HB 5083

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to education; amending s. 121.021, F.S.;
3	deleting salary supplements for National Board for
4	Professional Teaching Standards certification from the
5	definition of "compensation" under the Florida Retirement
6	System; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; excluding charter
7	school Merit Award Program funds from the calculation of
8	school district administrative fees; amending s. 1007.271,
9	F.S.; deleting dual enrollment funding provisions;
10	amending s. 1011.62, F.S.; revising provisions relating to
11	the calculation of full-time equivalent membership for
12	dual enrollment instruction; authorizing a district school
13	board to transfer certain categorical funds for academic
14	classroom instruction; requiring the Department of
15	Education to report to the Legislature the amounts
16	transferred and the activities for which the funds were
17	expended; requiring a district school board to report to
18	the department if the school board transfers funds from
19	its allocation for research-based reading instruction;
20	providing for future expiration of certain provisions;
21	amending s. 1011.71, F.S.; revising requirements for
22	school district expenditure of revenue generated by the
23	district school tax millage; providing for future
24	expiration of such provisions; amending s. 1012.72, F.S.,
25	relating to the Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program;
26	eliminating as authorized expenditures the fee subsidy for
27	National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
28	certification, the portfolio preparation incentive, the
29	bonus for mentoring and related services, and the
30	employer's share of Florida Retirement System
31	contributions; revising the requirements by which a
32	teacher may qualify for a bonus; deleting provisions to
33	conform; providing an effective date.
34
35	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36
37	Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (22) of section
38	121.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
39	121.021  Definitions.--The following words and phrases as
40	used in this chapter have the respective meanings set forth
41	unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:
42	(22)  "Compensation" means the monthly salary paid a member
43	by his or her employer for work performed arising from that
44	employment.
45	(a)  Compensation shall include:
46	1.  Overtime payments paid from a salary fund.
47	2.  Accumulated annual leave payments.
48	3.  Payments in addition to the employee's base rate of pay
49	if all the following apply:
50	a.  The payments are paid according to a formal written
51	policy that applies to all eligible employees equally;
52	b.  The policy provides that payments shall commence no
53	later than the 11th year of employment;
54	c.  The payments are paid for as long as the employee
55	continues his or her employment; and
56	d.  The payments are paid at least annually.
57	4.  Amounts withheld for tax sheltered annuities or
58	deferred compensation programs, or any other type of salary
59	reduction plan authorized under the Internal Revenue Code.
60	5.  Payments made in lieu of a permanent increase in the
61	base rate of pay, whether made annually or in 12 or 26 equal
62	payments within a 12-month period, when the member's base pay is
63	at the maximum of his or her pay range. When a portion of a
64	member's annual increase raises his or her pay range and the
65	excess is paid as a lump sum payment, such lump sum payment
66	shall be compensation for retirement purposes.
67	6.  Effective July 1, 2002, salary supplements made
68	pursuant to s. 1012.72 requiring a valid National Board for
69	Professional Standards certificate, notwithstanding the
70	provisions of subparagraph 3.
71	Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (20) of section
72	1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
73	1002.33  Charter schools.--
74	(20)  SERVICES.--
75	(a)  A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and
76	educational services to charter schools. These services shall
77	include contract management services; full-time equivalent and
78	data reporting services; exceptional student education
79	administration services; services related to eligibility and
80	reporting duties required to ensure that school lunch services
81	under the federal lunch program, consistent with the needs of
82	the charter school, are provided by the school district at the
83	request of the charter school; test administration services,
84	including payment of the costs of state-required or district-
85	required student assessments; processing of teacher certificate
86	data services; and information services, including equal access
87	to student information systems that are used by public schools
88	in the district in which the charter school is located. Student
89	performance data for each student in a charter school,
90	including, but not limited to, FCAT scores, standardized test
91	scores, previous public school student report cards, and student
92	performance measures, shall be provided by the sponsor to a
93	charter school in the same manner provided to other public
94	schools in the district. A total administrative fee for the
95	provision of such services shall be calculated based upon up to
96	5 percent of the available funds defined in paragraph (17)(b)
97	for all students. However, a sponsor may only withhold up to a
98	5-percent administrative fee for enrollment for up to and
99	including 500 students. For charter schools with a population of
100	501 or more students, the difference between the total
101	administrative fee calculation and the amount of the
102	administrative fee withheld may only be used for capital outlay
103	purposes specified in s. 1013.62(2). Funds awarded pursuant to
104	s. 1012.225 shall not be subject to the maximum 5-percent
105	administrative fee withheld pursuant to this paragraph. Sponsors
106	shall not charge charter schools any additional fees or
107	surcharges for administrative and educational services in
108	addition to the maximum 5-percent administrative fee withheld
109	pursuant to this paragraph.
110	Section 3.  Subsection (2) of section 1007.271, Florida
111	Statutes, is amended to read:
112	1007.271  Dual enrollment programs.--
113	(2)  For the purpose of this section, an eligible secondary
114	student is a student who is enrolled in a Florida public
115	secondary school or in a Florida private secondary school which
116	is in compliance with s. 1002.42(2) and conducts a secondary
117	curriculum pursuant to s. 1003.43. Students enrolled in
118	postsecondary instruction that is not creditable toward the high
119	school diploma shall not be classified as dual enrollments.
120	Students who are eligible for dual enrollment pursuant to this
121	section shall be permitted to enroll in dual enrollment courses
122	conducted during school hours, after school hours, and during
123	the summer term. Instructional time for such enrollment may vary
124	from 900 hours; however, the school district may only report the
125	student for a maximum of 1.0 FTE, as provided in s. 1011.61(4).
126	Each semester of instruction that is eligible for high school
127	and postsecondary credit shall be reported by school districts
128	as 75 membership hours for purposes of FTE calculation. Any
129	student so enrolled is exempt from the payment of registration,
130	tuition, and laboratory fees. Vocational-preparatory
131	instruction, college-preparatory instruction, and other forms of
132	precollegiate instruction, as well as physical education courses
133	that focus on the physical execution of a skill rather than the
134	intellectual attributes of the activity, are ineligible for
135	inclusion in the dual enrollment program. Recreation and leisure
136	studies courses shall be evaluated individually in the same
137	manner as physical education courses for potential inclusion in
138	the program.
139	Section 4.  Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) and subsection
140	(6) of section 1011.62, Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter
141	2007-328, Laws of Florida, are amended to read:
142	1011.62  Funds for operation of schools.--If the annual
143	allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
144	district for operation of schools is not determined in the
145	annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
146	the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
147	follows:
148	(1)  COMPUTATION OF THE BASIC AMOUNT TO BE INCLUDED FOR
149	OPERATION.--The following procedure shall be followed in
150	determining the annual allocation to each district for
151	operation:
152	(i)  Calculation of full-time equivalent membership with
153	respect to dual enrollment instruction.--Students enrolled in
154	dual enrollment instruction pursuant to s. 1007.271 may be
155	included in calculations of full-time equivalent student
156	memberships for basic programs for grades 9 through 12 by a
157	district school board. Instructional time for dual enrollment
158	may vary from 900 hours; however, the school district may only
159	report the student for a maximum of 1.0 full-time equivalent
160	student membership, as provided in s. 1011.61(4). With the
161	exception of early admission dual enrollment as defined in s.
162	1007.271(7), dual enrollment full-time equivalent student
163	membership shall be calculated in an amount equal to the hours
164	of instruction that would be necessary to earn the full-time
165	equivalent student membership for an equivalent course if it
166	were taught in the school district. The dual enrollment full-
167	time equivalent student membership for early admission dual
168	enrollment students as defined in s. 1007.271(7) shall be
169	calculated by dividing the number of college credit hours by 30.
