The Florida Senate

229.512  Commissioner of Education; general powers and duties.--The Commissioner of Education is the chief educational officer of the state, and has the following general powers and duties:

(1)  To appoint staff necessary to carry out his or her powers and duties.

(2)  To suspend, for cause, with the approval of the State Board of Education, a public community college president. Such suspension shall be acted upon expeditiously by the local community college board of trustees.

(3)  To advise and counsel with the State Board of Education on all matters pertaining to education; to recommend to the State Board of Education actions and policies as, in the commissioner's opinion, should be acted upon or adopted; and to execute or provide for the execution of all acts and policies as are approved.

(4)  To call such special meetings of the State Board of Education as the commissioner deems necessary.

(5)  To keep such records as are necessary to set forth clearly all acts and proceedings of the state board.

(6)  To have a seal for his or her office with which, in connection with his or her own signature, the commissioner shall authenticate true copies of decisions, acts, or documents.

(7)  To assemble all data relative to the preparation of the long-range plan for the development of the state system of public education; to propose for adoption by the State Board of Education such a plan; and to propose revisions in the plan as may be necessary.

(8)  To recommend to the State Board of Education policies and steps designed to protect and preserve the principal of the State School Fund; to provide an assured and stable income from the fund; to execute such policies and actions as are approved; and to administer the State School Fund.

(9)  To take action on the release of mineral rights based upon the recommendations of the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.

(10)  To submit to the State Board of Education, at least 30 days prior to the date fixed herein, recommendations of expenditures for the State Board of Education, the Commissioner of Education, and all of the boards, institutions, agencies, and services under the general supervision of the State Board of Education for the ensuing fiscal year.

(11)  To develop and implement a plan for cooperating with the Federal Government in carrying out any or all phases of the educational program and to recommend policies for administering funds that are appropriated by Congress and apportioned to the state for any or all educational purposes.

(12)  To develop and implement policies for cooperating with other public agencies in carrying out those phases of the program in which such cooperation is required by law or is deemed by the commissioner to be desirable and to cooperate with public and nonpublic agencies in planning and bringing about improvements in the educational program.

(13)  To prepare forms and procedures as are necessary to be used by district school boards and all other educational agencies to assure uniformity, accuracy, and efficiency in the keeping of records, the execution of contracts, the preparation of budgets, or the submission of reports; to furnish at state expense, when deemed advisable by the commissioner, those forms that can more economically and efficiently be provided.

(14)  To implement a program of school improvement and education accountability designed to provide all students the opportunity to make adequate learning gains in each year of school as provided by statute and State Board of Education rule based upon the achievement of the state education goals, recognizing the State Board of Education as the body corporate responsible for the supervision of the system of public education, the school board as responsible for school and student performance, and the individual school as the unit for education accountability.

(15)  To arrange for the preparation, publication, and distribution of materials relating to the state system of public education which supply information concerning needs, problems, plans, and possibilities.

(16)(a)  To prepare and publish annually reports giving statistics and other useful information pertaining to the state system of public education; and

(b)  To prepare and publish annually reports giving statistics and other useful information pertaining to the Opportunity Scholarship Program.

(17)  To have printed copies of school laws, forms, instruments, instructions, and regulations of the State Board of Education and provide for their distribution.

(18)  To develop criteria for use by state instructional materials committees in evaluating materials submitted for adoption consideration. The criteria shall, as appropriate, be based on instructional expectations reflected in curriculum frameworks and student performance standards. The criteria for each subject or course shall be made available to publishers of instructional materials at least 24 months prior to the date on which bids are due as provided by s. 233.14, except as otherwise permitted under s. 233.17(3). It is the intent of the Legislature that publishers have ample time to develop instructional materials designed to meet requirements in this state.

(19)  To prescribe procedures for evaluating instructional materials submitted by publishers and manufacturers in each adoption.

History.--s. 15, ch. 69-106; ss. 7, 8, ch. 72-221; s. 2, ch. 75-302; s. 109, ch. 79-222; s. 129, ch. 81-259; s. 11, ch. 83-326; s. 14, ch. 91-182; s. 9, ch. 91-283; s. 1215, ch. 95-147; s. 45, ch. 95-280; s. 87, ch. 97-190; s. 1, ch. 97-285; s. 4, ch. 99-398.