House Bill hb0185c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 2001              CS/HB 185

        By the Committee on General Education and Representatives
    Fiorentino, Meadows, Justice, Bilirakis and Rich





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Florida Academic Improvement

  3         Trust Fund matching grants; creating s.

  4         236.1226, F.S.; creating the Florida Academic

  5         Improvement Trust Fund matching grant program;

  6         providing legislative intent; requiring the

  7         Commissioner of Education to specify certain

  8         procedures; specifying uses of funds; providing

  9         for disbursement of funds; providing for

10         administration of funds; providing an effective

11         date.

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

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15         Section 1.  Section 236.1226, Florida Statutes, is

16  created to read:

17         236.1226  Florida Academic Improvement Trust Fund

18  matching grants.--

19         (1)  LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--The Legislature recognizes

20  that private contributions can play a significant role in

21  enhancing, enriching, and improving academic programs for all

22  K-12 students in Florida's school districts and the Florida

23  School for the Deaf and the Blind. It is, therefore, the

24  intent of the Legislature to provide each school district and

25  the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind the opportunity

26  to strengthen private/public partnerships by offering private

27  donors the incentive of state matching funds for contributions

28  that support the improvement of academic programs within

29  public school districts and the Florida School for the Deaf

30  and the Blind.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001              CS/HB 185

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  1         (2)  MATCHING GRANTS.--The Florida Academic Improvement

  2  Trust Fund shall be utilized to provide matching grants to the

  3  Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind Endowment Fund and

  4  to any public school district education foundation that meets

  5  the requirements of this section and is recognized by the

  6  local school district as its designated K-12 education

  7  foundation.

  8         (a)  The Commissioner of Education shall specify

  9  procedures for the administration, submission, documentation,

10  evaluation, and approval of requests for matching funds and

11  for maintaining accountability for endowments and the proceeds

12  of endowments.

13         (b)  Donations, state matching funds, or proceeds from

14  endowments established pursuant to this section shall be used

15  at the discretion of the public school district education

16  foundation or the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind

17  for academic achievement within the school district or school,

18  and shall not be expended for the construction of facilities

19  or for the support of interscholastic athletics. No public

20  school district education foundation or the Florida School for

21  the Deaf and the Blind shall accept or purchase facilities for

22  which the state will be asked for operating funds unless the

23  Legislature has granted prior approval for such acquisition.

24         (3)  ALLOCATION OF THE TRUST FUND.--Funds appropriated

25  to the Florida Academic Improvement Trust Fund shall be

26  allocated by the Department of Education in the following

27  manner:

28         (a)  For every year in which there is a legislative

29  appropriation to the trust fund, an equal amount of the annual

30  appropriation, to be determined by dividing the total

31  legislative appropriation by the number of local education

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  1  foundations, as well as the Florida School for the Deaf and

  2  the Blind, must be reserved for each public school district

  3  education foundation and the Florida School for the Deaf and

  4  the Blind Endowment Fund to provide each foundation and the

  5  Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind with an opportunity

  6  to receive and match appropriated funds. Trust funds that

  7  remain unmatched by contribution on April 1 of any year shall

  8  be made available for matching by any public school district

  9  education foundation and by the Florida School for the Deaf

10  and the Blind, with an opportunity to apply for excess trust

11  funds prior to awarding such funds.

12         (b)  Challenge grants shall be proportionately

13  allocated from the trust fund on the basis of matching each $4

14  of state funds with $6 of private funds. To be eligible for

15  matching, a minimum of $4,500 must be raised from private

16  sources.

17         (c)  Funds sufficient to provide the match shall be

18  transferred from the state trust fund to the public school

19  education foundation or to the Florida School for the Deaf and

20  the Blind Endowment Fund upon notification that a

21  proportionate amount has been received and deposited by the

22  foundation or school into its own trust fund.

23         (d)  If the total of the amounts to be distributed in

24  any quarter pursuant to this subsection exceeds the amount of

25  funds remaining from specific appropriations made for the

26  implementation of this section, all grants shall be

27  proportionately reduced so that the total of matching grants

28  distributed does not exceed available appropriations.

29         (4)  GRANT ADMINISTRATION.--

30         (a)  Each public school district education foundation

31  and the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001              CS/HB 185

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  1  participating in the Florida Academic Improvement Trust Fund

  2  shall separately account for all funds received pursuant to

  3  this section, and may establish its own academic improvement

  4  trust fund as a depository for the private contributions,

  5  state matching funds, and earnings on investments of such

  6  funds. State matching funds shall be transferred to the public

  7  school district education foundation or to the Florida School

  8  for the Deaf and the Blind Endowment Fund upon notification

  9  that the foundation or school has received and deposited

10  private contributions that meet the criteria for matching as

11  provided in this section. The public school district education

12  foundations and the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind

13  are responsible for the maintenance, investment, and

14  administration of their academic improvement trust funds.

15         (b)  The public school district education foundations

16  and the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind shall be

17  responsible for soliciting and receiving contributions to be

18  deposited and matched with challenge grants for establishing

19  endowments for academic achievement within the school district

20  or school.

21         (c)  Each public school district education foundation

22  and the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind shall be

23  responsible for proper expenditure of the funds received

24  pursuant to this section.

25         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

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