Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1) Purpose. The
purpose of this rule is to set forth the requirements relating to the Linking
Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) Fund, which is intended to meet local,
regional, and state workforce demand by recruiting faculty and clinical
preceptors, increasing the capacity of high-quality nursing education programs,
and increasing the number of nursing education program graduates who are
prepared to enter the workforce.
(2) Definitions.
(a) "Health care partner" means a health care
provider as defined in Section
768.38(2), F.S.
For purposes of the LINE Fund, the health care partner must be located and
licensed to operate in the state and make a monetary contribution to the
postsecondary institution.
(b)
"Department" means the Florida Department of Education.
(c) "Institution" means a school district
career center under Section
1001.44, F.S., a charter
technical career center under Section
1002.34, F.S., a Florida College
System institution, or an independent nonprofit college or university located
and chartered in this state and accredited by an agency or association that is
recognized by the database created and maintained by the United States
Department of Education to grant baccalaureate degrees, or an independent
school, college, or university with an accredited program as defined in Section
464.003, F.S., which is located
in this state and licensed by the Commission for Independent Education pursuant
to Section 1005.31, F.S., which has a
nursing education program that meets or exceeds the following:
1. For a certified nursing assistant program,
a completion rate of at least seventy (70) percent for the prior
year.
2. For a licensed practical
nurse, associate of science in nursing, and bachelor of science in nursing
program, a first-time passage rate on the National Council of State Boards of
Nursing Licensing Examination of at least seventy-five (75) percent for the
prior year based on a minimum of ten (10) testing participants.
(d) "Student" means a person who
is a resident for tuition purposes pursuant to Section
1009.21, F.S., and enrolled in a
nursing education program at an institution.
(e) "Eligible purpose" means student
scholarships, recruitment of additional faculty, equipment, and simulation
centers. Construction of new facilities is not considered eligible.
(f) "Match" means the LINE funds provided to
the institution on a dollar-to-dollar basis, subject to funds availability, to
the health care partner's contribution.
(g) "Health care partner's contribution"
means the dollars provided by an eligible health care partner to an eligible
postsecondary institution.
(3) Notification of Funding Opportunity. Each
year that the LINE Fund is funded by the legislature, the Department will
publish notice of the availability of grants and Request for Proposals at
https://www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-edu/funding-opportunities
at least fifteen (15) days prior to the notice of intent submission. The
notification of funding opportunity will include:
(a) Grant period.
(b) Date to submit a notice of intent to
apply for a grant. The notice of intent will be due fifteen (15) days following
publication of the notification of funding opportunity.
(c) Deadline to apply for the grant.
Proposals will be accepted as early as thirty (30) days following the notice of
intent deadline.
(d) The dollar
amount of available grant funds.
(4) Proposals. If funds are designated in the
General Appropriations Act, the Department shall solicit proposals for LINE
funds. To be eligible for an allocation, proposals must include the following
components which will be used to prioritize funding along with the criteria
established in subsection (5).
(a) The total
amount of LINE funds requested and a detailed budget for the expenditure of
these funds, including personnel costs, operating expenses, equipment costs and
training expenses, and other allowable expenses.
(b) Narrative explaining how the institution
plans to use the health care partner contribution and LINE matching funds to
address the criteria in subsection (5).
(c) Statement of assurances that statutory
requirements will be satisfied.
(d)
Documentation of health care partner's contribution. Documentation must
indicate the cash amount the health care partner plans to contribute
("pledged") or has contributed ("fulfilled"). If the contribution has been
pledged but not been fulfilled at the time of application, acceptable
documentation includes a scope of work, copies of irrevocable pledge letters,
or letters of intent; the documentation must indicate the timeline for the
fulfillment of the contribution. If the contribution has been pledged and
fulfilled at the time of application, acceptable documentation includes
financial statements, bank statements, budget reports, or bank letters that
show the cash transaction(s).
(5) Review Process.
(a) The Department will evaluate and rank, by
institution type, each completed and timely submitted proposal on the extent to
which the application supports the following minimum criteria.
1. Whether funds committed by the health care
partner will contribute to an eligible purpose.
2. How the institution plans to use the
funds, including how such funds will be utilized to increase student enrollment
and program completion.
3. How the
health care partner will onboard and retain graduates.
4. How the funds will expand the
institution's nursing education programs to meet local, regional, or state
workforce demands. If applicable, this shall include advanced education nursing
programs and how the funds will increase the number of faculty and clinical
preceptors and planned efforts to utilize the clinical placement process
established in Section
14.36, F.S.
(b) Once the proposals are evaluated and
ranked pursuant to paragraph (5)(a), the Department will consider the strength
of the proposed programs, the geographic location of the proposals and
statewide workforce demands in order to promote the distribution of funds and
avoid a concentration of funds in a small number of institutions.
(6) Award Notice. The Department
will award grant funding on a dollar-to-dollar basis, subject to available
funds, to eligible institutions based on subsections (4) and (5). The
Department will notify institutions of the approved proposals and award
amounts.
(7) Disbursements. Prior
to the release of funds to an institution that has been awarded LINE funds, the
institution must provide to the Department documentation of the health care
partner providing the cash contribution to the institution. Acceptable
documentation includes financial statements, bank statements, budget reports,
or bank letters that show the cash transaction(s). Funds will be released in
accordance with the General Appropriations Act or, no more frequently than on a
quarterly basis.
(8) Required
Reporting. Annually, by February 1, institutions that were awarded LINE funds
in the previous fiscal year must report to the Department all information
required by Section 1009.896(9)(b),
F.S. Minimally, the report must include, by program level, the number of
additional nursing education students enrolled; if scholarships were awarded
using grant funds, the number of students who received scholarships and the
average award amount; and the outcomes of students as reported by the Office of
Reimagining Education and Career Help pursuant to Section
14.36(3)(l),
F.S. No later than thirty (30) days before the submission deadline, the
Department will release guidelines for institutions to transmit an electronic
file to meet this requirement.
Rulemaking Authority
1001.02(1),
(2)(n),
1009.8962(10)
FS. Law Implemented 1009.8962
FS.
New 9-20-22, Amended
9-26-23.
