HB 0045 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the Constitutional Compliance
3	Assistance Program; creating s. 1002.395, F.S.;
4	establishing the program to enable students to receive a
5	scholarship to attend a private school; providing for
6	the award of a scholarship if the constitutional mandate
7	for class size is not met; providing requirements for
8	scholarship eligibility and for private school
9	eligibility; specifying obligations of program
10	participants; providing for calculation and payment of
11	scholarships; providing for transmission of certain
12	funds to school districts; authorizing adoption of rules
13	by the State Board of Education; providing an effective
14	date.
15
16	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18	Section 1. Section 1002.395, Florida Statutes, is
19	created to read:
20	1002.395 Constitutional Compliance Assistance Program.--
21	(1) CONSTITUTIONAL COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.--There
22	is established the Constitutional Compliance Assistance
23	Program (C-CAP) to assist parents in exercising on a voluntary
24	basis the option to enroll their children in an educational
25	institution other than a public school. A student
26	participating in the program shall receive a Constitutional
27	Compliance Assistance Program Scholarship (C-CAP Scholarship)
28	to attend an eligible private school in grades 1-12.
29	(2) C-CAP SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.--A public school
30	student’s parent may request and receive from the state a C-
31	CAP Scholarship for the student to enroll in and attend a
32	private school in accordance with the provisions of this
33	section if all of the following conditions are met:
34	(a) The school district does not comply with the
35	student-to-teacher ratio mandate for class size specified in
36	s. 1, Art. IX of the State Constitution in the school
37	attendance area to which the student is assigned.
38	(b) By assigned school attendance area or by special
39	assignment, the student has spent the prior school year in
40	attendance at a Florida public school. Prior school year in
41	attendance means that the student was enrolled and reported by
42	the school district for funding during the preceding October
43	and February Florida Education Finance Program surveys.
44	(c) The parent has obtained acceptance for admission of
45	the student to a private school that is eligible under the
46	program pursuant to subsection (3) and has notified the school
47	district of the request for a scholarship at least 60 days
48	prior to the date of the first scholarship payment. The
49	parental notification must be through a communication directly
50	to the school district or through the Department of Education
51	to the school district in a manner that creates a written or
52	electronic record of the notification and the date of the
53	receipt of the notification.
54
55	This section does not apply to a student who is enrolled in a
56	school operating for the purpose of providing educational
57	services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice commitment
58	programs. For purposes of continuity of educational choice, a
59	C-CAP Scholarship shall remain in force until a student
60	returns to a public school or graduates from high school.
61	However, at any time, a student's parent may remove the
62	student from the private school and enroll the student in
63	another private school that is eligible under the program
64	pursuant to subsection (3) or in the public school in the
65	assigned school attendance area once the school district
66	complies with the student-to-teacher ratio mandate for class
67	size specified in s.1, Art. IX of the State Constitution in
68	such attendance area.
69	(3) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY.--To be eligible to
70	participate in the Constitutional Compliance Assistance
71	Program, a private school must be a Florida private school,
72	may be sectarian or nonsectarian, and must:
73	(a) Demonstrate fiscal soundness by being in operation
74	for 1 school year or provide the Department of Education with
75	a statement by a certified public accountant confirming that
76	the private school desiring to participate is insured and the
77	owner or owners have sufficient capital or credit to operate
78	the school for the upcoming year serving the number of
79	students anticipated with expected revenues from tuition and
80	other sources that may be reasonably expected. In lieu of such
81	a statement, a surety bond or letter of credit for the amount
82	equal to the scholarship funds for any quarter may be filed
83	with the Department of Education.
84	(b) Notify the Department of Education of its intent to
85	participate in the program under this section. The notice must
86	specify the grade levels and services that the private school
87	has available for students who are participating in the
88	scholarship program.
89	(c) Comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42
90	U.S.C. s. 2000d.
91	(d) Meet state and local health and safety laws and
92	codes.
93	(e) Be academically accountable to the parent for
94	meeting the educational needs of the student.
95	(f) Employ or contract with teachers who hold
96	baccalaureate or higher degrees, or have at least 3 years of
97	teaching experience in public or private schools, or have
98	special skills, knowledge, or expertise that qualifies them to
99	provide instruction in subjects taught.
100	(g) Comply with all state laws relating to general
101	regulation of private schools.
102	(h) Adhere to the tenets of its published disciplinary
103	procedures prior to the expulsion of a scholarship student.
104	(4) OBLIGATION OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.--
105	(a) A parent who applies for a C-CAP Scholarship is
106	exercising his or her parental option to place his or her
107	child in a private school. The parent must select the private
108	school and apply for the admission of his or her child.