170	Each semester of instruction that is eligible for high school
171	and postsecondary credit shall be reported by school districts
172	as 75 membership hours for purposes of FTE calculation. Such
173	Students in dual enrollment courses may also be calculated as
174	the proportional shares of full-time equivalent enrollments they
175	generate for a community college or university conducting the
176	dual enrollment instruction. Early admission students shall be
177	considered dual enrollments for funding purposes. Students may
178	be enrolled in dual enrollment instruction provided by an
179	eligible independent college or university and may be included
180	in calculations of full-time equivalent student memberships for
181	basic programs for grades 9 through 12 by a district school
182	board. However, those provisions of law which exempt dual
183	enrolled and early admission students from payment of
184	instructional materials and tuition and fees, including
185	laboratory fees, shall not apply to students who select the
186	option of enrolling in an eligible independent institution. An
187	independent college or university which is located and chartered
188	in Florida, is not for profit, is accredited by the Commission
189	on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
190	or the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools,
191	and which confers degrees as defined in s. 1005.02 shall be
192	eligible for inclusion in the dual enrollment or early admission
193	program. Students enrolled in dual enrollment instruction shall
194	be exempt from the payment of tuition and fees, including
195	laboratory fees. No student enrolled in college credit
196	mathematics or English dual enrollment instruction shall be
197	funded as a dual enrollment unless the student has successfully
198	completed the relevant section of the entry-level examination
199	required pursuant to s. 1008.30.
200	(6)  CATEGORICAL FUNDS.--
201	(a)  In addition to the basic amount for current operations
202	for the FEFP as determined in subsection (1), the Legislature
203	may appropriate categorical funding for specified programs,
204	activities, or purposes.
205	(b)  If a district school board finds and declares in a
206	resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the school board that
207	the funds received for any of the following categorical
208	appropriations are urgently needed to maintain school board
209	specified academic classroom instruction, the school board may
210	consider and approve an amendment to the school district
211	operating budget transferring the identified amount of the
212	categorical funds to the appropriate account for expenditure:
213	1.  Funds for student transportation.
214	2.  Funds for safe schools.
215	3.  Funds for supplemental academic instruction.
216	4.  Funds for research-based reading instruction.
217	5.  Funds for instructional materials if all instructional
218	material purchases have been completed for that fiscal year, but
219	no sooner than March 1, 2009.
220	(c)  Each district school board shall include in its annual
221	financial report to the Department of Education the amount of
222	funds the school board transferred from each of the categorical
223	funds identified in this subsection and the specific academic
224	classroom instruction for which the transferred funds were
225	expended. The Department of Education shall provide instructions
226	and specify the format to be used in submitting this required
227	information as a part of the district annual financial report.
228	The department shall provide to the Legislature a report that
229	identifies by district and by categorical fund the amount
230	transferred and the specific academic classroom activity for
231	which the funds were expended.
232	(d)  If a district school board transfers funds from its
233	research-based reading instruction allocation, the school board
234	must also submit to the Department of Education an amendment
235	describing the changes that the district is making to its
236	reading plan approved pursuant to paragraph (9)(d).
237	Section 5.  The amendments to s. 1011.62(6), Florida
238	Statutes, as carried forward by this act from chapter 2007-328,
239	Laws of Florida, and made by this act shall expire July 1, 2009,
240	and the text of that section shall revert to that in existence
241	on the day before the effective date of chapter 2007-328, Laws
242	of Florida, except that any amendments to such text enacted
243	other than by this act shall be preserved and continue to
244	operate to the extent that such amendments are not dependent
245	upon the portions of such text that expire pursuant to this
246	section.
