House Bill hb1149

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1149

        By Representative Seiler






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to educational facilities;

  3         amending ss. 235.15, 235.185, F.S.; allowing

  4         each school district to modify the capacity for

  5         a district facility so that it varies from the

  6         capacity reported in the Florida Inventory of

  7         School Houses report; providing criteria and

  8         procedures for making such modifications;

  9         repealing s. 235.2157, F.S., which requires

10         schools that are placed under architectural

11         contract after a specified date to be small

12         schools; providing an effective date.

13

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

15

16         Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section

17  235.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

18         235.15  Educational plant survey; localized need

19  assessment; PECO project funding.--

20         (1)  At least every 5 years, each board, including the

21  Board of Regents, shall arrange for an educational plant

22  survey, to aid in formulating plans for housing the

23  educational program and student population, faculty,

24  administrators, staff, and auxiliary and ancillary services of

25  the district or campus, including consideration of the local

26  comprehensive plan. The Division of Workforce Development

27  shall document the need for additional career and adult

28  education programs and the continuation of existing programs

29  before facility construction or renovation related to career

30  or adult education may be included in the educational plant

31  survey of a school district or community college that delivers

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1149

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  1  career or adult education programs. Information used by the

  2  Division of Workforce Development to establish facility needs

  3  must include, but need not be limited to, labor market data,

  4  needs analysis, and information submitted by the school

  5  district or community college.

  6         (b)  Required need assessment criteria for district,

  7  community college, and state university plant surveys.--Each

  8  educational plant survey completed after December 31, 1997,

  9  must use uniform data sources and criteria specified in this

10  paragraph.  Each educational plant survey completed after June

11  30, 1995, and before January 1, 1998, must be revised, if

12  necessary, to comply with this paragraph.  Each revised

13  educational plant survey and each new educational plant survey

14  supersedes previous surveys.

15         1.  Each school district's educational plant survey

16  must reflect the capacity of existing satisfactory facilities

17  as reported in the Florida Inventory of School Houses ("FISH

18  Report"). Each district, however, may modify the capacity for

19  a district facility which was reported in the FISH Report by

20  adjusting the utilization rates used to calculate the

21  capacity; however, the proposed modified utilization rate must

22  be submitted to the department for review and approval. The

23  department shall grant a variance to the FISH utilization

24  rates if a requested utilization rate does not vary more than

25  20 percent from the rate used by the department to determine

26  any facility capacity, as reported in the FISH Report, and the

27  request for variance is based on defined factors, including,

28  but not limited to, school improvement initiatives,

29  instructional needs such as class-size reduction, team

30  teaching, and course offering requirements. Upon approval of

31  the proposed modified capacity, the department shall revise

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1149

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  1  the FISH Report to include the adjusted capacities. The

  2  adjusted capacities must then be the basis for determining the

  3  district's student station needs. Projections of facility

  4  space needs may not exceed the norm space and occupant design

  5  criteria established by the State Requirements for Educational

  6  Facilities. Existing and projected capital outlay full-time

  7  equivalent student enrollment must be consistent with data

  8  prepared by the department and must include all enrollment

  9  used in the calculation of the distribution formula in s.

10  235.435(3). All satisfactory relocatable classrooms, including

11  those owned, lease-purchased, or leased by the school

12  district, shall be included in the school district inventory

13  of gross capacity of facilities and must be counted at actual

14  student capacity for purposes of the inventory. For future

15  needs determination, student capacity shall not be assigned to

16  any relocatable classroom that is scheduled for elimination or

17  replacement with a permanent educational facility in the

18  adopted 5-year educational plant survey and in the district

19  facilities work program adopted under s. 235.185. Those

20  relocatables clearly identified and scheduled for replacement

21  in a school board adopted financially feasible 5-year district

22  facilities work program shall be counted at zero capacity at

23  the time the work program is adopted and approved by the

24  school board. However, if the district facilities work program

25  is changed or altered and the relocatables are not replaced as

26  scheduled in the work program, they must then be reentered

27  into the system for counting at actual capacity. Relocatables

28  may not be perpetually added to the work program and

29  continually extended for purposes of circumventing the intent

30  of this section. All remaining relocatable classrooms,

31  including those owned, lease-purchased, or leased by the

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1149

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  1  school district, shall be counted at actual student capacity.

  2  The educational plant survey shall identify the number of

  3  relocatable student stations scheduled for replacement during

  4  the 5-year survey period and the total dollar amount needed

  5  for that replacement. All district educational plant surveys

  6  revised after July 1, 1998, shall include information on

  7  leased space used for conducting the district's instructional

  8  program, in accordance with the recommendations of the

  9  department's report authorized in s. 235.056. A definition of

10  satisfactory relocatable classrooms shall be established by

11  rule of the department.

