Florida Senate - 2023 CS for CS for SB 986
By the Appropriations Committee on Education; the Committee on
Education Pre-K -12; and Senator Burgess
602-03779-23 2023986c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education; amending s. 1002.33,
3 F.S.; revising which students may be eligible for an
4 enrollment preference for charter schools; revising
5 requirements relating to the funding of students
6 enrolled in charter schools and reimbursement of such
7 funds by the sponsor; specifying training and
8 reporting requirements for charter school sponsors;
9 requiring the State Board of Education to adopt rules
10 to implement a standard monitoring tool; amending s.
11 1002.43, F.S.; authorizing the provision of private
12 tutoring to up to a specified number of students in
13 certain facilities; amending s. 1003.02, F.S.;
14 requiring that a poster containing specified
15 information relating to choking be placed in public
16 school cafeterias; requiring that the posters be
17 easily visible and prominently placed; amending s.
18 1012.71, F.S.; revising the definition of the term
19 “classroom teacher”; revising how a district school
20 board calculates certain teachers’ shares of funds
21 from the Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance
22 Program; providing an effective date.
23
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26 Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (10), paragraph (e)
27 of subsection (17), paragraph (a) of subsection (20), and
28 subsection (28) of section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are
29 amended to read:
30 1002.33 Charter schools.—
31 (10) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—
32 (d) A charter school may give enrollment preference to the
33 following student populations:
34 1. Students who are siblings of a student enrolled in the
35 charter school.
36 2. Students who are the children of a member of the
37 governing board of the charter school.
38 3. Students who are the children of an employee of the
39 charter school.
40 4. Students who are the children of:
41 a. An employee of the business partner of a charter school
42 in-the-workplace established under paragraph (15)(b) or a
43 resident of the municipality in which such charter school is
44 located; or
45 b. A resident or employee of a municipality that operates a
46 charter school-in-a-municipality pursuant to paragraph (15)(c)
47 or allows a charter school to use a school facility or portion
48 of land provided by the municipality for the operation of the
49 charter school.
50 5. Students who have successfully completed, during the
51 previous year, a voluntary prekindergarten education program
52 under ss. 1002.51-1002.79 provided by the charter school, the
53 charter school’s governing board, or a voluntary prekindergarten
54 provider that has a written agreement with the governing board.
55 6. Students who are the children of an active duty member
56 of any branch of the United States Armed Forces.
57 7. Students who attended or are assigned to failing schools
58 pursuant to s. 1002.38(2).
59 8. Students who are the children of a school safety officer
60 or officers assigned to the charter school.
61 (17) FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a charter school,
62 regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded as if they are in
63 a basic program or a special program, the same as students
64 enrolled in other public schools in a school district. Funding
65 for a charter lab school shall be as provided in s. 1002.32.
66 (e) Sponsors shall make timely and efficient payment and
67 reimbursement to charter schools, including processing paperwork
68 required to access special state and federal funding for which
69 they may be eligible, including the timely review and
70 reimbursement of federal grant funds. Payments of funds under
71 paragraph (b) must shall be made monthly or twice a month,
72 beginning with the start of the sponsor’s fiscal year. Each
73 payment must shall be one-twelfth, or one twenty-fourth, as
74 applicable, of the total state and local funds described in
75 paragraph (b) and adjusted as set forth therein. For the first 2
76 years of a charter school’s operation, if a minimum of 75
77 percent of the projected enrollment is entered into the
78 sponsor’s student information system by the first day of the
79 current month, the sponsor must shall distribute funds to the
80 school for the months of July through October based on the
81 projected full-time equivalent student membership of the charter
82 school as submitted in the approved application. If less than 75
83 percent of the projected enrollment is entered into the
84 sponsor’s student information system by the first day of the
85 current month, the sponsor must shall base payments on the
86 actual number of student enrollment entered into the sponsor’s
87 student information system. Thereafter, the results of full-time
88 equivalent student membership surveys must shall be used in
89 adjusting the amount of funds distributed monthly to the charter
90 school for the remainder of the fiscal year. The payments must
91 shall be issued no later than 10 working days after the sponsor
92 receives a distribution of state or federal funds or the date
93 the payment is due pursuant to this subsection. With respect to
94 federal grant funds submitted for reimbursement, the sponsor
95 shall have 60 days after the date of the submittal to fund them,
96 if the submittal provides all the necessary information to
97 qualify for reimbursement. If a warrant for payment is not
98 issued within 10 working days after receipt of funding by the
99 sponsor, or within 60 days after an approved submittal for the
100 reimbursement of federal grant funds, the sponsor must shall pay
101 to the charter school, in addition to the amount of the
102 scheduled disbursement, interest at a rate of 1 percent per
103 month calculated on a daily basis on the unpaid balance from the
104 expiration of the 10 working days until such time as the warrant
105 is issued. The district school board may not delay payment to a
106 charter school of any portion of the funds provided in paragraph
107 (b) based on the timing of receipt of local funds by the
108 district school board.
