Senate Bill sb1228c1
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 1228
By the Committee on Education Pre-K - 12; and Senator Gaetz
581-1906-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to academically high-performing
3 school districts; creating s. 1003.621, F.S.;
4 providing criteria for designating academically
5 high-performing school districts; providing
6 exceptions for such districts to be exempt from
7 certain statutes and rules; providing
8 compliance requirements; providing for district
9 governing boards; providing for reports;
10 providing for a review by the State Board of
11 Education of certain reporting requirements;
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 1003.621, Florida Statutes, is
17 created to read:
18 1003.621 Academically high-performing school
19 districts.--It is the intent of the Legislature to recognize
20 and reward school districts that demonstrate the ability to
21 consistently maintain or improve their high-performing status.
22 The purpose of this section is to provide high-performing
23 school districts with flexibility in meeting the specific
24 requirements in statute and rules of the State Board of
25 Education.
26 (1) ACADEMICALLY HIGH-PERFORMING SCHOOL DISTRICT.--
27 (a) A school district is an academically
28 high-performing school district if it meets the following
29 criteria:
30 1.a. Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, earns a
31 grade of "A," under s. 1008.34(7) for 2 consecutive years; and
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 1228
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1 b. Has no district-operated school that earns a grade
2 of "F" under s. 1008.34;
3 2. Complies with all class size requirements in s. 1,
4 Art. IX, of the State Constitution and s. 1003.03; and
5 3. Has no material weaknesses or instances of material
6 noncompliance noted in the annual financial audit conducted
7 pursuant to s. 218.39.
8 (b) A school district that satisfies the eligibility
9 criteria for designation as an academically high-performing
10 school district may be so designated if it reports to the
11 State Board of Education the specific statutes or rules from
12 which the school district is exempt for 3 years.
13 (c) The academically high-performing school district
14 shall retain the designation as a high-performing school
15 district for 3 years, at the end of which time the district
16 may renew the designation if the district meets the
17 requirements in this section. A school district that fails to
18 meet the requirements in this section shall provide written
19 notification to the State Board of Education that the district
20 is no longer eligible to be designated as an academically
21 high-performing school district.
22 (d) In order to maintain the designation as an
23 academically high-performing school district pursuant to this
24 section, a school district must meet the following
25 requirements:
26 1. Comply with the provisions of subparagraphs(a)2.
27 and 3.; and
28 2. Earn a grade of "A" under s. 1008.34(7) for 2 years
29 within a 3-year period.
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 1228
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1 However, a district in which a district-operated school earns
2 a grade of "F" under s. 1008.34 during the 3-year period may
3 not continue to be designated as an academically
4 high-performing school district during the remainder of that
5 3-year period. The district must meet the criteria in
6 paragraph (a) in order to be redesignated as an academically
7 high-performing school district.
8 (2) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES AND RULES.--An
9 academically high-performing school district may not be exempt
10 from any of the following statutes:
11 (a) Those statutes pertaining to the provision of
12 services to students with disabilities.
13 (b) Those statutes pertaining to civil rights,
14 including s. 1000.05, relating to discrimination.
15 (c) Those statutes pertaining to student health,
16 safety, and welfare.
17 (d) Those statutes governing the election or
18 compensation of district school board members.
19 (e) Those statutes pertaining to the student
20 assessment program and the school grading system, including
21 chapter 1008.
22 (f) Those statutes pertaining to financial matters,
23 including chapter 1010, except that s. 1010.20(3)(a)1., 2.,
24 and 3., relating to the required program expenditure levels,
25 are eligible for exemption.
26 (g) Those statutes pertaining to planning and
27 budgeting, including chapter 1011, except that the following
28 sections are eligible for exemption:
29 1. Section 1011.62(9)(d), relating to the requirement
30 for a comprehensive reading plan; and
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 1228
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1 2. Section 1011.71(2), relating to the district school
2 tax, in order to provide funds for property insurance and
3 casualty insurance.
4 (h) Sections 1012.22(1)(c) and 1012.27(2), relating to
5 differentiated pay and performance-pay policies for school
6 administrators and instructional personnel. Professional
7 service contracts are subject to the provisions of ss. 1012.33
8 and 1012.34.
9 (i) Those statutes pertaining to educational
10 facilities, including chapter 1013, except that s. 1013.20,
11 relating to covered walkways for portables, and s. 1013.21,
12 relating to the use of relocatable facilities that exceed 20
13 years of age, are eligible for exemption.
