Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
Pregnant and parenting students and their children shall be
entitled to participate in Teenage Parent (TAP) Programs designed to provide
comprehensive educational and ancillary services to facilitate the parents'
completion of high school. Students participating in teenage parent programs
shall be eligible for all services afforded to students enrolled in programs
pursuant to Section 1003.54, F.S., and Rule
6A-6.0525, F.A.C.
(1) Requirements.
(a) Credits. Students served in teenage
parent programs shall retain the right to earn the number and type of credits
required for a standard or special diploma pursuant to Section
1003.54, F.S. The special
diploma is not a diploma option beginning with students entering 9th grade for
the first time in 2014-2015 school year and student cohorts
thereafter.
(b) Exceptional student
education referral. An exceptional student referred for enrollment in a teenage
parent program shall have an individual educational plan review prior to
enrollment. A staff representative of the teenage parent program in the
district shall participate in the review.
(c) Limited English proficient students.
Limited English proficient students meeting the eligibility criteria for the
teenage parent program shall be considered for enrollment in the teenage parent
program based on student needs.
(d)
Parent notification. Parents shall be notified annually in writing as specified
in Section 1003.53, F.S., of their child's
enrollment in a teenage parent program and of their right to review any action
relating to such enrollment.
(e)
Student records. Records of students participating in a teenage parent program
shall contain the following:
1. The students'
entry and exit dates in the teenage parent program.
2. Documentation of the eligibility of each
student and child prior to enrollment in a teenage parent program. Eligibility
for multi-year programs shall be documented annually.
3. Number of instructional periods or hours
of participation.
4. Evaluation of
each student's academic and behavioral progress.
(f) Student eligibility for full-time
equivalent (FTE). Eligible pregnant and parenting students shall be reported
for teenage parent full-time equivalent student membership in the Florida
Education Finance Program in the following settings:
Standard teenage parent program in which all students are
teenage parent program participants.
(g) Certification. Any certification is
appropriate for teachers in teenage parent programs. Teenage parent program
teachers shall be instructional personnel as defined in Section
1012.01, F.S.
(h) Students served in teenage parent
programs shall retain their right to have access to a school day as defined by
Section 1011.60,
F.S.
(2) Student
eligibility. Districts shall implement student eligibility criteria and
establish enrollment procedures for each teenage parent program.
(a) Voluntary participation. Participation in
a teenage parent program is voluntary. Pregnant students, teenage parent
students, and their children shall not be assigned to the program without
annual parental or adult student permission.
(b) Criteria for eligibility.
1. Pregnant students.
2. Parenting students.
3. Children of parenting students and teenage
parent program completers.
(c) Documentation of eligibility includes:
1. A county public health unit or private
physician's certification of pregnancy;
2. A child's birth certificate, copy of
application of birth certificate, hospital records, or a notarized affidavit of
fatherhood signed by mother and father; and,
3. Evidence of parent's program completion
and documentation of child's birth.
(3) Instructional periods. The program shall
consist of instruction to participants full-time, part-time or on a variable
schedule as needed to deliver the pregnancy- or parenting-related curriculum as
specified in Section 1003.54(3)(b),
F.S. Children of teenage parent students enrolled in teenage parent programs
shall be served during the time that the parent student is earning credit
towards a standard diploma pursuant to Section
1003.4282 or
1002.3105, F.S. The special
diploma is not a diploma option beginning with students entering 9th grade for
the first time in 2014-2015 school year and student cohorts
thereafter.
(4) Service delivery
models. Teenage parent programs may be offered at any location approved by the
district school board as a school center.
(5) Ancillary services. School districts
shall develop and implement procedures for the provision or coordination of the
four ancillary services of child care, social services, health services and
transportation for pregnant and parenting students who are currently enrolled
or have completed a teenage parent program and their eligible children. Program
completers are those students who have successfully completed a teenage parent
program as described in the district's approved teenage parent program plan.
Ancillary services are described as:
(a)
Child care. Child care includes developmentally appropriate learning activities
for the children of teenage parent program participants and completers during
the hours when the child's teenage parent is earning credit pursuing a standard
diploma as defined by Section
1003.4282 or
1002.3105, F.S. The special
diploma is not a diploma option beginning with students entering 9th grade for
the first time in 2014-2015 school year and student cohorts thereafter.
Districts choosing to operate school-based child care for children birth
through age three should be aware of the requirements of Florida's child care
law [Section 402.3025, F.S.]. Districts may
report children of teenage parent program participants and completers for
teenage parent full-time equivalent student membership in the Florida Education
Finance Program when the district provides or contracts for child care for the
child and the following criteria are met:
1.
The child is assigned a student identification number and all appropriate data
for reporting is collected;
2. The
parent is currently enrolled in a teenage parent program or is a program
completer and enrolled in courses that meet the graduation requirements
pursuant to Section 1003.4282 or
1002.3105, F.S.;
3. The teenage parent has not graduated or
legally withdrawn from school;
4.
The child has not attained the age of five or is not eligible to enroll in
kindergarten according to Section 1003.21(1)(a)2., F.S., whichever comes
last;
5. The child is not served in
a preschool program supported by other state or federal funds such as
Prekindergarten Early Intervention, Head Start, or other subsidized child
care.
(b) Health
services. Health services include the coordination of health and nutrition
education and routine prenatal and postnatal health checkups during the time
that the teenage parent student is reported for FTE in the teenage parent
program. Routine check-ups for the children of teenage parent program
participants and completers, including immunizations, shall be provided or
coordinated during the time those children are reported for FTE in a teenage
parent program.
(c) Social
services. Social services include counseling assistance or case coordination
related to economic assistance, during the time that the teenage parent
students or their children are reported for FTE in a teenage parent
program.
(d) Transportation.
Transportation includes transportation for pregnant and parenting teenage
parent program participants, program completers who have returned to their home
schools, and their children regardless of distance from school pursuant to
Section 1011.68(1)(b),
F.S. Transportation shall be provided for teenage parents and their children to
and from home and the child care facility and for the teenage parents to and
from the child care facility and the school, as required for the parent's
educational activities in credit earning hours.
(6) The local school board shall approve the
teenage parent program plan and all subsequent amendments prior to reporting
students and their children for teenage parent program funding. The individual
program description of the teenage parent program plan shall include:
(a) Agency coordination.
(b) Specific outcome objectives.
(c) Evaluation.
(d) Specific student eligibility
criteria.
(e) Student admission
procedures.
(f) Program operating
procedures to include:
1. Pregnancy- and
parenting-related curriculum.
2.
Special strategies.
3. Equal access
for eligible exceptional and limited English proficient students.
4. Student services.
a. Description of child care
services.
b. Description of health
services.
c. Description of social
services.
d. Description of
transportation.
e. Other services
which may be provided to participants.
5. Implementation sites.
6. Length of stay in program for students and
their children.
7. Total teenage
parent program FTE projected for students and their
children.
(7)
Program Evaluation. Each district receiving state funding for teenage parent
programs through the Florida Education Finance Program shall submit an annual
report to the Department documenting the extent to which each of the individual
teenage parent programs has met the objectives established by the district.
These objectives, developed by the district, are based upon the following
required common objective criteria:
(a)
Remaining in school or earning a high school diploma.
(b) Improving parenting skills.
(c) Giving birth to babies weighing 5.5
pounds or greater.
Rulemaking Authority
1001.02,
1003.54 FS. Law Implemented
1003.54
FS.
New 10-30-90, Amended 1-2-95, 3-20-96,
2-20-17.
