not vote or participate in setting
21 ad valorem taxes under this section; an individual who is
22 selected by the board of the local United Way or its
23 equivalent; a member of a locally recognized faith-based
24 coalition, selected by that coalition; a member of the local
25 chamber of commerce, selected by that chamber or, if more than
26 one chamber exists within the county, a person selected by a
27 coalition of the local chambers; a member of the regional
28 child development board local school readiness coalition,
29 selected by that board coalition; a representative of a labor
30 organization or union active in the county; a member of a
31 local alliance or coalition engaged in cross-system planning
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 for health and social service delivery in the county, selected
2 by that alliance or coalition; a member of the local
3 Parent-Teachers Association/Parent-Teacher-Student
4 Association, selected by that association; a youth
5 representative selected by the local school system's student
6 government; a local school board member appointed by the chair
7 of the school board; the mayor of the county or the mayor's
8 designee; one member of the county governing body, appointed
9 by the chair of that body; a member of the state Legislature
10 who represents residents of the county, selected by the chair
11 of the local legislative delegation; an elected official
12 representing the residents of a municipality in the county,
13 selected by the county municipal league; and 4
14 members-at-large, appointed to the council by the majority of
15 sitting council members. The remaining 7 members shall be
16 appointed by the Governor in accordance with procedures set
17 forth in paragraph (a), except that the Governor may remove a
18 member for cause or upon the written petition of the council.
19 Appointments by the Governor must, to the extent reasonably
20 possible, represent the geographic and demographic diversity
21 of the population of the county. Members who are appointed to
22 the council by reason of their position are not subject to the
23 length of terms and limits on consecutive terms as provided in
24 this section. The remaining appointed members of the governing
25 board shall be appointed to serve 2-year terms, except that
26 those members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed to
27 serve 4-year terms, and the youth representative and the
28 legislative delegate shall be appointed to serve 1-year terms.
29 A member may be reappointed; however, a member may not serve
30 for more than three consecutive terms. A member is eligible to
31 be appointed again after a 2-year hiatus from the council.
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 Section 7. Effective July 1, 2004, subsection (1) of
2 section 216.133, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
3 216.133 Definitions; ss. 216.133-216.137.--As used in
4 ss. 216.133-216.137:
5 (1) "Consensus estimating conference" includes the
6 Economic Estimating Conference, the Demographic Estimating
7 Conference, the Revenue Estimating Conference, the Education
8 Estimating Conference, the Criminal Justice Estimating
9 Conference, the Juvenile Justice Estimating Conference, the
10 Child Welfare System Estimating Conference, the Occupational
11 Forecasting Conference, the Child Development Programs School
12 Readiness Program Estimating Conference, the Self-Insurance
13 Estimating Conference, the Florida Retirement System Actuarial
14 Assumption Conference, and the Social Services Estimating
15 Conference.
16 Section 8. Effective July 1, 2004, subsection (10) of
17 section 216.136, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
18 216.136 Consensus estimating conferences; duties and
19 principals.--
20 (10) CHILD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS SCHOOL READINESS
21 PROGRAM ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.--
22 (a) Duties.--
23 1. The Child Development Programs School Readiness
24 Program Estimating Conference shall develop estimates and
25 forecasts of the unduplicated count of children eligible for
26 school readiness programs in accordance with the standards of
27 eligibility established in s. 411.01(6), and of children
28 eligible for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
29 in accordance with s. 1002.53(2), as the conference determines
30 are needed to support the state planning, budgeting, and
31 appropriations processes.
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Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 2. The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
2 Partnership for School Readiness shall provide information on
3 needs and waiting lists for school readiness programs as
4 program services requested by the Child Development Programs
5 School Readiness Program Estimating Conference or individual
6 conference principals in a timely manner.
7 3. The Department of Education shall provide
8 information on needs for the Voluntary Prekindergarten
9 Education Program as requested by the Child Development
10 Programs Estimating Conference or individual conference
11 principals in a timely manner.
12 (b) Principals.--The Executive Office of the Governor,
13 the Director of Economic and Demographic Research, and
14 professional staff who have forecasting expertise from the
15 Florida Partnership for School Readiness, the Agency for
16 Workforce Innovation, the Department of Children and Family
17 Services, the Department of Education, the Senate, and the
18 House of Representatives, or their designees, are the
19 principals of the Child Development Programs School Readiness
20 Program Estimating Conference. The principal representing the
21 Executive Office of the Governor shall preside over sessions
22 of the conference.
