FSBA Session Spotlight — April 19, 2017

In another very full day of consideration of significant bills, one of today’s highlights was action on SB 926 in the Senate Rules Committee. This is the bill that was significantly amended earlier this month to include several improvements to the state assessment and accountability system.  The bill was significantly amended today, mainly by adding all or part of several other stand-alone bills into one omnibus bill, thus creating an education “train” bill (as we have described previously).  Even so, the original content of SB 926 remains essentially intact. We have provided a more detailed summary of this bill below under our “Today’s Happenings” tab but, among the key provisions, the bill:

• Requires, beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics assessments for the specified grades to be administered no earlier than the last 3 weeks of the school year, as determined by district school board policy;
• Requires the Commissioner of Education to contract for an independent study to determine nationally recognized high school assessment alternatives for Florida Standards Assessment and Algebra I end-of-course (EOC) assessments for high school students and to submit a report on the findings of the study to the Governor and the Legislature by January 1, 2018;
• Eliminates Geometry, Algebra II, and United States History EOC assessments for purposes of meeting high school graduation requirements and earning scholar designation on the standard high school diploma;
• Eliminates the Civics EOC assessment for purposes of middle grades promotion;
• Requires the Commissioner to make available a non-electronic option for all statewide assessments to reduce the time spent on testing, increase instructional time for students, and ensure students demonstrate a mastery of standards assessed; and
• For purposes of personnel evaluations, authorizes (rather than requires) each school district to measure student learning growth using formulas developed by the commissioner.

Four amendments were proposed today, three were adopted and the other was withdrawn. Of the three that were approved, one revised the date by which the results of certain statewide standardized assessments results must be made available and revised the timeframe in which the Commissioner must publish the calendar of assessment and reporting schedules. Two of the approved amendments added some or all of the provisions from separate bills including provisions of SB 78 relating to mandatory public school recess, SB 1128 and SB 1368 relating to attendance policies for students undergoing treatment for autism, SB 782 relating to an exemption from certain physical education requirements for students participating in interscholastic sports, HB 827 relating to bonuses awarded to teachers of AP, IB, AICE, and CAPE courses, and SB 468 relating to the Voluntary Prekindergarten Program.

The remaining amendment was the most controversial and was ultimately withdrawn. This amendment proposed that, “beginning with any new contract for the ELA assessment and the Mathematics assessment entered into after July 1, 2017, achievement level 3 shall be defined as grade level.” This was interpreted to have the effect of raising the achievement level necessary for student progression and promotion.  This stirred questions and debate that could not be satisfactorily resolved.  As a result, the sponsor of the amendment, Senator Brandes, withdrew his amendment but said that he would offer the amendment again when the bill is considered on the Senate floor.  Ultimately, SB 926 was approved unanimously by the Committee.

As usual, the tabs below provide a report on the outcome of bills that were under consideration today and the schedule of meetings and bills that will under consideration on Thursday, April 20, 2017.

[toggle title=”Today’s Happenings – April 19, 2017“]

In the House Government Accountability Committee meeting:

HB 139 – Local Tax Referenda by Ingoglia – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE (CS)
The bill requires any referendum to levy a local government discretionary sales surtax, including a school infrastructure surtax, to be held during a general election or a primary election. Such a referendum shall be held

• At a primary election and requires the approval of at least 60% of the voters voting on the ballot question for passage if the sales surtax is not revenue neutral;
• At a primary election and requires the approval of a majority of the voters voting on the ballot question if the sales surtax is revenue neutral; or
• At a general election and requires the approval of a majority of the voters voting on the ballot question for passage.

The bill defines the term “revenue neutral” to mean the amount of revenue collected from the discretionary sales surtax shall be offset by a concurrent reduction in ad valorem taxes, discretionary sales surtax, or other taxes greater than or equal to the amount of revenue projected to be raised by the local government discretionary sales surtax in its first year of collection. A county or school district proposing to levy a revenue neutral sales surtax must publish, at least twice, a notice of its intent to levy a surtax. In addition, the bill provides that a county or school district which levies a revenue neutral sales surtax may not increase the tax concurrently reduced for 3 years. [NOTE: Today’s amendment inserts consideration of “revenue neutral” and “not revenue neutral” surtax levies, provides definitions, and sets requirements. The short summary reflects the changes made by this amendment. This is the last of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 278 — is comparable and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 1137 – Use of State Funds by Edwards – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The bill revises the standard travel reimbursement rates applicable to all public officers, public employees, and other individuals whose travel is authorized and paid for by a public agency. The bill:

• Codifies the limit on the amount of actual expenses for lodging that may be reimbursed under certain circumstances set in 2016;
• Provides that when an employee of a state agency or the judicial branch is attending a meeting, conference, or convention organized or sponsored in whole or in part by a state agency or the judicial branch, the reimbursement for lodging expenses may not exceed $150 per day. However, an employee may expend his or her own funds for any lodging expenses in excess of the limit;
• Expands the current prohibitions on the use of state funds to include a prohibition on the use of state funds for the purchase of alcoholic beverages, and for the purchase of food or beverages for events related to state agency employee, board member, or vendor appreciation or recognition.

[NOTE: Today’s amendment was a clarifying amendment on allowable use of state funds. This is the last of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 1668 — is comparable and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 1281 – Department of Management Services by Albritton – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The bill creates the Statewide Procurement Efficiency Task Force, which includes a school board member, for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness and value of state and local procurement laws and policies to the taxpayers of the state and determining where inconsistencies in such laws and policies exist. The bill requires the task force to submit a final report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by July 1, 2018. Such report must, at a minimum, include recommendations for consideration by the Legislature to promote procurement efficiency, streamline procurement policies, establish best management practices, and encourage increased use of state term contracts. The bill provides that the task force terminates on December 31, 2018. [NOTE: Today’s amendments revised the composition of the Task Force. This is the second of two committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 1540 — is comparable and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 7065 – Local Government Fiscal Transparency by Ways & Means – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The bill creates a new section of law — the “Local Government Fiscal Transparency Act” – to promote the fiscal transparency of local governments, including school boards, in their use of public funds. The bill requires easy public access to local government governing boards’ voting records related to tax increases and issuance of tax-supported debt (phased in over 4 years). The bill also requires easy online access to property tax TRIM notices and a 4-year history of property tax rates and amounts at the parcel level (phased in over 3 years). In addition, a 4-year history of property tax rates and total revenue generated at the jurisdiction level must be provided on government websites.

The bill requires additional public meetings and expands public notice requirements for local option tax increases, other than property taxes, and new long-term, tax-supported debt issuances. Public notices for proposed tax increases must contain information regarding the rate and total annual amount of revenue expected from a tax increase, the annual additional revenue expressed as a percent of annual general fund revenue, detailed explanation of intended uses of the levy, and an indication of whether or not the tax proceeds will be used to secure debt. Public notices for proposed new, long-term debt issuance must disclose the total lifetime costs of the debt, annual debt service, and effects of the new debt on a government’s debt affordability measures. 

The bill requires local governments to conduct and consider a debt affordability analysis prior to approving the issuance of new, long-term tax-supported debt. The analysis would consist, at a minimum, of calculating a debt affordability ratio for the most recent five years and at least two projected years to gauge the effects of the proposed new debt issuance on the government’s debt service to revenue profile. The debt affordability ratio is the annual debt service for outstanding tax-supported debt divided by total annual revenues available to pay debt service on outstanding debt.

Under current law, local governments are required to have a CPA conduct an annual financial audit, if the Auditor General has not already scheduled an audit of the local government. The bill requires the auditor to report whether or not the local government is in compliance with the provisions of the new “Local Government Fiscal Transparency Act” and the Auditor General must request evidence of corrective action from local governments found not to be in compliance with the Act. Local governments must provide evidence that corrective action has been initiated within 45 days and evidence of completion within 180 days of such request. The Auditor General must report to the Legislative Auditing Committee local governments that do not take corrective action.

The bill revises the local government reporting requirements for economic development incentives. It requires each county and municipality to report to the Office of Economic and Demographic Research whether the incentive was provided directly to an individual business or by another entity on behalf of the local government and the source of local dollars, and any state or federal dollars obligated for the incentive. The bill also revises the classes of economic development incentives. It requires reporting on financial incentives; general assistance, services, and support; and business recruitment, retention, or expansion efforts.  [NOTE: Today’s amendment revised the definition of “local government” in the context of this bill.  This is the only committee of reference for this bill.  There is no Senate companion bill.]

