Florida Senate - 2013                       CS for CS for SB 134
       
       
       
       By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Education; and Senator Ring
       
       
       
       585-02858-13                                           2013134c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to meetings of district school boards;
    3         amending s. 1001.372, F.S.; requiring district school
    4         boards to convene at least one regular meeting each
    5         quarter during a school year during the evening hours
    6         and to create written criteria for convening such a
    7         meeting; providing that a district school board is
    8         deemed to be in compliance under certain
    9         circumstances; providing an effective date.
   10  
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 1001.372, Florida
   14  Statutes, is amended to read:
   15         1001.372 District school board meetings.—
   16         (1) REGULAR AND SPECIAL MEETINGS.—
   17         (a) The district school board shall hold not less than one
   18  regular meeting each month for the transaction of business
   19  according to a schedule arranged by the district school board.
   20  The district school board shall convene at least one regular
   21  meeting each quarter within a school year during the evening
   22  hours. The district school board shall create written criteria
   23  for deciding when to convene a quarterly meeting during the
   24  evening hours. A district school board is deemed to be in
   25  compliance with this paragraph if it maintains, and operates in
   26  accordance with, a policy that requires the portion of a regular
   27  meeting which is open to public comment to begin no earlier than
   28  4:30 p.m.
   29         (b) The district school board and shall convene in a
   30  special meeting sessions when called by the district school
   31  superintendent or by the district school superintendent on
   32  request of the chair of the district school board, or on request
   33  of a majority of the members of the district school board. If
   34  the district school superintendent does not call a special
   35  meeting when requested to do so, as prescribed in this
   36  paragraph, such a meeting may be called by the chair of the
   37  district school board or by a majority of the members of the
   38  district school board by giving 2 days’ written notice of the
   39  time and purpose of the meeting to all members and to the
   40  district school superintendent. An action; provided that actions
   41  taken at a special meeting has meetings shall have the same
   42  force and effect as if taken at a regular meeting, and; and
   43  provided further that in the event the district school
   44  superintendent should fail to call a special meeting when
   45  requested to do so, as prescribed herein, such a meeting may be
   46  called by the chair of the district school board or by a
   47  majority of the members of the district school board by giving 2
   48  days’ written notice of the time and purpose of the meeting to
   49  all members and to the district school superintendent, in which
   50  event the minutes of the meeting must shall set forth the facts
   51  regarding the procedure in calling the meeting and the reason
   52  the meeting was called. The minutes must therefor and shall be
   53  signed either by the chair or by a majority of the members of
   54  the district school board.
   55         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.