23 Section 9. Section 402.265, Florida Statutes, is
24 created to read:
25 402.265 Unauthorized transfers.--Notwithstanding any
26 other law to the contrary, the Department of Children and
27 Family Services may not transfer to the Department of
28 Education, through an interagency agreement or through any
29 other means, any of the department's powers, duties,
30 functions, rules, records, personnel, property, or unexpended
31 balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds, any
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 of which have been or which may be authorized for the Child
2 Care Services Program Office or for administration of ss.
3 402.25-402.319, without specific legislative authority by
4 express reference to this section.
5 Section 10. Effective July 1, 2004, section 402.3016,
6 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
7 402.3016 Early Head Start collaboration grants.--
8 (1) Contingent upon specific appropriations, the
9 Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
10 Readiness shall establish a program to award collaboration
11 grants to assist local agencies in securing Early Head Start
12 programs through Early Head Start program federal grants. The
13 collaboration grants shall provide the required matching funds
14 for public and private nonprofit agencies that have been
15 approved for Early Head Start program federal grants.
16 (2) Public and private nonprofit agencies providing
17 Early Head Start programs applying for collaborative grants
18 must:
19 (a) Ensure quality performance by meeting the
20 requirements in the Head Start program performance standards
21 and other applicable rules and regulations;
22 (b) Ensure collaboration with other service providers
23 at the local level; and
24 (c) Ensure that a comprehensive array of health,
25 nutritional, and other services are provided to the program's
26 pregnant women and very young children, and their families.
27 (3) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
28 shall report to the Legislature on an annual basis the number
29 of agencies receiving Early Head Start collaboration grants
30 and the number of children served.
31 (4) The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 may adopt rules under s. 120.536(1) and s. 120.54 as necessary
2 for the award of collaboration grants to competing agencies
3 and the administration of the collaboration grants program
4 under this section.
5 Section 11. Effective, July 1, 2004, section 411.011,
6 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
7 411.011 Records of children in school readiness
8 programs.--The individual records of children enrolled in
9 school readiness programs provided under s. 411.01, when held
10 in the possession of the regional child development board
11 school readiness coalition or the Agency for Workforce
12 Innovation Florida Partnership for School Readiness, are
13 confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07 and
14 s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. For the purposes
15 of this section, records include assessment data, health data,
16 records of teacher observations, and identifying data,
17 including the child's social security number. A parent,
18 guardian, or individual acting as a parent in the absence of a
19 parent or guardian has the right to inspect and review the
20 individual school readiness program record of his or her child
21 and to obtain a copy of the record. School readiness records
22 may be released to the United States Secretary of Education,
23 the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, and
24 the Comptroller General of the United States for the purpose
25 of federal audits; to individuals or organizations conducting
26 studies for institutions to develop, validate, or administer
27 assessments or improve instruction; to accrediting
28 organizations in order to carry out their accrediting
29 functions; to appropriate parties in connection with an
30 emergency if the information is necessary to protect the
31 health or safety of the student or other individuals; to the
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 Auditor General in connection with his or her official
2 functions; to a court of competent jurisdiction in compliance
3 with an order of that court in accordance with pursuant to a
4 lawfully issued subpoena; and to parties to an interagency
5 agreement among regional child development boards school
6 readiness coalitions, local governmental agencies, providers
7 of school readiness programs, state agencies, and the Agency
8 for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
9 Readiness for the purpose of implementing the school readiness
10 program. Agencies, organizations, or individuals that receive
11 school readiness records in order to carry out their official
12 functions must protect the data in a manner that does will not
13 permit the personal identification of students and their
14 parents by persons other than those authorized to receive the
15 records. This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
16 Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall
17 stand repealed on October 2, 2005, unless reviewed and saved
18 from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
19 Section 12. Effective July 1, 2004, paragraph (e) of
20 subsection (2) of section 411.226, Florida Statutes, is
21 amended to read:
22 411.226 Learning Gateway.--
23 (2) LEARNING GATEWAY STEERING COMMITTEE.--
24 (e) To support and facilitate system improvements, the
25 steering committee must consult with representatives from the
26 Department of Education, the Department of Health, the Agency
27 for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
28 Readiness, the Department of Children and Family Services, the
29 Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of
