TODAY’S HAPPENINGS
[NOTE: The bills listed below are linked to the each bill’s website where you can find information about the bill including the bill sponsor, committees of reference, and staff analysis. The committees/subcommittees are linked to each committee’s website where you can find information about the committee including the committee’s membership and staff, the committee’s meeting packets, and related materials.]
In the House Education Committee:
HB 7021 – Reading Instruction by K-12 – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Revises provisions relating to Just Read, Florida! Office, school improvement plans & early warning systems, instruction & intervention for students with substantial reading deficiencies, & parental notification for such students; revises provisions relating to educator training & certification, teacher preparation programs, & school Community Professional Redevelopment Act; provides appropriation. [NOTE: There were several lengthy amendments approved today. We are sorting through the amendments and will provide a full revised summary as soon as possible. The Senate companion bill – SB 1068 – was also considered in the Senate Education PreK-12 Committee today (see below).]
In the Senate Education PreK-12 Committee:
SB 442 – Educational Facilities by Flores — PASSED
Providing for school district construction flexibility; authorizing exceptions to educational facilities construction requirements under certain circumstances, etc.
SB 834 – Minimum Term School Funding by Detert — PASSED
Revising the term “full-time student” to delete references to membership in a double-session school or a school that uses a specified experimental calendar; clarifying how “full time equivalency” is calculated for students in schools that operate for less than the minimum term, etc.
SB 1068 – Education / Reading by Legg — PASSED
Revising the duties of the Just Read, Florida! Office; revising requirements for school improvement plans and early warning systems; revising core curricula requirements for certain teacher preparation programs to include certain reading instruction and interventions; requiring candidates for an educator certificate in certain areas to demonstrate competence in specified areas, etc. [NOTE: The House companion bill – HB 7021 – was considered and amended in the House Education Committee (see above).]
SB 1078 – Education / Assessments by Legg — PASSED
Revising the exams each public high school is required to administer to all enrolled 10th grade students to include ACT Aspire, etc.
SB 1088 – McKay Scholarship Program by Stargel – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
Exempting a foster child from specified eligibility provisions; providing that a student enrolled in a transition-to-work program is eligible for a McKay Scholarship; creating a transition-to-work program for specific students enrolled in the McKay Scholarship Program; providing program requirements; providing participation requirements for schools, students, and businesses; exempting a McKay Scholarship award from a specified funding calculation for purposes of the FEFP; deleting the scheduled termination of the Adults with Disabilities Workforce Education Pilot Program; changing the name of the program to the “Adults with Disabilities Workforce Education Program”. [NOTE: Today’s amendment to the bill is reflected in this short summary.]
SB 1360 – Student Assessments by Gaetz – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
Authorizing a district school board to choose to implement certain rigorous alternative assessment options by a certain school year; providing requirements for the rigorous alternative assessment options; specifying the types of exams that may be taken and the corresponding substitutions or exemptions that may be earned by certain students; requiring the Commissioner of Education to collaborate with ACT, Inc.; requiring the State Board of Education to adopt such scores in rule by a specified school year; requiring a district school board that chooses to implement rigorous alternative assessment options to notify the commissioner, students, and parents of the decision; requiring a parent to annually notify the school district if his or her child will take the statewide, standardized assessments; requiring the state board to adopt in rule adjustments to certain scores based on certain recommendations; specifying the types of industry certifications and assessments that may be taken and the corresponding exemptions and high school credit that may be earned by a student in high school; requiring student performance results to be made available to district school superintendents annually by a specified date; providing requirements for high school credits; providing proxy values to link student performance on rigorous alternative assessments to certain evaluations and grades; requiring the commissioner to seek legislative approval for any adjustments to the proxy values by a specified time; requiring the rigorous alternative assessment options and proxies to be included in each district school board-approved student progression plan and each district school board-approved educator performance evaluation system; requiring the commissioner to coordinate with school districts for the administration of the rigorous alternative assessments; requiring the Department of Education to renegotiate the Florida Standards Assessment contract; prohibiting the funding for the assessments from causing an increase in a certain appropriation in the General Appropriations Act; requiring each district school board to publish notification of the rigorous alternative assessment and student choice options on its school district website; providing an implementation schedule for the 2016-2017 school year; creating additional options for satisfying the online course requirement; requiring instructional materials to be consistent with the rigorous alternative assessment option; requiring a classroom teacher’s performance evaluation to be based on the performance of certain students; requiring the commissioner to make certain requests and submit certain documentation regarding the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act; requiring the commissioner to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature by a specified date; etc. [NOTE: This bill contains several provisions that are consistent with FSBA’s position on assessment and accountability. It also contains provisions that raise some concerns. We recommend that districts review this bill carefully.]
