HB 1443 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to postsecondary student fees; amending s.
3	1009.22, F.S.; revising provisions relating to workforce
4	development postsecondary student fees; requiring
5	establishment of tuition and out-of-state fees;
6	authorizing establishment of certain discretionary fees;
7	providing for expenditure of fees; revising the amount,
8	allocation, and application of certain fees; amending s.
9	1009.23, F.S.; revising provisions relating to community
10	college student fees; deleting provisions relating to use
11	of fees to support safety and security purposes; revising
12	the amount and allocation of certain fees; amending s.
13	1001.64, F.S.; correcting cross references; providing an
14	effective date.
15
16	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18	Section 1. Section 1009.22, Florida Statutes, is amended
19	to read:
20	1009.22 Workforce development postsecondary student fees.—
21	(1) This section applies to students enrolled in workforce
22	development programs who are reported for funding through the
23	Workforce Development Education Fund, except that college credit
24	fees for the community colleges are governed by s. 1009.23.
25	(2) All students shall be charged fees except students who
26	are exempt from fees or students whose fees are waived.
27	(3)(a) The Commissioner of Education shall provide to the
28	State Board of Education no later than December 31 of each year
29	a schedule of fees for workforce development education,
30	excluding continuing workforce education, for school districts
31	and community colleges. The fee schedule shall be based on the
32	amount of student fees necessary to produce 25 percent of the
33	prior year's average cost of a course of study leading to a
34	certificate or diploma. Except as otherwise provided by law,
35	fees for students who are not residents for tuition purposes
36	must offset the full cost of instruction. Fee-nonexempt students
37	enrolled in vocational-preparatory instruction shall be charged
38	fees equal to the fees charged for certificate career education
39	instruction or adult general education instruction. Each
40	community college that conducts college-preparatory and
41	vocational-preparatory instruction in the same class section may
42	charge a single fee for both types of instruction.
43	(b) Fees for continuing workforce education shall be
44	locally determined by the district school board or community
45	college board. However, at least 50 percent of the expenditures
46	for the continuing workforce education program provided by the
47	community college or school district must be derived from fees.
48	(c) The State Board of Education shall adopt a fee
49	schedule for school districts and community colleges that
50	produces the fee revenues calculated pursuant to paragraph (a).
51	The schedule so calculated shall take effect, unless otherwise
52	specified in the General Appropriations Act.
53	(d) The State Board of Education shall adopt, by rule, the
54	definitions and procedures that district school boards shall use
55	in the calculation of cost borne by students.
56	(4) Each district school board and community college board
57	of trustees shall establish tuition and out-of-state fees which
58	may vary no more than 10 percent below and 15 percent above the
59	fee schedule adopted by the State Board of Education.
60	(5)(4)A district school board or community college board
61	that has a service area that borders another state may implement
62	a plan for a differential out-of-state fee.
63	(6) Each district school board and community college board
64	of trustees may establish the following discretionary fees. A
65	maximum of 15 percent of fees may be collected for:
66	(a) A separate student activity and service fee. The
67	student activity and service fee shall be collected as a
68	component part of the tuition and fees. The student activity and
69	service fees shall be paid into a restricted account and
70	expended for campus-related activities for students, including
71	student publications, clubs, and organizations. Such funds shall
72	not be expended for ongoing expenses in the operating budget for
73	student services, such as counseling and financial aid
74	administration.
75	(b)(5) Each district school board and community college
76	board of trustees may establishA separate fee for financial aid
77	purposes in an additional amount of up to 10 percent of the
78	student fees collected for workforce development programs funded
79	through the Workforce Development Education Fund. All fees
80	collected shall be deposited into a separate workforce
81	development student financial aid fee trust fund of the school
82	district or community college to support students enrolled in
83	workforce development programs. Any undisbursed balance
84	remaining in the trust fund and interest income accruing to
85	investments from the trust fund shall increase the total funds
86	available for distribution to workforce development education
87	students. Awards shall be based on student financial need and
88	distributed in accordance with a nationally recognized system of
89	need analysis approved by the State Board of Education.
90
91	Fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be allocated in
92	an expeditious manner.
93	(7)(6)Each district school board and community college
94	board of trustees may establish a separate fee for capital
95	improvements, technology enhancements, or equipping buildings
96	which may not exceed $4.76 per credit hour or credit hour
97	equivalent5 percent of tuition for resident students or 5
98	percent of tuition and out-of-state fees for nonresident
99	students. Funds collected by community colleges through these
100	fees may be bonded only for the purpose of financing or
101	refinancing new construction and equipment, renovation, or
102	remodeling of educational facilities. The fee shall be collected
103	as a component part of the tuition and fees, paid into a
104	separate account, and expended only to construct and equip,
105	maintain, improve, or enhance the certificate career education
106	or adult education facilities of the school district or
107	community college. Projects funded through the use of the
108	capital improvement fee must meet the survey and construction
109	requirements of chapter 1013. Pursuant to s. 216.0158, each
110	district school board and community college board of trustees
111	shall identify each project, including maintenance projects,
112	proposed to be funded in whole or in part by such fee. Capital
113	improvement fee revenues may be pledged by a board of trustees
114	as a dedicated revenue source to the repayment of debt,
115	including lease-purchase agreements and revenue bonds, with a
116	term not to exceed 20 years, and not to exceed the useful life
117	of the asset being financed, only for the new construction and
118	equipment, renovation, or remodeling of educational facilities.
119	Community colleges may use the services of the Division of Bond
120	Finance of the State Board of Administration to issue any bonds
121	authorized through the provisions of this subsection. Any such
122	bonds issued by the Division of Bond Finance shall be in
123	compliance with the provisions of the State Bond Act. Bonds
124	issued pursuant to the State Bond Act shall be validated in the
125	manner provided by chapter 75. The complaint for such validation
126	shall be filed in the circuit court of the county where the seat
127	of state government is situated, the notice required to be
128	published by s. 75.06 shall be published only in the county
129	where the complaint is filed, and the complaint and order of the
130	circuit court shall be served only on the state attorney of the
131	circuit in which the action is pending. A maximum of 15 percent
132	cents per credit hour may be allocated from the capital
133	improvement fee for child care centers conducted by the district
134	school board or community college board of trustees.
135	(8)(7)Each district school board and community college
136	board of trustees is authorized to establish a separate fee for
137	technology, not to exceed $1.80 per credit hour or credit-hour
138	equivalent for resident students and not more than $5.40 per
139	credit hour or credit-hour equivalent for nonresident students,
140	or the equivalent, to be expended in accordance with technology
141	improvement plans. The technology fee may apply only to
142	associate degree programs and courses.Fifty percent of
143	technology fee revenues may be pledged by a community college
144	board of trustees as a dedicated revenue source for the
145	repayment of debt, including lease-purchase agreements, not to
146	exceed the useful life of the asset being financed. Revenues
147	generated from the technology fee may not be bonded.
148	(9)(8)Each district school board and community college
149	board of trustees is authorized to establish specific fees for
150	workforce development instruction not reported for state funding
151	purposes or for workforce development instruction not reported
152	as state funded full-time equivalent students. District school
153	boards and community college boards of trustees are not required
154	to charge any other fee specified in this section for this type
155	of instruction.
156	(10)(9)Community college boards of trustees and district
157	school boards are not authorized to charge students enrolled in
158	workforce development programs any fee that is not specifically
159	authorized by statute. In addition to tuition, out-of-state,
160	financial aid, capital improvement, and technology fees, as
161	authorized in this section, community college boards of trustees
162	and district school boards are authorized to establish fee
163	schedules for the following user fees and fines: laboratory
164	fees; parking fees and fines; library fees and fines; fees and
165	fines relating to facilities and equipment use or damage; access
166	or identification card fees; duplicating, photocopying, binding,
167	or microfilming fees; standardized testing fees; diploma
168	replacement fees; transcript fees; application fees; graduation
169	fees; and late fees related to registration and payment. Such
170	user fees and finesshall not exceed the cost of the services
171	provided and shall only be charged to persons receiving the
172	service. Parking fee revenues may be pledged by a community
173	college board of trustees as a dedicated revenue source for the
174	repayment of debt, including lease-purchase agreements and
175	revenue bonds with terms not exceeding 20 years and not
176	exceeding the useful life of the asset being financed. Community
177	colleges shall use the services of the Division of Bond Finance
178	of the State Board of Administration to issue any revenue bonds
179	authorized by the provisions of this subsection. Any such bonds
180	issued by the Division of Bond Finance shall be in compliance
181	with the provisions of the State Bond Act. Bonds issued pursuant
182	to the State Bond Act shall be validated in the manner
183	established in chapter 75. The complaint for such validation
184	shall be filed in the circuit court of the county where the seat
185	of state government is situated, the notice required to be
186	published by s. 75.06 shall be published only in the county
187	where the complaint is filed, and the complaint and order of the
188	circuit court shall be served only on the state attorney of the
189	circuit in which the action is pending.
