Bill Text: FL S1254 | 2011 | Regular Session | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Auditory-oral Education Programs

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [S1254 Detail]

Download: Florida-2011-S1254-Comm_Sub.html
       Florida Senate - 2011                      CS for CS for SB 1254
       
       
       
       By the Committees on Budget Subcommittee on Education Pre-K - 12
       Appropriations; and Education Pre-K - 12; and Senators Wise and
       Richter
       
       
       602-04489-11                                          20111254c2
    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. 1002.66, F.S.; adding
   22         Listening and Spoken Language specialists and an
   23         appropriate acoustical environment to the list of
   24         specialized instructional services from which a parent
   25         with an eligible child may choose; amending s.
   26         1003.01, F.S.; adding services provided by a certified
   27         Listening and Spoken Language specialist to the
   28         definition of the term “special education services”;
   29         amending s. 1011.62, F.S.; revising provisions
   30         relating to the funding model for exceptional student
   31         education programs to require the Department of
   32         Education to review and revise the descriptions of
   33         services and supports in the matrix of services used
   34         to determine exceptional education cost factors;
   35         providing an effective date.
   36  
   37  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   38  
   39         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Auditory Oral
   40  Education Act.”
   41         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section
   42  1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   43         1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public
   44  school students must receive accurate and timely information
   45  regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed
   46  of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12
   47  students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory
   48  rights including, but not limited to, the following:
   49         (6) EDUCATIONAL CHOICE.—
   50         (a) Public school choices.—Parents of public school
   51  students may seek whatever public school choice options that are
   52  applicable to their students and are available to students in
   53  their school districts. These options may include controlled
   54  open enrollment, single-gender programs, lab schools, school
   55  district virtual instruction programs, charter schools, charter
   56  technical career centers, magnet schools, alternative schools,
   57  special programs, auditory-oral education programs, advanced
   58  placement, dual enrollment, International Baccalaureate,
   59  International General Certificate of Secondary Education (pre
   60  AICE), Advanced International Certificate of Education, early
   61  admissions, credit by examination or demonstration of
   62  competency, the New World School of the Arts, the Florida School
   63  for the Deaf and the Blind, and the Florida Virtual School.
   64  These options may also include the public school choice options
   65  of the Opportunity Scholarship Program and the McKay
   66  Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program.
   67         Section 3. Section 1002.391, Florida Statutes, is created
   68  to read:
   69         1002.391 Auditory-oral education programs.—
   70         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   71         (a) “Auditory-oral education program” means a program that
   72  develops and relies solely on listening skills and uses an
   73  implant or assistive hearing device for the purpose of relying
   74  on speech and spoken language skills as the method of
   75  communication.
   76         (b) “Deaf or hard of hearing” means aided or unaided
   77  hearing loss that impacts the processing of linguistic
   78  information and adversely affects performance in the educational
   79  environment. The degree of loss may range from mild to profound
   80  in accordance with the criteria established by rule of the State
   81  Board of Education.
   82         (c) “School” means a public or private school located in
   83  this state which meets the following requirements:
   84         1. Is accredited by OPTION Schools, Inc., to teach children
   85  who have obtained an implant or assistive hearing device; or
   86         2. Has a supervisor and a majority of the faculty who
   87  provide direct services to children and who are certified by the
   88  AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language as Listening
   89  and Spoken Language Specialists.
   90         (2)(a) The parent of a child who meets the requirements in
   91  paragraph (b) may enroll the child in an auditory-oral education
   92  program at a school of choice under s. 1002.20.
   93         (b) Any child who is deaf or hard of hearing and who
   94  enrolls in an auditory-oral education program at a school, as
   95  defined in this section, may continue attending the school and
   96  complete the development of listening and spoken language skills
   97  at the school if the child:
   98         1. Has received an implant or assistive hearing device;
   99         2.a. Is between the ages of 3 and 7 years; or
  100         b. Is between the ages of 2 and 7 years when the school
  101  district elects to serve children with disabilities who are
  102  under the age of 3 years; and
  103         3. Is a resident of the state.
  104         (3) The level of services shall be determined by the
  105  individual educational plan team or individualized family
  106  support plan team, which includes the child’s parent in
  107  accordance with the rules of the State Board of Education. A
  108  child is eligible for services under this section until the end
  109  of the school year in which he or she reaches the age of 7 years
