TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Education Department is implementing its own accountability plan for the state's troubled voucher programs after legislators failed to deliver their promised fix.

Education Commissioner Jim Horne assured the state Board of Education on Tuesday that the Education Department now has the voucher programs, "under control ... and better managed."

"That doesn't mean we'll never have any problems in the future," Horne said, "But there are problems in public schools, too."

During the legislative session, lawmakers were unable to agree on accountability standards, particularly financial ones, for the state's two voucher programs: McKay scholarships for disabled students and the corporate tax credit scholarships, which send poor children to private schools.

An audit last year found taxpayer money was being used to support a school in Tampa that was named in a federal grand jury indictment alleging terrorist connections, and that a scholarship organization was collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars without sending any low-income children to private schools.

Under a four-point oversight plan, schools that accept vouchers will have to submit to annual reviews by the Education Department to verify compliance with state law.

If schools fail to comply, they will be barred from receiving payment for voucher students, said Theresa Klebacha, executive director of the school choice office.

The plan also includes using an internal database to ensure students aren't enrolled in more than one scholarship program; providing parents with a way to report incidents of waste, fraud and abuse; and better informing parents both online and through a toll-free hotline detailing participating schools and available scholarships.

Some members of the state board worried that the departments' plan was insufficient to halt fraud and abuse.

One state board member, T. Willard Fair, asked Commissioner Horne to make sure the state's chief financial officer, Tom Gallagher, who earlier this year conducted an audit of the voucher programs, be made aware of the planned accountability measures.

During the meeting in Tallahassee, the board also criticized a bill passed by the Legislature to implement a universal pre-kindergarten program required by voters in 2002.

Calling the bill "seriously flawed," Charles P. Garcia asked that the board not endorse the bill and recommend a veto.

Agreeing the measure passed by lawmakers during session was inconsistent with recommendations of the governor's task force on universal prekindergarten, the board stopped short of formally asking for a veto.

Reporter Allison North Jones can be reached at (850) 222-8382.