14 (j) Those statutes relating to instructional
15 materials, except that s. 1006.37, relating to the requisition
16 of state-adopted materials from the depository under contract
17 with the publisher, and s. 1006.40(3)(a), relating to the use
18 of 50 percent of the instructional materials allocation, shall
19 be eligible for exemption.
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21 A district that is exempt from submitting a K-12 comprehensive
22 reading plan pursuant to s. 1011.62(9)(d) shall be deemed
23 approved to receive the research-based reading instruction
24 allocation.
25 (3) COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.--An academically
26 high-performing school district shall comply with the
27 following statutes:
28 (a) Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and
29 records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties.
30 (b) Those statutes pertaining to public records,
31 including chapter 119.
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1 (c) Those statutes pertaining to financial disclosure
2 by elected officials.
3 (d) Those statutes pertaining to conflicts of interest
4 by elected officials.
5 (4) GOVERNING BOARD.--The governing board of the
6 academically high-performing school district shall be the duly
7 elected district school board. The district school board shall
8 supervise the academically high-performing school district.
9 (5) REPORTS.--The academically high-performing school
10 district shall submit to the State Board of Education and the
11 Legislature an annual report on December 1 which delineates
12 the performance of the school district relative to the
13 academic performance of students at each grade level in
14 reading, writing, mathematics, science, and any other subject
15 that is included as a part of the statewide assessment program
16 in s. 1008.22. The annual report shall be submitted in a
17 format prescribed by the Department of Education and shall
18 include, but need not be limited to, the following:
19 (a) Longitudinal performance of students in
20 mathematics, reading, writing, science, and any other subject
21 that is included as a part of the statewide assessment program
22 in s. 1008.22;
23 (b) Longitudinal performance of students by grade
24 level and subgroup in mathematics, reading, writing, science,
25 and any other subject that is included as a part of the
26 statewide assessment program in s. 1008.22;
27 (c) Longitudinal performance regarding efforts to
28 close the achievement gap;
29 (d)1. Number and percentage of students who take an
30 Advanced Placement Examination; and
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1 2. Longitudinal performance regarding students who
2 take an Advanced Placement Examination by demographic group,
3 specifically by age, gender, race, and Hispanic origin, and by
4 participation in the National School Lunch Program.
5 (e) Evidence of compliance with subsection (1); and
6 (f) A description of each waiver and the status of
7 each waiver.
8 Section 2. The State Board of Education shall identify
9 any reporting requirements in state law which duplicate the
10 requirements for reporting under the federal No Child Left
11 Behind Act and make recommendations to the Legislature by
12 December 1, 2007, for eliminating duplicative requirements in
13 state law.
14 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
15 law.
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 1228
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1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 SB 1228
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4 The committee substitute provides criteria for designating
academically high-performing school districts:
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-Earning an "A" for 2 consecutive years;
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-Having no district-operated school that earns an "F";
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-Meeting all class size requirements;
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-Having no material weakness in an annual financial audit; and
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-Reporting the list of exempt laws and rules to the State
10 Board of Education.
11 The designation may be retained for 3 years, if the district
complies with all the initial eligibility criteria and earns
12 at least a grade of "A" for 2 years within a 3-year period.
However, a district may not retain the designation if a
13 district-operated school earns a grade of "F" during the
3-year period.
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The committee substitute also provides for exempting these
15 districts from complying with specific laws relating to:
16 -Program expenditure levels in the Florida Education Finance
Program for kindergarten through grade 12;
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-Submission of an annual K-12 comprehensive reading plan;
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-Requirements for covered walkways for relocatable facilities;
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-Requirements for the use of relocatable facilities that are
20 older than 20 years; and
21 -Requirements for instructional materials, specifically for
obtaining instructional materials from the textbook depository
22 and using at least 50 percent of the instructional materials
allocation for state-adopted materials.
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A district may not be exempt from specific laws, including
24 laws related to health, safety, and welfare, public meetings
and public records, financial disclosure, and conflicts of
25 interest by public officials.
26 The committee substitute creates an additional use for
discretionary millage levied by a district school board. A
27 high-performing school district may pay for property and
casualty insurance with revenues generated from its
28 discretionary two mill tax levy.
29 The committee substitute also provides for renewing the
designation at the end of 3 years and specifies a district's
30 requirements for reporting academic performance to the State
Board of Education and the Legislature.
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The State Board of Education must make recommendations to the
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 1228
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1 Legislature for eliminating any reporting requirements in
state law that duplicate those in the federal No Child Left
2 Behind Act.
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