6M-8.210. Reenrollment in the Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Education Program

(1) Definitions. As used in this rule:

(a) “Program type” means either a school-year VPK program or a summer VPK program.

(b) “Substantial completion” means a child has been enrolled in a VPK provider’s program for more than 70 percent of the instructional hours for the program type or has expended more than 70 percent of the funding authorized for a child enrolled in VPK Specialized Instructional Services (SIS) under Section 1002.66, F.S.

(2) General Reenrollment Conditions:

(a) A VPK child may not be reenrolled except as described in this rule.

(b) A child may only reenroll with a VPK provider during the program year(s) for which the child is eligible in accordance with Section 1002.53(2), F.S. Age and residential eligibility documentation does not need to be resubmitted in order for a child to reenroll as described in this rule.

(c) This rule shall not be construed to allow a child to be enrolled simultaneously with multiple VPK providers.

(d) The following circumstances that occur before a VPK program’s scheduled instruction hours have completed do not constitute a reenrollment for a child under this rule:

1. When the VPK provider that a child is attending is sold or transferred during the VPK program, and the new owner continues providing VPK services at the same physical location.

2. When a child’s VPK provider executes a new Statewide Provider Contract during the program year.

3. When the owner of a VPK provider moves the physical location and staff of the VPK program.

(3) Reenrollment for Good Cause Within Same VPK Program Type. “Reenrollment for good cause” occurs when a child withdraws from a VPK provider, after the child has attended a portion of the VPK instructional hours and enrolls with a new VPK provider of the same VPK program type. For funding purposes, a child reenrolled under this subsection may not exceed one full-time equivalent (FTE) student, as defined by Section 1002.71(2), F.S. There are two categories of reenrollment for good cause: primary reenrollment due to good cause and subsequent reenrollment exemption due to good cause.

(a) Primary reenrollment due to good cause. A child may withdraw from his or her initial VPK provider and reenroll at another VPK provider within the same program type if the child is granted a primary reenrollment due to good cause under this paragraph. The following criteria must be met for a child to be granted a primary reenrollment due to good cause:

1. The child has attended a portion of the VPK program but has not substantially completed the VPK program;

2. The child has not previously reenrolled in the VPK program,

3. The child’s parent completes and submits Form DEL-VPK 05, Reenrollment Application, (September 2023), on https://familyservices.floridaearlylearning.com, by using personal means or with assistance available at an early learning coalition. Form DEL-VPK 05 (September) is hereby incorporated by reference, and a copy may be obtained at (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-15925); and

4. One of the following circumstances is applicable to the child (documentation is not required):

a. The illness of the child, an individual living in the child’s household, an individual which the child’s parent is responsible for caring for, or the child’s parent, sibling, grandparent, step-parent, step-sibling, or step-grandparent.

b. A disagreement between the parent and the provider concerning policies, practices, or procedures at the provider’s VPK program;

c. A change in the child’s residence;

d. A change in the employment schedule or place of employment of the child’s parent;

e. The VPK provider’s inability to meet the child’s health, behavioral, or educational needs;

f. The termination of the child’s class before 70 percent of the VPK instructional hours are delivered;

g. The child is dismissed by a VPK provider for failure to comply with the provider’s attendance policy;

h. The VPK provider’s designation as a provider on probation under Section 1002.68, F.S.;

i. Any condition described as an extreme hardship in subsection (4) of this rule; or

j. Another reason not expressly stipulated in this rule which prevents the child from attending the VPK provider’s class or which prevents the provider from serving the child in accordance with the requirements of the VPK Program.

