HB 0001A

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to early learning; creating part V of ch.
3	1002, F.S.; creating the Voluntary Prekindergarten
4	Education Program; implementing s. 1(b) and (c), Art. IX
5	of the State Constitution; providing definitions for
6	purposes of the program; providing eligibility and
7	enrollment requirements; authorizing parents to enroll
8	their children in a school-year program delivered by a
9	private prekindergarten provider, a summer program
10	delivered by a public school or private prekindergarten
11	provider, or a school-year program delivered by a public
12	school; requiring school districts to admit all eligible
13	children in the summer program; prohibiting specified acts
14	of discrimination and certain limits on enrollment;
15	specifying eligibility requirements for private
16	prekindergarten providers and public schools that deliver
17	the program; requiring minimum hours for the program;
18	providing minimum requirements for prekindergarten
19	instructors; providing for the adoption of rules;
20	providing minimum and maximum class sizes; requiring
21	appropriate adult supervision for prekindergarten classes;
22	requiring the Department of Education to establish minimum
23	standards for a credential for prekindergarten directors
24	and for emergent literacy training courses for
25	prekindergarten instructors; requiring the credential and
26	course to provide training and resources containing
27	strategies that maximize the program's benefits for
28	students with disabilities and other special needs;
29	providing that the credential and course satisfy certain
30	credentialing and training requirements; providing limits
31	on when a provider or school may deliver the summer
32	prekindergarten program; specifying eligibility
33	requirements for school districts that deliver the school-
34	year prekindergarten program; providing legislative
35	intent; authorizing providers and schools to select or
36	design curricula used for the program; directing the
37	Department of Education to adopt performance standards and
38	approve curricula under specified conditions; requiring
39	providers and schools to be placed on probation and use
40	the approved curricula under certain circumstances;
41	requiring improvement plans and corrective actions from
42	providers and schools under certain circumstances;
43	providing for the removal of providers or schools that
44	remain on probation beyond specified time limits;
45	requiring early learning coalitions and school districts
46	to verify the compliance of private prekindergarten
47	providers and public schools; authorizing the removal of
48	providers and schools for noncompliance or misconduct;
49	requiring interagency coordination for monitoring
50	providers; requiring the Department of Education to adopt
51	a statewide kindergarten screening; requiring certain
52	students to take the statewide screening; specifying
53	requirements for screening instruments and kindergarten
54	readiness rates; directing the State Board of Education to
55	establish minimum rates; providing funding and reporting
56	requirements; specifying the calculation of per-student
57	allocations; authorizing students to withdraw, reenroll,
58	and receive additional per-student allocations under
59	specified conditions; providing for advance payments to
60	private prekindergarten providers and public schools based
61	upon student enrollment; providing for the documentation
62	and certification of student attendance; requiring parents
63	to verify student attendance and certify the choice of
64	provider or school; providing for the reconciliation of
65	advance payments based upon attendance; requiring students
66	to comply with attendance policies and authorizing the
67	dismissal of students for noncompliance; requiring the
68	Agency for Workforce Innovation to adopt a uniform
69	attendance policy for funding purposes; providing for
70	administrative funds to be used by early learning
71	coalitions; prohibiting certain fees or charges; limiting
72	the use of state funds; providing powers and duties of the
73	Department of Education and the Agency for Workforce
74	Innovation; requiring the department and the agency to
75	adopt procedures for the Voluntary Prekindergarten
76	Education Program; creating the Florida Early Learning
77	Advisory Council; providing for the appointment and
78	membership of the advisory council; providing membership
79	and meeting requirements; authorizing council members to
80	receive per diem and travel expenses; requiring the Agency
81	for Workforce Innovation to provide staff for the advisory
82	council; providing for the adoption of rules; amending s.
83	411.01, F.S.; conforming provisions to the transfer of the
84	Florida Partnership for School Readiness to the Agency for
85	Workforce Innovation; deleting provisions for the
86	appointment and membership of the partnership;
87	redesignating school readiness coalitions as early
88	learning coalitions; deleting obsolete references to
89	repealed programs; deleting obsolete provisions governing
90	the phase in of school readiness programs; deleting
91	provisions governing the measurement of school readiness,
92	the school readiness uniform screening, and performance-
93	based budgeting in school readiness programs; specifying
94	requirements for school readiness performance standards;
95	clarifying rulemaking requirements; revising requirements
96	for school readiness programs; specifying that school
97	readiness programs must enhance the progress of children
98	in certain skills; requiring early learning coalitions to
99	obtain certain health information before enrolling a child
100	in the school readiness program; requiring the Agency for
101	Workforce Innovation to monitor and evaluate the
102	performance of early learning coalitions and to identify
103	best practices for the coalitions; requiring a reduction
104	in the number of coalitions in accordance with specified
105	standards; directing the Agency for Workforce Innovation
106	to adopt procedures for the merger of coalitions;
107	providing exceptions; authorizing the Agency for Workforce
108	Innovation to dissolve a coalition under specified
109	conditions; revising appointment and membership
110	requirements for the coalitions; specifying that certain
111	members are nonvoting; directing the Agency for Workforce
112	Innovation to adopt criteria for the appointment of
113	certain members; requiring each coalition to specify terms
114	of coalition members; requiring a quorum of coalition
115	members; prohibiting coalition members from voting under
116	certain circumstances; providing a definition for purposes
117	of the single point of entry; requiring early learning
118	coalitions to use a statewide information system;
119	requiring the Agency for Workforce Innovation to approve
120	payment rates and consider the access of eligible children
121	before approving proposals to increase rates; prioritizing
122	the use of school readiness funds under certain
123	circumstances; deleting requirements for the minimum
124	number of children served; providing requirements for
125	developmentally appropriate curriculum used for school
126	readiness programs; authorizing contracts for the
127	continuation of school readiness services under certain
128	circumstances; requiring the Agency for Workforce
129	Innovation to adopt criteria for the approval of school
130	readiness plans; revising requirements for school
131	readiness plans; providing requirements for the approval
132	and implementation of plan revisions; revising competitive
133	procurement requirements for early learning coalitions;
134	authorizing the coalitions to designate certified public
135	accountants as fiscal agents; clarifying age and income
136	eligibility requirements for school readiness programs;
137	revising eligibility requirements for certain at-risk
138	children; deleting a requirement for consultation on
139	performance standards and outcome measures; revising
140	funding requirements; revising requirements for the
141	adoption of a formula for the allocation of certain funds
142	among the early learning coalitions; specifying
143	allocations for fiscal year 2004-2005; deleting an
144	obsolete provision requiring a report; deleting the
145	expiration of eligibility requirements for certain
146	children from families receiving temporary cash
147	assistance; amending s. 11.45, F.S.; authorizing the
148	Auditor General to conduct audits of the school readiness
149	system; amending s. 20.50, F.S.; creating the Office of
150	Early Learning within the Agency for Workforce Innovation;
151	requiring the office to administer the school readiness
152	system and operational requirements of the Voluntary
153	Prekindergarten Education Program; amending s. 125.901,
154	F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
155	amending ss. 216.133 and 216.136, F.S.; redesignating the
156	School Readiness Program Estimating Conference as the
157	Early Learning Programs Estimating Conference; requiring
158	the estimating conference to develop certain estimates and
159	forecasts for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
160	Program; directing the Agency for Workforce Innovation to
161	provide certain information to the estimating conference;
162	amending ss. 402.3016, 411.011, 411.226, 411.227, 1001.23,
163	1002.22, and 1003.54, F.S.; conforming provisions to the
164	transfer of the Florida Partnership for School Readiness
165	to the Agency for Workforce Innovation and to the
166	redesignation of the school readiness coalitions as early
167	learning coalitions; authorizing the agency to adopt
168	rules; amending s. 1007.23, F.S.; requiring the
169	articulation of certain programs into credit toward a
170	postsecondary degree; abolishing the Florida Partnership
171	for School Readiness; transferring all powers, rules,
172	personnel, and property of the partnership to the Agency
173	for Workforce Innovation; repealing ss. 411.012 and
174	1008.21, F.S., relating to the voluntary universal
175	prekindergarten education program and the school readiness
176	uniform screening; providing appropriations and
177	authorizing additional positions; requiring that the
178	Executive Office of the Governor provide prior notice to
179	the Legislative Budget Commission of allocations from the
180	lump-sum appropriations to appropriation categories;
181	providing an effective date.
182
183	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
184
185	Section 1.  Part V of chapter 1002, Florida Statutes,
186	consisting of sections 1002.51, 1002.53, 1002.55, 1002.57,
187	1002.59, 1002.61, 1002.63, 1002.65, 1002.67, 1002.69, 1002.71,
188	1002.73, 1002.75, 1002.77, and 1002.79, Florida Statutes, is
189	created to read:
190	PART V
191	VOLUNTARY PREKINDERGARTEN EDUCATION PROGRAM
192	1002.51  Definitions.--As used in this part, the term:
193	(1)  "Department" means the Department of Education.
194	(2)  "Early learning coalition" or "coalition" means an
195	early learning coalition created under s. 411.01.
196	(3)  "Prekindergarten director" means an onsite person
197	ultimately responsible for the overall operation of a private
198	prekindergarten provider or, alternatively, of the provider's
199	prekindergarten program, regardless of whether the person is the
200	owner of the provider.
201	(4)  "Prekindergarten instructor" means a teacher or child
202	care personnel as defined in s. 402.302 who provide instruction
203	to students in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program.
204	(5)  "Private prekindergarten provider" means a provider
205	other than a public school which is eligible to deliver the
206	school-year prekindergarten program under s. 1002.55 or the
207	summer prekindergarten program under s. 1002.61.
208	1002.53  Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program;
209	eligibility and enrollment.--
210	(1)  There is created the Voluntary Prekindergarten
211	Education Program. The program shall take effect in each county
212	at the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year and shall be
213	organized, designed, and delivered in accordance with s. 1(b)
214	and (c), Art. IX of the State Constitution.
215	(2)  Each child who resides in this state who will have
216	attained the age of 4 years on or before September 1 of the
217	school year is eligible for the Voluntary Prekindergarten
218	Education Program during that school year. The child remains
219	eligible until the beginning of the school year for which the
220	child is eligible for admission to kindergarten in a public
221	school under s. 1003.21(1)(a)2. or until the child is admitted
222	to kindergarten, whichever occurs first.
223	(3)  The parent of each child eligible under subsection (2)
224	may enroll the child in one of the following programs:
225	(a)  A school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a
226	private prekindergarten provider under s. 1002.55;
227	(b)  A summer prekindergarten program delivered by a public
228	school or private prekindergarten provider under s. 1002.61; or
229	(c)  A school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a
230	public school, if offered by a school district that is eligible
231	under s. 1002.63.
232
233	Except as provided in s. 1002.71(4), a child may not enroll in
234	more than one of these programs.
235	(4)(a)  Each parent enrolling a child in the Voluntary
236	Prekindergarten Education Program must complete and submit an
237	application to the early learning coalition through the single
238	point of entry established under s. 411.01.
239	(b)  The application must be submitted on forms prescribed
240	by the Agency for Workforce Innovation and must be accompanied
241	by a certified copy of the child's birth certificate. The forms
242	must include a certification, in substantially the form provided
243	in s. 1002.71(6)(b)2., that the parent chooses the private
244	prekindergarten provider or public school in accordance with
245	this section and directs that payments for the program be made
246	to the provider or school. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
247	may authorize alternative methods for submitting proof of the
248	child's age in lieu of a certified copy of the child's birth
249	certificate.
250	(c)  Each early learning coalition shall coordinate with
251	each of the school districts within the coalition's county or
252	multicounty region in the development of procedures for
253	enrolling children in prekindergarten programs delivered by
254	public schools.
255	(5)  The early learning coalition shall provide each parent
256	enrolling a child in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
257	Program with a profile of every private prekindergarten provider
258	and public school delivering the program within the coalition's
259	county or multicounty region. The profiles shall be provided to
260	parents in a format prescribed by the Agency for Workforce
261	Innovation. The profiles must include, at a minimum, the
262	following information about each provider and school:
263	(a)  The provider's or school's services, curriculum,
264	instructor credentials, and instructor-to-student ratio; and
265	(b)  The provider's or school's kindergarten readiness rate
266	calculated in accordance with s. 1002.69, based upon the most
267	recent available results of the statewide kindergarten
268	screening.
269	(6)(a)  A parent may enroll his or her child with any
270	private prekindergarten provider that is eligible to deliver the
271	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program under this part;
272	however, the provider may determine whether to admit any child.
273	An early learning coalition may not limit the number of students
274	admitted by any private prekindergarten provider for enrollment
275	in the program. However, this paragraph does not authorize an
276	early learning coalition to allow a provider to exceed any
277	staff-to-children ratio, square footage per child, or other
278	requirement imposed under ss. 402.301-402.319 as a result of
279	admissions in the prekindergarten program.
280	(b)  A parent may enroll his or her child with any public
281	school within the school district which is eligible to deliver
282	the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program under this part,
283	subject to available space. Each school district may limit the
284	number of students admitted by any public school for enrollment
285	in the program; however, the school district must provide for
286	the admission of every eligible child within the district whose
287	parent enrolls the child in a summer prekindergarten program
288	delivered by a public school under s. 1002.61.
289	(c)  Each private prekindergarten provider and public
290	school must comply with the antidiscrimination requirements of
291	42 U.S.C. s. 2000d, regardless of whether the provider or school
292	receives federal financial assistance. A private prekindergarten
293	provider or public school may not discriminate against a parent
294	or child, including the refusal to admit a child for enrollment
295	in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program, in violation
296	of these antidiscrimination requirements.
297	1002.55  School-year prekindergarten program delivered by
298	private prekindergarten providers.--
299	(1)  Each early learning coalition shall administer the
300	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program at the county or
301	regional level for students enrolled under s. 1002.53(3)(a) in a
302	school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a private
303	prekindergarten provider.
304	(2)  Each school-year prekindergarten program delivered by
305	a private prekindergarten provider must comprise at least 540
306	instructional hours.
307	(3)  To be eligible to deliver the prekindergarten program,
308	a private prekindergarten provider must meet each of the
309	following requirements:
310	(a)  The private prekindergarten provider must be a child
311	care facility licensed under s. 402.305, family day care home
312	licensed under s. 402.313, large family child care home licensed
313	under s. 402.3131, nonpublic school exempt from licensure under
314	s. 402.3025(2), or faith-based child care provider exempt from
315	licensure under s. 402.316.
316	(b)  The private prekindergarten provider must:
317	1.  Be accredited by an accrediting association that is a
318	member of the National Council for Private School Accreditation,
319	the Commission on International and Trans-Regional
320	Accreditation, or the Florida Association of Academic Nonpublic
321	Schools;
322	2.  Hold a current Gold Seal Quality Care designation under
323	s. 402.281; or
324	3.  Be licensed under s. 402.305, s. 402.313, or s.
325	402.3131 and demonstrate, before delivering the Voluntary
326	Prekindergarten Education Program, as verified by the early
327	learning coalition, that the provider meets each of the
328	requirements of the program under this part, including, but not
329	limited to, the requirements for credentials and background
330	screenings of prekindergarten instructors under paragraphs (c)
331	and (d), minimum and maximum class sizes under paragraph (e),
332	prekindergarten director credentials under paragraph (f), and a
333	developmentally appropriate curriculum under s. 1002.67(2)(b).
334	(c)  The private prekindergarten provider must have, for
335	each prekindergarten class, at least one prekindergarten
336	instructor who meets each of the following requirements:
337	1.  The prekindergarten instructor must hold, at a minimum,
338	one of the following credentials:
339	a.  A child development associate credential issued by the
340	National Credentialing Program of the Council for Professional
341	Recognition; or
342	b.  A credential approved by the Department of Children and
343	Family Services as being equivalent to or greater than the
344	credential described in sub-subparagraph a.