190	(11)(10)Each year the State Board of Education shall
191	review and evaluate the percentage of the cost of adult programs
192	and certificate career education programs supported through
193	student fees. For students who are residents for tuition
194	purposes, the schedule adopted pursuant to subsection (3) must
195	produce revenues equal to 25 percent of the prior year's average
196	program cost for college-preparatory and certificate-level
197	workforce development programs. Fees for continuing workforce
198	education shall be locally determined by the district school
199	board or community college board. However, at least 50 percent
200	of the expenditures for the continuing workforce education
201	program provided by the community college or school district
202	must be derived from fees. Except as otherwise provided by law,
203	fees for students who are not residents for tuition purposes
204	must offset the full cost of instruction.
205	(12)(11)Each school district and community college may
206	assess a service charge for the payment of tuition and fees in
207	installments. Such service charge must be approved by the
208	district school board or community college board of trustees.
209	(13)(12)Any school district or community college that
210	reports students who have not paid fees in an approved manner in
211	calculations of full-time equivalent enrollments for state
212	funding purposes shall be penalized at a rate equal to 2 times
213	the value of such enrollments. Such penalty shall be charged
214	against the following year's allocation from the Florida
215	Workforce Development Education Fund or the Community College
216	Program Fund and shall revert to the General Revenue Fund. The
217	State Board of Education shall specify, in rule, approved
218	methods of student fee payment. Such methods must include, but
219	need not be limited to, student fee payment; payment through
220	federal, state, or institutional financial aid; and employer fee
221	payments.
222	(14)(13)Each school district and community college shall
223	report only those students who have actually enrolled in
224	instruction provided or supervised by instructional personnel
225	under contract with the district or community college in
226	calculations of actual full-time enrollments for state funding
227	purposes. A student who has been exempted from taking a course
228	or who has been granted academic or technical credit through
229	means other than actual coursework completed at the granting
230	institution may not be calculated for enrollment in the course
231	from which the student has been exempted or for which the
232	student has been granted credit. School districts and community
233	colleges that report enrollments in violation of this subsection
234	shall be penalized at a rate equal to 2 times the value of such
235	enrollments. Such penalty shall be charged against the following
236	year's allocation from the Workforce Development Education Fund
237	and shall revert to the General Revenue Fund.
238	Section 2. Subsections (4), (11), and (12) of section
239	1009.23, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
240	1009.23 Community college student fees.—
241	(4) Each community college board of trustees shall
242	establish tuition and out-of-state fees, which may vary no more
243	than 10 percent below and 15 percent above the combined total of
244	the fee schedule adopted by the State Board of Education and the
245	technology fee adopted by a board of trustees, provided that any
246	amount from 10 to 15 percent above the fee schedule is used only
247	to support safety and security purposes. In order to assess an
248	additional amount for safety and security purposes, a community
249	college board of trustees must provide written justification to
250	the State Board of Education based on criteria approved by the
251	board of trustees, including, but not limited to, criteria such
252	as local crime data and information, and strategies for the
253	implementation of local safety plans. Should a college decide to
254	increase the tuition fee, the funds raised by increasing the
255	tuition fee must be expended solely for additional safety and
256	security purposes and shall not supplant funding expended in the
257	1998-1999 budget for safety and security purposes.
