Senate Bill 2370c1

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 2370

    By the Committee on Education and Senator Sullivan





    304-2129A-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public schools; amending s.

  3         231.085, F.S.; specifying principals'

  4         responsibility for assessing performance of

  5         school personnel and implementing the Sunshine

  6         State Standards; requiring school principals to

  7         prepare individualized professional development

  8         programs for instructional personnel; requiring

  9         a review of student progress as a basis for the

10         design and evaluation of the programs;

11         requiring a performance evaluation to include

12         consideration of the quality of professional

13         development activities; authorizing rules;

14         creating a program to increase student

15         achievement in certain schools; providing

16         legislative intent; providing for the selection

17         of eligible schools; requiring school districts

18         to provide certain assistance to the schools;

19         requiring a professional development program;

20         requiring a needs analysis based upon student

21         achievement; requiring certain components;

22         requiring a plan to increase the number of

23         master teachers at certain schools; encouraging

24         certain services; requiring an evaluation;

25         providing criteria; providing certain

26         responsibilities of the Education Standards

27         Commission and the Office of Program Policy and

28         Government Accountability; requiring a report;

29         authorizing bonuses for certain principals and

30         teachers; authorizing rules; requiring that

31         contracts with teachers contain certain

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  1         provisions relating to content area of advanced

  2         degrees; amending s. 236.08106, F.S.;

  3         authorizing bonuses for certain principals and

  4         teachers; providing for the distribution of

  5         Excellent Teaching Program Funds; deleting

  6         certain district incentives; providing an

  7         effective date.

  8

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

10

11         Section 1.  Section 231.085, Florida Statutes, is

12  amended to read:

13         231.085  Duties of principals.--A district school board

14  shall employ, through written contract, public school

15  principals who shall supervise the operation and management of

16  the schools and property as the board determines necessary.

17         (1)  Each principal is responsible for the performance

18  of all personnel employed by the school board and assigned to

19  the school to which the principal is assigned. The principal

20  shall faithfully and effectively apply the

21  personnel-assessment system approved by the school board

22  pursuant to s. 231.29. Each principal shall base the

23  evaluation on reports of the progress of students in content

24  areas for which the teacher is responsible and may use

25  additional criteria as provided by rules or policies of the

26  school district. Based upon this review, each principal shall

27  submit to the school board and the teacher an individualized

28  professional development plan for each teacher. The report to

29  the district may be in the form of a summary of the required

30  components and an estimate of the number of teachers who

31  require them. The principal shall certify that at least 50

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  1  percent of any professional development program prescribed in

  2  the plan is based on the subject area content for which the

  3  teacher is responsible.

  4         (2)  Each principal shall perform such duties as may be

  5  assigned by the superintendent pursuant to the rules of the

  6  school board.  Such rules shall include, but not be limited

  7  to, rules relating to administrative responsibility,

  8  instructional leadership in implementing the Sunshine State

  9  Standards and of the overall educational program of the school

10  to which the principal is assigned, submission of personnel

11  recommendations to the superintendent, administrative

12  responsibility for records and reports, administration of

13  corporal punishment, and student suspension.  Each principal

14  shall provide leadership in the development or revision and

15  implementation of a school improvement plan pursuant to s.

16  230.23(16).

17         (3)  Beginning July 1, 2000, when a superintendent

18  evaluates the performance of a principal pursuant to s.

19  231.29, he or she shall consider the quality of the

20  principal's efforts to upgrade the competency of the teachers

21  at the school. A principal whose efforts are exemplary is

22  eligible for a bonus as provided in s. 236.08106 and the

23  annual Appropriations Act. Exemplary effort must be

24  demonstrated by reports of student progress as well as by

25  documentation of teachers' successful involvement in

26  individualized professional development activities.

27         (4)  The Commissioner of Education shall adopt rules to

28  assure that the conditions under which principals are eligible

29  for bonuses for exemplary performance are meaningful and

30  consistent statewide. The rules may categorize schools and

31  identify the level of student progress and of staff

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  1  participation in prescribed professional development

  2  activities that constitutes exemplary performance by the

  3  principal of each category of school.

