CS/HB 1107

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to child care; creating s. 402.3012, F.S.;
3providing for the Office of Early Learning within the
4Agency for Workforce Innovation to establish Florida's
5Sunshine State Stars Quality Rating System, subject to
6specific appropriation; providing for the rating system to
7be voluntary; providing quality rating requirements for
8early learning programs, child care facilities, and
9facilities participating in the Voluntary Prekindergarten
10Education Program; establishing a voluntary pilot program
11in specified counties; providing financial incentives for
12advancement in quality rating; providing for technical
13support; providing for expiration of the program;
14requiring the Office of Early Learning within the Agency
15for Workforce Innovation to develop an early education
16workforce development plan; providing an effective date.
17
18Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20     Section 1.  Section 402.3012, Florida Statutes, is created
21to read:
22     402.3012  Florida's Sunshine State Stars Quality Rating
23System.--
24     (1)  FLORIDA'S SUNSHINE STATE STARS QUALITY RATING
25SYSTEM.--Subject to specific legislative appropriation, the
26Office of Early Learning within the Agency for Workforce
27Innovation shall establish Florida's Sunshine State Stars
28Quality Rating System to provide a voluntary, statewide standard
29rating system for licensed early learning programs, child care
30facilities as defined in s. 402.302, and facilities
31participating in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
32created under s. 1002.53.
33     (a)  The rating system shall consist of five tiers. For the
34purposes of this section, a "tier" refers to each level of
35progression and represents a higher level of quality within the
36quality rating system. To communicate the level of quality to
37parents, consumers, and the participating early learning
38programs, a star symbol shall be used. Programs that meet the
39highest level of quality in the rating system shall be awarded
40five stars.
41     (b)  Programs must meet all the criteria of a tier before
42advancing to the next tier. The office shall be responsible for
43implementing the requirements for each tier in each category
44based upon recommendations of the Early Learning Advisory
45Council's Quality Rating System Task Force and recommendations
46from organized meetings and interviews conducted to gather local
47input from parent and provider focus groups.
48     (2)  REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILD CARE FACILITIES AND FACILITIES
49PARTICIPATING IN THE VOLUNTARY PREKINDERGARTEN EDUCATION
50PROGRAM.--
51     (a)  Overall quality rating assessments shall be based on
52the following major components that have been documented by
53research or best practices to positively impact child and family
54outcomes:
55     1.  Learning environment.
56     2.  Curricula, screening, and assessment.
57     3.  Staff qualifications.
58     4.  Professional development.
59     5.  Business practices.
60     6.  Family involvement.
61     (b)  Advancement through the tiers in each major component
62shall be based on the following:
63     1.  Learning environment, verified through document
64submission or use of an appropriate environment rating scale.
65     2.  Curricula, screening, and assessment, verified through
66document review and observation.
67     3.  Staff qualifications, verified by linkage with
68licensing and document review.
69     4.  Professional development for the director, lead
70teacher, and assistant teacher, verified by linkage with
71licensing and document review.
72     5.  Business practices, verified by document review and
73observation. Consideration shall be given to child care
74providers possessing a Gold Seal Quality Care designation and
75Head Start and Early Head Start programs of quality and
76excellence.
77     6.  Family involvement, verified through document review.
78     Section 2.  Florida's Sunshine State Stars Quality Rating
79System Voluntary Pilot Program.--
80     (1)  FLORIDA'S SUNSHINE STATE STARS QUALITY RATING SYSTEM
81VOLUNTARY PILOT PROGRAM.--Subject to specific legislative
82appropriation, Florida's Sunshine State Stars Quality Rating
83System Voluntary Pilot Program is created for the implementation
84of the rating system tier program in the following counties:
85Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm
86Beach, and Pinellas. The identified counties include urban
87counties and rural counties that have established or are in the
88process of establishing quality rating systems.
89     (2)  FINANCIAL INCENTIVES FOR ADVANCEMENT IN THE RATING
90SYSTEM.--
91     (a)  Centers and programs in tiers 1, 2, and 3 shall be
92eligible for grants and awards to improve the quality of their
93programs, subject to appropriation.
94     (b)  Centers and programs in tiers 4 and 5 shall be
95eligible for merit awards to maintain high quality programs,
96subject to appropriation.
97     (3)  TECHNICAL SUPPORT.--Subject to specific legislative
98appropriation, technical support shall be provided to programs
99to ensure successful entry into the rating system and movement
100through the system. The Office of Early Learning within the
101Agency for Workforce Innovation shall coordinate with the
102participating early learning coalitions to facilitate the
103successful participation of child care facilities in the pilot
104program and with those programs currently implementing a quality
105rating system.
106     (4)  OTHER COUNTIES.--Nothing in this section shall
107preclude early learning coalitions from implementing a quality
108rating system in other counties.
109     (5)  EXPIRATION OF THE PILOT PROGRAM.--The pilot program
110shall expire on July 1, 2009.
111     Section 3.  In order to ensure the availability of
112qualified teachers to meet the needs associated with higher
113standards, the Office of Early Learning within the Agency for
114Workforce Innovation, in collaboration with the Department of
115Education and the Department of Children and Family Services,
116shall develop an early education workforce development plan. The
117plan shall include recommendations for the funding and expansion
118of current child care professional development credentialing
119programs, such as the Teacher Education and Compensation Helps
120(TEACH) scholarship program, as well as other programs designed
121to provide professional development, credentialing, and advanced
122education.
123     Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


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