345
346	The Department of Children and Family Services may adopt rules
347	under ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 which provide criteria and
348	procedures for approving equivalent credentials under sub-
349	subparagraph b.
350	2.  The prekindergarten instructor must successfully
351	complete an emergent literacy training course approved by the
352	department as meeting or exceeding the minimum standards adopted
353	under s. 1002.59. This subparagraph does not apply to a
354	prekindergarten instructor who successfully completes approved
355	training in early literacy and language development under s.
356	402.305(2)(d)5., s. 402.313(6), or s. 402.3131(5) before the
357	establishment of one or more emergent literacy training courses
358	under s. 1002.59 or April 1, 2005, whichever occurs later.
359	(d)  Each prekindergarten instructor employed by the
360	private prekindergarten provider must be of good moral
361	character, must be screened using the level 2 screening
362	standards in s. 435.04 before employment and rescreened at least
363	once every 5 years, must be denied employment or terminated if
364	required under s. 435.06, and must not be ineligible to teach in
365	a public school because his or her educator certificate is
366	suspended or revoked.
367	(e)  Each of the private prekindergarten provider's
368	prekindergarten classes must be composed of at least 4 students
369	but may not exceed 18 students. In order to protect the health
370	and safety of students, each private prekindergarten provider
371	must also provide appropriate adult supervision for students at
372	all times. This paragraph does not supersede any requirement
373	imposed on a provider under ss. 402.301-402.319.
374	(f)  Before the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, the
375	private prekindergarten provider must have a prekindergarten
376	director who has a prekindergarten director credential that is
377	approved by the department as meeting or exceeding the minimum
378	standards adopted under s. 1002.57. Successful completion of a
379	child care facility director credential under s. 402.305(2)(f)
380	before the establishment of the prekindergarten director
381	credential under s. 1002.57 or July 1, 2006, whichever occurs
382	later, satisfies the requirement for a prekindergarten director
383	credential under this paragraph.
384	(g)  The private prekindergarten provider must register
385	with the early learning coalition on forms prescribed by the
386	Agency for Workforce Innovation.
387	(h)  The private prekindergarten provider must deliver the
388	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program in accordance with
389	this part.
390	(4)  A prekindergarten instructor, in lieu of the minimum
391	credentials and courses required under paragraph (3)(c), may
392	hold one of the following educational credentials:
393	(a)  A bachelor's or higher degree in early childhood
394	education, prekindergarten or primary education, preschool
395	education, or family and consumer science;
396	(b)  A bachelor's or higher degree in elementary education,
397	if the prekindergarten instructor has been certified to teach
398	children any age from birth through 6th grade, regardless of
399	whether the instructor's educator certificate is current, and if
400	the instructor is not ineligible to teach in a public school
401	because his or her educator certificate is suspended or revoked;
402	(c)  An associate's or higher degree in child development;
403	(d)  An associate's or higher degree in an unrelated field,
404	at least 6 credit hours in early childhood education or child
405	development, and at least 480 hours of experience in teaching or
406	providing child care services for children any age from birth
407	through 8 years of age; or
408	(e)  An educational credential approved by the department
409	as being equivalent to or greater than an educational credential
410	described in this subsection. The department may adopt criteria
411	and procedures for approving equivalent educational credentials
412	under this paragraph.
413	1002.57  Prekindergarten director credential.--
414	(1)  By July 1, 2006, the department shall adopt minimum
415	standards for a credential for prekindergarten directors of
416	private prekindergarten providers delivering the Voluntary
417	Prekindergarten Education Program. The credential must encompass
418	requirements for education and onsite experience.
419	(2)  The educational requirements must include training in
420	the following:
421	(a)  Professionally accepted standards for prekindergarten
422	programs, early learning, and strategies and techniques to
423	address the age-appropriate progress of prekindergarten students
424	in attaining the performance standards adopted by the department
425	under s. 1002.67;
426	(b)  Strategies that allow students with disabilities and
427	other special needs to derive maximum benefit from the Voluntary
428	Prekindergarten Education Program; and
429	(c)  Program administration and operations, including
430	management, organizational leadership, and financial and legal
431	issues.
432	(3)  The prekindergarten director credential must meet or
433	exceed the requirements of the Department of Children and Family
434	Services for the child care facility director credential under
435	s. 402.305(2)(f), and successful completion of the
436	prekindergarten director credential satisfies these requirements
437	for the child care facility director credential.
438	(4)  The department shall, to the maximum extent
439	practicable, award credit to a person who successfully completes
440	the child care facility director credential under s.
441	402.305(2)(f) for those requirements of the prekindergarten
442	director credential which are duplicative of requirements for
443	the child care facility director credential.
444	1002.59  Emergent literacy training courses.--By April 1,
445	2005, the department shall adopt minimum standards for one or
446	more training courses in emergent literacy for prekindergarten
447	instructors. Each course must comprise 5 clock hours and provide
448	instruction in strategies and techniques to address the age-
449	appropriate progress of prekindergarten students in developing
450	emergent literacy skills, including oral communication,
451	knowledge of print and letters, phonemic and phonological
452	awareness, and vocabulary and comprehension development. Each
453	course must also provide resources containing strategies that
454	allow students with disabilities and other special needs to
455	derive maximum benefit from the Voluntary Prekindergarten
456	Education Program. Successful completion of an emergent literacy
457	training course approved under this section satisfies
458	requirements for approved training in early literacy and
459	language development under ss. 402.305(2)(d)5., 402.313(6), and
460	402.3131(5).
461	1002.61  Summer prekindergarten program delivered by public
462	schools and private prekindergarten providers.--
463	(1)(a)  Each school district shall administer the Voluntary
464	Prekindergarten Education Program at the district level for
465	students enrolled under s. 1002.53(3)(b) in a summer
466	prekindergarten program delivered by a public school.
467	(b)  Each early learning coalition shall administer the
468	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program at the county or
469	regional level for students enrolled under s. 1002.53(3)(b) in a
470	summer prekindergarten program delivered by a private
471	prekindergarten provider.
472	(2)  Each summer prekindergarten program delivered by a
473	public school or private prekindergarten provider must:
474	(a)  Comprise at least 300 instructional hours;
475	(b)  Not begin earlier than May 1 of the school year; and
476	(c)  Not deliver the program for a child earlier than the
477	summer immediately before the school year for which the child is
478	eligible for admission to kindergarten in a public school under
479	s. 1003.21(1)(a)2.
480	(3)(a)  Each district school board shall determine which
481	public schools in the school district are eligible to deliver
482	the summer prekindergarten program. The school district shall
483	use educational facilities available in the public schools
484	during the summer term for the summer prekindergarten program.
485	(b)  Except as provided in this section, to be eligible to
486	deliver the summer prekindergarten program, a private
487	prekindergarten provider must meet each requirement in s.
488	1002.55.
489	(4)  Notwithstanding ss. 1002.55(3)(c)1. and 1002.63(5),
490	each public school and private prekindergarten provider must
491	have, for each prekindergarten class, at least one
492	prekindergarten instructor who:
493	(a)  Is a certified teacher; or
494	(b)  Holds one of the educational credentials specified in
495	s. 1002.55(4)(a) or (b).
496
497	As used in this subsection, the term "certified teacher" means a
498	teacher holding a valid Florida educator certificate under s.
499	1012.56 who has the qualifications required by the district
500	school board to instruct students in the summer prekindergarten
501	program. In selecting instructional staff for the summer
502	prekindergarten program, each school district shall give
503	priority to teachers who have experience or coursework in early
504	childhood education.
505	(5)  Each prekindergarten instructor employed by a public
506	school or private prekindergarten provider delivering the summer
507	prekindergarten program must be of good moral character, must be
508	screened using the level 2 screening standards in s. 435.04
509	before employment and rescreened at least once every 5 years,
510	must be denied employment or terminated if required under s.
511	435.06, and must not be ineligible to teach in a public school
512	because his or her educator certificate is suspended or revoked.
513	This subsection does not supersede employment requirements for
514	instructional personnel in public schools which are more
515	stringent than the requirements of this subsection.
516	(6)  Notwithstanding ss. 1002.55(3)(e) and 1002.63(7), each
517	prekindergarten class in the summer prekindergarten program,
518	regardless of whether the class is a public school's or private
519	prekindergarten provider's class, must be composed of at least 4
520	students but may not exceed 10 students. In order to protect the
521	health and safety of students, each public school or private
522	prekindergarten provider must also provide appropriate adult
523	supervision for students at all times. This subsection does not
524	supersede any requirement imposed on a provider under ss.
525	402.301-402.319.
526	(7)  Each public school delivering the summer
527	prekindergarten program must also:
528	(a)  Register with the early learning coalition on forms
529	prescribed by the Agency for Workforce Innovation; and
530	(b)  Deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
531	Program in accordance with this part.
532	1002.63  School-year prekindergarten program delivered by
533	public schools.--
534	(1)  Each school district eligible under subsection (4) may
535	administer the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program at
536	the district level for students enrolled under s. 1002.53(3)(c)
537	in a school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a public
538	school.
539	(2)  Each school-year prekindergarten program delivered by
540	a public school must comprise at least 540 instructional hours.
541	(3)  The district school board of each school district
542	eligible under subsection (4) shall determine which public
543	schools in the district are eligible to deliver the
544	prekindergarten program during the school year.
545	(4)  To be eligible to deliver the prekindergarten program
546	during the school year, each school district must meet both of
547	the following requirements:
548	(a)  The district school board must certify to the State
549	Board of Education that the school district:
550	1.  Has reduced the average class size in each classroom in
551	accordance with s. 1003.03 and the schedule in s. 1(a), Art. IX
552	of the State Constitution; and
553	2.  Has sufficient satisfactory educational facilities and
554	capital outlay funds to continue reducing the average class size
555	in each classroom in the district's elementary schools for each
556	year in accordance with the schedule for class-size reduction
557	and to achieve full compliance with the maximum class sizes in
558	s. 1(a), Art. IX of the State Constitution by the beginning of
559	the 2010-2011 school year.
560	(b)  The Commissioner of Education must certify to the
561	State Board of Education that the department has reviewed the
562	school district's educational facilities, capital outlay funds,
563	and projected student enrollment and concurs with the district
564	school board's certification under paragraph (a).
565	(5)  Each public school must have, for each prekindergarten
566	class, at least one prekindergarten instructor who meets each
567	requirement in s. 1002.55(3)(c) for a prekindergarten instructor
568	of a private prekindergarten provider.
569	(6)  Each prekindergarten instructor employed by a public
570	school delivering the school-year prekindergarten program must
571	be of good moral character, must be screened using the level 2
572	screening standards in s. 435.04 before employment and
573	rescreened at least once every 5 years, must be denied
574	employment or terminated if required under s. 435.06, and must
575	not be ineligible to teach in a public school because his or her
576	educator certificate is suspended or revoked. This subsection
577	does not supersede employment requirements for instructional
578	personnel in public schools which are more stringent than the
579	requirements of this subsection.
580	(7)  Each prekindergarten class in a public school
581	delivering the school-year prekindergarten program must be
582	composed of at least 4 students but may not exceed 18 students.
583	In order to protect the health and safety of students, each
584	school must also provide appropriate adult supervision for
585	students at all times.
586	(8)  Each public school delivering the school-year
587	prekindergarten program must:
588	(a)  Register with the early learning coalition on forms
589	prescribed by the Agency for Workforce Innovation; and
590	(b)  Deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
591	Program in accordance with this part.
592	1002.65  Professional credentials of prekindergarten
593	instructors; aspirational goals; legislative intent.--
594	(1)  The Legislature recognizes that there is a strong
595	relationship between the skills and preparation of
596	prekindergarten instructors and the educational outcomes of
597	students in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program.
598	(2)  To improve these educational outcomes, the Legislature
599	intends that all prekindergarten instructors will continue to
600	improve their skills and preparation through education and
601	training, so that the following aspirational goals will be
602	achieved:
603	(a)  By the 2010-2011 school year:
604	1.  Each prekindergarten class will have at least one
605	prekindergarten instructor who holds an associate's or higher
606	degree in the field of early childhood education or child
607	development; and
608	2.  For each prekindergarten class composed of 11 or more
609	students, in addition to a prekindergarten instructor who meets
610	the requirements of subparagraph 1., the class will have at
611	least one prekindergarten instructor who meets the requirements
612	of s. 1002.55(3)(c).
613	(b)  By the 2013-2014 school year, each prekindergarten
614	class will have at least one prekindergarten instructor who
615	holds a bachelor's or higher degree in the field of early
616	childhood education or child development.
617	1002.67  Performance standards; curricula and
618	accountability.--
619	(1)  By April 1, 2005, the department shall develop and
620	adopt performance standards for students in the Voluntary
621	Prekindergarten Education Program. The performance standards
622	must address the age-appropriate progress of students in the
623	development of:
624	(a)  The capabilities, capacities, and skills required
625	under s. 1(b), Art. IX of the State Constitution; and
626	(b)  Emergent literacy skills, including oral
627	communication, knowledge of print and letters, phonemic and
628	phonological awareness, and vocabulary and comprehension
629	development.
630	(2)(a)  Each private prekindergarten provider and public
631	school may select or design the curriculum that the provider or
632	school uses to implement the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
633	Program, except as otherwise required for a provider or school
634	that is placed on probation under paragraph (3)(c).
635	(b)  Each private prekindergarten provider's and public
636	school's curriculum must be developmentally appropriate and
637	must:
638	1.  Be designed to prepare a student for early literacy;
639	2.  Enhance the age-appropriate progress of students in
640	attaining the performance standards adopted by the department
641	under subsection (1); and
642	3.  Prepare students to be ready for kindergarten based
643	upon the statewide kindergarten screening administered under s.
644	1002.69.
645	(c)  The department shall review and approve curricula for
646	use by private prekindergarten providers and public schools that
647	are placed on probation under paragraph (3)(c). The department
648	shall maintain a list of the curricula approved under this
649	paragraph. Each approved curriculum must meet the requirements
650	of paragraph (b).
651	(3)(a)  Each early learning coalition shall verify that
652	each private prekindergarten provider delivering the Voluntary
653	Prekindergarten Education Program within the coalition's county
654	or multicounty region complies with this part. Each district
655	school board shall verify that each public school delivering the
656	program within the school district complies with this part.
657	(b)  If a private prekindergarten provider or public school
658	fails or refuses to comply with this part, or if a provider or
659	school engages in misconduct, the Agency for Workforce
660	Innovation shall require the early learning coalition to remove
661	the provider, and the Department of Education shall require the
662	school district to remove the school, from eligibility to
663	deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program and
664	receive state funds under this part.
665	(c)1.  If the kindergarten readiness rate of a private
666	prekindergarten provider or public school falls below the
667	minimum rate adopted by the State Board of Education as
668	satisfactory under s. 1002.69(6), the early learning coalition
669	or school district, as applicable, shall require the provider or
670	school to submit an improvement plan for approval by the
671	coalition or school district, as applicable, and to implement
672	the plan.
673	2.  If a private prekindergarten provider or public school
674	fails to meet the minimum rate adopted by the State Board of
675	Education as satisfactory under s. 1002.69(6) for 2 consecutive
676	years, the early learning coalition or school district, as
677	applicable, shall place the provider or school on probation and
678	must require the provider or school to take certain corrective
679	actions, including the use of a curriculum approved by the
680	department under paragraph (2)(c).
681	3.  A private prekindergarten provider or public school
682	that is placed on probation must continue the corrective actions
683	required under subparagraph 2., including the use of a
684	curriculum approved by the department, until the provider or
685	school meets the minimum rate adopted by the State Board of
686	Education as satisfactory under s. 1002.69(6).
687	4.  If a private prekindergarten provider or public school
688	remains on probation for 2 consecutive years and fails to meet
689	the minimum rate adopted by the State Board of Education as
690	satisfactory under s. 1002.69(6), the Agency for Workforce
691	Innovation shall require the early learning coalition or the
692	Department of Education shall require the school district, as
693	applicable, to remove the provider or school from eligibility to
694	deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program and
695	receive state funds for the program.
696	(d)  Each early learning coalition, the Agency for
697	Workforce Innovation, and the department shall coordinate with
698	the Child Care Services Program Office of the Department of
699	Children and Family Services to minimize interagency duplication
700	of activities for monitoring private prekindergarten providers
701	for compliance with requirements of the Voluntary
702	Prekindergarten Education Program under this part, the school
703	readiness programs under s. 411.01, and the licensing of
704	providers under ss. 402.301-402.319.
705	1002.69  Statewide kindergarten screening; kindergarten
706	readiness rates.--
707	(1)  The department shall adopt a statewide kindergarten
708	screening that assesses the readiness of each student for
709	kindergarten based upon the performance standards adopted by the
710	department under s. 1002.67(1) for the Voluntary Prekindergarten
711	Education Program. The department shall require that each school
712	district administer the statewide kindergarten screening to each
713	kindergarten student in the school district within the first 30
714	school days of each school year.
715	(2)  The statewide kindergarten screening shall provide
716	objective data concerning each student's readiness for
717	kindergarten and progress in attaining the performance standards
718	adopted by the department under s. 1002.67(1).
719	(3)  The statewide kindergarten screening shall incorporate
720	mechanisms for recognizing potential variations in kindergarten
721	readiness rates for students with disabilities.
722	(4)  Each parent who enrolls his or her child in the
723	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program must submit the
724	child for the statewide kindergarten screening, regardless of
725	whether the child is admitted to kindergarten in a public school
726	or nonpublic school. Each school district shall designate sites
727	to administer the statewide kindergarten screening for children
728	admitted to kindergarten in a nonpublic school.
729	(5)  The State Board of Education shall adopt procedures
730	for the department to annually calculate each private
731	prekindergarten provider's and public school's kindergarten
732	readiness rate, which must be expressed as the percentage of the
733	provider's or school's students who are assessed as ready for
734	kindergarten. The kindergarten readiness rates must be based
735	exclusively upon the results of the statewide kindergarten
736	screening for students completing the Voluntary Prekindergarten
737	Education Program, beginning with students completing the
738	program during the 2005-2006 school year who are administered
739	the statewide kindergarten screening during the 2006-2007 school
740	year. The rates must not include students who are not
741	administered the statewide kindergarten screening.
742	(6)(a)  The State Board of Education shall periodically
743	adopt a minimum kindergarten readiness rate that, if achieved by
744	a private prekindergarten provider or public school, would
745	demonstrate the provider's or school's satisfactory delivery of
746	the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program.
747	(b)  The minimum rate must not exceed the rate at which
748	more than 15 percent of the kindergarten readiness rates of all
749	private prekindergarten providers and public schools delivering
750	the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program in the state
751	would fall below the minimum rate.
752	1002.71  Funding; financial and attendance reporting.--
753	(1)  Funds appropriated for the Voluntary Prekindergarten
754	Education Program may be used only for the program in accordance
755	with this part. If the student enrollment in the program for a
756	fiscal year exceeds the estimated enrollment upon which the
757	appropriation for that fiscal year is provided, thereby causing
758	a shortfall, funds appropriated to the program for the
759	subsequent fiscal year must be used first to fund the shortfall.
760	(2)  A full-time equivalent student in the Voluntary
761	Prekindergarten Education Program shall be calculated as
762	follows:
763	(a)  For a student in a school-year prekindergarten program
764	delivered by a private prekindergarten provider: 540
765	instructional hours.
766	(b)  For a student in a summer prekindergarten program
767	delivered by a public school or private prekindergarten
768	provider: 300 instructional hours.
769	(c)  For a student in a school-year prekindergarten program
770	delivered by a public school: 540 instructional hours.
771
772	Except as provided in subsection (4), a student may not be
773	reported for funding purposes as more than one full-time
774	equivalent student.
775	(3)(a)  The base student allocation per full-time
776	equivalent student in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
777	Program shall be provided in the General Appropriations Act and
778	shall be equal for each student, regardless of whether the
779	student is enrolled in a school-year prekindergarten program
780	delivered by a private prekindergarten provider, a summer
781	prekindergarten program delivered by a public school or private
782	prekindergarten provider, or a school-year prekindergarten
783	program delivered by a public school.
784	(b)  Each county's allocation per full-time equivalent
785	student in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program shall
786	be calculated annually by multiplying the base student
787	allocation provided in the General Appropriations Act by the
788	county's district cost differential provided in s. 1011.62(2).
789	Each private prekindergarten provider and public school shall be
790	paid in accordance with the county's allocation per full-time
791	equivalent student.
792	(4)  Notwithstanding s. 1002.53(3) and subsection (2):
793	(a)  A child who, for any of the prekindergarten programs
794	listed in s. 1002.53(3), has not completed more than 10 percent
795	of the hours authorized to be reported for funding under
796	subsection (2) may withdraw from the program for good cause,
797	reenroll in one of the programs, and be reported for funding
798	purposes as a full-time equivalent student in the program for
799	which the child is reenrolled.
800	(b)  A child who has not substantially completed any of the
801	prekindergarten programs listed in s. 1002.53(3) may withdraw
802	from the program due to an extreme hardship that is beyond the
803	child's or parent's control, reenroll in one of the programs,
804	and be reported for funding purposes as a full-time equivalent
805	student in the program for which the child is reenrolled.
806
807	A child may reenroll only once in a prekindergarten program
808	under this section. A child who reenrolls in a prekindergarten
809	program under this subsection may not subsequently withdraw from
810	the program and reenroll. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
811	shall establish criteria specifying whether a good cause exists
812	for a child to withdraw from a program under paragraph (a),
813	whether a child has substantially completed a program under
814	paragraph (b), and whether an extreme hardship exists which is
815	beyond the child's or parent's control under paragraph (b).
816	(5)(a)  Each early learning coalition shall maintain
817	through the single point of entry established under s. 411.01 a
818	current database of the students enrolled in the Voluntary
819	Prekindergarten Education Program for each county within the
820	coalition's region.
821	(b)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt
822	procedures for the payment of private prekindergarten providers
823	and public schools delivering the Voluntary Prekindergarten
824	Education Program. The procedures shall provide for the advance
825	payment of providers and schools based upon student enrollment
826	in the program, the certification of student attendance, and the
827	reconciliation of advance payments in accordance with the
828	uniform attendance policy adopted under paragraph (6)(d). The
829	procedures shall provide for the monthly distribution of funds
830	by the Agency for Workforce Innovation to the early learning
831	coalitions for payment by the coalitions to private
832	prekindergarten providers and public schools. The department
833	shall transfer to the Agency for Workforce Innovation at least
834	once each quarter the funds available for payment to private
835	prekindergarten providers and public schools in accordance with
836	this paragraph from the funds appropriated for that purpose.
837	(6)(a)  Each parent enrolling his or her child in the
838	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program must agree to comply
839	with the attendance policy of the private prekindergarten
840	provider or district school board, as applicable. Upon
841	enrollment of the child, the private prekindergarten provider or
842	public school, as applicable, must provide the child's parent
843	with a copy of the provider's or school district's attendance
844	policy, as applicable.
845	(b)1.  Each private prekindergarten provider's and district
846	school board's attendance policy must require the parent of each
847	student in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program to
848	verify, each month, the student's attendance on the prior
849	month's certified student attendance.
850	2.  The parent must submit the verification of the
851	student's attendance to the private prekindergarten provider or
852	public school on forms prescribed by the Agency for Workforce
853	Innovation. The forms must include, in addition to the
854	verification of the student's attendance, a certification, in
855	substantially the following form, that the parent continues to
856	choose the private prekindergarten provider or public school in
857	accordance with s. 1002.53 and directs that payments for the
858	program be made to the provider or school:
859
860	VERIFICATION OF STUDENT'S ATTENDANCE
861	AND CERTIFICATION OF PARENTAL CHOICE
862
863	I,  . . . (Name of Parent) . . . , swear (or affirm) that my
864	child, . . . (Name of Student) . . . , attended the Voluntary
865	Prekindergarten Education Program on the days listed above and
866	certify that I continue to choose  . . . (Name of Provider or
867	School) . . .  to deliver the program for my child and direct
868	that program funds be paid to the provider or school for my
869	child.
870	. . . (Signature of Parent) . . .
871	. . . (Date) . . .
872
873	3.  The private prekindergarten provider or public school
874	must keep each original signed form for at least 2 years. Each
875	private prekindergarten provider must permit the early learning
876	coalition, and each public school must permit the school
877	district, to inspect the original signed forms during normal
878	business hours. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt
879	procedures for early learning coalitions and school districts to
880	review the original signed forms against the certified student
881	attendance. The review procedures shall provide for the use of
882	selective inspection techniques, including, but not limited to,
883	random sampling. Each early learning coalition and school
884	district must comply with the review procedures.
885	(c)  A private prekindergarten provider or school district,
886	as applicable, may dismiss a student who does not comply with
887	the provider's or district's attendance policy. A student
888	dismissed under this paragraph is not removed from the Voluntary
889	Prekindergarten Education Program and may continue in the
890	program through reenrollment with another private
891	prekindergarten provider or public school. Notwithstanding s.
892	1002.53(6)(b), a school district is not required to provide for
893	the admission of a student dismissed under this paragraph.
894	(d)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt, for
895	funding purposes, a uniform attendance policy for the Voluntary
896	Prekindergarten Education Program. The attendance policy must
897	apply statewide and apply equally to all private prekindergarten
898	providers and public schools. The attendance policy must
899	establish a minimum requirement for student attendance and
900	include the following provisions:
901	1.  A student who meets the minimum requirement may be
902	reported as a full-time equivalent student for funding purposes.
903	2.  A student who does not meet the minimum requirement may
904	be reported only as a fractional part of a full-time equivalent
905	student, reduced pro rata based on the student's attendance.
906	3.  A student who does not meet the minimum requirement may
907	be reported as a full-time equivalent student if the student is
908	absent for good cause in accordance with exceptions specified in
909	the uniform attendance policy.
910
911	The uniform attendance policy shall be used only for funding
912	purposes and does not prohibit a private prekindergarten
913	provider or public school from adopting and enforcing its
914	attendance policy under paragraphs (a) and (c).
915	(7)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall require that
916	administrative expenditures be kept to the minimum necessary for
917	efficient and effective administration of the Voluntary
918	Prekindergarten Education Program. Each early learning coalition
919	may retain and expend no more than 5 percent of the funds paid
920	by the coalition to private prekindergarten providers and public
921	schools under paragraph (5)(b). Funds retained by an early
922	learning coalition under this subsection may be used only for
923	administering the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
924	and may not be used for the school readiness program or other
925	programs.
926	(8)  Except as otherwise expressly authorized by law, a
927	private prekindergarten provider or public school may not:
928	(a)  Require payment of a fee or charge for services
929	provided for a child enrolled in the Voluntary Prekindergarten
930	Education Program during a period reported for funding purposes;
931	or
932	(b)  Require a child to enroll for, or require the payment
933	of any fee or charge for, supplemental services as a condition
934	of admitting a child for enrollment in the Voluntary
935	Prekindergarten Education Program.
936	(9)  A parent is responsible for the transportation of his
937	or her child to and from the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
938	Program, regardless of whether the program is delivered by a
939	private prekindergarten provider or a public school. However, a
940	provider or school may use part of the funds it is paid under
941	paragraph (5)(b) for transporting students to and from the
942	program. A student enrolled in the Voluntary Prekindergarten
943	Education Program may not be reported under s. 1011.68 for
944	student transportation funds.
945	1002.73  Department of Education; powers and duties;
946	accountability requirements.--
947	(1)  The department shall administer the accountability
948	requirements of the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
949	at the state level.
950	(2)  The department shall adopt procedures for the
951	department's:
952	(a)  Approval of prekindergarten director credentials under
953	ss. 1002.55 and 1002.57.
954	(b)  Approval of emergent literacy training courses under
955	ss. 1002.55 and 1002.59.
956	(c)  Certification of school districts that are eligible to
957	deliver the school-year prekindergarten program under s.
958	1002.63.
959	(d)  Administration of the statewide kindergarten screening
960	and calculation of kindergarten readiness rates under s.
961	1002.69.
962	(3)  Except as provided by law, the department may not
963	impose requirements on a private prekindergarten provider that
964	does not deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
965	or receive state funds under this part.
966	1002.75  Agency for Workforce Innovation; powers and
967	duties; operational requirements.--
968	(1)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall administer
969	the operational requirements of the Voluntary Prekindergarten
970	Education Program at the state level.
971	(2)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt
972	procedures governing the administration of the Voluntary
973	Prekindergarten Education Program by the early learning
974	coalitions and school districts for:
975	(a)  Enrolling children in and determining the eligibility
976	of children for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
977	under s. 1002.53.
978	(b)  Providing parents with profiles of private
979	prekindergarten providers and public schools under s. 1002.53.
980	(c)  Registering private prekindergarten providers and
981	public schools to deliver the program under ss. 1002.55,
982	1002.61, and 1002.63.
983	(d)  Determining the eligibility of private prekindergarten
984	providers to deliver the program under ss. 1002.55 and 1002.61.
985	(e)  Verifying the compliance of private prekindergarten
986	providers and public schools and removing providers or schools
987	from eligibility to deliver the program due to noncompliance or
988	misconduct as provided in s. 1002.67.
989	(f)  Paying private prekindergarten providers and public
990	schools under s. 1002.71.
991	(g)  Documenting and certifying student enrollment and
992	student attendance under s. 1002.71.
993	(h)  Reconciling advance payments in accordance with the
994	uniform attendance policy under s. 1002.71.
995	(i)  Reenrolling students dismissed by a private
996	prekindergarten provider or public school for noncompliance with
997	the provider's or school district's attendance policy under s.
998	1002.71.
999	(3)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt, in
1000	consultation with and subject to approval by the department,
1001	procedures governing the administration of the Voluntary
1002	Prekindergarten Education Program by the early learning
1003	coalitions and school districts for:
1004	(a)  Approving improvement plans of private prekindergarten
1005	providers and public schools under s. 1002.67.
1006	(b)  Placing private prekindergarten providers and public
1007	schools on probation and requiring corrective actions under s.
1008	1002.67.
1009	(c)  Removing a private prekindergarten provider or public
1010	school from eligibility to deliver the program due to the
1011	provider's or school's remaining on probation beyond the time
1012	permitted under s. 1002.67.
1013	(4)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall also adopt
1014	procedures for the agency's distribution of funds to early
1015	learning coalitions under s. 1002.71.
1016	(5)  Except as provided by law, the Agency for Workforce
1017	Innovation may not impose requirements on a private
1018	prekindergarten provider or public school that does not deliver
1019	the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program or receive state
1020	funds under this part.
1021	1002.77  Florida Early Learning Advisory Council.--
1022	(1)  There is created the Florida Early Learning Advisory
1023	Council within the Agency for Workforce Innovation. The purpose
1024	of the advisory council is to submit recommendations to the
1025	department and the Agency for Workforce Innovation on the early
1026	learning policy of this state, including recommendations
1027	relating to administration of the Voluntary Prekindergarten
1028	Education Program under this part and the school readiness
1029	programs under s. 411.01.
1030	(2)  The advisory council shall be composed of the
1031	following members:
1032	(a)  The chair of the advisory council who shall be
1033	appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
1034	(b)  The chair of each early learning coalition.
