Bill Text: FL S1026 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Early Learning
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2024-03-08 - Died in Fiscal Policy [S1026 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1026-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Early Learning
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2024-03-08 - Died in Fiscal Policy [S1026 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1026-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2024 CS for SB 1026 By the Committee on Education Pre-K -12; and Senators Grall and Osgood 581-02185-24 20241026c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to early learning; amending s. 3 1002.61, F.S.; revising requirements for 4 prekindergarten instructors; amending s. 1002.67, 5 F.S.; prohibiting private prekindergarten provider and 6 public school curricula from using a coordinated 7 screening and progress monitoring program or other 8 specified methods for direct student instruction; 9 defining the term “electronic device”; amending s. 10 1002.68, F.S.; authorizing alternative methods for 11 calculating program assessment composite scores; 12 requiring prekindergarten providers and public schools 13 to notify parents under certain circumstances; 14 revising exceptions for a good cause exemption; making 15 technical changes; amending s. 1002.71, F.S.; revising 16 the percentage of funds an early learning coalition 17 may retain and expend; amending s. 1002.82, F.S.; 18 revising the performance standards adopted by the 19 Department of Education relating to the Voluntary 20 Prekindergarten Education Program; amending s. 21 1002.83, F.S.; authorizing an early learning coalition 22 to appoint a certain additional board member; amending 23 s. 1002.89, F.S.; revising school readiness program 24 expenditures that are subject to certain cost 25 requirements; amending s. 1008.25, F.S.; providing 26 that, subject to legislative appropriation, certain 27 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program students 28 are eligible to receive instructional support in early 29 literacy skills through a specified program; providing 30 specifications for the program; providing for funding 31 for the program; providing an effective date. 32 33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34 35 Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 1002.61, Florida 36 Statutes, is amended to read: 37 1002.61 Summer prekindergarten program delivered by public 38 schools and private prekindergarten providers.— 39 (4) Notwithstanding ss. 1002.55(3)(c)1. and 1002.63(4), 40 each public school and private prekindergarten provider must 41 have, for each prekindergarten class, at least one 42 prekindergarten instructor who is a certified teacher or holds 43 one of the educational credentials specified in s. 1002.55(4)(a) 44 or (b), or an educational credential specified in s. 45 1002.55(3)(c)1. as long as the instructor has completed the 46 early literacy micro-credential program under s. 1003.485 or has 47 an instructional support score of 3 or higher on a program 48 assessment conducted under s. 1002.68(2) or s. 1002.82(2)(n). As 49 used in this subsection, the term “certified teacher” means a 50 teacher holding a valid Florida educator certificate under s. 51 1012.56 who has the qualifications required by the district 52 school board to instruct students in the summer prekindergarten 53 program. In selecting instructional staff for the summer 54 prekindergarten program, each school district shall give 55 priority to teachers who have experience or coursework in early 56 childhood education and have completed emergent literacy and 57 performance standards courses, as provided for in s. 58 1002.55(3)(c)2. 59 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 60 1002.67, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 61 1002.67 Performance standards and curricula.— 62 (2) 63 (b) Each private prekindergarten provider’s and public 64 school’s curriculum must be developmentally appropriate and 65 must: 66 1. Be designed to prepare a student for early literacy and 67 provide for instruction in early math skills; 68 2. Develop students’ background knowledge through a 69 content-rich and sequential knowledge building early literacy 70 curriculum; 71 3. Enhance the age-appropriate progress of students in 72 attaining the performance standards adopted by the department 73 under subsection (1); and 74 4. Support student learning gains through differentiated 75 instruction that mustshallbe measured by the coordinated 76 screening and progress monitoring program under s. 1008.25(9). A 77 private prekindergarten provider’s or public school’s curriculum 78 may not use the coordinated screening and progress monitoring 79 program, any other progress monitoring program, or an 80 instructional program that requires student use of a one-to-one 81 electronic device for direct student instruction. As used in 82 this subparagraph, the term “electronic device” means a device 83 that is used for audio, video, or text communication or any 84 other type of computer or computer-like instrument, including, 85 but not limited to, a smartphone, a smart or electronic watch, a 86 tablet, or a virtual reality device. 87 Section 3. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (4) and 88 paragraph (d) of subsection (6) of section 1002.68, Florida 89 Statutes, are amended, and upon the expiration and reversion of 90 the amendment made to paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of that 91 section pursuant to section 6 of chapter 2023-240, Laws of 92 Florida, paragraph (a) of subsection (5) is republished, to 93 read: 94 1002.68 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program 95 accountability.