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. 33 No. 8, February 23, 2007 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly.

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

(1) Purpose ~~Statewide kindergarten screening~~. The purpose of this rule is to implement the requirements of Section 1002.69, F.S. The Department shall adopt a statewide kindergarten screening that provides objective data concerning each student’s readiness for kindergarten and progress in attaining Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Education Program Performance Standards. School districts are required to:

~~(a) administer the statewide screening to each kindergarten student in the school district within the first 30 school days of each school year, and~~

~~(b) designate sites to administer the statewide screening to children admitted to kindergarten in a nonpublic school.~~

~~(2) Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate. The Department of Education shall:~~

(a) annually calculate each private prekindergarten provider’s and public school’s kindergarten readiness rate, which must be expressed as the percentage of the provider’s or school’s students who are assessed as ready for kindergarten; kindergarten readiness rates must be based exclusively on the results of the screening for students who completed the VPK program, and

(b) periodically adopt a minimum kindergarten readiness rate that, if achieved by a private prekindergarten provider or public school, would demonstrate the provider’s or school’s satisfactory delivery of the VPK program. The minimum rate must not exceed the rate at which more than fifteen (15) percent of the kindergarten readiness rates of all private prekindergarten providers and public schools delivering the VPK Program would fall below the minimum rate.

(2)~~(3)~~ Accuracy of Data.

(a) Prior to the calculation of the VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate, as described in subsection (4) 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 enrolled, including allowable absences.

(b) If a private or public provider disputes the accuracy of any figures comprising the cumulative list, 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 28 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) of this rule. ~~Documentation of any~~ proposed changes shall be submitted by the private or public provider, within the timelines specified, and shall be reviewed by the Department in collaboration with the Agency for Workforce Innovation and the respective Early Learning Coalition. The private or public provider shall be notified whether the information submitted was accepted by Department for the purpose of calculating the VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate.

(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, the provider may 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 28 days after publication. The VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate will be recalculated in accordance with the method described in subsection (4) 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 2005-06.

(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. Enrolled the VPK program for eighty-five (85) percent or more of the total number of instructional hours, including the allowable absences, and

2. Participated in each of the kindergarten screening measures ~~as described in subsection (1) of this rule~~.

(b) If a private or public school provider does not meet the criteria described above, information as to why the provider was not included in the VPK Provider Readiness Rate calculation shall be displayed on the VPK Provider Profile required by Section 1002.53(5), F.S.

(4)~~(5)~~ Procedures for Calculating the VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate for 2005-06.

(a) The “Percent of Children Ready for Kindergarten” shall be calculated as the number “Children Ready for Kindergarten” on each screening measure divided by the total number of “Children Screened” on that measure.

(b) One point is assigned for each percent of "Children Ready for Kindergarten" on each screening measure.

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

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

Screening Screening Screening Measure #1 Measure #2 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 235

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

(6) Appeal of VPK Provider Readiness Rate Calculation. After the initial issuance of VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rates, private and public school providers may appeal the Department’s decision to accept or reject additional information submitted under subsection (3) of this rule.

(7) Minimum Readiness Rate. After the conclusion of the appeals process, described in subsection (6) of this rule, the State Board of Education shall adopt a minimum readiness rate.

(5)~~(8)~~ 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 with 21 days of the State Board of Education’s adoption of the minimum readiness rate. ~~in the manner prescribed by the Department, and submit and implement an improvement plan in accordance with the requirements of Rule 60BB-8.700, FAC.~~

Specific Authority 1002.73(2)(d) FS. Law Implemented 1002.69(5),(6) FS. History–New________.