  4         Section 2.  Incentives for improvement of student

  5  achievement in selected schools.--

  6         (1)  The Legislature finds that some schools have a

  7  particularly acute need for teachers with excellent

  8  qualifications and motivations. Those schools have a large

  9  proportion of students whose performance is beneath the level

10  expected for their age and grade or have a large proportion of

11  students from families with economic disadvantages. Therefore,

12  the Legislature intends to:

13         (a)  Provide rewards and incentives to principals and

14  teachers who improve schools by improving student learning;

15         (b)  Focus those rewards upon schools that can most

16  benefit from improvements in teaching and learning; and

17         (c)  Improve the preparation of all teachers through a

18  concentration on subject matter content in professional

19  development programs.

20         (2)  The Commissioner of Education shall select schools

21  that have acute need, using criteria that must include the

22  socioeconomic status of students at the schools and the

23  average scores on statewide student assessment instruments.

24  The commissioner may also include criteria such as the number

25  of students who are enrolled at the school for less than a

26  full school year, the number whose native language is not

27  English, the number of incidents of disruptive behavior at the

28  school, or any other measure that the commissioner identifies

29  as likely to make teaching and learning more difficult than it

30  would be if the school did not possess that characteristic.

31  The commissioner is not required to select only the schools

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  1  identified as critically low performing schools, but is

  2  encouraged to select as many schools for which an intensive

  3  effort in improvement is possible given the funds appropriated

  4  in any year.

  5         (3)  Each school district that contains a school

  6  selected by the commissioner pursuant to subsection (2) shall

  7  provide the principal of the school with additional staff

  8  positions to enable the teachers to participate in the

  9  professional development activities required by this section.

10  The Department of Education shall quantify the number of

11  additional staff required for each school selected by the

12  commissioner, based upon the size of the school and the

13  requirements of the professional development program.

14         (4)  The statewide network of professional development

15  academies shall develop an intensive professional development

16  program for the principals and teachers of the schools.

17         (a)  The program may include components of programs

18  already in place in the school district, but it must also

19  include components designed to meet the particular needs of

20  instructional staff at the school. The needs must be

21  identified using data on student performance in each teacher's

22  classroom.

23         (b)  These components must be content-based and must

24  focus on methods that have proved successful in improving

25  student performance in a particular content area.

26         (c)  The professional development program must provide

27  classroom support for each participating teacher or principal

28  for at least 1 year after the formal participation is

29  completed.

30         (5)  The school district shall develop a plan to

31  encourage teachers with demonstrated success in improving

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  1  student performance to remain at or transfer to schools

  2  selected as provided in subsection (2).

  3         (a)  If a teacher whose mastery has been formally

  4  recognized by the designation of Teacher of the Year at the

  5  district or state level, or who is certified by the National

  6  Board of Professional Teaching Standards, requests assignment

  7  to a school identified as provided in subsection (2), the

  8  school board and the principal shall make every practical

  9  effort to grant the request. Such a teacher is eligible for a

10  bonus as provided in subsection (10) if he or she is assigned

11  to a selected school.

12         (b)  The Department of Education may authorize

13  additional criteria to identify teachers who are not eligible

14  according to paragraph (a), but who may otherwise demonstrate

15  mastery.  Teachers identified under this paragraph may

16  transfer to a school selected pursuant to subsection (2) or

17  they may be teaching already at such a school and become

18  eligible for bonuses.

19         (6)  The school district is encouraged to provide

20  additional components of a comprehensive program of school

21  improvement at schools selected pursuant to subsection (2).

22  Those components may include visiting students' homes,

23  assisting parents to oversee homework, creating tutorial

24  programs, providing after-school programs, pairing of teachers

25  with experience and mastery with other teachers for planning

26  periods and mentoring, and lowering the ratio of students to

27  teachers in classes that are difficult for students as

28  revealed by performance data.

29         (7)  Each school selected as provided in subsection (2)

30  must be evaluated annually according to a process to be

31  planned and overseen by the Education Standards Commission and

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  1  the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government

  2  Accountability. The evaluation must include an assessment of

  3  student progress as measured by any combination of the

  4  following criteria identified by the commission, depending

  5  upon the grade levels of children at the school: student

  6  assessment instruments, grades, number of absences or times

  7  tardy, progression from grade to grade, number of students

  8  over age for grade, discipline data, levels of courses taken,

  9  standard diplomas granted, rate of enrollment in postsecondary

10  education, passing rate on the college entry level placement

11  test, and postsecondary education or employment levels

12  following high school graduation.

13         (8)  Annually the Department of Education shall report

14  to the Legislature on the activities conducted as a result of

15  appropriations to implement this section.

16         (a)  The report must list the schools identified

17  pursuant to subsection (2), the number of teacher transfers

18  effected by district and school, any increases or decreases in

19  the number of master teachers at the school and how that

20  status was determined, the number and types of professional

21  development activities provided and their attendance rates,

22  any class size increases or reductions, and any gains or

23  losses in student performance during the year.

24         (b)  The department may also report on changes in other

25  measures used in identifying schools for the program. The

26  Legislature encourages the department to assess and report the

27  effect of the program on a school's environment, such as the

28  perceptions of the school's success by students, school

29  personnel, and parents.

30         (9)  A principal of a school selected pursuant to

31  paragraph (2) is eligible for a bonus as provided in sections

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  1  231.085 and 236.08106, Florida Statutes, if the performance of

  2  students at the school improves sufficiently after the

  3  professional development program has been in effect for 1 year

  4  or more.

  5         (10)  A teacher at a school selected pursuant to

  6  subsection (2) is eligible for a bonus as provided in section

  7  236.08106, Florida Statutes, if:

  8         (a)  The teacher has achieved mastery as identified by

  9  a formal procedure such as the designation of Teacher of the

10  Year at the district or state level or is certified by the

11  National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. The bonus

12  must be in addition to that provided because of the NBPTS

13  certification and because of acting as a mentor teacher.

14         (b)  The teacher is recommended by the principal and

15  demonstrates mastery by improvements in the achievement of

16  students in his or her classes, as identified by rules adopted

17  by the Commissioner of Education.

18         (11)  The Commissioner of Education shall adopt rules

19  to define conditions under which a teacher or principal is

20  eligible for a bonus as authorized by this section. The rules

21  may define completion of a prescribed professional development

22  program and provide a formula by which student progress may be

23  measured and used to affirm that the teacher has demonstrated

24  mastery. The rules must specify in full the criteria that

25  constitute sufficient improvement in student performance to

26  warrant the bonuses authorized by this section and sections

27  231.085 and 236.08106, Florida Statutes.

28         Section 3.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (5) of section

29  230.23, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:

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  1         230.23  Powers and duties of school board.--The school

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

  3  perform all duties listed below:

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

  5  prescribe qualifications for those positions, and provide for

  6  the appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and

  7  dismissal of employees as follows, subject to the requirements

  8  of chapter 231:

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

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

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

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

13  training and for continued and efficient service and fix and

14  authorize the compensation of school employees on the basis of

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

16  salary schedule for instructional personnel, must base a

17  portion of each employee's compensation on performance

18  demonstrated under s. 231.29 and must consider the prior

19  teaching experience of a person who has been designated state

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

21  developing the salary schedule, the school board shall seek

22  input from parents, teachers, and representatives of the

23  business community. By June 30, 2002, the salary schedule

24  adopted by the school board must base at least 5 percent of

25  the salary of school administrators and instructional

26  personnel on annual performance measured under s. 231.29. The

27  district's performance-pay policy is subject to negotiation as

28  provided in chapter 447; however, the adopted salary schedule

29  must allow employees who demonstrate outstanding performance

30  to earn 5 percent of their individual salary. The Commissioner

31  of Education shall determine whether the board's adopted

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  1  salary schedule complies with the requirement for

  2  performance-based pay. If the board fails to comply by June

  3  30, 2002, the commissioner shall withhold disbursements from

  4  the Education Enhancement Trust Fund to the district until

  5  compliance is verified. The Legislature intends that school

  6  districts provide fiduciary rewards to teachers who pursue

  7  graduate-level education and earn masters or doctorate degrees

  8  related to a content area for which they are responsible.

  9  Therefore, by June 30, 2002, each school district shall

10  renegotiate any standard contracts with teachers so that its

11  reward to a teacher who obtains an advanced degree will apply

12  only to a degree that relates to a content area for which the

13  teacher is responsible. The renegotiation process must not

14  affect teachers who have benefitted from degrees earned June

15  30, 2002, or before. The school district must identify the

16  advanced degrees that relate to each content area for which a

17  teacher may be certified.

