Bill Text: FL S1522 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Education
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-03-11 - Died in Education Pre-K - 12, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 837 (Ch. 2016-137) [S1522 Detail]
Download: Florida-2016-S1522-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2016 SB 1522 By Senator Stargel 15-01315C-16 20161522__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to education; amending s. 1002.41, 3 F.S.; specifying that a home education program is not 4 a school district program; authorizing a school 5 district to provide exceptional student education 6 related services to certain home education program 7 students; requiring reporting and funding through the 8 Florida Education Finance Program; requiring that home 9 education program students be provided access to 10 certain courses and programs offered by the school 11 district; requiring that home education program 12 students be provided access to certain certifications 13 and assessments offered by the school district; 14 providing for a textbook reimbursement for home 15 education program students; providing for the 16 disbursement of the reimbursement; requiring that a 17 home education student be verified by the school 18 district before award of the reimbursement; 19 prohibiting a school district from taking certain 20 actions against a home education program student’s 21 parent unless such action is required for a school 22 district program; amending s. 1003.27, F.S.; requiring 23 a school and school district to comply with specified 24 provisions before instituting criminal prosecution 25 against certain parents relating to compulsory school 26 attendance; amending s. 1007.271, F.S.; prohibiting a 27 home education articulation agreement from limiting 28 courses or programs beyond the limitations for other 29 students; authorizing the agreement to allow 30 additional courses under certain circumstances; 31 providing an exemption from the grade point average 32 requirement for initial enrollment in a dual 33 enrollment program for certain home education 34 students; prohibiting articulation agreements for 35 private schools and home education students from 36 containing specified payment provisions; requiring 37 each public postsecondary institution to develop a 38 comprehensive dual enrollment articulation agreement 39 for home education students; requiring a specified 40 committee for each institution to develop the 41 agreement; amending s. 1009.536, F.S.; specifying 42 student eligibility for the Florida Gold Seal 43 Vocational Scholars award; providing an effective 44 date. 45 46 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 47 48 Section 1. Subsections (3) and (9) of section 1002.41, 49 Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsections (10), (11), (12), 50 (13), and (14) are added to that section, to read: 51 1002.41 Home education programs.— 52 (3) A home education program is not a school district 53 program and shall be excluded from meeting the requirements of a 54 school day. 55 (9)Home education program students may receiveTesting and 56 evaluation services at diagnostic and resource centers shall be 57 available to home education program students, in accordance with 58 the provisions of s. 1006.03. 59 (10) A school district may provide exceptional student 60 education-related services, as defined in State Board of 61 Education rule, to a home education program student with a 62 disability who is eligible for the services and who enrolls in a 63 public school for the purpose of receiving those related 64 services. The school district providing the services shall 65 report each student as a full-time equivalent student in a 66 manner prescribed by the Department of Education, and funding 67 shall be provided through the Florida Education Finance Program 68 pursuant to s. 1011.62. 69 (11) Home education program students shall be provided 70 access to career and technical courses and programs offered by 71 the school district. 72 (12) Industry certifications, national assessments, and 73 statewide, standardized assessments offered by the school 74 district shall be available to home education program students. 75 Each school district shall notify home education program 76 students of the available certifications and assessments; the 77 date, time, and locations for the administration of each 78 certification and assessment; and the deadline for notifying the 79 school district of the student’s intent to participate and the 80 student’s preferred location. 81 (13) Home education program students shall be provided an 82 annual textbook reimbursement in the amount of $81.42. The 83 reimbursement shall be disbursed by an eligible nonprofit 84 scholarship-funding organization, as defined in s. 1002.395, 85 selected by the Department of Education. A student’s enrollment 86 in a home education program must be verified by the student’s 87 school district before the reimbursement may be awarded. 88 (14) A school district may not further regulate, exercise 89 control over, or require documentation from parents of home 90 education program students beyond the requirements of this 91 section unless the regulation, control, or documentation is 92 necessary for participation in a school district program. 