The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Appropriations
BILL: CS/SB 486
INTRODUCER: Education Committee and Senator Bradley
SUBJECT: Juvenile Justice Education Programs
DATE: April 16, 2021 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Jahnke Bouck ED Fav/CS
2. Underhill Elwell AED Recommend: Favorable
3. Underhill Sadberry AP Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 486 modifies how juvenile justice education programs are operated and funded. These
modifications include how instructional time is defined and how funds are allocated between
school districts and educational providers. Specifically, the bill:
Provides for equivalent hours of instruction in the definition of “juvenile justice education
programs or schools” for nonresidential programs.
Requires that at least 95 percent of Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) funds
generated by a student in Department of Juvenile Justice programs or specified education
program for juveniles must be spent on instructional costs.
Requires all contracts between district school boards and juvenile justice education programs
to be in writing.
Requires timely satisfaction of invoices by district school boards, with a penalty for late
payments.
Specifies that district school boards may not delay payment of funds owed to juvenile justice
education programs pending receipt of local funds.
The bill has no impact on state revenues or expenditures. However districts will be required to
spend an additional 5% of the FEFP funds generated by the Department of Juvenile Justice
students on instructional costs. See Section V.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2021.
BILL: CS/SB 486 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Juvenile Justice Education Programs and Schools
Juvenile justice education programs or schools operate for the purpose of providing educational
services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) programs, for a school year comprised
of 250 days of instruction distributed over 12 months. At the request of the provider, a district
school board may decrease the minimum number of days of instruction by up to 10 days for
teacher planning for residential programs and up to 20 days for teacher planning for
nonresidential programs, subject to the approval of the DJJ and the Department of Education
(DOE).1
A juvenile justice provider is the DJJ, the sheriff, or a private, public, or other governmental
organization under contract with the DJJ or the sheriff that provides treatment, care and custody,
or educational programs for youth in juvenile justice intervention, detention, or commitment
programs.2
Educational Services in DJJ Programs
The DOE acts as the lead agency for juvenile justice education programs and sets the standards
for curriculum and other support services.3
Students who do not attend a local public school due to their placement in a DJJ detention,
prevention, residential, or day treatment program are provided high-quality and effective
educational programs by the local school district in which the DJJ facility is located or by an
education provider through a contract with the local school district.4 Each program must be
conducted according to applicable law providing for the operation of public schools and rules of
the State Board of Education.5
The district school board must make provisions for each student to participate in basic, Career
and Professional Education (CAPE), and exceptional student programs, as appropriate. Students
served in DJJ education programs must have access to the appropriate courses and instruction to
prepare them for the high school equivalency examination. School districts must provide the high
school equivalency examination exit option for all juvenile justice education programs.6
With the assistance of the school districts and juvenile justice education providers, the DOE must
select a common student assessment instrument and protocol for measuring student learning
gains and student progression while a student is in a juvenile justice education program.7
1
Section 1003.01(11)(a), F.S.
2
Section 1003.01(11)(b), F.S.
3
Section 1003.52(1), F.S.
4
Rule 6A-6.05281(2), F.A.C.
5
Section 1003.52(3)(a), F.S.
6
Id.
7
Section 1003.52(3)(b), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 486 Page 3
Funding of Students Enrolled in Juvenile Justice Education Programs
Funding for eligible students enrolled in juvenile justice education programs is provided through
the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP).8 Students participating in high school
equivalency examination preparation programs are funded at the basic program cost factor for
DJJ programs in the FEFP.9
Funding of instruction in a standard school is limited to 900 hours for a student in Grade 4
through Grade 12 and 720 hours for a student in Kindergarten through Grade 3. DJJ programs
are permitted to receive funding for instruction provided beyond the 180 day limit. DJJ students,
both residential and nonresidential, are funded for one FTE (900 hours or 180 days of instruction
during the regular school year) and up to an additional 45 days (or 350 hours) of instruction
during the summer, for a total of 250 days of instruction. DJJ programs are the only exception to
the summer school earning and reporting of FTE because their programs are year-round.10
An hourly equivalent for the 250 days of instruction has not been established in statute,
administrative rule, or through DOE guidelines. Flexibility within the 25-hour week was
provided to DJJ programs through an October 2010 DOE technical assistance paper. However,
when rule 6A-6.05281 of the Florida Administrative Code, was amended, the flexibility was
removed.11
At least 90 percent of the FEFP funds generated by students in DJJ programs or in an education
program for juveniles must be spent on instructional costs for those students.12
One hundred percent of the formula-based categorical funds13 generated by students in DJJ
programs must be spent on appropriate categoricals, such as instructional materials and public
school technology for those students.14
Contracts with Providers
Each school district that provides educational services to students in a DJJ facility must negotiate
a cooperative agreement with DJJ and may negotiate educational service contracts with private
education service providers if they do not directly provide the education services.15 The district
school board of the county in which the juvenile justice education prevention, day treatment,
residential, or detention program is located must provide or contract for appropriate educational
assessments and an appropriate program of instruction and special education services.16 Such
contracts must include the following:
8
Section 1011.62, F.S.
