House Bill 0683

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                 HB 683

        By Representative Gottlieb






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to truancy; amending s.

  3         229.8345, F.S.; defining a habitual truant;

  4         amending s. 236.081, F.S.; amending procedures

  5         that must be followed in determining the annual

  6         allocation to each school district for

  7         operation; requiring the average daily

  8         attendance of the student membership in each

  9         program to be calculated by school and by

10         district; requiring average daily attendance to

11         be used as the sole basis for determining the

12         base student allocation; providing an effective

13         date.

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

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17         Section 1.  Section 229.8345, Florida Statutes, is

18  amended to read:

19         229.8345  Habitual truants; identification.--

20         (1)  The Department of Education shall analyze the

21  current methods of collecting data on student attendance and

22  shall develop improved methods of identifying children who are

23  habitually truant. The department shall provide technical

24  assistance to school districts in order to allow each district

25  to accurately identify students whose chronic absence from

26  school may not otherwise be readily apparent to school

27  personnel.

28         (2)  Beginning with school year 2001-2002, a student

29  who is truant a total of 18 times in any program shall be

30  identified as a habitual truant.

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                 HB 683

    592-108-99






  1         Section 2.  Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of

  2  section 236.081, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are

  3  amended to read:

  4         236.081  Funds for operation of schools.--If the annual

  5  allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each

  6  district for operation of schools is not determined in the

  7  annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing

  8  the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as

  9  follows:

10         (1)  COMPUTATION OF THE BASIC AMOUNT TO BE INCLUDED FOR

11  OPERATION.--The following procedure shall be followed in

12  determining the annual allocation to each district for

13  operation:

14         (a)  Determination of full-time equivalent

15  membership.--During each of several school weeks, including

16  scheduled intersessions of a year-round school program during

17  the fiscal year, a program membership survey of each school

18  shall be made by each district by aggregating the full-time

19  equivalent student membership of each program by school and by

20  district.  The department shall establish the number and

21  interval of membership calculations, except that for basic and

22  special programs such calculations shall not exceed nine for

23  any fiscal year.  The district's full-time equivalent

24  membership shall be computed and currently maintained in

25  accordance with regulations of the commissioner. Beginning

26  with school year 1999-2000, each school district shall make a

27  program membership survey that documents the average daily

28  attendance of the student membership in each program by school

29  and by district. The average daily attendance must be computed

30  by dividing the total daily attendance of the student

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                 HB 683

    592-108-99






  1  membership in each program by the number of days in the

  2  program.

  3         (b)  Determination of base student allocation.--The

  4  base student allocation for the Florida Education Finance

  5  Program for kindergarten through grade 12 shall be determined

  6  annually by the Legislature and shall be that amount

  7  prescribed in the current year's General Appropriations Act.

  8  Beginning with school year 2001-2002, the average daily

  9  attendance as computed under paragraph (a) must be used as the

10  sole basis for determining the base student allocation.

11         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

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14                          SENATE SUMMARY

15    Defines a habitual truant. Revises the procedures that
      must be followed in determining the annual allocation to
16    each school district of funds for the operation of
      schools. Beginning with school year 1999-2000, requires
17    the average daily attendance of the student membership in
      each program to be calculated by school and by district.
18    Beginning with school year 2001-2002, requires average
      daily attendance to be used as the sole basis for
19    determining the base student allocation.

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