18         Section 4.  Section 236.08106, Florida Statutes, 1998

19  Supplement, is amended to read:

20         236.08106  Excellent Teaching Program.--

21         (1)  The Legislature recognizes that teachers play a

22  critical role in preparing students to achieve the high levels

23  of academic performance expected by the Sunshine State

24  Standards. The Legislature further recognizes the importance

25  of identifying and rewarding teaching excellence and of

26  encouraging good teachers to become excellent teachers.

27         (a)  The Legislature finds that the National Board of

28  Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has established high

29  and rigorous standards for accomplished teaching and has

30  developed a national voluntary system for assessing and

31

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  1  certifying teachers who demonstrate teaching excellence by

  2  meeting those standards.

  3         (b)  The Legislature further finds that principals and

  4  teachers meet high and rigorous standards when their schools

  5  and students make significant improvements in achievement as

  6  measured pursuant to s. 231.085 and section 2 of this act.

  7         (c)  It is therefore the Legislature's intent to

  8  provide incentives for teachers to seek NBPTS certification

  9  and to reward teachers who demonstrate teaching excellence by

10  attaining NBPTS certification or by achieving and maintaining

11  the standards provided in sections 1 and 2 of this act. These

12  incentives should continue for teachers who achieve excellence

13  and share sharing their expertise with other teachers.

14         (2)  The Excellent Teaching Program is created to

15  provide categorical funding for monetary incentives and

16  bonuses for teaching excellence. The Department of Education

17  shall allocate and distribute to each school district or to

18  the NBPTS an amount as prescribed annually by the Legislature

19  for the Excellent Teaching Program. Unless otherwise provided

20  in the General Appropriations Act, each distribution school

21  district's annual allocation shall be the sum of the amounts

22  earned for the following incentives and bonuses:

23         (a)  A fee subsidy to be paid by the Department of

24  Education school district to the NBPTS on behalf of each

25  individual who is an employee of a the district school board

26  or a public school within the that school district, who is

27  certified by the district to have demonstrated satisfactory

28  teaching performance pursuant to s. 231.29 and who satisfies

29  the prerequisites for participating in the NBPTS certification

30  program, and who agrees, in writing, to pay 10 percent of the

31  NBPTS participation fee and to participate in the NBPTS

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  1  certification program during the school year for which the fee

  2  subsidy is provided. The fee subsidy for each eligible

  3  participant shall be an amount equal to 90 percent of the fee

  4  charged for participating in the NBPTS certification program,

  5  but not more than $1,800 per eligible participant. The fee

  6  subsidy is a one-time award and may not be duplicated for any

  7  individual.

  8         (b)  A portfolio-preparation incentive of $150 paid by

  9  the Department of Education to for each teacher employed by a

10  the district school board or a public school within a school

11  the district who is participating in the NBPTS certification

12  program. The portfolio-preparation incentive is a one-time

13  award paid during the school year for which the NBPTS fee

14  subsidy is provided.

15         (c)  An annual bonus equal to 10 percent of the prior

16  fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers

17  to be distributed to the school district to be paid to each

18  individual who holds NBPTS certification and is employed by

19  the district school board or by a public school within the

20  that school district that holds NBPTS certification or meets

21  the criteria for a bonus pursuant to s. 231.085(3) or section

22  2 of this act. The district school board shall distribute the

23  annual bonus to each individual who meets the requirements of

24  this paragraph and who is certified annually by the district

25  to have demonstrated satisfactory teaching performance

26  pursuant to s. 231.29 and s. 231.085. The annual bonus may be

27  paid as a single payment or divided into not more than three

28  payments.

29         (d)  An annual bonus equal to 10 percent of the prior

30  fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers

31  to be distributed to the school district to be paid to each

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  1  individual who meets the requirements of paragraph (c) and

  2  agrees, in writing, to provide the equivalent of 12 workdays

  3  of mentoring and related services to public school teachers

  4  within the district who do not hold NBPTS certification and

  5  who have not demonstrated excellence as provided in s. 231.085

  6  and section 2 of this act. The district school board shall

  7  distribute the annual bonus in a single payment following the

  8  completion of all required mentoring and related services for

  9  the year. It is not the intent of the Legislature to remove

10  excellent teachers from their assigned classrooms; therefore,

11  credit may not be granted by a school district or public

12  school for mentoring or related services provided during the

13  regular school day or during the 196 days of required service

14  for the school year.

