Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 1228
       
       
        
       By Senator Diaz
       
       
       
       
       
       36-00887A-21                                          20211228__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to education; amending s. 1003.01,
    3         F.S.; defining and revising terms; amending s.
    4         1003.02, F.S.; requiring school districts to provide
    5         for live remote operation of all public schools as
    6         free schools for a term of 180 days or the equivalent
    7         on an hourly basis as specified by rules of the State
    8         Board of Education; amending s. 1003.03, F.S.;
    9         providing that the number of students attending
   10         classes through live remote attendance counts toward
   11         class size maximums as equally as the number of
   12         students attending in person; amending s. 1003.21,
   13         F.S.; including live remote attendance pursuant to
   14         rules adopted by the state board as a manner in which
   15         students may satisfy the requirement to attend school
   16         regularly; requiring the state board to adopt rules;
   17         specifying requirements to be included in the rules;
   18         amending s. 1003.23, F.S.; requiring the actual or
   19         live remote attendance of all public K-12 school
   20         students to be checked by each school; providing that
   21         students may be counted in attendance if they are
   22         attending school through live remote attendance;
   23         requiring specified persons to keep records of the
   24         actual or live remote attendance of certain persons;
   25         requiring enrollment registers to show the actual or
   26         live remote attendance of each student enrolled for
   27         each school day of the year; amending s. 1003.24,
   28         F.S.; providing that a parent is not responsible for a
   29         student’s nonattendance if the absence was due to
   30         software, connectivity, or other computer or technical
   31         problems beyond the parent’s control or connivance;
   32         amending s. 1003.31, F.S.; requiring each student
   33         enrolled in a school to be under the control and
   34         direction of specified persons during the time the
   35         student is in actual or live remote attendance at
   36         school; amending s. 1011.60, F.S.; requiring each
   37         district that participates in the state appropriations
   38         for the Florida Education Finance Program to operate
   39         all schools for a term of 180 actual or live remote
   40         teaching days or the equivalent; requiring, rather
   41         than authorizing, the state board to prescribe certain
   42         procedures; amending s. 1011.61, F.S.; revising the
   43         definition of the term “full-time student” to include
   44         one student on the membership roll of one or a
   45         combination of school programs for the school year or
   46         the equivalent for live remote instruction; amending
   47         s. 1012.98, F.S.; revising the entities that may
   48         develop professional development systems; providing an
   49         effective date.
   50          
   51  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   52  
   53         Section 1. Subsections (17) and (18) are added to section
   54  1003.01, Florida Statutes, and subsection (13) of that section
   55  is amended, to read:
   56         1003.01 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
   57         (13) “Regular school attendance” means the actual or live
   58  remote attendance of a student during the school day as defined
   59  by law and rules of the State Board of Education. Regular
   60  attendance within the intent of s. 1003.21 may be achieved by
   61  actual or live remote attendance in:
   62         (a) A public school supported by public funds;
   63         (b) A parochial, religious, or denominational school;
   64         (c) A private school supported in whole or in part by
   65  tuition charges or by endowments or gifts;
   66         (d) A home education program that meets the requirements of
   67  chapter 1002; or
   68         (e) A private tutoring program that meets the requirements
   69  of chapter 1002.
   70         (17) “Actual attendance” means in-person attendance in
   71  accordance with the rules of the State Board of Education.
   72         (18) “Live remote attendance” means attendance using audio
   73  video technology that allows for a student to be identified in
   74  accordance with the rules of the State Board of Education.
   75         Section 2. Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of section
   76  1003.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   77         1003.02 District school board operation and control of
   78  public K-12 education within the school district.—As provided in
   79  part II of chapter 1001, district school boards are
   80  constitutionally and statutorily charged with the operation and
   81  control of public K-12 education within their school districts.
   82  The district school boards must establish, organize, and operate
   83  their public K-12 schools and educational programs, employees,
   84  and facilities. Their responsibilities include staff
   85  development, public K-12 school student education including
   86  education for exceptional students and students in juvenile
   87  justice programs, special programs, adult education programs,
   88  and career education programs. Additionally, district school
   89  boards must:
   90         (1) Provide for the proper accounting for all students of
   91  school age, for the attendance and control of students at
   92  school, and for proper attention to health, safety, and other
   93  matters relating to the welfare of students in the following
   94  areas:
   95         (g) School operation.—
   96         1. Provide for the operation, including live remote
   97  operation, of all public schools as free schools for a term of
   98  180 days or the equivalent on an hourly basis as specified by
   99  rules of the State Board of Education; determine district school
  100  funds necessary in addition to state funds to operate all
  101  schools for the minimum term; and arrange for the levying of
  102  district school taxes necessary to provide the amount needed
  103  from district sources.
  104         2. Prepare, adopt, and timely submit to the Department of
  105  Education, as required by law and by rules of the State Board of
