CS for HB 1073 & HB 81

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the education of children with
3	disabilities; amending s. 402.305, F.S.; requiring minimum
4	training for child care personnel to include the
5	identification and care of children with developmental
6	disabilities; creating s. 1003.573, F.S.; providing
7	definitions; specifying that manual physical restraint may
8	be used by school personnel only in certain emergencies or
9	when authorized by a comprehensive behavior intervention
10	plan; requiring trained staff to evaluate the student
11	after use of a manual physical restraint; requiring that
12	the school attempt to notify the student's parent after
13	use of a manual physical restraint; prohibiting the use of
14	mechanical restraints and certain manual physical
15	restraints; providing that seclusion may be used only in
16	specified circumstances; providing for the termination of
17	seclusion; prohibiting the use of seclusion as punishment;
18	requiring that a school prepare an incident report after
19	the use of manual physical restraint; specifying the
20	contents of such report and providing for its submission
21	to the Department of Education; requiring the development
22	of school district policies and procedures; requiring the
23	policies and procedures to be submitted to the department,
24	published, and made available to parents; amending s.
25	1004.55, F.S.; requiring regional autism centers to
26	provide certain support for serving children with
27	developmental disabilities; creating s. 1012.582, F.S.;
28	requiring the Commissioner of Education to develop
29	recommendations to incorporate instruction relating to
30	developmental disabilities into continuing education or
31	inservice training requirements for instructional
32	personnel; requiring the department to incorporate the
33	course curricula into existing requirements for such
34	education or training; authorizing the State Board of
35	Education to adopt rules; providing an effective date.
36
37	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
38
39	Section 1.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section
40	402.305, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
41	402.305  Licensing standards; child care facilities.-
42	(2)  PERSONNEL.-Minimum standards for child care personnel
43	shall include minimum requirements as to:
44	(d)  Minimum training requirements for child care
45	personnel.
46	1.  Such minimum standards for training shall ensure that
47	all child care personnel take an approved 40-clock-hour
48	introductory course in child care, which course covers at least
49	the following topic areas:
50	a.  State and local rules and regulations which govern
51	child care.
52	b.  Health, safety, and nutrition.
53	c.  Identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect.
54	d.  Child development, including typical and atypical
55	language, cognitive, motor, social, and self-help skills
56	development.
57	e.  Observation of developmental behaviors, including using
58	a checklist or other similar observation tools and techniques to
59	determine the child's developmental age level.
60	f.  Specialized areas, including computer technology for
61	professional and classroom use and early literacy and language
62	development of children from birth to 5 years of age, as
63	determined by the department, for owner-operators and child care
64	personnel of a child care facility.
65	g.  Developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum
66	disorder, and early identification, use of available state and
67	local resources, classroom integration, and positive behavioral
68	supports for children with developmental disabilities.
69
70	Within 90 days after employment, child care personnel shall
71	begin training to meet the training requirements. Child care
72	personnel shall successfully complete such training within 1
73	year after the date on which the training began, as evidenced by
74	passage of a competency examination. Successful completion of
75	the 40-clock-hour introductory course shall articulate into
76	community college credit in early childhood education, pursuant
77	to ss. 1007.24 and 1007.25. Exemption from all or a portion of
78	the required training shall be granted to child care personnel
79	based upon educational credentials or passage of competency
80	examinations. Child care personnel possessing a 2-year degree or
81	higher that includes 6 college credit hours in early childhood
82	development or child growth and development, or a child
83	development associate credential or an equivalent state-approved
84	child development associate credential, or a child development
85	associate waiver certificate shall be automatically exempted
86	from the training requirements in sub-subparagraphs b., d., and
87	e.
88	2.  The introductory course in child care shall stress, to
89	the extent possible, an interdisciplinary approach to the study
90	of children.
91	3.  The introductory course shall cover recognition and
92	prevention of shaken baby syndrome, prevention of sudden infant
93	death syndrome, recognition and care of infants and toddlers
94	with developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum
95	disorder, and early childhood brain development within the topic
96	areas identified in this paragraph.
97	4.  On an annual basis in order to further their child care
98	skills and, if appropriate, administrative skills, child care
99	personnel who have fulfilled the requirements for the child care
100	training shall be required to take an additional 1 continuing
101	education unit of approved inservice training, or 10 clock hours
102	of equivalent training, as determined by the department.
103	5.  Child care personnel shall be required to complete 0.5
104	continuing education unit of approved training or 5 clock hours
105	of equivalent training, as determined by the department, in
106	early literacy and language development of children from birth
107	to 5 years of age one time. The year that this training is
108	completed, it shall fulfill the 0.5 continuing education unit or
109	5 clock hours of the annual training required in subparagraph 4.
