Pursuant to Section 1002.69, Florida Statutes, the State Board of Education, upon request of a private prekindergarten provider or public school that remains on probation for 2 consecutive years or more and subsequently fails to meet the minimum ...

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
State Board of Education

RULE NO.: RULE TITLE:
6A-1.099824: Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Low Performing Provider Good Cause Exemption
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: Pursuant to Section 1002.69, Florida Statutes, the State Board of Education, upon request of a private prekindergarten provider or public school that remains on probation for 2 consecutive years or more and subsequently fails to meet the minimum rate adopted under Section 1002.69(6), F.S. and for good cause shown may grant to the provider or school an exemption from being determined ineligible to deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program and receive state funds for the program. The purpose of the rule revision is to revise procedures and criteria for submission of a Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) provider’s request for a good cause exemption and describe the Department’s review process before making a recommendation to the State Board of Education for approval or denial of the good cause exemption request.
SUMMARY: The proposed rule amendment establishes the criteria and process for a VPK provider placed on probation to request for a good cause exemption Section 1002.69, Florida Statutes.
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:
The Agency has determined that this will have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has been prepared by the agency.
The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs.
Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1002.69(7), 1002.79, 1002.73(2), Florida Statutes.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1002.67(3), 1002.69 Florida Statutes.
A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: February 28, 2012, 8:00 a.m.
PLACE: Tallahassee, Florida (The physical location will be posted on the Department’s website no later than 14 days prior to the meeting at http://www.fldoe.org)
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Stuart Greenberg, Executive Director, Just Read, Florida! and the Office of Early Learning, Department of Education, Suite 514, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, [phone]

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

6A-1.099824 Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Low Performing Provider Placed on Probation Good Cause Exemption.

Pursuant to Section 1002.69, F.S., the State Board of Education, upon request of a private prekindergarten provider or public school that remains on probation for two (2) consecutive years or more and subsequently fails to meet the minimum rate adopted under Section 1002.69(6)(a), F.S., and for good cause shown may grant to the provider or school an exemption from being determined ineligible to deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program and receive state funds for the program.

(1) The following process must be followed in order for a provider to be eligible to receive a good cause exemption:

(a) The provider must acknowledge being placed on probation and provide a notice that they intend to apply for a good cause exemption immediately following the first occurrence of failing to meet the readiness rate adopted by the State Board of Education A provider that has been placed on probation upon issuance of the final readiness rates by the Department will remain on probation until such time that the provider has been issued a VPK readiness rate that meets the minimum rate set by the State Board of Education in Rule 6A-1.099821, F.A.C.

(b) The provider must adhere to all requirements of probation associated with having not met the readiness rate.

(c) The provider must assess each child enrolled in their program in accordance with paragraph (2)(a) of this rule.

(2)(1) Criteria for Granting Good Cause Exemptions. Each of the following criteria must be met to be granted a good cause exemption:

(a) Learning Gains. The private prekindergarten provider or public school must demonstrate learning gains on a standardized assessment approved by the Department that tracks the achievement and progress over time of the children having completed the provider’s VPK program. The ratio of students making learning gains to the total number of students assessed must be proportional to the ratio of students ready for kindergarten reflected in the current year’s readiness rate. The documentation of learning gains shall meet the following criteria:

1. Providers must may utilize an assessment approved by the Department from a list of Department-approved assessments which may be accessed on the Department’s website at https://vpk.fldoe.org/Downloads/ProviderAcknowledgement.pdf. A provider seeking a good cause exemption shall have the early learning coalition or a Department-approved second party administer the state-approved prekindergarten enrollment screening to each child in the prekindergarten provider’s program within the first thirty (30) instructional days of each school year program or the first ten (10) instructional days of a summer program and the provider shall administer the standardized post-assessment approved by the Department to measure the student’s learning gains for the year or summer, as appropriate. All costs associated with the assessments shall be borne by the VPK program provider. A provider using an assessment which does not appear on the list of approved assessments must include technical documentation supporting the standardized assessment as evidence of the reliability standard of the assessment and must address VPK standards incorporated in Rule 6A-1.099823, F.A.C., not limited to, but including emergent literacy. The standardized assessment must have an internal consistency reliability coefficient of 0.70 or greater as documented in the publisher’s technical manual.

2. Testing procedures for the each assessment shall be performed according to the publisher’s guidelines and assessment results shall be tabulated according to the publisher’s guidelines. The provider shall take appropriate measures to ensure the integrity of the testing process. Individual student test results must be submitted to the Department in an electronic format such as provided by the Department. All data must be submitted to the Department within thirty (30) days after the administration of each assessment. The resulting data from the standardized assessment must be presented in a manner that is clear, concise and easily allows the reviewers to determine the achievement and progress made by the children who completed the VPK program. Applicant must submit a summary of the data using the Department’s VPK Good Cause Exemption Data Form VPK-GCE-01, March 2011, (http://www.flrules.com/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00031) which is incorporated by reference herein.