SB 1418 – Supplemental Academic Instruction by Simmons — PASSED
Modifying and extending the requirement of providing an additional hour of daily intensive reading instruction to students enrolled in elementary schools identified as the lowest-performing; extending the requirement through the 2016-2017 fiscal year; requiring the 100 lowest-performing elementary schools to provide at least 40 hours of the instruction in a 2017 summer program to students who have Level 1 or Level 2 reading assessment scores; allowing students enrolled in the 100 lowest-performing elementary schools who have Level 5 reading assessment scores to participate in the additional hour of instruction on an optional basis; requiring a school district that has one of the 300 lowest-performing to provide 180 hours of additional instruction for students at those schools who have Level 1 or Level 2 reading assessment scores through a district-adopted plan.
SB 1440 – Florida Educator Hall of Fame by Montford — PASSED
Establishing the Florida Educator Hall of Fame; providing procedures for the nomination, selection, and induction of members by the Florida Education Foundation and the Commissioner of Education, etc.
In the House Health & Human Services Committee:
HB 249 – Culinary Education Programs by Moskowitz – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
Provides for applicability of DOH sanitation rules to licensed culinary education program; permits culinary education program with public food service establishment license to obtain alcoholic beverage license under certain conditions.
In the House Appropriations Committee:
HB 95 – Public-Private Partnerships by Steube – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
Deletes Public-Private Partnership Guidelines Task Force; revises provisions regarding responsible public entities & unsolicited proposals submitted for qualified projects; revises provisions regarding comprehensive agreements entered into between responsible public entities & private entities; deletes provisions relating to notice to affected local jurisdictions; revises provisions regarding responsible public entity compliance with specific financial obligations; provides duties of DMS.
HB 527 – Scrutinized Companies by Workman – PASSED
Establishes reporting requirements for executive director of SBA regarding companies boycotting Israel; requires SBA to identify companies in which public moneys are invested that are conducting businesses that boycott Israel; requires SBA to create & maintain certain scrutinized companies lists that name all such companies; requires SBA to divest of all publicly traded securities of scrutinized company under certain conditions; providing reporting requirements; prohibiting local governmental entities from entering into contracts with companies on scrutinized list.
HB 7053 – Child Care and Development Block Grant by Education – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
Expands list of entities that have access to child abuse records for approving providers of school readiness services; requires school readiness program providers to provide DCF & local licensing agencies with access for inspection purposes; requires certain child care providers to submit affidavit of compliance with licensure requirements of ch. 402, F.S., & federal law; provides criteria for exemption from disqualification for employment with school readiness program provider; revises duties of OEL; revises provisions relating to child & parent eligibility for school readiness programs.
HB 7065 – Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act — PASSED
Revises provisions related to federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998; provides for implementation of federal Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act; provides & revises plan requirements & duties & powers of CareerSource Florida, Inc.; provides membership requirements for board of directors of CareerSource Florida, Inc.; requires CareerSource Florida, Inc., in collaboration with specified boards, agencies, & providers, to establish certain uniform performance accountability measures; revises requirements related to plans; revises local workforce development board membership requirements; requires CareerSource Florida, Inc., to establish regional planning areas subject to certain requirements; requires local workforce development boards & specified officials to prepare regional workforce development plan; requires that local workforce development board enter into memorandum of understanding with each mandatory or optional partner for certain purposes; provides that costs will be allocated pursuant to policy established by Governor under certain conditions; revises systems that may be accessed with one-stop delivery system; requires DOE to consult with DEO in preparing, or contracting with entity to prepare, certain economic security reports.
In the Senate Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee:
SB 1420 – Child Care Personnel by Bean – TEMPORARILY POSTPONED
Prohibiting certain job applicants from employment with a child care facility, etc.
SB 1676 – Child Transportation Safety by Sachs — PASSED
Citing this act as the “Haile Brockington Act”; requiring vehicles used to transport children by public entities or by private organizations for hire to be equipped with a certain alarm system by a specified date; requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Children and Families, and the State Board of Education to adopt rules and maintain a list of alarm manufacturers and approved alarm systems, etc.
In the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee:
SB 962 – Vocational Rehabilitation by Gaetz — PASSED
Requiring the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to initiate, by a specified date, a performance improvement plan designed to achieve specified goals; requiring the division to submit a performance report annually, by a specified date, to the Governor and the Legislature which includes specified information, etc.
In the Senate Rules Committee:
SB 500 – Children & Youth Cabinet by Montford – PASSED
Revising the membership of the cabinet, etc.
SB 774 – Liability Insurance Coverage by Montford – NOT CONSIDERED
Adding licensed company adjusters to the list of persons who may respond to a claimant’s written request for information relating to liability insurance coverage, etc.