110	6.  Procedures for ensuring the training of qualified child
111	care professionals to provide training of child care personnel,
112	including onsite training, shall be included in the minimum
113	standards. It is recommended that the state community child care
114	coordination agencies (central agencies) be contracted by the
115	department to coordinate such training when possible. Other
116	district educational resources, such as community colleges and
117	career programs, can be designated in such areas where central
118	agencies may not exist or are determined not to have the
119	capability to meet the coordination requirements set forth by
120	the department.
121	7.  Training requirements shall not apply to certain
122	occasional or part-time support staff, including, but not
123	limited to, swimming instructors, piano teachers, dance
124	instructors, and gymnastics instructors.
125	8.  The department shall evaluate or contract for an
126	evaluation for the general purpose of determining the status of
127	and means to improve staff training requirements and testing
128	procedures. The evaluation shall be conducted every 2 years. The
129	evaluation shall include, but not be limited to, determining the
130	availability, quality, scope, and sources of current staff
131	training; determining the need for specialty training; and
132	determining ways to increase inservice training and ways to
133	increase the accessibility, quality, and cost-effectiveness of
134	current and proposed staff training. The evaluation methodology
135	shall include a reliable and valid survey of child care
136	personnel.
137	9.  The child care operator shall be required to take basic
138	training in serving children with disabilities within 5 years
139	after employment, either as a part of the introductory training
140	or the annual 8 hours of inservice training.
141	Section 2.  Section 1003.573, Florida Statutes, is created
142	to read:
143	1003.573  Use, monitoring, and reduction of unnecessary
144	seclusion and restraint on students with disabilities in public
145	schools.-
146	(1)  DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term:
147	(a)  "Imminent risk of disruption or damage to the
148	environment" means a high probability of disruption or damage to
149	property which is likely to endanger the safety of others.
150	(b)  "Imminent risk of injury to the student or others"
151	means a high probability of injury, such as a laceration, bone
152	fracture, hematoma, bruise, or injury to internal organs.
153	(c)  "Manual physical restraint" means the use of a
154	physical restraint technique that involves physical force
155	applied to restrict the movement of all or part of a student's
156	body for purposes of protecting the student.
157	(d)  "Mechanical restraint" means a physical device used to
158	restrict a student's movement or restrict the normal function of
159	a student's body for purposes of protecting the student. This
160	term includes, but is not limited to, belts, vests, helmets,
161	padded mittens, tie-downs, chairs with straps, and seatbelts.
162	This term does not include:
163	1.  Medical protective equipment prescribed by a physician
164	or dentist;
165	2.  Physical equipment or orthopedic appliances, surgical
166	dressings or bandages, or supportive body bands or other
167	restraints necessary for medical treatment that is ongoing in
168	the educational setting;
169	3.  Devices used only for the purpose of supporting
170	functional body position or proper balance or preventing a
171	person from falling out of a bed or a wheelchair; or
172	4.  Equipment used for safety during transportation, such
173	as seatbelts or wheelchair tie-downs.
174	(e)  "Seclusion" means removing a student from an
175	educational environment, confining the student in a room, and
176	preventing the student from leaving the room by locking or
177	otherwise physically blocking the student's exit from the room.
178	This term does not include the use of a time-out. As used in
179	this paragraph, the term "time-out" means a procedure in which
180	access to varied sources of reinforcement is removed or reduced
181	for a particular time period.
182	(f)  "Student" means a student with a disability.
183	(2)  USE OF MANUAL PHYSICAL RESTRAINT.-
184	(a)  School personnel may use a manual physical restraint
185	on a student only:
186	1.  When there is an imminent risk of injury to the student
187	or others;
188	2.  When there is an imminent risk of disruption or damage
189	to the environment; or
190	3.  When authorized by a comprehensive behavior
191	intervention plan developed by a certified behavior analyst and
192	approved by an individual educational plan team.
193	(b)  School personnel shall limit the use of a manual
194	physical restraint to the duration necessary to eliminate the
195	circumstances necessitating the use of the restraint under
196	paragraph (a).
197	(c)  The school shall have a student evaluated by staff
198	trained to monitor the physical condition of a student as soon
199	as possible after the student has been manually physically
200	restrained by school personnel.
201	(d)  Each time a manual physical restraint is used, the
202	school shall attempt to notify the student's parent before the
203	end of the school day on which the restraint occurs.
