Proposed legislation with bipartisan support that would expand services for students with autism in Florida is moving quickly through the Florida Senate and House.
In the Senate, the bill (SB 112) was approved by its second committee on Thursday, which means it has only one more committee stop to go before a full vote of the chamber.
Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, the bill's sponsor, said the measure would allow students with disabilities to stay in Florida’s early intervention program called Early Steps up to the time they start school, and set up charter schools and fund summer programs and camps for students with autism.
Plus, it would create free, online training for teachers who work with kids with autism.
“It provides for a specialized autism microcredential for instructional personnel, so that teachers really have that microcredential that's going to help them know how to teach children with autism,” said Harrell.
The bill would also create a Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment at the University of Florida tasked with distributing grants for charter and summer programs, and for running the microcredentialing program for teachers.
Harrell said the bill would be the first step in making sure resources and services available in the state meet the needs of the growing number of students on the spectrum. Across the state, waitlists are long for early intervention programs and charter schools for students with autism.
“My local Hope School for Autism, a charter school, has a waitlist of 150 children. We have got to do more. And I think we are on the right track, but this is the first step of many that I hope we are on the march to accomplish,” said Harrell.
Although the bill mostly focuses on services for children with autism, it would also expand the Cinotti Health Care Screening and Services Grant Program to include free screenings for autism at any age.
The legislation is a priority of Senate President Ben Albritton.
A companion bill in the House is in its first committee.
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