1035	(c)  One member who shall be appointed by and serve at the
1036	pleasure of the President of the Senate.
1037	(d)  One member who shall be appointed by and serve at the
1038	pleasure of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
1039
1040	The chair of the advisory council appointed by the Governor and
1041	the members appointed by the presiding officers of the
1042	Legislature must each have a background in early learning.
1043	(3)  The advisory council shall meet at least quarterly but
1044	may meet as often as necessary to carry out its duties and
1045	responsibilities.
1046	(4)(a)  Each member of the advisory council shall serve
1047	without compensation but is entitled to receive reimbursement
1048	for per diem and travel expenses for attendance at council
1049	meetings as provided in s. 112.061.
1050	(b)  Each member of the advisory council is subject to the
1051	ethics provisions in part III of chapter 112.
1052	(c)  For purposes of tort liability, each member of the
1053	advisory council shall be governed by s. 768.28.
1054	(5)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall provide
1055	staff and administrative support for the advisory council.
1056	1002.79  Rulemaking authority.--
1057	(1)  The State Board of Education shall adopt rules under
1058	ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer the provisions of this
1059	part conferring duties upon the department.
1060	(2)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt rules
1061	under ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer the provisions of
1062	this part conferring duties upon the agency.
1063	Section 2.  Section 411.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to
1064	read:
1065	411.01  Florida Partnership for School readiness programs;
1066	early learning school readiness coalitions.--
1067	(1)  SHORT TITLE.--This section may be cited as the "School
1068	Readiness Act."
1069	(2)  LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--
1070	(a)  The Legislature recognizes that school readiness
1071	programs increase children's chances of achieving future
1072	educational success and becoming productive members of society.
1073	It is the intent of the Legislature that the such programs be
1074	developmentally appropriate, research-based, involve parents as
1075	their child's first teacher, serve as preventive measures for
1076	children at risk of future school failure, enhance the
1077	educational readiness of eligible children, and support family
1078	education. Each school readiness program shall provide the
1079	elements necessary to prepare at-risk children for school,
1080	including health screening and referral and an appropriate
1081	educational program.
1082	(b)  It is the intent of the Legislature that school
1083	readiness programs be operated on a full-day, year-round basis
1084	to the maximum extent possible to enable parents to work and
1085	become financially self-sufficient.
1086	(c)  It is the intent of the Legislature that school
1087	readiness programs not exist as isolated programs, but build
1088	upon existing services and work in cooperation with other
1089	programs for young children, and that school readiness programs
1090	be coordinated and funding integrated to achieve full
1091	effectiveness.
1092	(d)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the
1093	administrative staff at the state level for school readiness
1094	programs be kept to the minimum necessary to administer carry
1095	out the duties of the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
1096	Partnership for School Readiness, as the school readiness
1097	programs are to be regionally locally designed, operated, and
1098	managed, with the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
1099	Partnership for School Readiness adopting a system for measuring
1100	school readiness; developing school readiness program
1101	performance standards and, outcome measures measurements, and
1102	data design and review; and approving and reviewing early
1103	learning coalitions and local school readiness coalitions and
1104	plans.
1105	(e)  It is the intent of the Legislature that
1106	appropriations for combined school readiness programs shall not
1107	be less than the programs would receive in any fiscal year on an
1108	uncombined basis.
1109	(f)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the school
1110	readiness program coordinate and operate in conjunction with the
1111	district school systems. However, it is also the intent of the
1112	Legislature that the school readiness program not be construed
1113	as part of the system of free public schools but rather as a
1114	separate program for children under the age of kindergarten
1115	eligibility, funded separately from the system of free public
1116	schools, utilizing a mandatory sliding fee scale, and providing
1117	an integrated and seamless system of school readiness services
1118	for the state's birth-to-kindergarten population.
1119	(g)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the federal
1120	child care income tax credit be preserved for school readiness
1121	programs.
1122	(h)  It is the intent of the Legislature that school
1123	readiness services shall be an integrated and seamless system of
1124	services with a developmentally appropriate education component
1125	for the state's eligible birth-to-kindergarten population
1126	described in subsection (6) and shall not be construed as part
1127	of the seamless K-20 education system except for the
1128	administration of the uniform screening system upon entry into
1129	kindergarten.
1130	(3)  PARENTAL PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAMS
1131	PROGRAM.--
1132	(a)  The school readiness program shall be phased in on a
1133	coalition-by-coalition basis. Each coalition's school readiness
1134	program shall have available to it funding from all the
1135	coalition's early education and child care programs that are
1136	funded with state, federal, lottery, or local funds, including
1137	but not limited to Florida First Start programs, Even-Start
1138	literacy programs, prekindergarten early intervention programs,
1139	Head Start programs, programs offered by public and private
1140	providers of child care, migrant prekindergarten programs, Title
1141	I programs, subsidized child care programs, and teen parent
1142	programs, together with any additional funds appropriated or
1143	obtained for purposes of this section.  These programs and their
1144	funding streams shall be components of the coalition's
1145	integrated school readiness program, with the goal of preparing
1146	children for success in school.
1147	(b)  Nothing contained in This section does not act is
1148	intended to:
1149	(a)1.  Relieve parents and guardians of their own
1150	obligations to prepare ready their children for school; or
1151	(b)2.  Create any obligation to provide publicly funded
1152	school readiness programs or services beyond those authorized by
1153	the Legislature.
1154	(4)  AGENCY FOR WORKFORCE INNOVATION FLORIDA PARTNERSHIP
1155	FOR SCHOOL READINESS.--
1156	(a)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall Florida
1157	Partnership for School Readiness was created to fulfill three
1158	major purposes: to administer school readiness programs at the
1159	state level and shall program services that help parents prepare
1160	eligible children for school; to coordinate the early learning
1161	coalitions in providing provision of school readiness services
1162	on a full-day, full-year, full-choice basis to the extent
1163	possible in order to enable parents to work and be financially
1164	self-sufficient; and to establish a uniform screening instrument
1165	to be implemented by the Department of Education and
1166	administered by the school districts upon entry into
1167	kindergarten to assess the readiness for school of all children.
1168	Readiness for kindergarten is the outcome measure of the success
1169	of each school readiness program that receives state or federal
1170	funds. The partnership is assigned to the Agency for Workforce
1171	Innovation for administrative purposes.
1172	(b)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
1173	Partnership for School Readiness shall:
1174	1.  Coordinate the birth-to-kindergarten services for
1175	children who are eligible under pursuant to subsection (6) and
1176	the programmatic, administrative, and fiscal standards under
1177	pursuant to this section for all public providers of school
1178	readiness programs.
1179	2.  Continue to provide unified leadership for school
1180	readiness through early learning local school readiness
1181	coalitions.
1182	3.  Focus on improving the educational quality of all
1183	publicly funded school readiness programs.
1184	(c)1.  The Florida Partnership for School Readiness shall
1185	include the Lieutenant Governor, the Commissioner of Education,
1186	the Secretary of Children and Family Services, and the Secretary
1187	of Health, or their designees, and the chair of the Child Care
1188	Executive Partnership Board, and the chairperson of the Board of
1189	Directors of Workforce Florida, Inc. When the Lieutenant
1190	Governor or an agency head appoints a designee, the designee
1191	must be an individual who attends consistently, and, in the
1192	event that the Lieutenant Governor or agency head and his or her
1193	designee both attend a meeting, only one of them may vote.
1194	2.  The partnership shall also include 14 members of the
1195	public who shall be business, community, and civic leaders in
1196	the state who are not elected to public office. These members
1197	and their families must not have a direct contract with any
1198	local coalition to provide school readiness services. The
1199	members must be geographically and demographically
1200	representative of the state. Each member shall be appointed by
1201	the Governor from a list of nominees submitted by the President
1202	of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
1203	By July 1, 2001, four members shall be appointed as follows: two
1204	members shall be from the child care industry, one representing
1205	the private for-profit sector appointed by the Governor from a
1206	list of two nominees submitted by the President of the Senate
1207	and one representing faith-based providers appointed by the
1208	Governor from a list of two nominees submitted by the Speaker of
1209	the House of Representatives; and two members shall be from the
1210	business community, one appointed by the Governor from a list of
1211	two nominees submitted by the President of the Senate and one
1212	appointed by the Governor from a list of two nominees submitted
1213	by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Members shall be
1214	appointed to 4-year terms of office. The members of the
1215	partnership shall elect a chairperson annually from the
1216	nongovernmental members of the partnership. Any vacancy on the
1217	partnership shall be filled in the same manner as the original
1218	appointment.
1219	(d)  The partnership shall meet at least quarterly but may
1220	meet as often as it deems necessary to carry out its duties and
1221	responsibilities. Members of the partnership shall participate
1222	without proxy at the quarterly meetings. The partnership may
1223	take official action by a majority vote of the members present
1224	at any meeting at which a quorum is present.
1225	(e)  Members of the partnership are subject to the ethics
1226	provisions in part III of chapter 112, and no member may derive
1227	any financial benefit from the funds administered by the Florida
1228	Partnership for School Readiness.
1229	(f)  Members of the partnership shall serve without
1230	compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and
1231	travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as
1232	provided in s. 112.061, and reimbursement for other reasonable,
1233	necessary, and actual expenses.
1234	(g)  For the purposes of tort liability, the members of the
1235	partnership and its employees shall be governed by s. 768.28.
1236	(h)  The partnership shall appoint an executive director
1237	who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The executive
1238	director shall perform the duties assigned to him or her by the
1239	partnership. The executive director shall be responsible for
1240	hiring, subject to the approval of the partnership, all
1241	employees and staff members, who shall serve under his or her
1242	direction and control.
1243	(c)(i)  For purposes of administration of the federal Child
1244	Care and Development Fund, 45 C.F.R. parts 98 and 99, the Agency
1245	for Workforce Innovation partnership may be designated by the
1246	Governor as the lead agency, and, if so designated, shall comply
1247	with the lead agency responsibilities under pursuant to federal
1248	law.
1249	(d)(j)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
1250	Partnership for School Readiness is the principal organization
1251	responsible for the enhancement of school readiness for the
1252	state's children, and shall:
1253	1.  Be responsible for the prudent use of all public and
1254	private funds in accordance with all legal and contractual
1255	requirements.
1256	2.  Provide final approval and periodic review of early
1257	learning coalitions and school readiness plans.
1258	3.  Provide leadership for the enhancement of school
1259	readiness in this state by aggressively establishing a unified
1260	approach to the state's efforts toward enhancement of school
1261	readiness. In support of this effort, the Agency for Workforce
1262	Innovation partnership may develop and implement specific
1263	strategies that address the state's school readiness programs.
1264	4.  Safeguard the effective use of federal, state, local,
1265	and private resources to achieve the highest possible level of
1266	school readiness for the state's children in this state.
1267	5.  Provide technical assistance to early learning
1268	coalitions.
1269	6.  Assess gaps in service.
1270	7.  Provide technical assistance to counties that form a
1271	multicounty region served by an early learning coalition.
1272	8.a.  Adopt a system for measuring school readiness that
1273	provides objective data regarding the expectations for school
1274	readiness, and establish a method for collecting the data and
1275	guidelines for using the data. The measurement, the data
1276	collection, and the use of the data must serve the statewide
1277	school readiness goal. The criteria for determining which data
1278	to collect should be the usefulness of the data to state
1279	policymakers and local program administrators in administering
1280	programs and allocating state funds, and must include the
1281	tracking of school readiness system information back to
1282	individual school readiness programs to assist in determining
1283	program effectiveness.
1284	b.  Adopt a system for evaluating the performance of
1285	students through the third grade to compare the performance of
1286	those who participated in school readiness programs with the
1287	performance of students who did not participate in school
1288	readiness programs in order to identify strategies for continued
1289	successful student performance.
1290	8.9.  Develop and adopt performance standards and outcome
1291	measures for school readiness programs. The performance
1292	standards must address the age-appropriate progress of children
1293	in the development of the school readiness skills required under
1294	paragraph (j). The performance standards for children from birth
1295	to 3 years of age in school readiness programs must be
1296	integrated with the performance standards adopted by the
1297	Department of Education for children in the Voluntary
1298	Prekindergarten Education Program under s. 1002.67.
1299	(e)(k)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership may
1300	adopt rules under ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 necessary to
1301	administer the provisions of law conferring duties upon the
1302	agency, including, but not limited this section which relate to,
1303	rules governing the preparation preparing and implementation of
1304	implementing the system for school readiness system, the
1305	collection of collecting data, the approval of early learning
1306	approving local school readiness coalitions and school readiness
1307	plans, the provision of providing a method whereby an early
1308	learning a coalition may can serve two or more counties, the
1309	award of awarding incentives to early learning coalitions, and
1310	the issuance of issuing waivers.
1311	(f)(l)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
1312	Partnership for School Readiness shall have all powers necessary
1313	to administer carry out the purposes of this section, including,
1314	but not limited to, the power to receive and accept grants,
1315	loans, or advances of funds from any public or private agency
1316	and to receive and accept from any source contributions of
1317	money, property, labor, or any other thing of value, to be held,
1318	used, and applied for the purposes of this section.
1319	(g)  Except as provided by law, the Agency for Workforce
1320	Innovation may not impose requirements on a child care or early
1321	childhood education provider that does not deliver services
1322	under a school readiness program or receive state or federal
1323	funds under this section.
1324	(h)(m)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
1325	Partnership for School Readiness shall have a budget for the
1326	school readiness system, which and shall be financed through an
1327	annual appropriation made for purposes of this section purpose
1328	in the General Appropriations Act.
1329	(i)(n)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
1330	shall coordinate the efforts toward school readiness in this
1331	state and provide independent policy analyses and
1332	recommendations to the Governor, the State Board of Education,
1333	and the Legislature.
1334	(j)(o)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall require
1335	that each early learning coalition's The partnership shall
1336	prepare and submit to the State Board of Education a system for
1337	measuring school readiness program. The system must, at a
1338	minimum, enhance the age-appropriate progress of each child in
1339	the development of include a uniform screening, which shall
1340	provide objective data regarding the following expectations for
1341	school readiness skills which shall include, at a minimum:
1342	1.  The child's immunizations and other health requirements
1343	as necessary, including appropriate vision and hearing screening
1344	and examinations.
1345	2.  The child's physical development.
1346	1.3.  The child's Compliance with rules, limitations, and
1347	routines.
1348	2.4.  The child's Ability to perform tasks.
1349	3.5.  The child's Interactions with adults.
1350	4.6.  The child's Interactions with peers.
1351	5.7.  The child's Ability to cope with challenges.
1352	6.8.  The child's Self-help skills.
1353	7.9.  The child's Ability to express the child's his or her
1354	needs.
1355	8.10.  The child's Verbal communication skills.
1356	9.11.  The child's Problem-solving skills.
1357	10.12.  The child's Following of verbal directions.
1358	11.13.  The child's Demonstration of curiosity,
1359	persistence, and exploratory behavior.
1360	12.14.  The child's Interest in books and other printed
1361	materials.
1362	13.15.  The child's Paying attention to stories.
1363	14.16.  The child's Participation in art and music
1364	activities.
1365	15.17.  The child's Ability to identify colors, geometric
1366	shapes, letters of the alphabet, numbers, and spatial and
1367	temporal relationships.
1368
1369	The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall also require that,
1370	before a child is enrolled in an early learning coalition's
1371	school readiness program, the coalition must ensure that
1372	information is obtained by the coalition or the school readiness
1373	provider regarding the child's immunizations, physical
1374	development, and other health requirements as necessary,
1375	including appropriate vision and hearing screening and
1376	examinations.
1377	(p)  The partnership shall prepare a plan for implementing
1378	the system for measuring school readiness in such a way that all
1379	children in this state will undergo the uniform screening
1380	established by the partnership when they enter kindergarten.
