Florida Senate - 2024                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 7052
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì137630ÃÎ137630                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/23/2024           .                                
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       The Committee on Fiscal Policy (Garcia) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 376 and 377
    4  insert:
    5         Section 11. Section 1002.935, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         1002.935 School Readiness Plus Program.—The School
    8  Readiness Plus Program is created within the Department of
    9  Education to support the continued school readiness and child
   10  care needs of working families with children. The program is
   11  contingent upon a legislative appropriation and is provided on a
   12  first-come, first-served basis.
   13         (1)(a) A child who is determined to be ineligible for
   14  school readiness program funds due to family income during the
   15  annual eligibility redetermination process pursuant to s.
   16  1002.87(6) is eligible for a subsidy under this section if the
   17  family income is between 85 percent and 100 percent, inclusive,
   18  of the state median income.
   19         (b)1. The early learning coalitions established in s.
   20  1002.83 shall administer the School Readiness Plus Program and
   21  provide participants with access to the benefit management and
   22  career planning tool described in s. 445.009(1)(k).
   23         2. The early learning coalitions must spend the minimum
   24  amount of funds necessary for the efficient and effective
   25  administration of the School Readiness Plus Program. The early
   26  learning coalitions may not use more than 5 percent of the funds
   27  allowed for the program for administrative costs in a fiscal
   28  year.
   29         (2)(a) The amount of the subsidy is a percentage of the
   30  early learning coalition’s approved school readiness program
   31  provider reimbursement rates as calculated pursuant to s.
   32  1002.84(17). An early learning coalition shall consider family
   33  income and a required parent copayment that increases in
   34  relation to the family income when establishing the percentage
   35  for the amount of the subsidy for the program.
   36         (b) The amount of the subsidy and parent copayment must be
   37  sufficient to allow the family to access eligible school
   38  readiness providers pursuant to s. 1002.88 and enable the parent
   39  to achieve self-sufficiency.
   40         (3) For a parent to receive a subsidy under the program, he
   41  or she must:
   42         (a) Provide any documentation necessary to verify the
   43  parent’s eligibility to receive the subsidy.
   44         (b) Be responsible for the payment of all child care
   45  expenses in excess of the amount of the subsidy.
   46         Section 12. For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the sum of
   47  $23,076,259 in nonrecurring funds is appropriated from the
   48  General Revenue Fund to the Department of Education to implement
   49  the School Readiness Plus Program established in s. 1002.935,
   50  Florida Statutes. These funds shall be placed in reserve. The
   51  department is authorized to submit budget amendments requesting
   52  the release of the funds pursuant to chapter 216, Florida
   53  Statutes. Release of the funds is contingent upon the submission
   54  of an allocation plan developed by the department in
   55  collaboration with the early learning coalitions established
   56  pursuant to s. 1002.83, Florida Statutes.
   57  
   58  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   59  And the title is amended as follows:
   60         Delete line 44
   61  and insert:
   62         such report; creating s. 1002.935, F.S.; creating the
   63         School Readiness Plus Program within the Department of
   64         Education; providing requirements for the program;
   65         providing eligibility requirements to receive a
   66         subsidy under the program; requiring early learning
   67         coalitions to administer the program and provide
   68         participants access to a specified tool; prohibiting
   69         early learning coalitions from spending more than a
   70         certain percentage on administrative costs of the
   71         program in a fiscal year; providing for the
   72         calculation of the amount of the subsidy; providing
   73         requirements for parents to receive a subsidy;
   74         providing an appropriation; providing an effective
   75         date.