Senate Bill sb0840e1
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to early childhood education;
3 amending s. 402.3017, F.S.; authorizing the
4 Agency for Workforce Innovation to contract for
5 the administration of the Teacher Education and
6 Compensation Helps (TEACH) scholarship program;
7 providing for rulemaking; deleting provisions
8 that limit agency administration of the program
9 to the 2005-2006 fiscal year; amending s.
10 411.01, F.S.; requiring the Agency for
11 Workforce Innovation to recommend a school
12 readiness equity allocation formula; providing
13 for changes in the allocation of funds to be
14 specified in the General Appropriations Act;
15 eliminating approval of the allocation formula
16 by the Legislative Budget Commission;
17 eliminating an obsolete provision; providing an
18 effective date.
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20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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22 Section 1. Section 402.3017, Florida Statutes, is
23 amended to read:
24 402.3017 Teacher Education and Compensation Helps
25 (TEACH) scholarship program.--
26 (1) The Legislature finds that the level of early
27 child care teacher education and training is a key predictor
28 for determining program quality. The Legislature also finds
29 that low wages for child care workers prevent many from
30 obtaining increased training and education and contribute to
31 high turnover rates. The Legislature therefore intends to help
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1 fund a program which links teacher training and education to
2 compensation and commitment to the field of early childhood
3 education.
4 (2) The Agency for Workforce Innovation Department of
5 Children and Family Services is authorized to contract for the
6 administration of the Teacher Education and Compensation Helps
7 (TEACH) scholarship program, which provides educational
8 scholarships to caregivers and administrators of early
9 childhood programs, family day care homes, and large family
10 child care homes.
11 (3) The agency department shall adopt rules as
12 necessary to implement this section.
13 (4) For the 2005-2006 fiscal year only, the Agency for
14 Workforce Innovation shall administer this section. This
15 subsection expires July 1, 2006.
16 Section 2. Subsection (9) of section 411.01, Florida
17 Statutes, is amended to read:
18 411.01 School readiness programs; early learning
19 coalitions.--
20 (9) FUNDING; SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM.--
21 (a) It is the intent of this section to establish an
22 integrated and quality seamless service delivery system for
23 all publicly funded early childhood education and child care
24 programs operating in this state.
25 (b)1. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall
26 administer school readiness funds, plans, and policies and
27 shall prepare and submit a unified budget request for the
28 school readiness system in accordance with chapter 216.
29 2. All instructions to early learning coalitions for
30 administering this section shall emanate from the Agency for
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1 Workforce Innovation in accordance with the policies of the
2 Legislature.
3 (c) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall
4 recommend adopt a formula for the allocation among the early
5 learning coalitions of all state and federal school readiness
6 funds for children participating in public or private school
7 readiness programs based upon equity and performance. The
8 allocation formula must be submitted to the Governor, and the
9 chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee or its successor,
10 and the chair of the House Fiscal Council or its successor no
11 later than January 1 of each year. The Legislature shall
12 specify in the annual General Appropriations Act any changes
13 from the allocation methodology for the prior fiscal year
14 which must be used by the Agency for Workforce Innovation in
15 allocating the appropriations provided in the General
16 Appropriations Act Legislative Budget Commission. Upon
17 approval, the Legislative Budget Commission shall authorize
18 the Agency for Workforce Innovation to distribute funds in
19 accordance with the allocation formula. For fiscal year
20 2004-2005, the Agency for Workforce Innovation shall allocate
21 funds to the early learning coalitions consistent with the
22 fiscal year 2003-2004 funding allocations to the school
23 readiness coalitions.
24 (d) All state, federal, and required local
25 maintenance-of-effort or matching funds provided to an early
26 learning coalition for purposes of this section shall be used
27 by the coalition for implementation of its school readiness
28 plan, including the hiring of staff to effectively operate the
29 coalition's school readiness program. As part of plan approval
30 and periodic plan review, the Agency for Workforce Innovation
31 shall require that administrative costs be kept to the minimum
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1 necessary for efficient and effective administration of the
2 school readiness plan, but total administrative expenditures
3 must not exceed 5 percent unless specifically waived by the
4 Agency for Workforce Innovation. The Agency for Workforce
5 Innovation shall annually report to the Legislature any
6 problems relating to administrative costs.
7 (e) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall annually
8 distribute, to a maximum extent practicable, all eligible
9 funds provided under this section as block grants to the early
10 learning coalitions.
11 (f) State funds appropriated for the school readiness
12 program may not be used for the construction of new facilities
13 or the purchase of buses. The Agency for Workforce Innovation
14 shall present to the Legislature recommendations for providing
15 necessary transportation services for school readiness
16 programs.
17 (g) All cost savings and all revenues received through
18 a mandatory sliding fee scale shall be used to help fund each
19 early learning coalition's school readiness program.
20 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.
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