The Florida Senate

The county and municipalities located within the geographic area of a school district shall enter into an interlocal agreement with the district school board which jointly establishes the specific ways in which the plans and processes of the district school board and the local governments are to be coordinated. The interlocal agreements shall be submitted to the state land planning agency and the Office of Educational Facilities in accordance with a schedule published by the state land planning agency.

The schedule must establish staggered due dates for submission of interlocal agreements that are executed by both the local government and the district school board, commencing on March 1, 2003, and concluding by December 1, 2004, and must set the same date for all governmental entities within a school district. However, if the county where the school district is located contains more than 20 municipalities, the state land planning agency may establish staggered due dates for the submission of interlocal agreements by these municipalities. The schedule must begin with those areas where both the number of districtwide capital-outlay full-time-equivalent students equals 80 percent or more of the current year’s school capacity and the projected 5-year student growth is 1,000 or greater, or where the projected 5-year student growth rate is 10 percent or greater.

If the student population has declined over the 5-year period preceding the due date for submittal of an interlocal agreement by the local government and the district school board, the local government and the district school board may petition the state land planning agency for a waiver of one or more requirements of subsection (2). The waiver must be granted if the procedures called for in subsection (2) are unnecessary because of the school district’s declining school age population, considering the district’s 5-year facilities work program prepared pursuant to s. 1013.35. The state land planning agency may modify or revoke the waiver upon a finding that the conditions upon which the waiver was granted no longer exist. The district school board and local governments must submit an interlocal agreement within 1 year after notification by the state land planning agency that the conditions for a waiver no longer exist.

Interlocal agreements between local governments and district school boards adopted pursuant to s. 163.3177 before the effective date of this section must be updated and executed pursuant to the requirements of this section, if necessary. Amendments to interlocal agreements adopted pursuant to this section must be submitted to the state land planning agency within 30 days after execution by the parties for review consistent with this section. Local governments and the district school board in each school district are encouraged to adopt a single interlocal agreement to which all join as parties. The state land planning agency shall assemble and make available model interlocal agreements meeting the requirements of this section and notify local governments and, jointly with the Department of Education, the district school boards of the requirements of this section, the dates for compliance, and the sanctions for noncompliance. The state land planning agency shall be available to informally review proposed interlocal agreements. If the state land planning agency has not received a proposed interlocal agreement for informal review, the state land planning agency shall, at least 60 days before the deadline for submission of the executed agreement, renotify the local government and the district school board of the upcoming deadline and the potential for sanctions.

A process by which each local government and the district school board agree and base their plans on consistent projections of the amount, type, and distribution of population growth and student enrollment. The geographic distribution of jurisdiction-wide growth forecasts is a major objective of the process.

A process to coordinate and share information relating to existing and planned public school facilities, including school renovations and closures, and local government plans for development and redevelopment.

Participation by affected local governments with the district school board in the process of evaluating potential school closures, significant renovations to existing schools, and new school site selection before land acquisition. Local governments shall advise the district school board as to the consistency of the proposed closure, renovation, or new site with the local comprehensive plan, including appropriate circumstances and criteria under which a district school board may request an amendment to the comprehensive plan for school siting.

A process for determining the need for and timing of onsite and offsite improvements to support new, proposed expansion, or redevelopment of existing schools. The process must address identification of the party or parties responsible for the improvements.

A process for the school board to inform the local government regarding the effect of comprehensive plan amendments on school capacity. The capacity reporting must be consistent with laws and rules relating to measurement of school facility capacity and must also identify how the district school board will meet the public school demand based on the facilities work program adopted pursuant to s. 1013.35.

Participation of the local governments in the preparation of the annual update to the district school board’s 5-year district facilities work program and educational plant survey prepared pursuant to s. 1013.35.

A process for determining where and how joint use of either school board or local government facilities can be shared for mutual benefit and efficiency.

A procedure for the resolution of disputes between the district school board and local governments, which may include the dispute resolution processes contained in chapters 164 and 186.

An oversight process, including an opportunity for public participation, for the implementation of the interlocal agreement.

The Office of Educational Facilities shall submit any comments or concerns regarding the executed interlocal agreement to the state land planning agency within 30 days after receipt of the executed interlocal agreement. The state land planning agency shall review the executed interlocal agreement to determine whether it is consistent with the requirements of subsection (2), the adopted local government comprehensive plan, and other requirements of law. Within 60 days after receipt of an executed interlocal agreement, the state land planning agency shall publish a notice of intent in the Florida Administrative Weekly and shall post a copy of the notice on the agency’s Internet site. The notice of intent must state whether the interlocal agreement is consistent or inconsistent with the requirements of subsection (2) and this subsection, as appropriate.

The state land planning agency’s notice is subject to challenge under chapter 120; however, an affected person, as defined in s. 163.3184(1)(a), has standing to initiate the administrative proceeding, and this proceeding is the sole means available to challenge the consistency of an interlocal agreement required by this section with the criteria contained in subsection (2) and this subsection. In order to have standing, each person must have submitted oral or written comments, recommendations, or objections to the local government or the school board before the adoption of the interlocal agreement by the school board and local government. The district school board and local governments are parties to any such proceeding. In this proceeding, when the state land planning agency finds the interlocal agreement to be consistent with the criteria in subsection (2) and this subsection, the interlocal agreement shall be determined to be consistent with subsection (2) and this subsection if the local government’s and school board’s determination of consistency is fairly debatable. When the state planning agency finds the interlocal agreement to be inconsistent with the requirements of subsection (2) and this subsection, the local government’s and school board’s determination of consistency shall be sustained unless it is shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the interlocal agreement is inconsistent.

If the state land planning agency enters a final order that finds that the interlocal agreement is inconsistent with the requirements of subsection (2) or this subsection, it shall forward it to the Administration Commission, which may impose sanctions against the local government pursuant to s. 163.3184(11) and may impose sanctions against the district school board by directing the Department of Education to withhold from the district school board an equivalent amount of funds for school construction available pursuant to ss. 1013.65, 1013.68, 1013.70, and 1013.72.