Senate Bill sb2616c1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2616
By the Committee on Education; and Senator Wise
581-2254-06
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to supplemental educational
3 services; providing for student access to and
4 provider accountability for supplemental
5 educational services in Title I schools;
6 providing definitions; providing
7 responsibilities of the Department of
8 Education, local educational agencies,
9 providers of supplemental educational services,
10 and parents to provide additional academic
11 instruction designed to increase the academic
12 achievement of eligible students; providing
13 criteria that must be met by a provider
14 approved by the department; providing for
15 department monitoring and evaluation of
16 provider performance; providing a complaint
17 process for determination of provider and local
18 educational agency compliance with law;
19 providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Supplemental educational services in Title
24 I schools; student access and provider accountability.--
25 (1) As used in this section:
26 (a) "Eligible student" means a student from a
27 low-income family, as evidenced by eligibility for free or
28 reduced price lunch, and who attends a Title I school in the
29 school's second year of school improvement,corrective action,
30 or restructuring, as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act.
31
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2616
581-2254-06
1 (b) "Parent" means the person or persons legally
2 responsible for the guardianship of the student, including a
3 legal guardian.
4 (c) "Supplemental educational service providers" or
5 "SES providers" are faith-based organizations, for-profit and
6 nonprofit businesses, local educational agencies, schools,
7 institutes of higher education, community groups, and regional
8 educational service agencies approved by the Department of
9 Education to provide additional academic instruction designed
10 to increase the academic achievement of eligible Title I
11 students.
12 (d) "Supplemental educational services" or "SES" means
13 additional academic instruction provided outside the regular
14 school day that is designed to increase the academic
15 achievement of low-income students, as defined by eligibility
16 for free or reduced-price meals, who attend qualifying schools
17 as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act.
18 (e) "Title I" is the Elementary and Secondary
19 Education Act of 1965 program that focuses on improving the
20 academic achievement of disadvantaged students by ensuring
21 that all students have a fair, equal, and significant
22 opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a
23 minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic standards
24 and assessments.
25 (2) The Department of Education is responsible to:
26 (a) Annually make available to the public a list of
27 all approved SES providers in the state no later than June 1.
28 (b) Notify each school district of the approved SES
29 providers for their students located in their district. If
30 there are no state-approved SES providers available for a
31
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2616
581-2254-06
1 school district, the department shall contact the district and
2 offer assistance.
3 (3) At a minimum, a school district must do the
4 following:
5 (a) After the department releases the school-adequate
6 yearly progress designations, the school district must create
7 a streamlined, one-step school choice or SES parent
8 registration and SES provider selection procedures. The
9 procedures must be user friendly, with one point of contact at
10 the school district level. The school district application
11 process for parents selecting school choice with
12 transportation or SES must not be burdensome and must be
13 similar to other school-based application procedures, such as
14 the procedures used to apply for free or reduced price lunch.
15 (b) No later than 10 days after the official state
16 release of adequate yearly progress designations, each school
17 district must:
18 1. Provide notification to the parents of all
19 potentially eligible students. The notice must:
20 a. Be publicly available, be provided in an
21 understandable and uniform format, and, to the extent
22 practicable, in a language the parents can understand.
23 b. Include a statement that the child may be eligible
24 to receive school choice, with transportation provided, to
25 another public school that has not been identified for school
26 improvement or the student may be eligible for supplemental
27 educational tutoring services, provided that the demand for
28 services does not exceed capacity to provide the services and
29 the student meets all eligibility requirements.
30 c. Provide a minimum of 30 days from the date of
31 notification for parents to notify the school district
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2616
581-2254-06
1 regarding their selection of school choice with transportation
2 or SES.
3 d. Describe the procedures created in paragraph (a),
4 any student eligibility requirements that must still be met,
5 parental expectations and rights, the timeline of the process,
6 and the school district contact phone number, e-mail address,
7 and office address.