3. At a minimum, data must be provided for all years following the third year of a provider having been placed on probation designated a low performing provider. Additional data may be included. Assessment results for all program completers who were assessed shall be included in the documentation provided. An explanation shall be included for any program completers who were not assessed.

4. The results of the assessment shall demonstrate substantial and appropriate learning gains by program completers. Learning gains are substantial and appropriate if the ratio of students making learning gains to the total number of students assessed is seventy (70) percent or greater proportional to the ratio of students ready for kindergarten reflected in the current year’s readiness rate.

(b) Student Population. The private prekindergarten provider or public school must have served at least twice the statewide percentage of children with disabilities as defined in Section 1003.01(3)(a), F.S., or children identified as limited English proficient as defined in Section 1003.56, F.S.

(b)(c) Health and Safety Requirements. Pursuant to Section 1002.69(7)(d), F.S., a good cause exemption may not be granted to any private prekindergarten provider that has any Class I violations or two or more Class II violations within the two (2) years preceding the provider’s or school’s application for the exemption. For purposes of this rule, Class I violations and Class II violations have the same meaning as provided in Section 402.281(3), F.S. The good cause exemption application must include copies of all Department of Children and Families Childcare Inspection Checklists for all inspections performed by the Department of Children and Families under authority of Sections 402.301-402.319, F.S., during the two-year time period prior to application for good cause exemption.

(c)(d) Individual Circumstances. Extraordinary or unique circumstances under which the provider should be allowed to continue to deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program after remaining on probation for two (2) consecutive years and failing to meet the minimum readiness rate adopted by the State Board of Education as satisfactory under Section 1002.69, Florida Statutes having been designated as low performing for at least four (4) consecutive years.

(d)(e) Adherence to an approved provider improvement plan under Section 1002.67(3)(c), F.S., following all steps towards improvement specified in the plan including the use of a Department-approved curriculum or a staff development plan approved by the Department.

(2) Calculation of Percentages:

(a) The statewide percentage of kindergarten children with disabilities or limited English proficient students shall be calculated based on the October FTE enrollment survey.

(b) A provider’s percentage of children with disabilities shall be calculated based on the number of children with disabilities who were included in the provider’s last readiness rate divided by the total number of students included in the provider’s last readiness rate.

(c) A provider’s percentage of limited English proficient students shall be calculated based on the number of limited English proficient students who were included in the provider’s last readiness rate divided by the total number of students included in the provider’s last readiness rate.

(3) Application. A provider seeking a good cause exemption shall complete the Department’s VPK Good Cause Exemption Application Form VPK-GCE-02, February 2012 March 2011, (http://www.flrules.com/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00032) which is incorporated by reference herein. The sole method of submitting this form will be through the Department’s web site at:https://vpk.fldoe.org. The submission of an application for a good cause exemption must adhere to the following:

(a) In addition to the application form, the provider must submit with the application supporting documentation meeting the criteria described in subsection (1) of this rule. The provider may submit additional documentation in support of its application. The Department may request additional documentation for verification of eligibility.

(b) A fourth-year low performing provider who fails to meet the minimum readiness rate after having been placed on probation for two (2) consecutive years may submit a good cause exemption application at any time after the release of the annual preliminary VPK Readiness Rates. Supporting documentation submitted with the application must include a review of adherence to the provider improvement plan, fidelity of implementation of the required curriculum or staff development plan pursuant to Section 1002.67(3)(c)2., F.S., and feedback from the previous year Department’s site visits. The good cause exemption application and all supporting documentation must be received by the Department no later than fourteen (14) days after the timely filed provider acknowledgment of failing to receive the minimum readiness rate being a low-performing provider submitted pursuant to Rule 6A-1.099821, F.A.C.

(c) through (5)(d) No change.

(e) The Department shall notify Florida’s Office of Early Learning the Agency for Workforce Innovation of all good cause exemptions granted by the State Board of Education. Any provider granted a good cause exemption shall continue to implement its improvement plan and continue the corrective actions required under Section 1002.67(3)(c)2., F.S. Any exemption granted by the State Board of Education is valid for one (1) year and may be renewed through the same application process.

(f) No change.

Rulemaking Authority 1002.73(2), 1002.69(7) FS. Law Implemented 1002.67(3), 1002.69(7) FS. History–New 3-24-11, Amended________.

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Pam Stewart, Chancellor, K-12 Public Schools
NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Gerard Robinson, Commissioner, Department of Education
DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: December 22, 2011
DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAW: October 7, 2011