House Bill 0703e1

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                                    CS/HB 703, First Engrossed/ntc



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to school district personnel;

  3         amending s. 230.23, F.S., relating to powers

  4         and duties of district school boards; requiring

  5         the adoption of salary schedules based on

  6         performance assessments of instructional

  7         personnel; amending s. 230.33, F.S.; requiring

  8         superintendents to recommend salary schedules

  9         for instructional personnel based on

10         performance assessments; creating s. 231.2905,

11         F.S.; creating the Florida School Recognition

12         Program to provide financial awards to selected

13         faculty and staff of identified schools;

14         providing criteria for selection; amending s.

15         236.02, F.S., relating to participation in the

16         Florida Education Finance Program; requiring

17         expenditures for instructional personnel

18         salaries based on performance assessments;

19         providing an effective date.

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21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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23         Section 1.  Paragraphs (c) and (g) of subsection (5) of

24  section 230.23, Florida Statutes, 1996 Supplement, are amended

25  to read:

26         230.23  Powers and duties of school board.--The school

27  board, acting as a board, shall exercise all powers and

28  perform all duties listed below:

29         (5)  PERSONNEL.--Designate positions to be filled,

30  prescribe qualifications for those positions, and provide for

31  the appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and


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                                    CS/HB 703, First Engrossed/ntc



  1  dismissal of employees as follows, subject to the requirements

  2  of chapter 231:

  3         (c)  Compensation and salary schedules.--Adopt a salary

  4  schedule or salary schedules to be used as a basis for paying

  5  all school employees, such schedules to be arranged, insofar

  6  as practicable, so as to furnish incentive for improvement in

  7  training and for continued and efficient service and fix and

  8  authorize the compensation of school employees on the basis of

  9  such schedules.  A district school board, in determining the

10  salary schedule for instructional personnel, must base a

11  portion of each employee's compensation on performance

12  demonstrated under s. 231.29 and must shall consider the prior

13  teaching experience of a person who has been designated state

14  teacher of the year by any state in the United States.

15         (g)  Awards and incentives.--Provide for recognition of

16  district employees, students, school volunteers, or advisory

17  committee members who have contributed outstanding and

18  meritorious service in their fields or service areas.  After

19  considering recommendations of the superintendent, the board

20  shall adopt rules establishing and regulating the meritorious

21  service awards necessary for the efficient operation of the

22  program. An award or incentive granted under this paragraph

23  may not be considered in determining the salary schedules

24  required by paragraph (c). Monetary awards shall be limited to

25  persons who propose procedures or ideas which are adopted by

26  the board and which will result in eliminating or reducing

27  school board expenditures or improving district or school

28  center operations.  Nonmonetary awards shall include, but need

29  not be limited to, certificates, plaques, medals, ribbons, and

30  photographs.  The school board is authorized to expend funds

31  for such recognition and awards.  No award granted under the


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                                    CS/HB 703, First Engrossed/ntc



  1  provisions of this paragraph shall exceed $2,000 or 10 percent

  2  of the first year's gross savings, whichever is greater.

  3         Section 2.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section

  4  230.33, Florida Statutes, 1996 Supplement, is amended to read:

  5         230.33  Duties and responsibilities of

  6  superintendent.--The superintendent shall exercise all powers

  7  and perform all duties listed below and elsewhere in the law;

  8  provided, that in so doing he or she shall advise and counsel

  9  with the school board. The recommendations, nominations,

10  proposals, and reports required by law and rule to be made to

11  the school board by the superintendent shall be either

12  recorded in the minutes or shall be made in writing, noted in

13  the minutes, and filed in the public records of the board.  It

14  shall be presumed that, in the absence of the record required

15  in this paragraph, the recommendations, nominations, and

16  proposals required of the superintendent were not contrary to

17  the action taken by the school board in such matters.

18         (7)  PERSONNEL.--Be responsible, as required herein,

19  for directing the work of the personnel, subject to the

20  requirements of chapter 231, and in addition the

21  superintendent shall have the following duties:

22         (b)  Compensation and salary schedules.--Prepare and

23  recommend to the school board for adoption a salary schedule

24  or salary schedules to be used as the basis for paying school

25  employees, arranging such schedules, insofar as practicable,

26  so as to furnish incentive for improvement in training and for

27  continued and efficient service. The superintendent must

28  recommend a salary schedule for instructional personnel which

29  bases a portion of each employee's compensation on performance

30  demonstrated under s. 231.29.

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                                    CS/HB 703, First Engrossed/ntc



  1         Section 3.  Section 231.2905, Florida Statutes, is

  2  created to read:

  3         231.2905  Florida School Recognition Program.--

  4         (1)  The Legislature finds that there is a need for a

  5  performance incentive program for outstanding faculty and

  6  staff in highly productive schools.  The Legislature further

  7  finds that performance-based incentives are commonplace in the

  8  private sector and should be infused into the public sector as

  9  a reward for productivity.

10         (2)  The Florida School Recognition Program is created

11  to provide financial awards to faculty and staff of schools

12  that sustain high performance or that demonstrate exemplary

13  improvement due to innovation and effort.  The Commissioner of

14  Education shall establish statewide objective criteria for

15  schools to be invited to apply for the Florida School

16  Recognition Program.  The selection of schools must be based

17  on at least 2 school years of data, when available.  To

18  participate in the program, a school district must have

19  incorporated a performance incentive program into its employee

20  salary structure.  All public schools, including charter

21  schools, are eligible to participate in the program.

22         (a)  Initial criteria for identification of schools

23  must rely on the school's data and statewide data and must

24  include, but not be limited to:

25         1.  Improvement in the school's student achievement

26  data.

27         2.  Statewide student achievement data.

28         3.  Readiness for postsecondary education data.

29         4.  Dropout rates.

30         5.  Attendance rates.

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                                    CS/HB 703, First Engrossed/ntc



  1         (b)  After a pool of eligible schools has been

  2  identified, schools must apply for final recognition and

  3  financial awards based on established criteria.  Criteria must

  4  include, but not be limited to:

  5         1.  School climate, including rates of school violence

  6  and crime.

  7         2.  Indicators of innovation in teaching and learning.

  8         3.  Indicators of successful challenging school

  9  improvement plans.

10         4.  Parent, community, and student involvement in

11  learning.

12         (c)  After identification of schools for final

13  recognition and financial awards, awards must be distributed

14  based on employee preformance criteria established in district

15  school board policy.

16         (3)  All selected schools shall receive financial

17  awards depending on the availability of funds appropriated and

18  the number and size of schools selected to receive an award.

19  Funds must be distributed to the school's fiscal agent and

20  placed in the school's account and must be used as determined

21  by the school's staff and school advisory council for bonuses

22  to the faculty and staff or for educational equipment or

23  materials for the school.  Notwithstanding statutory

24  provisions to the contrary, incentive awards are not subject

25  to collective bargaining.

26         Section 4.  Subsection (4) of section 236.02, Florida

27  Statutes, is amended to read:

28         236.02  Minimum requirements of the Florida Education

29  Finance Program.--Each district which participates in the

30  state appropriations for the Florida Education Finance Program

31  shall provide evidence of its effort to maintain an adequate


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                                    CS/HB 703, First Engrossed/ntc



  1  school program throughout the district and shall meet at least

  2  the following requirements:

  3         (4)  SALARY SCHEDULES.--Expend funds for salaries in

  4  accordance with a salary schedule or schedules adopted by the

  5  school board in accordance with the provisions of law and

  6  regulations of the state board. Expenditures for salaries of

  7  instructional personnel must include compensation based on

  8  employee performance demonstrated under s. 231.29.

  9         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1998.

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