The Florida Senate

231.613  Inservice training institutes.--

(1)  It is the intent of the Legislature to establish inservice training institutes for the purpose of providing rigorous, intensive inservice training for the state's public school instructional personnel as defined in s. 228.041(9). The Legislature shall determine annually in the General Appropriations Act the subject area or areas of instruction for the institutes and the grade levels and specialties of participating instructional personnel. Instructional technology and multicultural education shall be included as subject areas or areas of instruction at inservice training institutes. Effective July 1, 1992, and each year thereafter, inservice instruction in ¹career education shall be provided which meets needs identified in the inservice master plan for vocational educators pursuant to s. 231.614. A district may provide summer inservice training institutes in instructional areas which are areas of critical need for the district and approved by the Department of Education, and "clinical educator" training pursuant to s. 240.529(5)(b).

(2)  Each public school district shall separately, or in cooperation with an adjoining district or districts, establish an inservice training institute which meets the following criteria:

(a)  Operate for at least 30 hours of instruction. The training shall be on consecutive days, except weekends and district holidays.

(b)  Operate at a time other than the regular school year for students.

(c)  Annually provide rigorous, intensive inservice training for district instructional personnel as designated in subsection (1).

(d)  Utilize school district, community college, university, or other district-approved facilities as the site for inservice institutes.

(e)  Utilize teacher education centers to provide for inservice institute training.

Districts are encouraged to utilize university and community college personnel to conduct the training.

(3)  By May 1 of each year, each district shall submit to the school board for approval a plan describing how inservice institute training will be provided for that year. Such plans must be developed according to criteria and procedures established by the commissioner and must contain:

(a)  An estimate of costs for providing inservice activities.

(b)  Procedures to evaluate institute activities.

(c)  Such other items as are required by the state board.

(4)  Instructional personnel participating in an inservice training institute may receive compensation for this training.

(5)  Instructional personnel may use successful participation in an institute for certificate extension or for adding a new certification area if the district has an approved add-on certification program, pursuant to State Board of Education rule.

(6)  Funding for the institutes established pursuant to this section shall be provided annually in the General Appropriations Act.

(7)  No full-time equivalent students shall be reported by a community college or university as a result of such instruction.

(8)  This section shall be implemented only to the extent as specifically funded and authorized by law.

History.--s. 12, ch. 83-324; ss. 85, 94, ch. 84-336; s. 10, ch. 85-238; s. 26, ch. 86-225; s. 4, ch. 90-273; s. 20, ch. 90-288; s. 3, ch. 92-100; s. 41, ch. 92-136; s. 42, ch. 94-232; s. 4, ch. 95-236.

¹Note.--The term "career education" was substituted for the term "vocational education" by the editors pursuant to the directive of the Legislature in s. 16, ch. 94-232.