Florida Senate - 2011                             CS for SB 1254
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Education Pre-K - 12; and Senators Wise and
       Richter
       
       
       
       581-02624-11                                          20111254c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to auditory-oral education programs;
    3         providing a short title; amending s. 1002.20, F.S.;
    4         revising provisions relating to public school choice
    5         options for parents of public school students to
    6         include auditory-oral education programs; creating s.
    7         1002.391, F.S.; providing definitions; providing that
    8         a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing may
    9         enroll the child in an auditory-oral education program
   10         at a school accredited by OPTION Schools, Inc., or at
   11         a school in which the supervisor and the majority of
   12         faculty are certified as Listening and Spoken Language
   13         Specialists by the AG Bell Academy for Listening and
   14         Spoken Language; providing that the child may continue
   15         attending the school and complete the development of
   16         listening and spoken language skills if specified
   17         criteria are met; requiring that the level of services
   18         be determined by the individual educational plan team
   19         or individualized family support plan team; providing
   20         that a child is no longer eligible under certain
   21         circumstances; amending s. 1011.62, F.S.; revising
   22         provisions relating to the funding model for
   23         exceptional student education programs to require the
   24         Department of Education to review and revise the
   25         descriptions of services and supports in the matrix of
   26         services used to determine exceptional education cost
   27         factors; providing an effective date.
   28  
   29  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   30  
   31         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Auditory Oral
   32  Education Act.”
   33         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section
   34  1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   35         1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public
   36  school students must receive accurate and timely information
   37  regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed
   38  of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12
   39  students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory
   40  rights including, but not limited to, the following:
   41         (6) EDUCATIONAL CHOICE.—
   42         (a) Public school choices.—Parents of public school
   43  students may seek whatever public school choice options that are
   44  applicable to their students and are available to students in
   45  their school districts. These options may include controlled
   46  open enrollment, single-gender programs, lab schools, school
   47  district virtual instruction programs, charter schools, charter
   48  technical career centers, magnet schools, alternative schools,
   49  special programs, auditory-oral education programs, advanced
   50  placement, dual enrollment, International Baccalaureate,
   51  International General Certificate of Secondary Education (pre
   52  AICE), Advanced International Certificate of Education, early
   53  admissions, credit by examination or demonstration of
   54  competency, the New World School of the Arts, the Florida School
   55  for the Deaf and the Blind, and the Florida Virtual School.
   56  These options may also include the public school choice options
   57  of the Opportunity Scholarship Program and the McKay
   58  Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program.
   59         Section 3. Section 1002.391, Florida Statutes, is created
   60  to read:
   61         1002.391 Auditory-oral education programs.—
   62         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   63         (a) “Auditory-oral education program” means a program that
   64  develops and relies solely on listening skills and uses an
   65  implant or assistive hearing device for the purpose of relying
   66  on speech and spoken language skills as the method of
   67  communication.
   68         (b) “Deaf or hard of hearing” means aided or unaided
   69  hearing loss that impacts the processing of linguistic
   70  information and adversely affects performance in the educational
   71  environment. The degree of loss may range from mild to profound
   72  in accordance with the criteria established by rule of the State
   73  Board of Education.
   74         (c) “School” means a public or private school located in
   75  this state which meets the following requirements:
   76         1. Is accredited by OPTION Schools, Inc., to teach children
   77  who have obtained an implant or assistive hearing device; or
   78         2. Has a supervisor and a majority of the faculty who
   79  provide direct services to children and who are certified by the
   80  AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language as Listening
   81  and Spoken Language Specialists.
   82         (2)(a) The parent of a child who meets the requirements in
   83  paragraph (b) may enroll the child in an auditory-oral education
   84  program at a school of choice under s. 1002.20.
   85         (b) Any child who is deaf or hard of hearing and who
   86  enrolls in an auditory-oral education program at a school, as
   87  defined in this section, may continue attending the school and
   88  complete the development of listening and spoken language skills
   89  at the school if the child:
   90         1. Has received an implant or assistive hearing device;
   91         2.a. Is between the ages of 3 and 7 years; or
   92         b. Is between the ages of 2 and 7 years when the school
   93  district elects to serve children with disabilities who are
   94  under the age of 3 years; and
   95         3. Is a resident of the state.
   96         (3) The level of services shall be determined by the
   97  individual educational plan team or individualized family
   98  support plan team, which includes the child’s parent in
   99  accordance with the rules of the State Board of Education. A
  100  child is eligible for services under this section until the end
  101  of the school year in which he or she reaches the age of 7 years
  102  or after grade 2, whichever comes first.
  103         Section 4. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section
  104  1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  105         1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual
  106  allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
  107  district for operation of schools is not determined in the
  108  annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
  109  the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
  110  follows:
  111         (1) COMPUTATION OF THE BASIC AMOUNT TO BE INCLUDED FOR
  112  OPERATION.—The following procedure shall be followed in
  113  determining the annual allocation to each district for
  114  operation:
  115         (e) Funding model for exceptional student education
  116  programs.—
  117         1.a. The funding model uses basic, at-risk, support levels
  118  IV and V for exceptional students and career Florida Education
  119  Finance Program cost factors, and a guaranteed allocation for
  120  exceptional student education programs. Exceptional education
  121  cost factors are determined by using a matrix of services to
  122  document the services that each exceptional student will
  123  receive. The nature and intensity of the services indicated on
  124  the matrix shall be consistent with the services described in
  125  each exceptional student’s individual educational plan. The
  126  Department of Education shall review and revise the descriptions
  127  of the services and supports included in the matrix of services
  128  for exceptional students and shall implement those revisions
  129  before the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year.
  130         b. In order to generate funds using one of the two weighted
  131  cost factors, a matrix of services must be completed at the time
  132  of the student’s initial placement into an exceptional student
  133  education program and at least once every 3 years by personnel
  134  who have received approved training. Nothing listed in the
  135  matrix shall be construed as limiting the services a school
  136  district must provide in order to ensure that exceptional
  137  students are provided a free, appropriate public education.
  138         c. Students identified as exceptional, in accordance with
  139  chapter 6A-6, Florida Administrative Code, who do not have a
  140  matrix of services as specified in sub-subparagraph b. shall
  141  generate funds on the basis of full-time-equivalent student
  142  membership in the Florida Education Finance Program at the same
  143  funding level per student as provided for basic students.
  144  Additional funds for these exceptional students will be provided
  145  through the guaranteed allocation designated in subparagraph 2.
  146         2. For students identified as exceptional who do not have a
  147  matrix of services and students who are gifted in grades K
  148  through 8, there is created a guaranteed allocation to provide
  149  these students with a free appropriate public education, in
  150  accordance with s. 1001.42(4)(m) and rules of the State Board of
  151  Education, which shall be allocated annually to each school
  152  district in the amount provided in the General Appropriations
  153  Act. These funds shall be in addition to the funds appropriated
  154  on the basis of FTE student membership in the Florida Education
  155  Finance Program, and the amount allocated for each school
  156  district shall not be recalculated during the year. These funds
  157  shall be used to provide special education and related services
  158  for exceptional students and students who are gifted in grades K
  159  through 8. Beginning with the 2007-2008 fiscal year, a
  160  district’s expenditure of funds from the guaranteed allocation
  161  for students in grades 9 through 12 who are gifted may not be
  162  greater than the amount expended during the 2006-2007 fiscal
  163  year for gifted students in grades 9 through 12.
  164         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.