(b) Subsequent reenrollment exemption due to good cause. A child may reenroll and subsequently withdraw from the VPK provider and reenroll at another VPK provider within same program type if the child is granted a subsequent reenrollment exemption due to good cause under this paragraph. The following criteria must be met for a child to be granted a subsequent reenrollment exemption due to good cause:

1. The child has attended a portion of the VPK program but has not substantially completed the VPK program;

2. The child has reenrolled under subsection (3) or (4), of this rule;

3. The child’s parent completes and submits the Reenrollment Application, with the supporting documentation on https://familyservices.floridaearlylearning.com and

4. One of the following circumstances is applicable to the child (with supporting documentation):

a. A change in the child’s residence that extended the child’s round-trip to and from the VPK provider by 60 minutes or more, as supported by third party documentation showing the change (for example, a rental agreement or receipt from rent payment, mortgage, utility records, or other verifiable documentation);

b. A change in the child’s residence that resulted in a temporary stay in, or move out of, a homeless shelter, transitional housing entity, or domestic violence shelter, as supported by third-party documentation (for example, a letter from a homeless shelter, transitional housing entity or domestic violence shelter; a court-issued domestic violence injunction; or other verifiable documentation);

c. A change in a parent’s employment that extended the parent’s round-trip to and from the VPK provider by 60 minutes or more, to and from the VPK provider, as supported by employer documentation showing the start date or change in employment location;

d. The child’s parent(s) is active duty military or reservist and deployed as supported by verifiable documentation (for example, proof of current military deployment);

e. The termination of the child’s VPK class, in which the child was reenrolled as confirmed and documented by the early learning coalition, Department of Children and Families, or local licensing agency on official letterhead or from a Child Care Information System (CCIS) screen print;

f. A VPK provider is found to have committed a Class I Violation as defined in Rule 65C-22.010 or 65C-20.012, F.A.C. (as applicable to the provider type), as documented by the Department of Children and Families or local licensing agency on official letterhead or from a CCIS screen print;

g. A serious injury to the child that occurred at the VPK provider which required the provider to contact medical services, as documented on the Department of Children and Families or local licensing agency Accident/Incident Report for licensed providers, or on official provider letterhead for license-exempt providers;

h. The child was dismissed from a VPK provider for issues that prevented the provider from meeting the child’s behavioral or educational needs, as substantiated by the dismissing provider on official letterhead;

i. The child’s parent has reported events to the Department of Children and Families or local licensing agency that indicate the VPK provider’s practices put his or her child’s health, safety, or well-being at risk, as documented by a federal, state, or local government official;

j. Any condition described as an extreme hardship in subsection (4) of this rule; or

k. The child’s primary reenrollment due to good cause was the result of any of the circumstances listed in this subparagraph, as supported by required documentation.

(4) Reenrollment for Extreme Hardship In a VPK Summer Program. “Reenrollment for extreme hardship” occurs when a child withdraws from a VPK provider, after the child has attended a portion of the VPK instructional hours, and reenrolls with another VPK provider during a summer VPK program. For funding purposes, a child may be reenrolled and reported as one full-time equivalent (FTE) student, as defined by Section 1002.71(2), F.S., in a summer VPK program if the child meets the reenrollment criteria in this subsection. There are two categories of reenrollment for extreme hardship: primary reenrollment due to extreme hardship and subsequent reenrollment exemption due to extreme hardship.

(a) Primary reenrollment due to extreme hardship. A child may withdraw from the initial VPK provider, reenroll at another VPK provider in a summer VPK program, and be reported as a FTE student, if the child is granted a primary reenrollment due to extreme hardship under this paragraph. The following criteria must be met for a child to be granted a primary reenrollment due to extreme hardship:

1. The child has attended a portion of the VPK program but has not substantially completed the VPK program;

2. The child has not previously reenrolled in the VPK program;

3. The child’s parent completes and submits the Reenrollment Application, with the supporting documentation on https://familyservices.floridaearlylearning.com and

