On Wednesday, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will meet to review and revise their respective budgets. To set the stage for this, we have prepared a Side-by-Side Comparison of current year (2016-2017) education funding with the funding in the proposed 2017-2018 House and Senate budgets (our Comparison is also posted with other 2017-2018 Education Budget Materials on our 2017 Legislative Session page). The comparison makes it easy for you to see where and how the House and Senate education budgets differ from each other and from current funding. We have discussed some of these differences in earlier issues the Session Spotlight and Wednesday’s Appropriations Committee meetings will be the first formal opportunity for legislators to amend the proposed budgets and related bills to correct errors and omissions and to make progress toward bringing the House and Senate versions of the budget into alignment. Dozens of amendments have been filed for consideration – several of which could revise education related appropriations. In addition to the budgets, the Committees will consider their budget implementing bills and conforming bills. For those that might not be familiar with this budget process, it may be helpful to note that the budget and implementing bills have a shelf life of one year – their provisions remain in effect for the 2017-2018 fiscal year ONLY – while the conforming bills have the same permanence of all other legislation – conforming bills remain in effect unless and until their provisions are amended or repealed. As a result, conforming bills can be more important than the budget bills. The House has proposed four education related conforming bills – HB 5007, HB 5101, HB 5103, and HB 5105 – and the Senate has proposed two – SB 7022 and SB 2516. We have linked and summarized these conforming bills below in the “Coming Up Tomorrow – April 5, 2017” file and encourage you to review them. We will report any significant amendments to the budgets, implementing bills, and conforming bills in Wednesday’s issue of the Session Spotlight and provide real-time updates via our Twitter feed.
Meanwhile, several bills of interest were considered today in the House and Senate Sessions – including bills relating to Religious Expression and Public School Recess. Please click on the link below for information on these and other bills.
[toggle title=”Today’s Happenings – April 4, 2017“]
In the House Session:
HB 303 – Religious Expression in Public Schools by Burgess – SUBSTITUTED FOR SB 436; HB 303 LAID ON THE TABLE
SB 436 – Religious Expression in Public Schools by Baxley – SUBSTUTED FOR HB 303; READ 2ND TIME; AMENDED; PLACED ON 3RD READING for 4/5/17
The bill authorizes a student to:
- Express religious beliefs in written and oral assignments free from discrimination.
- Wear jewelry that displays a religious message or symbol to the same extent as secular types of jewelry that displays messages or symbols are permitted.
- Engage in and organize religious groups before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that secular student organizations and groups are permitted.
The bill requires a school district to:
- Allow a religious group the same access to the same school facilities for assembling as given to a secular group and allow a religious or secular group to advertise or announce its meetings.
- Permit school personnel to participate in religious activities on school grounds that are student-initiated and at reasonable times before or after the school day as long as the activities are voluntary and do not conflict with the duties and responsibilities of such school personnel.
The bill provides that these provisions may be enforced pursuant to s. 761.04, F.S., relating to attorney’s fees and costs, authorized by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1998. [NOTE: The Senate passed SB 436 last week and the bill was sent to the House for consideration. SB 436 is the Senate companion to HB 303. Today, the House substituted their own bill — HB 303 — for the Senate bill and laid HB 303 on the table (which means that HB 303 has been retired for this Session). After being substituted for HB 303, the House amended SB 436 with a strike-all amendment that inserted the original text of HB 303 (as outlined in the short summary above). In effect, this removed some controversial provisions that had been in SB 436, including provisions requiring school districts establish a “limited public forum” for religious expression and requiring districts to adopt a limited public forum policy developed by the Department of Education. The “new” SB 436 (“old HB 303) is on the Calendar for 3rd Reading in the House Session on Wednesday (see Coming Up Tomorrow below).]
HB 827 – Teacher Bonuses by Porter – READ 2ND TIME; AMENDED; PLACED ON 3RD READING FOR 4/5/17
Current law provides additional funding based on student achievement in International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), Advanced Placement (AP) and Career and Professional Education (CAPE) courses and individual teachers of these courses are awarded bonuses of up to $3,000 for students who achieve specific results in these courses. The bill removes the annual teacher bonus limits for IB, AICE, AP and CAPE courses. In addition, the bill requires the district to allocate at least 80% of the AICE bonus FTE funding must be allocated to the program that generates the funds. [NOTE: Today’s amendment corrected a technical issue. There is no direct Senate companion bill]
HB 373 – Education/Contracts for Instructional Personnel by M. Grant – READ 2ND TIME; PLACED ON 3RD READING FOR 4/5/17
The bill clarifies that the district must issue contracts on an annual basis and may not:
- Award an annual contract to instructional personnel based on a contingency or condition that is not expressed in statute; or
- Alter or limit its authority to award or not award an annual contract to instructional personnel.
The bill provides that the provision prohibiting a school board from awarding, or altering its authority to award, an annual contract only applies to collective bargaining agreements entered into or renewed by a district school board on or after this law is enacted. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill — SB 856 – is identical and has passed the first of four committees of reference.]
HB 591 – Maximum Class Size by Massullo – READ 2ND TIME; PLACED ON 3RD READING FOR 4/5/17
The bill removes the exemptions for class size requirements and maintains class size compliance for each classroom but revises the method for calculating the penalty to be at the school average for any school that fails to comply with class size requirements. The bill repeals an increase in the penalty for failure to comply with the class size requirements and provides that a district may not have its class size categorical allocation reduced for the 2017-18 or 2018-19 fiscal years if it meets certain requirements. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 808 – is similar and has passed one of four committees of reference.]
HB 781 – Designation of School Grades by Porter – READ 2ND TIME; PLACED ON 3RD READING FOR 4/5/17
Current law provides that a school that serves any combination of K-3 students, that does not receive a school grade as a result of its students not being tested and included in the school grading system, receives the school grade of a K-3 feeder pattern school determined by the Department of Education and verified by the district. A school feeder pattern exists if at least 60% of the students are assigned to the graded school. The bill revises the number of students required to establish a school feeder pattern from 60% to a majority. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1222 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of interest.]
HB 849 – Concealed Weapons & Firearms/Private School Property by Combee – READ 2ND TIME; PLACED ON 3RD READING FOR 4/5/17
The bill amends current law that prohibits licensees from carrying a concealed weapon or concealed firearm at a school. The bill provides that a licensee is not prohibited from carrying a concealed weapon or concealed firearm on private school property if a religious institution is located on the property. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1330 – is similar and has passed two of three committees of reference.]
In the Senate Session:
SB 78 – Public School Recess by Flores – READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE SENATE
The bill requires each district school board to provide at least 100 minutes of supervised, safe, and unstructured free-play recess each week for students in kindergarten through grade 5. Such recess must involve at least 20 consecutive minutes of free-play per day. [NOTE: The House companion bill — HB 67 – is comparable and has passed one of three committees of reference]
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[toggle title=”Coming Up Tomorrow – April 5, 2017“]
Please note that all of the meetings listed below may be viewed via live webcast on the Florida Channel. For real-time updates on these meetings and other legislative activities, please click HERE to access our Twitter feed.
The House Appropriations Committee will meet (9:00 am-2:00 pm; 212 KOB) to consider the following items and others:
APC1 – General Appropriations Act (GAA)
The bill provides moneys for the annual period beginning July 1, 2017, and ending June 30, 2018, and supplemental appropriations for the period ending June 30, 2017, to pay salaries and other expenses, capital outlay – buildings, and other improvements, and for other specified purposes of the various agencies of state government.
APC2 – GAA Implementing Bill
The bill provides the statutory authority necessary to implement and execute the General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017-2018. Statutory changes are temporary and expire on July 1, 2018.
HB 5007 — Florida Retirement System (Conforming Bill)
The bill makes several revisions to current policies of the Florida Retirement System. Effective July 1, 2017, the bill:
- Authorizes renewed membership in the investment plan for retirees of the investment plan and certain optional retirement programs.
- Expands the survivor benefit for members of the Special Risk Class to provide that such benefits are retroactive to July 1, 2002. The bill also establishes a survivor benefit for all other membership classes of the investment plan who are killed in the line of duty and provides that the benefit is retroactive to July 1, 2002.
- Closes the Senior Management Service Optional Annuity Program to new participants.
- Revises the employer contribution rates for the FRS based on the 2016 Actuarial Valuation adjusted for the special studies related to the changes proposed in the bill.
- Reduces the annual service accrual rate for the Judicial Subclass from 3.33 to 3.0 percent.
Effective January 1, 2018, the bill changes the default from the pension plan to the investment plan for members who do not affirmatively choose a plan. In addition, effective July 1, 2018, the bill prohibits members initially enrolled in a position covered by the Elected Officers’ Class from participating in the pension plan and requires participation in the investment plan.
HB 5101 — Educational Funding (Conforming Bill)
The bill conforms applicable statutes to the appropriations provided in the House proposed General Appropriations Act for Prekindergarten through grade 12 education for Fiscal Year 2017-2018. The bill:
- Repeals the requirement for the Just Read, Florida! Office to review the K-12 comprehensive reading plan.
- Limits the amendatory period for the reporting of FTE for payment to providers and schools by early learning coalitions for the voluntary prekindergarten program.
- Removes obsolete language referencing the Florida School for Boys in Okeechobee.
- Modifies the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) by:
- Requiring that the Supplemental Academic Instruction allocation for schools that earned a grade of “D” or “F” be used to implement the required intervention and support strategies.
- Codifying the Sparsity Supplement current calculation methodology.
- Requiring that the K-12 comprehensive reading plans in the Research-Based Reading Instruction allocation only be submitted by a school that earned a grade of “D” or “F” and prioritizing the use of funds for the 300 lowest performing elementary schools.
- Repealing the requirement that a school district submit a digital classrooms plan to receive funding from the Digital Classrooms Allocation and aligning the use of the allocation to the eligible services list authorized by the federal Schools and Libraries Program, commonly referred to as the federal E-rate program.
- Codifying the Safe Schools categorical.
- Providing clarification of FEFP reporting requirements and audit adjustments.
- Amends the required components of a school district’s standard student attire policy for purposes of school district receiving incentive payment.
HB 5103 — Capital Outlay Funding (Conforming Bill)
The bill specifies that both district schools and charter schools are eligible for the revenue generated from the discretionary 1.5 millage. The bill clarifies that charter school capital outlay funding shall consist of revenue resulting from the discretionary millage, and state funds when such funds are appropriated in the General Appropriations Act. To be eligible to receive both types of capital outlay funds, a charter school must:
- Use facilities that are:
- Owned by a school district, political subdivision of the state, municipality, Florida College System institution, or state university;
- Owned by an organization qualified as an exempt organization under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; or
- Owned by and leased from a person or entity that is not an affiliated party of the charter school. The bill defines “affiliated party of the charter school” to mean:
- The applicant for the charter school;
- The governing board of the charter school or a member of the governing board;
- The charter school owner;
- The charter school principal;
- An employee of the charter school;
- An independent contractor of the charter school or charter school governing board;
- A relative of a governing board member, a charter school owner, a charter school principal, a charter school employee, or an inan independent contractor of a charter school or governing board;
- Certain corporations, partnerships, or related parties;, a service corporation, an affiliated corporation, a parent corporation, a limited liability company, a limited partnership, a trust, a partnership, or certain related parties;
- Any person or entity, individually or through one or more entities that share common ownership, which directly or indirectly manages administers controls, or oversees the operation of any of the foregoing.
- Be in operation for 2 or more years;
- Not have more than two consecutive school grades lower than “B” unless the school serves a student population at least 50% of which is eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
- Have an annual audit with no financial emergency conditions.
- Have received final approval from its sponsor for operation during that fiscal year.
- Serve students in facilities that are not provided by the charter school’s sponsor.
The bill clarifies the calculation methodology for the Department of Education (DOE) to use to allocate state capital outlay funds to eligible charter schools. The bill also establishes a calculation methodology for the DOE to use to determine the amount of the discretionary 1.5 millage revenue a school district must distribute to each eligible charter school.
The bill adds as allowable uses of capital outlay funds the purchase or lease of computer hardware necessary for gaining access to electronic content or to serve purposes specified in the charter schools and non-charter public schools digital classrooms plan. Charter schools are also aligned with non-charter public schools to allow payment of the cost of the opening day collection for the library media center of a new school.
In addition, the bill aligns s.1013.64(3), Florida Statutes, with the actual COFTE membership calculation by changing kindergarten to pre-kindergarten for students funded for the Florida Education Finance Program and limiting the second and third surveys to 0.5 FTE membership per student.
HB 5105 — School Improvement (Conforming Bill)
The bill streamlines early warning system requirements and alleviates school improvement planning requirements by requiring a school improvement plan only for schools with a grade of “D” or “F.” The bill also streamlines the school improvement process by:
- Requiring the same level of intensive interventions and support strategies for “D” and “F” schools;
- Requiring the school district to provide the SBE a district-managed turnaround plan by September 1 after a school earns a “D” or “F;”
- Requiring the selection of another turnaround option after the school receives a third consecutive grade below a “C” unless the school is deemed likely to improve to a “C” and receives an additional year; and
- Requiring another turnaround option be implemented after 2 years implementing the first plan unless the school is deemed likely to improve to a “C.”
The bill provides that an educational emergency exists in a school district when a school earns a “D” or “F” and requires the district to execute a memorandum of understanding with the collective bargaining agent concerning the selection, placement, and expectations of instructional personnel and school administrators at the school. The memorandum must also be submitted to the SBE by September 1 after a school earns a “D” or “F.”
The bill authorizes the establishment of “schools of hope” and designation of “hope operators” to provide students in areas of persistently low-performing schools with a high-quality education option designed to close the opportunity gap and increase student achievement. The bill:
- Establishes criteria for schools of hope and hope operators;
- Defines persistently low-performing schools as those subject to differentiated accountability for more than three years or closed as a result of school improvement requirements;
- Authorizes the State Board of Education (SBE) to identify and designate hope operators who meet specified criteria;
- Removes barriers to hope operators by creating a new notice and agreement process that is exempt from the current charter law and state procurement laws. The bill:
- allows a hope operator to submit a notice of intent to establish a school of hope in a school district with one or more persistently low-performing schools;
- requires the school district to enter into a performance based agreement with the hope operator which must include specified provisions;
- Provides a school of hope with specific exemptions from current law;
- Provides provisions for facilities and funding for schools of hope;
- Establishes a grant program to cover specified operational expenses; and
- Establishes the Schools of Hope Revolving Loan Program to help schools of hope cover school building construction and startup costs.
The Senate Appropriations Committee will meet (10:00 am-6:00 pm; 412 KOB) to consider the following items and others:
SB 2500 – General Appropriations Act (GAA)
The bill provides moneys for the annual period beginning July 1, 2017, and ending June 30, 2018, and supplemental appropriations for the period ending June 30, 2017, to pay salaries and other expenses, capital outlay – buildings, and other improvements, and for other specified purposes of the various agencies of state government.
SB 2502 – GAA Implementing Bill
The bill provides the statutory authority necessary to implement and execute the General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017-2018. Statutory changes are temporary and expire on July 1, 2018.
SB 7022 – State Administered Retirement Systems (Conforming Bill)
The bill establishes the contribution rates paid by employers participating in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) beginning July 1, 2017. These rates are intended to fund the full normal cost and the amortization of the unfunded actuarial liability of the FRS. With these modifications to employer contribution rates, the FRS Trust Fund will receive roughly $149.5 million more revenue on an annual basis beginning July 1, 2017. The public employers that will incur these additional costs are state agencies, state universities and colleges, school districts, counties, and certain municipalities and other governmental entities.
SB 2516 — Education Funding (Conforming Bill)
The bill conforms various education funding statutes to the policies used to implement the funding decisions contained in SB 2500. The bill:
- Modifies the policy regarding the “extra hour of reading” at the 300 lowest-performing elementary schools by:
- Permanently codifying the program in statute, rather than relying on annual reauthorization. The program was established for three years beginning in the 2012-2013 fiscal year but has been extended annually in the implementing bill since the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
- Expanding the program to allow schools that improve performance to the extent that they are no longer on the most current list of 300 lowest-performing schools to maintain the program for two additional academic years.
- Expanding the requirements of the program to include a 60-hour summer school component.
- Codifying the methodology for calculating the allocation of Supplemental Academic Instruction (SAI) funds, which includes funds for the “extra hour of reading” requirement.
- Requiring school districts to delineate the implementation design and reading intervention strategies for the program as part of their comprehensive reading plan.
- Modifies the small, isolated high schools provision of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) by expanding its application to elementary schools and establishing the criteria by which elementary schools may qualify.
- Permanently codifies the sparsity supplement calculation used to compute the sparsity supplement for eligible districts with a full-time equivalent (FTE) student membership of between 20,000 and 24,000, by dividing the total number of full- time equivalent students in all programs by the number of permanent senior high school centers in the district, not in excess of four (rather than three as used for other districts). This calculation has been in the implementing bill since the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
- Modifies the federally connected student supplement to allow for recalculation throughout the year based on actual student membership and the tax-exempt valuation from the most recent assessment roll.
- Permanently codifies a provision that prohibits a school district from seeking a positive allocation adjustment in the current fiscal year because of an under allocation for a prior fiscal year caused by district error.
- Modifies the qualification requirements and funding methodology for the High Growth District Capital Outlay Assistance Grant Program.
- Requires the Auditor General to conduct an annual financial audit of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.
The House will be in Session (2:30 pm – completion; House Chamber) to consider the following items and others on 3rd Reading:
[NOTE: All of the bills below were considered on 2nd Reading on Tuesday, April 4. See the report above for more details]:
SB 436 – Religious Expression in Public Schools by Baxley
The bill authorizes a student to:
- Express religious beliefs in written and oral assignments free from discrimination.
- Wear jewelry that displays a religious message or symbol to the same extent as secular types of jewelry that displays messages or symbols are permitted.
- Engage in and organize religious groups before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that secular student organizations and groups are permitted.
The bill requires a school district to:
- Allow a religious group the same access to the same school facilities for assembling as given to a secular group and allow a religious or secular group to advertise or announce its meetings.
- Permit school personnel to participate in religious activities on school grounds that are student-initiated and at reasonable times before or after the school day as long as the activities are voluntary and do not conflict with the duties and responsibilities of such school personnel.
The bill provides that these provisions may be enforced pursuant to s. 761.04, F.S., relating to attorney’s fees and costs, authorized by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1998. [NOTE: SB 436 now carries the text of the former HB 303, so it no longer includes provisions that had been of concern.]
HB 827 – Teacher Bonuses by Porter
Current law provides additional funding based on student achievement in International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), Advanced Placement (AP) and Career and Professional Education (CAPE) courses and individual teachers of these courses are awarded bonuses of up to $3,000 for students who achieve specific results in these courses. The bill removes the annual teacher bonus limits for IB, AICE, AP and CAPE courses. In addition, the bill requires the district to allocate at least 80% of the AICE bonus FTE funding must be allocated to the program that generates the funds. [NOTE: There is no direct Senate companion bill for this bill.]
HB 373 – Education/Contracts for Instructional Personnel by M. Grant
The bill clarifies that the district must issue contracts on an annual basis and may not:
- Award an annual contract to instructional personnel based on a contingency or condition that is not expressed in statute; or
- Alter or limit its authority to award or not award an annual contract to instructional personnel.
The bill provides that the provision prohibiting a school board from awarding, or altering its authority to award, an annual contract only applies to collective bargaining agreements entered into or renewed by a district school board on or after this law is enacted. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill — SB 856 – is identical and has passed the first of four committees of reference.]
HB 591 – Maximum Class Size by Massullo
The bill removes the exemptions for class size requirements and maintains class size compliance for each classroom but revises the method for calculating the penalty to be at the school average for any school that fails to comply with class size requirements. The bill repeals an increase in the penalty for failure to comply with the class size requirements and provides that a district may not have its class size categorical allocation reduced for the 2017-18 or 2018-19 fiscal years if it meets certain requirements. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 808 – is similar and has passed one of four committees of reference.]
HB 781 – Designation of School Grades by Porter
Current law provides that a school that serves any combination of K-3 students, that does not receive a school grade as a result of its students not being tested and included in the school grading system, receives the school grade of a K-3 feeder pattern school determined by the Department of Education and verified by the district. A school feeder pattern exists if at least 60% of the students are assigned to the graded school. The bill revises the number of students required to establish a school feeder pattern from 60% to a majority. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1222 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of interest.]
HB 849 – Concealed Weapons & Firearms/Private School Property by Combee
The bill amends current law that prohibits licensees from carrying a concealed weapon or concealed firearm at a school. The bill provides that a licensee is not prohibited from carrying a concealed weapon or concealed firearm on private school property if a religious institution is located on the property. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1330 – is similar and has passed two of three committees of reference.]
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