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 Education
BILL: SB 1496
INTRODUCER: Senator Ausley
SUBJECT: Early Learning Scholarship Program
DATE: March 29, 2021 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Brick Bouck ED Favorable
2. AED
3. AP
I. Summary:
SB 1496 creates the “Brighter Future Act,” which creates s. 1002.56, F.S., to establish an Early
Learning Scholarship program to be administered by the Office of Early Learning in order to
close the opportunity gap by increasing access to high-quality early childhood programs. The bill
provides scholarships for tuition and fees for students to attend early learning programs offered
by qualified school readiness or Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program providers.
The scholarships are subject to an appropriation of state funds.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2021.
II. Present Situation:
Office of Early Learning
The Office of Early Learning (OEL) governs the day-to-day operations of statewide early
learning programs and administers federal and state child care funds. The OEL oversees three
programs—the school readiness program, the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
(VPK), and child care resource and referral services1—and an annual budget of $1.37 billion.2
The OEL is the lead agency in Florida for administering the federal Child Care and Development
Block Grant Trust Fund (CCDF).3 The OEL adopts rules as required for the establishment and
1
Section 20.15(3)(i), F.S.
2
Early Learning Services Program Total, s. 2, ch. 2020-111, L.O.F.
3
Section 1002.82(1), F.S.
BILL: SB 1496 Page 2
operation of the school readiness program and the VPK program.4 The executive director of the
OEL is responsible for administering early learning programs at the state level.
The OEL collects and reports data on Early Learning Coalition (ELC) delivery of early learning
programs, including measures related to progress towards reducing the number of children on the
waiting list, the percentage of children served by the program as compared to the number of
administrative staff and overhead, the percentage of children served compared to total number of
children under the age of 5 years below 150 percent of the federal poverty level, provider
payment processes, fraud intervention, child attendance and stability, use of child care resource
and referral, and kindergarten readiness outcomes for children in the VPK program or the school
readiness program upon entry into kindergarten. The OEL requests input from the coalitions and
school readiness program providers before finalizing the format and data to be used.5
By January 1 of each year, the OEL is required to publish on its website a report of its activities.
The report must include a summary of the ELC annual reports, a statewide summary, and
detailed reports on data related to the delivery of early learning programs.
Early Learning Coalitions
Across the state, 30 regional ELCs and the Redlands Christian Migrant Association are
responsible for delivering local services, including the VPK program and the school readiness
program.6 Each ELC is governed by a board of directors comprised of various stakeholders and
community representatives.7
The School Readiness Program
The school readiness program provides subsidies for child care services and early childhood
education for children of low-income families, children in protective services who are at risk of
abuse, neglect, or abandonment, and children with disabilities.8 The school readiness program
offers financial assistance for child care to support working families and children to develop
skills for success in school and provides developmental screening and referrals to health and
education specialists where needed.9 To participate in the school readiness program, a provider
must execute a school readiness contract.10
4
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.
5
Section 1002.85(5), F.S.
6
The Office of Early Learning, Coalitions, http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/coalitions.aspx (last visited Mar. 25 2021).
See also 1002.83(1), F.S.
7
Section 1002.83(3), F.S.
8
Section 1002.87, F.S.
9
Section 1002.86, F.S.
10
Rule 6M-4.610, F.A.C. Form OEL-SR 20, Statewide School Readiness Provider Contract, available at
http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/Content/Uploads/floridaearlylearning.com/images/FormOEL-
SR20StatewideSRProviderContract_7-8-20_ADA_final.pdf.
BILL: SB 1496 Page 3
During the 2019-2020 academic year, 6,932 school readiness providers served 211,711 children
enrolled in a school readiness program.11
School Readiness Eligibility and Enrollment
Florida law specifies that ELCs must admit children into the school readiness program according
to the following priority:12
 A child younger than 13 years of age from a family that includes a parent who is receiving
temporary cash assistance from the state for Family Self-Sufficiency13 and subject to the
federal work requirements.
 An at-risk14 child younger than nine years of age.
Subsequent priority is given, based on the ELC’s local priorities,15 to children who meet the
following criteria:
 A child from birth to the beginning of the school year for which the child is eligible for
admission to kindergarten in a public school, who is from a working family that is
economically disadvantaged, and may include such child's eligible siblings, beginning with
the school year in which the sibling is eligible for admission to kindergarten in a public
school until the beginning of the school year in which the sibling is eligible to begin grade 6,
provided that the first priority for funding an eligible sibling is local revenues available to the
coalition for funding direct services.
 A child of a parent who transitions from the work program into employment, who is eligible
for transitional child care,16 from birth to the beginning of the school year for which the child
is eligible for admission to kindergarten in a public school.
 An at-risk child who is at least nine years of age but younger than 13 years of age. An at-risk
child whose sibling is enrolled in the school readiness program under the two highest
priorities is given priority over other children who are eligible under this paragraph.
 A child who is younger than 13 years of age from a working family that is economically
disadvantaged.
 A child of a parent who transitions from the work program into employment and is eligible
for transitional child care, who is younger than 13 years of age.
 A child who has special needs, has been determined eligible as a student with a disability, has
a current individual education plan with a Florida school district, and is not younger than
three years of age. A special needs child remains eligible until the child is eligible for
admission to kindergarten in a public school.
 A child who otherwise meets one of the highest two priorities and the highest two subsequent
priorities, who is also enrolled concurrently in the federal Head Start Program and the VPK
program.
11
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 20 (last visited Mar. 25, 2021).
12
Section 1002.87(1), F.S.
13
Chapter 414, F.S.
14
As defined in s. 1002.81(1), F.S.
15
Pursuant to s. 1002.85(2)(j), F.S.
