HB 383

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
3	Program; amending ss. 1002.55 and 1002.63, F.S.; providing
4	that prekindergarten instructors in school-year
5	prekindergarten programs delivered by private providers
6	and public schools must meet new professional
7	credentialing requirements beginning July 1, 2013;
8	deleting provisions relating to alternate educational
9	credentials, to conform; amending ss. 1002.61 and 1007.23,
10	F.S.; conforming cross-references to changes made by the
11	act; repealing s. 1002.65, F.S., relating to aspirational
12	goals for the professional credentials of prekindergarten
13	instructors; providing an effective date.
14
15	WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that there is a strong
16	correlation between the state's fiscal and economic well-being,
17	the state's workforce development, the skills and preparation of
18	the state's prekindergarten instructors, and the educational
19	outcomes of students in the state's Voluntary Prekindergarten
20	Education Program, and
21	WHEREAS, national studies have shown that the only
22	prekindergarten education programs that demonstrate large long-
23	term economic gains and improve educational outcomes for
24	prekindergarten education students are programs taught by
25	teachers who hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and
26	WHEREAS, children who are enrolled in prekindergarten
27	education programs taught by teachers who hold a bachelor's
28	degree or higher save taxpayer dollars by reducing costs
29	associated with K-12 student remediation, student dropouts,
30	juvenile and criminal justice, law enforcement, and other public
31	safety and assistance programs, and
32	WHEREAS, for the 2008-2009 school year, the rate of
33	Florida's third grade students who were not promoted to fourth
34	grade was 6.64 percent, and
35	WHEREAS, the number of prekindergarten through third grade
36	students who are not promoted to the next grade costs Florida's
37	taxpayers in excess of $330 million annually, and
38	WHEREAS, investment in high-quality prekindergarten
39	education programs is a cost-effective way to create a highly
40	skilled future workforce and is an effective public policy
41	strategy for generating wealth and achieving social and economic
42	development, and
43	WHEREAS, Florida can meet Voluntary Prekindergarten
44	Education Program teacher capacity, based on graduation rates
45	of students receiving bachelor's degrees in early childhood
46	education, by offering full reciprocity for teacher
47	certificateholders from other states; by employing teachers who
48	are currently being terminated due to the declining trends in
49	K-12 student growth; and by continuing to support a bachelor's
50	degree career ladder for existing nondegreed teachers, NOW,
51	THEREFORE,
52
53	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
54
55	Section 1.  Section 1002.55, Florida Statutes, is amended
56	to read:
57	1002.55  School-year prekindergarten program delivered by
58	private prekindergarten providers.-
59	(1)  Each early learning coalition shall administer the
60	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program at the county or
61	regional level for students enrolled under s. 1002.53(3)(a) in a
62	school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a private
63	prekindergarten provider.
64	(2)  Each school-year prekindergarten program delivered by
65	a private prekindergarten provider must comprise at least 540
66	instructional hours.
67	(3)  To be eligible to deliver the prekindergarten program,
68	a private prekindergarten provider must meet each of the
69	following requirements:
70	(a)  The private prekindergarten provider must be a child
71	care facility licensed under s. 402.305, family day care home
72	licensed under s. 402.313, large family child care home licensed
73	under s. 402.3131, nonpublic school exempt from licensure under
74	s. 402.3025(2), or faith-based child care provider exempt from
75	licensure under s. 402.316.
76	(b)  The private prekindergarten provider must:
77	1.  Be accredited by an accrediting association that is a
78	member of the National Council for Private School Accreditation,
79	the Commission on International and Trans-Regional
80	Accreditation, or the Florida Association of Academic Nonpublic
81	Schools and have written accreditation standards that meet or
82	exceed the state's licensing requirements under s. 402.305, s.
83	402.313, or s. 402.3131 and require at least one onsite visit to
84	the provider or school before accreditation is granted;
85	2.  Hold a current Gold Seal Quality Care designation under
86	s. 402.281; or
87	3.  Be licensed under s. 402.305, s. 402.313, or s.
88	402.3131 and demonstrate, before delivering the Voluntary
89	Prekindergarten Education Program, as verified by the early
90	learning coalition, that the provider meets each of the
91	requirements of the program under this part, including, but not
92	limited to, the requirements for credentials and background
93	screenings of prekindergarten instructors under paragraphs (c)
94	and (d), minimum and maximum class sizes under paragraph (f),
95	prekindergarten director credentials under paragraph (g), and a
96	developmentally appropriate curriculum under s. 1002.67(2)(b).
97	(c)1.  The private prekindergarten provider must have, for
98	each prekindergarten class composed of fewer than 11 students,
99	at least one prekindergarten instructor who holds:
100	a.  A bachelor's or higher degree in early childhood
101	education, prekindergarten or primary education, preschool
102	education, or family and consumer science; or
103	b.  A bachelor's or higher degree in elementary education,
104	if the prekindergarten instructor has been certified to teach
105	children any age from birth through grade 6, regardless of
106	whether the instructor's educator certificate is current, and if
107	the instructor is not ineligible to teach in a public school
108	because his or her educator certificate is suspended or revoked.
109	2.  The private prekindergarten provider must have, for
110	each prekindergarten class composed of 11 or more students:
111	a.  One prekindergarten instructor who meets the
112	requirements of subparagraph 1.; and
113	b.  One prekindergarten instructor who meets the following
114	requirements:
115	(I)  Holds, at a minimum, a child development associate
116	credential issued by the National Credentialing Program of the
117	Council for Professional Recognition or a credential approved by
118	the Department of Children and Family Services as being
119	equivalent to or greater than the child development associate
120	credential.
121	(II)  Successfully completes an emergent literacy training
122	course approved the Department of Education as meeting or
123	exceeding the minimum standards adopted under s. 1002.59.
124	(c)  The private prekindergarten provider must have, for
125	each prekindergarten class, at least one prekindergarten
126	instructor who meets each of the following requirements:
127	1.  The prekindergarten instructor must hold, at a minimum,
128	one of the following credentials:
129	a.  A child development associate credential issued by the
130	National Credentialing Program of the Council for Professional
131	Recognition; or
132	b.  A credential approved by the Department of Children and
133	Family Services as being equivalent to or greater than the
134	credential described in sub-subparagraph a.
135
136	The Department of Children and Family Services may adopt rules
137	under ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 which provide criteria and
138	procedures for approving equivalent credentials under sub-
139	subparagraph b.
140	2.  The prekindergarten instructor must successfully
141	complete an emergent literacy training course approved by the
142	department as meeting or exceeding the minimum standards adopted
143	under s. 1002.59. This subparagraph does not apply to a
144	prekindergarten instructor who successfully completes approved
145	training in early literacy and language development under s.
146	402.305(2)(d)5., s. 402.313(6), or s. 402.3131(5) before the
147	establishment of one or more emergent literacy training courses
148	under s. 1002.59 or April 1, 2005, whichever occurs later.
149	(d)  Each prekindergarten instructor employed by the
150	private prekindergarten provider must be of good moral
151	character, must be screened using the level 2 screening
152	standards in s. 435.04 before employment and rescreened at least
153	once every 5 years, must be denied employment or terminated if
154	required under s. 435.06, and must not be ineligible to teach in
155	a public school because his or her educator certificate is
156	suspended or revoked.
157	(e)  A private prekindergarten provider may assign a
158	substitute instructor to temporarily replace a credentialed
159	instructor if the credentialed instructor assigned to a
160	prekindergarten class is absent, as long as the substitute
161	instructor is of good moral character and has been screened
162	before employment in accordance with level 2 background
163	screening requirements in chapter 435. The Agency for Workforce
164	Innovation shall adopt rules to implement this paragraph which
165	shall include required qualifications of substitute instructors
166	and the circumstances and time limits for which a private
167	prekindergarten provider may assign a substitute instructor.
168	(f)  Each of the private prekindergarten provider's
169	prekindergarten classes must be composed of at least 4 students
170	but may not exceed 18 students. In order to protect the health
171	and safety of students, each private prekindergarten provider
172	must also provide appropriate adult supervision for students at
173	all times and, for Each prekindergarten class composed of 11 or
174	more students must meet the requirements in subparagraph (c)2.
175	for prekindergarten instructors, must have, in addition to a
176	prekindergarten instructor who meets the requirements of
177	paragraph (c), at least one adult prekindergarten instructor who
178	is not required to meet those requirements but who must meet
179	each requirement of paragraph (d). This paragraph does not
180	supersede any requirement imposed on a provider under ss.
181	402.301-402.319.
182	(g)  Before the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, the
183	private prekindergarten provider must have a prekindergarten
184	director who has a prekindergarten director credential that is
185	approved by the department as meeting or exceeding the minimum
186	standards adopted under s. 1002.57. Successful completion of a
187	child care facility director credential under s. 402.305(2)(f)
188	before the establishment of the prekindergarten director
189	credential under s. 1002.57 or July 1, 2006, whichever occurs
190	later, satisfies the requirement for a prekindergarten director
191	credential under this paragraph.
