Florida Senate - 2019 SB 1138
By Senator Simmons
9-01132-19 20191138__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to voluntary prekindergarten
3 education; amending s. 1002.53, F.S.; providing that a
4 parent may enroll his or her child in a family
5 engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program;
6 conforming a provision to changes made by the act;
7 creating s. 1002.64, F.S.; authorizing an early
8 learning coalition to administer the Voluntary
9 Prekindergarten Education Program to certain students;
10 providing that a family engagement computer adaptive
11 prekindergarten program must include a specified
12 number of academic hours and a specified
13 individualized curriculum; providing additional
14 requirements for such programs; requiring private
15 prekindergarten providers that offer such programs to
16 students to evaluate the programs; providing
17 evaluation requirements; requiring early learning
18 coalitions to reimburse approved private
19 prekindergarten providers for authorized services;
20 providing that such reimbursement may not exceed the
21 amount of a specified allocation; providing that
22 providers are reimbursed from certain allocated funds;
23 amending s. 1002.69, F.S.; conforming a provision to
24 changes made by the act; amending s. 1002.71, F.S.;
25 providing for the calculation of full-time equivalency
26 for students participating in a family engagement
27 computer adaptive prekindergarten program; requiring
28 the Office of Early Learning to adopt, for funding
29 purposes, a uniform attendance policy for such
30 students; amending s. 1002.75, F.S.; conforming
31 provisions to changes made by the act; providing an
32 effective date.
33
34 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35
36 Section 1. Subsections (3) and (5) of section 1002.53,
37 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
38 1002.53 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program;
39 eligibility and enrollment.—
40 (3) The parent of each child eligible under subsection (2)
41 may enroll the child in one of the following programs:
42 (a) A school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a
43 private prekindergarten provider under s. 1002.55;
44 (b) A summer prekindergarten program delivered by a public
45 school or private prekindergarten provider under s. 1002.61;
46 (c) A school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a
47 public school; or
48 (d) A specialized instructional services program for
49 children who have disabilities, if the child has been evaluated
50 and determined as eligible, has a current individual educational
51 plan developed by the local school board, and is eligible for
52 the program under s. 1002.66; or
53 (e) A family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten
54 program delivered by a private prekindergarten provider under s.
55 1002.64.
56
57 Except as provided in s. 1002.71(4), a child may not enroll in
58 more than one of these programs.
59 (5) The early learning coalition shall provide each parent
60 enrolling a child in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
61 Program with a profile of every private prekindergarten provider
62 and public school delivering the program within the county where
63 the child is being enrolled. The profiles shall be provided to
64 parents in a format prescribed by the Office of Early Learning.
65 The profiles must include, at a minimum, the following
66 information about each provider and school:
67 (a) The provider’s or school’s services, curriculum,
68 instructor credentials, and instructor-to-student ratio as
69 applicable; and
70 (b) The provider’s or school’s kindergarten readiness rate
71 calculated in accordance with s. 1002.69, based upon the most
72 recent available results of the statewide kindergarten
73 screening.
74 Section 2. Section 1002.64, Florida Statutes, is created to
75 read:
76 1002.64 FAMILY ENGAGEMENT COMPUTER ADAPTIVE PREKINDERGARTEN
77 PROGRAM.—
78 (1) Each early learning coalition may administer the
79 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program at the county or
80 regional level for students enrolled under s. 1002.53(3)(e) in a
81 family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program.
82 (2) Each family engagement computer adaptive
83 prekindergarten program provided by a private prekindergarten
84 provider must include at least 45 academic hours with an
85 individualized reading, mathematics, and science curriculum.
86 (3) Each family engagement computer adaptive
87 prekindergarten program must meet all of the following
88 requirements:
89 (a) Be provided in the home and include a parental
90 engagement program, with support models provided in English,
91 Spanish, and, as needed, other languages.
92 (b) Be designed to improve a child’s transition into
93 elementary education and include academic content in reading,
94 mathematics, and science which is aligned with the Florida Early
95 Learning and Developmental Standards published by the Office of
96 Early Learning.
97 (c) Provide for the installation of a computer and Internet
98 service in homes that do not have access to such equipment or
99 service.