1381	Children who enter public school for the first time in first
1382	grade must undergo a uniform screening approved by the
1383	partnership for use in first grade. Because children with
1384	disabilities may not be able to meet all of the identified
1385	expectations for school readiness, the plan for measuring school
1386	readiness shall incorporate mechanisms for recognizing the
1387	potential variations in expectations for school readiness when
1388	serving children with disabilities and shall provide for
1389	communities to serve children with disabilities.
1390	(k)(q)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
1391	shall conduct studies and planning activities related to the
1392	overall improvement and effectiveness of the outcome school
1393	readiness measures adopted by the agency for school readiness
1394	programs.
1395	(l)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall monitor and
1396	evaluate the performance of each early learning coalition in
1397	administering the school readiness program, implementing the
1398	coalition's school readiness plan, and administering the
1399	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program. These monitoring
1400	and performance evaluations must include, at a minimum, onsite
1401	monitoring of each coalition's finances, management, operations,
1402	and programs.
1403	(m)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall identify
1404	best practices of early learning coalitions in order to improve
1405	the outcomes of school readiness programs.
1406	(r)  The partnership shall establish procedures for
1407	performance-based budgeting in school readiness programs.
1408	(n)(s)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
1409	shall submit an annual report of its activities conducted under
1410	this section to the Governor, the executive director of the
1411	Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, the President of the Senate,
1412	the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the minority
1413	leaders of both houses of the Legislature. In addition, the
1414	Agency for Workforce Innovation's partnership's reports and
1415	recommendations shall be made available to the State Board of
1416	Education, the Florida Early Learning Advisory Council, other
1417	appropriate state agencies and entities, district school boards,
1418	central agencies for child care, and county health departments.
1419	The annual report must provide an analysis of school readiness
1420	activities across the state, including the number of children
1421	who were served in the programs and the number of children who
1422	were ready for school.
1423	(o)(t)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
1424	shall work with the early learning school readiness coalitions
1425	to increase parents' training for and involvement in their
1426	children's preschool education and to provide family literacy
1427	activities and programs.
1428
1429	To ensure that the system for measuring school readiness is
1430	comprehensive and appropriate statewide, as the system is
1431	developed and implemented, the partnership must consult with
1432	representatives of district school systems, providers of public
1433	and private child care, health care providers, large and small
1434	employers, experts in education for children with disabilities,
1435	and experts in child development.
1436	(5)  CREATION OF EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL READINESS
1437	COALITIONS.--
1438	(a)  Early learning School readiness coalitions.--
1439	1.  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall establish the
1440	minimum number of children to be served by each early learning
1441	coalition through the coalition's school readiness program. The
1442	Agency for Workforce Innovation may only approve school
1443	readiness plans in accordance with this minimum number. The
1444	minimum number must be uniform for every early learning
1445	coalition and must:
1446	a.  Permit 30 or fewer coalitions to be established; and
1447	b.  Require each coalition to serve at least 2,000 children
1448	based upon the average number of all children served per month
1449	through the coalition's school readiness program during the
1450	previous 12 months.
1451
1452	The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt procedures for
1453	merging early learning coalitions, including procedures for the
1454	consolidation of merging coalitions, and for the early
1455	termination of the terms of coalition members which are
1456	necessary to accomplish the mergers. Each early learning
1457	coalition must comply with the merger procedures and shall be
1458	organized in accordance with this subparagraph by April 1, 2005.
1459	By June 30, 2005, each coalition must complete the transfer of
1460	powers, duties, functions, rules, records, personnel, property,
1461	and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and
1462	other funds to the successor coalition, if applicable.
1463	2.1.  If an early learning coalition a coalition's plan
1464	would serve fewer less than 400 birth-to-kindergarten age
1465	children than the minimum number established under subparagraph
1466	1., the coalition must merge either join with another county to
1467	form a multicounty coalition. However, the Agency for Workforce
1468	Innovation may authorize an early learning coalition to serve
1469	fewer children than the minimum number established under
1470	subparagraph 1., if:
1471	a.  The coalition demonstrates to the Agency for Workforce
1472	Innovation that merging with another county or multicounty
1473	region contiguous to the coalition would cause an extreme
1474	hardship on the coalition;
1475	b.  The Agency for Workforce Innovation has determined
1476	during the most recent annual review of the coalition's school
1477	readiness plan, or through monitoring and performance
1478	evaluations conducted under paragraph (4)(l), that the coalition
1479	has substantially implemented its plan and substantially met the
1480	performance standards and outcome measures adopted by the
1481	agency; and
1482	c.  The coalition demonstrates to the Agency for Workforce
1483	Innovation the coalition's, enter an agreement with a fiscal
1484	agent to serve more than one coalition, or demonstrate to the
1485	partnership its ability to effectively and efficiently implement
1486	the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program its plan as a
1487	single-county coalition and meet all required performance
1488	standards and outcome measures.
1489
1490	If an early learning coalition fails or refuses to merge as
1491	required by this subparagraph, the Agency for Workforce
1492	Innovation may dissolve the coalition and temporarily contract
1493	with a qualified entity to continue school readiness and
1494	prekindergarten services in the coalition's county or
1495	multicounty region until the coalition is reestablished through
1496	resubmission of a school readiness plan and approval by the
1497	agency.
1498	3.  Each early learning coalition shall be composed of at
1499	least 18 members but not more than 35 members. The Agency for
1500	Workforce Innovation shall adopt standards establishing within
1501	this range the minimum and maximum number of members that may be
1502	appointed to an early learning coalition. These standards must
1503	include variations for a coalition serving a multicounty region.
1504	Each early learning coalition must comply with these standards.
1505	4.  The Governor shall appoint the chair and two other
1506	members of each early learning coalition, who must each meet the
1507	same qualifications as private-sector business members appointed
1508	by the coalition under subparagraph 6.
1509	5.2.  Each early learning coalition shall have at least 18
1510	but not more than 25 members and such members must include the
1511	following members:
1512	a.  A Department of Children and Family Services district
1513	administrator or his or her designee who is authorized to make
1514	decisions on behalf of the department.
1515	b.  A district superintendent of schools or his or her
1516	designee who is authorized to make decisions on behalf of the
1517	district, who shall be a nonvoting member.
1518	c.  A regional workforce development board executive chair
1519	or director or his or her designee, where applicable.
1520	d.  A county health department director or his or her
1521	designee.
1522	e.  A children's services council or juvenile welfare board
1523	chair or executive director, if applicable, who shall be a
1524	nonvoting member if the council or board is the fiscal agent of
1525	the coalition or if the council or board contracts with and
1526	receives funds from the coalition.
1527	f.  An agency head of a local child care licensing agency
1528	as defined in s. 402.302, where applicable head.
1529	g.  A president of a community college or his or her
1530	designee.
1531	g.  One member appointed by a Department of Children and
1532	Family Services district administrator.
1533	h.  One member appointed by a board of county
1534	commissioners.
1535	i.  One member appointed by a district school board.
1536	i.j.  A central child care agency administrator, where
1537	applicable, who shall be a nonvoting member.
1538	j.k.  A Head Start director, who shall be a nonvoting
1539	member.
1540	k.l.  A representative of private child care providers,
1541	including family day care homes, who shall be a nonvoting
1542	member.
1543	l.m.  A representative of faith-based child care providers,
1544	who shall be a nonvoting member.
1545	m.  A representative of programs for children with
1546	disabilities under the federal Individuals with Disabilities
1547	Education Act, who shall be a nonvoting member.
1548	6.  Including the members appointed by the Governor under
1549	subparagraph 4., more than one-third of the coalition members of
1550	each early learning coalition must be private-sector business
1551	members who do not have, and none of whose relatives as defined
1552	in s. 112.3143 has, a substantial financial interest in the
1553	design or delivery of the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
1554	Program created under part V of chapter 1002 or the coalition's
1555	school readiness program from the private sector, and neither
1556	they nor their families may earn an income from the early
1557	education and child care industry. To meet this requirement an
1558	early learning a coalition must appoint additional members from
1559	a list of nominees submitted presented to the coalition by a
1560	chamber of commerce or economic development council within the
1561	geographic region served by area of the coalition. The Agency
1562	for Workforce Innovation shall establish criteria for appointing
1563	private-sector business members. These criteria must include
1564	standards for determining whether a member or relative has a
1565	substantial financial interest in the design or delivery of the
1566	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program or the coalition's
1567	school readiness program.
1568	7.  A majority of the voting membership of an early
1569	learning coalition constitutes a quorum required to conduct the
1570	business of the coalition.
1571	8.3.  A voting No member of an early learning a coalition
1572	may not appoint a designee to act in his or her place, except as
1573	otherwise provided in this paragraph. A voting member may send a
1574	representative to coalition meetings, but that representative
1575	does not will have no voting privileges. When a district
1576	superintendent of schools or a district administrator for the
1577	Department of Children and Family Services appoints a designee
1578	to an early learning a school readiness coalition, the designee
1579	is will be the voting member of the coalition, and any
1580	individual attending in the designee's his or her place,
1581	including the district administrator or superintendent, does not
1582	will have no voting privileges.
1583	9.4.  Each member Members of an early learning the
1584	coalition is are subject to ss. 112.313, 112.3135, and 112.3143
1585	the ethics provisions in part III of chapter 112. For purposes
1586	of s. 112.3143(3)(a), each voting member is a local public
1587	officer who must abstain from voting when a voting conflict
1588	exists.
1589	10.5.  For the purposes of tort liability, each member or
1590	employee of an early learning the members of the school
1591	readiness coalition and its employees shall be governed by s.
1592	768.28.
1593	11.6.  An early learning coalition serving a multicounty
1594	region must coalitions shall include representation from each
1595	county.
1596	12.7.  Each early learning coalition shall establish The
1597	terms for of all appointed members of the coalition. The terms
1598	must be staggered and must be a uniform length that does not
1599	exceed 4 years per term. Appointed members may serve a maximum
1600	of two consecutive terms. When a vacancy occurs in an appointed
1601	position, the coalition must advertise the vacancy.
1602	(b)  Program participation.--The school readiness program
1603	shall be established for children from birth to the beginning of
1604	the school year for which a child is eligible for admission to 5
1605	years of age or until the child enters kindergarten in a public
1606	school under s. 1003.21(1)(a)2. The program shall be
1607	administered by the early learning school readiness coalition.
1608	Within funding limitations, the early learning school readiness
1609	coalition, along with all providers, shall make reasonable
1610	efforts to accommodate the needs of children for extended-day
1611	and extended-year services without compromising the quality of
1612	the program.
1613	(c)  Program expectations.--
1614	1.  The school readiness program must meet the following
1615	expectations:
1616	a.  The program must, at a minimum, enhance the age-
1617	appropriate progress of each child in the development of the
1618	school readiness skills required under paragraph (4)(j) prepare
1619	preschool children to enter kindergarten ready to learn, as
1620	measured by the performance standards and outcome measures
1621	adopted criteria established by the Agency for Workforce
1622	Innovation Florida Partnership for School Readiness.
1623	b.  The program must provide extended-day and extended-year
1624	services to the maximum extent possible to meet the needs of
1625	parents who work.
1626	c.  There must be coordinated staff development and
1627	teaching opportunities.
1628	d.  There must be expanded access to community services and
1629	resources for families to help achieve economic self-
1630	sufficiency.
1631	e.  There must be a single point of entry and unified
1632	waiting list. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the term "single
1633	point of entry" means an integrated information system that
1634	allows a parent to enroll his or her child in the school
1635	readiness program at various locations throughout the county or
1636	multicounty region served by an early learning coalition, that
1637	may allow a parent to enroll his or her child by telephone or
1638	through an Internet website, and that uses a unified waiting
1639	list to track eligible children waiting for enrollment in the
1640	school readiness program. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
1641	shall establish a single statewide information system that
1642	integrates each early learning coalition's single point of
1643	entry, and each coalition must use the statewide system.
1644	f.  The Agency for Workforce Innovation must consider the
1645	access of eligible children to the school readiness program, as
1646	demonstrated in part by waiting lists, before approving a
1647	proposed increase in payment rates submitted by an early
1648	learning coalition. In addition, early learning coalitions shall
1649	use school readiness funds made available due to enrollment
1650	shifts from school readiness programs to the Voluntary
1651	Prekindergarten Education Program for increasing the number of
1652	children served in school readiness programs before increasing
1653	payment rates.
1654	f.  As long as funding or eligible populations do not
1655	decrease, the program must serve at least as many children as
1656	were served prior to implementation of the program.
1657	g.  There must be a community plan to address the needs of
1658	all eligible children.
1659	h.  The program must meet all state licensing guidelines,
1660	where applicable.
1661	2.  The early learning school readiness coalition must
1662	implement a comprehensive program of school readiness services
1663	that enhance the cognitive, social, and physical development of
1664	children to achieve the performance standards and outcome
1665	measures adopted specified by the Agency for Workforce
1666	Innovation partnership. At a minimum, these programs must
1667	contain the following elements:
1668	a.  Developmentally appropriate curriculum designed to
1669	enhance the age-appropriate progress of children in attaining
1670	the performance standards adopted by the Agency for Workforce
1671	Innovation under subparagraph (4)(d)8.
1672	b.  A character development program to develop basic
1673	values.
1674	c.  An age-appropriate assessment of each child's
1675	development.
1676	d.  A pretest administered to children when they enter a
1677	program and a posttest administered to children when they leave
1678	the program.
1679	e.  An appropriate staff-to-children staff-to-child ratio.
1680	f.  A healthy healthful and safe environment.
1681	g.  A resource and referral network to assist parents in
1682	making an informed choice.
1683	(d)  Implementation.--
1684	1.  An early learning coalition may not implement the
1685	school readiness program is to be phased in. until the coalition
1686	is authorized implements its plan, the county shall continue to
1687	receive the services identified in subsection (3) through the
1688	various agencies that would be responsible for delivering those
1689	services under current law. Plan implementation is subject to
1690	approval of the coalition's school readiness coalition and the
1691	plan by the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership
1692	for School Readiness.
1693	2.  Each early learning school readiness coalition shall
1694	develop a plan for implementing the school readiness program to
1695	meet the requirements of this section and the performance
1696	standards and outcome measures adopted established by the Agency
1697	for Workforce Innovation partnership. The plan must include a
1698	written description of the role of the program in the
1699	coalition's effort to meet the first state education goal,
1700	readiness to start school, including a description of the plan
1701	to involve the prekindergarten early intervention programs, Head
1702	Start Programs, programs offered by public or private providers
1703	of child care, preschool programs for children with
1704	disabilities, programs for migrant children, Title I programs,
1705	subsidized child care programs, and teen parent programs. The
1706	plan must also demonstrate how the program will ensure that each
1707	3-year-old and 4-year-old child in a publicly funded school
1708	readiness program receives scheduled activities and instruction
1709	designed to enhance the age-appropriate progress of the prepare
1710	children in attaining the performance standards adopted by the
1711	Agency for Workforce Innovation under subparagraph (4)(d)8. to
1712	enter kindergarten ready to learn. Before implementing Prior to
1713	implementation of the school readiness program, the early
1714	learning school readiness coalition must submit the plan to the
1715	Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership for approval. The
1716	Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership may approve the
1717	plan, reject the plan, or approve the plan with conditions. The
1718	Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
1719	Readiness shall review school readiness coalition plans at least
1720	annually.
1721	3.  If the Agency for Workforce Innovation determines
1722	during the annual review of school readiness plans, or through
1723	monitoring and performance evaluations conducted under paragraph
1724	(4)(l), that an early learning coalition has not substantially
1725	implemented its plan, has not substantially met the performance
1726	standards and outcome measures adopted by the agency, or has not
1727	effectively administered the school readiness program or
1728	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program, the Agency for
1729	Workforce Innovation may dissolve the coalition and temporarily
1730	contract with a qualified entity to continue school readiness
1731	and prekindergarten services in the coalition's county or
1732	multicounty region until the coalition is reestablished through
1733	resubmission of a school readiness plan and approval by the
1734	agency.