  106  Education, the annual school budget, so as to promote the
  107  improvement of the district school system.
  108         Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 1003.03, Florida
  109  Statutes, is amended to read:
  110         1003.03 Maximum class size.—
  111         (1) CLASS SIZE MAXIMUMS.—Each year, on or before the
  112  October student membership survey, the following class size
  113  maximums shall be satisfied:
  114         (a) The maximum number of students assigned to each teacher
  115  who is teaching core-curricula courses in public school
  116  classrooms for prekindergarten through grade 3 may not exceed 18
  117  students.
  118         (b) The maximum number of students assigned to each teacher
  119  who is teaching core-curricula courses in public school
  120  classrooms for grades 4 through 8 may not exceed 22 students.
  121  The maximum number of students assigned to a core-curricula high
  122  school course in which a student in grades 4 through 8 is
  123  enrolled shall be governed by the requirements in paragraph (c).
  124         (c) The maximum number of students assigned to each teacher
  125  who is teaching core-curricula courses in public school
  126  classrooms for grades 9 through 12 may not exceed 25 students.
  127  
  128  These maximums shall be maintained after the October student
  129  membership survey, except as provided in paragraph (2)(b) or due
  130  to an extreme emergency beyond the control of the district
  131  school board. The number of students attending via live remote
  132  attendance counts toward these maximums as equally as the number
  133  of students attending through actual in-person attendance.
  134         Section 4. Paragraph (g) is added to subsection (1) of
  135  section 1003.21, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (a) of that
  136  subsection is amended, to read:
  137         1003.21 School attendance.—
  138         (1)(a)1. All children who have attained the age of 6 years
  139  or who will have attained the age of 6 years by February 1 of
  140  any school year or who are older than 6 years of age but who
  141  have not attained the age of 16 years, except as otherwise
  142  provided, are required to attend school regularly, including
  143  through live remote attendance pursuant to rules adopted by the
  144  State Board of Education, during the entire school term.
  145         2. Children who will have attained the age of 5 years on or
  146  before September 1 of the school year are eligible for admission
  147  to public kindergartens during that school year under rules
  148  adopted by the district school board.
  149         (g) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules allowing
  150  a student to achieve regular attendance within the intent of
  151  this section by live remote attendance. The rules must include
  152  methods to monitor the progress of students attending school
  153  through live remote attendance and to intervene and provide
  154  additional support to a student failing to make adequate
  155  progress.
  156         Section 5. Section 1003.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  157  read:
  158         1003.23 Attendance records and reports.—
  159         (1) The actual or live remote attendance of all public K-12
  160  school students shall be checked each school day in the manner
  161  prescribed by rules of the State Board of Education and recorded
  162  in the teacher’s register or by some approved system of
  163  recording attendance. Students may be counted in attendance only
  164  if they are actually present at school, are attending school
  165  through live remote attendance, or are away from school on a
  166  school day and are engaged in an educational activity which
  167  constitutes a part of the school-approved instructional program
  168  for the student.
  169         (2) All officials, teachers, and other employees in public,
  170  parochial, religious, denominational, and private K-12 schools,
  171  including private tutors, shall keep all records and shall
  172  prepare and submit promptly all reports that may be required by
  173  law and by rules of the State Board of Education and district
  174  school boards. Such records shall include a register of
  175  enrollment and actual or live remote attendance and all persons
  176  described above shall make these reports therefrom as may be
  177  required by the State Board of Education. The enrollment
  178  register shall show the absence or actual or live remote
  179  attendance of each student enrolled for each school day of the
  180  year in a manner prescribed by the State Board of Education. The
  181  register shall be open for the inspection by the designated
  182  school representative or the district school superintendent of
  183  the district in which the school is located. Violation of the
  184  provisions of this section shall be a misdemeanor of the second
  185  degree, punishable as provided by law. This section shall not
  186  apply to home education programs provided in s. 1002.41.
  187         Section 6. Subsection (5) is added to section 1003.24,
  188  Florida Statutes, to read:
  189         1003.24 Parents responsible for attendance of children;
  190  attendance policy.—Each parent of a child within the compulsory
  191  attendance age is responsible for the child’s school attendance
  192  as required by law. The absence of a student from school is
  193  prima facie evidence of a violation of this section; however,
  194  criminal prosecution under this chapter may not be brought
  195  against a parent until the provisions of s. 1003.26 have been
  196  complied with. A parent of a student is not responsible for the
  197  student’s nonattendance at school under any of the following
  198  conditions:
  199         (5) REMOTE LEARNING.—The absence was due to software,
  200  connectivity, or other computer or technical problems beyond the
  201  parent’s control or connivance.
  202  
  203  Each district school board shall establish an attendance policy
  204  that includes, but is not limited to, the required number of
  205  days each school year that a student must be in attendance and
  206  the number of absences and tardinesses after which a statement
  207  explaining such absences and tardinesses must be on file at the
  208  school. Each school in the district must determine if an absence
  209  or tardiness is excused or unexcused according to criteria
  210  established by the district school board.
  211         Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 1003.31, Florida