247	Section 6.  Subsection (3) of section 1011.71, Florida
248	Statutes, as amended by chapters 2007-328 and 2008-2, Laws of
249	Florida, is amended to read:
250	1011.71  District school tax.--
251	(3)  A school district that has met the reduction
252	requirements regarding class size for the 2008-2009 fiscal
253	current year pursuant to s. 1003.03 for K-12 students for whom
254	the school district provides the educational facilities, has
255	received an unqualified opinion on its financial statements for
256	the preceding 3 years, has no material weaknesses or instances
257	of material noncompliance noted in an audit for the preceding 3
258	years, and certifies to the Commissioner of Education that the
259	district does not need all of its discretionary 2-mill capital
260	improvement revenue for capital outlay purposes and all of the
261	district's instructional space needs for the next 5 years can be
262	met from capital outlay sources that the district reasonably
263	expects to receive during the next 5 years from local revenues
264	and from currently appropriated state facilities funding or from
265	alternative scheduling or construction, leasing, rezoning, or
266	technological methodologies that exhibit sound management may
267	expend, subject to the provisions of s. 200.065, up to $65 per
268	unweighted full-time equivalent student from the revenue
269	generated by the 2008-2009 millage levy authorized by subsection
270	(2) to fund, in addition to expenditures authorized in
271	paragraphs (2)(a)-(j), 2008-2009 expenses for the following:
272	(a)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of driver's
273	education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or
274	operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or
275	vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and
276	equipment.
277	(b)  Payment of the cost of premiums for property and
278	casualty insurance necessary to insure school district
279	educational and ancillary plants. Operating revenues that are
280	made available through the payment of property and casualty
281	insurance premiums from revenues generated under this subsection
282	may be expended only for nonrecurring operational expenditures
283	of the school district.
284	Section 7.  The amendments to s. 1011.71(3), Florida
285	Statutes, as carried forward by this act from chapters 2007-328
286	and 2008-2, Laws of Florida, and made by this act shall expire
287	July 1, 2009, and the text of that section shall revert to that
288	in existence on the day before the effective date of chapter
289	2007-328, Laws of Florida, except that any amendments to such
290	text enacted other than by this act shall be preserved and
291	continue to operate to the extent that such amendments are not
292	dependent upon the portions of such text that expire pursuant to
293	this section.
294	Section 8.  Section 1012.72, Florida Statutes, as amended
295	by chapter 2007-328, Laws of Florida, is amended to read:
296	1012.72  Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program.--
297	(1)  The Legislature recognizes that teachers play a
298	critical role in preparing students to achieve the high levels
299	of academic performance expected by the Sunshine State
300	Standards. The Legislature further recognizes the importance of
301	identifying and rewarding teaching excellence and of encouraging
302	good teachers to become excellent teachers. The Legislature
303	finds that the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards
304	(NBPTS) has established high and rigorous standards for
305	accomplished teaching and has developed a national voluntary
306	system for assessing and certifying teachers who demonstrate
307	teaching excellence by meeting those standards. It is therefore
308	the Legislature's intent to provide incentives for teachers to
309	seek NBPTS certification and to reward teachers who demonstrate
310	teaching excellence by attaining NBPTS certification and sharing
311	their expertise with other teachers.
312	(1)(2)  The Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program is
313	created to provide categorical funding for monetary incentives
314	and bonuses for teaching excellence. The Department of Education
315	shall distribute to each school district or to the NBPTS an
316	amount as prescribed annually by the Legislature for the Dale
317	Hickam Excellent Teaching Program. For purposes of this section,
318	the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind shall be
319	considered a school district. Unless otherwise provided in the
320	General Appropriations Act, each distribution shall be the sum
321	of the amounts earned for the following incentives and bonuses:
322	(a)  A fee subsidy to be paid by the Department of
323	Education to the NBPTS on behalf of each individual who is an
324	employee of a district school board or a public school within
325	the school district, who is certified by the district to have
326	demonstrated satisfactory teaching performance pursuant to s.
327	1012.34 and who satisfies the prerequisites for participating in
328	the NBPTS certification program, and who agrees, in writing, to
329	pay 10 percent of the NBPTS participation fee and to participate
330	in the NBPTS certification program during the school year for
331	which the fee subsidy is provided. The fee subsidy for each
332	eligible participant shall be an amount equal to 90 percent of
333	the fee charged for participating in the NBPTS certification
334	program. The fee subsidy is a one-time award and may not be
335	duplicated for any individual.
336	(b)  A portfolio-preparation incentive of $150 paid by the
337	Department of Education to each teacher employed by a district
338	school board or a public school within a school district who is
339	participating in the NBPTS certification program. The portfolio-
340	preparation incentive is a one-time award paid during the school
341	year for which the NBPTS fee subsidy is provided.
