Senate Bill sb1988

    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1988

    By Senator Cowin





    20-1695B-03                                          See HB 81

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to education finance; creating

  3         s. 1011.63, F.S.; authorizing school districts

  4         to opt out of the restrictions applied to

  5         allocations for formula-funded categorical

  6         programs and to use such funds at their

  7         discretion; providing requirements to obtain

  8         such discretionary spending authority;

  9         requiring school districts to meet certain

10         performance standards; requiring public notice

11         in local newspapers; requiring reporting;

12         providing an effective date.

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

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16         Section 1.  Section 1011.63, Florida Statutes, is

17  created to read:

18         1011.63  Local option for categorical funding.--

19         (1)  Notwithstanding s. 1011.62 or any other provision

20  of law to the contrary, any school district receiving funds

21  appropriated in the General Appropriations Act for

22  formula-funded categorical programs may, upon request

23  submitted to the Commissioner of Education before the

24  convening of the initial Florida Education Finance Program

25  Appropriation Allocation Conference as provided in s. 1011.65

26  and approval by the commissioner, receive those categorical

27  funds in a lump sum and use the funds for any or all of the

28  purposes for which the funds were appropriated or apply the

29  funds to other classroom education purposes, as determined by

30  the district school board after meeting the requirements

31  necessary for which the funds were originally appropriated and

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1988
    20-1695B-03                                          See HB 81




 1  the performance standards determined by the Department of

 2  Education. Such performance standards must ensure that the

 3  purpose for which the categorical funds were appropriated is

 4  otherwise provided for prior to diverting those funds to

 5  another purpose. The district school board must provide public

 6  notice in a local newspaper of general circulation when such

 7  approval is granted. In addition, within 14 business days

 8  after receiving such funds, the district school board must

 9  provide public notice in a local newspaper of general

10  circulation of the purposes for which the funds will be used

11  and the necessity for reallocating the funds.

12         (2)  In reporting its expenditures under s. 1010.20, a

13  school district granted discretionary spending authority under

14  this section shall report on a school-by-school and a

15  district-aggregate basis how all funds, including federal

16  funds, allocated to the district for formula-funded

17  categorical programs were expended.

18         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.