  110  or after grade 2, whichever comes first.
  111         Section 4. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (2) of
  112  section 1002.66, Florida Statutes, to read:
  113         1002.66 Specialized instructional services for children
  114  with disabilities.—
  115         (2) The parent of a child who is eligible for the
  116  prekindergarten program for children with disabilities may
  117  select one or more specialized instructional services that are
  118  consistent with the child’s individual educational plan. These
  119  specialized instructional services may include, but are not
  120  limited to:
  121         (e) Listening and Spoken Language specialists and an
  122  appropriate acoustical environment for any child who is deaf or
  123  hard of hearing who has received an implant or assistive hearing
  124  device.
  125         Section 5. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section
  126  1003.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  127         1003.01 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
  128         (3)
  129         (b) “Special education services” means specially designed
  130  instruction and such related services as are necessary for an
  131  exceptional student to benefit from education. Such services may
  132  include: transportation; diagnostic and evaluation services;
  133  social services; physical and occupational therapy; speech and
  134  language pathology services; job placement; orientation and
  135  mobility training; braillists, typists, and readers for the
  136  blind; interpreters and auditory amplification; services
  137  provided by a certified Listening and Spoken Language
  138  specialist; rehabilitation counseling; transition services;
  139  mental health services; guidance and career counseling;
  140  specified materials, assistive technology devices, and other
  141  specialized equipment; and other such services as approved by
  142  rules of the state board.
  143         Section 6. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section
  144  1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  145         1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual
  146  allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
  147  district for operation of schools is not determined in the
  148  annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
  149  the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
  150  follows:
  151         (1) COMPUTATION OF THE BASIC AMOUNT TO BE INCLUDED FOR
  152  OPERATION.—The following procedure shall be followed in
  153  determining the annual allocation to each district for
  154  operation:
  155         (e) Funding model for exceptional student education
  156  programs.—
  157         1.a. The funding model uses basic, at-risk, support levels
  158  IV and V for exceptional students and career Florida Education
  159  Finance Program cost factors, and a guaranteed allocation for
  160  exceptional student education programs. Exceptional education
  161  cost factors are determined by using a matrix of services to
  162  document the services that each exceptional student will
  163  receive. The nature and intensity of the services indicated on
  164  the matrix shall be consistent with the services described in
  165  each exceptional student’s individual educational plan. The
  166  Department of Education shall review and revise the descriptions
  167  of the services and supports included in the matrix of services
  168  for exceptional students and shall implement those revisions
  169  before the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year.
  170         b. In order to generate funds using one of the two weighted
  171  cost factors, a matrix of services must be completed at the time
  172  of the student’s initial placement into an exceptional student
  173  education program and at least once every 3 years by personnel
  174  who have received approved training. Nothing listed in the
  175  matrix shall be construed as limiting the services a school
  176  district must provide in order to ensure that exceptional
  177  students are provided a free, appropriate public education.
  178         c. Students identified as exceptional, in accordance with
  179  chapter 6A-6, Florida Administrative Code, who do not have a
  180  matrix of services as specified in sub-subparagraph b. shall
  181  generate funds on the basis of full-time-equivalent student
  182  membership in the Florida Education Finance Program at the same
  183  funding level per student as provided for basic students.
  184  Additional funds for these exceptional students will be provided
  185  through the guaranteed allocation designated in subparagraph 2.
  186         2. For students identified as exceptional who do not have a
  187  matrix of services and students who are gifted in grades K
  188  through 8, there is created a guaranteed allocation to provide
  189  these students with a free appropriate public education, in
  190  accordance with s. 1001.42(4)(m) and rules of the State Board of
  191  Education, which shall be allocated annually to each school
  192  district in the amount provided in the General Appropriations
  193  Act. These funds shall be in addition to the funds appropriated
  194  on the basis of FTE student membership in the Florida Education
  195  Finance Program, and the amount allocated for each school
  196  district shall not be recalculated during the year. These funds
  197  shall be used to provide special education and related services
  198  for exceptional students and students who are gifted in grades K
  199  through 8. Beginning with the 2007-2008 fiscal year, a
  200  district’s expenditure of funds from the guaranteed allocation
  201  for students in grades 9 through 12 who are gifted may not be
  202  greater than the amount expended during the 2006-2007 fiscal
  203  year for gifted students in grades 9 through 12.
  204         Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

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