House Bill hb0475
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 475
By Representative Seiler
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.
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10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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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 House of Representatives - 2002 HB 475
794-110-02
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.
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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:
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 475
794-110-02
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 small
6 schools specifications would exceed the per-pupil station cost
7 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, 2002.
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16 SENATE SUMMARY
17 Provides an example of a school-within-a-school. Modifies
small school student population limits and provides for
18 exceptions to the small schools requirement.
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