Cross County Enrollment, Uniform Attendance Policy for the Funding of the VPK Program, Voluntary Prekindergarten Uniform Statewide Provider Agreement, VPK Program Class Sizes and Composition

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Agency for Workforce Innovation

RULE NO: RULE TITLE
60BB-8.203: Cross County Enrollment
60BB-8.204: Uniform Attendance Policy for the Funding of the VPK Program
60BB-8.301: Voluntary Prekindergarten Uniform Statewide Provider Agreement
60BB-8.400: VPK Program Class Sizes and Composition

NOTICE OF CHANGE

Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol. 32 No. 7, February 17, 2006 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly.

These changes are being made to address comments expressed at the Public Hearings held and comments made by the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee.

60BB-8.203 Cross County Enrollment.

Withdrawn.

Substantial Rewording of the Proposed Rule follows.

60BB-8.204 Uniform Attendance Policy for the Funding of the Voluntary Prekindergarten VPK Program.

(1) Payment for the VPK program. An early learning coalition, or contractor acting on behalf of the coalition, shall pay a private provider or public school for the VPK program in accordance with this rule.

(2) Payment for attendance. An instructional day on which a child attends the VPK program, either in whole or in part, is payable.

(3) Payment for absences.

(a) An instructional day from which a child is absent is payable if the child’s absence is excused. If a child’s absence is unexcused, the absence is payable, not to exceed three unexcused absences per calendar month.

(b) A child’s absence is excused if the child does not attend the VPK program on an instructional day due to of one of the following reasons:

1. Illness or injury of the child or the child’s family member which requires hospitalization or bed rest;

2. Physician or dentist appointment;

3. Infectious disease or parasitic infestation;

4. Funeral service, memorial service, or bereavement upon the death of the child’s family member;

5. Life-threatening illness or injury of the child’s family member;

6. Compliance with a court order (e.g, visitation, subpoena);

7. Special education or related services as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 1401 (2004) for the child’s disability;

8. Observance of a religious holiday or service, or because the child’s or parent’s religion forbids secular activity on the instructional day;

9. Family vacation, not to exceed five excused absences per program year; or

10. Extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the child and the child’s parent.

(c) An excused absence is not payable unless the reason for the absence is documented in writing and the private provider or public school submits the documentation to the coalition or contractor.

1. A child’s parent may document (e.g., parent’s note) seven or fewer excused absences per calendar month.

2. Beyond seven excused absences, a person other than the child’s parent must document the excused absence, the person must be unrelated to the child or the child’s parent, and the documentation must show that the person has personal knowledge of the reason for the child’s absence (e.g., letter from a physician).

(d) An absence is not payable for an instructional day before a child’s first day of attendance or after the child’s last day of attendance.

(e) Payment for a child shall be suspended if the child does not attend at least 1 instructional day during a calendar month. Payment for the child, including payment for absences accruing while payment is suspended, shall resume when the child subsequently attends the program. If a child does not resume attendance, an absence is not payable for an instructional day after the child’s last day of attendance.

(4) Payment for temporary closures.

(a) A temporary closure is payable if a private provider or public school submits written documentation to the coalition or contractor which demonstrates that the closure is temporary and caused by circumstances beyond the provider’s or school’s control.

(b) Documentation of the circumstances causing a temporary closure is not required if the private provider’s or public school’s VPK site is located in a county in which government offices normally open to the public are closed by the county, state, or federal governments, or public schools are closed by the school district, because a state of emergency is declared to exist in the county by the county government, the Governor, or the President of the United States. Documentation is required if government offices remain open or a state of emergency is not declared to exist.

(c) A temporary closure is payable for the amount otherwise payable (as if each child enrolled in a private provider’s or public school’s VPK program attends the program), not to exceed 10 instructional days per closure. If circumstances cause more than one temporary closure, the closures are payable for a combined total of 10 instructional days.

(d) If the combined instructional days of one or more temporary closures extend beyond 10 instructional days, the private provider or public school shall revise its class schedule to restore each instructional day after the 10th instructional day. The revised schedule must not extend beyond the last day by which the VPK class is required to complete instruction. When revising its schedule, a private provider or public school is not required to change the instructional hours per instructional day or instructional days per week of the current class schedule.

(e) A temporary closure is not payable if the closure is caused by circumstances within a private provider’s or public school’s control. If a temporary closure is caused by circumstances within a private provider’s or public school’s control, the provider or school must revise its class schedule in accordance with paragraph (d).

(f) A temporary closure is not payable if a private provider or public school does not reopen and resume instruction after the closure. A coalition or contractor shall assist a child with reenrollment if the child’s VPK program does not resume instruction after a temporary closure.

(g) If a child does not resume attendance in the VPK program after a temporary closure, notwithstanding paragraph (3)(d), the closure is payable, but the child’s absence from an instructional day after the temporary closure is not payable.

(h) A private provider or public school, instead of requesting payment for a temporary closure, may revise its class schedule to restore the instructional days that the closure affects.

Specific Authority 1002.79(2) FS. Law Implemented 1002.71(6)(d) FS. History–New               .

 

60BB-8.301 Voluntary Prekindergarten Uniform Statewide Provider Agreement for the VPK Program Provider Agreement.