258	(11) Each community college board of trustees may
259	establish a separate fee for capital improvements, technology
260	enhancements, or equipping student buildings which may not
261	exceed $4.76$1 per credit hour or credit-hour equivalent for
262	residents and which equals or exceeds $3 per credit hour for
263	nonresidents. Funds collected by community colleges through
264	these fees may be bonded only for the purpose of financing or
265	refinancing new construction and equipment, renovation, or
266	remodeling of educational facilities. The fee shall be collected
267	as a component part of the tuition and fees, paid into a
268	separate account, and expended only to construct and equip,
269	maintain, improve, or enhance the educational facilities of the
270	community college. Projects funded through the use of the
271	capital improvement fee shall meet the survey and construction
272	requirements of chapter 1013. Pursuant to s. 216.0158, each
273	community college shall identify each project, including
274	maintenance projects, proposed to be funded in whole or in part
275	by such fee. Capital improvement fee revenues may be pledged by
276	a board of trustees as a dedicated revenue source to the
277	repayment of debt, including lease-purchase agreements and
278	revenue bonds, with a term not to exceed 20 years, and not to
279	exceed the useful life of the asset being financed, only for the
280	new construction and equipment, renovation, or remodeling of
281	educational facilities. Community colleges may use the services
282	of the Division of Bond Finance of the State Board of
283	Administration to issue any bonds authorized through the
284	provisions of this subsection. Any such bonds issued by the
285	Division of Bond Finance shall be in compliance with the
286	provisions of the State Bond Act. Bonds issued pursuant to the
287	State Bond Act shall be validated in the manner provided by
288	chapter 75. The complaint for such validation shall be filed in
289	the circuit court of the county where the seat of state
290	government is situated, the notice required to be published by
291	s. 75.06 shall be published only in the county where the
292	complaint is filed, and the complaint and order of the circuit
293	court shall be served only on the state attorney of the circuit
294	in which the action is pending. A maximum of 15 percentcents
295	per credit hour may be allocated from the capital improvement
296	fee for child care centers conducted by the community college.
297	(12) In addition to tuition, out-of-state, financial aid,
298	capital improvement, student activity and service, and
299	technology fees authorized in this section, each community
300	college board of trustees is authorized to establish fee
301	schedules for the following user fees and fines: laboratory
302	fees; parking fees and fines; library fees and fines; fees and
303	fines relating to facilities and equipment use or damage; access
304	or identification card fees; duplicating, photocopying, binding,
305	or microfilming fees; standardized testing fees; diploma
306	replacement fees; transcript fees; application fees; graduation
307	fees; and late fees related to registration and payment. Such
308	user fees and fines shall not exceed the cost of the services
309	provided and shall only be charged to persons receiving the
310	service. A community college may not charge any fee except as
311	authorized by law or rules of the State Board of Education.
312	Parking fee revenues may be pledged by a community college board
313	of trustees as a dedicated revenue source for the repayment of
314	debt, including lease-purchase agreements and revenue bonds with
315	terms not exceeding 20 years and not exceeding the useful life
316	of the asset being financed. Community colleges shall use the
317	services of the Division of Bond Finance of the State Board of
318	Administration to issue any revenue bonds authorized by the
319	provisions of this subsection. Any such bonds issued by the
320	Division of Bond Finance shall be in compliance with the
321	provisions of the State Bond Act. Bonds issued pursuant to the
322	State Bond Act shall be validated in the manner established in
323	chapter 75. The complaint for such validation shall be filed in
324	the circuit court of the county where the seat of state
325	government is situated, the notice required to be published by
326	s. 75.06 shall be published only in the county where the
327	complaint is filed, and the complaint and order of the circuit
328	court shall be served only on the state attorney of the circuit
329	in which the action is pending.
330	Section 3. Subsection (38) of section 1001.64, Florida
331	Statutes, is amended to read:
332	1001.64 Community college boards of trustees; powers and
333	duties.--
334	(38) Each board of trustees is authorized to borrow funds
335	and incur debt, including entering into lease-purchase
336	agreements and the issuance of revenue bonds as specifically
337	authorized and only for the purposes authorized in ss.
338	1009.22(7)(6) and (10)(9)and 1009.23(11) and (12). At the
339	option of the board of trustees, bonds may be issued which are
340	secured by a combination of revenues authorized to be pledged to
341	bonds pursuant to ss. 1009.22(7)(6)and 1009.23(11) or ss.
342	1009.22(10)(9)and 1009.23(12). Lease-purchase agreements may be
343	secured by a combination of revenues as specifically authorized
344	pursuant to ss. 1009.22(8)(7)and 1009.23(10).
345	Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.