Senate Bill 1256
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1999 SB 1256
By Senator Kirkpatrick
5-981A-99 See HB
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education accountability;
3 amending s. 229.58, F.S.; revising requirements
4 for the composition of school advisory
5 councils; requiring school boards to develop
6 procedures to ensure balanced school advisory
7 council membership; amending s. 229.594, F.S.;
8 revising the date by which the Florida
9 Commission on Education Reform and
10 Accountability must submit an annual report;
11 amending s. 230.23, F.S.; revising provisions
12 relating to the school improvement plan
13 approval process; requiring the school board to
14 hold public hearings regarding assistance and
15 intervention; providing an effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 229.58, Florida
20 Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:
21 229.58 District and school advisory councils.--
22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.--
23 (a) The school board shall establish an advisory
24 council for each school in the district, and shall develop
25 procedures for the election and appointment of advisory
26 council members. Each school advisory council shall include in
27 its name the words "school advisory council." The school
28 advisory council shall be the sole body responsible for final
29 decisionmaking at the school relating to implementation of the
30 provisions of ss. 229.591, 229.592, and 230.23(16). A majority
31 of the members of each school advisory council must be persons
1
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 1256
5-981A-99 See HB
1 who are not employed by the school. Each advisory council
2 shall be composed of the following:
3 1. The school principal. and an appropriately balanced
4 number of
5 2. Teachers, education support employees, students,
6 parents, and other business and community citizens who are
7 representative of the ethnic, racial, and economic community
8 served by the school, giving consideration to the school's
9 ethnic, racial, and economic makeup.
10
11 School boards shall develop procedures to ensure balanced
12 school advisory council membership. Vocational-technical
13 center and high school advisory councils shall include
14 students, and middle and junior high school advisory councils
15 may include students. School advisory councils of
16 vocational-technical and adult education centers are not
17 required to include parents as members.
18 (b) Council members representing teachers, education
19 support employees, students, and parents shall be elected by
20 their respective peer groups at the school in a fair and
21 equitable manner as follows:
22 1. Teachers shall be elected by teachers.
23 2. Education support employees shall be elected by
24 education support employees.
25 3. Students shall be elected by students.
26 4. Parents shall be elected by parents.
27
28 The school board shall establish procedures for use by schools
29 in selecting business and community members. Such procedures
30 shall include means of ensuring wide notice of vacancies and
31 for taking input on possible members from local business,
2
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 1256
5-981A-99 See HB
1 chambers of commerce, community and civic organizations and
2 groups, and the public at large. The school board shall review
3 the membership composition of each advisory council. Should
4 the school board determine that the membership elected by the
5 school is not representative of the ethnic, racial, and
6 economic community served by the school, the board shall
7 appoint additional members to achieve proper representation.
8 The Florida Commission on Education Reform and Accountability
9 shall serve as a review body to determine if schools have
10 maximized their efforts to include on their advisory councils
11 minority persons and persons of lower socioeconomic status.
12 Although schools should be strongly encouraged to establish
13 school advisory councils, any school district that has a
14 student population of 10,000 or fewer may establish a district
15 advisory council which shall include at least one duly elected
16 teacher from each school in the district. For the purposes of
17 school advisory councils and district advisory councils, the
18 term "teacher" shall include classroom teachers, certified
19 student services personnel, and media specialists. For
20 purposes of this paragraph, "education support employee" means
21 any person employed by a school who is not defined as
22 instructional or administrative personnel pursuant to s.
23 228.041 and whose duties require 20 or more hours in each
24 normal working week.
25 (c)(b) The school board may establish a district
26 advisory council representative of the district and composed
27 of teachers, students, parents, and other citizens or a
28 district advisory council which may be comprised of
29 representatives of each school advisory council. Recognized
30 schoolwide support groups which meet all criteria established
31 by law or rule may function as school advisory councils.
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1999 SB 1256
5-981A-99 See HB
1 Section 2. Paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of section
2 229.594, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
3 229.594 Powers and duties of the commission.--
4 (2) The commission shall:
5 (f) Prepare and submit to the Governor, the President
6 of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
7 the Commissioner of Education, and each Cabinet member a
8 report and recommendations by December October 1 of each year.
9 The annual reports of the commission shall be made available
10 to other appropriate governmental officials and to the public
11 schools in this state.
12 Section 3. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (16)
13 of section 230.23, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are
14 amended to read:
15 230.23 Powers and duties of school board.--The school
16 board, acting as a board, shall exercise all powers and
17 perform all duties listed below:
18 (16) IMPLEMENT SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT AND
19 ACCOUNTABILITY.--Maintain a system of school improvement and
20 education accountability as provided by statute and State
21 Board of Education rule. This system of school improvement and
22 education accountability shall be consistent with, and
23 implemented through, the district's continuing system of
24 planning and budgeting required by this section and ss.
25 229.555 and 237.041. This system of school improvement and
26 education accountability shall include, but not be limited to,
27 the following:
28 (b) Approval process.--Develop a process for approval
29 of a school improvement plan presented by an individual school
30 and its advisory council which shall include a review by the
31 school advisory council of any revisions made to the plan
4
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 1256
5-981A-99 See HB
1 prior to its submission to the school board for approval. The
2 school advisory council may, by majority vote, concur or
3 reject these revisions. The plan shall be amended accordingly
4 prior to submission to the school board for approval. In the
5 event a board does not approve a school improvement plan after
6 exhausting this process, the Florida Commission on Education
7 Reform and Accountability shall be notified of the need for
8 assistance.
9 (c) Assistance and intervention.--Develop a 3-year
10 plan of increasing individualized assistance and intervention
11 for each school that does not meet or make adequate progress,
12 based upon the recommendations of the commission, as defined
13 pursuant to statute and State Board of Education rule, toward
14 meeting the goals and standards of its approved school
15 improvement plan. The school board must hold at least one
16 public hearing to present the provisions included in the
17 3-year plan, and must hold an annual public hearing to report
18 on the progress of schools receiving assistance and
19 intervention.
20 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.
21
22 *****************************************
23 HOUSE SUMMARY
24
Revises requirements for the composition of school
25 advisory councils. Requires school boards to develop
procedures to ensure balanced school advisory council
26 membership. Revises the date by which the Florida
Commission on Education Reform and Accountability must
27 submit an annual report. Revises provisions relating to
the school improvement plan approval process. Requires
28 the school board to hold public hearings regarding
assistance and intervention.
29
30
31
5