30 Juvenile Justice, and the Department of Corrections and with
31 the director of the Learning Development and Evaluation Center
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
2 Section 13. Effective July 1, 2004, paragraph (d) of
3 subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection (2), and paragraph
4 (c) of subsection (3) of section 411.227, Florida Statutes,
5 are amended to read:
6 411.227 Components of the Learning Gateway.--The
7 Learning Gateway system consists of the following components:
8 (1) COMMUNITY EDUCATION STRATEGIES AND FAMILY-ORIENTED
9 ACCESS.--
10 (d) In collaboration with other local resources, the
11 demonstration projects shall develop public awareness
12 strategies to disseminate information about developmental
13 milestones, precursors of learning problems and other
14 developmental delays, and the service system that is
15 available. The information should target parents of children
16 from birth through age 9 and should be distributed to parents,
17 health care providers, and caregivers of children from birth
18 through age 9. A variety of media should be used as
19 appropriate, such as print, television, radio, and a
20 community-based Internet website, as well as opportunities
21 such as those presented by parent visits to physicians for
22 well-child checkups. The Learning Gateway Steering Committee
23 shall provide technical assistance to the local demonstration
24 projects in developing and distributing educational materials
25 and information.
26 1. Public awareness strategies targeting parents of
27 children from birth through age 5 shall be designed to provide
28 information to public and private preschool programs, child
29 care childcare providers, pediatricians, parents, and local
30 businesses and organizations. These strategies should include
31 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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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
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:
31 1002.22 Student records and reports; rights of parents
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1 and students; notification; penalty.--
2 (3) RIGHTS OF PARENT OR STUDENT.--The parent of any
3 student who attends or has attended any public school, area
4 technical center, or public postsecondary educational
5 institution shall have the following rights with respect to
6 any records or reports created, maintained, and used by any
7 public educational institution in the state. However,
8 whenever a student has attained 18 years of age, or is
9 attending a postsecondary educational institution, the
10 permission or consent required of, and the rights accorded to,
11 the parents of the student shall thereafter be required of and
12 accorded to the student only, unless the student is a
13 dependent student of such parents as defined in 26 U.S.C. s.
14 152 (s. 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954). The State
15 Board of Education shall adopt rules whereby parents or
16 students may exercise these rights:
17 (d) Right of privacy.--Every student has shall have a
18 right of privacy with respect to the educational records kept
19 on him or her. Personally identifiable records or reports of a
20 student, and any personal information contained therein, are
21 confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1).
22 No state or local educational agency, board, public school,
23 technical center, or public postsecondary educational
24 institution shall permit the release of the such records,
25 reports, or information without the written consent of the
26 student's parent, or of the student himself or herself if he
27 or she is qualified as provided in this subsection, to any
28 individual, agency, or organization. However, personally
29 identifiable records or reports of a student may be released
30 to the following persons or organizations without the consent
31 of the student or the student's parent:
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1 1. Officials of schools, school systems, technical
2 centers, or public postsecondary educational institutions in
3 which the student seeks or intends to enroll; and a copy of
4 the such records or reports shall be furnished to the parent
5 or student upon request.
6 2. Other school officials, including teachers within
7 the educational institution or agency, who have legitimate
8 educational interests in the information contained in the
9 records.
10 3. The United States Secretary of Education, the
11 Director of the National Institute of Education, the Assistant
12 Secretary for Education, the Comptroller General of the United
13 States, or state or local educational authorities who are
14 authorized to receive such information subject to the
15 conditions set forth in applicable federal statutes and
16 regulations of the United States Department of Education, or
17 in applicable state statutes and rules of the State Board of
18 Education.
19 4. Other school officials, in connection with a
20 student's application for or receipt of financial aid.
21 5. Individuals or organizations conducting studies for
22 or on behalf of an institution or a board of education for the
23 purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive
24 tests, administering student aid programs, or improving
25 instruction, if the such studies are conducted in such a
26 manner that does as will not permit the personal
27 identification of students and their parents by persons other
28 than representatives of the such organizations and if the such
29 information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the
30 purpose of conducting the such studies.
31 6. Accrediting organizations, in order to carry out
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 their accrediting functions.