8 e. Include the statement that, "Your child may be
9 eligible to receive one of these additional education services
10 from the school district. These programs will not cost you
11 additional money and may greatly benefit your child. Your
12 prompt reply will enable us to serve you better."
13 2. Provide notice to SES providers requesting their
14 notice of intent to provide SES services within the school
15 district as a state-approved provider of SES.
16 (c) Within 20 days after the release of the adequate
17 yearly progress designations, the SES provider must sign a
18 letter of intent with each school district in which they
19 intend to provide services. The letter of intent must specify
20 the minimum and maximum number of students the SES provider
21 agrees to serve at each school building or other site. The
22 minimum and maximum number of students they agree to serve
23 must be the same as that used to secure state approval. If
24 there are no SES providers willing to serve a district, the
25 district shall contact the department for assistance.
26 (d) The school district shall, within 15 days before
27 the start of the school year, ask parents of potentially
28 eligible students who have not requested services whether they
29 need assistance in selecting school choice with transportation
30 or SES. Such assistance shall be unbiased.
31
4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2616
581-2254-06
1 (e) The school district shall, within 30 days before
2 the start of the school year, provide to all parents of
3 potentially eligible students who have not selected school
4 choice with transportation a list of contact information for,
5 and a brief description of all the services provided by
6 locally available state-approved SES providers, as well as the
7 timeline for the selection of, enrollment in, and commencement
8 of services. Such assistance must be unbiased and not provide
9 an advantage for one SES provider over another, including the
10 school district if the school district is an approved SES
11 provider.
12 (f) The school district shall provide a central point
13 of contact for additional assistance, if such assistance is
14 requested. The school district must ensure that the
15 assistance is unbiased and does not provide advantage for one
16 SES provider over another.
17 (g) At least 15 days before the start of the school
18 year, if a parent selected school choice with transportation,
19 the parent must be notified of their student's selection or
20 non-selection by the school district to receive this service,
21 including that the student may still be eligible to receive
22 SES if the student does not receive school choice with
23 transportation.
24 (h) On or around the first day of school, each school
25 district must send home with potentially eligible students
26 information reminding parents of their opportunity to enroll
27 their children in supplemental educational services.
28 (i) No later than 15 days after the start of school,
29 the parent shall communicate their preferences of SES
30 providers to the school district. The school district must
31
5
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2616
581-2254-06
1 have also already obtained permission from the parents to
2 release assessment data to the SES provider.
3 (j) No later than 25 days after the start of school,
4 if the number of parents that select a SES provider's program
5 is below the district minimum number of students per site as
6 indicated in their state-approved application and letter of
7 intent, the school district shall notify the SES provider of
8 this in writing and the provider has 5 business days to
9 respond as to whether or not they will provide services. If
10 the SES provider does not respond or if the SES provider
11 withdraws, all students who selected this SES provider shall
12 be automatically placed with the alternate choices selected by
13 their parents and the parents will be so informed. The
14 department will be notified of this action taken by the school
15 district.
16 (k) No later than 35 days after the school start date,
17 the contract for services between the school district and the
18 SES provider must be signed and the school district must
19 provide the provider with the names of the students who have
20 elected to receive their services. SES providers shall be
21 afforded at least 15 business days from the date the contract
22 is executed to start delivering services.
23 (l) No later than 60 days after the start of school,
24 the student must begin receiving services.
25 (m) If the number of students signed up to receive
26 services 60 days after the start of school is less than the
27 number eligible, the district must offer at least a second
28 enrollment period to the parents of all potentially eligible
29 and unserved students in the same manner as prescribed above.
30 This second notification shall include a list of the approved
31 service providers for the school district. A district shall
6
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2616
581-2254-06
1 notify all parents of eligible students, even if they failed
2 to respond to the initial notifications.
3 (n) This section does not preclude students who are
4 new to the district or school from receiving SES services.
5 (o) If a student receiving SES services moves to
6 another school within the district, the services may continue
7 at the discretion of the parent.
