House Bill hb1161
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1161
By Representative Fiorentino
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.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
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 - 2002 HB 1161
730-122A-02
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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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1161
730-122A-02
1 foundations as well as the Florida School for the Deaf and the
2 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 which shall have an opportunity to apply for
11 excess trust funds prior to the award of such funds.
12 (b) Matching grants shall be proportionately allocated
13 from the trust fund on the basis of matching each $4 of state
14 funds with $6 of private funds. To be eligible for matching, a
15 minimum of $4,500 must be raised from private sources.
16 (c) Funds sufficient to provide the match shall be
17 transferred from the state trust fund to the public school
18 education foundation or to the Florida School for the Deaf and
19 the Blind Endowment Fund upon notification that a
20 proportionate amount has been received and deposited by the
21 foundation or school into its own trust fund.
22 (d) If the total of the amounts to be distributed in
23 any quarter pursuant to this subsection exceeds the amount of
24 funds remaining from specific appropriations made for the
25 implementation of this section, all grants shall be
26 proportionately reduced so that the total of matching grants
27 distributed does not exceed available appropriations.
28 (4) GRANT ADMINISTRATION.--
29 (a) Each public school district education foundation
30 and the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind
31 participating in the Florida Academic Improvement Trust Fund
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1161
730-122A-02
1 shall separately account for all funds received pursuant to
2 this section, and may establish its own academic improvement
3 trust fund as a depository for the private contributions,
4 state matching funds, and earnings on investments of such
5 funds. State matching funds shall be transferred to the public
6 school district education foundation or to the Florida School
7 for the Deaf and the Blind Endowment Fund upon notification
8 that the foundation or school has received and deposited
9 private contributions that meet the criteria for matching as
10 provided in this section. The public school district education
11 foundations and the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind
12 are responsible for the maintenance, investment, and
13 administration of their academic improvement trust funds.
14 (b) The public school district education foundations
15 and the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind shall be
16 responsible for soliciting and receiving contributions to be
17 deposited and matched with grants for establishing endowments
18 for academic achievement within the school district or school.
19 (c) Each public school district education foundation
20 and the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind shall be
21 responsible for proper expenditure of the funds received
22 pursuant to this section.
23 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.
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26 HOUSE SUMMARY
27
Creates the Florida Academic Improvement Trust Fund
28 matching grant program. Provides legislative intent.
Requires the Commissioner of Education to specify certain
29 procedures. Specifies uses of funds. Provides for
disbursement of funds. Provides for administration of
30 funds.
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