1735	4.3.  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt
1736	criteria for the approval of school readiness plans. The
1737	criteria must be consistent with the performance standards and
1738	outcome measures adopted by the agency and must require each
1739	approved plan to for the school readiness program must include
1740	the following minimum standards and provisions:
1741	a.  A sliding fee scale establishing a copayment for
1742	parents based upon their ability to pay, which is the same for
1743	all program providers, to be implemented and reflected in each
1744	program's budget.
1745	b.  A choice of settings and locations in licensed,
1746	registered, religious-exempt, or school-based programs to be
1747	provided to parents.
1748	c.  Instructional staff who have completed the training
1749	course as required in s. 402.305(2)(d)1., as well as staff who
1750	have additional training or credentials as required by the
1751	Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership. The plan must
1752	provide a method for assuring the qualifications of all
1753	personnel in all program settings.
1754	d.  Specific eligibility priorities for children within the
1755	early learning coalition's county or multicounty region in
1756	accordance with pursuant to subsection (6).
1757	e.  Performance standards and outcome measures adopted
1758	established by the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
1759	or alternatively, standards and outcome measures to be used
1760	until such time as the partnership adopts such standards and
1761	outcome measures.
1762	f.  Payment Reimbursement rates adopted that have been
1763	developed by the early learning coalition and approved by the
1764	Agency for Workforce Innovation. Payment Reimbursement rates may
1765	shall not have the effect of limiting parental choice or
1766	creating standards or levels of services that have not been
1767	authorized by the Legislature.
1768	g.  Systems support services, including a central agency,
1769	child care resource and referral, eligibility determinations,
1770	training of providers, and parent support and involvement.
1771	h.  Direct enhancement services to families and children.
1772	System support and direct enhancement services shall be in
1773	addition to payments for the placement of children in school
1774	readiness programs.
1775	i.  The A business organization of the early learning
1776	coalition plan, which must include the coalition's articles of
1777	incorporation and bylaws if the coalition is organized as a
1778	corporation. If the coalition is not organized as a corporation
1779	or other business entity, the plan must include the contract
1780	with a fiscal school readiness agent if the coalition is not a
1781	legally established corporate entity. An early learning
1782	coalition Coalitions may contract with other coalitions to
1783	achieve efficiency in multicounty multiple-county services, and
1784	these such contracts may be part of the coalition's school
1785	readiness business plan.
1786	j.  Strategies to meet the needs of unique populations,
1787	such as migrant workers.
1788
1789	As part of the school readiness plan, the early learning
1790	coalition may request the Governor to apply for a waiver to
1791	allow the coalition to administer the Head Start Program to
1792	accomplish the purposes of the school readiness program. If a
1793	any school readiness plan demonstrates can demonstrate that
1794	specific statutory goals can be achieved more effectively by
1795	using procedures that require modification of existing rules,
1796	policies, or procedures, a request for a waiver to the Agency
1797	for Workforce Innovation partnership may be submitted made as
1798	part of the plan. Upon review, the Agency for Workforce
1799	Innovation partnership may grant the proposed modification.
1800	5.4.  Persons with an early childhood teaching certificate
1801	may provide support and supervision to other staff in the school
1802	readiness program.
1803	6.5.  An early learning The coalition may not implement its
1804	school readiness plan until it submits the plan to and receives
1805	approval from the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership.
1806	Once the plan is has been approved, the plan and the services
1807	provided under the plan shall be controlled by the early
1808	learning coalition rather than by the state agencies or
1809	departments. The plan shall be reviewed and revised as
1810	necessary, but at least biennially. An early learning coalition
1811	may not implement the revisions until the coalition submits the
1812	revised plan to and receives approval from the Agency for
1813	Workforce Innovation. If the Agency for Workforce Innovation
1814	rejects a revised plan, the coalition must continue to operate
1815	under its prior approved plan.
1816	7.6.  Sections The following statutes will not apply to
1817	local coalitions with approved plans: ss. 125.901(2)(a)3.,
1818	411.221, and 411.232 do not apply to an early learning coalition
1819	with an approved school readiness plan. To facilitate innovative
1820	practices and to allow the regional local establishment of
1821	school readiness programs, an early learning a school readiness
1822	coalition may apply to the Governor and Cabinet for a waiver of,
1823	and the Governor and Cabinet may waive, any of the provisions of
1824	ss. 411.223, 411.232, and 1003.54, if the waiver is necessary
1825	for implementation of the coalition's school readiness plan.
1826	8.7.  Two or more counties may join for purposes the
1827	purpose of planning and implementing a school readiness program.
1828	9.8.  An early learning A coalition may, subject to
1829	approval by of the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership
1830	as part of the coalition's school readiness plan, receive
1831	subsidized child care funds for all children eligible for any
1832	federal subsidized child care program and be the provider of the
1833	program services.
1834	10.9.  An early learning coalition may Coalitions are
1835	authorized to enter into multiparty contracts with multicounty
1836	service providers in order to meet the needs of unique
1837	populations such as migrant workers.
1838	(e)  Requests for proposals; payment schedule.--
1839	1.  At least once every 3 years, beginning July 1, 2001,
1840	Each early learning coalition must comply with follow the
1841	competitive procurement requirements of s. 287.057 for the
1842	procurement of commodities or contractual services from the
1843	funds described in paragraph (9)(d) school readiness programs.
1844	The period of a contract for purchase of these commodities or
1845	contractual services, together with any renewal of the original
1846	contract, may not exceed 3 years.
1847	2.  Each early learning coalition shall adopt develop a
1848	payment schedule that encompasses all programs funded by the
1849	that coalition under this section. The payment schedule must
1850	take into consideration the relevant market rate, must include
1851	the projected number of children to be served, and must be
1852	submitted for approval by to the Agency for Workforce Innovation
1853	partnership for information. Informal child care arrangements
1854	shall be reimbursed at not more than 50 percent of the rate
1855	developed for a family day care home childcare.
1856	(f)  Requirements relating to fiscal agents.--If an early
1857	learning the local coalition is not a legally organized as a
1858	corporation or other business established corporate entity, the
1859	coalition must designate a fiscal agent, which may be a public
1860	entity, or a private nonprofit organization, or a certified
1861	public accountant who holds a license under chapter 473. The
1862	fiscal agent must shall be required to provide financial and
1863	administrative services under pursuant to a contract or
1864	agreement with the early learning school readiness coalition.
1865	The fiscal agent may not provide direct early childhood
1866	education or child care services; however, a fiscal agent may
1867	provide those such services upon written request of the early
1868	learning coalition to the Agency for Workforce Innovation
1869	partnership and upon the approval of the such request by the
1870	agency partnership. The cost of the financial and administrative
1871	services shall be negotiated between the fiscal agent and the
1872	early learning school readiness coalition. If the fiscal agent
1873	is a provider of early childhood education and child care
1874	programs, the contract must specify that the fiscal agent shall
1875	will act on policy direction from the early learning coalition
1876	and must will not receive policy direction from its own
1877	corporate board regarding disbursal of the coalition's coalition
1878	funds. The fiscal agent shall disburse funds in accordance with
1879	the early learning coalition's approved coalition school
1880	readiness plan and based on billing and disbursement procedures
1881	approved by the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership. The
1882	fiscal agent must conform to all data-reporting requirements
1883	established by the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership.
1884	(g)  Evaluation and annual report.--Each early learning
1885	school readiness coalition shall conduct an evaluation of the
1886	effectiveness of the school readiness program, including
1887	performance standards and outcome measures, and shall provide an
1888	annual report and fiscal statement to the Agency for Workforce
1889	Innovation Florida Partnership for School Readiness. This report
1890	must conform to the content and format specifications set by the
1891	Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
1892	Readiness. The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership must
1893	include an analysis of the early learning coalitions' coalition
1894	reports in the agency's its annual report.
1895	(6)  PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.--Each early learning coalition's
1896	The school readiness program shall be established for children
1897	from birth to the beginning of the school year for which a child
1898	is eligible for admission to under the age of kindergarten in a
1899	public school under s. 1003.21(1)(a)2. eligibility. Priority for
1900	participation in the school readiness program shall be given to
1901	children age 3 years to school entry who are served by the
1902	Family Safety Program Office of the Department of Children and
1903	Family Services or a community-based lead agency under pursuant
1904	to chapter 39 and for whom child care is needed to minimize risk
1905	of further abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Other eligible
1906	populations include children who meet one or more of the
1907	following criteria:
1908	(a)  Children under the age of kindergarten eligibility who
1909	are:
1910	1.  Children determined to be at risk of abuse, neglect, or
1911	exploitation who are currently clients of the Family Safety
1912	Program Office of the Department of Children and Family
1913	Services, but who are not otherwise given priority under this
1914	subsection.
1915	2.1.  Children at risk of welfare dependency, including
1916	economically disadvantaged children, children of participants in
1917	the welfare transition program, children of migrant farmworkers,
1918	and children of teen parents.
1919	3.2.  Children of working families whose family income does
1920	not exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
1921	4.3.  Children for whom the state is paying a relative
1922	caregiver payment under s. 39.5085.
1923	(b)  Three-year-old children and 4-year-old children who
1924	may not be economically disadvantaged but who have disabilities,
1925	have been served in a specific part-time or combination of part-
1926	time exceptional education programs with required special
1927	services, aids, or equipment, and were previously reported for
1928	funding part time with the Florida Education Finance Program as
1929	exceptional students.
1930	(c)  Economically disadvantaged children, children with
1931	disabilities, and children at risk of future school failure,
1932	from birth to 4 years of age, who are served at home through
1933	home visitor programs and intensive parent education programs
1934	such as the Florida First Start Program.
1935	(d)  Children who meet federal and state eligibility
1936	requirements for eligibility for the migrant preschool program
1937	but who do not meet the criteria of economically disadvantaged.
1938
1939	As used in this subsection, the term An "economically
1940	disadvantaged" child means a child whose family income does not
1941	exceed is below 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
1942	Notwithstanding any change in a family's economic status, but
1943	subject to additional family contributions in accordance with
1944	the sliding fee scale, a child who meets the eligibility
1945	requirements upon initial registration for the program remains
1946	shall be considered eligible until the beginning of the school
1947	year for which the child is eligible for admission to reaches
1948	kindergarten in a public school under s. 1003.21(1)(a)2. age.
1949	(7)  PARENTAL CHOICE.--
1950	(a)  The school readiness program shall provide parental
1951	choice through pursuant to a purchase service order that
1952	ensures, to the maximum extent possible, flexibility in school
1953	readiness programs and payment arrangements. According to
1954	federal regulations requiring parental choice, a parent may
1955	choose an informal child care arrangement. The purchase order
1956	must bear the name of the beneficiary and the program provider
1957	and, when redeemed, must bear the signature of both the
1958	beneficiary and an authorized representative of the provider.
1959	(b)  If it is determined that a provider has provided any
1960	cash to the beneficiary in return for receiving the purchase
1961	order, the early learning coalition or its fiscal agent shall
1962	refer the matter to the Division of Public Assistance Fraud for
1963	investigation.
1964	(c)  The office of the Chief Financial Officer shall
1965	establish an electronic transfer system for the disbursement of
1966	funds in accordance with this subsection. Each early learning
1967	coalition School readiness coalitions shall fully implement the
1968	electronic funds transfer system within 2 years after plan
1969	approval of the coalition's school readiness plan, unless a
1970	waiver is obtained from the Agency for Workforce Innovation
1971	partnership.
1972	(8)  STANDARDS; OUTCOME MEASURES.--All publicly funded
1973	school readiness programs must shall be required to meet the
1974	performance standards and outcome measures adopted developed and
1975	approved by the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership. The
1976	Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
1977	shall provide consultation to the partnership in the development
1978	of the measures and standards. These performance standards and
1979	outcome measures shall be applicable on a statewide basis.
1980	(9)  FUNDING; SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM.--
1981	(a)  It is the intent of this section to establish an
1982	integrated and quality seamless service delivery system for all
1983	publicly funded early childhood education and child care
1984	programs operating in this state.
1985	(b)  Notwithstanding s. 20.50:
1986	1.  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall administer
1987	school readiness funds, plans, and policies pursuant to the
1988	contract with the Florida Partnership for School Readiness and
1989	shall prepare and submit a unified budget request for the school
1990	readiness system program in accordance with chapter 216.
1991	2.  All instructions to early learning local school
1992	readiness coalitions for administering this section shall
1993	emanate from the Agency for Workforce Innovation in accordance
1994	with the pursuant to policies of the Legislature, plans of the
1995	Florida Partnership for School Readiness, and the contract
1996	between the Florida Partnership for School Readiness and the
1997	agency.
1998	(c)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt
1999	prepare a formula plan that provides for the allocation among
2000	the early learning coalitions distribution and expenditure of
2001	all state and federal school readiness funds for children
2002	participating in public or private school readiness programs
2003	based upon an equity and performance funding formula. The
2004	allocation formula must plan shall be submitted to the Governor
2005	and the Legislative Budget Commission. Upon approval, the
2006	Legislative Budget Commission shall authorize the transfer of
2007	funds to the Agency for Workforce Innovation to distribute funds
2008	for distribution in accordance with the allocation provisions of
2009	the formula. For fiscal year 2004-2005, the Agency for Workforce
2010	Innovation shall allocate funds to the early learning coalitions
2011	consistent with the fiscal year 2003-2004 funding allocations to
2012	the school readiness coalitions.
2013	(d)  All state funds budgeted for a county for the programs
2014	specified in subsection (3), along with the pro rata share of
2015	the state administrative costs of those programs in the amount
2016	as determined by the partnership, all federal, funds and
2017	required local maintenance-of-effort or matching funds provided
2018	to an early learning coalition for a county for programs
2019	specified in subsection (3), and any additional funds
2020	appropriated or obtained for purposes of this section, shall be
2021	used by transferred for the benefit of the coalition for
2022	implementation of its school readiness plan, including the
2023	hiring of staff to effectively operate the coalition's school
2024	readiness program. As part of plan approval and periodic plan
2025	review, the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership shall
2026	require that administrative costs be kept to the minimum
2027	necessary for efficient and effective administration of the
2028	school readiness plan, but total administrative expenditures
2029	must shall not exceed 5 percent unless specifically waived by
2030	the Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership. The Agency for
2031	Workforce Innovation partnership shall annually report to the
2032	Legislature any problems relating to administrative costs.
2033	(e)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership shall
2034	annually distribute, to a maximum extent practicable, all
2035	eligible funds provided under this section as block grants to
2036	the early learning assist coalitions in integrating services and
2037	funding to develop a quality service delivery system. Subject to
2038	appropriation, the partnership may also provide financial awards
2039	to coalitions demonstrating success in merging and integrating
2040	funding streams to serve children and school readiness programs.
2041	(f)  State funds appropriated for the school readiness
2042	program may not be used for the construction of new facilities
2043	or the purchase of buses. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
2044	partnership shall present to the Legislature recommendations for
2045	providing necessary transportation services for school readiness
2046	programs.
2047	(g)  All cost savings and all revenues received through a
2048	mandatory sliding fee scale shall be used to help fund each
2049	early learning coalition's the local school readiness program.
