Amendment
Bill No. 1543
Amendment No. 922543
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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1Representative(s) Evers offered the following:
2
3     Substitute Amendment for Amendment (149477) (with directory
4and title amendments)
5     Between lines 27 and 28, insert:
6     Section 2.  Subsection (4) of section 402.313, Florida
7Statutes, is amended to read:
8     402.313  Family day care homes.--
9     (4)  Operators of family day care homes must successfully
10complete an approved 30-clock-hour introductory course in child
11care, as evidenced by passage of a competency examination,
12before caring for children. The department may grant the
13operator of a family day care home an exemption from all or part
14of the training required under this subsection in the same
15manner that child care personnel are granted an exemption from
16required training based on educational credentials or passage of
17the competency examination under s. 402.305(2)(d)1.
18     Section 3.  Subsection (3) of section 402.3131, Florida
19Statutes, is amended to read:
20     402.3131  Large family child care homes.--
21     (3)  Operators of large family child care homes must
22successfully complete an approved 40-clock-hour introductory
23course in group child care, as evidenced by passage of a
24competency examination. Successful completion of the 40-clock-
25hour introductory course shall articulate into community college
26credit in early childhood education, pursuant to ss. 1007.24 and
271007.25. The department may grant the operator of a large family
28child care home an exemption from all or part of the training
29required under this subsection in the same manner that child
30care personnel are granted an exemption from required training
31based on educational credentials or passage of the competency
32examination under s. 402.305(2)(d)1.
33     Section 4.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
341002.55, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
35     1002.55  School-year prekindergarten program delivered by
36private prekindergarten providers.--
37     (3)  To be eligible to deliver the prekindergarten program,
38a private prekindergarten provider must meet each of the
39following requirements:
40     (d)  Each prekindergarten instructor employed by the
41private prekindergarten provider shall be subject to level 2
42background screening requirements in chapter 435 and must be
43rescreened every 5 years. The 5-year rescreening shall not
44require refingerprinting unless the instructor has experienced a
45break in covered employment of more than 90 days.
46Prekindergarten instructors must be of good moral character,
47must be screened using the level 2 screening standards in s.
48435.04 before employment and rescreened at least once every 5
49years, must be denied employment or terminated if required under
50s. 435.06, and must not be ineligible to teach in a public
51school because his or her educator certificate is suspended or
52revoked.
53     Section 5.  Subsection (5) is added to section 1002.57,
54Florida Statutes, to read:
55     1002.57  Prekindergarten director credential.--
56     (5)  The department may authorize the Department of
57Children and Family Services to issue a prekindergarten director
58credential under this section.
59
60================ T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T =============
61     Remove line 5 and insert:
62in the Gold Seal Quality Care Program; amending ss. 402.313 and
63402.3131, F.S.; providing an exemption from certain introductory
64training for operators of family day care homes and large family
65child care homes based on educational credentials or passage of
66competency examinations; amending s. 1002.55, F.S.; revising
67eligibility requirements for prekindergarten instructors
68employed by private prekindergarten providers; amending s.
691002.57, F.S.; providing for the Department of Education to
70authorize the Department of Children and Family Services to
71issue a prekindergarten director credential; providing an


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.