— 96 (4)(a) Beginning with the 2024-20252023-2024program year, 97 the department shall adopt a methodology for calculating each 98 private prekindergarten provider’s and public school provider’s 99 performance metric, which must be based on a combination of the 100 following: 101 1. Program assessment composite scores under subsection 102 (2), which may be calculated differently, based on the 103 methodology adopted by the department, than the program 104 assessment composite score required for contracting in paragraph 105 (5)(a), and which must be weighted at no less than 50 percent. 106 2. Learning gains operationalized as change-in-ability 107 scores from the initial and final progress monitoring results 108 described in subsection (1). 109 3. Norm-referenced developmental learning outcomes 110 described in subsection (1). 111 (c) The program assessment composite score in subsection 112 (5) and performance metric must be calculated for each private 113 prekindergarten or public school site. 114 (5) 115 (a) If a public school’s or private prekindergarten 116 provider’s program assessment composite score for its 117 prekindergarten classrooms fails to meet the minimum program 118 assessment composite score for contracting adopted in rule by 119 the department, the private prekindergarten provider or public 120 school may not participate in the Voluntary Prekindergarten 121 Education Program beginning in the consecutive program year and 122 thereafter until the public school or private prekindergarten 123 provider meets the minimum composite score for contracting. A 124 public school or private prekindergarten provider may request 125 one program assessment per program year in order to requalify 126 for participation in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education 127 Program, provided that the public school or private 128 prekindergarten provider is not excluded from participation 129 under ss. 1002.55(6), 1002.61(10)(b), 1002.63(9)(b), or 130 paragraph (5)(b) of this section. If a public school or private 131 prekindergarten provider would like an additional program 132 assessment completed within the same program year, the public 133 school or private prekindergarten provider shall be responsible 134 for the cost of the program assessment. 135 (6) 136 (d) A good cause exemption may not be granted to any 137 private prekindergarten provider or public school that has any 138 class I violations or threetwoor more of the same class II 139 violations, as defined by rule of the Department of Children and 140 Families, within the 2 years preceding the provider’s or 141 school’s request for the exemption. 142 Section 4. Subsection (7) of section 1002.71, Florida 143 Statutes, is amended to read: 144 1002.71 Funding; financial and attendance reporting.— 145 (7) The department shall require that administrative 146 expenditures be kept to the minimum necessary for efficient and 147 effective administration of the Voluntary Prekindergarten 148 Education Program. Administrative policies and procedures shall 149 be revised, to the maximum extent practicable, to incorporate 150 the use of automation and electronic submission of forms, 151 including those required for child eligibility and enrollment, 152 provider and class registration, and monthly certification of 153 attendance for payment. A school district may use its automated 154 daily attendance reporting system for the purpose of 155 transmitting attendance records to the early learning coalition 156 in a mutually agreed-upon format. In addition, actions shall be 157 taken to reduce paperwork, eliminate the duplication of reports, 158 and eliminate other duplicative activities. Each early learning 159 coalition may retain and expend no more than 54.0percent of 160 the funds paid by the coalition to private prekindergarten 161 providers and public schools under paragraph (5)(b). Funds 162 retained by an early learning coalition under this subsection 163 may be used only for administering the Voluntary Prekindergarten 164 Education Program and may not be used for the school readiness 165 program or other programs. 166 Section 5. Paragraph (j) of subsection (2) of section 167 1002.82, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 168 1002.82 Department of Education; powers and duties.— 169 (2) The department shall: 170 (j) Monitor the alignment and consistency of the standards 171 and benchmarks developed and adopted by the department that 172 address the age-appropriate progress of children in the 173 development of school readiness skills. The standards for 174 children from birth to kindergarten entry in the school 175 readiness program must be aligned with the performance standards 176 adopted for children in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education 177 Program and must address the following domains: 178 1. Approaches to learning. 179 2. Cognitive development and general knowledge. 180 3. Numeracy, language, and communication. 181 4. Physical development. 182 5. Executive functioningSelf-regulation. 183 Section 6. Present subsections (5) through (16) of section 184 1002.83, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (6) 185 through (17), respectively, a new subsection (5) is added to 186 that section, and subsection (3) of that section is amended, to 187 read: 188 1002.83 Early learning coalitions.— 189 (3) The Governor shall appoint the chair and two other 190 members of each early learning coalition, who must each meet the 191 qualifications of a private sector business member under 192 subsection (7)(6). In the absence of a governor-appointed 193 chair, the Commissioner of Education may appoint an interim 194 chair from the current early learning coalition board 195 membership. 196 (5) Each early learning coalition may choose to appoint an 197 additional public sector board member in order to include a 198 representative of local law enforcement. 199 Section 7. Subsection (4) of section 1002.89, Florida 200 Statutes, is amended to read: 201 1002.89 School readiness program; funding.— 202 (4) COST REQUIREMENTS.