Senate Bill sb1152
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1152
By Senator Haridopolos
26-883-06 See HB 75
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the John M. McKay
3 Scholarships for Students with Disabilities
4 Program; amending s. 1002.39, F.S.; revising
5 definition of the term "students with
6 disabilities"; revising student eligibility
7 requirements for receipt of a scholarship;
8 revising provisions relating to scholarship
9 funding and payment; providing funding and
10 payment requirements for former Florida School
11 for the Deaf and the Blind students and for
12 students exiting a Department of Juvenile
13 Justice program; providing an effective date.
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15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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17 Section 1. Subsections (1), (2), and (6) of section
18 1002.39, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
19 1002.39 The John M. McKay Scholarships for Students
20 with Disabilities Program.--There is established a program
21 that is separate and distinct from the Opportunity Scholarship
22 Program and is named the John M. McKay Scholarships for
23 Students with Disabilities Program, pursuant to this section.
24 (1) THE JOHN M. MCKAY SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS WITH
25 DISABILITIES PROGRAM.--The John M. McKay Scholarships for
26 Students with Disabilities Program is established to provide
27 the option to attend a public school other than the one to
28 which assigned, or to provide a scholarship to a private
29 school of choice, for students with disabilities for whom an
30 individual education plan has been written in accordance with
31 rules of the State Board of Education. Students with
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1152
26-883-06 See HB 75
1 disabilities include K-12 students who are documented as
2 having mental retardation; a mentally handicapped, speech or
3 and language impairment; a impaired, deaf or hard of hearing
4 impairment, including deafness; a visual impairment, including
5 blindness; a visually impaired, dual sensory impairment; a
6 physical impairment; a serious emotional disturbance,
7 including an emotional handicap; a impaired, physically
8 impaired, emotionally handicapped, specific learning
9 disability, including, but not limited to, dyslexia,
10 dyscalculia, or developmental aphasia; a traumatic brain
11 injury; disabled, hospitalized or homebound, or autism
12 autistic.
13 (2) SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.--The parent of a public
14 school student with a disability who is dissatisfied with the
15 student's progress may request and receive from the state a
16 John M. McKay Scholarship for the child to enroll in and
17 attend a private school in accordance with this section if:
18 (a) By assigned school attendance area or by special
19 assignment, The student has spent the prior school year in
20 attendance at a Florida public school or the Florida School
21 for the Deaf and the Blind. Prior school year in attendance
22 means that the student was:
23 1. Enrolled and reported by a school district for
24 funding during the preceding October and February Florida
25 Education Finance Program surveys in kindergarten through
26 grade 12, which shall include time spent in a Department of
27 Juvenile Justice commitment program if funded under the
28 Florida Education Finance Program; or
29 2. Enrolled and reported by the Florida School for the
30 Deaf and the Blind during the preceding October and February
31 student membership surveys in kindergarten through grade 12.
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1152
26-883-06 See HB 75
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2 However, this paragraph does not apply to a dependent child of
3 a member of the United States Armed Forces who transfers to a
4 school in this state from out of state or from a foreign
5 country pursuant to a parent's permanent change of station
6 orders is exempt from this paragraph but. A dependent child of
7 a member of the United States Armed Forces who transfers to a
8 school in this state from out of state or from a foreign
9 country pursuant to a parent's permanent change of station
10 orders must meet all other eligibility requirements to
11 participate in the program.
12 (b) The parent has obtained acceptance for admission
13 of the student to a private school that is eligible for the
14 program under subsection (4) and has notified the school
15 district of the request for a scholarship at least 60 days
16 prior to the date of the first scholarship payment. The
17 parental notification must be through a communication directly
18 to the district or through the Department of Education to the
19 district in a manner that creates a written or electronic
20 record of the notification and the date of receipt of the
21 notification.
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23 This section does not apply to A student who is enrolled in a
24 school operating for the purpose of providing educational
25 services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice commitment
26 programs shall not receive a John M. McKay Scholarship during
27 the period of time that he or she is enrolled in such school.
28 For purposes of continuity of educational choice, the
29 scholarship shall remain in force until the student returns to
30 a public school or graduates from high school. However, at any
31 time, the student's parent may remove the student from the
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1152
26-883-06 See HB 75
1 private school and place the student in another private school
2 that is eligible for the program under subsection (4) or in a
3 public school as provided in subsection (3).
4 (6) SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING AND PAYMENT.--
5 (a)1. The maximum scholarship granted for an eligible
6 student with disabilities shall be a calculated amount
7 equivalent to the base student allocation in the Florida
8 Education Finance Program multiplied by the appropriate cost
9 factor for the educational program that would have been
10 provided for the student in the district school to which he or
11 she was assigned, multiplied by the district cost
12 differential.