9
Section 1003.52(3)(a), F.S.
10
Section 1011.61, F.S.
11
Department of Education, Senate Bill 486 Legislative Bill Analysis (Jan. 11, 2021) (on file with the Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee on Education).
12
Section 1003.51(2)(i), F.S.
13
Section 1011.62(10), F.S.
14
Section 1003.51(2)(i), F.S.
15
Florida Department of Education, Developing Effective Education in the Department of Juvenile Justice Annual Report
2019-2019 available at http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7567/urlt/DevEffEduDJJ1819.pdf.
16
Section 1003.52(3), F.S. and Rule 6A-6.05281(9), F.A.C.
BILL: CS/SB 486 Page 4
Payment structure and amounts;
Access to district services;
Contract management provisions;
Data maintenance and reporting requirements;
Administrative guidelines and oversight of federal programs; and
Require that all educational services comply with this rule.17
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
The bill modifies how juvenile justice education programs are operated and funded. These
modifications include how instructional time is defined and how funds are allocated between
school districts and educational providers.
The bill modifies the definition of “juvenile justice education programs or schools” by allowing
for the number of instructional days, currently 250 days over 12 months, to be expressed in
equivalent hours for nonresidential programs. These hours must be specified by the State Board
of Education (SBE) and reviewed annually. Further, the bill specifies that current law
authorizing a district school board to decrease the minimum number of days of instruction by up
to 20 days for nonresidential programs may also be expressed in hours, subject to SBE rule. In
any case, a DJJ nonresidential program will still be funded based on one FTE (900 hours) for the
regular school year and up to 350 hours (.38 FTE) during the summer school period.
The bill adjusts the requirements for Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) funds generated
by students in Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) or juvenile delinquency education programs.
The bill increases the funding amounts that must be spent on instructional cost for students from
90 percent to 95 percent of the funds generated. Increasing the percentage of FEFP dollars that
must be provided to a DJJ educational program for instructional cost from 90 percent to 95
percent would have a 5 percent reduction for school districts in administrative dollars which are
often used to provide accountability oversight.18 Districts that have a high administrative
overhead may have difficulty providing the same level of administrative support and oversight
within the five percent of funds generated by the DJJ program FEFP. If that is the case, then the
supplemental administrative funds will have to be provided from some other source.
The bill provides additional requirements for contracts between district school boards and
juvenile justice education programs. Specifically, the bill requires:
All contracts to be in writing between district school boards desiring to contract directly with
juvenile justice education programs to provide academic instruction.
New or renewal contracts to be executed and negotiated within 40 days after the district
school board provides the proposal, unless both parties agree to an extension.
District school boards to satisfy invoices issued by the juvenile justice education program
within 15 working days after receipt.
o If a district school board does not timely issue a warrant for payment, it must pay to the
juvenile justice education program interest at a rate of one percent per month, calculated
17
Rule 6A-6.05281(9), F.A.C.
18
Department of Juvenile Justice, Legislative Bill Analysis for SB 486 (Jan. 25, 2021).
BILL: CS/SB 486 Page 5
on a daily basis, on the unpaid balance until such time as a warrant is issued for the
invoice and accrued interest amount.
o District school boards may not delay payment to a juvenile justice education program of
any portion of funds owed pending the district’s receipt of local funds.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2021.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
This bill has no impact on state appropriations; however, it does affect school district
expenditure of funds for DJJ programs.
The requirement for school districts to spend 95 percent of the funds generated by DJJ
students on instructional costs for those students, an increase of 5 percent over the
BILL: CS/SB 486 Page 6
percentage required under current law, may result in approximately an additional $2.1
million being spent on instructional costs by districts for DJJ students.19
This would be a 5% reduction in administrative dollars for the districts, which are often
used to provide accountability oversight.20 Districts that have high administrative
overhead for the DJJ programs may be challenged to provide the same level of
administrative and accountability support within the funds generated by the DJJ program
FEFP. If that is the case, then supplemental administrative funds will have to be provided
from some other source.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends the following sections of the Florida Statutes:
1003.01, 1003.51, and 1003.52.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Substantial Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS by Education on March 2, 2021:
The committee substitute:
o Clarifies that the use of equivalent instructional days expressed in hours is only
applicable to nonresidential programs.
o Removes redundant language regarding equivalent hours as specified in the State
Board of Education rule.
o Modifies the length of time district school boards must satisfy invoices issued by
juvenile justice programs from 10 working days to 15 working days.
o Removes the requirement that district school boards provide proposed contracts to
juvenile justice education programs by April 1.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.
19
Department of Education, Senate Bill 486 Legislative Bill Analysis (Jan. 11, 2021) (on file with the Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee on Education).
20
Department of Juvenile Justice, Senate Bill 486 Legislative Bill Analysis (Jan. 25, 2021) (on file with the Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education).
Statutes affected: S 486 Filed: 1003.01, 1003.51
S 486 c1: 1003.01, 1003.51