192	(h)  The private prekindergarten provider must register
193	with the early learning coalition on forms prescribed by the
194	Agency for Workforce Innovation.
195	(i)  The private prekindergarten provider must deliver the
196	Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program in accordance with
197	this part.
198	(4)  A prekindergarten instructor, in lieu of the minimum
199	credentials and courses required under paragraph (3)(c), may
200	hold one of the following educational credentials:
201	(a)  A bachelor's or higher degree in early childhood
202	education, prekindergarten or primary education, preschool
203	education, or family and consumer science;
204	(b)  A bachelor's or higher degree in elementary education,
205	if the prekindergarten instructor has been certified to teach
206	children any age from birth through 6th grade, regardless of
207	whether the instructor's educator certificate is current, and if
208	the instructor is not ineligible to teach in a public school
209	because his or her educator certificate is suspended or revoked;
210	(c)  An associate's or higher degree in child development;
211	(d)  An associate's or higher degree in an unrelated field,
212	at least 6 credit hours in early childhood education or child
213	development, and at least 480 hours of experience in teaching or
214	providing child care services for children any age from birth
215	through 8 years of age; or
216	(e)  An educational credential approved by the department
217	as being equivalent to or greater than an educational credential
218	described in this subsection. The department may adopt criteria
219	and procedures for approving equivalent educational credentials
220	under this paragraph.
221	Section 2.  Subsection (4) of section 1002.61, Florida
222	Statutes, is amended to read:
223	1002.61  Summer prekindergarten program delivered by public
224	schools and private prekindergarten providers.-
225	(4)  Notwithstanding ss. 1002.55(3)(c)1. and 1002.63(4),
226	each public school and private prekindergarten provider must
227	have, for each prekindergarten class, at least one
228	prekindergarten instructor who:
229	(a)  Is a certified teacher; or
230	(b)  Holds one of the educational credentials specified in
231	s. 1002.55(3)(c)1(4)(a) or (b).
232
233	As used in this subsection, the term "certified teacher" means a
234	teacher holding a valid Florida educator certificate under s.
235	1012.56 who has the qualifications required by the district
236	school board to instruct students in the summer prekindergarten
237	program. In selecting instructional staff for the summer
238	prekindergarten program, each school district shall give
239	priority to teachers who have experience or coursework in early
240	childhood education.
241	Section 3.  Subsections (4) and (7) of section 1002.63,
242	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
243	1002.63  School-year prekindergarten program delivered by
244	public schools.-
245	(4)  Each prekindergarten class in a public school
246	delivering the school-year prekindergarten program must meet the
247	requirements in s. 1002.55(3)(c) for prekindergarten
248	instructors. Each public school must have, for each
249	prekindergarten class, at least one prekindergarten instructor
250	who meets each requirement in s. 1002.55(3)(c) for a
251	prekindergarten instructor of a private prekindergarten
252	provider.
253	(7)  Each prekindergarten class in a public school
254	delivering the school-year prekindergarten program must be
255	composed of at least 4 students but may not exceed 18 students.
256	In order to protect the health and safety of students, each
257	school must also provide appropriate adult supervision for
258	students at all times and, for Each prekindergarten class
259	composed of 11 or more students must meet the requirements in s.
260	1002.55(3)(c)2. for prekindergarten instructors, must have, in
261	addition to a prekindergarten instructor who meets the
262	requirements of s. 1002.55(3)(c), at least one adult
263	prekindergarten instructor who is not required to meet those
264	requirements but who must meet each requirement of subsection
265	(5).
266	Section 4.  Subsection (5) of section 1007.23, Florida
267	Statutes, is amended to read:
268	1007.23  Statewide articulation agreement.-
269	(5)  The articulation agreement must guarantee the
270	articulation of 9 credit hours toward a postsecondary degree in
271	early childhood education for programs approved by the State
272	Board of Education and the Board of Governors which:
273	(a)  Award a child development associate credential issued
274	by the National Credentialing Program of the Council for
275	Professional Recognition or award a credential approved under s.
276	1002.55(3)(c)2.1.b. or s. 402.305(3)(c) as being equivalent to
277	the child development associate credential; and
278	(b)  Include training in emergent literacy which meets or
279	exceeds the minimum standards for training courses for
280	prekindergarten instructors of the Voluntary Prekindergarten
281	Education Program in s. 1002.59.
282	Section 5.  Section 1002.65, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
283	Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.

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