109	(b) The parent must have requested the scholarship at
110	least 60 days prior to the date of the first scholarship
111	payment.
112	(c) Any student participating in the scholarship program
113	must remain in attendance throughout the school year, unless
114	excused by the school for illness or other good cause, and
115	must comply fully with the school's code of conduct.
116	(d) The parent of each student participating in the
117	scholarship program must comply fully with the private
118	school's parental involvement requirements, unless excused by
119	the school for illness or other good cause.
120	(e) If the parent requests that the student
121	participating in the scholarship program take all statewide
122	assessments required pursuant to s. 1008.22, the parent is
123	responsible for transporting the student to the assessment
124	site designated by the school district.
125	(f) Upon receipt of a scholarship warrant, the parent to
126	whom the warrant is made payable must restrictively endorse
127	the warrant to the private school for deposit into the account
128	of the private school.
129	(g) A participant who fails to comply with this
130	subsection forfeits the scholarship.
131	(5) SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING AND PAYMENT.--
132	(a) The C-CAP Scholarship granted to an eligible student
133	shall be a calculated amount equivalent to 60 percent of the
134	following: the base student allocation in the Florida
135	Education Finance Program multiplied by the appropriate cost
136	factor for the educational program that would have been
137	provided for the student in the district school to which he or
138	she was assigned, multiplied by the district cost
139	differential. In addition,
140	the calculated amount shall include 60 percent of the per-
141	student share of supplemental academic instruction funds,
142	instructional materials funds, technology funds, and other
143	categorical funds as provided for such purposes in the General
144	Appropriations Act.
145	(b) The amount of the C-CAP Scholarship shall be the
146	calculated amount pursuant to paragraph (a) or the amount of
147	the private school's tuition and fees, whichever is less. The
148	amount of any assessment fee required by the participating
149	private school may be paid from the total amount of the
150	scholarship.
151	(c) If the participating private school requires partial
152	payment of tuition prior to the start of the academic year to
153	reserve space for students admitted to the school, that
154	partial payment may be paid by the Department of Education
155	prior to the first quarterly payment of the year in which the
156	C-CAP Scholarship is awarded, up to a maximum of $1,000, and
157	deducted from subsequent scholarship payments. If a student
158	decides not to attend the participating private school, the
159	partial reservation payment must be returned to the Department
160	of Education by the participating private school. There is a
161	limit of one reservation payment per student per year.
162	(d) The school district shall report all students who
163	are attending a private school under this program. The
164	students attending private schools on C-CAP Scholarships shall
165	be reported separately from other students reported for
166	purposes of the Florida Education Finance Program.
167	(e) Following notification on July 1, September 1,
168	December 1, or February 1 of the number of program
169	participants, the Department of Education shall transfer, from
170	General Revenue funds only, the amount calculated under
171	paragraph (b) from the school district's total funding
172	entitlement under the Florida Education Finance Program and
173	from authorized categorical accounts to a separate account for
174	the scholarship program for quarterly disbursement to the
175	parents of participating students. Per-student funds in excess
176	of per-student C-CAP Scholarship awards shall be retained by
177	the Department of Education for priority educational needs.
178	However, the Department of Education shall annually transmit
179	$400 of such excess per-student funds to a school district for
180	each student who receives a C-CAP Scholarship to be used by
181	the school district to meet student needs. When a student
182	enters the scholarship program, the Department of Education
183	must receive all documentation required for the student's
184	participation, including the private school's and student's
185	fee schedules, at least 30 days before the first quarterly
186	scholarship payment is made for the student. The Department of
187	Education may not make any retroactive payments.
188	(f) Upon proper documentation reviewed and approved by
189	the Department of Education, the Comptroller shall make
190	scholarship payments in four equal amounts no later than
191	September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 15 of each
192	academic year in which the scholarship is in force. The
193	initial payment shall be made after Department of Education
194	verification of admission acceptance, and subsequent payments
195	shall be made upon verification of continued enrollment and
196	attendance at the private school. Payment must be by
197	individual warrant made payable to the student's parent and
198	mailed by the Department of Education to the private school of
199	the parent's choice, and the parent shall restrictively
200	endorse the warrant to the private school for deposit into the
201	account of the private school.
202	(6) LIABILITY.--No liability shall arise on the part of
203	the state based on the award or use of a C-CAP Scholarship.
204	(7) RULES.--The State Board of Education may adopt rules
205	pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this
206	section. However, the inclusion of eligible private schools
207	within options available to Florida public school students
208	does not expand the regulatory authority of the state, its
209	officers, or any school district to impose any additional
210	regulation of private schools beyond those reasonably
211	necessary to enforce requirements expressly set forth in this
212	section.
213	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
214