6A-1.0451: Florida Education Finance Program Student Membership Surveys
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of the rule amendment is to revise the schedule for district submission of amendments to student membership survey data via the statewide comprehensive management information system in order to allow data values to be finalized in a more timely manner. The effect is to establish firm calendared deadlines for amendments, and allow for final reporting of Florida Education Finance Program Student Membership Survey data in a shorter time period. Additionally, former subsection (8) requiring all students in a course to be eligible exceptional students in order for the student to be reported in a special program cost factor has been deleted as this requirement became obsolete with the implementation of the matrix of services authorized in Section 1011.62(1)(c), Florida Statutes. The effect of the amendments will be consistency between rule and governing statutes.
SUMMARY: This rule provides for uniform dates for completing and reporting full-time equivalent student membership surveys in each school district for the Florida Education Finance Program. The language includes uniform dates for each survey and instructions for reporting the data to the Department. The amendment revises the timelines for districts to finalize the data for each survey period and removes obsolete language.
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS: No Statement of Estimated Regulatory Cost was prepared.
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.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 1001.02(1) FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1011.61, 1011.62(1), 1011.68 FS.
A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: February 19, 2008, 8:30 a.m.
PLACE: 400 South Monroe Street, Room LL03, The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida 32399
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Ruth Jones, Education Information and Accountability Services Section, Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Room 852, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:
6A-1.0451
(1) through (3) No change.
(4) During the year, at least four (4) full-time equivalent student membership surveys shall be conducted under the administrative direction of and on a schedule provided by the Commissioner. The second period and the third period full-time equivalent student membership survey for students in a program scheduled for one hundred eighty (180) school days shall each be equal to ninety, one hundred eightieths (90/180) of the school year. Students in a program scheduled for less than one hundred eighty (180) school days in any full-time equivalent student membership survey shall be a fraction of a full-time equivalent member as provided in Section 1011.61(1) 236.013(2)(c)2., Florida Statutes. The four (4) survey periods, insofar as practicable, shall be scheduled to take the extended school year, staggered school year, and other variations of the regular one hundred eighty (180) day school year into consideration. School districts may submit amendments to student membership survey data in accordance with the following schedule: Survey Period 1 (July) may not be amended after September 30 following the survey; Survey Period 2 (October) may not be amended after March 31 following the survey; Survey Period 3 (February) may not be amended after July 31 following the survey; Survey Period 4 (June) may not be amended after August 31 following the survey for a period of nine (9) months from the due date of the membership survey being amended, or until a membership survey audit as required by Rule 6A-1.0453, F.A.C., has been completed, whichever shall take place first. Such amendments which are submitted too late to be reviewed and included in the last membership data determining the earnings of Florida education finance program funds for the given year shall be treated as prior year adjustments.
(5) For purposes of transportation, physically handicapped students with disabilities under Section 1011.68(5) 236.083, Florida Statutes, shall be those students defined by Rule 6A-6.0301, F.A.C., as trainable or profoundly handicapped, hearing impaired, visually impaired or physically impaired who have been appropriately identified under the district procedures for providing special education for exceptional students.
(6) When passengers other than public school students in membership, grades K-12 and exceptional, are transported on a school bus at the same time public school students are transported to or from school, the bus route mileage required to transport students as authorized in Section 1011.68(2) 236.083(2), Florida Statutes, shall be computed as follows:
(a) If the number of passengers other than public school students in membership, grades K-12 and exceptional, transported on a bus route exceeds five (5) percent of the manufacturer’s rated seating capacity of the bus, the loaded bus route miles for that trip shall be adjusted by the percentage of passengers that are not public school students in membership, grades K-12 and exceptional.
(b) Bus miles traveled over a side route to load or unload passengers other than public school students in membership, grades K-12 and exceptional, and miles traveled transporting exclusively other passengers shall not be reported to or counted by the Department for the purpose of FEFP. transportation funding.
(7) For students in all special programs, a student’s full-time equivalent membership shall be reported in the respective special program cost factor prescribed in Section 1011.62(1)(c) 236.081(1)(c), Florida Statutes, when the student is eligible and is attending a class, course, or program which has met all of the criteria for the special program cost factor. In addition, when reporting program membership, each student shall be reported in the same special program category as reported in the full-time equivalent membership survey.
(8) For a student to be reported for a special program cost factor for exceptional students, all students in membership and attending an exceptional student class, course or program shall be eligible exceptional students as defined in Rule 6A-6.0301, F.A.C.
(8)(9) ESE 135, Department of Juvenile Justice FTE School Funding Certification is; ESE 233, FEFP Transportation Survey; ESE 693, School Funding Certification Supplemental FTE Information; ESE 909, Automated Format for FTE Membership Survey; EJE 059, School Funding Certification, Adult FTE Information; and ELS 329, School Funding Certification, Supplemental FTE Information, effective October 1994, are hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule. This These forms may be obtained from the Bureau of School Business Services, Office of Funding and Financial Reporting, Division of Public Schools, The Florida Education Center, Department of Education,
Specific Authority 1001.02(1) 229.053(1) FS. Law Implemented 1011.61, 1011.62(1), 1011.68 236.013(2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), 236.081(1), 236.083(1), (2) FS. History–New 4-19-74, Amended 10-31-74, Repromulgated 12-5-74, Amended 6-1-75, 1-29-76, 4-12-78, 8-2-79, 2-4-81, 7-28-81, 4-27-82, 7-13-83, 7-10-85, Formerly 6A-1.451, Amended 3-12-86, 9-30-87, 10-31-88, 12-5-90, 10-26-94, 12-15-98,_______.