The Agency for Workforce Innovation has prescribed the use of a provider agreement, along with the following procedures, by early learning coalitions for registering private prekindergarten providers and public schools to deliver the VPK program:

(1)(a) Agreement required. An early learning As part of the registration process for the VPK program, the coalition, or contractor acting on behalf of the coalition, may not pay a private shall require each provider or public school for the VPK program, except under to execute a provider agreement with the coalition. A coalition must be a party to a provider agreement. If a coalition allows a contractor to sign a provider agreement on behalf of the coalition, the coalition remains a party to the agreement. A school district may sign a provider agreement on behalf of a public school in the district.

(b) A coalition or contractor shall keep a signed copy of a provider agreement in the coalition’s or contractor’s records on the private provider or public school.

(2)(a) A provider agreement shall contain execute agreements with the identical terms and conditions as Form AWI‑VPK 20, (Statewide Provider Agreement), dated June 9, 2006 version date July 7, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Except, and may not alter, delete or change the terms and conditions, except as provided in paragraph (b), a provider agreement may not omit, supplement, or amend the terms and conditions of Form AWI-VPK 20 subsection (3) below. This Form AWI-VPK 20 may be obtained from the Office of Early Learning of the Agency for Workforce Innovation is available at the following internet address: Caldwell Building, 107 East Madison Street, MSC 140, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-4128, [phone], and at the following website: http://www.floridajobs.org/ earlylearning. www.floridajobs.org/earlylearning/documents/ StatewideProviderAgreementFormAWI-VPK20.pdf. This Form may also be obtained by contacting the Early Learning Coalition that serves the Provider’s county or by calling the Office of Early Learning at 1(866)357-3239.

(2) Funding. A coalition may not submit a provider’s or school’s enrollment to the Agency for Workforce Innovation for purposes of advance payment for services under the VPK program unless the provider or school has executed the provider agreement and the agreement is received by the coalition. In addition, a provider or school shall not be paid for services delivered before the executed agreement is submitted to the coalition.

(b)(3) Amendments. A coalition may enter into a Each amendment to the provider agreement that omits, supplements, or amends the terms and conditions of Form AWI-VPK 20, if:

1. The coalition submits the agreement to the Office of Early Learning of the Agency for Workforce Innovation (Form AWI-VPK 20 – Statewide Provider Agreement) must be provided in writing, dated, and signed by both the coalition and the private provider or public school; and

2. The Deputy Director for Early Learning approves the agreement. Each amendment must also be approved by the Agency for Workforce Innovation, Office of Early Learning.

Specific Authority 1002.79(2) FS. Law Implemented 1002.55(3)(g), 1002.61(7)(a), 1002.63(8)(a), 1002.75 FS. History–New ________.

 

60BB-8.400 VPK Program Class Sizes; Blended Classes; Multi‑Class Groups and Composition.

(1)  Blended classes.

(a) A private prekindergarten provider or public school may organize a its VPK class classes as a blended class classes, instructing children teaching students enrolled in the VPK program together with children who are not enrolled in the program.

(b) A blended class may include children of any age. A private provider or public school,; however, may not organize a blended class in a these multi‑age arrangement that prevents the provider or school from implementing a developmentally appropriate curriculum in accordance with s. 1002.67(2)(b) arrangements must not conflict with the provider’s or school’s obligations under Sections 1002.55, 1002.61, and 1002.63, F.S.

(2) Minimum class size. A Each VPK class must be composed of at least four children students enrolled in the VPK program.

(a) An early learning coalition, or contractor acting on behalf of the coalition, may not issue To receive the initial prepayment advance payment for a VPK class unless, at least four children in the class are enrolled in the VPK program students must be enrolled for the class.

(b) A private provider or public school does not violate the minimum class size, if:

1. Fewer fewer than four children enrolled in the VPK program students attend a VPK class on a particular day; or.

2. After the initial prepayment is issued advance payment for a class, the provider or school does not violate the minimum class size if fewer than four children in a VPK class students remain enrolled in the VPK program for the class (e.g., withdrawals).

(c) If However, if a VPK student’s class is composed of four or fewer children enrolled in the VPK program students, the private provider or public school may not dismiss from the class a child enrolled in the program, the student unless:

1.(a) The private provider or public school documents in writing the child’s student’s noncompliance with the applicable conduct or attendance policies of the provider or school district, as applicable; and

2.(b) The private provider or public school submits the documentation of the child’s noncompliance to the early learning coalition or contractor within 3 the coalition’s designee not more than three business days after the child’s dismissal student is dismissed.

(3) Maximum class size. A Each VPK class may must not exceed 18 children students for a the school-year program or 10 children students for a the summer program. Both Children enrolled in the VPK program, and children not enrolled in the program, students and Non-VPK students are both counted toward the 18-child or 18-student and 10-child maximum class size 10-student maximums. A VPK class may not exceed the maximum class size in enrollment or in daily attendance on a particular day.

(4) Multi-class group groups. A private provider or public school may instruct teach two or more VPK classes as one group in a single classroom. However, a provider or school must remain in compliance with the appropriate staff-to-children ratio, square footage per child, or other state or local requirements. A Each VPK class within a multi-class group may not exceed the maximum class size described in subsection (3):

(5) Compliance with other requirements. This rule does not allow a private provider or public school to exceed a staff‑to‑children ratio, square footage per child, licensing requirement under subsections 402.301-402.319, F.S., or other state or local requirement.

(a) May not exceed 18 students for the school-year program or 10 students for the summer program;

(b) Must have a prekindergarten instructor for each class; and

(c) If the class has 11 or more students, must have a second adult instructor.

Specific Authority 1002.79(2) FS. Law Implemented 1002.55(3)(e), 1002.61(6),1002.63(7) FS. History–New ________.