16
As described in s. 445.032, F.S.
BILL: SB 1496 Page 4
School Readiness Program Provider Standards
In order to be eligible to deliver the school readiness program, a provider must be:17
 A licensed child care facility;
 A licensed or registered family day care home;
 A licensed large family child care home;
 A public school or nonpublic school;
 A license-exempt faith-based child care provider;
 A before-school or after-school program; or
 An informal child care provider, as authorized in the CCDF plan.18
School readiness providers must participate in a program assessment.
Program Assessment
The OEL has adopted a program assessment for school readiness program providers 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
birth to five years.19 The OEL has selected the Teachstone Classroom Assessment Scoring
System (CLASS) Assessment Tool as the program assessment, and requirements for
observations and observers are provided in the Program Assessment Requirements Handbook.20
CLASS observations must be provided by each ELC annually and observers who administer the
CLASS must be certified for the age group of the classroom being observed. Certification is
achieved by completing and passing all trainings and assessments required by Teachstone to
conduct a CLASS observation; only ELC staff, OEL vendors, or ELC designees may conduct an
observation.21
All school readiness providers must receive an annual program assessment and meet the required
minimum program assessment composite score prior to executing a school readiness contract.22
No providers failed to earn the minimum program assessment score for eligibility to contract to
deliver the school readiness program for the 2019-2020 program year.23
School Readiness Funding
Funding for the school readiness program is allocated among the ELCs according to law and the
General Appropriations Act.24 The school readiness program is funded primarily by the CCDF
17
Section 1002.88(1), F.S.
18
Section 1002.88(1)(a). Generally speaking, informal child care is care provided by a relative. See Florida Office of Early
Learning, Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Plan FFY 2019-2021 at 80, available at
http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/Content/Uploads/floridaearlylearning.com/files/CCDBG_FY2019-
2021CCDFPlanFINAL_FINAL_4.9.19.pdf.
19
Section 1002.82(2)(n), F.S.
20
See Form OEL-SR 740, incorporated by reference in rule 6M-4.740, F.A.C.; Florida’s Office of Early Learning,
Classroom Assessment Scoring System (2018). See also OEL, Classroom Assessment Scoring System (2018),
http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/Content/Uploads/floridaearlylearning.com/files/CLASS%20FAQ_ADA.pdf (last visited
Mar. 25, 2021).
21
See Form OEL-SR 740 at 1, incorporated by reference in rule 6M-4.740, F.A.C.
22
Rule 6M-4.741, F.A.C.
23
Email, Florida Department of Education (Dec. 15, 2020).
24
Section 1002.89(1), F.S.
BILL: SB 1496 Page 5
block grant.25 State, federal, and local matching funds provided to an ELC for purposes of the
school readiness program must be used for implementation of its approved school readiness
program plan, including the hiring of staff to effectively operate the school readiness program. 26
For Fiscal Year 2020-2021, a total of $895.9 million was appropriated for the school readiness
program from state and federal funds.27
The OEL establishes procedures for the adoption of a market rate schedule for the school
readiness program. The schedule must include, at a minimum, county-by-county rates,
differentiated by type of child care provider and the type of child care services provided.
Reimbursement rates for school readiness providers are paid based on a child’s care level and
unit of care as defined by the ELC’s approved provider rate schedule for the county in which the
provider’s facility is located.28 ELCs are required to consider the market rate schedule in the
adoption of a payment schedule.
The payment schedule must consider the average market rate, include the projected number of
children to be served, and be submitted for approval by the OEL. Informal child care
arrangements may be reimbursed at no more than 50 percent of the rate adopted for a family day
care home.29
The 2019 market rate report includes a state summary that reflects market rates by provider type
and service type. For example, for private centers without a special designation, the average
market rate was $36.71 for services provided to infants, and the 75th percentile rate was $40.00,
and the reimbursement rate was $30.00.
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.30 In 2004, the State established a free VPK program offered to
eligible four-year-old children.31 Parents may choose either a school-year or summer program
offered by either a public or private school.32 $412.2 million was appropriated from General
Revenue for the VPK program in the 2020 General Appropriations Act, which included a base
25
The Office of Early Learning, 2019-2021 Child Care Development Fund State Plan,
http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/oel_resources/ccdf_plan.aspx (last visited Mar. 25, 2021).
26
Section 1002.89(5), F.S.
27
Specific Appropriation 85, s. 2, ch. 2020-111, L.O.F.
28
Rule 6M-4.500, F.A.C.
29
Section 1002.895, F.S.
30
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.
31
Section 1, ch. 2004-484, L.O.F.; part V, ch. 1002, F.S.; see also Art. IX, s. 1(b)-(c), Fla. Const.
32
Section 1002.53(3), F.S.
BILL: SB 1496 Page 6
student allocation of $2,486 for the school-year program.33 During the 2019-2020 academic year,
the VPK program served 156,956 students.34
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 county
or multi-county service area.35 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.36
Statewide Kindergarten Readiness Screening
The Department of Education (DOE) has adopted a statewide kindergarten readiness screening,
the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS),37 and requires each school district to
administer the statewide kindergarten readiness screening within the first 30 days of each school
year.38 The screening must measure 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.39
Kindergarten student scores on the FLKRS administered during the first 30 days of the school
year must demonstrate a score of at least 500 on the Star Early Literacy assessment to be
considered “ready for kindergarten.” For the fall 2019 administration of FLKRS, 53 percent of
190,805 kindergarten students were designated as “ready for kindergarten.”40
Kindergarten Readiness Rate
The OEL annually calculates a kindergarten readiness rate for each VPK provider based on
results of the annual readiness screening.41 The readiness rates are expressed as the percentage of
children whose scores demonstrate readiness for kindergarten.