House Bill 0703e2

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                                       CS/HB 703, Second Engrossed



  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; requiring certain

11         input; creating s. 231.2905, F.S.; creating the

12         Florida School Recognition Program to provide

13         financial awards to selected faculty and staff

14         of identified schools; providing criteria for

15         selection; amending s. 236.02, F.S., relating

16         to participation in the Florida Education

17         Finance Program; requiring expenditures for

18         instructional personnel salaries based on

19         performance assessments; providing an effective

20         date.

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

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

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

26  to read:

27         230.23  Powers and duties of school board.--The school

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

29  perform all duties listed below:

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

31  prescribe qualifications for those positions, and provide for


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                                       CS/HB 703, Second Engrossed



  1  the appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and

  2  dismissal of employees as follows, subject to the requirements

  3  of chapter 231:

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

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

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

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

  8  training and for continued and efficient service and fix and

  9  authorize the compensation of school employees on the basis of

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

11  salary schedule for instructional personnel, must base a

12  portion of each employee's compensation on performance

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

14  teaching experience of a person who has been designated state

15  teacher of the year by any state in the United States. In

16  developing the salary schedule, the school board shall seek

17  input from parents, teachers, and representatives of the

18  business community.

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

20  district employees, students, school volunteers, or advisory

21  committee members who have contributed outstanding and

22  meritorious service in their fields or service areas.  After

23  considering recommendations of the superintendent, the board

24  shall adopt rules establishing and regulating the meritorious

25  service awards necessary for the efficient operation of the

26  program. An award or incentive granted under this paragraph

27  may not be considered in determining the salary schedules

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

29  persons who propose procedures or ideas which are adopted by

30  the board and which will result in eliminating or reducing

31  school board expenditures or improving district or school


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                                       CS/HB 703, Second Engrossed



  1  center operations.  Nonmonetary awards shall include, but need

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

  3  photographs.  The school board is authorized to expend funds

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

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

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

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

  8  230.33, Florida Statutes, 1996 Supplement, is amended to read:

  9         230.33  Duties and responsibilities of

10  superintendent.--The superintendent shall exercise all powers

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

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

13  with the school board. The recommendations, nominations,

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

15  the school board by the superintendent shall be either

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

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

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

19  in this paragraph, the recommendations, nominations, and

20  proposals required of the superintendent were not contrary to

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

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

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

24  requirements of chapter 231, and in addition the

25  superintendent shall have the following duties:

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

27  recommend to the school board for adoption a salary schedule

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

29  employees, arranging such schedules, insofar as practicable,

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

31  continued and efficient service. The superintendent must


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                                       CS/HB 703, Second Engrossed



  1  recommend a salary schedule for instructional personnel which

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

  3  demonstrated under s. 231.29. In developing the recommended

  4  salary schedule, the superintendent shall include input from

  5  parents, teachers, and representatives of the business

  6  community.

  7         Section 3.  Section 231.2905, Florida Statutes, is

  8  created to read:

  9         231.2905  Florida School Recognition Program.--

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

11  performance incentive program for outstanding faculty and

12  staff in highly productive schools.  The Legislature further

13  finds that performance-based incentives are commonplace in the

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

15  a reward for productivity.

16         (2)  The Florida School Recognition Program is created

17  to provide financial awards to faculty and staff of schools

18  that sustain high performance or that demonstrate exemplary

19  improvement due to innovation and effort.  The Commissioner of

20  Education shall establish statewide objective criteria for

21  schools to be invited to apply for the Florida School

22  Recognition Program.  The selection of schools must be based

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

24  participate in the program, a school district must have

25  incorporated a performance incentive program into its employee

26  salary structure.  All public schools, including charter

27  schools, are eligible to participate in the program.

28         (a)  Initial criteria for identification of schools

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

30  include, but not be limited to:

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                                       CS/HB 703, Second Engrossed



  1         1.  Improvement in the school's student achievement

  2  data.

  3         2.  Statewide student achievement data.

  4         3.  Readiness for postsecondary education data.

  5         4.  Dropout rates.

  6         5.  Attendance rates.

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

  8  identified, schools must apply for final recognition and

  9  financial awards based on established criteria.  Criteria must

10  include, but not be limited to:

11         1.  School climate, including rates of school violence

12  and crime.

13         2.  Indicators of innovation in teaching and learning.

14         3.  Indicators of successful challenging school

15  improvement plans.

16         4.  Parent, community, and student involvement in

17  learning.

18         (c)  After identification of schools for final

19  recognition and financial awards, awards must be distributed

20  based on employee performance criteria established in district

21  school board policy.

22         (3)  All selected schools shall receive financial

23  awards depending on the availability of funds appropriated and

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

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

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

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

28  to the faculty and staff or for educational equipment or

29  materials for the school.  Notwithstanding statutory

30  provisions to the contrary, incentive awards are not subject

31  to collective bargaining.


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                                       CS/HB 703, Second Engrossed



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

  2  Statutes, is amended to read:

  3         236.02  Minimum requirements of the Florida Education

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

  5  state appropriations for the Florida Education Finance Program

  6  shall provide evidence of its effort to maintain an adequate

  7  school program throughout the district and shall meet at least

  8  the following requirements:

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

10  accordance with a salary schedule or schedules adopted by the

11  school board in accordance with the provisions of law and

12  regulations of the state board. Expenditures for salaries of

13  instructional personnel must include compensation based on

14  employee performance demonstrated under s. 231.29.

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

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