Florida Senate - 2016 SB 434
By Senator Garcia
38-00551-16 2016434__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Principal Autonomy Pilot
3 Program Initiative; creating s. 1011.6202, F.S.;
4 creating the Principal Autonomy Pilot Program
5 Initiative; providing a procedure for a school
6 district to participate in the pilot program;
7 providing requirements for participating school
8 districts and schools; exempting participating schools
9 from certain laws and rules; requiring principals of
10 participating schools and specified personnel to
11 participate in the University of Virginia School
12 Turnaround Program; providing for the term of
13 participation in the pilot program; providing for
14 renewal or revocation of authorization to participate
15 in the pilot program; providing for funding,
16 reporting, and rulemaking; amending s. 1011.69, F.S.;
17 requiring participating district school boards to
18 allocate a specified percentage of certain funds to
19 participating schools; amending s. 1012.28, F.S.;
20 providing additional authority and responsibilities of
21 the principal of a participating school; providing an
22 effective date.
23
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26 Section 1. Section 1011.6202, Florida Statutes, is created
27 to read:
28 1011.6202 Principal Autonomy Pilot Program Initiative.—The
29 Principal Autonomy Pilot Program Initiative is created within
30 the Department of Education. The purpose of the pilot program is
31 to provide the highly effective principal of a participating
32 school with increased autonomy and authority to operate his or
33 her school in a way that produces significant improvements in
34 student achievement and school management while complying with
35 constitutional requirements. The State Board of Education may,
36 upon approval of a principal autonomy proposal, enter into a
37 performance contract with up to three district school boards for
38 participation in the pilot program.
39 (1) PARTICIPATING SCHOOL DISTRICTS.—A Florida school
40 district may submit to the state board for approval a principal
41 autonomy proposal that exchanges statutory and rule exemptions
42 for an agreement to meet performance goals established in the
43 proposal. If approved by the state board, the school district
44 shall be eligible to participate in the pilot program for 3
45 years. At the end of the 3 years, the performance of all
46 participating schools in the school district shall be evaluated.
47 (2) PRINCIPAL AUTONOMY PROPOSAL.—
48 (a) To participate in the pilot program, a school district
49 must:
50 1. Identify three middle or high schools that received at
51 least two school grades of “D” or “F” pursuant to s. 1008.34
52 during the previous 3 school years.
53 2. Identify three principals who have earned a highly
54 effective rating on the prior year’s performance evaluation
55 pursuant to s. 1012.34, one of whom shall be assigned to each of
56 the participating schools.
57 3. Describe the current financial and administrative
58 management of each participating school; identify the areas in
59 which each school principal will have increased fiscal and
60 administrative autonomy, including the authority and
61 responsibilities provided in s. 1012.28(8); and identify the
62 areas in which each participating school will continue to follow
63 district school board fiscal and administrative policies.
64 4. Explain the methods used to identify the educational
65 strengths and needs of the participating school’s students and
66 identify how student achievement can be improved.
67 5. Establish performance goals for student achievement, as
68 defined in s. 1008.34(1), and explain how the increased autonomy
69 of principals will help participating schools improve student
70 achievement and school management.
71 6. Provide each participating school’s mission and a
72 description of its student population.
73 (b) The state board shall establish criteria, which must
74 include the criteria listed in paragraph (a), for the approval
75 of a principal autonomy proposal.
76 (c) A school district must submit its principal autonomy
77 proposal to the state board for approval by December 1 in order
78 to begin participation in the subsequent school year. By
79 February 28 of the school year in which the proposal is
80 submitted, the state board shall notify the district school
81 board in writing whether the proposal is approved.
82 (3) EXEMPTION FROM LAWS.—
83 (a) With the exception of those laws listed in paragraph
84 (b), a participating school district is exempt from the
85 provisions of chapters 1000-1013 and rules of the state board
86 that implement those exempt provisions.
87 (b) A participating school district shall comply with the
88 provisions of chapters 1000-1013, and rules of the state board
89 that implement those provisions, pertaining to the following:
90 1. Those laws relating to the election and compensation of
91 district school board members, the election or appointment and
92 compensation of district school superintendents, public meetings
93 and public records requirements, financial disclosure, and
94 conflicts of interest.
95 2. Those laws relating to the student assessment program
96 and school grading system, including chapter 1008.
97 3. Those laws relating to the provision of services to
98 students with disabilities.
99 4. Those laws relating to civil rights, including s.
100 1000.05, relating to discrimination.
101 5. Those laws relating to student health, safety, and
102 welfare.
103 6. Section 1001.42(4)(f), relating to the uniform opening
104 date for public schools.
105 7. Section 1003.03, governing maximum class size, except
106 that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s. 1003.03 is
107 the average at the school level for a participating school.
