Title: High School Student Retention

Summary: Requiring the Department of Management Services to oversee a Pay-for-Success Contract Program; authorizing the department, contingent upon funding, to negotiate and enter into pay-for-success contracts with private entities to fund high-quality dropout prevention programs; requiring the Office of Economic and Demographic Research to provide information to the department to assist in determining performance outcome measures, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to high school student retention; defining terms; requiring the Department of Management Services to oversee a Pay-for-Success Contract Program; authorizing the department, contingent upon funding, to negotiate and enter into pay-for-success contracts with private entities to fund high-quality dropout prevention programs; specifying the duties of the department; requiring the Office of Economic and Demographic Research to provide information to the department to assist in determining performance outcome measures; specifying contract requirements; requiring an independent evaluator to determine whether the performance outcome measures in a contract have been met; requiring the private entity to annually report certain data; requiring the Office of Economic and Demographic Research to estimate a specified cost under certain circumstances; providing that a high-quality dropout prevention program is not a procurement item; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1.  (1) As used in this section,the term:(a) High-quality dropout prevention program  means an evidence-based model of programming and services which provides an ongoing assessment of a student s educational growth and developmental progress. ( b) Pay-for-success contract  or  contract  means a contract entered into between the Department of Management Services and a private entity to fund a high-quality dropout prevention program for high-risk students attending a public high school in this state. (c) Private entity  means a private investor that enters into a pay-for-success contract or an authorized representative who authorizes a pay-for-success contract. (d) Success payment  means an additional return on investment paid to a private entity that meets the performance outcome measures established in a pay-for-success contract. (2) The Department of Management Services shall oversee a Pay-for-Success Contract Program. The department may, contingent upon funding in the General Appropriations Act, negotiate and enter into a pay-for-success contract with a private entity that is selected through a competitive process. The department shall: (a) Determine performance outcome measures that must be included in the contract. The Office of Economic and Demographic Research shall provide information to the department to assist in the determination of these measures. (b) Select an independent, nationally recognized evaluator through a request for proposals process to annually evaluate the performance outcome measures specified in the contract. (c) Ensure that the parent of a student participating in the high-quality dropout prevention program has given permission and signed an acknowledgment that the student s data may be shared with an independent evaluator for research and evaluation purposes. (d) Maintain documentation of the required parental permission. (3) A pay-for-success contract must: (a) Be limited to high-quality dropout prevention programs. (b) Require a repayment of an investment and a success payment only if the specified performance outcome measures are achieved. (c) Require an independent evaluator to determine whether the specified performance outcomes have been achieved. (d) Specify that a repayment of an investment and a success payment are based upon money appropriated in the General Appropriations Act. (e) Prohibit the private entity from receiving or viewing any personally identifiable student information. (4) At the direction of the Department of Management Services, an independent evaluator shall determine whether the performance outcome measures contained in the contract have been met. Once the performance outcome measures have been met, the department may authorize a repayment of an investment and a success payment to the private entity. (5) A private entity that receives a repayment of an investment or a success payment pursuant to a contract shall annually report to the Department of Management Services all of the following data, which must not contain any personally identifiable student information: (a) The number of eligible students served by the high quality dropout prevention program funded by the private entity, including students who are economically disadvantaged or English language learners. (b) Attendance records. (c) Cost per student. (d) Aggregated longitudinal data on students who currently receive funding under this section and any students who previously received funding under this section. Such data must include academic achievement outcomes, dropout rates, and graduation rates. (6) At the request of the Department of Management Services, the Office of Economic and Demographic Research shall estimate the total cost the state incurs due to students who drop out of school. (7) Funding obtained for a high-quality dropout prevention program under this section is not a procurement item under s. 287.057. Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.