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 1282
INTRODUCER: Appropriations Committee (Recommended by Appropriations Subcommittee on
Education); and Senator Harrell
SUBJECT: Early Learning and Early Grade Success
DATE: April 22, 2021 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Brick Bouck ED Favorable
2. Underhill Elwell AED Recommend: Fav/CS
3. Underhill Sadberry AP Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 1282 expands accountability and assessment requirements for Voluntary Prekindergarten
Education Program (VPK) providers. Specifically, the bill requires:
A coordinated screening and progress monitoring program (CSPM) for students in VPK
through grade 3 to provide information on students' progress in mastering the appropriate
grade-level standards to parents, teachers, and school and program administrators.
Beginning in the 2022-2023 program year, a program assessment composite score for each
VPK provider based on the results of a program assessment that measures the quality of
teacher-child interactions, including emotional and behavioral support, engaged support for
learning, classroom organization, and instructional support for children ages 3 to 5 years, in
each VPK classroom.
A performance metric that provides a score to each VPK provider based on the results of the
CSPM, including learning gains, and the program assessment, beginning in the 2022-2023
program year.
The assignment of a performance designation for VPK providers beginning with the 2023-
2024 program year.
The bill creates the Council for Early Grade Success within the Department of Education (DOE)
to oversee the CSPM and requires the new screenings and assessments to be administered by
qualified individuals.
BILL: CS/SB 1282 Page 2
The bill modifies the market rate schedule paid to school readiness providers to require a market
rate schedule based on the prevailing market rate. The bill authorizes early learning coalitions to
adopt an alternative payment schedule that has been approved by the federal Administration for
Children and Families. The bill also transfers the Gold Seal Quality Care program to the Office
of Early Learning (OEL) from the Department of Children and Families and adds standards for
accrediting associations.
The bill will have a significant negative fiscal to the state to implement the new coordinated
screening and progress monitoring program and to implement the VPK program assessment. See
Section V.
The bill takes effect upon becoming a law.
II. Present Situation:
State Level Governance
Department of Education
The Department of Education (DOE) is the administrative and supervisory agency under the
implementation direction of the State Board of Education (SBE).1 The Commissioner of
Education (commissioner) is appointed by the SBE and serves as the executive director of the
DOE. The DOE includes the Office of Early Learning (OEL), which is administered by an
executive director who is fully accountable to the commissioner.2
Office of Early Learning
The OEL administers the school readiness program and the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
Program (VPK)3—and an annual budget of $1.37 billion.4 The OEL is the lead agency in Florida
for administering the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant Trust Fund (CCDF).5
The OEL adopts rules as required for the establishment and operation of the school readiness
program and the VPK program.6 The executive director of the OEL is responsible for
administering early learning programs at the state level. The OEL administers statewide the child
care resource and referral (CCR&R) network, which provides information about state-funded
early learning programs, provides families with a customized listing of child care providers, is
used to document requests for services, and provides technical assistance to providers.7
1
Section 1001.20(1), F.S.
2
Section 20.15, F.S.
3
Id.
4
Early Learning Services Program Total, s. 2, ch. 2020-111, L.O.F.
5
Section 1002.82(1), F.S.
6
The OEL is required to submit the rules to the State Board of Education for approval or disapproval. If the state board does
not act on a rule within 60 days after receipt, the rule shall be immediately filed with the Department of State. Section
1001.213, F.S.
7
See ss. 1001.213(5), 1002.82(2)(f)1.b., and 1002.92(1) and (3), F.S.; Florida Office of Early Learning, Welcome to
Florida’s Early Learning Family Portal, https://familyservices.floridaearlylearning.com/ (last visited Mar. 19, 2021); see
also Florida’s Office of Early Learning, Family Resources: Find Quality Child Care,
http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/family-resources/find-quality-child-care/locate-a-child-care-resource-referral-service
(last visited Mar. 19, 2021).