—Costs shall be kept to the minimum 203 necessary for the efficient and effective administration of the 204 school readiness program with the highest priority of 205 expenditure being direct services for eligible children. 206 However, no more than 5 percent of the funds allocated in 207 paragraph (1)(a) may be used for administrative costs and no 208 more than 22 percent of the funds allocated in paragraph (1)(a) 209 may be used in any fiscal year for any combination of 210 administrative costs, quality activities, and nondirect services 211 as follows: 212 (a) Administrative costs as described in 45 C.F.R. s. 213 98.54, which shall include monitoring providers using the 214 standard methodology adopted under s. 1002.82 to improve 215 compliance with state and federal regulations and law pursuant 216 to the requirements of the statewide provider contract adopted 217 under s. 1002.82(2)(m). 218 (b) Activities to improve the quality of child care as 219 described in 45 C.F.R. s. 98.53, which shall be limited to the 220 following: 221 1. Developing, establishing, expanding, operating, and 222 coordinating resource and referral programs specifically related 223 to the provision of comprehensive consumer education to parents 224 and the public to promote informed child care choices specified 225 in 45 C.F.R. s. 98.33. 226 2. Awarding grants and providing financial support to 227 school readiness program providers and their staff to assist 228 them in meeting applicable state requirements for the program 229 assessment required under s. 1002.82(2)(n), child care 230 performance standards, implementing developmentally appropriate 231 curricula and related classroom resources that support parent 232 engagementcurricula,providingliteracy supports,andproviding 233 continued professional development through the Teacher Education 234 and Compensation Helps (TEACH) Scholarship Program under s. 235 1002.95 and training aligned to the early learning professional 236 development standards and career pathways under s. 1002.995, and 237 reimbursement for background screenings and training. Any grants 238 awarded pursuant to this subparagraph mustshallcomply with ss. 239 215.971 and 287.058. 240 3. Providing training aligned with the early learning 241 professional development standards and career pathways under s. 242 1002.995, technical assistance, and financial support to school 243 readiness program providers, staff, and parents on standards, 244 child screenings, child assessments, thechild development245research and best practices,developmentally appropriate 246 curriculum under s. 1002.82(2)(l), executive functioning 247curricula, character development, teacher-child interactions, 248 age-appropriate discipline practices, health and safety, 249 nutrition, first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the 250 recognition of communicable diseases, and child abuse detection, 251 prevention, and reporting. 252 4. Providing, from among the funds provided for the 253 activities described in subparagraphs 1.-3., adequate funding 254 for infants and toddlers as necessary to meet federal 255 requirements related to expenditures for quality activities for 256 infant and toddler care. 257 5. Improving the monitoring of compliance with, and 258 enforcement of, applicable state and local requirements as 259 described in and limited by 45 C.F.R. s. 98.40. 260 6. Responding to Warm-Line requests by providers and 261 parents, including providing developmental and health screenings 262 to school readiness program children. 263 (c) Nondirect services as described in applicable Office of 264 Management and Budget instructions are those services not 265 defined as administrative, direct, or quality services that are 266 required to administer the school readiness program. Such 267 services include, but are not limited to: 268 1. Assisting families to complete the required application 269 and eligibility documentation. 270 2. Determining child and family eligibility. 271 3. Recruiting eligible child care providers. 272 4. Processing and tracking attendance records. 273 5. Developing and maintaining a statewide child care 274 information system. 275 276 As used in this paragraph, the term “nondirect services” does 277 not include payments to school readiness program providers for 278 direct services provided to children who are eligible under s. 279 1002.87, administrative costs as described in paragraph (a), or 280 quality activities as described in paragraph (b). 281 Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 282 1008.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 283 1008.25 Public school student progression; student support; 284 coordinated screening and progress monitoring; reporting 285 requirements.— 286 (5) READING DEFICIENCY AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION.— 287 (b) Subject to legislative appropriation, a Voluntary 288 Prekindergarten Education Program student who has attended at 289 least 80 percent of the school year program and who exhibits a 290 substantial deficiency in early literacy skills as identified by 291 the performance standards adopted under s. 1002.67(1)(a) and 292 scores below the 20th percentile onbased upon the results of293the administration ofthe final administration of the 294 coordinated screening and progress monitoring under subsection 295 (9) isshall be referred to the local school district and may be296 eligible to receive early literacy instructional support through 297 a summer bridge program the summerinstruction in early literacy298skillsbefore participating in kindergarten. The summer bridge 299 program must meet the requirements adopted by the department and 300 consist of 4 hours of instruction per day for a minimum of 100 301 total hoursA student with an individual education plan who has302been retained pursuant to paragraph (2)(g) and has demonstrated303a substantial deficiency in early literacy skills must receive304instruction in early literacy skills. 305 Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.