HB 75

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the John M. McKay Scholarships for
3	Students with Disabilities Program; amending s. 1002.39,
4	F.S.; revising definition of the term "students with
5	disabilities"; revising student eligibility requirements
6	for receipt of a scholarship; revising provisions relating
7	to scholarship funding and payment; providing funding and
8	payment requirements for former Florida School for the
9	Deaf and the Blind students and for students exiting a
10	Department of Juvenile Justice program; providing an
11	effective date.
12
13	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15	Section 1.  Subsections (1), (2), and (6) of section
16	1002.39, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
17	1002.39  The John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with
18	Disabilities Program.--There is established a program that is
19	separate and distinct from the Opportunity Scholarship Program
20	and is named the John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with
21	Disabilities Program, pursuant to this section.
22	(1)  THE JOHN M. MCKAY SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS WITH
23	DISABILITIES PROGRAM.--The John M. McKay Scholarships for
24	Students with Disabilities Program is established to provide the
25	option to attend a public school other than the one to which
26	assigned, or to provide a scholarship to a private school of
27	choice, for students with disabilities for whom an individual
28	education plan has been written in accordance with rules of the
29	State Board of Education. Students with disabilities include K-
30	12 students who are documented as having mental retardation; a
31	mentally handicapped, speech or and language impairment; a
32	impaired, deaf or hard of hearing impairment, including
33	deafness; a visual impairment, including blindness; a visually
34	impaired, dual sensory impairment; a physical impairment; a
35	serious emotional disturbance, including an emotional handicap;
36	a impaired, physically impaired, emotionally handicapped,
37	specific learning disability, including, but not limited to,
38	dyslexia, dyscalculia, or developmental aphasia; a traumatic
39	brain injury; disabled, hospitalized or homebound, or autism
40	autistic.
41	(2)  SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.--The parent of a public
42	school student with a disability who is dissatisfied with the
43	student's progress may request and receive from the state a John
44	M. McKay Scholarship for the child to enroll in and attend a
45	private school in accordance with this section if:
46	(a)  By assigned school attendance area or by special
47	assignment, The student has spent the prior school year in
48	attendance at a Florida public school or the Florida School for
49	the Deaf and the Blind. Prior school year in attendance means
50	that the student was:
51	1.  Enrolled and reported by a school district for funding
52	during the preceding October and February Florida Education
53	Finance Program surveys in kindergarten through grade 12, which
54	shall include time spent in a Department of Juvenile Justice
55	commitment program if funded under the Florida Education Finance
56	Program; or
57	2.  Enrolled and reported by the Florida School for the
58	Deaf and the Blind during the preceding October and February
59	student membership surveys in kindergarten through grade 12.
60
61	However, this paragraph does not apply to a dependent child of a
62	member of the United States Armed Forces who transfers to a
63	school in this state from out of state or from a foreign country
64	pursuant to a parent's permanent change of station orders is
65	exempt from this paragraph but. A dependent child of a member of
66	the United States Armed Forces who transfers to a school in this
67	state from out of state or from a foreign country pursuant to a
68	parent's permanent change of station orders must meet all other
69	eligibility requirements to participate in the program.
70	(b)  The parent has obtained acceptance for admission of
71	the student to a private school that is eligible for the program
72	under subsection (4) and has notified the school district of the
73	request for a scholarship at least 60 days prior to the date of
74	the first scholarship payment. The parental notification must be
75	through a communication directly to the district or through the
76	Department of Education to the district in a manner that creates
77	a written or electronic record of the notification and the date
78	of receipt of the notification.
79
80	This section does not apply to A student who is enrolled in a
81	school operating for the purpose of providing educational
82	services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice commitment
83	programs shall not receive a John M. McKay Scholarship during
84	the period of time that he or she is enrolled in such school.
85	For purposes of continuity of educational choice, the
86	scholarship shall remain in force until the student returns to a
87	public school or graduates from high school. However, at any
88	time, the student's parent may remove the student from the
89	private school and place the student in another private school
90	that is eligible for the program under subsection (4) or in a
91	public school as provided in subsection (3).
92	(6)  SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING AND PAYMENT.--
93	(a)1.  The maximum scholarship granted for an eligible
94	student with disabilities shall be a calculated amount
95	equivalent to the base student allocation in the Florida
96	Education Finance Program multiplied by the appropriate cost
97	factor for the educational program that would have been provided
98	for the student in the district school to which he or she was
99	assigned, multiplied by the district cost differential.