BILL: CS/SB 1282 Page 3
The OEL employs an inspector general, as required by law, to promote accountability, integrity,
and efficiency in the administration of early learning programs. Statutory duties of the inspector
general include the duty to advise the OEL in the development of performance measures,
standards, and procedures employed by the OEL.8
Early Learning Coalitions
The OEL governs the day-to-day operations of statewide early learning programs and
administers federal and state child care funds. Across the state, 30 regional early learning
coalitions (ELCs) and the Redlands Christian Migrant Association are responsible for delivering
local services, including the VPK program and the school readiness program.9 Each ELC is
governed by a board of directors comprised of various stakeholders and community
representatives.10 The SBE does not have authority over ELCs, and early learning data is not
collected in the K-20 student database as part of the management information databases
governed by the SBE.11
Child Care Executive Partnership Program
A body politic and corporate known as the Child Care Executive Partnership governs the Child
Care Executive Partnership (CCEP) Program. The purpose of the CCEP Program is to use state
and federal funds as incentives for matching local funds derived from local governments,
employers, charitable foundations, and other sources so that Florida communities may create
local flexible partnerships with employers. The CCEP Program funds are used at the discretion
of local communities to meet the needs of working parents.12 The CCEP Program was not funded
in the 2020 fiscal year.13
The Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
The Florida Constitution requires the State to provide every four-year old child a high quality
pre-kindergarten learning opportunity in the form of an early childhood development and
education program which must be voluntary, high quality, free, and delivered according to
professionally accepted standards.14 In 2004, the State established a free Voluntary
Prekindergarten (VPK) program offered to eligible four-year-old children.15 Parents may choose
either a school-year or summer program offered by either a public or private school.16 For the
2020-2021 year, $412.2 million was appropriated from General Revenue for the VPK program in
8
Section 20.055(1), F.S.
9
The Office of Early Learning, Coalitions, http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/coalitions.aspx (last visited Mar. 19, 2021).
See also 1002.83(1), F.S.
10
Section 1002.83(3), F.S.
11
Florida Department of Education, Agency Legislative Bill Analysis for HB 1013 (2020), at 13.
12
Section 1002.94, F.S.
13
Chapter 2020-111, L.O.F.
14
Art. IX, s. 1(b), Fla. Const. An early childhood development and education program means an organized program designed
to address and enhance each child's ability to make age appropriate progress in an appropriate range of settings in the
development of language and cognitive capabilities and emotional, social, regulatory and moral capacities through education
in basic skills and such other skills as the Legislature may determine to be appropriate.
15
Section 1, ch. 2004-484, L.O.F.; part V, ch. 1002, F.S.; see also Art. IX, s. 1(b)-(c), Fla. Const.
16
Section 1002.53(3), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1282 Page 4
the 2020 General Appropriations Act.17 During the 2019-2020 academic year, the VPK program
served 156,956 students.18
ELCs and school districts administer the VPK program at the county or regional level. Each ELC
is the single point of entry for VPK program registration and enrollment in the coalition’s service
area. A local ELC must coordinate with the local school district in the ELC’s service area to
develop procedures for enrolling children in public school VPK programs.19
The OEL adopts procedures governing the administration of the VPK program for ELCs and
school districts, including procedures for:
Enrolling children and documenting and certifying student enrollment and student
attendance.
Providing parents with profiles of VPK providers.
Registering private prekindergarten providers and public schools to deliver the program.
Determining the eligibility of private prekindergarten providers to deliver the program and
streamlining the process of provider eligibility whenever possible.
Verifying the compliance and removing VPK providers from eligibility to deliver the
program due to noncompliance or misconduct.
Placing schools on probation and requiring corrective actions.
Paying VPK providers.
Reconciling advance payments in accordance with the uniform attendance policy.
Reenrolling students dismissed by a VPK provider for noncompliance with the VPK
provider’s attendance policy.
Approving improvement plans.
Approving and paying specialized instructional services providers.20
The OEL consults with the DOE regarding procedures implemented by ELCs and school
districts for administering corrective action to VPK providers and administering the VPK
program for specialized instructional services for children with disabilities.21
VPK Instructor Requirements
A VPK provider offering a school-year VPK program must have, for each class, at least one
instructor with:
A Child Development Associate (CDA) issued by the National Credentialing Program of the
Council for Professional Recognition; or
A credential approved by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) as being
equivalent to or greater than the CDA; and
17
Specific Appropriation 88, s. 2, ch. 2020-111, L.O.F.
