CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.





                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1756

    Amendment No.    

                            CHAMBER ACTION
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11  Senator Silver moved the following amendment:

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13         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 

14         On page 56, between lines 13 and 14,

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16  insert:

17         Section 10.  Effective July 1, 1999, section 229.5925,

18  Florida Statutes, is created to read:

19         229.5925  Educational care teams.--

20         (1)  LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--The State Board of Education

21  shall appoint educational care teams for the purpose of

22  providing voluntary assistance to school districts with

23  schools that have a low performance grade status pursuant to

24  s. 229.57. It is the intent of the Legislature that

25  educational care teams be able to:

26         (a)  Investigate and isolate the causes of low

27  performance, including, but not limited to, administrative and

28  instructional staffing, staff development and training, budget

29  prioritization, curriculum, physical environment, and student

30  socioeconomic health and safety issues;

31         (b)  Prepare a written evaluation and report of its

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1756

    Amendment No.    





 1  findings; and

 2         (c)  Make nonbinding recommendations to the school

 3  board for improvements in performance at the low-performing

 4  school.

 5         (2)  APPOINTMENTS.--

 6         (a)  Each educational care team shall consist of seven

 7  members appointed by the State Board of Education, upon

 8  recommendation of the Commissioner of Education and the

 9  Commission on Education Reform and Accountability. A method

10  for making such appointments shall be determined by state

11  board rule.

12         (b)  At a minimum, each appointee shall have or have

13  had experience and success as a principal, teacher, school

14  administrator, or child or school psychologist. To the extent

15  possible, each team shall have each of the minimum

16  qualifications represented by its appointees as listed in this

17  paragraph. Consideration shall also be given to the gender and

18  racial composition of each team.

19         (c)  The state board shall appoint four teams to serve

20  four demographic regions of the state as shall be determined

21  by the board. The board is encouraged to draw each team member

22  from the region in which he or she resides.

23         (d)  The Commissioner of Education may provide

24  training, research, and resources to the educational care

25  teams as is deemed necessary to carry out their duties.

26         (3)  DISTRICT APPLICATION FOR EDUCATIONAL CARE TEAM

27  ASSISTANCE.--

28         (a)  Any school district may, but is not required to,

29  seek the assistance of an educational care team for a

30  low-performing school under the following circumstances:

31         1.  The low-performing school received a performance

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1756

    Amendment No.    





 1  grade category "F," pursuant to s. 229.57, the year

 2  immediately preceding the time that application for assistance

 3  is made; or

 4         2.  The low-performing school has consistently received

 5  a performance grade category "D" or worse, pursuant to s.

 6  229.57, over a period of time to be determined by state board

 7  rule.

 8         (b)  A school district may seek to contract, and the

 9  state board may approve assistance from an educational care

10  team, for schools of performance category "C," pursuant to s.

11  229.57, when the school is unable to show significant academic

12  progress of the lower quartile of students on statewide

13  assessments. This option shall be granted at the discretion of

14  the board, based on the availability of an educational care

15  team, and other criteria for which the board may adopt rules.

16         (4)  ASSIGNMENT OF EDUCATIONAL CARE TEAMS.--

17         (a)  If a district application for assistance of an

18  educational care team at a low-performing school as described

19  in this section is approved by the state board, the board

20  shall assign the team within the region in which the district

21  is located to the school, considering the following:

22         1.  Educational care teams shall be assigned and

23  scheduled according to the date of board approval. District

24  applications for educational care teams shall be considered by

25  in the order in which they are received.

26         2.  Priority of assignment shall be given to schools

27  with performance grade category "F" in situations where

28  applications are granted to several district simultaneously.

29         3.  Districts may apply and gain approval for

30  educational care teams not more than twice in 1 calendar year,

31  based on the date of first approval.

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1756

    Amendment No.    





 1         (b)  Upon assignment to a school, the educational care

 2  team shall operate under the direction of the requesting

 3  school district at the school for which the assistance was

 4  requested. The care teams' duties shall be performed in the

 5  most expedient, but thorough, manner possible.

 6         (5)  REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.--

 7         (a)  Upon completion of its evaluation of the

 8  low-performing school, the educational care team shall prepare

 9  a written report and recommendation to the local school board.

10  Recommendations shall be nonbinding.

11         (b)  A copy of the report and recommendation shall be

12  furnished by the educational care team to the Department of

13  Education and the Florida Commission on Education Reform and

14  Accountability.

15         (c)  The school district shall make a written report to

16  the state board and the Florida Commission on Education Reform

17  and Accountability of its intentions as to what actions it

18  will take relative to the recommendations made by the assigned

19  educational care team. The district's report shall be made in

20  time determined by state board rule.

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22  (Redesignate subsequent sections.)

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25  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============

26  And the title is amended as follows:

27         On page 3, line 6, after the semicolon,

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29  insert:

30         creating s. 229.5925, F.S.; providing for state

31         board appointment of educational care teams;

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1756

    Amendment No.    





 1         providing duties; establishing appointment

 2         criteria; providing for a school district to

 3         request the assignment of an educational care

 4         team; providing terms and conditions of

 5         assignments; requiring the educational care

 6         team and the school district to make certain

 7         reports;

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