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





                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for SB 2434

    Amendment No. 4

                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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10                                                                

11  The Committee on Fiscal Policy recommended the following

12  amendment:

13

14         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 

15         On page 13, between lines 22 and 23,

16

17  insert:

18         Section 5.  Section 228.058, Florida Statutes, is

19  created to read:

20         228.058  Charter School Districts Pilot Program.--The

21  State Board of Education is authorized to enter into a

22  performance contract with up to six school districts for the

23  purpose of establishing them as charter school districts. The

24  purpose of this pilot program is to examine a new relationship

25  between the State Board of Education and school districts that

26  may produce significant improvements in student achievement

27  and school management while at the same time complying with

28  constitutional requirements assigned to each entity.

29         (1)  CHARTER DISTRICT.--A charter school district is a

30  school district in Florida in which the school board has

31  submitted and the state board has approved a charter proposal

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for SB 2434

    Amendment No. 4





 1  that exchanges statutory and rule exemption for agreement to

 2  meet performance goals in the proposal.  The charter school

 3  district shall be chartered for 3 years, at the end of which

 4  the performance shall be evaluated. At the end of the charter

 5  period, the charter may be revoked or non-renewed pursuant to

 6  s. 228.056(10)(a) and (b).

 7         (2)  EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES AND RULES.--Charter school

 8  districts shall be exempt from state statutes and state board

 9  rules as provided in s. 228.056(11), and subject to the

10  limitations as provided by the State Board of Education. The

11  school board of a charter school district shall not be exempt

12  from any statute governing election of board members, public

13  meetings and public records requirements, financial

14  disclosure, conflicts of interest, operation in the sunshine,

15  or other provisions outside the Florida School Code.

16         (3)  GOVERNING BOARD.--The governing board of the

17  charter school district shall be the duly elected school

18  board.  The school board shall be responsible for supervising

19  the schools in the charter district and is authorized to

20  charter each of its existing public schools pursuant to s.

21  228.056, apply for deregulation of its public schools pursuant

22  to s. 228.0565, or otherwise establish performance-based

23  contractual relationships with its public schools for the

24  purpose of giving them greater autonomy with accountability

25  for performance.

26         (4)  CHARTER PROPOSAL.--Competitive charter proposal

27  applications shall be accepted by the State Board of Education

28  no later than February 1, 2000. Priority consideration for

29  approval shall be given to school districts that have

30  demonstrated the most success in chartering or deregulating

31  existing schools. The charter proposal shall include, but not

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for SB 2434

    Amendment No. 4





 1  be limited to:

 2         (a)  Authorization approved in an open school board

 3  meeting for participation in the pilot program.

 4         (b)  The vision of what the school board proposes to

 5  accomplish by becoming a charter school district.

 6         (c)  A management plan for reaching performance goals,

 7  including an anticipated list of the statutes and rules from

 8  which the school board desires exemption and the purpose of

 9  the exemption.

10         (d)  The performance goals proposed by the school

11  board, the measures to be used to assess progress, the

12  district's current baseline status with respect to the goals,

13  and the timeframe for accomplishing the goals.

14         (e)  A plan for chartering, deregulating, or otherwise

15  freeing schools in the district from state statutes and rules

16  and school board policies and procedures.  This portion may

17  include a phased-in approach, but shall be included as a

18  performance goal.

19         (f)  Agreement to file an annual report of progress to

20  the state board.

21         (g)  Any other provisions required by state board rule.

22         (5)  PRECHARTER AGREEMENT.--The state board is

23  authorized to approve a precharter agreement with a potential

24  charter school district.  The agreement may provide limited

25  flexibility pursuant to s. 228.056(11) and direction for the

26  development of a full charter proposal. School boards desiring

27  to apply for charter status may request a pre-charter

28  agreement at any time prior to or in lieu of submitting a

29  charter proposal by the February 1 deadline.

30         (6)  TIME PERIOD FOR PILOT.--The pilot program shall be

31  authorized for a period of 3 full school years commencing with

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for SB 2434

    Amendment No. 4





 1  award of a charter. The charter may be renewed upon action of

 2  the state board.

 3         (7)  REPORTS.--The state board shall annually report on

 4  the implementation of the charter school district pilot

 5  program.  Upon the completion of the first 3-year term, the

 6  state board, through the Commissioner of Education, shall

 7  submit to the Legislature a full evaluation of the

 8  effectiveness of the program.

 9

10  (Redesignate subsequent sections.)

11

12

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

14  And the title is amended as follows:

15         On page 2, line 12, after the semicolon

16

17  insert:

18         creating s. 228.058, F.S.; establishing a

19         charter school districts pilot program;

20         providing requirements for charter school

21         districts; providing for exemptions from

22         statutes and rules; providing for a governing

23         board; providing for charter proposals;

24         providing for a precharter agreement; providing

25         a time period for the pilot project; requiring

26         an annual report;

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