Bill Amendment: FL S0602 | 2015 | Regular Session

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: Students with Disabilities

Status: 2015-04-29 - Died in returning Messages [S0602 Detail]

Download: Florida-2015-S0602-Senate_Committee_Amendment_554428.html

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       Florida Senate - 2015                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 602
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì554428:Î554428                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       Appropriations Subcommittee on Education (Gaetz) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment 
    2  
    3         Delete lines 427 - 521
    4  and insert:
    5  participants; disability category; matrix level of services, if
    6  known; award amount per student; total expenditures for the
    7  categories in subsection (5); and the types of providers of
    8  services to students, and other information deemed necessary by
    9  the department.
   10         (e) Compare the list of students participating in the
   11  program with the public school student enrollment lists and the
   12  list of students participating in school choice scholarship
   13  programs established pursuant to this chapter, throughout the
   14  school year, before each program payment to avoid duplicate
   15  payments and confirm program eligibility.
   16         (10) COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION AUTHORITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—
   17         (a) The Commissioner of Education:
   18         1. Shall deny, suspend, or revoke a student’s participation
   19  in the program if the health, safety, or welfare of the student
   20  is threatened or fraud is suspected.
   21         2. Shall deny, suspend, or revoke an authorized use of
   22  program funds if the health, safety, or welfare of the student
   23  is threatened or fraud is suspected.
   24         3. May deny, suspend, or revoke an authorized use of
   25  program funds for material failure to comply with this section
   26  and applicable State Board of Education department rules if the
   27  noncompliance is correctable within a reasonable period of time.
   28  Otherwise, the commissioner shall deny, suspend, or revoke an
   29  authorized use for failure to materially comply with the law and
   30  rules adopted under this section.
   31         4. Shall require compliance by the appropriate party by a
   32  date certain for all nonmaterial failures to comply with this
   33  section and applicable State Board of Education department
   34  rules.
   35         5. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section,
   36  the commissioner may deny, suspend, or revoke program
   37  participation or use of program funds by the student; or
   38  participation or eligibility of an organization, eligible
   39  private school, eligible postsecondary educational institution,
   40  approved provider, or other appropriate party for a violation of
   41  this section. The commissioner may determine the length of, and
   42  conditions for lifting, the suspension or revocation specified
   43  in this paragraph. The length of suspension or revocation may
   44  not exceed 5 years, except for instances of fraud, in which case
   45  the length of suspension or revocation may not exceed 10 years.
   46  The commissioner may employ mechanisms allowed by law to recover
   47  unexpended program funds or withhold payment of an equal amount
   48  of program funds to recover program funds that were not
   49  authorized for use under this section thereafter.
   50         6. Shall deny or terminate program participation upon a
   51  parent’s forfeiture of a personal learning scholarship account
   52  pursuant to subsection (11).
   53         (b) In determining whether to deny, suspend, or revoke, or
   54  lift a suspension or revocation, in accordance with this
   55  subsection, the commissioner may consider factors that include,
   56  but are not limited to, acts or omissions that by a
   57  participating entity which led to a previous denial, suspension,
   58  or revocation of participation in a state or federal program or
   59  an education scholarship program; failure to reimburse the
   60  eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization for program
   61  funds improperly received or retained by the entity; failure to
   62  reimburse government funds improperly received or retained;
   63  imposition of a prior criminal sanction related to the person or
   64  entity or its officers or employees; imposition of a civil fine
   65  or administrative fine, license revocation or suspension, or
   66  program eligibility suspension, termination, or revocation
   67  related to a person’s or an entity’s management or operation; or
   68  other types of criminal proceedings in which the person or the
   69  entity or its officers or employees were found guilty of,
   70  regardless of adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere
   71  or guilty to, any offense involving fraud, deceit, dishonesty,
   72  or moral turpitude.
   73         (11) PARENT AND STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PROGRAM
   74  PARTICIPATION.—A parent who applies for program participation
   75  under this section is exercising his or her parental option to
   76  determine the appropriate placement or the services that best
   77  meet the needs of his or her child. The scholarship award for a
   78  student is based on a matrix that assigns the student to support
   79  Level III services. If a parent chooses to request and receive
   80  an IEP and a matrix of services from the school district, the
   81  amount of the payment shall be adjusted as needed, when the
   82  school district completes the matrix.
   83         (a) To satisfy or maintain program eligibility, including,
   84  but not limited to, eligibility to receive program payments and
   85  expend program payments enroll an eligible student in the
   86  program, the parent must sign an agreement with the eligible
   87  nonprofit scholarship-funding organization and annually submit a
   88  notarized, sworn compliance statement to the organization to:
   89         1. Affirm that the student is enrolled in a program that
   90  meets regular school attendance requirements as provided in s.
   91  1003.01(13)(b)-(d).
   92         2. Affirm that Use the program funds are used only for
   93  authorized purposes serving the student’s educational needs, as
   94  described in subsection (5).
   95         3. Affirm that the student takes all appropriate
   96  standardized assessments as specified in this section.
   97         a. If the parent enrolls the child in an eligible private
   98  school, the student must take an assessment selected by the
   99  private school pursuant to s. 1002.395(7)(e) or, if requested by
  100  the parent, the statewide, standardized assessments pursuant to
  101  s. 1002.39(8)(c)2. and (9)(e).