204	(3)  PROHIBITED RESTRAINT.-School personnel shall not use a
205	mechanical restraint on a student or a manual physical restraint
206	that restricts a student's breathing.
207	(4)  SECLUSION.-
208	(a)  Seclusion may be used only when a manual physical
209	restraint is highly likely to lead to injury to the student and:
210	1.a.  There is an imminent risk of injury to the student or
211	others;
212	b.  There is an imminent risk of disruption or damage to
213	the environment; or
214	c.  The seclusion is authorized by a comprehensive behavior
215	intervention plan developed by a certified behavior analyst and
216	approved by an individual educational plan team.
217	2.  School personnel have unsuccessfully tried other
218	interventions.
219	3.  School personnel constantly observe the student for the
220	duration of the seclusion.
221	(b)  The seclusion must end immediately when the student is
222	sufficiently calm to return to his or her educational
223	environment.
224	(c)  Seclusion may not be used as a punishment for a
225	student's behavior.
226	(5)  INCIDENT REPORTING.-
227	(a)  A school shall prepare an incident report by the close
228	of the second business day after a student is released from a
229	manual physical restraint, which shall include:
230	1.  The name of the student restrained.
231	2.  The date, time, and location of the incident and the
232	duration and type of the restraint.
233	3.  The names of the persons restraining or assisting in
234	the restraint of the student.
235	4.  The specific positive behavioral strategies used to
236	prevent and deescalate the behavior.
237	5.  Steps taken to notify the parent.
238	(b)  Incident reports prepared pursuant to this subsection
239	shall be provided to the Department of Education each month that
240	the school is in session.
241	(6)  DISTRICT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.-
242	(a)  School districts shall develop policies and procedures
243	consistent with this section regarding:
244	1.  The prohibition of the use of mechanical restraints on
245	students.
246	2.  The appropriate use of manual physical restraints and
247	seclusion on students.
248	3.  Personnel authorized to use manual physical restraints.
249	4.  Incident-reporting procedures.
250	(b)  Each school district shall:
251	1.  Provide the policies and procedures required under this
252	subsection to the department no later than January 31, 2011.
253	2.  Publish the policies and procedures required under this
254	subsection in the district's special policies and procedures
255	manual.
256	3.  Make available to the parents of its students, at the
257	beginning of each school year, its policies regarding the use of
258	manual physical restraint and seclusion. Such policies may be
259	provided by mail or electronic mail or published on the school
260	district's website.
261	Section 3.  Paragraphs (f) and (g) are added to subsection
262	(4) of section 1004.55, Florida Statutes, to read:
263	1004.55  Regional autism centers.-
264	(4)  Each center shall provide:
265	(f)  Coordination and dissemination of local and regional
266	information regarding available resources for services for
267	children with the developmental disabilities described in
268	subsection (1).
269	(g)  Support to state agencies in the development of
270	training for early child care providers and educators with
271	respect to the developmental disabilities described in
272	subsection (1).
273	Section 4.  Section 1012.582, Florida Statutes, is created
274	to read:
275	1012.582  Continuing education and inservice training for
276	teaching students with developmental disabilities.-
277	(1)  The Commissioner of Education shall develop
278	recommendations to incorporate instruction regarding autism
279	spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities into
280	continuing education or inservice training requirements for
281	instructional personnel. These recommendations shall address:
282	(a)  Early identification of, and intervention for,
283	students who have autism spectrum disorder or other
284	developmental disabilities.
285	(b)  Curriculum planning and curricular and instructional
286	modifications, adaptations, and specialized strategies and
287	techniques.
288	(c)  The use of available state and local resources.
289	(d)  The use of positive behavioral supports to deescalate
290	problem behaviors.
291	(e)  Appropriate use of manual physical restraint and
292	seclusion techniques.
293	(2)  In developing the recommendations, the commissioner
294	shall consult with the State Surgeon General, the Director of
295	the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, representatives from
296	the education community in the state, and representatives from
297	entities that promote awareness about autism spectrum disorder
298	and other developmental disabilities and provide programs and
299	services to persons with developmental disabilities, including,
300	but not limited to, regional autism centers pursuant to s.
301	1004.55.
302	(3)  Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, the
303	Department of Education shall incorporate the course curricula
304	recommended by the Commissioner of Education, pursuant to
305	subsection (1), into existing requirements for the continuing
306	education or inservice training of instructional personnel. The
307	requirements of this section may not add to the total hours
308	required for continuing education or inservice training as
309	currently established by the department.
310	(4)  The State Board of Education may adopt rules pursuant
311	to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section.
312	Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

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