109 (20) SERVICES.—
110 (a)1. A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and
111 educational services to charter schools. These services shall
112 include contract management services; full-time equivalent and
113 data reporting services; exceptional student education
114 administration services; services related to eligibility and
115 reporting duties required to ensure that school lunch services
116 under the National School Lunch Program, consistent with the
117 needs of the charter school, are provided by the sponsor at the
118 request of the charter school, that any funds due to the charter
119 school under the National School Lunch Program be paid to the
120 charter school as soon as the charter school begins serving food
121 under the National School Lunch Program, and that the charter
122 school is paid at the same time and in the same manner under the
123 National School Lunch Program as other public schools serviced
124 by the sponsor or the school district; test administration
125 services, including payment of the costs of state-required or
126 district-required student assessments; processing of teacher
127 certificate data services; and information services, including
128 equal access to the sponsor’s student information systems that
129 are used by public schools in the district in which the charter
130 school is located or by schools in the sponsor’s portfolio of
131 charter schools if the sponsor is not a school district. Student
132 performance data for each student in a charter school,
133 including, but not limited to, FCAT scores, standardized test
134 scores, previous public school student report cards, and student
135 performance measures, shall be provided by the sponsor to a
136 charter school in the same manner provided to other public
137 schools in the district or by schools in the sponsor’s portfolio
138 of charter schools if the sponsor is not a school district.
139 2. A sponsor shall provide training on systems the sponsor
140 will require the charter school to use.
141 3. A sponsor may withhold an administrative fee for the
142 provision of such services which shall be a percentage of the
143 available funds defined in paragraph (17)(b) calculated based on
144 weighted full-time equivalent students. If the charter school
145 serves 75 percent or more exceptional education students as
146 defined in s. 1003.01(3), the percentage shall be calculated
147 based on unweighted full-time equivalent students. The
148 administrative fee shall be calculated as follows:
149 a. Up to 5 percent for:
150 (I) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a
151 charter school as defined in this section.
152 (II) Enrollment of up to and including 500 students within
153 a charter school system which meets all of the following:
154 (A) Includes conversion charter schools and nonconversion
155 charter schools.
156 (B) Has all of its schools located in the same county.
157 (C) Has a total enrollment exceeding the total enrollment
158 of at least one school district in this state.
159 (D) Has the same governing board for all of its schools.
160 (E) Does not contract with a for-profit service provider
161 for management of school operations.
162 (III) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a
163 virtual charter school.
164 b. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including
165 250 students in a high-performing charter school as defined in
166 s. 1002.331.
167 c. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including
168 250 students in an exceptional student education center that
169 meets the requirements of the rules adopted by the State Board
170 of Education pursuant to s. 1008.3415(3).
171 4.3. A sponsor may not charge charter schools any
172 additional fees or surcharges for administrative and educational
173 services in addition to the maximum percentage of administrative
174 fees withheld pursuant to this paragraph. A sponsor may not
175 charge or withhold any administrative fee against a charter
176 school for any funds specifically allocated by the Legislature
177 for teacher compensation.
178 5.4. A sponsor shall provide to the department by September
179 15 of each year the total amount of funding withheld from
180 charter schools pursuant to this subsection for the prior fiscal
181 year. The department must include the information in the report
182 required under sub-sub-subparagraph (5)(b)1.k.(III).
183 6. A sponsor shall annually provide a report to its charter
184 schools on what services are being rendered from the sponsor’s
185 portion of the administrative fee. The report must include the
186 listed services and be submitted to the department by September
187 15 of each year.
188 (28) RULEMAKING.—The Department of Education, after
189 consultation with sponsors and charter school directors, shall
190 recommend that the State Board of Education adopt rules to
191 implement specific subsections of this section. Such rules shall
192 require minimum paperwork and shall not limit charter school
193 flexibility authorized by statute. The State Board of Education
194 shall adopt rules, pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, to
195 implement a standard charter application form, standard
196 application form for the replication of charter schools in a
197 high-performing charter school system, standard evaluation
198 instrument, standard monitoring tool, and standard charter and
199 charter renewal contracts in accordance with this section.
