The Florida Senate

163.31776  Public educational facilities element.--

(1)  A county, in conjunction with the municipalities within the county, may adopt an optional public educational facilities element in cooperation with the applicable school district. In order to enact an optional public educational facilities element, the county and each municipality, unless the municipality is exempt as defined in this subsection, must adopt a consistent public educational facilities element and enter the interlocal agreement pursuant to ss. 163.3177(6)(h)4. and 163.31777(2). A municipality is exempt if it has no established need for a new school facility and it meets the following criteria:

(a)  The municipality has no public schools located within its boundaries; and

(b)  The district school board's 5-year facilities work program and the long-term 10-year work program, as provided in s. 1013.35, demonstrate that no new school facility is needed in the municipality. In addition, the district school board must verify in writing that no new school facility will be needed in the municipality within the 5-year and 10-year timeframes.

(2)  The public educational facilities element must be based on data and analysis, including the interlocal agreement defined by ss. 163.3177(6)(h)4. and 163.31777(2), and on the educational facilities plan required by s. 1013.35 Each local government public educational facilities element within a county must be consistent with the other elements and must address:

(a)  The need for, strategies for, and commitments to addressing improvements to infrastructure, safety, and community conditions in areas proximate to existing public schools.

(b)  The need for and strategies for providing adequate infrastructure necessary to support proposed schools, including potable water, wastewater, drainage, solid waste, transportation, and means by which to assure safe access to schools, including sidewalks, bicycle paths, turn lanes, and signalization.

(c)  Colocation of other public facilities, such as parks, libraries, and community centers, in proximity to public schools.

(d)  Location of schools proximate to residential areas and to complement patterns of development, including using elementary schools as focal points for neighborhoods.

(e)  Use of public schools to serve as emergency shelters.

(f)  Consideration of the existing and planned capacity of public schools when reviewing comprehensive plan amendments and rezonings that are likely to increase residential development and that are reasonably expected to have an impact on the demand for public school facilities, with the review to be based on uniform, level-of-service standards, availability standards for public schools, and the financially feasible 5-year district facilities work program adopted by the school board pursuant to s. 1013.35

(g)  A uniform methodology for determining school capacity consistent with the interlocal agreement entered pursuant to ss. 163.3177(6)(h)4. and 163.31777(2).

(3)  The future land-use map series must incorporate maps that are the result of a collaborative process for identifying school sites in the educational facilities plan adopted by the school board pursuant to s. 1013.35 and must show the locations of existing public schools and the general locations of improvements to existing schools or new schools anticipated over the 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year time periods, or such maps must constitute data and analysis in support of the future land-use map series. Maps indicating general locations of future schools or school improvements should not prescribe a land use on a particular parcel of land.

(4)  The process for adopting a public educational facilities element is as provided in s. 163.3184 The state land planning agency shall submit a copy of the proposed public school facilities element pursuant to the procedures outlined in s. 163.3184(4) to the Office of Educational Facilities and SMART Schools Clearinghouse of the Commissioner of Education for review and comment.

(5)  Plan amendments to adopt a public educational facilities element are exempt from the provisions of s. 163.3187(1).

History.--s. 4, ch. 2002-296; s. 14, ch. 2003-1.