2 7. Regional child development boards School readiness
3 coalitions and the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
4 Partnership for School Readiness in order to carry out their
5 assigned duties.
6 8. For use as evidence in student expulsion hearings
7 conducted by a district school board under pursuant to the
8 provisions of chapter 120.
9 9. Appropriate parties in connection with an
10 emergency, if knowledge of the information in the student's
11 educational records is necessary to protect the health or
12 safety of the student or other individuals.
13 10. The Auditor General and the Office of Program
14 Policy Analysis and Government Accountability in connection
15 with their official functions; however, except when the
16 collection of personally identifiable information is
17 specifically authorized by law, any data collected by the
18 Auditor General and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and
19 Government Accountability is confidential and exempt from the
20 provisions of s. 119.07(1) and shall be protected in such a
21 way that does as will not permit the personal identification
22 of students and their parents by other than the Auditor
23 General, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
24 Accountability, and their staff, and the such personally
25 identifiable data shall be destroyed when no longer needed for
26 the Auditor General's and the Office of Program Policy
27 Analysis and Government Accountability's official use.
28 11.a. A court of competent jurisdiction in compliance
29 with an order of that court or the attorney of record in
30 accordance with pursuant to a lawfully issued subpoena, upon
31 the condition that the student and the student's parent are
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 notified of the order or subpoena in advance of compliance
2 therewith by the educational institution or agency.
3 b. A person or entity pursuant to a court of competent
4 jurisdiction in compliance with an order of that court or the
5 attorney of record in accordance with pursuant to a lawfully
6 issued subpoena, upon the condition that the student, or his
7 or her parent if the student is either a minor and not
8 attending a postsecondary educational institution or a
9 dependent of such parent as defined in 26 U.S.C. s. 152 (s.
10 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954), is notified of the
11 order or subpoena in advance of compliance therewith by the
12 educational institution or agency.
13 12. Credit bureaus, in connection with an agreement
14 for financial aid that the student has executed, if the
15 provided that such information is may be disclosed only to the
16 extent necessary to enforce the terms or conditions of the
17 financial aid agreement. Credit bureaus shall not release any
18 information obtained under pursuant to this paragraph to any
19 person.
20 13. Parties to an interagency agreement among the
21 Department of Juvenile Justice, school and law enforcement
22 authorities, and other signatory agencies for the purpose of
23 reducing juvenile crime and especially motor vehicle theft by
24 promoting cooperation and collaboration, and the sharing of
25 appropriate information in a joint effort to improve school
26 safety, to reduce truancy and in-school and out-of-school
27 suspensions, and to support alternatives to in-school and
28 out-of-school suspensions and expulsions that provide
29 structured and well-supervised educational programs
30 supplemented by a coordinated overlay of other appropriate
31 services designed to correct behaviors that lead to truancy,
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 suspensions, and expulsions, and that support students in
2 successfully completing their education. Information provided
3 in furtherance of the such interagency agreements is intended
4 solely for use in determining the appropriate programs and
5 services for each juvenile or the juvenile's family, or for
6 coordinating the delivery of the such programs and services,
7 and as such is inadmissible in any court proceedings before
8 prior to a dispositional hearing unless written consent is
9 provided by a parent or other responsible adult on behalf of
10 the juvenile.
11
12 This paragraph does not prohibit any educational institution
13 from publishing and releasing to the general public directory
14 information relating to a student if the institution elects to
15 do so. However, no educational institution shall release, to
16 any individual, agency, or organization that is not listed in
17 subparagraphs 1.-13., directory information relating to the
18 student body in general or a portion thereof unless it is
19 normally published for the purpose of release to the public in
20 general. Any educational institution making directory
21 information public shall give public notice of the categories
22 of information that it has designated as directory information
23 for with respect to all students attending the institution and
24 shall allow a reasonable period of time after the such notice
25 has been given for a parent or student to inform the
26 institution in writing that any or all of the information
27 designated should not be released.
28 Section 17. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
29 1003.54, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
30 1003.54 Teenage parent programs.--
31 (3)
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 (c) Provision for necessary child care, health care,
2 social services, parent education, and transportation shall be
3 ancillary service components of teenage parent programs.
4 Ancillary services may be provided through the coordination of
5 existing programs and services and through joint agreements
6 between district school boards and regional child development
7 boards local school readiness coalitions or other appropriate
8 public and private providers.
