Senate Bill sb2436
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2436
By Senator Wise
5-1108-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education; amending ss.
3 218.39, 1002.34, 1004.99, F.S.; redesignating
4 "technical centers" as "technical colleges";
5 providing an effective date.
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7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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9 Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section
10 218.39, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
11 218.39 Annual financial audit reports.--
12 (1) If, by the first day in any fiscal year, a local
13 governmental entity, district school board, charter school, or
14 charter technical career center has not been notified that a
15 financial audit for that fiscal year will be performed by the
16 Auditor General, each of the following entities shall have an
17 annual financial audit of its accounts and records completed
18 within 12 months after the end of its fiscal year by an
19 independent certified public accountant retained by it and
20 paid from its public funds:
21 (f) Each charter technical college center established
22 under s. 1002.34.
23 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) and
24 subsections (4) and (19) of section 1002.34, Florida Statutes,
25 is amended to read:
26 1002.34 Charter technical career centers.--
27 (3) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
28 (a) "Charter technical career center" or "center"
29 means a public school or a public technical college center
30 operated under a charter granted by a district school board or
31 community college board of trustees or a consortium, including
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2436
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1 one or more district school boards and community college
2 boards of trustees, that includes the district in which the
3 facility is located, that is nonsectarian in its programs,
4 admission policies, employment practices, and operations, and
5 is managed by a board of directors.
6 (4) CHARTER.--A sponsor may designate centers as
7 provided in this section. An application to establish a
8 center may be submitted by a sponsor or another organization
9 that is determined, by rule of the State Board of Education,
10 to be appropriate. However, an independent school is not
11 eligible for status as a center. The charter must be signed
12 by the governing body of the center and the sponsor, and must
13 be approved by the district school board and community college
14 board of trustees in whose geographic region the facility is
15 located. If a charter technical career center is established
16 by the conversion to charter status of a public technical
17 college center formerly governed by a district school board,
18 the charter status of that center takes precedence in any
19 question of governance. The governance of the center or of any
20 program within the center remains with its board of directors
21 unless the board agrees to a change in governance or its
22 charter is revoked as provided in subsection (15). Such a
23 conversion charter technical career center is not affected by
24 a change in the governance of public technical colleges
25 centers or of programs within other centers that are or have
26 been governed by district school boards. A charter technical
27 career center, or any program within such a center, that was
28 governed by a district school board and transferred to a
29 community college prior to the effective date of this act is
30 not affected by this provision. An applicant who wishes to
31 establish a center must submit to the district school board or
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2436
5-1108-07
1 community college board of trustees, or a consortium of one or
2 more of each, an application that includes:
3 (a) The name of the proposed center.
4 (b) The proposed structure of the center, including a
5 list of proposed members of the board of directors or a
6 description of the qualifications for and method of their
7 appointment or election.
8 (c) The workforce development goals of the center, the
9 curriculum to be offered, and the outcomes and the methods of
10 assessing the extent to which the outcomes are met.
11 (d) The admissions policy and criteria for evaluating
12 the admission of students.
13 (e) A description of the staff responsibilities and
14 the proposed qualifications of the teaching staff.
15 (f) A description of the procedures to be implemented
16 to ensure significant involvement of representatives of
17 business and industry in the operation of the center.
18 (g) A method for determining whether a student has
19 satisfied the requirements for graduation specified in s.
20 1003.43 and for completion of a postsecondary certificate or
21 degree.
22 (h) A method for granting secondary and postsecondary
23 diplomas, certificates, and degrees.
24 (i) A description of and address for the physical
25 facility in which the center will be located.
26 (j) A method of resolving conflicts between the
27 governing body of the center and the sponsor and between
28 consortium members, if applicable.
29 (k) A method for reporting student data as required by
30 law and rule.
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2436
5-1108-07
1 (l) Other information required by the district school
2 board or community college board of trustees.
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4 Students at a center must meet the same testing and academic
5 performance standards as those established by law and rule for
6 students at public schools and public technical colleges
7 centers. The students must also meet any additional assessment
8 indicators that are included within the charter approved by
9 the district school board or community college board of
10 trustees.
11 (19) EVALUATION; REPORT.--The Commissioner of
12 Education shall provide for an annual comparative evaluation
13 of charter technical career centers and public technical
14 colleges centers. The evaluation may be conducted in
15 cooperation with the sponsor, through private contracts, or by
16 department staff. At a minimum, the comparative evaluation
17 must address the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics
18 of the students served, the types and costs of services
19 provided, and the outcomes achieved. By December 30 of each
20 year, the Commissioner of Education shall submit to the
21 Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
22 House of Representatives, and the Senate and House committees
23 that have responsibility for secondary and postsecondary
24 career and technical education a report of the comparative
25 evaluation completed for the previous school year.
26 Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 1004.99, Florida
27 Statutes, is amended to read:
28 1004.99 Florida Ready to Work Certification Program.--
29 (2) The Florida Ready to Work Certification Program
30 may be conducted in public middle and high schools, community
31 colleges, technical colleges centers, one-stop career centers,
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2436
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1 vocational rehabilitation centers, and Department of Juvenile
2 Justice educational facilities. The program may be made
3 available to other entities that provide job training. The
4 Department of Education shall establish institutional
5 readiness criteria for program implementation.
6 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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9 SENATE SUMMARY
10 Substitutes the term "technical college" for the term
"technical center."
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