93 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 1003.27, Florida 94 Statutes, is amended to read: 95 1003.27 Court procedure and penalties.—The court procedure 96 and penalties for the enforcement of the provisions of this 97 part, relating to compulsory school attendance, shall be as 98 follows: 99 (2) NONENROLLMENT AND NONATTENDANCE CASES.— 100 (a) In each case of nonenrollment or of nonattendance upon 101 the part of a student who is required to attend some school, 102 when no valid reason for such nonenrollment or nonattendance is 103 found, the district school superintendent shall institute a 104 criminal prosecution against the student’s parent. However, 105 criminal prosecution may not be instituted against the student’s 106 parent until the school and school district have complied with 107 s. 1003.26. 108 (b) Each public school principal or the principal’s 109 designee shall notify the district school board of each minor 110 student under its jurisdiction who accumulates 15 unexcused 111 absences in a period of 90 calendar days.Each designee of the112governing body of each private school, and each parent whose113child is enrolled in a home education program, may provide the114Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles with the legal115name, sex, date of birth, and social security number of each116minor student under his or her jurisdiction who fails to satisfy117relevant attendance requirements and who fails to otherwise118satisfy the requirements of s. 322.091.The district school 119 superintendent must provide the Department of Highway Safety and 120 Motor Vehicles the legal name, sex, date of birth, and social 121 security number of each minor student who has been reported 122 under this paragraph and who fails to otherwise satisfy the 123 requirements of s. 322.091. The Department of Highway Safety and 124 Motor Vehicles may not issue a driver license or learner’s 125 driver license to, and shall suspend any previously issued 126 driver license or learner’s driver license of, any such minor 127 student, pursuant to the provisions of s. 322.091. 128 (c) Each designee of the governing body of each private 129 school and each parent whose child is enrolled in a home 130 education program may provide the Department of Highway Safety 131 and Motor Vehicles with the legal name, sex, date of birth, and 132 social security number of each minor student under his or her 133 jurisdiction who fails to satisfy relevant attendance 134 requirements and who fails to otherwise satisfy the requirements 135 of s. 322.091. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor 136 Vehicles may not issue a driver license or learner’s driver 137 license to, and shall suspend any previously issued driver 138 license or learner’s driver license of, any such minor student, 139 pursuant to the provisions of s. 322.091. 140 Section 3. Subsections (22) through (24) are renumbered as 141 subsections (23) through (25), respectively, paragraph (b) of 142 subsection (13), subsection (16), and paragraph (n) of 143 subsection (21) of section 1007.271, Florida Statutes, are 144 amended, and a new subsection (22) is added to that section, to 145 read: 146 1007.271 Dual enrollment programs.— 147 (13) 148 (b) Each postsecondary institution shall enter into a home 149 education articulation agreement with each home education 150 student seeking enrollment in a dual enrollment course and the 151 student’s parent. The home education articulation agreement 152 shall include, at a minimum: 153 1. A delineation of courses and programs available to 154 dually enrolled home education students. Courses and programs 155 may be added, revised, or deleted at any time by the 156 postsecondary institution. The articulation agreement may not 157 limit the courses or programs beyond those for other dually 158 enrolled students, but may allow home education students to take 159 additional courses on a space available basis. 160 2. The initial and continued eligibility requirements for 161 home education student participation, not to exceed those 162 required of other dually enrolled students. A high school grade 163 point average may not be required for home education students 164 who meet the minimum score on a common placement test adopted by 165 the State Board of Education which indicates that the student is 166 ready for college-level coursework; however, home education 167 student eligibility requirements for continued enrollment in 168 college credit dual enrollment courses must include the 169 maintenance of the minimum postsecondary grade point average 170 established by the postsecondary institution. 171 3. The student’s responsibilities for providing his or her 172 own instructional materials and transportation. 173 4. A copy of the statement on transfer guarantees developed 174 by the Department of Education under subsection (15). 