 In the Senate Session:
Bills on 3^rd Reading
SB 148 – Students Remaining on School Grounds During School Hours by Garcia – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE SENATE
The bill authorizes district school boards to adopt policies for allowing students to leave school grounds during school hours, with some exceptions. Specifically, the bill:

• Clarifies that district school board procedures for granting permission for students to leave school grounds during school hours includes the school lunch period; and
• Provides that in a district that has more than 100,000 students in prekindergarten through grade 12, a school may not permit a student to leave school grounds for the lunch period unless the student’s parent has, in writing, consented for his or her child to leave school grounds during the lunch period for the school year.

[NOTE: The House companion bill – HB 85 – is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

Bills on 2^nd Reading
SB 1330 – Concealed Weapons & Firearms on Private School Property by Stargel – READ 2^ND TIME; SUBSTITUTED FOR HB 849; SB 1330 LAID ON THE TABLE
HB 849 – Concealed Weapons & Firearms on Private School Property by Combee – SUBSTITUTED FOR SB 1330; READ 2^ND TIME; AMENDED; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 4/26/17
The bill provides that a person who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon or firearm under Florida law is not prohibited from carrying a concealed weapon or firearm on private school property during non-school hours, or during an event on that property that is not sanctioned by the school, if a religious institution is located on the property. [NOTE: As expected, the Senate took up HB 849, which had previously passed in the House, and substituted it for SB 1330.  The amendment to HB 849 aligned the House version with the Senate version of the bill with respect to retaining the prohibition from carrying a concealed weapon or firearm on private school property during school hours and/or school-sanctioned events.]

HB 392 – High School Graduation Requirements/Financial Literacy by Hukill – READ 2^ND TIME; AMENDED; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 4/26/17
The bill creates the “Personal Financial Literacy Education Act” to specify financial literacy standards and instruction for students entering grade 9 in the 2017-2018 school year. Specifically, the bill revises the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards to establish requirements for financial literacy distinct from the existing financial literacy requirements specified under the economics curricular content within the standards for social studies. The bill also revises the requirements for a student to earn a standard high school diploma by:

• Establishing a separate one-half credit requirement in personal financial literacy;
• Deleting the requirement that the one-half credit in economics include financial literacy; and
• Reducing the number of required elective credits from eight to seven and one-half.

[NOTE: Today’s amendment was a technical amendment to clarify the implementation of the bill’s provisions. The House companion bill – HB 955 – is similar and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

In the House Session:
Bills on 3^rd Reading
HB 7085 – Workers’ Compensation by Burgess – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
Workers’ compensation is the injured employee’s remedy for “compensable” workplace injuries. Employees generally cannot sue a covered employer for workplace injuries. Florida courts have recently found multiple parts of the workers’ compensation law unconstitutional in the areas of carrier paid injured worker attorney fees, time limits on temporary wage replacement benefits, and the right of an injured worker to pay for their own attorney. For these and other reasons, the Office of Insurance Regulation ordered a rate increase of 14.5% effective December 1, 2017. In order to comply with court rulings and also reduce costs, the bill makes the following changes to the workers’ compensation law:

