| 1 | Representative(s) Ausley offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment to Senate Amendment (172566) (with title |
| 4 | amendment) |
| 5 | On page 2, line(s) 19, insert: |
| 6 | Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section |
| 7 | 411.01, Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter 2004-484, Laws |
| 8 | of Florida, is amended to read: |
| 9 | 411.01 School readiness programs; early learning |
| 10 | coalitions.-- |
| 11 | (5) CREATION OF EARLY LEARNING COALITIONS.-- |
| 12 | (a) Early learning coalitions.-- |
| 13 | 1. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall establish the |
| 14 | minimum number of children to be served by each early learning |
| 15 | coalition through the coalition's school readiness program. The |
| 16 | Agency for Workforce Innovation may only approve school |
| 17 | readiness plans in accordance with this minimum number. The |
| 18 | minimum number must be uniform for every early learning |
| 19 | coalition and must: |
| 20 | a. Permit 30 or fewer coalitions to be established; and |
| 21 | b. Require each coalition to serve at least 2,000 children |
| 22 | based upon the average number of all children served per month |
| 23 | through the coalition's school readiness program during the |
| 24 | previous 12 months. |
| 25 |
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| 26 | The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall adopt procedures for |
| 27 | merging early learning coalitions, including procedures for the |
| 28 | consolidation of merging coalitions, and for the early |
| 29 | termination of the terms of coalition members which are |
| 30 | necessary to accomplish the mergers. Each early learning |
| 31 | coalition must comply with the merger procedures and shall be |
| 32 | organized in accordance with this subparagraph by April 1, 2005. |
| 33 | By June 30, 2005, each coalition must complete the transfer of |
| 34 | powers, duties, functions, rules, records, personnel, property, |
| 35 | and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and |
| 36 | other funds to the successor coalition, if applicable. |
| 37 | Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the early |
| 38 | learning coalition that includes Jefferson, Liberty, Madison, |
| 39 | Wakulla, and Taylor counties currently in operation is |
| 40 | established and authorized to continue operation as an |
| 41 | independent coalition and shall not be counted toward the limit |
| 42 | of 30 coalitions pursuant to this subsection. |
| 43 | 2. If an early learning coalition would serve fewer |
| 44 | children than the minimum number established under subparagraph |
| 45 | 1., the coalition must merge with another county to form a |
| 46 | multicounty coalition. However, the Agency for Workforce |
| 47 | Innovation may authorize an early learning coalition to serve |
| 48 | fewer children than the minimum number established under |
| 49 | subparagraph 1., if: |
| 50 | a. The coalition demonstrates to the Agency for Workforce |
| 51 | Innovation that merging with another county or multicounty |
| 52 | region contiguous to the coalition would cause an extreme |
| 53 | hardship on the coalition; |
| 54 | b. The Agency for Workforce Innovation has determined |
| 55 | during the most recent annual review of the coalition's school |
| 56 | readiness plan, or through monitoring and performance |
| 57 | evaluations conducted under paragraph (4)(l), that the coalition |
| 58 | has substantially implemented its plan and substantially met the |
| 59 | performance standards and outcome measures adopted by the |
| 60 | agency; and |
| 61 | c. The coalition demonstrates to the Agency for Workforce |
| 62 | Innovation the coalition's ability to effectively and |
| 63 | efficiently implement the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education |
| 64 | Program. |
| 65 |
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| 66 | If an early learning coalition fails or refuses to merge as |
| 67 | required by this subparagraph, the Agency for Workforce |
| 68 | Innovation may dissolve the coalition and temporarily contract |
| 69 | with a qualified entity to continue school readiness and |
| 70 | prekindergarten services in the coalition's county or |
| 71 | multicounty region until the coalition is reestablished through |
| 72 | resubmission of a school readiness plan and approval by the |
| 73 | agency. |
| 74 | 3. Each early learning coalition shall be composed of at |
| 75 | least 18 members but not more than 35 members. The Agency for |
| 76 | Workforce Innovation shall adopt standards establishing within |
| 77 | this range the minimum and maximum number of members that may be |
| 78 | appointed to an early learning coalition. These standards must |
| 79 | include variations for a coalition serving a multicounty region. |
| 80 | Each early learning coalition must comply with these standards. |
| 81 | 4. The Governor shall appoint the chair and two other |
| 82 | members of each early learning coalition, who must each meet the |
| 83 | same qualifications as private-sector business members appointed |
| 84 | by the coalition under subparagraph 6. |
| 85 | 5. Each early learning coalition must include the |