12         2.  Each survey of a special facility, joint-use

13  facility, or cooperative vocational education facility must be

14  based on capital outlay full-time equivalent student

15  enrollment data prepared by the department for school

16  districts, by the Division of Community Colleges for community

17  colleges, and by the Board of Regents for state universities.

18  A survey of space needs of a joint-use facility shall be based

19  upon the respective space needs of the school districts,

20  community colleges, and universities, as appropriate.

21  Projections of a school district's facility space needs may

22  not exceed the norm space and occupant design criteria

23  established by the State Requirements for Educational

24  Facilities.

25         3.  Each community college's survey must reflect the

26  capacity of existing facilities as specified in the inventory

27  maintained by the Division of Community Colleges.  Projections

28  of facility space needs must comply with standards for

29  determining space needs as specified by rule of the State

30  Board of Education.  The 5-year projection of capital outlay

31  student enrollment must be consistent with the annual report

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1149

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  1  of capital outlay full-time student enrollment prepared by the

  2  Division of Community Colleges.

  3         4.  Each state university's survey must reflect the

  4  capacity of existing facilities as specified in the inventory

  5  maintained and validated by the Board of Regents.  Projections

  6  of facility space needs must be consistent with standards for

  7  determining space needs approved by the Board of Regents. The

  8  projected capital outlay full-time equivalent student

  9  enrollment must be consistent with the 5-year planned

10  enrollment cycle for the State University System approved by

11  the Board of Regents.

12         5.  The educational plant survey of a school district,

13  community college, or state university may include space needs

14  that deviate from approved standards for determining space

15  needs if the deviation is justified by the district or

16  institution and approved by the department or the Board of

17  Regents, as appropriate, as necessary for the delivery of an

18  approved educational program.

19         Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section

20  235.185, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

21         235.185  School district facilities work program;

22  definitions; preparation, adoption, and amendment; long-term

23  work programs.--

24         (2)  PREPARATION OF TENTATIVE DISTRICT FACILITIES WORK

25  PROGRAM.--

26         (a)  Annually, prior to the adoption of the district

27  school budget, each school board shall prepare a tentative

28  district facilities work program that includes:

29         1.  A schedule of major repair and renovation projects

30  necessary to maintain the educational plant and ancillary

31  facilities of the district.

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  1         2.  A schedule of capital outlay projects necessary to

  2  ensure the availability of satisfactory student stations for

  3  the projected student enrollment in K-12 programs. This

  4  schedule shall consider:

  5         a.  The locations, capacities, and planned utilization

  6  rates of current educational facilities of the district. The

  7  capacities and utilization rates must include any applicable

  8  adjustments as provided for in s. 235.15(1)(b)1.

  9         b.  The proposed locations of planned facilities.

10         c.  Plans for the use and location of relocatable

11  facilities, leased facilities, and charter school facilities.

12         d.  Plans for multitrack scheduling, grade level

13  organization, block scheduling, or other alternatives that

14  reduce the need for permanent student stations.

15         e.  Information concerning average class size and

16  utilization rate by grade level within the district that will

17  result if the tentative district facilities work program is

18  fully implemented. The average shall not include exceptional

19  student education classes or prekindergarten classes.

20         f.  The number and percentage of district students

21  planned to be educated in relocatable facilities during each

22  year of the tentative district facilities work program.

23         g.  Plans for the closure of any school, including

24  plans for disposition of the facility or usage of facility

25  space, and anticipated revenues.

26         3.  The projected cost for each project identified in

27  the tentative district facilities work program. For proposed

28  projects for new student stations, a schedule shall be

29  prepared comparing the planned cost and square footage for

30  each new student station, by elementary, middle, and high

31  school levels, to the low, average, and high cost of

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1149

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  1  facilities constructed throughout the state during the most

  2  recent fiscal year for which data is available from the

  3  Department of Education.

  4         4.  A schedule of estimated capital outlay revenues

  5  from each currently approved source which is estimated to be

  6  available for expenditure on the projects included in the

  7  tentative district facilities work program.

  8         5.  A schedule indicating which projects included in

  9  the tentative district facilities work program will be funded

10  from current revenues projected in subparagraph 4.

11         6.  A schedule of options for the generation of

12  additional revenues by the district for expenditure on

13  projects identified in the tentative district facilities work

14  program which are not funded under subparagraph 5. Additional

15  anticipated revenues may include effort index grants, SIT

16  Program awards, and Classrooms First funds.

17         Section 3.  Section 235.2157, Florida Statutes, is

18  repealed.

19         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

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22                          SENATE SUMMARY

23    Allows each school district to modify the capacity for
      educational facilities in the district so that it varies
24    from the capacity reported in the Florida Inventory of
      School Houses Report. Provides criteria and procedures
25    for making such modifications. Repeals s. 235.2157, F.S.,
      which requires schools that are placed under
26    architectural contract after July 1, 2003, to be small
      schools, as defined in that section.
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