The purpose of this rule development is to adopt procedures for the Department to calculate each Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Provider’s 2008-09 Kindergarten Readiness Rate. These readiness rates must be based exclusively upon the results of the ...

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
State Board of Education

RULE NO: RULE TITLE
6A-1.099821: Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of this rule development is to adopt procedures for the Department to calculate each Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Provider’s 2008-09 Kindergarten Readiness Rate. These readiness rates must be based exclusively upon the results of the statewide kindergarten screening for students completing the VPK Education Program during the 2008-09 school year and who are administered the statewide kindergarten screening during the 2009-10 school year. The effect is to implement the requirements of Section 1002.69, Florida Statutes, and continued implementation of the calculation of kindergarten provider readiness rates.
SUBJECT AREA TO BE ADDRESSED: Kindergarten Provider Readiness Rate.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 1002.69 FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1002.69 FS.
A RULE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: September 21, 2009, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.; September 22, 2009, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.; and September 28, 2009, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
PLACE: September 21, 2009, Coordinated Child Care of Pinellas Inc., 10601 Belcher Road South, Largo, FL.; September 22, 2009, Children Services Council of Palm Beach Co., Barrie Training Room A&B, 2300 High Road Ridge Road, Boynton Beach, FL.; September 28, 2009, Florida Department of Education, 325 W. Gaines St., Suite 1524, Tallahassee, Florida
Webinar: https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.C503140814C927D55EBE8FC33DE9CC; Conference Call: [phone]; Conference Code: 245-0966.
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT AND A COPY OF THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT, IF AVAILABLE, IS: Shan Goff, Office of Early Learning, Florida Department of Education, 325 W. Gaines St., Suite 1524, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400, [phone]. To request a rule development workshop, please contact: Lynn Abbott, Agency Clerk, Department of Education, [phone] or e-mail [e-mail] or go to https://app1.fldoe.org/rules/default.aspx

THE PRELIMINARY TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT IS:

6A-1.099821 Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate.

(1) No change.

(2) Kindergarten Screening. In addition to the administration of the kindergarten screening measures, adopted by the Department of Education, school districts shall also administer the Letter Naming Fluency Measure of the Indicadores Dinamicos del Exito en la Lectura (IDEL) to public school kindergarten students whose native language is Spanish and who answered “yes” to at least two (2) questions on the Home Language Survey.

(2)(3) Accuracy of Data.

(a) Prior to the calculation of the VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate, as described in subsection (4)(5) of this rule, private and public school VPK providers shall have the opportunity to review a cumulative list of all of the children served in their program and the total number of hours they attended.

(b) If a private or public provider disputes the accuracy of the cumulative list of VPK participants or the total number of hours they attended when such change would result in their inclusion or exclusion in the calculation of the VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate, as measured by the threshold of seventy (70) percent, as described in subparagraph (3)(4)(a)1. of this rule, the provider may submit corrective information to the Office of Early Learning of the Department of Education within 14 days after publication of the cumulative list on the Department’s website (vpk.fldoe.org). The Department, in collaboration with the Agency for Workforce Innovation and the respective Early Learning Coalition, shall review the corrective information and accept or reject the requested corrective information within 21 days after publication of the cumulative list on the Department’s website. Upon completion of the corrective process, the Department shall calculate a preliminary VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate in accordance with the method described in subsection (4)(5) of this rule.

(c) If a private or public school provider disputes the accuracy of the preliminary VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate as published on the Department’s website or if a private provider disputes ownership at the time of the 2008-09 2007-08 VPK program, the provider may file a dispute on the Department’s website and submit documentation to the Department for its review and consideration within 14 days after publication of the preliminary rate. The Department shall review and accept or reject any changes to the data within 21 14 days after publication. The VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate will be recalculated in accordance with the method described in subsection (4)(5) of this rule and submitted to the State Board of Education for the purpose of adopting a minimum readiness rate, as required by Section 1002.69(6), F.S.

(3)(4) Criteria for Inclusion in the VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate for 2008-09 2007-08.

(a) After the conclusion of the review of the data described in subsection (2)(3) of this rule, the Department shall calculate the Kindergarten Readiness Rate for each private or public school VPK provider of either the school year (five hundred forty (540) hour) or summer (three hundred (300) hour) program that served at least four (4) children who:

1. through (b) No change.

(4)(5) Procedures for Calculating the VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate for 2008-09 2006-07.

(a) through (b) No change.

(c) The VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate shall be the sum of the “Percent of Children Ready for Kindergarten” on each screening measure with a maximum of two hundred (200) three hundred (300) points.

(d) The Kindergarten Readiness Rate for private and public school VPK Providers will be displayed as follows:

	Screening Measure #1		Screening Measure #2	Screening Measure #3
Children Ready for Kindergarten	22		15	12
Children Screened	22		20	20
Percent of Children Ready for Kindergarten	100		75	60
VPK Provider Readiness Rate		175 235

 

(e) For children who also participated in the Letter Naming Fluency Measure of the Indicadores Dinamicos del Exito en la Lectura (IDEL), as described in subsection (2) of this rule, the higher of the two (2) Letter Naming Fluency Measures shall be used to calculate the “Percent of Children Ready for Kindergarten” as described in paragraph (5)(d) of this rule.

(e)(f) All providers shall be ranked according to their final score.

(5)(6) VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rates. VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rates shall be binding on new private VPK owners if the change of ownership occurred at a point in time in which seventy (70) percent or more of the VPK school-year or summer program remained. For the purpose of this rule, a change of ownership does not include the sale or transfer to family members or persons with a pre-existing ownership interest in the business.

(6)(7) Low Performing VPK Providers. If the readiness rate of a private or public VPK provider falls below the minimum rate adopted by the State Board, the provider shall be designated as a low performing VPK provider and acknowledge such designation on the Department’s website within 21 days of the State Board of Education’s adoption of the minimum readiness rate.

Rulemaking Specific Authority 1002.73(2)(d) FS. Law Implemented 1002.69(5), (6) FS. History–New 6-3-07, Amended 1-16-08, 1-5-09, ________.