Florida Senate - 2014                                    SB 1236
       
       
        
       By Senator Clemens
       
       
       
       
       
       27-01397-14                                           20141236__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public education; creating s.
    3         1003.615, F.S.; providing a short title; providing
    4         legislative intent and purpose; providing to certain
    5         school districts the option of statutory waivers from
    6         certain statutes in chs. 1000-1013, F.S., and
    7         corresponding administrative rules; authorizing the
    8         State Board of Education to enter into a performance
    9         contract with a school district to provide a statutory
   10         waiver; authorizing a school district, upon a
   11         supermajority vote by the district school board, to
   12         apply for a waiver from certain statutes; requiring
   13         that a school district that receives one or more
   14         waivers comply with certain statutes; specifying
   15         exceptions to the statutory waivers; requiring that an
   16         application for each waiver request be submitted to
   17         the commissioner and the State Board of Education;
   18         providing requirements for the application; providing
   19         that a waiver may be requested at any point during the
   20         fiscal year; requiring that the commissioner and the
   21         State Board of Education make a decision within a
   22         specified period of time; providing that the governing
   23         board of a school district is the duly elected
   24         district school board; requiring that each school
   25         district submit an annual report to the Governor and
   26         the Legislature by a specified date; providing
   27         requirements for the report; providing an effective
   28         date.
   29          
   30  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   31  
   32         Section 1. Section 1003.615, Florida Statutes, is created
   33  to read:
   34         1003.615 Public Education Innovation and Efficiency Act.—
   35         (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Public
   36  Education Innovation and Efficiency Act.”
   37         (2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT; PURPOSE.—The Legislature intends to
   38  provide school districts with the statutory and regulatory
   39  flexibility to reform public education in the state by exempting
   40  certain school districts from specified statutes in chapters
   41  1000-1013, subject to certain exceptions. The purpose of this
   42  section is to maintain and significantly improve student
   43  achievement through a variety of means, including, but not
   44  limited to:
   45         (a) Developing public-private partnerships with local
   46  communities to expand opportunities for increased student
   47  performance.
   48         (b) Expanding public school parental choice programs within
   49  the school district to meet local community employment and
   50  educational needs.
   51         (c) Expanding public school virtual education programs.
   52         (d) Allowing greater flexibility in the use of tax revenue,
   53  which will allow that revenue to be redirected to classroom
   54  expenditures while ensuring compliance with the applicable
   55  constitutional and statutory requirements.
   56         (3) STATUTORY WAIVERS.—
   57         (a) The State Board of Education may enter into a
   58  performance contract with a school district for the purpose of
   59  providing a statutory waiver, upon the school district’s
   60  request, with the intent of continuing significant improvements
   61  in student achievement through a variety of means. A school
   62  district, upon a supermajority vote by the district school
   63  board, may apply for a waiver from any statute in chapters 1000
   64  1013, except those specified in paragraph (b), which govern
   65  school and school district operations and policies, as well as
   66  corresponding administrative rules.
   67         (b) A school district that is granted one or more statutory
   68  waivers must comply with chapter 119 and s. 286.011 relating to
   69  public records and meetings. A school district may not request a
   70  waiver from laws that govern the election, appointment, duties,
   71  or responsibilities of the district school superintendent or
   72  board members, or laws that pertain to:
   73         1.Student health, safety, and welfare.
   74         2.Services for students who have disabilities.
   75         3.Civil rights, including s. 1000.05, relating to
   76  discrimination.
   77         4. The student assessment program and the school grading
   78  system, including chapter 1008.
   79         5.Financial disclosure by elected officials.
   80         6.Conflicts of interest by elected officials.
   81         7. Instructional materials, except s. 1006.37, relating to
   82  the requisition of state-adopted materials from the depository
   83  under contract with the publisher, and s. 1006.40(3)(a),
   84  relating to the use of 50 percent of the instructional materials
   85  allocation.
   86         8. Financial matters, including those laws in chapter 1010,
   87  except s. 1010.20(3).
   88         9.Educational facilities, including those laws in chapter
   89  1013, except s. 1013.20, relating only to covered walkways for
   90  portables, and s. 1013.21, relating to the use of relocatable
   91  facilities that exceed 20 years of age.
   92         10. Planning and budgeting, including those laws in chapter
   93  1011, except s. 1011.62(9)(d), relating to the requirement for a
   94  comprehensive reading plan. A school district that is exempt
   95  from submitting the plan is deemed approved to receive the
   96  research-based reading instruction allocation.
   97         11. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and
   98  salary schedules.
   99         12. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions.
  100         13. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with
  101  instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011.
  102         14. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive
  103  requirements for performance evaluations for instructional,
  104  administrative, and supervisory personnel.
  105         15. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size,
  106  except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s.
  107  1003.03 is the average at the school level for a school choice
  108  program in which a parent or guardian chooses to place his or
  109  her child, rather than the child being placed pursuant to a
  110  school district assignment.
  111         (c) A school district shall submit an application for each
  112  waiver request to the commissioner and the State Board of
  113  Education, which must include the purpose for making the
  114  request, the goal or goals to be achieved by the waiver, and
  115  supporting evidence or other documentation outlining the impact
  116  if the waiver is approved or disapproved. Each waiver request
  117  must contain a statement indicating how the waiver would enhance
  118  instructional programs or provide for greater efficiency or
  119  efficacy in school district operations. A waiver may be
  120  requested at any point during a fiscal year and may be granted,
  121  for no more than 3 years, if the commissioner and the State
  122  Board of Education agree that the waiver will assist the school
  123  district in maintaining or improving its academic or fiscal
  124  performance status. The commissioner and the State Board of
  125  Education shall grant or deny a waiver request within 90 days
  126  after receiving the request.
  127         (4) GOVERNING BOARD.—The governing board of a school
  128  district is the duly elected district school board.
  129         (5) ANNUAL REPORT.—By January 15, 2015, and each year
  130  thereafter, each school district that is granted at least one
  131  waiver shall submit an annual report to the Governor, the
  132  President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
  133  Representatives, and the State Board of Education. The report
  134  must contain the strategies that the school district used to
  135  implement the provisions of this section and the results of
  136  student performance evaluations and district operational
  137  efficiency programs.
  138         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.