Florida Senate - 2012 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1992
Barcode 618728
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: 1/AD/2R .
02/23/2012 04:29 PM .
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Senator Gardiner moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Between lines 513 and 514
4 insert:
5 Section 15. Section 1004.935, Florida Statutes, is created
6 to read:
7 1004.935 Adults with Disabilities Workforce Education Pilot
8 Program.—
9 (1) The Adults with Disabilities Workforce Education Pilot
10 Program is established for 2 years in Charlotte County, DeSoto
11 County, Manatee County, and Sarasota County to provide the
12 option of receiving a scholarship for instruction at private
13 schools for up to 30 students who:
14 (a) Have a disability;
15 (b) Are 22 years of age;
16 (c) Are receiving instruction from an instructor in a
17 private school to meet the high school graduation requirements
18 in s. 1003.428;
19 (d) Do not have a standard high school diploma or a special
20 high school diploma; and
21 (e) Receive supported employment services, which is
22 employment that is located or provided in an integrated work
23 setting, with earnings paid on a commensurate wage basis, and
24 for which continued support is needed for job maintenance.
25
26 As used in this subsection, the term “student with a disability”
27 includes a student who is documented as having an intellectual
28 disability; a speech impairment; a language impairment; a
29 hearing impairment, including deafness; a visual impairment,
30 including blindness; a dual sensory impairment; an orthopedic
31 impairment; another health impairment; an emotional or
32 behavioral disability; a specific learning disability,
33 including, but not limited to, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or
34 developmental aphasia; a traumatic brain injury; a developmental
35 delay; or autism spectrum disorder.
36 (2) A student participating in the pilot program may
37 continue to participate in the program until the student
38 graduates from high school, or reaches the age of 30 years,
39 whichever occurs first.
40 (3) The supported employment services may be provided at
41 more than one site.
42 (4) The provider of supported employment services must be a
43 nonprofit corporation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
44 Code which serves Charlotte County, DeSoto County, Manatee
45 County, or Sarasota County and must contract with a private
46 school in this state which meets the requirements in subsection
47 (5).
48 (5) A private school that participates in the program may
49 be sectarian or nonsectarian and must:
50 (a) Be academically accountable for meeting the educational
51 needs of the student by annually providing to the provider of
52 supported employment services a written explanation of the
53 student’s progress.
54 (b) Comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42
55 U.S.C. s. 2000d.
56 (c) Meet state and local health and safety laws and codes.
57 (d) Provide to the provider of supported employment
58 services all documentation required for a student’s
59 participation, including the private school’s and student’s fee
60 schedules, at least 30 days before any quarterly scholarship
61 payment is made for the student. A student is not eligible to
62 receive a quarterly scholarship payment if the private school
63 fails to meet this deadline.
64
65 The inability of a private school to meet the requirements of
66 this subsection constitutes a basis for the ineligibility of the
67 private school to participate in the scholarship program.
68 (6)(a) If the student chooses to participate in the program
69 and is accepted by the provider of supported employment
70 services, the student must notify the Department of Education of
71 his or her acceptance into the program 60 days before the first
72 scholarship payment and before participating in the program in
73 order to be eligible for the scholarship.
74 (b) Upon receipt of a scholarship warrant, the student or
75 parent to whom the warrant is made must restrictively endorse
76 the warrant to the provider of supported employment services for
77 deposit into the account of the provider. The student or parent
78 may not designate any entity or individual associated with the
79 participating provider of supported employment services as the
80 student’s or parent’s attorney in fact to endorse a scholarship
81 warrant. A participant who fails to comply with this paragraph
82 forfeits the scholarship.
83 (7) Funds for the scholarship shall be provided from the
84 appropriation from the school district’s Workforce Development
85 Fund in the General Appropriations Act for students who reside
86 in the Charlotte County School District, the DeSoto County
87 School District, the Manatee County School District, or the
88 Sarasota County School District. During the 2-year pilot
89 program, the scholarship amount granted for an eligible student
90 with a disability shall be equal to the cost per unit of a full
91 time equivalent adult general education student, multiplied by
92 the adult general education funding factor, and multiplied by
93 the district cost differential pursuant to the formula required
94 by s. 1011.80(6)(a) for the district in which the student
95 resides.
96 (8) Upon notification by the Department of Education that
97 it has received the required documentation, the Chief Financial
98 Officer shall make scholarship payments in four equal amounts no
99 later than September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1 of
100 each academic year in which the scholarship is in force. The
101 initial payment shall be made after the Department of Education
102 verifies that the student was accepted into the program, and
103 subsequent payments shall be made upon verification of continued
104 participation in the program. Payment must be by individual
105 warrant made payable to the student or parent and mailed by the
106 Department of Education to the provider of supported employment
107 services, and the student or parent shall restrictively endorse
108 the warrant to the provider of supported employment services for
109 deposit into the account of that provider.
110 (9) Subsequent to each scholarship payment, the Department
111 of Education shall request from the Department of Financial
112 Services a sample of endorsed warrants to review and confirm
113 compliance with endorsement requirements.
114
115 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
116 And the title is amended as follows:
117 Delete line 85
118 and insert:
119 specified date; creating s. 1004.935, F.S.;
120 establishing the Adults with Disabilities Workforce
121 Education Pilot Program for a specified period in
122 certain counties; providing a purpose; providing
123 eligibility requirements for participation in the
124 program; providing a definition for the term “student
125 with a disability” for purposes of the pilot program;
126 providing requirements for providers of supported
127 employment services and private schools to participate
128 in the pilot program; providing notice requirements
129 for students who are accepted into the pilot program;
130 providing funding; requiring that the Chief Financial
131 Officer make scholarship payments; requiring that the
132 Department of Education request from the Department of
133 Financial Services a sample of endorsed warrants after
134 each scholarship payment; creating s. 1006.73, F.S.;