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2019 Florida Statutes

Title XLVIII K-20 EDUCATION CODE
Chapter 1012 PERSONNEL Entire Chapter
SECTION 2315
Assignment of teachers.
F.S. 1012.2315
1012.2315 Assignment of teachers.—
(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The Legislature finds disparities between teachers assigned to teach in a majority of schools that do not need improvement and schools that do need improvement pursuant to s. 1008.33. The disparities may be found in the assignment of temporarily certified teachers, teachers in need of improvement, and out-of-field teachers and in the performance of the students. It is the intent of the Legislature that district school boards have flexibility through the collective bargaining process to assign teachers more equitably across the schools in the district.
(2) ASSIGNMENT TO SCHOOLS GRADED “D” or “F”.—
(a) A school district may not assign a higher percentage than the school district average of temporarily certified teachers, teachers in need of improvement, or out-of-field teachers to schools graded “D” or “F” pursuant to s. 1008.34.
(b)1. A school district may assign an individual newly hired as instructional personnel to a school that has earned a grade of “F” in the previous year or any combination of three consecutive grades of “D” or “F” in the previous 3 years pursuant to s. 1008.34 if the individual:
a. Has received an effective rating or highly effective rating in the immediate prior year’s performance evaluation pursuant s. 1012.34;
b. Has successfully completed or is enrolled in a teacher preparation program pursuant to s. 1004.04, s. 1004.85, or s. 1012.56, or a teacher preparation program specified in State Board of Education rule, is provided with high quality mentoring during the first 2 years of employment, holds a certificate issued pursuant to s. 1012.56, and holds a probationary contract pursuant to s. 1012.335(2)(a); or
c. Holds a probationary contract pursuant to s. 1012.335(2)(a), holds a certificate issued pursuant to s. 1012.56, and has successful teaching experience, and if, in the judgment of the school principal, students would benefit from the placement of that individual.
2. As used in this paragraph, the term “mentoring” includes the use of student achievement data combined with at least monthly observations to improve the educator’s effectiveness in improving student outcomes. Mentoring may be provided by a school district, a teacher preparation program approved pursuant to s. 1004.04, s. 1004.85, or s. 1012.56, or a teacher preparation program specified in State Board of Education rule.

Each school district shall annually certify to the Commissioner of Education that the requirements in this subsection have been met. If the commissioner determines that a school district is not in compliance with this subsection, the State Board of Education shall be notified and shall take action pursuant to s. 1008.32 in the next regularly scheduled meeting to require compliance.

(3) SALARY INCENTIVES.—District school boards are authorized to provide salary incentives to meet the requirement of subsection (2). A district school board may not sign a collective bargaining agreement that precludes the school district from providing sufficient incentives to meet this requirement.
1(4) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—
(a) Notwithstanding provisions of chapter 447 relating to district school board collective bargaining, collective bargaining provisions may not preclude a school district from providing incentives to high-quality teachers and assigning such teachers to low-performing schools.
(b) Before the start of the 2019-2020 school year, each school district and the certified collective bargaining unit for instructional personnel shall negotiate a memorandum of understanding that addresses the selection, placement, and expectations of instructional personnel and provides school principals with the autonomy described in s. 1012.28(8).
(c)1. In addition to the provisions under s. 447.305(2), an employee organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent for a unit of instructional personnel as defined in s. 1012.01(2) must include for each such certified bargaining unit the following information in its application for renewal of registration:
a. The number of employees in the bargaining unit who are eligible for representation by the employee organization.
b. The number of employees who are represented by the employee organization, specifying the number of members who pay dues and the number of members who do not pay dues.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 447 relating to collective bargaining, an employee organization whose dues paying membership is less than 50 percent of the employees eligible for representation in the unit, as identified in subparagraph 1., must petition the Public Employees Relations Commission pursuant to s. 447.307(2) and (3) for recertification as the exclusive representative of all employees in the unit within 1 month after the date on which the organization applies for renewal of registration pursuant to s. 447.305(2). The certification of an employee organization that does not comply with this paragraph is revoked.
(5) REPORT.—
(a) By July 1, the Department of Education shall annually report on its website, in a manner that is accessible to the public, the performance rating data reported by district school boards under s. 1012.34. The report must include the percentage of classroom teachers, instructional personnel, and school administrators receiving each performance rating aggregated by school district and by school.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 1012.31(3)(a)2., each school district shall annually report to the parent of any student who is assigned to a classroom teacher or school administrator having two consecutive annual performance evaluation ratings of unsatisfactory under s. 1012.34, two annual performance evaluation ratings of unsatisfactory within a 3-year period under s. 1012.34, or three consecutive annual performance evaluation ratings of needs improvement or a combination of needs improvement and unsatisfactory under s. 1012.34.
(6) ASSIGNMENT OF TEACHERS BASED UPON PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS.—
(a) If a high school or middle school student is currently taught by a classroom teacher who, during that school year, receives a performance evaluation rating of “needs improvement” or “unsatisfactory” under s. 1012.34, the student may not be assigned the following school year to a classroom teacher in the same subject area who received a performance evaluation rating of “needs improvement” or “unsatisfactory” in the preceding school year.
(b) If an elementary school student is currently taught by a classroom teacher who, during that school year, receives a performance evaluation rating of “needs improvement” or “unsatisfactory” under s. 1012.34, the student may not be assigned the following school year to a classroom teacher who received a performance evaluation rating of “needs improvement” or “unsatisfactory” in the preceding school year.
(c) For a student enrolling in an extracurricular course as defined in s. 1003.01(15), a parent may choose to have the student taught by a teacher who received a performance evaluation of “needs improvement” or “unsatisfactory” in the preceding school year if the student and the student’s parent receive an explanation of the impact of teacher effectiveness on student learning and the principal receives written consent from the parent.
History.—s. 57, ch. 2006-74; s. 5, ch. 2009-144; s. 10, ch. 2011-1; s. 12, ch. 2012-194; s. 5, ch. 2013-250; s. 2, ch. 2014-32; s. 4, ch. 2016-58; s. 33, ch. 2018-6; s. 132, ch. 2019-3.
1Note.—Section 49, ch. 2018-6, provides that:

“(1) The Department of Revenue is authorized, and all conditions are deemed to be met, to adopt emergency rules pursuant to s. 120.54(4), Florida Statutes, for the purpose of administering the provisions of this act.

“(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, emergency rules adopted pursuant to subsection (1) are effective for 6 months after adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of the emergency rules.

“(3) This section shall take effect upon this act becoming a law and shall expire January 1, 2022.”