9 Section 18. By January 15, 2005, the Department of
10 Education, with the advice of the Florida Child Development
11 Advisory Council created under section 1002.73, Florida
12 Statutes, shall submit recommendations to the Legislature on
13 professional development programs for the Voluntary
14 Prekindergarten Education Program. The recommendations must
15 comprise options for the professional development of
16 prekindergarten directors, teachers, and child care personnel.
17 The recommendations shall address curricula and appropriate
18 delivery systems for the programs and shall consider the use
19 of Internet-based applications for instruction or assessment.
20 The recommendations must also include the estimated costs of
21 the professional development programs, including nonrecurring
22 startup costs and recurring operational costs.
23 Section 19. Notwithstanding sections 216.162-216.168,
24 Florida Statutes, and under section 216.351, Florida Statutes,
25 the Governor shall submit to the Legislature, as part of the
26 Governor's recommended budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year,
27 the Governor's annual cost projections for the Voluntary
28 Prekindergarten Education Program for the 5-year period ending
29 with the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The cost projections must be
30 based upon the Governor's estimate of the number of children
31 to be served annually in the Voluntary Prekindergarten
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 Education Program, including annual estimates for the
2 potential shift of children to the Voluntary Prekindergarten
3 Education Program from school readiness programs provided
4 under section 411.01, Florida Statutes.
5 Section 20. (1) Effective July 1, 2004, the Florida
6 Partnership for School Readiness is abolished. All powers,
7 duties, functions, rules, records, personnel, property, and
8 unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other
9 funds of the Florida Partnership for School Readiness are
10 transferred, effective July 1, 2004, by a type two transfer,
11 as defined in section 20.06(2), Florida Statutes, to the
12 Agency for Workforce Innovation.
13 (2) This act does not abolish the school readiness
14 coalitions but, effective July 1, 2004, redesignates the
15 coalitions as regional child development boards and, effective
16 January 1, 2005, requires a reduction in the number of boards.
17 All powers, duties, functions, rules, records, personnel,
18 property, and unexpended balances of appropriations,
19 allocations, and other funds of each school readiness
20 coalition are not transferred but shall be retained by the
21 coalition upon its redesignation as a regional child
22 development board.
23 Section 21. Sections 411.012 and 1008.21, Florida
24 Statutes, are repealed.
25 Section 22. (1) The sum of $7 million in nonrecurring
26 funds is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the
27 Department of Education for implementation of the summer
28 prekindergarten demonstration program under section
29 1002.61(5), Florida Statutes, during the 2003-2004 fiscal
30 year, and for nonrecurring startup costs for the Voluntary
31 Prekindergarten Education Program during fiscal year
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 2004-2005. The Department of Education may use any funds
2 remaining after implementation of the summer prekindergarten
3 demonstration program in accordance with the research design
4 developed under section 1002.61(5)(b), Florida Statutes, for
5 nonrecurring startup costs for the Voluntary Prekindergarten
6 Education Program, subject to approval by the Legislative
7 Budget Commission of the allocation among specific
8 appropriation categories of funds for these nonrecurring
9 startup costs.
10 (2) Notwithstanding section 1002.69, Florida Statutes,
11 each demonstration district's allocation of funds appropriated
12 under subsection (1) shall be based upon the district's
13 student enrollment in the demonstration program. Each
14 demonstration district's student enrollment in the
15 demonstration program, and the demographic composition of the
16 student enrollment, must be consistent with the research
17 design developed under section 1002.61(5)(b), Florida
18 Statutes. A full-time equivalent student in the summer
19 prekindergarten demonstration program shall be 300 hours, and
20 the base student allocation for the demonstration program
21 shall be $2,500 per full-time equivalent student. Each
22 district's allocation per full-time equivalent student shall
23 be calculated by multiplying the base student allocation by
24 the district cost differential provided in section 1011.62(2),
25 Florida Statutes.
26 (3) Each demonstration school must have at least one
27 certified teacher for every 10 students in the demonstration
28 program. As used in this subsection, the term "certified
29 teacher" has the same meaning ascribed in section 1002.61(3),
30 Florida Statutes.
31 (4) Each demonstration district must submit all
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 information requested by the Department of Education for
2 reporting and funding purposes.
