Florida Senate - 2012 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 5201
Barcode 605364
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: 1b/RE/2R .
02/23/2012 06:23 PM .
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Senator Gardiner moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment to Amendment (965714) (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Between lines 342 and 343
5 insert:
6 Section 15. Section 1004.935, Florida Statutes, is created
7 to read:
8 1004.935 Adults with Disabilities Workforce Education Pilot
9 Program.—
10 (1) The Adults with Disabilities Workforce Education Pilot
11 Program is established for 2 years in Charlotte County, DeSoto
12 County, Manatee County, and Sarasota County to provide the
13 option of receiving a scholarship for instruction at private
14 schools for up to 30 students who:
15 (a) Have a disability;
16 (b) Are 22 years of age;
17 (c) Are receiving instruction from an instructor in a
18 private school to meet the high school graduation requirements
19 in s. 1003.428;
20 (d) Do not have a standard high school diploma or a special
21 high school diploma; and
22 (e) Receive supported employment services, which is
23 employment that is located or provided in an integrated work
24 setting, with earnings paid on a commensurate wage basis, and
25 for which continued support is needed for job maintenance.
26
27 As used in this subsection, the term “student with a disability”
28 includes a student who is documented as having an intellectual
29 disability; a speech impairment; a language impairment; a
30 hearing impairment, including deafness; a visual impairment,
31 including blindness; a dual sensory impairment; an orthopedic
32 impairment; another health impairment; an emotional or
33 behavioral disability; a specific learning disability,
34 including, but not limited to, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or
35 developmental aphasia; a traumatic brain injury; a developmental
36 delay; or autism spectrum disorder.
37 (2) A student participating in the pilot program may
38 continue to participate in the program until the student
39 graduates from high school, or reaches the age of 30 years,
40 whichever occurs first.
41 (3) The supported employment services may be provided at
42 more than one site.
43 (4) The provider of supported employment services must be a
44 nonprofit corporation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
45 Code which serves Charlotte County, DeSoto County, Manatee
46 County, or Sarasota County and must contract with a private
47 school in this state which meets the requirements in subsection
48 (5).
49 (5) A private school that participates in the program may
50 be sectarian or nonsectarian and must:
51 (a) Be academically accountable for meeting the educational
52 needs of the student by annually providing to the provider of
53 supported employment services a written explanation of the
54 student’s progress.
55 (b) Comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42
56 U.S.C. s. 2000d.
57 (c) Meet state and local health and safety laws and codes.
58 (d) Provide to the provider of supported employment
59 services all documentation required for a student’s
60 participation, including the private school’s and student’s fee
61 schedules, at least 30 days before any quarterly scholarship
62 payment is made for the student. A student is not eligible to
63 receive a quarterly scholarship payment if the private school
64 fails to meet this deadline.
65
66 The inability of a private school to meet the requirements of
67 this subsection constitutes a basis for the ineligibility of the
68 private school to participate in the scholarship program.
69 (6)(a) If the student chooses to participate in the program
70 and is accepted by the provider of supported employment
71 services, the student must notify the Department of Education of
72 his or her acceptance into the program 60 days before the first
73 scholarship payment and before participating in the program in
74 order to be eligible for the scholarship.
75 (b) Upon receipt of a scholarship warrant, the student or
76 parent to whom the warrant is made must restrictively endorse
77 the warrant to the provider of supported employment services for
78 deposit into the account of the provider. The student or parent
79 may not designate any entity or individual associated with the
80 participating provider of supported employment services as the
81 student’s or parent’s attorney in fact to endorse a scholarship
82 warrant. A participant who fails to comply with this paragraph
83 forfeits the scholarship.
84 (7) Funds for the scholarship shall be provided from the
85 appropriation from the school district’s Workforce Development
86 Fund in the General Appropriations Act for students who reside
87 in the Charlotte County School District, the DeSoto County
88 School District, the Manatee County School District, or the
89 Sarasota County School District. During the 2-year pilot
90 program, the scholarship amount granted for an eligible student
91 with a disability shall be equal to the cost per unit of a full
92 time equivalent adult general education student, multiplied by
93 the adult general education funding factor, and multiplied by
94 the district cost differential pursuant to the formula required
95 by s. 1011.80(6)(a) for the district in which the student
96 resides.
97 (8) Upon notification by the Department of Education that
98 it has received the required documentation, the Chief Financial
99 Officer shall make scholarship payments in four equal amounts no
100 later than September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1 of
101 each academic year in which the scholarship is in force. The
102 initial payment shall be made after the Department of Education
103 verifies that the student was accepted into the program, and
104 subsequent payments shall be made upon verification of continued
105 participation in the program. Payment must be by individual
106 warrant made payable to the student or parent and mailed by the
107 Department of Education to the provider of supported employment
108 services, and the student or parent shall restrictively endorse
109 the warrant to the provider of supported employment services for
110 deposit into the account of that provider.
111 (9) Subsequent to each scholarship payment, the Department
112 of Education shall request from the Department of Financial
113 Services a sample of endorsed warrants to review and confirm
114 compliance with endorsement requirements.
115
116 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
117 And the title is amended as follows:
118 Delete line 949
119 and insert:
120 specified date; creating s. 1004.935, F.S.;
121 establishing the Adults with Disabilities Workforce
122 Education Pilot Program for a specified period in
123 certain counties; providing a purpose; providing
124 eligibility requirements for participation in the
125 program; providing a definition for the term “student
126 with a disability” for purposes of the pilot program;
127 providing requirements for providers of supported
128 employment services and private schools to participate
129 in the pilot program; providing notice requirements
130 for students who are accepted into the pilot program;
131 providing funding; requiring that the Chief Financial
132 Officer make scholarship payments; requiring that the
133 Department of Education request from the Department of
134 Financial Services a sample of endorsed warrants after
135 each scholarship payment; creating s. 1006.73, F.S.;