Title: Voluntary Prekindergarten Education

Summary: Providing that a parent may enroll his or her child in a family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program; authorizing an early learning coalition to administer the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program to certain students; providing that a family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program must include a specified number of academic hours and a specified individualized curriculum, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to voluntary prekindergarten education; amending s. 1002.53, F.S.; providing that a parent may enroll his or her child in a family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program; conforming a provision to changes made by the act; creating s. 1002.64, F.S.; authorizing an early learning coalition to administer the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program to certain students; providing that a family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program must include a specified number of academic hours and a specified individualized curriculum; providing additional requirements for such programs; requiring private prekindergarten providers that offer such programs to students to evaluate the programs; providing evaluation requirements; requiring early learning coalitions to reimburse approved private prekindergarten providers for authorized services; providing that such reimbursement may not exceed the amount of a specified allocation; providing that providers are reimbursed from certain allocated funds; amending s. 1002.69, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made by the act; amending s. 1002.71, F.S.; providing for the calculation of full-time equivalency for students participating in a family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program; requiring the Office of Early Learning to adopt, for funding purposes, a uniform attendance policy for such students; amending s. 1002.75, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the act; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsections (3) and (5) of section 1002.53, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1002.53 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program; eligibility and enrollment.  (3) The parent of each child eligible under subsection (2) may enroll the child in one of the following programs: (a) A school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a private prekindergarten provider under s. 1002.55; (b) A summer prekindergarten program delivered by a public school or private prekindergarten provider under s. 1002.61; (c) A school-year prekindergarten program delivered by a public school; or (d) A specialized instructional services program for children who have disabilities, if the child has been evaluated and determined as eligible, has a current individual educational plan developed by the local school board, and is eligible for the program under s. 1002.66;or (e) A family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program delivered by a private prekindergarten provider under s. 1002.64.Except as provided in s. 1002.71(4), a child may not enroll in more than one of these programs. (5) The early learning coalition shall provide each parent enrolling a child in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program with a profile of every private prekindergarten provider and public school delivering the program within the county where the child is being enrolled. The profiles shall be provided to parents in a format prescribed by the Office of Early Learning. The profiles must include, at a minimum, the following information about each provider and school: (a) The provider s or school s services, curriculum, instructor credentials, and instructor-to-student ratio as applicable;and (b) The provider s or school s kindergarten readiness rate calculated in accordance with s. 1002.69, based upon the most recent available results of the statewide kindergarten screening. Section 2. Section 1002.64, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 1002.64  FAMILY ENGAGEMENT COMPUTER ADAPTIVE PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM.  (1)   Each early learning coalition may administer the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program at the county or regional level for students enrolled under s. 1002.53(3)(e) in a family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program. (2)   Each family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program provided by a private prekindergarten provider must include at least academic hours with an individualized reading, mathematics,and science curriculum. (3)   Each family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program must meet all of the following requirements:(a)   Be provided in the home and include a parental engagement program, with support models provided in English,Spanish, and,as needed, other languages.(b)   Be designed to improve a child s transition into elementary education and include academic content in reading, mathematics, and science which is aligned with the Florida Early Learning and Development al Standards published by the Office of Early Learning. (c)   Provide for the installation of a computer and I nternet service in homes that do not have access to such equipment or service.(d)   Include pre-program and post-program assessments to evaluate growth in early literacy skills,including measures of letter recognition, letter sound and initial sound recognition, blending, real and non-word reading, reading comprehension, listening comprehension, sight words, and vocabulary.(e)   Demonstrate a record of past success through independent, valid,and reliable evaluations, such as a randomized controlled trial or a longitudinal study. (4)   The private prekindergarten provider that offers the program to students shall evaluate the family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program. At a minimum, the evaluation must include all of the following information: (a)   The number of families: 1. V olunteering to participate in the program; 2. S elected to participate in the program; 3. That requested computers; and 4. That were furnished computers.(b)  T he frequency of use of the instructional software.(c)  O bstacles encountered with software usage, hardware, or te chnical assistance to families. (d)  P arental feedback on the program.(e)  S tudent growth on assessments over the course of the program, including interim outcomes for stakeholders. (5)   An early learning coalition shall reimburse an approved private prekindergarten provider for authorized services provided to an eligible child; however,the cumulative total of services reimbursed for a child may not exceed the amount of the base student allocation provided in the General Appropriations Act for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program. Private prekindergarten providers must be reimbursed from funds allocated to the early learning coalition for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program. Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section 1002.69, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1002.69 Statewide kindergarten screening; kindergarten readiness rates; state-approved prekindergarten enrollment screening; good cause exemption.  (7) (b) A private prekindergarten provider s or public school s request for a good cause exemption, or renewal of such an exemption, must be submitted to the office in the manner and within the timeframes prescribed by the office and must include the following: 1. Submission of data by the private prekindergarten provider or public school which documents the achievement and progress of the children served as measured by the state approved prekindergarten enrollment screening and the standardized postassessment approved by the office pursuant to subparagraph (c)1. 2. Submission and review of data available from the respective early learning coalition or district school board, the Department of Children and Families, local licensing authority, or an accrediting association, as applicable, relating to the private prekindergarten provider s or public school s compliance with applicable state and local health and safety standards. 3. Submission and review of data available to the office on the performance of the children served and the calculation of the private prekindergarten provider s or public school s kindergarten readiness rate. Section 4. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (2) of section 1002.71, Florida Statutes, present paragraph (d) of subsection (6) of that section is redesignated as paragraph (e), and a new paragraph (d) is added to that subsection, to read: 1002.71 Funding; financial and attendance reporting.  (2) A full-time equivalent student in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program shall be calculated as follows: (d) For a student in a family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program delivered by a private prekindergarten provider: academic hours with an individualized reading, mathematics, and science curriculum. Except as provided in subsection (4), a student may not be reported for funding purposes as more than one full-time equivalent student. (6) ( d)  Notwithstanding paragraph ( e), the Office of Early Learning shall adopt, for funding purposes, a uniform attendance policy for students who participate in a family engagement computer adaptive prekindergarten program under s. 1002.64. Section 5. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (2) of section 1002.75, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1002.75 Office of Early Learning; powers and duties.  (2) The Office of Early Learning shall adopt procedures governing the administration of the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program by the early learning coalitions and school districts for: (c) Registering private prekindergarten providers and public schools to deliver the program under ss. 1002.55, 1002.61, and 1002.63,and 1002.64.(d) Determining the eligibility of private prekindergarten providers to deliver the program under ss. 1002.55,and 1002.61,and 1002.64 and streamlining the process of provider eligibility whenever possible. Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.