18
Florida Office of Early Learning, 2019-20 Annual Report, available at
http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/Content/Uploads/floridaearlylearning.com/files/2019-
20%20OEL%20Annual%20Report%20FINAL%2012-29-30-GA(1).pdf, at 8 (last visited Mar. 19, 2021).
19
Section 1002.53(4), F.S.
20
Section 1002.75(2), F.S.
21
Section 1002.67(3), F.S.; see also s. 1002.66, F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1282 Page 5
Five clock hours of training in emergent literacy and successful completion of a student
performance standards training course.22
An instructor in a school-year VPK program implemented by a public school district must meet
the same qualifications that are required of a private VPK program instructor, in addition to
standard employment requirements for all instructional personnel in public schools.23 A school-
year VPK provider must have a second adult instructor for each class of 12 or more students;
however, the second instructor is not required to meet the same qualifications as the lead
instructor.24
In lieu of the minimum credentials listed above, a private VPK program instructor may hold:
An associate’s or higher degree in child development;
An associate’s or higher degree in an unrelated field, at least six credit hours in early
childhood education or child development, and at least 480 hours of teaching or providing
child care services for children any age from birth through eight years of age;
A bachelor’s or higher degree in early childhood education, prekindergarten or primary
education, preschool education, or family and consumer science;
A bachelor’s or higher degree in elementary education, if the instructor has been certified to
teach children any age from birth through grade 6, regardless of whether the educator
certificate is current; or
An educational credential approved by the OEL as being equivalent to or greater than any of
these educational credentials.25
The OEL sets minimum standards for emergent literacy training courses for VPK instructors.
Each course must be at least five clock hours long and provide strategies and techniques
regarding the age-appropriate progress of prekindergarten students in developing emergent
literacy skills. Each emergent literacy course must also provide strategies for helping students
with disabilities and other special needs maximize their benefit from the VPK program.
Each course on performance standards must be at least three clock hours, provide instruction in
strategies and techniques to address age-appropriate progress of each child in attaining the
standards, and be available online.26
VPK Performance Standards
The OEL develops and adopts performance standards for students in VPK programs. The
performance standards must address the age-appropriate progress of students in the development
of:
22
Sections 1002.55(3)(c)1.a. and 2., 1002.59, and 1002.63(4), F.S. An active Birth Through Five Child Care Credential
awarded as a Florida Child Care Professional Credential, Florida Department of Education Child Care Apprenticeship
Certificate, or Early Childhood Professional Certificate satisfies the staff credential requirement. Florida Department of
Children and Families, Child Care Facility Handbook (2019), incorporated by reference in Rule 65C-22.001(7), F.A.C.
23
Sections 1002.63(5)-(6), F.S.; see also Florida Department of Education, Technical Assistance Paper: VPK Instructor
Qualifications #07-01, at 2 (Jan. 2007), available at
https://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-4196/07-02att1.pdf.
24
Sections 1002.55(3)(f) and 1002.63(7), F.S.
25
Section 1002.55(4), F.S.
26
Section 1002.59(1) and (2), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1282 Page 6
The capabilities, capacities, and skills required in the development of language and cognitive
capabilities and emotional, social, regulatory and moral capacities.
Emergent literacy skills, including oral communication, knowledge of print and letters,
phonemic and phonological awareness, and vocabulary and comprehension development.27
Each VPK provider's curriculum must be developmentally appropriate, designed to prepare a
student for early literacy, enhance age-appropriate student progress in attaining state-adopted
performance standards, and prepare students to be ready for kindergarten based on the statewide
kindergarten screening.28
Statewide Kindergarten Readiness Screening
The DOE has adopted a statewide kindergarten readiness screening, the Florida Kindergarten
Readiness Screener (FLKRS),29 and requires each school district to administer the statewide
kindergarten readiness screening within the first 30 days of each school year.30 The screening
measures a child’s readiness for kindergarten in eight domains: physical development;
approaches to learning; social and emotional development; language and literacy; mathematical
thinking; scientific inquiry; social studies; and creative expression through the arts.31
Kindergarten student scores must demonstrate a score of at least 500 on the screening assessment
to be considered “ready for kindergarten.” For the fall 2019 administration of the screening
assessment, 53 percent of 190,805 kindergarten students were designated as “ready for
kindergarten.”32
Kindergarten Rea