In the House Session:
Bills on 3rd Reading:
HB 273 – Public Records by Beshears – READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE; IN MESSAGES TO THE SENATE
Requires public agency contract for services to include statement providing contact information of public agency’s custodian of public records; prescribes form of statement; revises required provisions in public agency contract for services regarding contractor’s compliance with public records laws; requires public records request relating to records for public agency’s contract for services to be made directly to public agency; requires contractor to provide requested records to public agency or allow inspection or copying of requested records; specifies circumstances under which court must assess & award reasonable costs of enforcement against contractor; specifies sufficient notice; provides that contractor who takes certain actions is not liable for reasonable costs of enforcement.
HB 7071 – Public Corruption by Rules, Calendar, and Ethics – READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
Revises definition of term “bribery”; revises requirements for prosecution; revises prohibition against unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior to conform to changes made by act; revises prohibition against official misconduct to conform to changes made by act; revises applicability of offense to include public contractors; revises prohibition against bid tampering to conform to changes made by act; revises applicability of offense to include specified public contractors; authorizes award of attorney fees to public servants & public contractors under certain conditions; reenacts provisions relating to official misconduct; reenacts provisions relating to appointment, application, suspension, revocation, application fee, bond, & oath; reenacts provisions relating to criminal use of personal identification information; reenacts provisions relating to Criminal Punishment Code offense severity ranking chart.
HB 585 – Homebound & Hospitalized Students by Burgess – READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
Requires school districts to provide instruction to homebound or hospitalized students; provides for student eligibility, methods of providing instruction to homebound or hospitalized students, & initiation of services.
COMING UP TOMORROW
[NOTE: Nearly all meetings may be viewed via live webcast or archived videos on the Florida Channel athttp://thefloridachannel.org/.
The House Judiciary Committee will meet (9:00 am – 12:00 pm) to consider the following item and others:
HB 257 – Terroristic Threats by Smith
Provides that person commits crime of terroristic threats if he or she threatens to commit crime of violence; provides criminal penalties; requires payment of restitution.
The Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee will meet to consider the following items:
SB 290 — STEM Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program by Smith
Creating the STEM Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program; providing for the administration and funding of the program; providing for student eligibility and the use of funds, etc.
SB 806 – Homebound & Hospitalized Students by Legg
Requiring school districts to provide instruction to homebound or hospitalized students; requiring the State Board of Education to adopt rules related to student eligibility, methods of providing instruction to homebound or hospitalized students, and the initiation of services; requiring each school district to enter into an agreement with certain hospitals within its district by a specified date, etc.
SB 884 – Youth Suicide Awareness by Benacquisto
Requiring the Department of Education to incorporate training in youth suicide awareness and prevention into certain instructional personnel continuing education or inservice training requirements; requiring the department, in consultation with the Statewide Office for Suicide Prevention and suicide prevention experts, to develop a list of approved materials for the training, etc.
SB 886 – Parent & Student Rights by Benacquisto
Revising public school educational choice options available to students throughout the state to include CAPE Digital Tool certificates, CAPE industry certifications, and collegiate high school programs; deleting the definition of and provisions relating to the term “controlled open enrollment”; requiring each school district board to establish a classroom teacher transfer process for parents, to approve or deny a transfer request within a certain timeframe, to notify a parent of a denial, and to post an explanation of the transfer process in the student handbook or a similar publication, etc.
SB 984 – Education Access & Affordability by Legg
Requiring tuition for an online degree program to include costs associated with the provision of instructional materials; requiring a public postsecondary institution to post information relating to required and recommended textbooks and instructional materials and prices in its course registration system and on its website; requiring a state university to publicly notice meetings at which votes on proposed tuition or fee increases are scheduled, etc.
SB 1060 – Career and Adult Education by Legg
Revising the membership requirements for the State Apprenticeship Advisory Council; revising the attributes that characterize apprenticeable occupations; increasing the maximum number of certain CAPE Digital Tool certificates that the Commissioner of Education may recommend be added to the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List, etc.
SB 1166 – Education Funding by Gaetz
Revising the calculation for certain supplemental funds for exceptional student education programs, etc.
SB 1634 – School Choice by Legg
Specifying that the calculation for compliance with maximum class size requirements for a specified district innovation school of choice is at the school level; requiring the State Board of Education to review at a specified interval the performance metrics of each individual innovation school of choice for compliance with certain requirements, etc.
SB 7036 – School District Purchasing by Governmental Oversight
Requiring each district school board to use certain agreements and contracts for purchasing nonacademic commodities and contractual services under certain circumstances; requiring a district school board to post a written justification for certain determinations on the board’s website, etc.
The Senate Transportation, Tourism, & Econ. Devel. Appropriations will meet (10:00 am – 12:00 pm) to consider the following item and others:
SB 7040 – Federal Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act
Providing implementation of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act through a 4-year plan; deleting a provision authorizing an optional federal partner to fulfill certain state planning and reporting requirements; revising the entities required to collaborate with CareerSource Florida, Inc., to establish certain performance accountability measures; requiring CareerSource Florida, Inc., to establish regional planning areas subject to certain requirements by a certain date, etc.
The House State Affairs Committee will meet (10:00 – 11:00 am) to consider the following item and others:
HB 305 – Procurement Procedures by Drake
Authorizes specified educational institutions to make purchases through online procurement system, electronic auction service, or other efficient procurement tool.
The House Education Appropriations Subcommittee will meet (12:30 – 3:00 pm) to consider the following items:
HB 11 – Missing Persons with Special Needs by Porter
Creates pilot project in specified counties to provide personal devices to aid search-and-rescue efforts for persons with special needs; provides for administration of project; requires reports; provides for expiration; provides appropriation.
HB 287 – Principal Autonomy Pilot Program by Diaz
Creates Principal Autonomy Pilot Program Initiative; provides requirements for participation, exemptions, professional development, funding, rulemaking, & reporting; provides authorization period for participation in program; provides for renewal or revocation of authorization to participate in program; requires district school boards participating in program to provide certain funding allocations; provides additional authority & responsibilities of principal of participating school.
HB 719 – Education Personnel by Spano
Revises provisions relating to confidentiality of reports & records in cases of child abuse or neglect, trust fund exemptions, teacher recruitment & retention, educator liability insurance, Education Practices Commission, & complaints against teachers & administrators; requires DOE to approve school leader preparation programs; provides program requirements.
HB 837 – McKay Scholarship Program by Bileca
Provides certain students enrolled in John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program are exempt from specific provisions & scholarship awards are not subject to specified funding calculations; creates transition-to-work program for specific students enrolled in program; provides for requirements & participation.
HB 1171 – Interstate Compact / Military Children by Perry
Provides for payment of annual dues for Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children & future repeal of sections relating to compact; abrogates 2016 repeal of sections relating to compact.
HB 7043 – Education Funding by Education
Creates Florida College System Performance-based Incentive for Florida College System institutions & Florida Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarship Program; revises provisions relating to preeminent state research universities program, state university system performance-based incentives, & teacher liability insurance.
HB 835 – Home Education by Eisnaugle
Revises provisions relating to home education programs, nonenrollment & nonattendance cases, dual enrollment programs, & Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award.
The Education Appropriations Subcommittee will also consider Chair Erik Fresen’s education budget proposal for FY 2016-2017.
The Senate will be in Session (1:30 – 3:30 pm) to consider the following item and others on 3rd Reading:
SB 386 – Criminal Records / Minors by Detert
Decreasing the period of time that a minor’s criminal history record must be retained before expunction; deleting a limitation on the period of time within which a minor must submit an application for prearrest or postarrest diversion expunction to the Department of Law Enforcement after successful completion of the diversion program, etc.
The House Government Operations Appropriations Subcommittee will meet (3:30 – 5:30 pm) to consider the following items and others:
HB 535 – Building Codes by Eagle
Revises educational provisions for building code inspectors, plans examiners, & building code administrators; revises provisions related to the Florida Building Code; revises provisions regarding the Florida Building Code Compliance and Mitigation Program; restricts application of the Building Code for certain aspects of construction; revises provisions related to portable pools; revises provisions regarding the authority of building officials to issue building permits; revises provisions regarding appeal boards; revising provisions addressing certain fire service access elevators; authorizing DBPR to develop code-related training; creating a task force to study electrical safety in swimming pools.
HB 613 – Workers’ Compensation by Sullivan
Requires members of limited liability companies to submit specified notices; deletes required item to be listed on notice of election to be exempt; revises specified rules regarding maintenance of business records by an officer of corporation; provides and removes duties of DFS; prohibits application of specified credit unless employer provides specified documentation & proof of payment to department within specified period; revises penalty calculation for imputed weekly payroll for an employee; eliminates certification requirements when expert medical advisor is selected by judge of compensation claims; deletes requirement that employers notify department within 24 hours of any injury resulting in death; revises requirements for filing claim; deletes preferred worker program; deletes notification fees on certain filed claims which supplement Special Disability Trust Fund; deletes fee for certain registration of insurance carriers.
I hope you find this information useful. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Ruth
Ruth Haseman Melton
Director of Government Relations
Florida School Boards Association
Office: 850 / 414-2578
Cell: 850 / 509-6411
Email: melton@fsba.org
