HB 1373

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to supplemental educational services;
3	providing for student access to and provider
4	accountability for supplemental educational services in
5	Title I schools; providing definitions; providing
6	responsibilities of the Department of Education, local
7	educational agencies, providers of supplemental
8	educational services, and parents to provide additional
9	academic instruction designed to increase the academic
10	achievement of eligible students; providing criteria that
11	must be met by a provider approved by the department;
12	providing for department monitoring and evaluation of
13	provider performance; providing a complaint process for
14	determination of provider and local educational agency
15	compliance with law; providing an effective date.
16
17	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19	Section 1.  Supplemental educational services in Title I
20	schools; student access and provider accountability.--
21	(1)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section:
22	(a)  "Adequate yearly progress" or "AYP" means performance
23	based on a series of performance goals that each school, each
24	local educational agency, and the state must achieve within
25	specified timeframes in order to meet the 100-percent
26	proficiency goal established by the federal No Child Left Behind
27	Act of 2001.
28	(b)  "Eligible student" means a student from a low-income
29	family who attends a Title I school in the school's second year
30	of school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring, as
31	defined by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
32	(c)  "Instructor" or "tutor" means a person employed by a
33	supplemental educational service provider to deliver instruction
34	in reading, language arts, or mathematics to eligible students
35	enrolled in the provider's program.
36	(d)  "Local educational agency" or "LEA" means a local
37	board of education.
38	(e)  "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" or "NCLB" is a
39	reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
40	1965, which is the principal federal law affecting education
41	from kindergarten through high school. The NCLB is designed to
42	improve student achievement and close achievement gaps. States
43	are required to develop challenging academic standards, educate
44	all students to 100-percent proficiency by 2014, and create and
45	implement a single, statewide accountability system.
46	(f)  "Parent" means the person or persons legally
47	responsible for the guardianship of the student, including a
48	legal guardian.
49	(g)  "Supplemental educational service providers" or "SES
50	providers" are faith-based organizations, for-profit and
51	nonprofit businesses, local educational agencies, schools,
52	institutes of higher education, community groups, and regional
53	educational service agencies approved by the Department of
54	Education to provide additional academic instruction designed to
55	increase the academic achievement of eligible Title I students.
56	(h)  "Supplemental educational services" or "SES" means
57	additional academic instruction provided outside the regular
58	school day that is designed to increase the academic achievement
59	of low-income students, as defined by eligibility for free or
60	reduced-price meals, who attend qualifying schools as defined by
61	the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
62	(i)  "Title I" is the Elementary and Secondary Education
63	Act of 1965 program that focuses on improving the academic
64	achievement of disadvantaged students by ensuring that all
65	students have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to
66	obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum,
67	proficiency on challenging state academic standards and
68	assessments.
69	(2)  REQUIREMENTS.--
70	(a)  State responsibilities.--The Department of Education
71	shall:
72	1.  Consult with parents, teachers, school districts, and
73	interested members of the public to identify a large number of
74	SES providers so that parents have a wide variety of high-
75	quality choices.
76	2.  Provide and disseminate broadly an annual notice to
77	potential providers outlining the process for obtaining approval
78	to be an SES provider. There shall be at least two opportunities
79	each year for potential providers to submit their applications
80	to the department.
81	3.  Develop and apply objective criteria for approving
82	potential providers. Each provider's SES program shall:
83	a.  Include an appropriate, diagnostic assessment for use
84	in identifying a student's weaknesses and achievement gaps upon
85	which to build an individual student learning plan and learning
86	goals.
87	b.  Use targeted remediation or instruction that is aimed
88	at addressing a student's skill gaps revealed during the
89	assessment and that is based upon an individual student learning
90	plan.
91	c.  Include a post assessment linked to the diagnostic
92	assessment to determine whether student learning gains occurred
93	and to further develop a plan for either reteaching skills or
94	identifying new skills for instruction.
95	d.  Align with the Sunshine State Standards in the area of
96	reading or mathematics, or both.
97	e.  Supplement the academic program a student experiences
98	in the regular school day.
99	f.  Use high-quality, research-based instructional
100	practices that are specifically designed to increase students'
101	academic achievement.
102	4.  Maintain an updated list of approved providers.
103	5.  Exercise authority to investigate and remove providers
104	from the approved list based on evaluation results.
105	6.  Make available to school districts a list of available
106	approved providers in their general geographic locations.
107	7.  Develop, implement, and publicly report on monitoring
108	standards for providers to ensure the quality and effectiveness
109	of services offered by approved providers.
110	8.  Ensure that an LEA has fully met parental demands for
111	SES. In determining whether an LEA has fully met parental
112	demands for SES, the department shall consider whether an LEA
113	has:
114	a.  Appropriately notified all eligible parents of the
115	availability of SES.
116	b.  Adequately publicized options to parents through
117	multiple forums in understandable formats and languages.
118	c.  Offered parents a reasonable period of time to
119	investigate their options and submit their requests for SES.
120	9.  No later than May 1 each year, notify LEAs of the
121	specific schools that are in the second year of school
122	improvement, corrective action, or restructuring and have not
123	achieved AYP since such identification.
124	10.  Place on its Internet website a standard, downloadable
125	enrollment application to be used by parents of eligible
126	students, which must be used by all LEAs for SES enrollment
127	purposes.
128	(b)  LEA responsibilities.--An LEA shall:
129	1.  No later than 90 days prior to the start of the school
130	year, notify parents of eligible students about the availability
131	of SES. Notification shall meet the following criteria:
132	a.  Be sent at least twice annually.
133	b.  Be provided in an understandable and uniform format
134	and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can
135	understand.
136	c.  Describe how parents may obtain services.
137	d.  Provide a minimum of 20 school days for parents to
138	select and notify the LEA regarding a selected provider.
139	e.  Create a streamlined, one-step SES parent registration
140	and provider selection process that is user friendly.
141	2.  Help parents choose a provider, if such assistance is
142	requested, making sure that such assistance is unbiased and does
143	not provide advantage for one provider over another, including
144	the LEA if such LEA is an approved provider, and obtain
145	permission from parents to release assessment data to a selected
146	provider.
147	3.  Determine and prioritize students who shall receive
148	services if not all students can be served. Determination shall
149	be made in accordance with eligibility criteria established in
150	federal law and with guidance from the United States Department
151	of Education, ensuring that prioritization does not take place
152	in advance of actual demand being documented and shall be based
153	on the 20-percent set-aside minus any actual costs associated
154	with providing transportation for public school choice pursuant
155	to subparagraph 18.
156	4.  Determine the per-student spending limit according to
157	federal law only, which amount shall not be reduced or otherwise
158	altered.
159	5.  Ensure that the opportunity to acquire SES is offered
160	to eligible students on a continuous basis or, at a minimum,
161	twice every school year, such as once at or near the start of
162	the school year and once at or near the start of each new
163	calendar year. An LEA that does not offer at least two
164	opportunities for SES enrollment shall not amend unobligated SES
165	into the general Title I budget.
166	6.  Enter into an agreement with a provider selected by the
167	parent of an eligible student no later than 45 days after the
168	beginning of the school year or within 45 days after receiving
169	notification of school improvement status. The same procedure
170	shall be followed for subsequent enrollments during the school
171	year. An LEA that does not begin to offer SES within such time
172	periods shall not amend unobligated SES funds into the general
173	Title I budget. The agreement shall include, at a minimum:
174	a.  A statement of specific achievement goals for each
175	eligible student whose parent elects to receive SES from the
176	approved provider.
177	b.  A description of how student progress will be measured.
178	c.  Progress reports for each student to whom a provider
179	gives services under the agreement.
180	d.  Procedures for obtaining parental consent to release
181	assessment data to a selected provider.
182	e.  Procedures for termination of the agreement with the
183	provider based on specific and material cause and include an
184	opportunity for the provider to cure any such breach.
185	Termination for convenience clauses shall not be allowed.
186	f.  The payment process for students receiving SES, with
187	reimbursement for services to occur within 60 days following
188	submission of a complete invoice.
189	g.  Records of attendance for each student receiving SES.
190	h.  Security of information relating to students receiving
191	SES.
192	i.  The procedure for facility access for providers, using
193	a fair, transparent, and objective process, to operate on site
194	in a school or schools identified for school improvement,
195	corrective action, or restructuring, free of charge or for a
196	reasonable fee, on the same basis and terms as are available to
197	other groups that seek access to the school building.
198	j.  The process for records maintenance of a provider's SES
199	to students.
200	k.  Guidelines specifying secular, neutral, and
201	nonideological instruction and content.
202	l.  An outline of applicable federal, state, and local
203	laws, and rules and regulations required by law, in connection
204	with providing tutorial service.
205	7.  Establish monitoring procedures to ensure that
206	providers fulfill their contractual obligations. Monitoring
207	should include tracking student progress toward meeting the
208	state's academic standards.
209	8.  Select an approved provider or providers, using a fair,
210	transparent, and objective process, to operate on site in a
211	school or schools identified for school improvement, corrective
212	action, or restructuring, free of charge or for a reasonable
213	fee, on the same basis and terms as are available to other
214	groups that seek access to the school building. The LEA shall
215	not select a provider or providers based on a reduced per-
216	student amount as calculated under federal law or other criteria
217	that would otherwise be a department responsibility or
218	programmatic design criteria, such as the requirement of
219	specific student-tutor ratios.
220	9.  Enter into a compact with the provider, parent, and
221	student. The compact, which shall be maintained for monitoring
222	purposes, shall include, at a minimum:
223	a.  A notification letter to the parent of a student who is
224	eligible to receive SES from an approved provider.
225	b.  Procedures regarding how the SES provider may contact
226	schools and parents regarding available services.
227	c.  Development of a collaborative relationship with the
228	LEA to ensure that issues and concerns are handled in a timely
229	and efficient manner.
230	d.  Specific achievement goals for the student, which shall
231	be developed in consultation with the student's parent.
232	e.  An established timetable for improving the student's
233	achievement.
234	f.  Selection of a provider from the department's approved
235	provider list.
236	g.  Scheduled tutoring sessions.
237	10.  Assist the department as needed in identifying
238	potential providers within the school district.
239	11.  Provide the information the department needs to
240	monitor the quality and effectiveness of the SES offered by
241	providers as specified in federal law.
242	12.  Protect the privacy of students who receive SES. The
243	LEA shall provide achievement data of students to providers
244	serving those students.
245	13.  Notify parents immediately if a provider becomes
246	ineligible to serve as an SES provider. Notification shall
247	include the steps parents must follow in order to secure another
248	provider.
249	14.  Provide approved providers with registration forms and
250	logistical information, including the procedures parents must
251	follow in obtaining SES for their children.
252	15.  While appealing an AYP decision, continue to provide
253	services while the appeal is being resolved and a final AYP
254	determination is being made. If an appeal is granted, the LEA
255	shall continue to serve students currently receiving SES until
256	the end of the contract period but is not obligated to provide
257	SES to additional students.
258	16.  Include in a school improvement plan steps to ensure
259	that eligible students will receive SES as required by law
260	whenever a school is classified as needing improvement for a
261	second or subsequent year.
262	17.  Ensure that eligible students from any school that is
263	in the second year of school improvement, corrective action, or
264	restructuring and has not achieved AYP at least once since such
265	identification shall be offered SES before the start of the
266	school year.
267	18.  Set aside up to 20 percent of its Title I, Part A
268	allocation for SES. Before determining that an amount less than
269	20 percent of its allocation is needed for choice-related
270	transportation and SES, an LEA shall document to the department
271	that it has fully met demands for these services. An LEA must
272	document, and make publicly available, that it has:
273	a.  Appropriately notified all parents of eligible students
274	of the availability of public school choice and SES.
275	b.  Adequately publicized the options to parents in
276	understandable formats and multiple forums.
277	c.  Offered parents a reasonable period of time to
278	investigate their options and submit their requests for either
279	public school choice or SES.