3 (5) Any unexpended balance at the end of the 2003-2004
4 fiscal year from the funds appropriated under subsection (1)
5 shall be certified forward to the 2004-2005 fiscal year and
6 shall be used to continue implementation of the demonstration
7 program during summer 2004.
8 Section 23. Except as otherwise expressly provided in
9 this act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
10
11
12 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
13 And the title is amended as follows:
14 Delete everything before the enacting clause
15
16 and insert:
17 A bill to be entitled
18 An act relating to early childhood education;
19 creating part V of ch. 1002, F.S.; creating the
20 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program;
21 implementing s. 1(b) and (c), Art. IX of the
22 State Constitution; providing definitions for
23 purposes of the program; providing eligibility
24 and enrollment requirements; authorizing
25 parents to enroll their children in a program
26 delivered by a child development provider, a
27 summer program delivered by a public school, or
28 a school-year program delivered by a public
29 school; requiring school districts to admit all
30 eligible children in the summer program;
31 prohibiting specified acts of discrimination
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 and certain limits on enrollment; specifying
2 eligibility requirements for child development
3 providers and public schools that deliver the
4 program; providing for the adoption of rules;
5 requiring the Department of Education establish
6 a credential for prekindergarten directors and
7 an emergent literacy training course for
8 teachers and child care personnel of the
9 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program;
10 requiring the credential and course to provide
11 training and resources containing strategies
12 that maximize the program's benefits for
13 students with disabilities and other special
14 needs; providing that the credential and course
15 satisfy certain credentialing and training
16 requirements; specifying eligibility
17 requirements for school districts that deliver
18 the school-year prekindergarten program;
19 creating a demonstration program in specified
20 school districts; directing the Office of
21 Program Policy Analysis and Government
22 Accountability to evaluate the demonstration
23 program; requiring the demonstration districts
24 to submit data; providing for the future
25 expiration of the demonstration program;
26 authorizing providers and schools to select or
27 design curricula used for the program under
28 specified conditions; directing the Department
29 of Education to adopt performance standards and
30 approve curricula; requiring providers and
31 schools to be placed on probation and use the
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 approved curricula under certain circumstances;
2 requiring improvement plans and corrective
3 actions from providers and schools under
4 certain circumstances; requiring regional child
5 development boards and school districts to
6 verify the compliance of child development
7 providers and public schools; authorizing the
8 removal of providers and schools from
9 eligibility to deliver the program for
10 noncompliance; requiring the Department of
11 Education to adopt a statewide kindergarten
12 screening; requiring certain students to take
13 the statewide screening; specifying
14 requirements for screening instruments and
15 kindergarten readiness rates; providing funding
16 and reporting requirements; specifying the
17 calculation of per-student allocations;
18 providing for advance payments to child
19 development providers and public schools based
20 upon student enrollment; providing for the
21 documentation and certification of student
22 attendance; requiring parents to verify student
23 attendance and certify the choice of provider
24 or school; providing for the reconciliation of
25 advance payments based upon certified student
26 attendance; requiring students to comply with
27 attendance policies and authorizing the
28 dismissal of students for noncompliance;
29 prohibiting regional child development boards
30 from withholding funds for administrative
31 costs; providing for the allocation of
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 administrative funds among regional child
2 development boards; prohibiting certain fees or
3 charges; limiting the use of state funds;
4 providing powers and duties of the Department
5 of Education; requiring the department to adopt
6 procedures for the Voluntary Prekindergarten
7 Education Program; authorizing interagency
8 agreements for the integration of, and
9 requiring interagency access to, certain
10 databases; limiting the department's authority;
11 creating the Florida Child Development Advisory
12 Council; providing for the appointment and
13 membership of the advisory council; providing
14 membership and meeting requirements;
15 authorizing council members to receive per diem
16 and travel expenses; requiring the Department
17 of Education to provide staff for the advisory
18 council; providing for the adoption of rules;
19 amending s. 411.01, F.S.; conforming provisions
20 to the transfer of the Florida Partnership for
21 School Readiness to the Agency for Workforce
22 Innovation; deleting provisions for the
23 appointment and membership of the partnership;
24 redesignating school readiness coalitions as
25 regional child development boards; deleting
26 obsolete references to repealed programs;