  212  Statutes, is amended to read:
  213         1003.31 Students subject to control of school.—
  214         (1) Subject to law and rules of the State Board of
  215  Education and of the district school board, each student
  216  enrolled in a school shall:
  217         (a) During the time she or he is being transported to or
  218  from school at public expense;
  219         (b) During the time she or he is in actual or live remote
  220  attendance at attending school;
  221         (c) During the time she or he is on the school premises
  222  participating with authorization in a school-sponsored activity;
  223  and
  224         (d) During a reasonable time before and after the student
  225  is on the premises for attendance at school or for authorized
  226  participation in a school-sponsored activity, and only when on
  227  the premises,
  228  
  229  be under the control and direction of the principal or teacher
  230  in charge of the school, and under the immediate control and
  231  direction of the teacher or other member of the instructional
  232  staff or of the bus driver to whom such responsibility may be
  233  assigned by the principal. However, the State Board of Education
  234  or the district school board may, by rules, subject each student
  235  to the control and direction of the principal or teacher in
  236  charge of the school during the time she or he is otherwise en
  237  route to or from school or is presumed by law to be attending
  238  school. Each district school board, each district school
  239  superintendent, and each school principal shall fully support
  240  the authority of teachers, according to s. 1003.32, and school
  241  bus drivers to remove disobedient, disrespectful, violent,
  242  abusive, uncontrollable, or disruptive students from the
  243  classroom and the school bus and, when appropriate and
  244  available, place such students in an alternative educational
  245  setting.
  246         Section 8. Subsection (2) of section 1011.60, Florida
  247  Statutes, is amended to read:
  248         1011.60 Minimum requirements of the Florida Education
  249  Finance Program.—Each district which participates in the state
  250  appropriations for the Florida Education Finance Program shall
  251  provide evidence of its effort to maintain an adequate school
  252  program throughout the district and shall meet at least the
  253  following requirements:
  254         (2) MINIMUM TERM.—Operate all schools for a term of 180
  255  actual or live remote teaching days or the equivalent on an
  256  hourly basis as specified by rules of the State Board of
  257  Education each school year. The State Board of Education shall
  258  may prescribe procedures for altering, and, upon written
  259  application, may alter, this requirement during a national,
  260  state, or local emergency as it may apply to an individual
  261  school or schools in any district or districts if, in the
  262  opinion of the board, it is not feasible to make up lost days or
  263  hours, and the apportionment may, at the discretion of the
  264  Commissioner of Education and if the board determines that the
  265  reduction of school days or hours is caused by the existence of
  266  a bona fide emergency, be reduced for such district or districts
  267  in proportion to the decrease in the length of term in any such
  268  school or schools. A strike, as defined in s. 447.203(6), by
  269  employees of the school district may not be considered an
  270  emergency.
  271         Section 9. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
  272  1011.61, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  273         1011.61 Definitions.—Notwithstanding the provisions of s.
  274  1000.21, the following terms are defined as follows for the
  275  purposes of the Florida Education Finance Program:
  276         (1) A “full-time equivalent student” in each program of the
  277  district is defined in terms of full-time students and part-time
  278  students as follows:
  279         (a) A “full-time student” is one student on the membership
  280  roll of one school program or a combination of school programs
  281  listed in s. 1011.62(1)(c) for the school year or the equivalent
  282  for:
  283         1. Instruction in a standard school, including live remote
  284  instruction, comprising not less than 900 net hours for a
  285  student in or at the grade level of 4 through 12, or not less
  286  than 720 net hours for a student in or at the grade level of
  287  kindergarten through grade 3 or in an authorized prekindergarten
  288  exceptional program; or
  289         2. Instruction comprising the appropriate number of net
  290  hours set forth in subparagraph 1. for students who, within the
  291  past year, have moved with their parents for the purpose of
  292  engaging in the farm labor or fish industries, if a plan
  293  furnishing such an extended school day or week, or a combination
  294  thereof, has been approved by the commissioner. Such plan may be
  295  approved to accommodate the needs of migrant students only or
  296  may serve all students in schools having a high percentage of
  297  migrant students. The plan described in this subparagraph is
  298  optional for any school district and is not mandated by the
  299  state.
  300  
  301  The department shall determine and implement an equitable method
  302  of equivalent funding for schools operating under emergency
  303  conditions, which schools have been approved by the department
  304  to operate for less than the minimum term as provided in s.
  305  1011.60(2).
  306         Section 10. Subsection (6) of section 1012.98, Florida
  307  Statutes, is amended to read:
  308         1012.98 School Community Professional Development Act.—
  309         (6) An organization of private schools or consortium of
  310  charter schools which has no fewer than 10 member schools in
  311  this state, which publishes and files with the Department of
  312  Education copies of its standards, and the member schools of
  313  which comply with the provisions of part II of chapter 1003,
  314  relating to compulsory school attendance, or a public or private
  315  college or university with an approved teacher training program
  316  pursuant to s. 1004.04, may also develop a professional
  317  development system that includes a master plan for inservice
  318  activities. The system and inservice plan must be submitted to
  319  the commissioner for approval pursuant to state board rules.
  320         Section 11. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.