8 (p) If a district is appealing its AYP designation, it
9 must still prepare to contract with providers in the event the
10 appeal is denied.
11 (q) If funding required to provide services to every
12 eligible student who has enrolled to participate exceeds 20
13 percent of Title I funds that must be allocated toward such
14 services, districts may prioritize students according to
15 federal guidelines. However:
16 1. A school district may not prioritize students
17 before demonstrating that the cost of providing SES services
18 exceeds the 20 percent obligated for services based on actual
19 demand; and
20 2. Prioritization may not result in less than 20
21 percent of Title I funding to be spent on supplemental
22 educational services.
23 (r) Districts must provide access to school facilities
24 to SES providers who wish to use these sites for supplemental
25 educational services on the same basis and terms as other
26 organizations that seek access to the school building.
27 (s) Each SES provider must begin providing services no
28 later than 60 days after the start of school.
29 (t) Each SES provider shall create a specific
30 statement of achievement goals for each student, which must be
31 developed in consultation with the student's parent. The
7
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2616
581-2254-06
1 development of these goals may not occur before the provider
2 assesses the student's academic needs or gaps.
3 (u) The statement of goals the provider prepares for
4 each student must include:
5 1. An analysis of student's skill gaps identified
6 through a provider's pre-assessment instrument, if available;
7 2. A timetable for improving the student's
8 achievement; and
9 3. A description of how each student's progress will
10 be measured and how each student's parent and public school
11 instructors will be regularly informed of that progress.
12 (3) Providers or school districts may not provide
13 incentives to entice a student or a student's parent or
14 guardian to choose them as a provider. After a provider has
15 been chosen, the student may be awarded for performance or
16 attendance with incentives, the total value of which may not
17 exceed $50.
18 (4) Penalties for noncompliance.--
19 (a) If a school district has met all demand from
20 parents and students for transportation and supplemental
21 education services related to school choice as defined by the
22 State Board of Education, any unused portion of Title I funds
23 reserved may be reallocated to other purposes either during
24 the year in which the reservation was made or, subject to the
25 15-percent limit, in the following year, subject to the
26 equitable participation requirements of Title I. If there are
27 no state-approved SES providers willing to serve in a
28 district, and the district notified the department, the
29 department shall release that portion of the 20-percent
30 set-aside that has not been used for choice with
31 transportation or supplemental educational services.
8
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2616
581-2254-06
1 (b) A SES provider must be prepared to deliver
2 services to districts in which the SES provider is approved by
3 the state. If a state-approved SES provider withdraws from
4 offering services to students in a school district for which
5 it is approved and in which they have signed a letter of
6 intent or a contract to provide services, the school district
7 must report the SES provider to the department and the SES
8 provider will be immediately removed from the state-approved
9 list for the current school year for that school district.
10 Upon a second offense occurring in any school district, the
11 provider is ineligible to provide SES services in the state
12 for the following year.
13 (5) The State Board of Education may adopt rules
14 pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the
15 provisions of this section and may enforce the provisions of
16 this section pursuant to s. 1008.32.
17 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
9
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2616
581-2254-06
1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 Senate Bill 2616
3
4 The committee substitute revises the responsibilities of the
Department of Education, school districts, and providers of
5 supplemental educational services. The bill:
6 -Revises the timelines for the delivery of services;
7 -Eliminates the complaint resolution process;
8 -Eliminates the requirement that unobligated funds may only be
spent if 50 percent of demand is met;
9
-Eliminates the requirement for parents of eligible students
10 to decline services;
11 -Requires school districts to meet all demand for supplemental
educational services before unobligated funds are spent;
12
-Allows the Department of Education to release unused funds if
13 there are no state-approved providers willing to serve a
district;
14
-Eliminates certain requirements for provider agreements;
15
-Eliminates the Department of Education's specific authority
16 to remove a provider from the approved list if requirement are
not met, to annually evaluate a provider, and to directly
17 contract with a provider; and
18 -Eliminates the criteria for the selection of providers.
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
10
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.