27 deleting obsolete provisions governing the
28 phase in of school readiness programs; deleting
29 provisions governing the measurement of school
30 readiness, the school readiness uniform
31 screening, and performance-based budgeting in
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 school readiness programs; specifying
2 requirements for school readiness performance
3 standards; clarifying rulemaking requirements;
4 limiting the Agency for Workforce Innovation's
5 authority; revising requirements for school
6 readiness programs; specifying that school
7 readiness programs must enhance the progress of
8 children in certain skills; requiring regional
9 child development boards to obtain certain
10 health information before enrolling a child in
11 the school readiness program; requiring the
12 Agency for Workforce Innovation to administer a
13 quality-assurance system and identify best
14 practices for regional child development
15 boards; requiring a reduction in the number of
16 boards in accordance with specified standards;
17 directing the Agency for Workforce Innovation
18 to adopt procedures for the merger of boards;
19 revising appointment and membership
20 requirements for the boards; directing the
21 Agency for Workforce Innovation to adopt
22 criteria for the appointment of certain
23 members; requiring each board to specify terms
24 of board members; prohibiting board members
25 from voting under certain circumstances;
26 providing a definition for purposes of the
27 single point of entry; requiring regional child
28 development boards to use a statewide
29 information system; requiring the Agency for
30 Workforce Innovation to approve payment rates
31 and consider the access of eligible children
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 before approving proposals to increase rates;
2 deleting requirements for the minimum number of
3 children served; providing requirements for
4 developmentally appropriate curriculum used for
5 school readiness programs; authorizing
6 contracts for the continuation of school
7 readiness services under certain circumstances;
8 requiring the Agency for Workforce Innovation
9 to adopt criteria for the approval of school
10 readiness plans; revising requirements for
11 school readiness plans; providing requirements
12 for the approval and implementation of plan
13 revisions; revising competitive procurement
14 requirements for regional child development
15 boards; authorizing the boards to designate
16 certified public accountants as fiscal agents;
17 clarifying age and income eligibility
18 requirements for school readiness programs;
19 revising eligibility requirements for certain
20 at-risk children; revising funding
21 requirements; revising requirements for the
22 adoption of a formula for the allocation of
23 certain funds among the regional child
24 development boards; specifying allocations for
25 fiscal year 2004-2005; prohibiting certain
26 transfers without specific legislative
27 authority; deleting an obsolete provision
28 requiring a report; deleting the expiration of
29 eligibility requirements for certain children
30 from families receiving temporary cash
31 assistance; amending s. 11.45, F.S.;
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 authorizing the Auditor General to conduct
2 audits of the school readiness system;
3 conforming provisions; amending s. 20.15, F.S.;
4 specifying that the Commissioner of Education
5 does not appoint members of the Florida Child
6 Development Advisory Council; amending s.
7 20.50, F.S.; creating the Office of Child
8 Development within the Agency for Workforce
9 Innovation; providing that the office
10 administers the school readiness system;
11 amending s. 125.901, F.S.; conforming
12 provisions; amending ss. 216.133 and 216.136,
13 F.S.; redesignating the School Readiness
14 Program Estimating Conference as the Child
15 Development Programs Estimating Conference;
16 requiring the estimating conference to develop
17 certain estimates and forecasts for the
18 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program;
19 directing the Department of Education to
20 provide certain information to the estimating
21 conference; conforming provisions; creating s.
22 402.265, F.S.; prohibiting certain transfers
23 without specific legislative authority;
24 amending ss. 402.3016, 411.011, 411.226,
25 411.227, 624.91, 1001.23, 1002.22, and 1003.54,
26 F.S.; conforming provisions to the transfer of
27 the Florida Partnership for School Readiness to
28 the Agency for Workforce Innovation and to the
29 redesignation of the school readiness
30 coalitions as regional child development
31 boards; requiring the Department of Education
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 821, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 470076
1 to submit a report; requiring the Governor to
2 submit certain recommendations as part of the
3 Governor's recommended budget; abolishing the
4 Florida Partnership for School Readiness and
5 providing for the transfer of the partnership
6 to the Agency for Workforce Innovation;
7 repealing ss. 411.012 and 1008.21, F.S.,
8 relating to the voluntary universal
9 prekindergarten education program and the
10 school readiness uniform screening; providing
11 appropriations; providing for the allocation of
12 appropriations among certain school districts;
13 requiring the Legislative Budget Commission to
14 approve the allocation of certain
15 appropriations; providing effective dates.
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