Florida Senate - 2013 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1682
Barcode 547916
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/02/2013 .
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The Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs (Braynon)
recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
6 409.175, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (17) is
7 added to that section, to read:
8 409.175 Licensure of family foster homes, residential
9 child-caring agencies, and child-placing agencies; public
10 records exemption.—
11 (2) As used in this section, the term:
12 (b) “Boarding school” means a school that which is
13 registered with the Department of Education as a school that
14 provides a residential service for students and is:
15 1. Accredited for academic programs by the Florida Council
16 of Independent Schools or the Southern Association of Colleges
17 and Schools an accrediting association that is a member of the
18 National Council for Private School Accreditation, or the
19 Florida Association of Academic Nonpublic Schools, and; which is
20 accredited for residential programs by the Council on
21 Accreditation, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation
22 Facilities, or the Coalition for Residential Education; or
23 2. Accredited by one of the organizations in subparagraph
24 1. as a boarding school that includes both an academic and
25 residential component in the accreditation. and which is
26 registered with the Department of Education as a school. Its
27 program must follow established school schedules, with holiday
28 breaks and summer recesses in accordance with other public and
29 private school programs. The children in residence must
30 customarily return to their family homes or legal guardians
31 during school breaks and must not be in residence year-round,
32 except that this provision does not apply to foreign students.
33 The parents of these children retain custody and planning and
34 financial responsibility. A boarding school currently in
35 existence and a boarding school opening and seeking
36 accreditation have 3 years to comply with the requirements of
37 this paragraph. A boarding school must provide proof of
38 accreditation or documentation of the accreditation process upon
39 request. A boarding school that cannot produce the required
40 documentation or that has not registered with the Department of
41 Education shall be considered to be providing residential group
42 care without a license. The department may impose administrative
43 sanctions or seek civil remedies as provided under paragraph
44 (11)(a).
45 (17) Boarding schools are subject to the following
46 requirements:
47 (a) A boarding school currently in existence, or a new
48 boarding school that is seeking accreditation, must complete the
49 accreditation requirements pursuant to paragraph (2)(b) within 3
50 years after the date it registers with the Department of
51 Education.
52 (b) A boarding school must provide to the Department of
53 Education and the department, letters that verify application
54 for accreditation no later than 270 days before registration.
55 The letters must be provided by an accrediting agency described
56 in subparagraph (2)(b)1. or subparagraph (2)(b)2. Effective July
57 1, 2013, the Department of Education shall remove from the
58 registry and the website any boarding school that has not
59 completed the accreditation requirements of paragraph (2)(b) or
60 has not provided the required verification letters.
61 (c) A boarding school must provide proof of accreditation
62 or documentation of the accreditation process upon request by
63 the department. The school must provide an annual report to the
64 department on the status of achieving the accreditation required
65 in paragraph (2)(b). The first report is due 12 months after the
66 date of registration with the Department of Education. Boarding
67 schools that have obtained the accreditations required under
68 paragraph (2)(b) are not subject to the reporting requirements
69 in this subsection.
70 (d) A boarding school that cannot produce the required
71 documentation in accordance with this subsection or that has not
72 registered with the Department of Education or has not obtained
73 all required accreditation in accordance with paragraph (2)(b),
74 shall be considered to be providing residential group care
75 without a license. The department may impose administrative
76 sanctions or seek civil remedies as provided under paragraph
77 (11)(a).
78 (e) The boarding school must require employees and
79 contracted personnel with direct student contact to be
80 background screened upon employment. The term “direct student
81 contact” means unsupervised access to a student for whom the
82 boarding school is responsible. The screening shall be conducted
83 as provided in chapter 435, using the level 2 standards for
84 screening set forth in that chapter. The department may grant
85 exemptions from disqualification from working with children as
86 provided in s. 435.07.
87 (f) The boarding school shall follow established school
88 schedules and shall specify holiday breaks and summer recesses
89 in accordance with other public and private school programs. The
90 children in residence must customarily return to their family
91 homes or legal guardians during school breaks and, with the
92 exception of students who are citizens of foreign countries, may
93 not be in residence year-round. The parents of children
94 attending a boarding school retain custody of their children and
95 responsibility for planning and finances.
96 Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (10) and
97 subsection (15) of section 409.176, Florida Statutes, are
98 amended to read:
99 409.176 Registration of residential child-caring agencies
100 and family foster homes.—
101 (10)(a) The qualified association shall notify the
102 department within 24 hours when the qualified association finds
103 there is a violation of any of the provisions of this section
104 which threatens harm to any child or which constitutes an
105 emergency requiring immediate action.
106 (b) The qualified association shall notify the department
107 within 3 calendar days when the qualified association finds,
108 within 30 days after written notification by registered mail of
109 the requirement for registration, that a person or facility
110 continues to care for children without a certificate of
111 registration pursuant to this section, a license pursuant to s.
112 409.175, or registration as a boarding school pursuant to s
113 409.175. The department shall notify the appropriate state
114 attorney of the violation of law and, if necessary, shall
115 institute a civil suit to enjoin the person or facility from
116 continuing the care of children.
117 (15) The qualified association issuing certificates of
118 registration for Type II facilities under this section shall
119 annually report to the department the following:
120 (a) The number of Type II facilities registered during the
121 most recent calendar year, the names and addresses of the
122 facilities, and the name of each facility’s administrator., and
123 (b) The total number of children served by each facility
124 during the calendar year.
125 (c) The average length of stay for children at a Type II
126 facility.
127 (d) The number of violations pursuant to paragraph (10)(a)
128 by a Type II facility.
129 (e) A list of persons or facilities, including their
130 addresses, which applied for registration pursuant to this
131 section and were denied or withdrew the request.
132
133 The department may impose an administrative fine against the
134 qualified association not to exceed $250 per violation for
135 failure to comply with the requirements of this subsection.
136 (f) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement
137 this subsection.
138 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.
139
140 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
141 And the title is amended as follows:
142 Delete everything before the enacting clause
143 and insert:
144 A bill to be entitled
145 An act relating to residential services for children;
146 amending s. 409.175, F.S.; revising the definition of
147 the term “boarding school”; providing accreditation
148 requirements for boarding schools; establishing
149 reporting requirements for boarding schools during the
150 accreditation process; providing an exemption for the
151 reporting requirements; authorizing the Department of
152 Children and Families to impose administrative
153 sanctions or civil remedies when residential group
154 care is being provided without a license; requiring
155 background screening for certain boarding school
156 personnel; defining the term “direct student contact”;
157 requiring boarding schools to follow standard school
158 schedules, holiday breaks, and summer recesses;
159 providing that children other than foreign citizens
160 may not be year-round residents; amending s. 409.176,
161 F.S.; providing notification requirements for
162 qualified associations for specified violations;
163 providing reporting requirements for the qualified
164 association regarding Type II facilities; authorizing
165 the Department of Children and Families to adopt
166 rules; providing an effective date.