108 8. Sections 1012.22(1)(c) and 1012.27(2), relating to
109 compensation and salary schedules.
110 9. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions for
111 annual contracts for instructional personnel. This subparagraph
112 does not apply to at-will employees.
113 10. Section 1012.335, relating to annual contracts for
114 instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011. This
115 subparagraph does not apply to at-will employees.
116 11. Section 1012.34, relating to personnel evaluation
117 procedures and criteria.
118 12. Those laws pertaining to educational facilities,
119 including chapter 1013, except that s. 1013.20, relating to
120 covered walkways for relocatables, and s. 1013.21, relating to
121 the use of relocatable facilities exceeding 20 years of age, are
122 eligible for exemption.
123 13. Those laws pertaining to participating school
124 districts, including this section and ss. 1011.69(2) and
125 1012.28(8).
126 (4) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—Each participating school
127 district shall require that the principal of each participating
128 school, a three-member leadership team from each participating
129 school, and district personnel working with each participating
130 school complete the University of Virginia School Turnaround
131 Program. The required personnel must enroll in the University of
132 Virginia School Turnaround Program upon acceptance into the
133 pilot program. Each participating school district shall receive
134 $100,000 from the department for participation in the University
135 of Virginia School Turnaround Program.
136 (5) TERM OF PARTICIPATION.—The state board shall authorize
137 a school district to participate in the pilot program for a
138 period of 3 years commencing with approval of the principal
139 autonomy proposal. Authorization to participate in the pilot
140 program may be renewed upon action of the state board. The state
141 board may revoke authorization to participate in the pilot
142 program if the school district fails to meet the requirements of
143 this section during the 3-year period.
144 (6) REPORTING.—Each participating school district shall
145 submit an annual report to the state board. The state board
146 shall annually report on the implementation of the Principal
147 Autonomy Pilot Program Initiative. Upon completion of the pilot
148 program’s first 3-year term, the Commissioner of Education shall
149 submit to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
150 House of Representatives by December 1 a full evaluation of the
151 effectiveness of the pilot program.
152 (7) FUNDING.—The Legislature shall provide an appropriation
153 to the department for the costs of the pilot program, including
154 administrative costs and enrollment costs for the University of
155 Virginia School Turnaround Program, and an additional
156 scholarship of $10,000 to each participating principal to be
157 used at his or her school.
158 (8) RULEMAKING.—The State Board of Education shall adopt
159 rules to administer this section.
160 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 1011.69, Florida
161 Statutes, is amended to read:
162 1011.69 Equity in School-Level Funding Act.—
163 (2) Beginning in the 2003-2004 fiscal year, district school
164 boards shall allocate to schools within the district an average
165 of 90 percent of the funds generated by all schools and
166 guarantee that each school receives at least 80 percent, except
167 schools participating in the Principal Autonomy Pilot Program
168 Initiative under s. 1011.6202 are guaranteed to receive at least
169 90 percent, of the funds generated by that school based upon the
170 Florida Education Finance Program as provided in s. 1011.62 and
171 the General Appropriations Act, including gross state and local
172 funds, discretionary lottery funds, and funds from the school
173 district’s current operating discretionary millage levy. Total
174 funding for each school shall be recalculated during the year to
175 reflect the revised calculations under the Florida Education
176 Finance Program by the state and the actual weighted full-time
177 equivalent students reported by the school during the full-time
178 equivalent student survey periods designated by the Commissioner
179 of Education. If the district school board is providing programs
180 or services to students funded by federal funds, any eligible
181 students enrolled in the schools in the district shall be
182 provided federal funds.
183 Section 3. Subsection (8) is added to section 1012.28,
184 Florida Statutes, to read:
185 1012.28 Public school personnel; duties of school
186 principals.—
187 (8) The principal of a school participating in the
188 Principal Autonomy Pilot Program Initiative under s. 1011.6202
189 has the following additional authority and responsibilities:
190 (a) In addition to the authority provided in subsection
191 (6), the authority to select qualified instructional personnel
192 for placement or to refuse to accept the placement or transfer
193 of instructional personnel by the district school
194 superintendent. Placement of instructional personnel at a
195 participating school in a participating school district does not
196 affect the employee’s status as a school district employee.
197 (b) The authority to deploy financial resources to school
198 programs at the principal’s discretion to help improve student
199 achievement, as defined in s. 1008.34(1), and meet performance
200 goals identified in the principal autonomy proposal submitted
201 pursuant to s. 1011.6202.
202 (c) To annually provide to the district school
203 superintendent and the district school board a budget for the
204 operation of the participating school that identifies how funds
205 provided pursuant to s. 1011.69(2) are allocated. The school
206 district shall include the budget in the annual report provided
207 to the State Board of Education pursuant to s. 1011.6202(6).
208 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.