| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to educational plant surveys; amending s. |
| 3 | 1013.31, F.S.; authorizing an extension to a school |
| 4 | district educational plant survey submission deadline; |
| 5 | providing restrictions; providing requirements for the |
| 6 | submission of a request for an extension to the Department |
| 7 | of Education and requiring department approval; providing |
| 8 | restrictions on school district construction during the |
| 9 | extension period; requiring the State Board of Education |
| 10 | to adopt rules; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (1) of |
| 15 | section 1013.31, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 16 | 1013.31 Educational plant survey; localized need |
| 17 | assessment; PECO project funding.- |
| 18 | (1) At least every 5 years, each board shall arrange for |
| 19 | an educational plant survey, to aid in formulating plans for |
| 20 | housing the educational program and student population, faculty, |
| 21 | administrators, staff, and auxiliary and ancillary services of |
| 22 | the district or campus, including consideration of the local |
| 23 | comprehensive plan. The Department of Education shall document |
| 24 | the need for additional career and adult education programs and |
| 25 | the continuation of existing programs before facility |
| 26 | construction or renovation related to career or adult education |
| 27 | may be included in the educational plant survey of a school |
| 28 | district or community college that delivers career or adult |
| 29 | education programs. Information used by the Department of |
| 30 | Education to establish facility needs must include, but need not |
| 31 | be limited to, labor market data, needs analysis, and |
| 32 | information submitted by the school district or community |
| 33 | college. |
| 34 | (e) Request for extension.- |
| 35 | 1. Upon request by a district school superintendent to the |
| 36 | Department of Education and upon approval by the department, an |
| 37 | extension to a survey submission deadline may be granted for up |
| 38 | to 180 days, not to exceed four consecutive extensions per |
| 39 | survey. A request for an extension to a survey submission |
| 40 | deadline must be submitted to the department no later than 90 |
| 41 | days prior to the current submission deadline. A request shall |
| 42 | contain the following: |
| 43 | a. A letter from the district school superintendent to the |
| 44 | department, submitted on behalf of the district school board and |
| 45 | on district school board letterhead, formally requesting an |
| 46 | extension which cites the specific need for the extension. |
| 47 | b. A formal application, developed by the department, that |
| 48 | includes sections for the following information: the purpose for |
| 49 | requesting the extension; data that clearly and objectively |
| 50 | supports the need for the extension; the signatures of all |
| 51 | current district school board members; and the signature of the |
| 52 | director of the department responsible for oversight of the |
| 53 | educational facility planning, design, and construction for the |
| 54 | school district, if one exists. |
| 55 | 2. School districts may not contract for new construction |
| 56 | projects, except for local bonded projects and those financed |
| 57 | with the voter-approved one-half-cent cent sales surtax for |
| 58 | public school capital outlay authorized by s. 212.055(6), during |
| 59 | an extension period. |
| 60 | 3. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules pursuant |
| 61 | to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this paragraph. |
| 62 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |