Bill Text: FL S1682 | 2013 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Residential Services for Children
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-05-03 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7129 (Ch. 2013-219) [S1682 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S1682-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2013 CS for SB 1682
By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
Senator Joyner
586-03370-13 20131682c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to residential services for children;
3 amending s. 409.175, F.S.; revising the definition of
4 the term “boarding school”; providing accreditation
5 requirements for boarding schools; establishing
6 reporting requirements for boarding schools during the
7 accreditation process; providing an exemption for the
8 reporting requirements; authorizing the Department of
9 Children and Families to impose administrative
10 sanctions or civil remedies when residential group
11 care is being provided without a license; requiring
12 background screening for certain boarding school
13 personnel; defining the term “direct student contact”;
14 requiring boarding schools to follow standard school
15 schedules, holiday breaks, and summer recesses;
16 providing that children other than foreign citizens
17 may not be year-round residents; amending s. 409.176,
18 F.S.; providing notification requirements for
19 qualified associations for specified violations;
20 providing reporting requirements for the qualified
21 association regarding Type II facilities; authorizing
22 the Department of Children and Families to adopt
23 rules; providing an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
28 409.175, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (17) is
29 added to that section, to read:
30 409.175 Licensure of family foster homes, residential
31 child-caring agencies, and child-placing agencies; public
32 records exemption.—
33 (2) As used in this section, the term:
34 (b) “Boarding school” means a school that which is
35 registered with the Department of Education as a school that
36 provides a residential service for students and is:
37 1. Accredited for academic programs by the Florida Council
38 of Independent Schools or the Southern Association of Colleges
39 and Schools an accrediting association that is a member of the
40 National Council for Private School Accreditation, or the
41 Florida Association of Academic Nonpublic Schools, and; which is
42 accredited for residential programs by the Council on
43 Accreditation, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation
44 Facilities, or the Coalition for Residential Education; or
45 2. Accredited by one of the organizations in subparagraph
46 1. as a boarding school that includes both an academic and
47 residential component in the accreditation. and which is
48 registered with the Department of Education as a school. Its
49 program must follow established school schedules, with holiday
50 breaks and summer recesses in accordance with other public and
51 private school programs. The children in residence must
52 customarily return to their family homes or legal guardians
53 during school breaks and must not be in residence year-round,
54 except that this provision does not apply to foreign students.
55 The parents of these children retain custody and planning and
56 financial responsibility. A boarding school currently in
57 existence and a boarding school opening and seeking
58 accreditation have 3 years to comply with the requirements of
59 this paragraph. A boarding school must provide proof of
60 accreditation or documentation of the accreditation process upon
61 request. A boarding school that cannot produce the required
62 documentation or that has not registered with the Department of
63 Education shall be considered to be providing residential group
64 care without a license. The department may impose administrative
65 sanctions or seek civil remedies as provided under paragraph
66 (11)(a).
67 (17) Boarding schools are subject to the following
68 requirements:
69 (a) A boarding school currently in existence, or a new
70 boarding school that is seeking accreditation, must complete the
71 accreditation requirements pursuant to paragraph (2)(b) within 3
72 years after the date it registers with the Department of
73 Education.
74 (b) A boarding school must provide to the Department of
75 Education and the department, letters that verify application
76 for accreditation no later than 270 days after registration. The
77 letters must be provided by an accrediting agency described in
78 subparagraph (2)(b)1. or subparagraph (2)(b)2. Effective July 1,
79 2013, the Department of Education shall remove from the registry
80 and the website any boarding school that has not completed the
81 accreditation requirements of paragraph (2)(b) or has not
82 provided the required verification letters.
83 (c) A boarding school must provide proof of accreditation
84 or documentation of the accreditation process upon request by
85 the department. The school must provide an annual report to the
86 department on the status of achieving the accreditation required
87 in paragraph (2)(b). The first report is due 12 months after the
88 date of registration with the Department of Education. Boarding
89 schools that have obtained the accreditations required under
90 paragraph (2)(b) are not subject to the reporting requirements
91 in this subsection.
92 (d) A boarding school that cannot produce the required
93 documentation in accordance with this subsection or that has not
94 registered with the Department of Education or has not obtained
95 all required accreditation in accordance with paragraph (2)(b),
96 shall be considered to be providing residential group care
97 without a license. The department may impose administrative
98 sanctions or seek civil remedies as provided under paragraph
99 (11)(a).
100 (e) The boarding school must require employees and
101 contracted personnel with direct student contact to be
102 background screened upon employment. The term “direct student
103 contact” means unsupervised access to a student for whom the
104 boarding school is responsible. The screening shall be conducted
105 as provided in chapter 435, using the level 2 standards for
106 screening set forth in that chapter. The department may grant
107 exemptions from disqualification from working with children as
108 provided in s. 435.07.
109 (f) The boarding school shall follow established school
110 schedules and shall specify holiday breaks and summer recesses
111 in accordance with other public and private school programs. The
112 children in residence must customarily return to their family
113 homes or legal guardians during school breaks and, with the
114 exception of students who are citizens of foreign countries, may
115 not be in residence year-round. The parents of children
116 attending a boarding school retain custody of their children and
117 responsibility for planning and finances.
118 Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (10) and
119 subsection (15) of section 409.176, Florida Statutes, are
120 amended to read:
121 409.176 Registration of residential child-caring agencies
122 and family foster homes.—
123 (10)(a) The qualified association shall notify the
124 department within 24 hours when the qualified association finds
125 there is a violation of any of the provisions of this section
126 which threatens harm to any child or which constitutes an
127 emergency requiring immediate action.
128 (b) The qualified association shall notify the department
129 within 3 calendar days when the qualified association finds,
130 within 30 days after written notification by registered mail of
131 the requirement for registration, that a person or facility
132 continues to care for children without a certificate of
133 registration pursuant to this section, a license pursuant to s.
134 409.175, or registration as a boarding school pursuant to s
135 409.175. The department shall notify the appropriate state
136 attorney of the violation of law and, if necessary, shall
137 institute a civil suit to enjoin the person or facility from
138 continuing the care of children.
139 (15) The qualified association issuing certificates of
140 registration for Type II facilities under this section shall
141 annually report to the department the following:
142 (a) The number of Type II facilities registered during the
143 most recent calendar year, the names and addresses of the
144 facilities, and the name of each facility’s administrator., and
145 (b) The total number of children served by each facility
146 during the calendar year.
147 (c) The average length of stay for children at a Type II
148 facility.
149 (d) The number of violations pursuant to paragraph (10)(a)
150 by a Type II facility.
151 (e) A list of persons or facilities, including their
152 addresses, which applied for registration pursuant to this
153 section and were denied or withdrew the request.
154
155 The department may impose an administrative fine against the
156 qualified association not to exceed $250 per violation for
157 failure to comply with the requirements of this subsection.
158 (f) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement
159 this subsection.
160 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.
