Downloads
SB 2510 — Prekindergarten Through Grade 12 Education
by Appropriations Committee
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Appropriations Committee (AP)
SB 2510 — Prekindergarten Through Grade 12 Education
by Appropriations Committee
The bill conforms law to the appropriations provided in SB 2500, the General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2025-2026, for prekindergarten through grade 12 education. Specifically, the amendment provides for the following:
Section 1 amends s. 402.22, F.S., to conform cross references related to the changes made in s. 1011.62, F.S., funds for operations of schools.
Section 2 modifies s. 1001.292, F.S., to require the third-party administrator to transfer funds from the Schools of Hope Revolving Loan Program to the Schools of Hope Program when the balance of the Schools of Hope Program falls below $25 million, beginning July 1, 2027.
Section 3 amends s. 1002.32, F.S., to conform a cross-reference for developmental research (laboratory) schools related to the definition of programs under the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP).
Section 4 amends s. 1002.33, F.S., to conform cross-references for charter schools related to the definition of programs and basic amounts for current operations under the FEFP.
Section 5 modifies s. 1002.333, F.S., related to persistently low-performing schools. The amendment:
- Expands the definition of a persistently low performing school.
- Expands the allowable location for a school of hope based on the availability of underused, vacant, or surplus property.
- Allows state universities and Florida Colleges System institutions to sponsor schools of hope.
- Allows a school of hope to co-locate in an underused, vacant, or surplus public school facility and requires the school district to provide facility-related services.
- Specifies that school of hope use of underused, vacant, or surplus property is at no cost.
- Provides for continuation of schools of hope funding based on performance metrics set by the State Board of Education (SBE).
- Requires reporting of schools of hope enrollment and performance data.
Section 6 amends s.1002.37, F.S., to conform a cross reference related to the calculation of full-time equivalent (FTE) student membership in the FEFP for students in the Florida Virtual School.
Section 7 amends s. 1002.411, F.S., to remove new student eligibility for the New Worlds Scholarship Accounts program, but allow parents to spend the remaining funds in an account on qualifying expenditures and revises the terms of account closure from 3 years of inactivity to 1 year.
Section 8 amends s. 1002.45, F.S., to conform cross references related to the calculation of FTE student membership and basic amounts for current operations in the FEFP for students in district virtual instruction programs.
Section 9 amends s. 1003.4201, F.S., to authorize the school district reading plan to include parent resources for struggling students and information about student eligibility for the New Worlds Reading Initiative.
Section 10 amends s. 1003.4203, F.S., relating to CAPE Digital Tool certificates and industry certifications, to:
- Limit eligibility for CAPE Digital Tool certificates to students in elementary grades, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
- Remove requirements related to middle school students and CAPE Digital Tool certificates.
- Rename “CAPE industry certifications” as “Basic CAPE industry certifications” and establish CAPE Basic Non-articulated industry certifications and CAPE Basic Articulated industry certifications.
- Establish CAPE Pathways industry certifications issued to high school students who complete at least three courses and earn an industry certification within a single career and technical education program or program of study, and who exit with a standard high school diploma. Such industry certifications are eligible for additional FEFP funding.
Section 11 amends s. 1003.4935, F.S., to conform cross-references related to the removal of CAPE Digital Tool certificates for middle grades students and to FTE bonus funding.
Section 12 amends s.1003.498, F.S., to conform a cross reference related to the calculation of FTE student membership in the FEFP for school district virtual course offerings.
Section 13 amends s. 1007.271, F.S., to conform a cross reference in the dual enrollment program for the calculation of FTE student membership in the FEFP.
Section 14 amends s. 1008.44, F.S., to revise provisions relating to the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List. The amendment:
- Clarifies the assignment of industry certifications to the funding list based on categories.
- Removes the Commissioner of Education responsibility to recommend revised FTE bonus funding.
- Requires, rather than authorizes, the Commissioner of Education to limit certifications on the funding list to students in certain grades, beginning in Fiscal Year 2026-2027.
Section 15 amends s. 1010.20, F.S., to conform cross references relating to how districts may later transfer or repurpose certain categorical funds under the FEFP.
Section 16 amends s. 1011.61, F.S., to remove the definition of a “full-time equivalent student” relating to a student participating in a student-teacher advisor program, and to conform cross-references related to the FEFP.
Section 17 amends s. 1011.62, F.S., to:
- Require school districts to report unduplicated counts of FTE students, including Family Empowerment Scholarship students.
- Require the discretionary millage compression supplement, state-funded discretionary contribution, supplemental allocation for juvenile justice education programs, and safe schools allocation to be recalculated during the fiscal year based on actual FTE student membership.
- Modify the calculation of the educational enrichment allocation and remove a requirement to prorate the allocation in certain conditions.
- Remove the requirement to prorate the exceptional student education guaranteed allocation if recalculated amounts exceed the appropriation.
The section also replaces the weighted FTE funding for specified acceleration options with a new Academic Acceleration Options Supplement as a categorical fund, appropriated annually in the General Appropriations Act. Under the new supplement:
- Each school district receives funding based on its proportionate share of statewide academic acceleration values.
- The student funding weights and teacher bonus amounts assigned to dual enrollment, early graduation, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Advanced International Certificate of Education, and CAPE industry certification outcomes remain consistent with current values, but funded through the supplement rather than the FEFP base allocation.
- The CAPE Pathways industry certification bonus is modified to require a standard high school diploma.
- Each school district must annually report its prior-year expenditures of supplement funds to the Legislature, beginning September 1, 2026.
Section 18 amends s. 1011.65, F.S., to remove the requirement for an FEFP allocation conference, and instead require the Department of Education to submit recalculated FEFP data to the Legislature and Governor for written approval prior to releasing the recalculated allocations to school districts.
Section 19 requires the DOE to make recommendations, no later than July 1, 2028, on a Title I performance incentive program to reward Title I schools that have demonstrated excellence in student achievement and learning gains.
Section 20 provides an effective date of July 1, 2025.
Vote: Senate 25-9; House 80-24