13 2. In addition, a share of the guaranteed allocation
14 for exceptional students shall be determined and added to the
15 calculated amount. The calculation shall be based on the
16 methodology and the data used to calculate the guaranteed
17 allocation for exceptional students for each district in
18 chapter 2000-166, Laws of Florida. Except as provided in
19 subparagraphs subparagraph 3. and 4., the calculation shall be
20 based on the student's grade, matrix level of services, and
21 the difference between the 2000-2001 basic program and the
22 appropriate level of services cost factor, multiplied by the
23 2000-2001 base student allocation and the 2000-2001 district
24 cost differential for the sending district. Also, the
25 calculated amount shall include the per-student share of
26 supplemental academic instruction funds, instructional
27 materials funds, technology funds, and other categorical funds
28 as provided for such purposes in the General Appropriations
29 Act.
30 3. The calculated scholarship amount for a student who
31 has spent the prior school year in attendance at the Florida
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1152
26-883-06 See HB 75
1 School for the Deaf and the Blind shall be calculated as
2 provided in subparagraphs 1. and 2. However, the calculation
3 shall be based on the school district in which the parent
4 resides at the time of the scholarship request.
5 4.3. Until the school district completes the matrix
6 required by paragraph (3)(b), the calculation shall be based
7 on the matrix that assigns the student to support level I of
8 service as it existed prior to the 2000-2001 school year. When
9 the school district completes the matrix, the amount of the
10 payment shall be adjusted as needed.
11 (b) The amount of the John M. McKay Scholarship shall
12 be the calculated amount or the amount of the private school's
13 tuition and fees, whichever is less. The amount of any
14 assessment fee required by the participating private school
15 may be paid from the total amount of the scholarship.
16 (c) If the participating private school requires
17 partial payment of tuition prior to the start of the academic
18 year to reserve space for students admitted to the school,
19 that partial payment may be paid by the Department of
20 Education prior to the first quarterly payment of the year in
21 which the John M. McKay Scholarship is awarded, up to a
22 maximum of $1,000, and deducted from subsequent scholarship
23 payments. If a student decides not to attend the participating
24 private school, the partial reservation payment must be
25 returned to the Department of Education by the participating
26 private school. There is a limit of one reservation payment
27 per student per year.
28 (c)(d)1. The school district shall report all students
29 who are attending a private school under this program. The
30 students with disabilities attending private schools on John
31 M. McKay Scholarships shall be reported separately from other
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1152
26-883-06 See HB 75
1 students reported for purposes of the Florida Education
2 Finance Program.
3 2. For program participants who are eligible under
4 subparagraph (2)(a)2., the school district that is used as the
5 basis for the calculation of the scholarship amount as
6 provided in subparagraph (a)3. shall:
7 a. Report to the department all such students who are
8 attending a private school under this program.
9 b. Be held harmless for such students from the
10 weighted enrollment ceiling for group 2 programs in s.
11 1011.62(1)(d)3.a. during the first school year in which the
12 students are reported.
13 (d)(e) Following notification on July 1, September 1,
14 December 1, or February 1 of the number of program
15 participants, the department of Education shall transfer, from
16 General Revenue funds only, the amount calculated under
17 paragraph (b) from the school district's total funding
18 entitlement under the Florida Education Finance Program and
19 from authorized categorical accounts to a separate account for
20 the scholarship program for quarterly disbursement to the
21 parents of participating students. Funds may not be
22 transferred from any funding provided to the Florida School
23 for the Deaf and the Blind for program participants who are
24 eligible under subparagraph (2)(a)2. For a student exiting a
25 Department of Juvenile Justice commitment program who chooses
26 to participate in the scholarship program, the amount of the
27 John M. McKay Scholarship calculated pursuant to paragraph (b)
28 shall be transferred from the school district in which the
29 student last attended a public school prior to commitment to
30 the Department of Juvenile Justice. When a student enters the
31 scholarship program, the department of Education must receive
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Florida Senate - 2006 SB 1152
26-883-06 See HB 75
1 all documentation required for the student's participation,
2 including the private school's and student's fee schedules, at
3 least 30 days before the first quarterly scholarship payment
4 is made for the student. The Department of Education may not
5 make any retroactive payments.
6 (e)(f) Upon proper documentation reviewed and approved
7 by the Department of Education, the Chief Financial Officer
8 shall make scholarship payments in four equal amounts no later
9 than September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 15 of each
10 academic year in which the scholarship is in force. The
11 initial payment shall be made after Department of Education
12 verification of admission acceptance, and subsequent payments
13 shall be made upon verification of continued enrollment and
14 attendance at the private school. Payment must be by
15 individual warrant made payable to the student's parent and
16 mailed by the Department of Education to the private school of
17 the parent's choice, and the parent shall restrictively
18 endorse the warrant to the private school for deposit into the
19 account of the private school.
20 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
21 law.
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