| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to education personnel; amending s. |
| 3 | 1012.985, F.S.; authorizing a regional professional |
| 4 | development academy to receive funds from certain sources |
| 5 | for the purpose of developing programs and services; |
| 6 | providing that a regional professional development academy |
| 7 | is not a component of any school district or governmental |
| 8 | unit to which it provides services; providing an effective |
| 9 | date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Section 1012.985, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 14 | to read: |
| 15 | 1012.985 Statewide system for inservice professional |
| 16 | development.-- |
| 17 | (1) The intent of this section is to establish a statewide |
| 18 | system of professional development that provides a wide range of |
| 19 | targeted inservice training to teachers, managers, and |
| 20 | administrative personnel designed to upgrade skills and |
| 21 | knowledge needed to reach world class standards in education. |
| 22 | The system shall consist of a network of professional |
| 23 | development academies in each region of the state which that are |
| 24 | operated in partnership with area business partners to develop |
| 25 | and deliver high-quality training programs purchased by school |
| 26 | districts. The academies shall be established to meet the human |
| 27 | resource development needs of professional educators, schools, |
| 28 | and school districts. Funds appropriated for the initiation of |
| 29 | professional development academies shall be allocated by the |
| 30 | Commissioner of Education, unless otherwise provided in an |
| 31 | appropriations act. To be eligible for startup funds, the |
| 32 | academy must: |
| 33 | (a)(1) Be established by the collaborative efforts of one |
| 34 | or more district school boards, members of the business |
| 35 | community, and the postsecondary educational institutions which |
| 36 | may award college credits for courses taught at the academy. |
| 37 | (b)(2) Demonstrate the capacity to provide effective |
| 38 | training to improve teaching skills in the areas of elementary |
| 39 | reading and mathematics, the use of instructional technology, |
| 40 | high school algebra, and classroom management, and to deliver |
| 41 | such training using face-to-face, distance learning, and |
| 42 | individualized computer-based delivery systems. |
| 43 | (c)(3) Propose a plan for responding in an effective and |
| 44 | timely manner to the professional development needs of teachers, |
| 45 | managers, administrative personnel, schools, and school |
| 46 | districts relating to improving student achievement and meeting |
| 47 | state and local education goals. |
| 48 | (d)(4) Demonstrate the ability to provide high-quality |
| 49 | trainers and training, appropriate followup and coaching for all |
| 50 | participants, and support school personnel in positively |
| 51 | impacting student performance. |
| 52 | (e)(5) Be operated under contract with its public partners |
| 53 | and governed by an independent board of directors, which should |
| 54 | include at least one district school superintendent and one |
| 55 | district school board chair from the participating school |
| 56 | districts, the president of the collective bargaining unit that |
| 57 | represents the majority of the region's teachers, and at least |
| 58 | three individuals who are not employees or elected or appointed |
| 59 | officials of the participating school districts. Regional |
| 60 | educational consortia as defined in s. 1001.451 satisfy the |
| 61 | requirements of this paragraph subsection. |
| 62 | (f)(6) Be financed during the first year of operation by |
| 63 | an equal or greater match from private funding sources and |
| 64 | demonstrate the ability to be self-supporting within 1 year |
| 65 | after opening through fees for services, grants, or private |
| 66 | contributions. Regional educational consortia as defined in s. |
| 67 | 1001.451 which serve rural areas of critical economic concern |
| 68 | are exempt from the funding match required by this paragraph |
| 69 | subsection. |
| 70 | (g)(7) Own or lease a facility that can be used to deliver |
| 71 | training onsite and through distance learning and other |
| 72 | technology-based delivery systems. The participating district |
| 73 | school boards may lease a site or facility to the academy for a |
| 74 | nominal fee and may pay all or part of the costs of renovating a |
| 75 | facility to accommodate the academy. The academy is responsible |
| 76 | for all operational, maintenance, and repair costs. |
| 77 | (h)(8) Provide professional development services for the |
| 78 | participating school districts as specified in the contract and |
| 79 | may provide professional development services to other school |
| 80 | districts, private schools, and individuals on a fee-for- |
| 81 | services basis. |
| 82 | (2) Upon compliance with the requirements for the first |
| 83 | year of operation in paragraph (1)(f), a regional professional |
| 84 | development academy: |
| 85 | (a) May receive funds from the Department of Education or |
| 86 | as provided in the General Appropriations Act for the purpose of |
| 87 | developing programs, expanding services, assessing inservice |
| 88 | training and professional development, or other programs that |
| 89 | are consistent with the mission of the academy and the needs of |
| 90 | the state and region; and |
| 91 | (b) Is not, by virtue of providing services to one or more |
| 92 | school districts, a component of any school district or any |
| 93 | governmental unit to which the regional professional development |
| 94 | academy provides services. |
| 95 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |