The Florida Senate

The Professional Practices’ Database of Disciplinary Actions Against Educators; and

The Department of Education’s Teacher Certification Database.

To organize and name the structural units of the Department of Education and appoint staff necessary to carry out duties and functions of the department in a manner that meets legislative intent and promotes both efficiency and accountability.

To advise and counsel with the State Board of Education on all matters pertaining to education; to recommend to the State Board of Education actions and policies as, in the commissioner’s opinion, should be acted upon or adopted; and to execute or provide for the execution of all acts and policies as are approved.

To keep such records as are necessary to set forth clearly all acts and proceedings of the State Board of Education.

To have a seal for his or her office with which, in connection with his or her own signature, the commissioner shall authenticate true copies of decisions, acts, or documents.

To recommend to the State Board of Education policies and steps designed to protect and preserve the principal of the State School Fund; to provide an assured and stable income from the fund; to execute such policies and actions as are approved; and to administer the State School Fund.

To take action on the release of mineral rights based upon the recommendations of the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.

To submit to the State Board of Education, on or before October 1 of each year, recommendations for a coordinated K-20 education budget that estimates the expenditures for the Board of Governors, the State Board of Education, including the Department of Education and the Commissioner of Education, and all of the boards, institutions, agencies, and services under the general supervision of the Board of Governors or the State Board of Education for the ensuing fiscal year. Any program recommended to the State Board of Education that will require increases in state funding for more than 1 year must be presented in a multiyear budget plan.

To develop and implement a plan for cooperating with the Federal Government in carrying out any or all phases of the educational program and to recommend policies for administering funds that are appropriated by Congress and apportioned to the state for any or all educational purposes. The Commissioner of Education shall submit to the Legislature the proposed state plan for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act before the proposed plan is submitted to federal agencies. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint members of the appropriate education and appropriations committees to serve as a select committee to review the proposed plan.

To develop and implement policies for cooperating with other public agencies in carrying out those phases of the program in which such cooperation is required by law or is deemed by the commissioner to be desirable and to cooperate with public and nonpublic agencies in planning and bringing about improvements in the educational program.

To prepare forms and procedures as are necessary to be used by district school boards and all other educational agencies to assure uniformity, accuracy, and efficiency in the keeping of records, the execution of contracts, the preparation of budgets, or the submission of reports; and to furnish at state expense, when deemed advisable by the commissioner, those forms that can more economically and efficiently be provided.

To implement a program of school improvement and education accountability designed to provide all students the opportunity to make adequate learning gains in each year of school as provided by statute and State Board of Education rule based upon the achievement of the state education goals, recognizing the following:

To maintain a Citizen Information Center responsible for the preparation, publication, and dissemination of user-friendly materials relating to the state’s education system, including the state’s K-12 scholarship programs and the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program.

To prepare and publish annually reports giving statistics and other useful information pertaining to the state’s K-12 scholarship programs and the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program.

To have printed or electronic copies of school laws, forms, instruments, instructions, and rules of the State Board of Education and provide for their distribution.

To develop criteria for use by state instructional materials committees in evaluating materials submitted for adoption consideration. The criteria shall, as appropriate, be based on instructional expectations reflected in curriculum frameworks and student performance standards. The criteria for each subject or course shall be made available to publishers of instructional materials pursuant to the requirements of chapter 1006.

To prescribe procedures for evaluating instructional materials submitted by publishers and manufacturers in each adoption.

To enter into agreement with Space Florida to develop innovative aerospace-related education programs that promote mathematics and science education for grades K-20.