• Permits direct payment of attorneys by or for claimants.
• Increases total combined temporary wage replacement benefits (TTD/TPD) from104 weeks to 260 weeks.
• Fills a benefit gap that happens when TTD/TPD ends, but the injured worker is not at overall maximum medical improvement and/or no overall permanent impairment rating.
• Allows a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) to award an hourly fee that departs from the statutory percentage based attorney fee schedule.
  • This is only permitted if the statutory fee is less than 40% or greater than 125% of the hourly rate customarily charged in the local community by defense attorneys, with the JCC determining the relevant facts.
  • If the departure fee is allowed, the JCC determines the hourly rate, not to exceed $150 per hour, using statutory factors and the number of necessary attorney hours.
• Makes the injured worker responsible for any remaining attorney fees if required by their retainer agreement; the retainer agreements must be filed with the JCCs, but are not subject to JCC approval.
• Allows insurers to uniformly reduce premiums by no more than 5 percent, if they file an informational-only notice within 30 days, subject to regulatory oversight.
• Creates a mechanism to fill vacancies on the Three-Member Panel; grants the Panel authority to fill gaps in statutory reimbursement when adopting schedules of maximum reimbursement allowances for medical care.
• Requires a good faith effort by the claimant and their attorney to resolve disputes prior to filing a petition for benefits; mandates a specified notice regarding attorney fees be signed by the claimant; increases the requirements applicable to petitions for benefits; eliminates carrier paid attorney fees for services occurring before the filing a petition; attaches attorney fees 45 days (rather than 30 days) following the filing of a petition; requires a JCC to dismiss a petition for lack of specificity, without prejudice, within 10 days or 20 days, depending upon whether a hearing is required.
• Eliminates the charge based reimbursement of health care facility outpatient medical care in favor of reimbursing them at 200% (unscheduled care) and 160% (scheduled surgery) of Medicare. If no Medicare fee exists, then current reimbursement standards apply, which are incorporated into statute.
• Requires the authorization or denial of medical care authorization requests, unless there is a material deficiency.
• Provides for collecting additional information on attorney fees.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1582 – is comparable and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 599 – Public Works Projects by Williamson – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
State contracts for construction projects that are projected to cost in excess of $200,000 must be competitively bid. Counties, municipalities, special districts, or other political subdivisions, including school board, seeking to construct or improve a public building must competitively bid the project if the estimated cost exceeds $300,000. The bill creates a new section of law relating to public works projects. The bill defines terms and prohibits the state or a political subdivision, except when required by state or federal law, from requiring a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier or carrier engaged in a public works project to:

• Pay employees a predetermined amount of wages or prescribe any wage rate;
• Provide employees a specified type, amount, or rate of employee benefits;
• Control, limit, or expand staffing; or
• Recruit, train, or hire employees from a designated, restricted, or single source.

In addition, the bill provides that the state or a political subdivision that contracts for a public works project may not prohibit a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier or carrier from submitting a bid on the project if such individual is otherwise qualified to do the work described. This provision does not apply to vendors that have been convicted of a public entity crime or have been found to have committed discrimination. The bill’s prohibitions apply only to public works projects of which 50% or more of the cost will be paid from state-appropriated funds that were appropriated at the time of the competitive solicitation. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 534 – is identical and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 7101 – K-12 Education/Charter Schools by PreK-12 Innovation – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill makes several revisions to current policies relating to charter schools and related issues. The bill:

• Revises the date a sponsor must receive all charter school applications from August 1, to February 1, beginning in 2018, for a charter school to open 18 months later or at a time agreed to by the applicant and the sponsor.
• Removes the provision allowing a charter school applicant to submit a draft application to a sponsor for review.
• Increases the amount of time the sponsor has to approve or deny an application from 60 to 90 days.
• Requires the sponsor and the charter school governing board to use the standard charter contract which incorporates the approved application and any addenda approved with the application but specifies that any term or condition of a proposed contract that differs from the standard contract shall be presumed a limitation on charter school flexibility.
• Allows a high-performing charter school to establish more than one charter school a year only if it chooses to operate in and serve students from an area where a school is subject to differentiated accountability.
• Provides a high-performing charter school whose application has been denied a hearing by requiring that an appeal of such denial be brought before the Charter School Appeals Commission.
• Clarifies that a high-performing system may replicate a school in any district in the state and establishes a streamlined high-performing standard application form for replicating a high-performing charter school.
• Requires the high-performing standard application form to:
  • contain goals and objectives for improving and measuring student learning;
  • contain an annual financial plan for each year requested by the charter for operation of the school for up to 5 years;
  • disclose the name of each applicant, governing board member and all proposed education services providers, the name and sponsor of any charter school operated by each applicant, each governing board member and each proposed education services provider that has closed and the reasons for the closure and the academic and financial history of such charter schools, which the sponsor shall consider in deciding whether to approve or deny the application.
• Deletes the list of specific services that charter school cooperative agreements may provide and instead allows charter schools to enter into cooperative agreements to further any educational, operational or administrative purposes in which participating charter schools share common interests.
• Authorizes a nonprofit organization or municipality that operates a charter school to use unrestricted surplus operating funds, unrestricted surplus capital outlay funds, or unrestricted net assets identified in the charter school’s annual audit may be used for other charter schools in the district operated by the not-for-profit or municipal entity.
• Specifies language regarding administrative fees for charter schools, high-performing charter schools and charter school systems and removes the restrictions on eligible expenditures of the funds resulting from the difference between the total calculated amount of administrative fees and the amount the district may withhold.
• Requires charter schools to annually complete and submit a survey to rate the timeliness and effectiveness of administrative services provided by sponsors. The Department of Education must develop and administer the survey, compile the results by district and include them in the annual authorizer report.
• Revises LEA eligibility status by removing the requirements that a system of charter schools include both conversion and non-conversion charter schools and the system does not contract with a for-profit service provider for management of school operations.
• Allows a charter school system’s governing board to be designated as an LEA for purposes of receiving federal funds for all schools within a school district that are established under the turnaround option and are under the jurisdiction of the governing board.
• Removes the provision that charter school student performance data be compared to student performance data of traditional public schools.
• Requires a high school to include, in its graduation rate, a student who transfers from the high school to a private school with which the school district has a contractual relationship.
• Allows the use of concordant scores, in addition to assessment scores or comparable scores, in determining an alternative school’s school improvement rating.
• Provides that any facility or portion of a facility used to house a charter school is exempt from ad valorem taxes.
• Provides that specified entities — including a library, community service, museum, performing arts, theatre, cinema, church, Florida College System institution, college, and university — may provide space to charter schools within their facilities under their preexisting zoning and land use designations and clarifies that the charter school within such entities shall not have to obtain any special exception, rezoning, land use charter, or other approval.
• Removes the requirement that students at both traditional public schools and charter schools receive online instruction in a classroom setting in a blended learning course.
• Revises the requirement that a student must be enrolled in grade 5 or 6 to be eligible to enroll in the College-Preparatory Boarding Academy Pilot Program to allow any student currently enrolled in grades 5-12 to be eligible to enter the program, if the operator determines that a seat is available.
• Requires school districts to provide Title I funds directly to all eligible schools and limits the amount of Title I funds that a district may withhold as follows:
  • 1% for parent involvement.
  • A necessary and reasonable amount for administration not to exceed 8%.
  • A reasonable and necessary amount to provide homeless programs, delinquent and neglected programs, and private school equitable services.
• Provides that all remaining Title I funds must be distributed to all eligible schools in accordance with federal law and regulation.
• Provides that schools may participate in district-wide or district sponsored initiatives by paying a proportionate share of Title I funds to the school district.
• Clarifies when the controlled open enrollment process applies to charter schools;
• Clarifies that charter schools, including their governing body and employees, are subject to the same waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions as the state, state agencies and or subdivisions but clarifies that these protections do not extend to any for-profit entity contracted by the charter school or its governing body.
• Deletes language regarding federal funds that conflicts with federal requirements for the distribution of such funds;
• Renames the ACT Aspire assessment to the preliminary ACT;
• Removes the requirement that an eligible dual enrollment program be located and chartered in Florida and revises eligibility requirements for postsecondary institutions to participate in dual enrollment by requiring that the institution be accredited by any regional or national accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. DOE (rather than only the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools or the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools); and
• Requires sponsors to notify a charter school if they intend to not renew a contract and provide the charter school with a hearing.

[NOTE:  This bill contains several troubling provisions, including those relating to Title I funds, LEA status, and charter contracts.  The Senate companion bill – SB 1362 – is comparable, though not nearly as extensive as HB 7101.  It has passed one of three committees of reference.]

HB 15 – Educational Options by Sullivan – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill expands access to the Gardiner Scholarship Program (GSP) by:

• Including rare diseases, anaphylaxis, orthopedically impaired, deaf, visually impaired, dual sensory impaired, traumatic brain injured, other health impaired within the definition of disability or students medically diagnosed as hospital or homebound for more than six months;
• Providing that an IEP used to qualify for a scholarship does not need to be reviewed or revised within the past 12 months;
• Removing the requirement that a student be 3 or 4 years of age by September 1, before applying to the GSP;
• Allowing those who enter the program with a high-risk disability to remain in the program without being reassessed to document another eligible disability when they turn 6 years old; and
• Extending eligibility to any student who has an IEP written in Florida or in another state. A student with an IEP whose sole exceptionality is gifted is not eligible for a GSP.
• Including Florida hospitals as approved providers and expanding eligible uses of funds to include fees for services provided by:
• Members of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International; and
• A therapist certified by the Certification Board of Music Therapists or credentialed by the Art Therapy Credentials Boards.

 The bill increases accountability by:

• Prohibiting parents, students or a provider of services from billing an insurance company, Medicaid or any other agency for the same services that are paid using GSP funds;
• Providing that a private school may not be eligible to participate in the program if its financial reports have consecutive years of material exceptions;
• Defining “inactive” to mean that no eligible expenditures have been made from the scholarship account and requiring that payments from the state into the account stop if the account has been inactive for two consecutive fiscal years. When an SFO verifies eligible expenditures have been made from the account, payments may resume based on available funds; and
• Providing that a scholarship account be closed and funds revert to the state (becoming available for other eligible students) if the account has been inactive for three consecutive years.
• Clarifies that, beginning with the 2017-2018 fiscal year, for students with a matrix, the GSP scholarship amount must be based on that matrix and revises the date that a private school’s agreed upon procedures report is due to the SFO annually by September 15.

With regard to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (FTC), the bill

• Removes obsolete language regarding student eligibility and funding;
• Increases the base annual scholarship limits for students enrolled in eligible private schools from 82% of the unweighted FTE to:
  • 88% of unweighted FTE for grades K-5;
  • 92% of unweighted FTE for grades 6-8;
  • 96% of unweighted FTE for grades 9-12.
• Increases from $500 to $750 the amount of a transportation scholarship for a student who chooses a public school outside his or her district;
• Authorizes an SFO to make scholarship payments to eligible private schools by funds transfer. Payments must be approved by the parent before the funds are deposited and a parent may not designate an entity or individual associated with the participating private school as their attorney to approve a fund transfer.
• Permits a dependent child of a parent who is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces to apply for a scholarship at any time.
• Revises the date that a private school’s agreed upon procedures report is due to the SFO annually by September 15 and provides that a private school may be ineligible to participate if it has consecutive years of material exceptions identified in its report.
• Requires Department of Revenue to provide a copy of the denial or approval letter to the SFO within 10 days after approving or denying any of a specified list of transactions.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bills – SB 902 & SB 1314 – are comparable and have passed one or more of their committees of reference.]

Bills on 2^nd Reading
HB 7057 – Civic Literacy by PreK-12 Quality – READ 2^ND TIME; PLACED ON 3^RD READING
To bolster civics instruction in Florida and prepare students to be civically engaged, knowledgeable adults, the bill:

• Designates the month of September as “American Founders’ Month” and authorizes the Governor to issue a proclamation urging public and private organizations within the state to celebrate the month;
• Encourages all public schools to coordinate instruction on the founding fathers with “American Founders’ Month;”
• Requires the Just Read, Florida! Office to develop sequenced, content-rich programming to help elementary schools incorporate social studies, science, and fine arts content into literacy skills instruction;
• Provides that it is a priority of the K-20 public education system to prepare students to become civically engaged and knowledgeable adults who make positive contributions to their community;
• Requires students entering a Florida College System or State University System institution in 2018-2019 or thereafter to demonstrate competence in civic literacy either through a general education civics course or by passing an assessment adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE) or the Board of Governors (BOG); and
• Require the chairs of the SBE and BOG to jointly appoint a faculty committee to develop a new course in civic literacy or revise an existing general education core course in American Government or American History to include civic literacy and establish competencies and identify outcomes for the course.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1710 – is similar and has passed two of four committees of reference.]

HB 1331 – Education/Schools of Excellence/Certification by Grall – READ 2^ND TIME; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 4/20/17
The bill requires the State Board of Education to designate a school as a School of Excellence if it has a school grades score in the 80th percentile or higher, statewide, for schools of its type (elementary, middle, high, or combination) for 2 of the last 3 school years. A school retains its designation for 3 years unless it earns a school grade lower than a “B” during that span. A school may renew its designation if it remains in the 80th percentile or higher for 2 of the 3 years and does not receive a grade lower than a “B.” The bill provides the following administrative flexibilities to a School of Excellence:

• Exemption from any provision in law or rule that expressly requires a minimum period of daily or weekly instruction in reading.
• The same autonomy over personnel and budgetary decisions for the school’s principal as provided to principals participating in the Principal Autonomy Pilot Project Initiative.
• Exemption from district-set starting and stopping times for the school day.
• Allowing a teacher to substitute 1 school year of employment at a School of Excellence for 20 inservice points toward the renewal of their professional certificate, up to 60 inservice points.
• Calculation for compliance with maximum class size at the school level rather than the classroom level.