100	2.  In addition, a share of the guaranteed allocation for
101	exceptional students shall be determined and added to the
102	calculated amount. The calculation shall be based on the
103	methodology and the data used to calculate the guaranteed
104	allocation for exceptional students for each district in chapter
105	2000-166, Laws of Florida. Except as provided in subparagraphs
106	subparagraph 3. and 4., the calculation shall be based on the
107	student's grade, matrix level of services, and the difference
108	between the 2000-2001 basic program and the appropriate level of
109	services cost factor, multiplied by the 2000-2001 base student
110	allocation and the 2000-2001 district cost differential for the
111	sending district. Also, the calculated amount shall include the
112	per-student share of supplemental academic instruction funds,
113	instructional materials funds, technology funds, and other
114	categorical funds as provided for such purposes in the General
115	Appropriations Act.
116	3.  The calculated scholarship amount for a student who has
117	spent the prior school year in attendance at the Florida School
118	for the Deaf and the Blind shall be calculated as provided in
119	subparagraphs 1. and 2. However, the calculation shall be based
120	on the school district in which the parent resides at the time
121	of the scholarship request.
122	4.3.  Until the school district completes the matrix
123	required by paragraph (3)(b), the calculation shall be based on
124	the matrix that assigns the student to support level I of
125	service as it existed prior to the 2000-2001 school year. When
126	the school district completes the matrix, the amount of the
127	payment shall be adjusted as needed.
128	(b)  The amount of the John M. McKay Scholarship shall be
129	the calculated amount or the amount of the private school's
130	tuition and fees, whichever is less. The amount of any
131	assessment fee required by the participating private school may
132	be paid from the total amount of the scholarship.
133	(c)  If the participating private school requires partial
134	payment of tuition prior to the start of the academic year to
135	reserve space for students admitted to the school, that partial
136	payment may be paid by the Department of Education prior to the
137	first quarterly payment of the year in which the John M. McKay
138	Scholarship is awarded, up to a maximum of $1,000, and deducted
139	from subsequent scholarship payments. If a student decides not
140	to attend the participating private school, the partial
141	reservation payment must be returned to the Department of
142	Education by the participating private school. There is a limit
143	of one reservation payment per student per year.
144	(c)(d)1.  The school district shall report all students who
145	are attending a private school under this program. The students
146	with disabilities attending private schools on John M. McKay
147	Scholarships shall be reported separately from other students
148	reported for purposes of the Florida Education Finance Program.
149	2.  For program participants who are eligible under
150	subparagraph (2)(a)2., the school district that is used as the
151	basis for the calculation of the scholarship amount as provided
152	in subparagraph (a)3. shall:
153	a.  Report to the department all such students who are
154	attending a private school under this program.
155	b.  Be held harmless for such students from the weighted
156	enrollment ceiling for group 2 programs in s. 1011.62(1)(d)3.a.
157	during the first school year in which the students are reported.
158	(d)(e)  Following notification on July 1, September 1,
159	December 1, or February 1 of the number of program participants,
160	the department of Education shall transfer, from General Revenue
161	funds only, the amount calculated under paragraph (b) from the
162	school district's total funding entitlement under the Florida
163	Education Finance Program and from authorized categorical
164	accounts to a separate account for the scholarship program for
165	quarterly disbursement to the parents of participating students.
166	Funds may not be transferred from any funding provided to the
167	Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind for program
168	participants who are eligible under subparagraph (2)(a)2. For a
169	student exiting a Department of Juvenile Justice commitment
170	program who chooses to participate in the scholarship program,
171	the amount of the John M. McKay Scholarship calculated pursuant
172	to paragraph (b) shall be transferred from the school district
173	in which the student last attended a public school prior to
174	commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice. When a student
175	enters the scholarship program, the department of Education must
176	receive all documentation required for the student's
177	participation, including the private school's and student's fee
178	schedules, at least 30 days before the first quarterly
179	scholarship payment is made for the student. The Department of
180	Education may not make any retroactive payments.
181	(e)(f)  Upon proper documentation reviewed and approved by
182	the Department of Education, the Chief Financial Officer shall
183	make scholarship payments in four equal amounts no later than
184	September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 15 of each
185	academic year in which the scholarship is in force. The initial
186	payment shall be made after Department of Education verification
187	of admission acceptance, and subsequent payments shall be made
188	upon verification of continued enrollment and attendance at the
189	private school. Payment must be by individual warrant made
190	payable to the student's parent and mailed by the Department of
191	Education to the private school of the parent's choice, and the
192	parent shall restrictively endorse the warrant to the private
193	school for deposit into the account of the private school.
194	Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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