Florida Senate - 2009 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2272
Barcode 825860
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/16/2009 .
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The Committee on Education Pre-K - 12 (Wise) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 1012.985, Florida Statutes, is amended
6 to read:
7 1012.985 Regional Statewide system for inservice
8 professional development academies.—
9 (1) The intent of this section is to facilitate establish a
10 statewide system of professional development that provides a
11 wide range of targeted inservice training to teachers, managers,
12 and administrative personnel which is designed to upgrade skills
13 and knowledge needed to attain reach world class standards in
14 education. The system shall consist of a network of professional
15 development academies that in each region of the state which are
16 operated in partnership with area business partners to develop
17 and deliver high-quality training programs for purchased by
18 school districts. Each regional professional development academy
19 The academies shall be established to meet the human resource
20 development needs of professional educators, schools, and school
21 districts and shall. Funds appropriated for the initiation of
22 professional development academies shall be allocated by the
23 Commissioner of Education, unless otherwise provided in an
24 appropriations act. To be eligible for startup funds, the
25 academy must:
26 (a) Support Be established by the collaborative efforts of
27 one or more district school boards, members of the business
28 community, and the postsecondary educational institutions which
29 may award college credits for courses taught at the academy.
30 (b) Demonstrate the capacity to provide effective training
31 to improve teaching skills in the areas of elementary reading
32 and mathematics, the use of instructional technology, high
33 school algebra, and classroom management, and to deliver such
34 training using face-to-face, distance learning, and
35 individualized computer-based delivery systems.
36 (c) Propose a plan for responding in an effective and
37 timely manner to the professional development needs of teachers,
38 managers, administrative personnel, schools, and school
39 districts relating to improving student achievement and meeting
40 state and local education goals.
41 (b)(d) Demonstrate the ability to Provide high-quality
42 trainers and training and, appropriate followup and coaching for
43 all participants, and support school personnel in increasing
44 student achievement in positively impacting student performance.
45 (c)(e) Be operated under contract with its public partners.
46 Contracts between district school boards and each regional
47 professional development academy shall require:
48 1. The academy’s independent board of directors to be
49 responsible for the prudent use of all public and private funds
50 and to ensure that such funds are used in accordance with
51 applicable laws, bylaws, and contractual agreements.
52 2. The academy to retain proper documentation evidencing
53 that district school board funds provided to the academy are
54 expended for authorized purposes as prescribed in the contract
55 and that services to district school boards are commensurate to
56 the funds paid to the academy for such services. The academy’s
57 records shall be available for inspection by the district school
58 board’s internal auditor and the Auditor General.
59 3. Each district school board to approve any participation
60 by the academy in the district’s programs or services, including
61 use of the district’s facilities, furnishings, equipment, other
62 chattels, personnel, or services.
63 4. The academy to provide an annual report of its
64 activities and expenditures to its independent board of
65 directors and each party to the contract.
66 5. The academy to be annually audited by an independent
67 certified public accountant retained and paid for by the academy
68 and to provide a copy of the audit report to each party to the
69 contract.
70 (d) Be and governed by an independent board of directors,
71 which should include at least one district school superintendent
72 and one district school board chair from the participating
73 school districts, the president of the collective bargaining
74 unit that represents the majority of the region’s teachers, and
75 at least three individuals who are not employees or elected or
76 appointed officials of the participating school districts.
77 Regional educational consortia as defined in s. 1001.451 satisfy
78 the requirements of this paragraph.
79 (f) Be financed during the first year of operation by an
80 equal or greater match from private funding sources and
81 demonstrate the ability to be self-supporting within 1 year
82 after opening through fees for services, grants, or private
83 contributions. Regional educational consortia as defined in s.
84 1001.451 which serve rural areas of critical economic concern
85 are exempt from the funding match required by this paragraph.
86 (g) Own or lease a facility that can be used to deliver
87 training onsite and through distance learning and other
88 technology-based delivery systems. The participating district
89 school boards may lease a site or facility to the academy for a
90 nominal fee and may pay all or part of the costs of renovating a
91 facility to accommodate the academy. The academy is responsible
92 for all operational, maintenance, and repair costs.
93 (e)(h) Provide professional development services for the
94 participating school districts as specified in the contract and
95 may provide professional development services to other school
96 districts, private schools, and individuals on a fee-for
97 services basis.
98 (2) Upon compliance with the requirements for the first
99 year of operation in paragraph (1)(f), A regional professional
100 development academy may:
101 (a) May Receive funds from the Department of Education or
102 as provided in the General Appropriations Act for the purpose of
103 developing programs, expanding services, assessing inservice
104 training and professional development, or other programs that
105 are consistent with the mission of the academy and the needs of
106 the state and region; and
107 (b) Receive, hold, invest, and administer property and any
108 moneys acquired from private, local, state, and federal sources,
109 as well as technical and professional income generated or
110 derived from activities of the academy, for the benefit of the
111 academy and the fulfillment of its mission. Income generated by
112 school district personnel at the academy from trademarks,
113 copyrights, and patents shall be shared between the academy and
114 the district school board as outlined in the contract.
115 (b) Is not, by virtue of providing services to one or more
116 school districts, a component of any school district or any
117 governmental unit to which the regional professional development
118 academy provides services.
119 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.
120
121 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
122 And the title is amended as follows:
123 Delete everything before the enacting clause
124 and insert:
125 A bill to be entitled
126 An act relating to regional professional development
127 academies; amending s. 1012.985, F.S.; providing for
128 regional academies rather than a statewide system of
129 organization; providing duties of regional
130 professional development academies; deleting
131 provisions that require academies to meet certain
132 criteria in order to receive start-up funds;
133 specifying requirements for contracts between district
134 school boards and academies; deleting requirements
135 relating to first-year funding and academy financial
136 self-sufficiency in future years; authorizing the
137 academies to administer property and moneys received
138 from various sources; requiring that income generated
139 from certain activities be shared between the academy
140 and the district school board; providing an effective
141 date.