342	(a)(c)  An annual bonus equal to 10 percent of the prior
343	fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers to
344	be distributed to the school district to be paid to each
345	individual who holds National Board for Professional Teaching
346	Standards (NBPTS) NBPTS certification and is employed by the
347	district school board or by a public school within the school
348	district. The district school board shall distribute the annual
349	bonus to each individual who meets the requirements of this
350	paragraph and who is certified annually by the district to have
351	demonstrated satisfactory teaching performance pursuant to s.
352	1012.225 or s. 1012.34. The annual bonus may be paid as a single
353	payment or divided into not more than three payments.
354	(d)  An annual bonus equal to 10 percent of the prior
355	fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers to
356	be distributed to the school district to be paid to each
357	individual who meets the requirements of paragraph (c) and
358	agrees, in writing, to provide the equivalent of 12 workdays of
359	mentoring and related services to public school teachers within
360	the state who do not hold NBPTS certification. Related services
361	must include instruction in helping teachers work more
362	effectively with the families of their students. The district
363	school board shall distribute the annual bonus in a single
364	payment following the completion of all required mentoring and
365	related services for the year. It is not the intent of the
366	Legislature to remove excellent teachers from their assigned
367	classrooms; therefore, credit may not be granted by a school
368	district or public school for mentoring or related services
369	provided during student contact time during the 196 days of
370	required service for the school year.
371	(b)(e)  The employer's share of social security and
372	Medicare taxes and Florida Retirement System contributions for
373	those teachers who qualify for NBPTS certification and receive
374	bonus amounts.
375
376	A teacher for whom the state pays the certification fee and who
377	does not complete the certification program or does not teach in
378	a public school of this state for at least 1 year after
379	completing the certification program must repay the amount of
380	the certification fee to the state. However, a teacher who
381	completes the certification program but fails to be awarded
382	NBPTS certification is not required to repay the amount of the
383	certification fee if the teacher meets the 1-year teaching
384	requirement. Repayment is not required of a teacher who does not
385	complete the certification program or fails to fulfill the
386	teaching requirement because of the teacher's death or
387	disability or because of other extenuating circumstances as
388	determined by the State Board of Education.
389	(3)(a)  In addition to any other remedy available under the
390	law, any person who is a recipient of a certification fee
391	subsidy paid to the NBPTS and who is an employee of the state or
392	any of its political subdivisions is considered to have
393	consented, as a condition of employment, to the voluntary or
394	involuntary withholding of wages to repay to the state the
395	amount of such a certification fee subsidy awarded under this
396	section. Any such employee who defaults on the repayment of such
397	a certification fee subsidy must, within 60 days after service
398	of a notice of default by the Department of Education to the
399	employee, establish a repayment schedule which must be agreed to
400	by the department and the employee, for repaying the defaulted
401	sum through payroll deductions. The department may not require
402	the employee to pay more than 10 percent of the employee's pay
403	per pay period under such a repayment schedule or plan. If the
404	employee fails to establish a repayment schedule within the
405	specified period of time or fails to meet the terms and
406	conditions of the agreed upon or approved repayment schedule as
407	authorized by this subsection, the employee has breached an
408	essential condition of employment and is considered to have
409	consented to the involuntary withholding of wages or salary for
410	the repayment of the certification fee subsidy.
411	(b)  A person who is employed by the state, or any of its
412	political subdivisions, may not be dismissed for having
413	defaulted on the repayment of the certification fee subsidy to
414	the state.
415	(4)  The State Board of Education may adopt rules pursuant
416	to ss. 120.536 and 120.54 as necessary to administer the
417	provisions for payment of the fee subsidies, incentives, and
418	bonuses and for the repayment of defaulted certification fee
419	subsidies under this section.
420	(2)(5)  If the funds available in any fiscal year are
421	insufficient to pay in full the annual bonus under subsection
422	(1) bonuses for certification and for providing mentoring and
423	related services, payments for providing mentoring and related
424	services shall be prorated among the eligible recipients.
425	Section 9.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

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