Senate Bill sb1254c1
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Florida Senate - 2001 CS for SB's 1254 & 1954
By the Committee on Education and Senators Wasserman Schultz
and Rossin
27-1848A-01
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to school facilities; amending
3 s. 230.23, F.S.; providing an example of a
4 school-within-a-school; amending s. 235.2157,
5 F.S.; modifying small-school student-population
6 limits; providing for exceptions to the
7 small-schools requirements; providing an
8 effective date.
9
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12 Section 1. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (20)
13 of section 230.23, Florida Statutes, to read:
14 230.23 Powers and duties of school board.--The school
15 board, acting as a board, shall exercise all powers and
16 perform all duties listed below:
17 (20) SCHOOL-WITHIN-A-SCHOOL.--In order to reduce the
18 anonymity of students in large schools, the district school
19 board shall adopt policies effective for the 2002-2003 school
20 year, and thereafter, to encourage any school that does not
21 meet the definition of a small school, as established by s.
22 235.2157(2), to subdivide into schools-within-a-school, which
23 shall operate within existing resources. A
24 "school-within-a-school" means an operational program that
25 uses flexible scheduling, team planning, and curricular and
26 instructional innovation to organize groups of students with
27 groups of teachers as smaller units, so as to functionally
28 operate as a smaller school. Examples of this include, but are
29 not limited to:
30 (d) A physical plant design that would house students
31 grouped by the smaller school designation in buildings that
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Florida Senate - 2001 CS for SB's 1254 & 1954
27-1848A-01
1 surround or are easily accessible to a structure containing
2 core facilities, as defined by rule of the Department of
3 Education, which would be shared by the surrounding buildings.
4 Section 2. Subsections (2) and (4) of section
5 235.2157, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
6 235.2157 Small school requirement.--
7 (2) DEFINITION.--As used in this section, "small
8 school" means:
9 (a) An elementary school with a student population of
10 not more than 500 students.
11 (b) A middle school with a student population of not
12 more than 900 700 students.
13 (c) A high school with a student population of not
14 more than 1,200 900 students.
15 (d) A school serving kindergarten through grade 8 with
16 a student population of not more than 900 700 students.
17 (e) A school serving kindergarten through grade 12
18 with a student population of not more than 1,200 900 students.
19
20 A school on a single campus which operates as a
21 school-within-a-school, as defined by s. 230.23(20), shall be
22 considered a small school if each smaller unit located on the
23 single campus meets the requirements of this subsection.
24 (4) EXCEPTIONS.--
25 (a) This section does not apply to plans for new
26 educational facilities already under architectural contract on
27 July 1, 2003.
28 (b) The Commissioner of Education may approve an
29 exemption to the small-school requirement under any of the
30 following conditions:
31
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Florida Senate - 2001 CS for SB's 1254 & 1954
27-1848A-01
1 1. An interlocal agreement between the school district
2 and the local governmental body having geographic jurisdiction
3 requires specified construction of schools under s. 163.3177;
4 2. The school district has submitted documentation
5 that the lowest bid or request for proposals meeting
6 small-schools specifications would exceed the per-pupil
7 station cost defined in s. 235.216; or
8 3. The school district has submitted documentation
9 that school siting is unavailable or excessively priced above
10 appraisal and that to pursue a small school in the particular
11 location would not be in the best interest of the district's
12 students.
13 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
14
15 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
16 SBs 1254 and 1954
17
18 A school plant that houses students in buildings meeting the
statutory small schools requirement that are served by a
19 common core facility, is cited as an example of the
schools-within-a-school concept.
20
The student population maximums for new school construction
21 are increased from 700 to 900 for middle schools and schools
serving students in kindergarten through grade 8, and from 900
22 to 1200 for high schools and schools serving students in
kindergarten through grade 12.
23
The Commissioner of Education is authorized to grant
24 exemptions to the small schools requirement in situations
where:
25
- An agreed upon local comprehensive plan calls for a specific
26 type of school construction;
27 - The low bid for construction of a school meeting the small
schools requirement exceeds the pre-pupil station costs that
28 qualify for the School Infrastructure Thrift Program;
29 - Documentation that no site is available for a proposed
school, or is priced well above appraisal, and that pursuit of
30 the particular site would not be in the best interests of the
students the school is intended to serve.
31
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