4. One of the following circumstances is applicable to the child (with supporting documentation):

a. The illness of the child, a family member which the child’s parent is responsible for caring for, or of the child’s parent, as documented in writing by a physician licensed under Chapter 458 or 459, F.S., if it would result in the child being absent for more than 30 percent of the number of hours in the program type in which the child is enrolled;

b. The termination of the child’s VPK class as a result of the VPK provider’s removal from eligibility to offer the VPK program, as documented by the early learning coalition;

c. The parent’s inability to meet the basic needs of the child, including, but not limited to, a lack of food, shelter, clothing, or transportation, as documented in writing by a federal, state, or local governmental official;

d. The VPK provider’s inability to meet the child’s educational needs due to the child’s learning or developmental disability, as documented by a federal, state, or local governmental official;

e. The VPK provider’s inability to meet the child’s health needs as documented by a physician licensed under chapter 458 or 459, F.S., or a federal, state, or local governmental official;

f. Displacement of the child from his or her place of residence, or closure of the child’s VPK provider as a result of a state of emergency as declared by a federal, state, or local governmental official; or

g. A temporary or permanent change in parent custody or guardianship, supported by legal documentation such as a court order or official documentation from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) or DCF contracted agency. This includes an at-risk child care authorization that documents the guardianship change.

(b) Subsequent reenrollment exemption due to extreme hardship. A child may reenroll with a VPK provider, and subsequently withdraw and reenroll with another VPK provider in a summer VPK program, and be reported as a FTE student, if the child is granted a subsequent reenrollment due to extreme hardship under this paragraph. The following criteria must be met for a child to be granted a subsequent reenrollment exemption due to extreme hardship:

1. The child has attended a portion of the VPK program but has not substantially completed the VPK program;

2. The child has reenrolled under subsection (3), of this rule;

3. The child’s parent completes and submits the Reenrollment Application, with the supporting documentation on https://familyservices.floridaearlylearning.com and

4. One of the of circumstances listed in subparagraph (4)(a)4., is applicable to the child (with supporting documentation).

(5) Reenrollment for Children in the VPK Specialized Instructional Services (SIS) Program. Changing VPK SIS providers while enrolled in the SIS program type does not constitute a reenrollment under this rule. A child may reenroll under subsection (3) or (4), of this rule in a VPK SIS program from a school-year or summer program type or from a VPK SIS program to a school-year or summer program type, as applicable. However, a child may not reenroll from a VPK SIS school-year program type to a VPK SIS summer program type under subsection (4) of this rule. For a reenrollment due to good cause, the funding available to the child will be equal to the child’s initial FTE allocation for the program type in which the child was previously enrolled, minus any amount previously paid for such services rendered to the child. A reenrollment under this subsection may be in a subsequent program year as defined in subsection (6) of this rule.

(6) Reenrollment Into a Subsequent Program Year.

(a) A child may only reenroll in a subsequent program year if:

1. The child attains the age of 4 years old between February 2 and September 1 of his or her initial program year of eligibility, as described in Section 1002.53(2), F.S.;

2. The child has not yet been admitted to kindergarten; and

3. The child is granted a reenrollment under subsections (3) or (4) of this rule.

(b) The remaining FTE for a child that reenrolls for good cause into a subsequent program year will be calculated as the total FTE hours for the program type minus the hours the child has expended, including paid absences.

(7) Early Learning Coalition Responsibilities.

(a) The early learning coalition must review and process reenrollment applications submitted on https://familyservices.floridaearlylearning.com. Upon determination that a child may be granted a reenrollment under this rule, the early learning coalition must approve the reenrollment application which will generate a Certificate of Eligibility for Reenrollment. Form DEL-VPK 04 is hereby incorporated by reference, and a copy may be obtained at (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-15926).

(b) If a parent applies for his or her child to be reenrolled in a VPK program that is not in the same coalition service area as the child’s current enrollment, both coalitions must coordinate to process the reenrollment application.

(c) If a child’s reenrollment request involves a change of guardianship, the coalition must require the new guardian to submit supporting documentation such as a court order or official documentation from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) or DCF contracted agency, to verify the change in guardianship before granting a reenrollment under this rule.

Rulemaking Authority 1001.02(2)(n), 1002.79 F.S. Law Implemented 1002.73(2)(d).1, 1002.71(4), 1002.73(2)(d)1. F.S. History–New 12-21-10, Formerly 60BB-8.210, Amended 7-28-16, 9-26-23.