2050	(10)  SCHOOL READINESS UNIFORM SCREENING.--The Department
2051	of Education shall implement a school readiness uniform
2052	screening, including a pilot program during the 2001-2002 school
2053	year, to validate the system recommended by the Florida
2054	Partnership for School Readiness as part of a comprehensive
2055	evaluation design. Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, the
2056	department shall require that all school districts administer
2057	the school readiness uniform screening to each kindergarten
2058	student in the district school system upon the student's entry
2059	into kindergarten. Children who enter public school for the
2060	first time in first grade must undergo a uniform screening
2061	adopted for use in first grade. The department shall incorporate
2062	school readiness data into the K-20 data warehouse for
2063	longitudinal tracking. Notwithstanding s. 1002.22, the
2064	department shall provide the partnership and the Agency for
2065	Workforce Innovation with complete and full access to
2066	kindergarten uniform screening data at the student, school,
2067	district, and state levels in a format that will enable the
2068	partnership and the agency to prepare reports needed by state
2069	policymakers and local school readiness coalitions to access
2070	progress toward school readiness goals and provide input for
2071	continuous improvement of local school readiness services and
2072	programs.
2073	(11)  REPORTS.--The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
2074	Government Accountability shall assess the implementation,
2075	efficiency, and outcomes of the school readiness program and
2076	report its findings to the President of the Senate and the
2077	Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 1, 2002.
2078	Subsequent reviews shall be conducted at the direction of the
2079	Joint Legislative Auditing Committee.
2080	(10)(12)  CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.--In the event of a
2081	conflict between the provisions of this section and federal
2082	requirements, the federal requirements shall control.
2083	(11)(13)  PLACEMENTS.--Notwithstanding any other provision
2084	of this section to the contrary, and for fiscal year 2004-2005
2085	only, the first children to be placed in the school readiness
2086	program shall be those from families receiving temporary cash
2087	assistance and subject to federal work requirements. Subsequent
2088	placements shall be made in accordance with subsection (6)
2089	pursuant to the provisions of this section. This subsection
2090	expires July 1, 2005.
2091	Section 3.  Paragraph (p) of subsection (3) of section
2092	11.45, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
2093	11.45  Definitions; duties; authorities; reports; rules.--
2094	(3)  AUTHORITY FOR AUDITS AND OTHER ENGAGEMENTS.--The
2095	Auditor General may, pursuant to his or her own authority, or at
2096	the direction of the Legislative Auditing Committee, conduct
2097	audits or other engagements as determined appropriate by the
2098	Auditor General of:
2099	(p)  The school readiness system, including the early
2100	learning coalitions, Florida Partnership for School Readiness
2101	created under pursuant to s. 411.01.
2102	Section 4.  Subsection (2) of section 20.50, Florida
2103	Statutes, is amended to read:
2104	20.50  Agency for Workforce Innovation.--There is created
2105	the Agency for Workforce Innovation within the Department of
2106	Management Services. The agency shall be a separate budget
2107	entity, and the director of the agency shall be the agency head
2108	for all purposes. The agency shall not be subject to control,
2109	supervision, or direction by the Department of Management
2110	Services in any manner, including, but not limited to,
2111	personnel, purchasing, transactions involving real or personal
2112	property, and budgetary matters.
2113	(2)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation is shall be the
2114	designated administrative agency designated for receipt of
2115	federal workforce development grants and other federal funds.
2116	The agency, and shall administer carry out the duties and
2117	responsibilities assigned by the Governor under each federal
2118	grant assigned to the agency. The agency shall be a separate
2119	budget entity and shall expend each revenue source as provided
2120	by federal and state law and as provided in plans developed by
2121	and agreements with Workforce Florida, Inc. The agency shall
2122	prepare and submit as a separate budget entity a unified budget
2123	request for workforce development, in accordance with chapter
2124	216 for, and in conjunction with, Workforce Florida, Inc., and
2125	its board. The head of the agency is the director of Workforce
2126	Innovation, who shall be appointed by the Governor. The
2127	accountability and reporting functions of the agency shall be
2128	administered by the director or his or her designee. Included in
2129	These functions shall include are budget management, financial
2130	management, audit, performance management standards and
2131	controls, assessing outcomes of service delivery, and financial
2132	administration of workforce programs under pursuant to s.
2133	445.004(5) and (9). Within the agency's overall organizational
2134	structure, The agency shall include the following offices within
2135	its organizational structure, which shall have the specified
2136	responsibilities:
2137	(a)  The Office of Workforce Services shall administer the
2138	unemployment compensation program, the Rapid Response program,
2139	the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program, the Alien Labor
2140	Certification program, and any other programs that are delivered
2141	directly by agency staff rather than through the one-stop
2142	delivery system. The office shall be directed by the Deputy
2143	Director for Workforce Services, who shall be appointed by and
2144	serve at the pleasure of the director.
2145	(b)  The Office of Program Support and Accountability shall
2146	administer state merit system program staff within the workforce
2147	service delivery system, under the pursuant to policies of
2148	Workforce Florida, Inc. The office is shall be responsible for
2149	delivering services through the one-stop delivery system and for
2150	ensuring that participants in welfare transition programs
2151	receive case management services, diversion assistance, support
2152	services, including subsidized child care and transportation
2153	services, Medicaid services, and transition assistance to enable
2154	them to succeed in the workforce. The office is shall also be
2155	responsible for program quality assurance, grants and contract
2156	management, contracting, financial management, and reporting.
2157	The office shall be directed by the Deputy Director for Program
2158	Support and Accountability, who shall be appointed by and serve
2159	at the pleasure of the director. The office is shall be
2160	responsible for:
2161	1.  Establishing monitoring, quality assurance, and quality
2162	improvement systems that routinely assess the quality and
2163	effectiveness of contracted programs and services.
2164	2.  Annual review of each regional workforce board and
2165	administrative entity to ensure that adequate systems of
2166	reporting and control are in place; that, and monitoring,
2167	quality assurance, and quality improvement activities are
2168	conducted routinely;, and that corrective action is taken to
2169	eliminate deficiencies.
2170	(c)  The Office of Early Learning shall administer the
2171	school readiness system in accordance with s. 411.01 and the
2172	operational requirements of the Voluntary Prekindergarten
2173	Education Program in accordance with part V of chapter 1002. The
2174	office shall be directed by the Deputy Director for Early
2175	Learning, who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of
2176	the director.
2177	(d)(c)  The Office of Agency Support Services is shall be
2178	responsible for procurement, human resource services, and
2179	information services including delivering information on labor
2180	markets, employment, occupations, and performance, and shall
2181	implement and maintain information systems that are required for
2182	the effective operation of the one-stop delivery system and the
2183	school readiness services system, including, but not limited to,
2184	those systems described in s. 445.009. The office shall will be
2185	directed by under the direction of the Deputy Director for
2186	Agency Support Services, who shall be appointed by and serve at
2187	the pleasure of the director. The office is shall be responsible
2188	for establishing:
2189	1.  Information systems and controls that report reliable,
2190	timely and accurate fiscal and performance data for assessing
2191	outcomes, service delivery, and financial administration of
2192	workforce programs under pursuant to s. 445.004(5) and (9).
2193	2.  Information systems that support service integration
2194	and case management by providing for case tracking for
2195	participants in welfare transition programs.
2196	3.  Information systems that support the school readiness
2197	system services.
2198	(e)(d)  The Unemployment Appeals Commission, authorized by
2199	s. 443.012, is shall not be subject to the control, supervision,
2200	or direction by the Agency for Workforce Innovation in the
2201	performance of its powers and duties but shall receive any and
2202	all support and assistance from the agency that is may be
2203	required for the performance of its duties.
2204	Section 5.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
2205	125.901, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
2206	125.901  Children's services; independent special district;
2207	council; powers, duties, and functions.--
2208	(1)  Each county may by ordinance create an independent
2209	special district, as defined in ss. 189.403(3) and
2210	200.001(8)(e), to provide funding for children's services
2211	throughout the county in accordance with this section. The
2212	boundaries of such district shall be coterminous with the
2213	boundaries of the county. The county governing body shall obtain
2214	approval, by a majority vote of those electors voting on the
2215	question, to annually levy ad valorem taxes which shall not
2216	exceed the maximum millage rate authorized by this section. Any
2217	district created pursuant to the provisions of this subsection
2218	shall be required to levy and fix millage subject to the
2219	provisions of s. 200.065. Once such millage is approved by the
2220	electorate, the district shall not be required to seek approval
2221	of the electorate in future years to levy the previously
2222	approved millage.
2223	(b)  However, any county as defined in s. 125.011(1) may
2224	instead have a governing board consisting of 33 members,
2225	including: the superintendent of schools; two representatives of
2226	public postsecondary education institutions located in the
2227	county; the county manager or the equivalent county officer; the
2228	district administrator from the appropriate district of the
2229	Department of Children and Family Services, or the
2230	administrator's designee who is a member of the Senior
2231	Management Service or the Selected Exempt Service; the director
2232	of the county health department or the director's designee; the
2233	state attorney for the county or the state attorney's designee;
2234	the chief judge assigned to juvenile cases, or another juvenile
2235	judge who is the chief judge's designee and who shall sit as a
2236	voting member of the board, except that the judge may not vote
2237	or participate in setting ad valorem taxes under this section;
2238	an individual who is selected by the board of the local United
2239	Way or its equivalent; a member of a locally recognized faith-
2240	based coalition, selected by that coalition; a member of the
2241	local chamber of commerce, selected by that chamber or, if more
2242	than one chamber exists within the county, a person selected by
2243	a coalition of the local chambers; a member of the early
2244	learning local school readiness coalition, selected by that
2245	coalition; a representative of a labor organization or union
2246	active in the county; a member of a local alliance or coalition
2247	engaged in cross-system planning for health and social service
2248	delivery in the county, selected by that alliance or coalition;
2249	a member of the local Parent-Teachers Association/Parent-
2250	Teacher-Student Association, selected by that association; a
2251	youth representative selected by the local school system's
2252	student government; a local school board member appointed by the
2253	chair of the school board; the mayor of the county or the
2254	mayor's designee; one member of the county governing body,
2255	appointed by the chair of that body; a member of the state
2256	Legislature who represents residents of the county, selected by
2257	the chair of the local legislative delegation; an elected
2258	official representing the residents of a municipality in the
2259	county, selected by the county municipal league; and 4 members-
2260	at-large, appointed to the council by the majority of sitting
2261	council members. The remaining 7 members shall be appointed by
2262	the Governor in accordance with procedures set forth in
2263	paragraph (a), except that the Governor may remove a member for
2264	cause or upon the written petition of the council. Appointments
2265	by the Governor must, to the extent reasonably possible,
2266	represent the geographic and demographic diversity of the
2267	population of the county. Members who are appointed to the
2268	council by reason of their position are not subject to the
2269	length of terms and limits on consecutive terms as provided in
2270	this section. The remaining appointed members of the governing
2271	board shall be appointed to serve 2-year terms, except that
2272	those members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed to
2273	serve 4-year terms, and the youth representative and the
2274	legislative delegate shall be appointed to serve 1-year terms. A
2275	member may be reappointed; however, a member may not serve for
2276	more than three consecutive terms. A member is eligible to be
2277	appointed again after a 2-year hiatus from the council.
2278	Section 6.  Subsection (1) of section 216.133, Florida
2279	Statutes, is amended to read:
2280	216.133  Definitions; ss. 216.133-216.137.--As used in ss.
2281	216.133-216.137:
2282	(1)  "Consensus estimating conference" includes the
2283	Economic Estimating Conference, the Demographic Estimating
2284	Conference, the Revenue Estimating Conference, the Education
2285	Estimating Conference, the Criminal Justice Estimating
2286	Conference, the Juvenile Justice Estimating Conference, the
2287	Child Welfare System Estimating Conference, the Occupational
2288	Forecasting Conference, the Early Learning Programs School
2289	Readiness Program Estimating Conference, the Self-Insurance
2290	Estimating Conference, the Florida Retirement System Actuarial
2291	Assumption Conference, and the Social Services Estimating
2292	Conference.
2293	Section 7.  Subsection (10) of section 216.136, Florida
2294	Statutes, is amended to read:
2295	216.136  Consensus estimating conferences; duties and
2296	principals.--
2297	(10)  EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM
2298	ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.--
2299	(a)  Duties.--
2300	1.  The Early Learning Programs School Readiness Program
2301	Estimating Conference shall develop estimates and forecasts of
2302	the unduplicated count of children eligible for school readiness
2303	programs in accordance with the standards of eligibility
2304	established in s. 411.01(6), and of children eligible for the
2305	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program in accordance with
2306	s. 1002.53(2), as the conference determines are needed to
2307	support the state planning, budgeting, and appropriations
2308	processes.
2309	2.  The Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership
2310	for School Readiness shall provide information on needs and
2311	waiting lists for school readiness programs, and information on
2312	the needs for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program,
2313	as program services requested by the Early Learning Programs
2314	School Readiness Program Estimating Conference or individual
2315	conference principals in a timely manner.
2316	(b)  Principals.--The Executive Office of the Governor, the
2317	Director of Economic and Demographic Research, and professional
2318	staff who have forecasting expertise from the Florida
2319	Partnership for School Readiness, the Agency for Workforce
2320	Innovation, the Department of Children and Family Services, the
2321	Department of Education, the Senate, and the House of
2322	Representatives, or their designees, are the principals of the
2323	Early Learning Programs School Readiness Program Estimating
2324	Conference. The principal representing the Executive Office of
2325	the Governor shall preside over sessions of the conference.
2326	Section 8.  Section 402.3016, Florida Statutes, is amended
2327	to read:
2328	402.3016  Early Head Start collaboration grants.--
2329	(1)  Contingent upon specific appropriations, the Agency
2330	for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
2331	Readiness shall establish a program to award collaboration
2332	grants to assist local agencies in securing Early Head Start
2333	programs through Early Head Start program federal grants. The
2334	collaboration grants shall provide the required matching funds
2335	for public and private nonprofit agencies that have been
2336	approved for Early Head Start program federal grants.
2337	(2)  Public and private nonprofit agencies providing Early
2338	Head Start programs applying for collaborative grants must:
2339	(a)  Ensure quality performance by meeting the requirements
2340	in the Head Start program performance standards and other
2341	applicable rules and regulations;
2342	(b)  Ensure collaboration with other service providers at
2343	the local level; and
2344	(c)  Ensure that a comprehensive array of health,
2345	nutritional, and other services are provided to the program's
2346	pregnant women and very young children, and their families.
2347	(3)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership shall
2348	report to the Legislature on an annual basis the number of
2349	agencies receiving Early Head Start collaboration grants and the
2350	number of children served.
2351	(4)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation partnership may
2352	adopt rules under ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 as necessary for the
2353	award of collaboration grants to competing agencies and the
2354	administration of the collaboration grants program under this
2355	section.
2356	Section 9.  Section 411.011, Florida Statutes, is amended
2357	to read:
2358	411.011  Records of children in school readiness
2359	programs.--The individual records of children enrolled in school
2360	readiness programs provided under s. 411.01, when held in the
2361	possession of the early learning school readiness coalition or
2362	the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for
2363	School Readiness, are confidential and exempt from the
2364	provisions of s. 119.07 and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
2365	Constitution. For the purposes of this section, records include
2366	assessment data, health data, records of teacher observations,
2367	and identifying data, including the child's social security
2368	number. A parent, guardian, or individual acting as a parent in
2369	the absence of a parent or guardian has the right to inspect and
2370	review the individual school readiness program record of his or
2371	her child and to obtain a copy of the record. School readiness
2372	records may be released to the United States Secretary of
2373	Education, the United States Secretary of Health and Human
2374	Services, and the Comptroller General of the United States for
2375	the purpose of federal audits; to individuals or organizations
2376	conducting studies for institutions to develop, validate, or
2377	administer assessments or improve instruction; to accrediting
2378	organizations in order to carry out their accrediting functions;
2379	to appropriate parties in connection with an emergency if the
2380	information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the
2381	student or other individuals; to the Auditor General in
2382	connection with his or her official functions; to a court of
2383	competent jurisdiction in compliance with an order of that court
2384	in accordance with pursuant to a lawfully issued subpoena; and
2385	to parties to an interagency agreement among early learning
2386	school readiness coalitions, local governmental agencies,
2387	providers of school readiness programs, state agencies, and the
2388	Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
2389	Readiness for the purpose of implementing the school readiness
2390	program. Agencies, organizations, or individuals that receive
2391	school readiness records in order to carry out their official
2392	functions must protect the data in a manner that does will not
2393	permit the personal identification of students and their parents
2394	by persons other than those authorized to receive the records.