100 (d) Include pre-program and post-program assessments to
101 evaluate growth in early literacy skills, including measures of
102 letter recognition, letter sound and initial sound recognition,
103 blending, real and non-word reading, reading comprehension,
104 listening comprehension, sight words, and vocabulary.
105 (e) Demonstrate a record of past success through
106 independent, valid, and reliable evaluations, such as a
107 randomized controlled trial or a longitudinal study.
108 (4) The private prekindergarten provider that offers the
109 program to students shall evaluate the family engagement
110 computer adaptive prekindergarten program. At a minimum, the
111 evaluation must include all of the following information:
112 (a) The number of families:
113 1. Volunteering to participate in the program;
114 2. Selected to participate in the program;
115 3. That requested computers; and
116 4. That were furnished computers.
117 (b) The frequency of use of the instructional software.
118 (c) Obstacles encountered with software usage, hardware, or
119 technical assistance to families.
120 (d) Parental feedback on the program.
121 (e) Student growth on assessments over the course of the
122 program, including interim outcomes for stakeholders.
123 (5) An early learning coalition shall reimburse an approved
124 private prekindergarten provider for authorized services
125 provided to an eligible child; however, the cumulative total of
126 services reimbursed for a child may not exceed the amount of the
127 base student allocation provided in the General Appropriations
128 Act for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program. Private
129 prekindergarten providers must be reimbursed from funds
130 allocated to the early learning coalition for the Voluntary
131 Prekindergarten Education Program.
132 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section
133 1002.69, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
134 1002.69 Statewide kindergarten screening; kindergarten
135 readiness rates; state-approved prekindergarten enrollment
136 screening; good cause exemption.—
137 (7)
138 (b) A private prekindergarten provider’s or public school’s
139 request for a good cause exemption, or renewal of such an
140 exemption, must be submitted to the office in the manner and
141 within the timeframes prescribed by the office and must include
142 the following:
143 1. Submission of data by the private prekindergarten
144 provider or public school which documents the achievement and
145 progress of the children served as measured by the state
146 approved prekindergarten enrollment screening and the
147 standardized postassessment approved by the office pursuant to
148 subparagraph (c)1.
149 2. Submission and review of data available from the
150 respective early learning coalition or district school board,
151 the Department of Children and Families, local licensing
152 authority, or an accrediting association, as applicable,
153 relating to the private prekindergarten provider’s or public
154 school’s compliance with applicable state and local health and
155 safety standards.
156 3. Submission and review of data available to the office on
157 the performance of the children served and the calculation of
158 the private prekindergarten provider’s or public school’s
159 kindergarten readiness rate.
160 Section 4. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (2) of
161 section 1002.71, Florida Statutes, present paragraph (d) of
162 subsection (6) of that section is redesignated as paragraph (e),
163 and a new paragraph (d) is added to that subsection, to read:
164 1002.71 Funding; financial and attendance reporting.—
165 (2) A full-time equivalent student in the Voluntary
166 Prekindergarten Education Program shall be calculated as
167 follows:
168 (d) For a student in a family engagement computer adaptive
169 prekindergarten program delivered by a private prekindergarten
170 provider: 45 academic hours with an individualized reading,
171 mathematics, and science curriculum.
172
173 Except as provided in subsection (4), a student may not be
174 reported for funding purposes as more than one full-time
175 equivalent student.
176 (6)
177 (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (e), the Office of Early
178 Learning shall adopt, for funding purposes, a uniform attendance
179 policy for students who participate in a family engagement
180 computer adaptive prekindergarten program under s. 1002.64.
181 Section 5. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (2) of
182 section 1002.75, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
183 1002.75 Office of Early Learning; powers and duties.—
184 (2) The Office of Early Learning shall adopt procedures
185 governing the administration of the Voluntary Prekindergarten
186 Education Program by the early learning coalitions and school
187 districts for:
188 (c) Registering private prekindergarten providers and
189 public schools to deliver the program under ss. 1002.55,
190 1002.61, and 1002.63, and 1002.64.
191 (d) Determining the eligibility of private prekindergarten
192 providers to deliver the program under ss. 1002.55, and 1002.61,
193 and 1002.64 and streamlining the process of provider eligibility
194 whenever possible.
195 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.