| 86 | following members: |
| 87 | a. A Department of Children and Family Services district |
| 88 | administrator or his or her designee who is authorized to make |
| 89 | decisions on behalf of the department. |
| 90 | b. A district superintendent of schools or his or her |
| 91 | designee who is authorized to make decisions on behalf of the |
| 92 | district, who shall be a nonvoting member. |
| 93 | c. A regional workforce board executive director or his or |
| 94 | her designee. |
| 95 | d. A county health department director or his or her |
| 96 | designee. |
| 97 | e. A children's services council or juvenile welfare board |
| 98 | chair or executive director, if applicable, who shall be a |
| 99 | nonvoting member if the council or board is the fiscal agent of |
| 100 | the coalition or if the council or board contracts with and |
| 101 | receives funds from the coalition. |
| 102 | f. An agency head of a local licensing agency as defined |
| 103 | in s. 402.302, where applicable. |
| 104 | g. A president of a community college or his or her |
| 105 | designee. |
| 106 | h. One member appointed by a board of county |
| 107 | commissioners. |
| 108 | i. A central agency administrator, where applicable, who |
| 109 | shall be a nonvoting member. |
| 110 | j. A Head Start director, who shall be a nonvoting member. |
| 111 | k. A representative of private child care providers, |
| 112 | including family day care homes, who shall be a nonvoting |
| 113 | member. |
| 114 | l. A representative of faith-based child care providers, |
| 115 | who shall be a nonvoting member. |
| 116 | m. A representative of programs for children with |
| 117 | disabilities under the federal Individuals with Disabilities |
| 118 | Education Act, who shall be a nonvoting member. |
| 119 | 6. Including the members appointed by the Governor under |
| 120 | subparagraph 4., more than one-third of the members of each |
| 121 | early learning coalition must be private-sector business members |
| 122 | who do not have, and none of whose relatives as defined in s. |
| 123 | 112.3143 has, a substantial financial interest in the design or |
| 124 | delivery of the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program |
| 125 | created under part V of chapter 1002 or the coalition's school |
| 126 | readiness program. To meet this requirement an early learning |
| 127 | coalition must appoint additional members from a list of |
| 128 | nominees submitted to the coalition by a chamber of commerce or |
| 129 | economic development council within the geographic region served |
| 130 | by the coalition. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall |
| 131 | establish criteria for appointing private-sector business |
| 132 | members. These criteria must include standards for determining |
| 133 | whether a member or relative has a substantial financial |
| 134 | interest in the design or delivery of the Voluntary |
| 135 | Prekindergarten Education Program or the coalition's school |
| 136 | readiness program. |
| 137 | 7. A majority of the voting membership of an early |
| 138 | learning coalition constitutes a quorum required to conduct the |
| 139 | business of the coalition. |
| 140 | 8. A voting member of an early learning coalition may not |
| 141 | appoint a designee to act in his or her place, except as |
| 142 | otherwise provided in this paragraph. A voting member may send a |
| 143 | representative to coalition meetings, but that representative |
| 144 | does not have voting privileges. When a district administrator |
| 145 | for the Department of Children and Family Services appoints a |
| 146 | designee to an early learning coalition, the designee is the |
| 147 | voting member of the coalition, and any individual attending in |
| 148 | the designee's place, including the district administrator, does |
| 149 | not have voting privileges. |
| 150 | 9. Each member of an early learning coalition is subject |
| 151 | to ss. 112.313, 112.3135, and 112.3143. For purposes of s. |
| 152 | 112.3143(3)(a), each voting member is a local public officer who |
| 153 | must abstain from voting when a voting conflict exists. |
| 154 | 10. For purposes of tort liability, each member or |
| 155 | employee of an early learning coalition shall be governed by s. |
| 156 | 768.28. |
| 157 | 11. An early learning coalition serving a multicounty |
| 158 | region must include representation from each county. |
| 159 | 12. Each early learning coalition shall establish terms |
| 160 | for all appointed members of the coalition. The terms must be |
| 161 | staggered and must be a uniform length that does not exceed 4 |
| 162 | years per term. Appointed members may serve a maximum of two |
| 163 | consecutive terms. When a vacancy occurs in an appointed |
| 164 | position, the coalition must advertise the vacancy. |
| 165 |
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| 166 | ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================= |
| 167 | On page 3, line(s) 15, after the semicolon, insert: |
| 168 | amending s. 411.01, F.S.; providing that specified counties |
| 169 | continue to operate as an independent early learning coalition |
| 170 | for certain purposes; |