1

A bill to be entitled

2

An act relating to publicly funded facilities for

3

children; amending s. 402.3051, F.S.; revising provisions

4

concerning establishment of the market rate for certain

5

child care services; requiring that the rate be

6

established annually for each county; including child care

7

facilities that are subject to specified licensing

8

requirements on the list of child care services for which

9

a market rate must be established; amending s. 1002.55,

10

F.S.; revising the number of instructional hours that are

11

required for a school-year prekindergarten program

12

delivered by a private kindergarten provider; amending s.

13

1002.63, F.S.; revising the number of instructional hours

14

that are required for a school-year prekindergarten

15

program delivered by a public school; amending s. 1002.67,

16

F.S.; requiring that private prekindergarten providers and

17

public schools conduct certain assessments of the progress

18

of students enrolled in the Voluntary Prekindergarten

19

Education Program; requiring that the assessments be

20

approved and scored by the Department of Education, the

21

Agency for Workforce Innovation, or an early learning

22

coalition and administered by certain teachers; providing

23

requirements concerning the assessment and its use;

24

requiring the incorporation of the assessment scores in

25

certain kindergarten screenings and readiness rates

26

adopted by the department and the State Board of

27

Education; amending s. 1002.71, F.S.; revising the number

28

of instructional hours that are required in order for a

29

student in a school-year prekindergarten program delivered

30

by a public school or a private prekindergarten provider

31

to be considered a full-time equivalent student in the

32

Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program; providing an

33

effective date.

34

35

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

36

37

     Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section

38

402.3051, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

39

     402.3051  Child care market rate reimbursement; child care

40

grants.--

41

     (1)  As used in this section, the term:

42

     (b)  "Market rate" means the price that a child care

43

provider charges for daily, weekly, or monthly child care

44

services. Market rate shall annually:

45

     1. Be established for each county for licensed child care

46

facilities, including or facilities that are not subject to s.

47

402.305, licensed or registered family day care homes, licensed

48

before-school and after-school child care programs, and

49

unregulated care provided by a relative or other caretaker.

50

     2.  Differentiate among child care for children with special

51

needs or risk categories, infants, toddlers, and preschool and

52

school-age children.

53

     3.  Differentiate between full-time and part-time care.

54

     4. Be based on consideration of Consider reductions in the

55

cost of care for additional children in the same family.

56

     Section 2.  Subsection (2) of section 1002.55, Florida

57

Statutes, is amended to read:

58

     1002.55  School-year prekindergarten program delivered by

59

private prekindergarten providers.--

60

     (2)  Each school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a

61

private prekindergarten provider must comprise up to 720 at least

62

540 instructional hours or the same number of instructional hours

63

as is provided to a student in kindergarten and first grade, if

64

the provider provides instruction in kindergarten and first

65

grade.

66

     Section 3.  Subsection (2) of section 1002.63, Florida

67

Statutes, is amended to read:

68

     1002.63  School-year prekindergarten program delivered by

69

public schools.--

70

     (2)  Each school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a

71

public school must comprise at least the same number of 540

72

instructional hours as the school provides for a student in

73

kindergarten and first grade.

74

     Section 4.  Present subsection (3) of section 1002.67,

75

Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (4), and a new

76

subsection (3) is added to that section, to read:

77

     1002.67  Performance standards; curricula and

78

accountability.--

79

     (3)(a) Each private prekindergarten provider and public

80

school shall conduct a preassessment and a postassessment of each

81

student enrolled in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education

82

Program using an assessment tool that the Department of

83

Education, the Agency for Workforce Innovation, or an early

84

learning coalition has approved as suitable for measuring student

85

progress. The preassessment must be conducted within 30 days

86

after the student enrolls in the program. The postassessment must

87

be conducted within 15 days before the end of the program. The

88

lead teacher for the program in each classroom shall administer

89

the assessments. The Department of Education or an early learning

90

coalition shall score the assessments.

91

     (b) The department, the State Board of Education, private

92

prekindergarten providers, and public schools shall use the

93

assessment scores to:

94

     1. Identify a student who has developmental delays or other

95

special needs and attempt to have services in place to

96

accommodate such needs before the student enrolls in

97

kindergarten.

98

     2. Ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to

99

benefit from the program.

100

     (c) The assessment scores shall be incorporated into the

101

statewide kindergarten screening adopted by the department under

102

s. 1002.69 and into the required minimum kindergarten readiness

103

rate that is adopted by the board under s. 1002.69. Such

104

incorporation shall be done in a manner to ensure that a

105

prekindergarten student's readiness for kindergarten is measured

106

by the student's progress since enrolling in the program, not

107

purely on outcome, and to ensure that private prekindergarten

108

providers and public schools are not penalized for providing

109

educational services to students who are less able to perform

110

well due to social, economic, language, or speech barriers.

111

     Section 5.  Subsection (2) of section 1002.71, Florida

112

Statutes, is amended to read:

113

     1002.71  Funding; financial and attendance reporting.--

114

     (2)  A full-time equivalent student in the Voluntary

115

Prekindergarten Education Program shall be calculated as follows:

116

     (a)  For a student in a school-year prekindergarten program

117

delivered by a private prekindergarten provider: up to 720 540

118

instructional hours or the same number of instructional hours as

119

is provided to a student in kindergarten and first grade, if the

120

provider provides instruction in kindergarten and first grade.

121

     (b)  For a student in a summer prekindergarten program

122

delivered by a public school or private prekindergarten provider:

123

300 instructional hours.

124

     (c)  For a student in a school-year prekindergarten program

125

delivered by a public school: the same number of 540

126

instructional hours as the school provides for a student in

127

kindergarten and first grade.

128

129

Except as provided in subsection (4), a student may not be

130

reported for funding purposes as more than one full-time

131

equivalent student.

132

     Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.