200 Section 2. Subsection (3) is added to section 1002.43,
201 Florida Statutes, to read:
202 1002.43 Private tutoring programs.—
203 (3) Private tutoring may be provided to no more than 25
204 students at one time in any commercial building with a valid
205 certificate of occupancy, including, but not limited to, a
206 library, community center, museum, performing arts center,
207 theatre, cinema, or church facility; any facility or land owned
208 by a Florida College System institution or university; any
209 similar public institution facilities; and any facility recently
210 used to house a school or child care facility licensed under s.
211 402.305 within the preexisting zoning and land use designations
212 of the facility without obtaining a special exception, rezoning,
213 or a land use change so long as the provision of such tutoring
214 meets all applicable state and local health, safety, and welfare
215 laws, codes, and rules, including those related to firesafety
216 and building safety.
217 Section 3. Paragraph (k) is added to subsection (1) of
218 section 1003.02, Florida Statutes, to read:
219 1003.02 District school board operation and control of
220 public K-12 education within the school district.—As provided in
221 part II of chapter 1001, district school boards are
222 constitutionally and statutorily charged with the operation and
223 control of public K-12 education within their school districts.
224 The district school boards must establish, organize, and operate
225 their public K-12 schools and educational programs, employees,
226 and facilities. Their responsibilities include staff
227 development, public K-12 school student education including
228 education for exceptional students and students in juvenile
229 justice programs, special programs, adult education programs,
230 and career education programs. Additionally, district school
231 boards must:
232 (1) Provide for the proper accounting for all students of
233 school age, for the attendance and control of students at
234 school, and for proper attention to health, safety, and other
235 matters relating to the welfare of students in the following
236 areas:
237 (k) Instructions on emergency first aid for choking.
238 Require that a poster that contains step-by-step instructions on
239 how to provide emergency first aid for choking on conscious
240 individuals be posted in each public school cafeteria within the
241 school district. The poster must be easily visible and
242 prominently placed.
243 Section 4. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 1012.71,
244 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
245 1012.71 The Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance
246 Program.—
247 (1) For purposes of the Florida Teachers Classroom Supply
248 Assistance Program, the term “classroom teacher” means a
249 certified teacher employed by a public school district or a
250 public charter school in that district on or before September 1
251 of each year whose full-time or job-share responsibility is the
252 classroom instruction of students in prekindergarten through
253 grade 12, including full-time media specialists and certified
254 school counselors serving students in prekindergarten through
255 grade 12, who are funded through the Florida Education Finance
256 Program. A “job-share” classroom teacher is one of two teachers
257 whose combined full-time equivalent employment for the same
258 teaching assignment equals one full-time classroom teacher. The
259 term “classroom teacher” may also include an administrator or a
260 substitute teacher who holds a valid teaching certificate and
261 who is filling a vacancy in an identified teaching position on
262 or before September 1 of each year.
263 (3) From the funds allocated to each school district and
264 any funds received from local contributions for the Florida
265 Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program, the district
266 school board shall calculate an identical amount for each
267 classroom teacher who is estimated to be employed by the school
268 district or a charter school in the district on September 1 of
269 each year, which is that teacher’s proportionate share of the
270 total amount allocated to the district from state funds and
271 funds received from local contributions. A job-share classroom
272 teacher may receive a prorated share of the amount provided to a
273 full-time classroom teacher. The school district shall calculate
274 a prorated share of the funds for a classroom teacher who
275 teaches less than full time. For a classroom teacher determined
276 eligible on July 1, the district school board and each charter
277 school board may provide the teacher with his or her total
278 proportionate share by August 1 based on the estimate of the
279 number of teachers who will be employed on September 1. For a
280 classroom teacher determined eligible after July 1, the district
281 school board and each charter school board shall provide the
282 teacher with his or her total proportionate share by September
283 30. The proportionate share may be provided by any means
284 determined appropriate by the district school board or charter
285 school board, including, but not limited to, direct deposit,
286 check, debit card, or purchasing card. If a debit card is used,
287 an identifier must be placed on the front of the debit card
288 which clearly indicates that the card has been issued for the
289 Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program.
290 Expenditures under the program are not subject to state or local
291 competitive bidding requirements. Funds received by a classroom
292 teacher do not affect wages, hours, or terms and conditions of
293 employment and, therefore, are not subject to collective
294 bargaining. Any classroom teacher may decline receipt of or
295 return the funds without explanation or cause.
296 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.