175 (16) Public school, private school, or home education 176 program students who meet the eligibility requirements of this 177 section and who choose to participate in dual enrollment 178 programs are exempt from the payment of registration, tuition, 179 and laboratory fees. 180 (21) Each district school superintendent and each public 181 postsecondary institution president shall develop a 182 comprehensive dual enrollment articulation agreement for the 183 respective school district and postsecondary institution. The 184 superintendent and president shall establish an articulation 185 committee for the purpose of developing the agreement. Each 186 state university president may designate a university 187 representative to participate in the development of a dual 188 enrollment articulation agreement. A dual enrollment 189 articulation agreement shall be completed and submitted annually 190 by the postsecondary institution to the Department of Education 191 on or before August 1. The agreement must include, but is not 192 limited to: 193 (n) A funding provision that delineates costs incurred by 194 each entity. 195 1. School districts shall pay public postsecondary 196 institutions the standard tuition rate per credit hour from 197 funds provided in the Florida Education Finance Program when 198 dual enrollment course instruction takes place on the 199 postsecondary institution’s campus and the course is taken 200 during the fall or spring term. When dual enrollment is provided 201 on the high school site by postsecondary institution faculty, 202 the school district shall reimburse the costs associated with 203 the postsecondary institution’s proportion of salary and 204 benefits to provide the instruction. When dual enrollment course 205 instruction is provided on the high school site by school 206 district faculty, the school district is not responsible for 207 payment to the postsecondary institution. A postsecondary 208 institution may enter into an agreement with the school district 209 to authorize teachers to teach dual enrollment courses at the 210 high school site or the postsecondary institution. A school 211 district may not deny a student access to dual enrollment unless 212 the student is ineligible to participate in the program subject 213 to provisions specifically outlined in this section. 214 2. Subject to annual appropriation in the General 215 Appropriations Act, a public postsecondary institution shall 216 receive an amount of funding equivalent to the standard tuition 217 rate per credit hour for each dual enrollment course taken by a 218 student during the summer term. 219 3. The payment provisions of this paragraph do not apply to 220 an articulation agreement with a private school or home 221 education student. 222 (22) Each public postsecondary institution shall develop a 223 comprehensive dual enrollment articulation agreement for home 224 education students and the postsecondary institution. The 225 president of the institution shall establish an articulation 226 committee composed of postsecondary education representatives 227 and home education parents or home education association 228 representatives for the purpose of developing the agreement. 229 Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 1009.536, Florida 230 Statutes, is amended to read: 231 1009.536 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award.—The 232 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award is created within 233 the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program to recognize and 234 reward academic achievement and career preparation by high 235 school students who wish to continue their education. 236 (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Gold Seal 237 Vocational Scholars award if the student meets the general 238 eligibility requirements for the Florida Bright Futures 239 Scholarship Program and the student: 240 (a) Completes the secondary school portion of a sequential 241 program of studies that requires at least three secondary school 242 career credits and earns a minimum unweighted grade point 243 average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for secondary school career 244 courses comprising the career program. On-the-job training may 245 not be substituted for any of the three required career credits. 246 (b) Demonstrates readiness for postsecondary education by 247 earning a passing score on the Florida College Entry Level 248 Placement Test or its equivalent as identified by the Department 249 of Education. 250 (c) Earns a minimum cumulative weighted grade point average 251 of 3.0, as calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, on all subjects 252 required for a standard high school diploma, excluding elective 253 courses, or has attended a home education program pursuant to s. 254 1002.41 during grades 11 and 12. 255(d) Earns a minimum unweighted grade point average of 3.5256on a 4.0 scale for secondary career courses comprising the257career program.258 (d)(e)Beginning with high school students graduating in 259 the 2011-2012 academic year and thereafter, completes a program 260 of community service work approved by the district school board, 261 the administrators of a nonpublic school, or the Department of 262 Education for home education program students, which shall 263 include a minimum of 30 hours of service work, and identifies a 264 social problem that interests him or her, develops a plan for 265 his or her personal involvement in addressing the problem, and, 266 through papers or other presentations, evaluates and reflects 267 upon his or her experience. 268 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.