Sen. Gayle Harrell (L) and Senate President Ben Alblritton (Photo by Christine Sexton/Florida Phoenix.)
Sweeping autism legislation — a top priority for Senate President Ben Albritton — passed the Florida Senate Wednesday on the heels of Developmental Disabilities Day at the Florida Capitol.
SB 112 is the first bill to clear the Senate and passed unanimously.
In an unusual move, Albritton spoke ahead of closing remarks by bill sponsor Sen. Gayle Harrell, describing how over the years he has met parents with autistic children who described a common refrain: They feel alone and don’t know where to go for help.
“What we are doing today is, we are sending a message to those parents. And if you can hear me, we hear you and we are running to your fight,” Albritton said.
The bill directs the Florida Department of Health to request federal approval under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide Florida families with early intervention therapies and services through the Early Steps program until the child turns four.
That program provides intervention services to eligible infants and toddlers. Under existing law, children age out of the program when they turn three.
The bill creates two education-related grant programs: one for specialized summer programs for children with autism and the other to support charter schools exclusively serving them.
UF center
Moreover, SB 112 designates the University of Florida Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment as a statewide hub for autism research, services, and best practices. The center will administer money for the summer educational programs that provide behavioral and social skill development; speech, occupational, or behavioral therapies; and family support and training workshops.
The center will be in charge of a grant program to establish the charter schools. Grants will prioritize schools serving rural and underserved areas; those with demonstrable success in establishing and operating a charter school exclusively for students with autism and related disorders; and programs that use existing facilities.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), defines autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a condition characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction and repetitive behaviors. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of 2020 one in 36 children aged 8 were estimated to have autism.
Despite the unanimous support, some senators raised concerns about a provision providing a no-cost new autism credential for instructional and childcare personnel.
Sen. Tracie Davis, a teacher works with students with disabilities, said she’s concerned about the costs of the new credential as well as a lack of providers available to offer the services.
“If we’re providing all these great services, which we are — this is a great bill, it is — but I just think the beginning stages of what sometimes we’re missing is the providers for the services,” she said.
For instance, she cited a shortage of support coordinators, people who help those with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Florida’s iBudget program, resulting in long wait lists. iBudget is an optional Medicaid program that provides people with developmental disabilities access to home- and community-based services to help with daily living.
“So, we are putting money into the programs but we’re not putting enough money or enough incentives in the area where we are recruiting providers.”
The attention to autism comes as the state for the first time relies on Medicaid managed care plans to cover applied behavioral analysis (ABA) to Medicaid-eligible children. ABA is a therapy for children with autism and other developmental disabilities that uses scientific principles to help change their behaviors. Before the new contracts, ABA was delivered outside of managed care plans.
Albritton’s proposal, or one similar to it, will likely find support in the Florida House of Representatives, where House Speaker Daniel Perez has also championed these issues (his brother has autism). Before becoming speaker, Perez helped secure passage of a Medicaid managed care pilot project for people with developmental disabilities.
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