2395	This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act
2396	of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on
2397	October 2, 2005, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through
2398	reenactment by the Legislature.
2399	Section 10.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section
2400	411.226, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
2401	411.226  Learning Gateway.--
2402	(2)  LEARNING GATEWAY STEERING COMMITTEE.--
2403	(e)  To support and facilitate system improvements, the
2404	steering committee must consult with representatives from the
2405	Department of Education, the Department of Health, the Agency
2406	for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
2407	Readiness, the Department of Children and Family Services, the
2408	Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of
2409	Juvenile Justice, and the Department of Corrections and with the
2410	director of the Learning Development and Evaluation Center of
2411	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
2412	Section 11.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (1), paragraph (a)
2413	of subsection (2), and paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of
2414	section 411.227, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
2415	411.227  Components of the Learning Gateway.--The Learning
2416	Gateway system consists of the following components:
2417	(1)  COMMUNITY EDUCATION STRATEGIES AND FAMILY-ORIENTED
2418	ACCESS.--
2419	(d)  In collaboration with other local resources, the
2420	demonstration projects shall develop public awareness strategies
2421	to disseminate information about developmental milestones,
2422	precursors of learning problems and other developmental delays,
2423	and the service system that is available. The information should
2424	target parents of children from birth through age 9 and should
2425	be distributed to parents, health care providers, and caregivers
2426	of children from birth through age 9. A variety of media should
2427	be used as appropriate, such as print, television, radio, and a
2428	community-based Internet website, as well as opportunities such
2429	as those presented by parent visits to physicians for well-child
2430	checkups. The Learning Gateway Steering Committee shall provide
2431	technical assistance to the local demonstration projects in
2432	developing and distributing educational materials and
2433	information.
2434	1.  Public awareness strategies targeting parents of
2435	children from birth through age 5 shall be designed to provide
2436	information to public and private preschool programs, child care
2437	childcare providers, pediatricians, parents, and local
2438	businesses and organizations. These strategies should include
2439	information on the school readiness performance standards for
2440	kindergarten adopted by the Agency for Workforce Innovation
2441	School Readiness Partnership Board.
2442	2.  Public awareness strategies targeting parents of
2443	children from ages 6 through 9 must be designed to disseminate
2444	training materials and brochures to parents and public and
2445	private school personnel, and must be coordinated with the local
2446	school board and the appropriate school advisory committees in
2447	the demonstration projects. The materials should contain
2448	information on state and district proficiency levels for grades
2449	K-3.
2450	(2)  SCREENING AND DEVELOPMENTAL MONITORING.--
2451	(a)  In coordination with the Agency for Workforce
2452	Innovation Partnership for School Readiness, the Department of
2453	Education, and the Florida Pediatric Society, and using
2454	information learned from the local demonstration projects, the
2455	Learning Gateway Steering Committee shall establish guidelines
2456	for screening children from birth through age 9. The guidelines
2457	should incorporate recent research on the indicators most likely
2458	to predict early learning problems, mild developmental delays,
2459	child-specific precursors of school failure, and other related
2460	developmental indicators in the domains of cognition;
2461	communication; attention; perception; behavior; and social,
2462	emotional, sensory, and motor functioning.
2463	(3)  EARLY EDUCATION, SERVICES AND SUPPORTS.--
2464	(c)  The steering committee, in cooperation with the
2465	Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of
2466	Education, and the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida
2467	Partnership for School Readiness, shall identify the elements of
2468	an effective research-based curriculum for early care and
2469	education programs.
2470	Section 12.  Subsection (1) of section 1001.23, Florida
2471	Statutes, is amended to read:
2472	1001.23  Specific powers and duties of the Department of
2473	Education.--In addition to all other duties assigned to it by
2474	law or by rule of the State Board of Education, the department
2475	shall:
2476	(1)  Adopt the statewide kindergarten school readiness
2477	uniform screening developed by the Florida Partnership for
2478	School Readiness, in accordance with s. 1002.69 the criteria
2479	itemized in chapter 1008.
2480	Section 13.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
2481	1002.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
2482	1002.22  Student records and reports; rights of parents and
2483	students; notification; penalty.--
2484	(3)  RIGHTS OF PARENT OR STUDENT.--The parent of any
2485	student who attends or has attended any public school, career
2486	center, or public postsecondary educational institution shall
2487	have the following rights with respect to any records or reports
2488	created, maintained, and used by any public educational
2489	institution in the state. However, whenever a student has
2490	attained 18 years of age, or is attending a postsecondary
2491	educational institution, the permission or consent required of,
2492	and the rights accorded to, the parents of the student shall
2493	thereafter be required of and accorded to the student only,
2494	unless the student is a dependent student of such parents as
2495	defined in 26 U.S.C. s. 152 (s. 152 of the Internal Revenue Code
2496	of 1954). The State Board of Education shall adopt rules whereby
2497	parents or students may exercise these rights:
2498	(d)  Right of privacy.--Every student has shall have a
2499	right of privacy with respect to the educational records kept on
2500	him or her. Personally identifiable records or reports of a
2501	student, and any personal information contained therein, are
2502	confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1). A
2503	state or local educational agency, board, public school, career
2504	center, or public postsecondary educational institution may not
2505	permit the release of such records, reports, or information
2506	without the written consent of the student's parent, or of the
2507	student himself or herself if he or she is qualified as provided
2508	in this subsection, to any individual, agency, or organization.
2509	However, personally identifiable records or reports of a student
2510	may be released to the following persons or organizations
2511	without the consent of the student or the student's parent:
2512	1.  Officials of schools, school systems, career centers,
2513	or public postsecondary educational institutions in which the
2514	student seeks or intends to enroll; and a copy of such records
2515	or reports shall be furnished to the parent or student upon
2516	request.
2517	2.  Other school officials, including teachers within the
2518	educational institution or agency, who have legitimate
2519	educational interests in the information contained in the
2520	records.
2521	3.  The United States Secretary of Education, the Director
2522	of the National Institute of Education, the Assistant Secretary
2523	for Education, the Comptroller General of the United States, or
2524	state or local educational authorities who are authorized to
2525	receive such information subject to the conditions set forth in
2526	applicable federal statutes and regulations of the United States
2527	Department of Education, or in applicable state statutes and
2528	rules of the State Board of Education.
2529	4.  Other school officials, in connection with a student's
2530	application for or receipt of financial aid.
2531	5.  Individuals or organizations conducting studies for or
2532	on behalf of an institution or a board of education for the
2533	purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive
2534	tests, administering student aid programs, or improving
2535	instruction, if the such studies are conducted in such a manner
2536	that does as will not permit the personal identification of
2537	students and their parents by persons other than representatives
2538	of such organizations and if the such information will be
2539	destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose of conducting
2540	such studies.
2541	6.  Accrediting organizations, in order to carry out their
2542	accrediting functions.
2543	7.  Early learning School readiness coalitions and the
2544	Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida Partnership for School
2545	Readiness in order to carry out their assigned duties.
2546	8.  For use as evidence in student expulsion hearings
2547	conducted by a district school board under pursuant to the
2548	provisions of chapter 120.
2549	9.  Appropriate parties in connection with an emergency, if
2550	knowledge of the information in the student's educational
2551	records is necessary to protect the health or safety of the
2552	student or other individuals.
2553	10.  The Auditor General and the Office of Program Policy
2554	Analysis and Government Accountability in connection with their
2555	official functions; however, except when the collection of
2556	personally identifiable information is specifically authorized
2557	by law, any data collected by the Auditor General and the Office
2558	of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability is
2559	confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and
2560	shall be protected in such a way that does as will not permit
2561	the personal identification of students and their parents by
2562	other than the Auditor General, the Office of Program Policy
2563	Analysis and Government Accountability, and their staff, and the
2564	such personally identifiable data shall be destroyed when no
2565	longer needed for the Auditor General's and the Office of
2566	Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability's official
2567	use.
2568	11.a.  A court of competent jurisdiction in compliance with
2569	an order of that court or the attorney of record in accordance
2570	with pursuant to a lawfully issued subpoena, upon the condition
2571	that the student and the student's parent are notified of the
2572	order or subpoena in advance of compliance therewith by the
2573	educational institution or agency.
2574	b.  A person or entity in accordance with pursuant to a
2575	court of competent jurisdiction in compliance with an order of
2576	that court or the attorney of record pursuant to a lawfully
2577	issued subpoena, upon the condition that the student, or his or
2578	her parent if the student is either a minor and not attending a
2579	postsecondary educational institution or a dependent of such
2580	parent as defined in 26 U.S.C. s. 152 (s. 152 of the Internal
2581	Revenue Code of 1954), is notified of the order or subpoena in
2582	advance of compliance therewith by the educational institution
2583	or agency.
2584	12.  Credit bureaus, in connection with an agreement for
2585	financial aid that the student has executed, if the provided
2586	that such information is may be disclosed only to the extent
2587	necessary to enforce the terms or conditions of the financial
2588	aid agreement. Credit bureaus shall not release any information
2589	obtained under pursuant to this paragraph to any person.
2590	13.  Parties to an interagency agreement among the
2591	Department of Juvenile Justice, school and law enforcement
2592	authorities, and other signatory agencies for the purpose of
2593	reducing juvenile crime and especially motor vehicle theft by
2594	promoting cooperation and collaboration, and the sharing of
2595	appropriate information in a joint effort to improve school
2596	safety, to reduce truancy and in-school and out-of-school
2597	suspensions, and to support alternatives to in-school and out-
2598	of-school suspensions and expulsions that provide structured and
2599	well-supervised educational programs supplemented by a
2600	coordinated overlay of other appropriate services designed to
2601	correct behaviors that lead to truancy, suspensions, and
2602	expulsions, and that support students in successfully completing
2603	their education. Information provided in furtherance of the such
2604	interagency agreements is intended solely for use in determining
2605	the appropriate programs and services for each juvenile or the
2606	juvenile's family, or for coordinating the delivery of the such
2607	programs and services, and as such is inadmissible in any court
2608	proceedings before prior to a dispositional hearing unless
2609	written consent is provided by a parent or other responsible
2610	adult on behalf of the juvenile.
2611	14.  Consistent with the Family Educational Rights and
2612	Privacy Act, the Department of Children and Family Services or a
2613	community-based care lead agency acting on behalf of the
2614	Department of Children and Family Services, as appropriate.
2615
2616	This paragraph does not prohibit any educational institution
2617	from publishing and releasing to the general public directory
2618	information relating to a student if the institution elects to
2619	do so.  However, no educational institution shall release, to
2620	any individual, agency, or organization that is not listed in
2621	subparagraphs 1.-14., directory information relating to the
2622	student body in general or a portion thereof unless it is
2623	normally published for the purpose of release to the public in
2624	general.  Any educational institution making directory
2625	information public shall give public notice of the categories of
2626	information that it has designated as directory information for
2627	with respect to all students attending the institution and shall
2628	allow a reasonable period of time after the such notice has been
2629	given for a parent or student to inform the institution in
2630	writing that any or all of the information designated should not
2631	be released.
2632	Section 14.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
2633	1003.54, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
2634	1003.54  Teenage parent programs.--
2635	(3)
2636	(c)  Provision for necessary child care, health care,
2637	social services, parent education, and transportation shall be
2638	ancillary service components of teenage parent programs.
2639	Ancillary services may be provided through the coordination of
2640	existing programs and services and through joint agreements
2641	between district school boards and early learning local school
2642	readiness coalitions or other appropriate public and private
2643	providers.
2644	Section 15.  Subsection (5) is added to section 1007.23,
2645	Florida Statutes, to read:
2646	1007.23  Statewide articulation agreement.--
2647	(5)  The articulation agreement must guarantee the
2648	articulation of 9 credit hours toward a postsecondary degree in
2649	early childhood education for programs approved by the State
2650	Board of Education which:
2651	(a)  Award a child development associate credential issued
2652	by the National Credentialing Program of the Council for
2653	Professional Recognition or award a credential approved under s.
2654	1002.55(3)(c)1.b. or s. 402.305(3)(c) as being equivalent to the
2655	child development associate credential; and
2656	(b)  Include training in emergent literacy which meets or
2657	exceeds the minimum standards for training courses for
2658	prekindergarten instructors of the Voluntary Prekindergarten
2659	Education Program in s. 1002.59.
2660	Section 16.  (1)  The Florida Partnership for School
2661	Readiness is abolished. All powers, duties, functions, rules,
2662	records, personnel, property, and unexpended balances of
2663	appropriations, allocations, and other funds of the Florida
2664	Partnership for School Readiness are transferred by a type two
2665	transfer, as defined in section 20.06(2), Florida Statutes, to
2666	the Agency for Workforce Innovation.
2667	(2)  This act does not abolish the school readiness
2668	coalitions but redesignates the coalitions as early learning
2669	coalitions and, effective April 1, 2005, requires a reduction in
2670	the number of coalitions. All powers, duties, functions, rules,
2671	records, personnel, property, and unexpended balances of
2672	appropriations, allocations, and other funds of each school
2673	readiness coalition are not transferred but shall be retained by
2674	the early learning coalition upon its redesignation from a
2675	school readiness coalition to an early learning coalition.
2676	Section 17.  Sections 411.012 and 1008.21, Florida
2677	Statutes, are repealed.
2678	Section 18.  (1)  The sums of $1,090,399 from recurring
2679	general revenue and $975,000 from nonrecurring general revenue
2680	are appropriated in lump sum to, and 17 additional positions are
2681	authorized for, the Department of Education for purposes of
2682	administering the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
2683	during the 2004-2005 fiscal year.
2684	(2)  The sums of $4,218,010 from recurring general revenue
2685	and $5,275,000 from nonrecurring general revenue are
2686	appropriated in lump sum to, and 20 additional positions are
2687	authorized for, the Agency for Workforce Innovation for purposes
2688	of administering the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
2689	during the 2004-2005 fiscal year. From these nonrecurring funds,
2690	$100,000 is provided for the Agency for Workforce Innovation to
2691	evaluate the potential of using electronic technology to
2692	administer and maintain attendance information and provider
2693	payment processes for the program. The Agency for Workforce
2694	Innovation shall submit a report of its recommendations to the
2695	Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
2696	House of Representatives by September 1, 2006. The
2697	recommendations must include the recurring annual operating
2698	costs associated with the use of any electronic technology that
2699	is recommended in the report.
2700	(3)  The sums of $80,193 from recurring general revenue and
2701	$140,037 from nonrecurring general revenue are appropriated in
2702	lump sum to, and 5.5 additional positions are authorized for,
2703	the Department of Children and Family Services for purposes of
2704	administering the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
2705	during the 2004-2005 fiscal year.
2706	Section 19.  Notwithstanding the provisions of section
2707	216.177, Florida Statutes, which require a 14-day notice for
2708	interim budget actions, and pursuant to section 216.351, Florida
2709	Statutes, the Executive Office of the Governor shall provide
2710	notice of the allocation of the lump-sum appropriations
2711	authorized by this act into traditional appropriation categories
2712	to the chair and vice chair of the Legislative Budget Commission
2713	at least 3 working days before the effective date of the
2714	allocation.
2715	Section 20.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a
2716	law.

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