280
281	LEAs may amend unobligated SES funds into the general Title I
282	budget by the May 15 consolidated application budget amendment
283	deadline by ensuring that a minimum of 50 percent of the
284	students eligible to receive SES are served by an approved
285	provider. LEAs not meeting the 50-percent criteria shall submit
286	to the department a list of eligible students, students
287	receiving services, and otherwise eligible students on a wait
288	list. LEAs must develop additional plans to notify, enroll, and
289	serve sufficient numbers of SES students until the maximum Title
290	I funds are utilized or at least 50 percent of the eligible
291	students are served, whichever comes first. LEAs must obtain an
292	affirmative election from the parents of unserved, but otherwise
293	eligible, students that they decline to participate in SES for
294	that school year.
295	(c)  Provider responsibilities.--The provider shall:
296	1.  Agree to negotiate directly with LEAs to determine
297	scheduled sessions per student. Cost of services shall not
298	exceed the per-student spending limit calculated by each LEA.
299	2.  Set specific achievement goals for each student, which
300	shall be developed in consultation with each student's parent.
301	3.  Provide a description of how each student's progress
302	will be measured and how each student's parent and instructors
303	will be regularly informed of that progress.
304	4.  Establish a timetable for improving each student's
305	achievement.
306	5.  Agree not to disclose to the public the identity of any
307	student eligible for or receiving SES without the written
308	permission of the student's parent.
309	6.  Agree to meet all applicable federal, state, and local
310	health, safety, and civil rights laws.
311	7.  Ensure that all instruction and content are secular,
312	neutral, and nonideological.
313	8.  Ensure that instruction is consistent with student
314	achievement goals.
315	9.  Agree to abide by the education industry association's
316	current version of the SES code of ethics.
317	(d)  Parent responsibilities.--The parent shall:
318	1.  Request SES for the student.
319	2.  Select a provider from the department's approved
320	provider list.
321	3.  Transport students to and from the place of service
322	when not provided by the provider.
323	4.  Work with the provider to set achievement goals for the
324	student.
325	5.  Maintain open communication with a provider about a
326	student's progress.
327	(e)  Provider criteria.--
328	1.  Providers shall meet the following criteria:
329	a.  Have a demonstrated record of effectiveness in
330	improving student academic achievement.
331	b.  Document that the instructional strategies used by the
332	provider are of high quality, based upon research, and designed
333	to increase student academic achievement.
334	c.  Document that services are aligned with the Sunshine
335	State Standards in the area of reading or mathematics, or both.
336	d.  Provide evidence that the provider is financially
337	sound.
338	e.  Document that the provider will provide SES consistent
339	with all applicable federal, state, and local health, safety,
340	and civil rights laws.
341	f.  Meet all requirements set forth in guidelines issued by
342	the department, including, but not limited to, reporting
343	requirements, application requirements, deadlines, timelines,
344	and standards.
345	g.  Provide instruction that is secular, neutral, and
346	nonideological.
347	2.  Providers applying for statewide provider status upon
348	request shall serve students in any LEA regardless of the
349	geographical location. Providers approved for statewide provider
350	status may be removed from the provider list if this requirement
351	is not met. Providers removed from the statewide list may
352	reapply and specify a geographical area for their service.
353	(f)  Monitoring and evaluation.--
354	1.  The department shall monitor, at least annually, all
355	providers currently serving students. Monitoring shall be
356	conducted at a representative sample of the locations at which
357	the provider serves participating students.
358	a.  The department shall schedule with the provider a
359	mutually agreeable date and time for a monitoring visit. Prior
360	to a monitoring visit, the department shall send to the
361	provider, in writing, confirmation of the scheduled date and
362	time.
363	b.  Prior to a monitoring visit, the department shall
364	notify the provider of all documentation necessary to
365	demonstrate compliance with all applicable state and federal
366	laws related to SES. The provider may request technical
367	assistance from the department in identifying the relevant
368	documents.
369	c.  A provider's performance on each monitoring standard
370	and a provider's overall performance rating shall be indicated
371	on the SES provider monitoring form. The department shall send
372	to the provider, in a timely manner, a copy of the completed
373	monitoring form that includes notes regarding items of
374	documentation that are missing or incomplete.
375	2.  The department shall develop specific procedures to
376	annually evaluate all providers that have served students for 2
377	or more consecutive years in reading, language arts, or
378	mathematics. These procedures shall:
379	a.  Account for, and be fair to, providers that serve both
380	large and small populations of students and that use varying
381	methods of instruction.
382	b.  Be fair and sensitive enough to record gains of
383	individual students, especially students whose achievement level
384	is several grades behind grade level.
385	c.  Isolate the effects of SES from other variables that
386	might affect a student's achievement using regression analysis,
387	comparison groups, or other valid and reliable statistical
388	means.
389	d.  Collect qualitative data on parental satisfaction with
390	provider services.
391	e.  Include safeguards against potential conflicts of
392	interests when the LEA is also an approved provider and is
393	involved in provider monitoring and evaluation.
394	3.  If the department determines that a provider has failed
395	to contribute to increasing the academic proficiency of students
396	for 2 or more consecutive years in reading, language arts, or
397	mathematics in a specific LEA, the department shall remove the
398	provider from the approved provider list for that LEA.
399	4.  The provider shall have the opportunity to appeal the
400	department's decision to the State Board of Education. The
401	provider may reapply to the department for approval after a 1-
402	year waiting period.
403	5.  The department shall require an LEA to submit:
404	a.  The parental notification letters the LEA has developed
405	and utilized to inform parents of eligible students.
406	b.  At least twice during the school year, updated
407	information on how many students in the LEA are eligible for SES
408	and how many students make use of SES.
409	c.  How much money, in total dollars and per student, is
410	being spent by the LEA on SES.
411	(g)  Complaint process.--
412	1.  The department shall monitor complaints from parents,
413	students, SES providers, school districts, and other individuals
414	to determine whether LEAs and SES providers are in compliance
415	with the applicable state and federal laws, rules, regulations,
416	and guidance governing the provision of SES. The department
417	shall annually provide a summary report to the State Board of
418	Education.
419	2.  An organization or individual may file with the
420	department a signed, written complaint setting forth allegations
421	of noncompliance. The written complaint shall include, at a
422	minimum:
423	a.  A clear statement of the allegation.
424	b.  A summary of the facts upon which the allegation is
425	based.
426	c.  Any documentation supporting the allegation.
427	d.  The complainant's contact information, including the
428	name of an individual complainant or an authorized
429	representative of the complainant organization and the address
430	and telephone number of the individual or representative.
431	3.  Complaints received from an organization or individual
432	shall be signed and addressed in writing to the department.
433	4.  The department shall acknowledge, in writing, its
434	receipt of a complaint within 15 business days.
435	5.  The department shall, in a timely manner, commence an
436	investigation of the allegations set forth in the complaint and
437	make an independent determination as to whether the allegations
438	warrant further review or action.
439	6.  If necessary, the department may conduct an onsite
440	visit to clarify any issues raised by the complaint. An onsite
441	investigation team may examine relevant records and conduct
442	interviews of relevant persons to determine whether there has
443	been a violation of any applicable state or federal law, rule,
444	regulation, or guideline.
445	7.  The department shall send written notification to all
446	appropriate parties of the steps necessary to resolve the
447	complaint, including technical assistance activities,
448	negotiations, and corrective actions to achieve compliance. This
449	notification may include specific requirements and timelines
450	that must be met in order to ensure that providers other than
451	LEAs continue to receive SES funds from the LEA. LEAs that are
452	providers shall meet the requirements in order to ensure that
453	funds equal to the amount of their SES set-aside are available
454	in the department's grants accounting system.
455	8.  Upon conclusion of the department's investigation, the
456	department shall take appropriate action to remedy violations of
457	applicable laws, rules, regulations, or guidelines, including
458	removal of a provider from the approved provider list.
459	9.  If the department makes the decision to remove a
460	provider from the approved provider list, the LEA shall be
461	notified no later than 10 business days after the department's
462	action. Each provider notified of the decision shall have the
463	right to appeal such decision prior to its becoming final.
464	10.  If an LEA does not comply with providing SES to
465	eligible students within the established timeframe, the
466	department shall withhold funds equal to the amount of the LEA's
467	SES set-aside funds until the LEA complies.
468	11.  If funds are withheld from an LEA for not providing
469	SES to eligible students within the specified timeframe, the
470	department may enter into agreements with providers in lieu of
471	the LEA.
472	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

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