| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the allocation and expenditure of state |
| 3 | lottery revenues; amending s. 24.121, F.S.; requiring a |
| 4 | portion of Powerball net revenues to be allocated to |
| 5 | voluntary prekindergarten education programs; providing |
| 6 | for the use of funds; providing an effective date. |
| 7 |
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| 8 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 24.121, Florida |
| 11 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 12 | 24.121 Allocation of revenues and expenditure of funds for |
| 13 | public education.-- |
| 14 | (5)(a) Public educational programs and purposes funded by |
| 15 | the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund may include, but are not |
| 16 | limited to, endowment, scholarship, matching funds, direct |
| 17 | grants, research and economic development related to education, |
| 18 | salary enhancement, contracts with independent institutions to |
| 19 | conduct programs consistent with the state master plan for |
| 20 | postsecondary education, or any other educational program or |
| 21 | purpose deemed desirable by the Legislature. Prior to the |
| 22 | expenditure of these funds, each school district shall establish |
| 23 | policies and procedures that define enhancement and the types of |
| 24 | expenditures consistent with that definition. |
| 25 | (b) Except as provided in paragraphs (c), (d), and (e), |
| 26 | and (f), the Legislature shall equitably apportion moneys in the |
| 27 | trust fund among public schools, community colleges, and |
| 28 | universities. |
| 29 | (c) A portion of such net revenues, as determined annually |
| 30 | by the Legislature, shall be distributed to each school district |
| 31 | and shall be made available to each public school in the |
| 32 | district for enhancing school performance through development |
| 33 | and implementation of a school improvement plan pursuant to s. |
| 34 | 1001.42(18). A portion of these moneys, as determined annually |
| 35 | in the General Appropriations Act, must be allocated to each |
| 36 | school in an equal amount for each student enrolled. These |
| 37 | moneys may be expended only on programs or projects selected by |
| 38 | the school advisory council or by a parent advisory committee |
| 39 | created pursuant to this paragraph. If a school does not have a |
| 40 | school advisory council, the district advisory council must |
| 41 | appoint a parent advisory committee composed of parents of |
| 42 | students enrolled in that school, which is representative of the |
| 43 | ethnic, racial, and economic community served by the school, to |
| 44 | advise the school's principal on the programs or projects to be |
| 45 | funded. Neither school district staff nor principals may |
| 46 | override the recommendations of the school advisory council or |
| 47 | the parent advisory committee. These moneys may not be used for |
| 48 | capital improvements or for any project or program that has a |
| 49 | duration of more than 1 year; however, a school advisory council |
| 50 | or parent advisory committee may independently determine that a |
| 51 | program or project formerly funded under this paragraph should |
| 52 | receive funds in a subsequent year. |
| 53 | (d) No funds shall be released for any purpose from the |
| 54 | Educational Enhancement Trust Fund to any school district in |
| 55 | which one or more schools do not have an approved school |
| 56 | improvement plan pursuant to s. 1001.42(18) or do not comply |
| 57 | with school advisory council membership composition requirements |
| 58 | pursuant to s. 1001.452(1). The Commissioner of Education shall |
| 59 | withhold disbursements from the trust fund to any school |
| 60 | district that fails to adopt the performance-based salary |
| 61 | schedule required by s. 1012.22(1). |
| 62 | (e) All components of the Florida Bright Futures |
| 63 | Scholarship Program shall be funded annually from the |
| 64 | Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. Funds shall be allocated to |
| 65 | this program prior to application of the formula for equitable |
| 66 | distribution to public schools, community colleges, and state |
| 67 | universities. If shortages require reductions in estimated |
| 68 | distributions from the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, funds |
| 69 | for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program shall be |
| 70 | reduced only after reductions in all other distributions are |
| 71 | made. |
| 72 | (f) A portion of Powerball net revenues, as determined |
| 73 | annually by the Legislature, shall be distributed to enhance |
| 74 | voluntary prekindergarten education programs. Such funds shall |
| 75 | be allocated to each voluntary prekindergarten education program |
| 76 | in an equal amount for each student enrolled. Such funds must be |
| 77 | used for direct classroom expenditures and may not be used for |
| 78 | administrative costs. |
| 79 | (g)(f) Each school district shall, on a quarterly basis, |
| 80 | make available to the public and distribute, in an easy to |
| 81 | understand format, the expenditures of lottery funds allocated |
| 82 | to the school district. |
| 83 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |