Florida Senate - 2016 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1088
Ì3481747Î348174
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
01/27/2016 .
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The Committee on Education Pre-K - 12 (Galvano) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete line 211
4 and insert:
5 Section 3. Effective June 29, 2016, section 1004.935,
6 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
7 1004.935 Adults with Disabilities Workforce Education Pilot
8 Program.—
9 (1) The Adults with Disabilities Workforce Education Pilot
10 Program is established in the Department of Education through
11 June 30, 2016, in Hardee, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties
12 to provide the option of receiving a scholarship for instruction
13 at private schools for up to 30 students who:
14 (a) Have a disability;
15 (b) Are 22 years of age;
16 (c) Are receiving instruction from an instructor in a
17 private school to meet the high school graduation requirements
18 in s. 1002.3105(5) or s. 1003.4282;
19 (d) Do not have a standard high school diploma or a special
20 high school diploma; and
21 (e) Receive “supported employment services,” which means
22 employment that is located or provided in an integrated work
23 setting with earnings paid on a commensurate wage basis and for
24 which continued support is needed for job maintenance.
25
26 As used in this section, the term “student with a disability”
27 includes a student who is documented as having an intellectual
28 disability; a speech impairment; a language impairment; a
29 hearing impairment, including deafness; a visual impairment,
30 including blindness; a dual sensory impairment; an orthopedic
31 impairment; another health impairment; an emotional or
32 behavioral disability; a specific learning disability,
33 including, but not limited to, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or
34 developmental aphasia; a traumatic brain injury; a developmental
35 delay; or autism spectrum disorder.
36 (2) A student participating in the pilot program may
37 continue to participate in the program until the student
38 graduates from high school or reaches the age of 40 years,
39 whichever occurs first.
40 (3) Supported employment services may be provided at more
41 than one site.
42 (4) The provider of supported employment services must be a
43 nonprofit corporation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
44 Code which serves Hardee County, DeSoto County, Manatee County,
45 or Sarasota County and must contract with a private school in
46 this state which meets the requirements in subsection (5).
47 (5) A private school that participates in the pilot program
48 may be sectarian or nonsectarian and must:
49 (a) Be academically accountable for meeting the educational
50 needs of the student by annually providing to the provider of
51 supported employment services a written explanation of the
52 student’s progress.
53 (b) Comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42
54 U.S.C. s. 2000d.
55 (c) Meet state and local health and safety laws and codes.
56 (d) Provide to the provider of supported employment
57 services all documentation required for a student’s
58 participation, including the private school’s and student’s fee
59 schedules, at least 30 days before any quarterly scholarship
60 payment is made for the student. A student is not eligible to
61 receive a quarterly scholarship payment if the private school
62 fails to meet this deadline.
63
64 The inability of a private school to meet the requirements of
65 this subsection constitutes a basis for the ineligibility of the
66 private school to participate in the pilot program.
67 (6)(a) If the student chooses to participate in the pilot
68 program and is accepted by the provider of supported employment
69 services, the student must notify the Department of Education of
70 his or her acceptance into the program 60 days before the first
71 scholarship payment and before participating in the pilot
72 program in order to be eligible for the scholarship.
73 (b) Upon receipt of a scholarship warrant, the student or
74 parent to whom the warrant is made must restrictively endorse
75 the warrant to the provider of supported employment services for
76 deposit into the account of the provider. The student or parent
77 may not designate any entity or individual associated with the
78 participating provider of supported employment services as the
79 student’s or parent’s attorney in fact to endorse a scholarship
80 warrant. A participant who fails to comply with this paragraph
81 forfeits the scholarship.
82 (7) Funds for the scholarship shall be provided from the
83 appropriation from the school district’s Workforce Development
84 Fund in the General Appropriations Act for students who reside
85 in the Hardee County School District, the DeSoto County School
86 District, the Manatee County School District, or the Sarasota
87 County School District. During the pilot program, The
88 scholarship amount granted for an eligible student with a
89 disability shall be equal to the cost per unit of a full-time
90 equivalent adult general education student, multiplied by the
91 adult general education funding factor, and multiplied by the
92 district cost differential pursuant to the formula required by
93 s. 1011.80(6)(a) for the district in which the student resides.
94 (8) Upon notification by the Department of Education that
95 it has received the required documentation, the Chief Financial
96 Officer shall make scholarship payments in four equal amounts no
97 later than September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1 of
98 each academic year in which the scholarship is in force. The
99 initial payment shall be made after the Department of Education
100 verifies that the student was accepted into the pilot program,
101 and subsequent payments shall be made upon verification of
102 continued participation in the pilot program. Payment must be by
103 individual warrant made payable to the student or parent and
104 mailed by the Department of Education to the provider of
105 supported employment services, and the student or parent shall
106 restrictively endorse the warrant to the provider of supported
107 employment services for deposit into the account of that
108 provider.
109 (9) Subsequent to each scholarship payment, the Department
110 of Education shall request from the Department of Financial
111 Services a sample of endorsed warrants to review and confirm
112 compliance with endorsement requirements.
113 Section 4. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
114 act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2016.
115
116 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
117 And the title is amended as follows:
118 Delete lines 2 - 18
119 and insert:
120 An act relating to education programs for individuals
121 with disabilities; amending s. 1002.39, F.S.;
122 exempting a foster child from specified eligibility
123 provisions; providing that a student enrolled in a
124 transition-to-work program is eligible for a John M.
125 McKay Scholarship; creating a transition-to-work
126 program for specific students enrolled in the John M.
127 McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities
128 Program; providing program requirements; providing
129 participation requirements for schools, students, and
130 businesses; exempting a John M. McKay Scholarship
131 award from a specified funding calculation; amending
132 s. 1011.61, F.S.; exempting a John M. McKay
133 Scholarship award from a specified funding calculation
134 for purposes of the Florida Education Finance Program;
135 amending s. 1004.935, F.S.; deleting the scheduled
136 termination of the Adults with Disabilities Workforce
137 Education Pilot Program; changing the name of the
138 program to the “Adults with Disabilities Workforce
139 Education Program”; providing effective dates.