15         (e)  The district shall receive an amount equal to 50

16  percent of the teacher bonuses provided under paragraphs (c)

17  and (d), which shall be used by the district for professional

18  development of teachers. The district must give priority to

19  using all funds received pursuant to this paragraph for

20  professional development of teachers employed at schools

21  identified as performing at critically low levels.

22

23  A teacher for whom the state pays the certification fee and

24  who does not complete the certification program or does not

25  teach in a public school of this state for a least 1 year

26  after completing the certification program must repay the

27  amount of the certification fee to the state. However, a

28  teacher who completes the certification program but fails to

29  be awarded NBPTS certification is not required to repay the

30  amount of the certification fee if the teacher meets the

31  1-year teaching requirement. Repayment is not required of a

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  1  teacher who does not complete the certification program or

  2  fails to fulfill the teaching requirement because of the

  3  teacher's death or disability or because of other extenuating

  4  circumstances as determined by the State Board of Education.

  5         (3)(a)  In addition to any other remedy available under

  6  the law, any person who is a recipient of a certification fee

  7  subsidy paid to the NBPTS and who is an employee of the state

  8  or any of its political subdivisions is considered to have

  9  consented, as a condition of employment, to the voluntary or

10  involuntary withholding of wages to repay to the state the

11  amount of such a certification fee subsidy awarded under this

12  section. Any such employee who defaults on the repayment of

13  such a certification fee subsidy must, within 60 days after

14  service of a notice of default by the Department of Education

15  to the employee, establish a repayment schedule, which must be

16  agreed to by the department and the employee, for repaying the

17  defaulted sum through payroll deductions. The department may

18  not require the employee to pay more than 10 percent of the

19  employee's pay per pay period under such a repayment schedule

20  or plan. If the employee fails to establish a repayment

21  schedule within the specified period of time or fails to meet

22  the terms and conditions of the agreed-upon or approved

23  repayment schedule as authorized by this subsection, the

24  employee has breached an essential condition of employment and

25  is considered to have consented to the involuntary withholding

26  of wages or salary for the repayment of the certification fee

27  subsidy.

28         (b)  A person who is employed by the state or any of

29  its political subdivisions may not be dismissed for having

30  defaulted on the repayment of the certification fee subsidy to

31  the state.

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  1         (4)  The State Board of Education may adopt rules as

  2  necessary to implement the provisions for payment of the fee

  3  subsidies, incentives, and bonuses and for the repayment of

  4  defaulted certification fee subsidies under this section.

  5         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

  6

  7          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  8                             SB 2370

  9

10  The Committee Substitute:

11  Incorporates into s. 231.085, F.S., the requirements for
    principals in section 1 of the bill, and also incorporates
12  changes made to that section by the Florida Senate on April
    16, 1999, in CS/SB 1646 and in the amendment to CS/HB 751.
13  These include requiring principals to apply the personnel
    system approved by the school board and to abide by the rules
14  for instructional leadership in implementing the Sunshine
    State Standards.
15
    Incorporates into s. 230.23, F.S., the requirements for
16  renegotiation of teachers' contracts to require compensated
    graduate-level work to be content-based, and also incorporates
17  changes made to that section by the Florida Senate on April
    16, 1999, in CS/SB 1646 and in the amendment to CS/HB 751.
18  These changes include requiring school boards to comply with
    the required performance-based pay or risk losing their
19  lottery funds. The date by which renegotiation is required is
    June 30, 2002, which is the same date school boards must
20  comply with performance-based salary schedules.

21  Amends s. 236.08106, F.S., to incorporate changes made to this
    section in CS/SB 1646 and the amendment to CS/HB 751. These
22  changes include deleting the incentives for school districts
    to encourage teachers to apply for national-board
23  certification and authorizing the Department of Education to
    employ standard enforcement measures for teachers who default
24  on funds they are required to pay back if they fail to meet
    their agreement in regard to payment of application fees for
25  national-board certification

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