| 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 net |
| 4 | proceeds from a scratch-off lottery game to be allocated |
| 5 | to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in the |
| 6 | Department of Education to be distributed to programs |
| 7 | offering services to individuals with developmental |
| 8 | disabilities; providing an effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 24.121, Florida |
| 13 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 14 | 24.121 Allocation of revenues and expenditure of funds for |
| 15 | public education.- |
| 16 | (5)(a) Public educational programs and purposes funded by |
| 17 | the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund may include, but are not |
| 18 | limited to, endowment, scholarship, matching funds, direct |
| 19 | grants, research and economic development related to education, |
| 20 | salary enhancement, contracts with independent institutions to |
| 21 | conduct programs consistent with the state master plan for |
| 22 | postsecondary education, or any other educational program or |
| 23 | purpose deemed desirable by the Legislature. Prior to the |
| 24 | expenditure of these funds, each school district shall establish |
| 25 | policies and procedures that define enhancement and the types of |
| 26 | expenditures consistent with that definition. |
| 27 | (b) Except as provided in paragraphs (c), (d), and (e), |
| 28 | and (f), the Legislature shall equitably apportion moneys in the |
| 29 | trust fund among public schools, community colleges, and |
| 30 | universities. |
| 31 | (c) A portion of such net revenues, as determined annually |
| 32 | by the Legislature, shall be distributed to each school district |
| 33 | and shall be made available to each public school in the |
| 34 | district for enhancing school performance through development |
| 35 | and implementation of a school improvement plan pursuant to s. |
| 36 | 1001.42(18). A portion of these moneys, as determined annually |
| 37 | in the General Appropriations Act, must be allocated to each |
| 38 | school in an equal amount for each student enrolled. These |
| 39 | moneys may be expended only on programs or projects selected by |
| 40 | the school advisory council or by a parent advisory committee |
| 41 | created pursuant to this paragraph. If a school does not have a |
| 42 | school advisory council, the district advisory council must |
| 43 | appoint a parent advisory committee composed of parents of |
| 44 | students enrolled in that school, which is representative of the |
| 45 | ethnic, racial, and economic community served by the school, to |
| 46 | advise the school's principal on the programs or projects to be |
| 47 | funded. Neither school district staff nor principals may |
| 48 | override the recommendations of the school advisory council or |
| 49 | the parent advisory committee. These moneys may not be used for |
| 50 | capital improvements or for any project or program that has a |
| 51 | duration of more than 1 year; however, a school advisory council |
| 52 | or parent advisory committee may independently determine that a |
| 53 | program or project formerly funded under this paragraph should |
| 54 | receive funds in a subsequent year. |
| 55 | (d) No funds shall be released for any purpose from the |
| 56 | Educational Enhancement Trust Fund to any school district in |
| 57 | which one or more schools do not have an approved school |
| 58 | improvement plan pursuant to s. 1001.42(18) or do not comply |
| 59 | with school advisory council membership composition requirements |
| 60 | pursuant to s. 1001.452(1). The Commissioner of Education shall |
| 61 | withhold disbursements from the trust fund to any school |
| 62 | district that fails to adopt the performance-based salary |
| 63 | schedule required by s. 1012.22(1). |
| 64 | (e) All components of the Florida Bright Futures |
| 65 | Scholarship Program shall be funded annually from the |
| 66 | Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. Funds shall be allocated to |
| 67 | this program prior to application of the formula for equitable |
| 68 | distribution to public schools, community colleges, and state |
| 69 | universities. If shortages require reductions in estimated |
| 70 | distributions from the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, funds |
| 71 | for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program shall be |
| 72 | reduced only after reductions in all other distributions are |
| 73 | made. |
| 74 | (f) The net proceeds from a scratch-off lottery game with |
| 75 | tickets sold annually in August, September, and October, which |
| 76 | is designated as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, |
| 77 | shall be allocated to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation |
| 78 | in the Department of Education to be distributed as follows: |
| 79 | 1. To programs offering educational and vocational |
| 80 | rehabilitation services to individuals with developmental |
| 81 | disabilities who are on the Medicaid waiver wait list and in |
| 82 | need of such services. |
| 83 | 2. To programs offering vocational rehabilitation follow- |
| 84 | along services and employment services to individuals with |
| 85 | developmental disabilities who are on the Medicaid waiver wait |
| 86 | list. |
| 87 | (g)(f) Each school district shall, on a quarterly basis, |
| 88 | make available to the public and distribute, in an easy to |
| 89 | understand format, the expenditures of lottery funds allocated |
| 90 | to the school district. |
| 91 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |