HB 331

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to education; amending ss. 218.39,
3	1002.34, 1003.493, 1004.99, and 1012.467, F.S.;
4	redesignating "technical centers" as "technical
5	colleges"; providing an effective date.
6
7	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
8
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	are 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" means
29	a public school or a public technical college center operated
30	under a charter granted by a district school board or
31	community college board of trustees or a consortium, including
32	one or more district school boards and community college
33	boards of trustees, that includes the district in which the
34	facility is located, that is nonsectarian in its programs,
35	admission policies, employment practices, and operations, and
36	is managed by a board of directors.
37	(4)  CHARTER.--A sponsor may designate centers as
38	provided in this section.  An application to establish a
39	center may be submitted by a sponsor or another organization
40	that is determined, by rule of the State Board of Education,
41	to be appropriate. However, an independent school is not
42	eligible for status as a center.  The charter must be signed
43	by the governing body of the center and the sponsor, and must
44	be approved by the district school board and community college
45	board of trustees in whose geographic region the facility is
46	located. If a charter technical career center is established
47	by the conversion to charter status of a public technical
48	college center formerly governed by a district school board,
49	the charter status of that center takes precedence in any
50	question of governance. The governance of the center or of any
51	program within the center remains with its board of directors
52	unless the board agrees to a change in governance or its
53	charter is revoked as provided in subsection (15). Such a
54	conversion charter technical career center is not affected by
55	a change in the governance of public technical colleges
56	centers or of programs within other centers that are or have
57	been governed by district school boards. A charter technical
58	career center, or any program within such a center, that was
59	governed by a district school board and transferred to a
60	community college prior to the effective date of this act is
61	not affected by this provision. An applicant who wishes to
62	establish a center must submit to the district school board or
63	community college board of trustees, or a consortium of one or
64	more of each, an application that includes:
65	(a)  The name of the proposed center.
66	(b)  The proposed structure of the center, including a
67	list of proposed members of the board of directors or a
68	description of the qualifications for and method of their
69	appointment or election.
70	(c)  The workforce development goals of the center, the
71	curriculum to be offered, and the outcomes and the methods of
72	assessing the extent to which the outcomes are met.
73	(d)  The admissions policy and criteria for evaluating
74	the admission of students.
75	(e)  A description of the staff responsibilities and the
76	proposed qualifications of the teaching staff.
77	(f)  A description of the procedures to be implemented to
78	ensure significant involvement of representatives of business
79	and industry in the operation of the center.
80	(g)  A method for determining whether a student has
81	satisfied the requirements for graduation specified in s.
82	1003.43 and for completion of a postsecondary certificate or
83	degree.
84	(h)  A method for granting secondary and postsecondary
85	diplomas, certificates, and degrees.
86	(i)  A description of and address for the physical
87	facility in which the center will be located.
88	(j)  A method of resolving conflicts between the
89	governing body of the center and the sponsor and between
90	consortium members, if applicable.
91	(k)  A method for reporting student data as required by
92	law and rule.
93	(l)  Other information required by the district school
94	board or community college board of trustees.
95
96	Students at a center must meet the same testing and academic
97	performance standards as those established by law and rule for
98	students at public schools and public technical colleges
99	centers. The students must also meet any additional assessment
100	indicators that are included within the charter approved by
101	the district school board or community college board of
102	trustees.
103	(19)  EVALUATION; REPORT.--The Commissioner of Education
104	shall provide for an annual comparative evaluation of charter
105	technical career centers and public technical colleges
106	centers. The evaluation may be conducted in cooperation with
107	the sponsor, through private contracts, or by department
108	staff.  At a minimum, the comparative evaluation must address
109	the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the
110	students served, the types and costs of services provided, and
111	the outcomes achieved.  By December 30 of each year, the
112	Commissioner of Education shall submit to the Governor, the
113	President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
114	Representatives, and the Senate and House committees that have
115	responsibility for secondary and postsecondary career and
116	technical education a report of the comparative evaluation
117	completed for the previous school year.
118	Section 3.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
119	1003.493, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
120	1003.493  Career and professional academies.--
121	(4)  Each career and professional academy must:
122	(b)  Include one or more partnerships with postsecondary
123	institutions, businesses, industry, employers, economic
124	development organizations, or other appropriate partners from
125	the local community. Such partnerships shall be delineated in
126	articulation agreements to provide for career-based courses
127	that earn postsecondary credit. Such agreements may include
128	articulation between the academy and public or private 2-year
129	and 4-year postsecondary institutions and technical colleges
130	centers. The Department of Education, in consultation with the
131	Board of Governors, shall establish a mechanism to ensure
132	articulation and transfer of credits to postsecondary
133	institutions in this state. Such partnerships must provide
134	opportunities for:
135	1.  Instruction from highly skilled professionals who
136	possess industry-certification credentials for courses they
137	are teaching.
138	2.  Internships, externships, and on-the-job training.
139	3.  A postsecondary degree, diploma, or certificate.
140	4.  The highest available level of industry
141	certification.
142	5.  Maximum articulation of credits pursuant to s.
143	1007.23 upon program completion.
144	Section 4.  Subsection (2) of section 1004.99, Florida
145	Statutes, is amended to read:
146	1004.99  Florida Ready to Work Certification Program.--
147	(2)  The Florida Ready to Work Certification Program may
148	be conducted in public middle and high schools, community
149	colleges, technical colleges centers, one-stop career centers,
150	vocational rehabilitation centers, and Department of Juvenile
151	Justice educational facilities. The program may be made
152	available to other entities that provide job training. The
153	Department of Education shall establish institutional
154	readiness criteria for program implementation.
155	Section 5.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
156	1012.467, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
157	1012.467  Noninstructional contractors who are permitted
158	access to school grounds when students are present; background
159	screening requirements.--
160	(1)  As used in this section, the term:
161	(c)  "School grounds" means the buildings and grounds of
162	any public prekindergarten, kindergarten, elementary school,
163	middle school, junior high school, high school, or secondary
164	school, or any combination of grades prekindergarten through
165	grade 12, together with the school district land on which the
166	buildings are located. The term does not include:
167	1.  Any other facility or location where school classes
168	or activities may be located or take place;
169	2.  The buildings and grounds of any public
170	prekindergarten, kindergarten, elementary school, middle
171	school, junior high school, high school, or secondary school,
172	or any combination of grades prekindergarten through grade 12,
173	or contiguous school district land, during any time period in
174	which students are not permitted access; or
175	3.  Any building described in this paragraph during any
176	period in which it is used solely as a career or technical
177	college center under part IV of chapter 1004 for postsecondary
178	or adult education.
179	Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

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