Senate Bill sb0006Cc1

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 6-C

    By the Committee on Education Pre-K - 12 Appropriations; and
    Senator Wise




    602-468-08

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to adjustments to education

  3         appropriations; amending s. 1003.03, F.S.;

  4         authorizing the Commissioner of Education to

  5         recommend a reduction in the amount transferred

  6         to a school district's fixed capital outlay

  7         fund based on the reduction in the district's

  8         allocation for its class size operating

  9         categorical; amending s. 1011.62, F.S.;

10         providing for a district school board to

11         transfer certain categorical funds for academic

12         classroom instruction; requiring the Department

13         of Education to report to the Legislature the

14         amounts transferred and the activities for

15         which the funds were expended; requiring a

16         district school board to report to the

17         department if the board transfers funds from

18         its allocation for research-based reading

19         instruction; requiring that the Legislature

20         determine the percent of decline in funding for

21         unweighted full-time equivalent students if

22         funds are reduced during a fiscal year;

23         providing for future expiration of certain

24         provisions; amending s. 1011.71, F.S.; revising

25         requirements for a school district with respect

26         to expending revenue generated by the district

27         school tax millage; providing for future

28         expiration of such provisions; amending s.

29         1012.225, F.S.; providing for the release of

30         funds appropriated for the Merit Award Program

31         for Instructional Personnel and School-Based

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 6-C
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 1         Administrators; amending s. 1012.72, F.S.,

 2         relating to the Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching

 3         Program; providing for funds for mentoring and

 4         related services to be prorated among eligible

 5         recipients if funds are insufficient in any

 6         fiscal year to pay such bonuses in full;

 7         incorporating by reference certain calculations

 8         used by the Legislature for the 2007-2008

 9         fiscal year; providing legislative intent with

10         respect to reductions in expenditures made by

11         district school boards; providing an effective

12         date.

13  

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

15  

16         Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section

17  1003.03, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

18         1003.03  Maximum class size.--

19         (4)  ACCOUNTABILITY.--

20         (a)1.  Beginning in the 2003-2004 fiscal year, if the

21  department determines for any year that a school district has

22  not reduced average class size as required in subsection (2)

23  at the time of the third FEFP calculation, the department

24  shall calculate an amount from the class size reduction

25  operating categorical which is proportionate to the amount of

26  class size reduction not accomplished. Upon verification of

27  the department's calculation by the Florida Education Finance

28  Program Appropriation Allocation Conference and not later than

29  March 1 of each year, the Executive Office of the Governor

30  shall transfer undistributed funds equivalent to the

31  calculated amount from the district's class size reduction

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 6-C
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 1  operating categorical to an approved fixed capital outlay

 2  appropriation for class size reduction in the affected

 3  district pursuant to s. 216.292(2)(d). The amount of funds

 4  transferred shall be the lesser of the amount verified by the

 5  Florida Education Finance Program Appropriation Allocation

 6  Conference or the undistributed balance of the district's

 7  class size reduction operating categorical.

 8         2.  In lieu of the transfer required by subparagraph

 9  1., the Commissioner of Education may recommend a budget

10  amendment, subject to approval by the Legislative Budget

11  Commission, to transfer an alternative amount of funds from

12  the district's class size reduction operating categorical to

13  its approved fixed capital outlay account for class size

14  reduction if the commissioner finds that the State Board of

15  Education has reviewed evidence indicating that a district has

16  been unable to meet class size reduction requirements despite

17  appropriate effort to do so. The commissioner's budget

18  amendment must be submitted to the Legislative Budget

19  Commission by February 15 of each year.

20         3.  For the 2007-2008 fiscal year and thereafter, if in

21  any fiscal year funds from a district's class size operating

22  categorical are required to be transferred to its fixed

23  capital outlay fund and the district's class size operating

24  categorical allocation in the General Appropriations Act for

25  that fiscal year has been reduced by a subsequent

26  appropriation, the Commissioner of Education may recommend a

27  reduction in the amount of the transfer up to the same

28  percentage that the district's class size operating

29  categorical allocation was reduced.

30         Section 2.  Subsections (6) and (8) of section 1011.62,

31  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 6-C
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 1         1011.62  Funds for operation of schools.--If the annual

 2  allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each

 3  district for operation of schools is not determined in the

 4  annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing

 5  the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as

 6  follows:

 7         (6)  CATEGORICAL FUNDS.--

 8         (a)  In addition to the basic amount for current

 9  operations for the FEFP as determined in subsection (1), the

10  Legislature may appropriate categorical funding for specified

11  programs, activities, or purposes.

12         (b)  If a district school board finds and declares in a

13  resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the school board

14  that the funds received for any of the following categorical

15  appropriations are urgently needed to maintain school board

16  specified academic classroom instruction, the school board may

17  consider and approve an amendment to the school district

18  operating budget transferring the identified amount of the

19  categorical funds to the appropriate account for expenditure:

20         1.  Funds for student transportation.

21         2.  Funds for safe schools.

22         3.  Funds for supplemental academic instruction.

23         4.  Funds for research-based reading instruction.

24         5.  Funds for the exceptional student education

25  guaranteed allocation.

26         6.  Funds for instructional materials if all

27  instructional material purchases have been completed for that

28  fiscal year, but no sooner than March 1, 2008.

29         (c)  Each district school board shall include in its

30  annual financial report to the Department of Education the

31  amount of funds the school board transferred from each of the

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 6-C
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 1  categorical funds identified in this subsection and the

 2  specific academic classroom instruction for which the

 3  transferred funds were expended. The Department of Education

 4  shall provide instructions and specify the format to be used

 5  in submitting this required information as a part of the

 6  district annual financial report. The department shall provide

 7  to the Legislature a report that identifies by district and by

 8  categorical fund the amount transferred and the specific

 9  academic classroom activity for which the funds were expended.

10         (d)  If a district school board transfers funds from

11  its research-based reading instruction allocation, the board

12  must also submit to the Department of Education an amendment

13  describing the changes that the district is making to its

14  reading plan approved pursuant to paragraph (9)(d).

15         (8)  DECLINE IN FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDENTS.--In

16  those districts where there is a decline between prior year

17  and current year unweighted FTE students, 50 percent of the

18  decline in the unweighted FTE students shall be multiplied by

19  the prior year calculated FEFP per unweighted FTE student and

20  shall be added to the allocation for that district. For this

21  purpose, the calculated FEFP shall be computed by multiplying

22  the weighted FTE students by the base student allocation and

23  then by the district cost differential. If a district

24  transfers a program to another institution not under the

25  authority of the district's school board, including a charter

26  technical career center, the decline is to be multiplied by a

27  factor of 0.15. However, if the funds provided for the Florida

28  Education Finance Program in the General Appropriations Act

29  for any fiscal year are reduced by a subsequent appropriation

30  for that fiscal year, the percent of the decline in the

31  unweighted FTE students to be funded shall be determined by

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 6-C
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 1  the Legislature and designated in the subsequent

 2  appropriation.

 3         Section 3.  The amendments to s. 1011.62(6), Florida

 4  Statutes, made by this act shall expire July 1, 2008, and the

 5  text of that section shall revert to that in existence on the

 6  day before the effective date of this act, except that any

 7  amendments to such text enacted other than by this act shall

 8  be preserved and continue to operate to the extent that such

 9  amendments are not dependent upon the portions of such text

10  which expire pursuant to this section.

11         Section 4.  Subsection (3) of section 1011.71, Florida

12  Statutes, is amended to read:

13         1011.71  District school tax.--

14         (3)  A school district that has met the reduction

15  requirements regarding class size for the current year

16  pursuant to s. 1003.03, has received an unqualified opinion on

17  its financial statements for the preceding 3 years, has no

18  material weaknesses or instances of material noncompliance

19  noted in an audit for the preceding 3 years, and certifies to

20  the Commissioner of Education that all of the district's

21  instructional space needs for the next 5 years can be met from

22  capital outlay sources that the district reasonably expects to

23  receive during the next 5 years from local revenues and from

24  currently appropriated state facilities funding or from

25  alternative scheduling or construction, leasing, rezoning, or

26  technological methodologies that exhibit sound management may

27  expend revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by

28  subsection (2) to fund, in addition to expenditures authorized

29  in paragraphs (2)(a)-(j), the following:

30         (a)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of driver's

31  education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 6-C
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 1  operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or

 2  vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and

 3  equipment.

 4         (b)  Payment of the cost of premiums for property and

 5  casualty insurance necessary to insure school district

 6  educational and ancillary plants. Operating revenues that are

 7  made available through the payment of property and casualty

 8  insurance premiums from revenues generated under this

 9  subsection may be expended only for nonrecurring operational

10  expenditures of the school district.

11         Section 5.  The amendments to s. 1011.71(3), Florida

12  Statutes, made by this act shall expire July 1, 2008, and the

13  text of that section shall revert to that in existence on the

14  day before the effective date of this act, except that any

15  amendments to such text enacted other than by this act shall

16  be preserved and continue to operate to the extent that such

17  amendments are not dependent upon the portions of such text

18  which expire pursuant to this section.

19         Section 6.  Subsection (1) of section 1012.225, Florida

20  Statutes, is amended to read:

21         1012.225  Merit Award Program for Instructional

22  Personnel and School-Based Administrators.--

23         (1)  ELIGIBILITY.--

24         (a)  In order to be eligible for funding under this

25  section, a district school board must adopt a Merit Award

26  Program plan that provides for an assessment and a merit award

27  based on the performance of students assigned to the

28  employee's classroom or school pursuant to paragraph (3)(a) or

29  paragraph (3)(b). Charter schools may participate in the

30  program by using the district's Merit Award Program plan or

31  may adopt an alternative Merit Award Program plan as provided

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 1  in paragraph (5)(b). All instructional personnel, as defined

 2  in s. 1012.01(2)(a)-(d), and school-based administrators, as

 3  defined in s. 1012.01(3)(c), are eligible as individuals or as

 4  instructional teams to receive merit awards, with the

 5  exception of substitute teachers. In order to receive a merit

 6  award as an instructional team under this section, team

 7  members must be assessed on the performance of students

 8  assigned to the team members' classrooms or within the

 9  members' academic sphere of responsibility. The district

10  school board may not require instructional personnel or

11  school-based administrators to apply for an award, or make any

12  presentation, in order to be assessed for or receive a merit

13  award. A plan is subject to negotiation as provided in chapter

14  447. The Department of Education may not distribute any

15  portion of pro rata funding to a district, or to a district

16  for a charter school within the district, if the district or

17  charter school chooses not to adopt a Merit Award Program plan

18  under this section. Undistributed funds shall be considered

19  unobligated and shall revert to the fund from which the

20  appropriation was made in accordance with s. 216.301.

21         (b)  Funds appropriated for the Merit Award Program

22  shall be released and distributed to eligible school districts

23  on or before July 31 for distribution to eligible recipients

24  by September 1 pursuant to paragraph (2)(a).

25         Section 7.  Subsection (5) is added to section 1012.72,

26  Florida Statutes, to read:

27         1012.72  Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program.--

28         (5)  If the funds available in any fiscal year are

29  insufficient to pay in full the annual bonuses for

30  certification and for providing mentoring and related

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2007                            CS for SB 6-C
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 1  services, payments for providing mentoring and related

 2  services shall be prorated among the eligible recipients.

 3         Section 8.  In order to implement Specific

 4  Appropriations 3, 4, and 34-37A of the 2007-2008 Special

 5  Appropriations Act, the calculations of the Florida Education

 6  Finance Program for the 2007-2008 fiscal year in the document

 7  entitled "Public School Funding - The Florida Education

 8  Finance Program," dated ___________, and filed with the

 9  Secretary of the Senate are incorporated by reference for the

10  purpose of displaying the calculations used by the

11  Legislature, consistent with requirements of the Florida

12  Statutes, in making appropriations and reductions in

13  appropriations for the Florida Education Finance Program.

14         Section 9.  The 2007-2008 appropriations for the

15  Florida Education Finance Program and categorical funds

16  provide each school district an increase in total potential

17  funds per full-time equivalent student which is greater than

18  the amount provided for the 2006-2007 fiscal year. Therefore,

19  it is the intent of the Legislature that any reductions in

20  expenditures by school districts in response to any of the

21  appropriation reductions for the 2007-2008 fiscal year be made

22  in functions other than classroom instruction. This section

23  expires July 1, 2008.

24         Section 10.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

25  law.

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

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