The bill also addresses the issue of certification as follows:

• Provides that a temporary certificate holder who completes an approved professional development certification program and earns a highly effective rating will qualify for a renewable professional certificate without having to complete additional classwork or pass the Professional Education Test.
• Allows a charter schools and charter management organizations to offer a professional development certification and educator competence program and requires the mentorship and induction component of a program to, at a minimum, provide weekly opportunities for specified mentoring and induction activities. The mentorship and induction activities must be provided for a teacher’s first year in the program and may be provided until the teacher attains his or her professional certificate. The bill requires the DOE to adopt standards for approving a professional development certification and educator competence program, including the mentorship and induction component.
• Allows mentoring activities, including serving as a mentor, to count towards a teacher’s inservice requirements for certification renewal. The bill requires professional development activities to provide training to mentors. The bill requires model professional development programs disseminated by the DOE to include effective mentorship activities to new teachers and training to mentors.
• Streamlines the temporary certificate application process and revises provisions related to the expiration of a temporary certificate.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1598 – is comparable, has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 493 – Enhanced Safety for School Crossings by Toledo – READ 2^ND TIME; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 4/20/17
The bill requires DOT to evaluate the viability and cost of establishing a uniform system for the designation of safe school crossing locations on arterial or collector roads within a one-mile radius of all schools. The bill requires DOT to report its findings to the Governor and Legislature before January 1, 2018.  [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1416 – is similar and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 655 – Exceptional Student Instruction by Porter – READ 2^ND TIME; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 4/20/17
Current law requires that, after receiving the notification that an exceptional student is located in a residential facility, the receiving school district must review the student’s IEP to determine if it can be implemented by the receiving school district or by a provider or facility under contract with the receiving school district. The receiving school district must:

• provide educational instruction to the student;
• contract with another provider or facility to provide the educational instruction;
• contract with the residential care facility in which the student resides to provide the educational instruction; or
• decline to provide or contract for educational instruction.

The bill removes the option for school districts receiving an exceptional student with a disability who resides in a residential facility to decline to provide or contract for educational instruction.  [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1368 – is comparable, has passed two of four committees of reference.]

HB 989 – Instructional Materials by Donalds – READ 2^ND TIME; AMENDED; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 4/20/17
The bill provides for greater transparency in the district-level adoption process and more opportunities to review and challenge materials made available to students by:

• Allowing parents and residents of the county to provide the district school board evidence that an instructional material for adoption by the district does not meet the state criteria, contains prohibited content, or is otherwise inappropriate or unsuitable;
• Allowing county residents to contest the adoption of an instructional material and object to the use of a material made available to students;
• Requiring the process for contesting the adoption of an instructional material to provide for an impartial hearing officer and to provide certain procedural protections;
• Requiring school districts to discontinue use of a material found to be inappropriate or unsuitable;
• Requiring school districts to provide access to library materials upon written request;
• Requiring school districts to maintain a current list of purchased instructional materials on their websites;
• Requiring that instructional materials purchased using the instructional materials allocation be on the state-adopted list unless purchased through a district instructional materials program;
• Requiring that instructional materials purchased through a district instructional materials program meet the criteria for inclusion in the state-adopted list, be aligned to the state academic standards, and be consistent with course expectations and course descriptions;
• Eliminating the requirement that 50 percent of the instructional materials allocation be used to purchase electronic or digital materials; and
• Clarifying that a school district is responsible for the content of all materials made available to students, including those that may not meet the statutory definition of an instructional material.

The bill also specifies that an instructional material must be free of content that is pornographic or harmful to minors in order to be recommended for inclusion in the state-adopted list and that any material used in a classroom must also be free of such content. [NOTE: Today’s amendment was a technical/clarifying amendment. The Senate companion bill – SB 1210 – is comparable and has passed one of two committees of reference.]

HB 293 – Middle Grades by Burton – READ 2^ND TIME; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 4/20/17
The bill directs the Florida Department of Education to issue a competitive solicitation for a contract to conduct a comprehensive study of states with high-performing students in grades 6 through 8 in reading and mathematics, based on the states’ performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The findings of the study and the recommendations to improve middle school study performance must be reported to the Governor, the State Board of Education, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 2017. The study must include a review of the following general topics:

• Academic expectations and instructional strategies.
• Attendance policies and student mobility issues.
• Teacher quality.
• Middle school administrator leadership and performance.
• Parental and community involvement.

In addition, the bill deletes the requirement for middle grade students to complete the career and education planning course.  [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 360 – is comparable and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 1109 – Private School Student / Extracurricular Activities by Antone – READ 2^ND TIME; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 4/20/17
Current law provides that a student attending a private middle school or high school may participate in interscholastic or intrascholastic sports at a public school that is zoned for the physical address at which the student resides if the private school where the student is enrolled is not a member of the FHSAA and has an enrollment of less than 125 students. The bill revises private school student eligibility by allowing a student in a non-FHSAA member private school to participate in interscholastic or intrascholastic activities at the school where the student could choose to attend pursuant to controlled open enrollment provided the public school has not reached capacity as determined by the school board, in addition to the student’s zoned school which is currently permitted by law. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1302 – is similar and has passed two of four committees of reference.]

HB 163 – Public Records by Burgess – READ 2^ND TIME; SUBSTITUTED FOR SB 80; HB 163 LAID ON THE TABLE
SB 80 – Public Records by Steube – SUBSTITUTED FOR HB 163; READ 2^ND TIME; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 4/20/17
The bill provides that a court must assess and award the reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney fees, against the responsible agency if the court determines that:

• The agency unlawfully refused to permit the public record to be inspected or copied; and
• The complainant provided written notice identifying the public record request to the agency’s custodian of public records at least 5 days before filing the civil action.

The bill requires a court to determine whether a complainant made a public record request or participated in the civil action for an improper purpose. If the court determines there was an improper purpose, the bill prohibits the court from awarding the reasonable costs of enforcement, including attorney fees, to the complainant, and instead requires the court to award against the complainant and to the agency such reasonable costs incurred by the agency in responding to the civil action.

HB 127 – Public School Attendance Policies by Plasencia – READ 2^ND TIME; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 4/20/17
The bill:

• Requires district school boards to adopt student absence policies regarding student appointments to receive autism spectrum disorder therapy, including but not limited to, applied behavioral analysis, speech therapy and occupational therapy;
• Allows a parent to request and be granted permission for a student’s absence resulting from an appointment to receive therapy provided by a licensed health care practitioner or a certified behavior analyst for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder; and
• Allows a student who is continually sick and repeatedly absent to satisfy nonattendance requirement by being under the supervision of a licensed health care practitioner or a certified behavior analyst for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1128 – is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

HB 1111 – Teacher Certification by Plasencia – READ 2^ND TIME; AMENDED
The bill revises the requirements for a district professional development certification and educator competence program. The bill:

• Provides that a temporary certificate holder who completes a Florida Department of Education (DOE) approved program and earns a highly effective rating will qualify for a renewable professional certificate without having to complete additional classwork or pass the Professional Education Test.
• Allows charter schools and charter management organizations to offer a professional development certification and educator competence program and requires the mentorship and induction component of the program to, at a minimum, provide weekly opportunities for mentoring and induction activities. The mentorship and induction activities must be provided for a teacher’s first year in the program and may be provided until the teacher attains his or her professional certificate.
• Requires the DOE to adopt standards for approving a professional development certification and educator competence program, including the mentorship and induction component.
• Allows mentoring activities, including serving as a mentor, to count towards a teacher’s inservice requirements for certification renewal.
• Requires professional development activities to provide training to mentors. The training must include components on teacher development, peer coaching, time management, and other related topics as determined by the DOE.
• Requires model professional development programs disseminated by the DOE to include effective mentorship activities to new teachers and training to mentors.
• Streamlines the temporary certificate application process and revises provisions related to the expiration of a temporary certificate.

[NOTE: Today’s amendment added the substance of HB The Senate companion bill – SB 1474 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of reference. The certification requirements in HB 1111 and SB 1474 are similar to those in HB 1331 and SB 1598.]

In the Senate Transportation Committee meeting:

SB 1622 – School Bus Safety by Passidomo – PASSED
The bill creates the “Cameron Mayhew Act” to require a driver who illegally passes a stopped school bus resulting in death or serious bodily injury of another person to:

• Serve 120 community service hours in a trauma center or hospital.
• Participate in a victim’s impact panel or attend a Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) approved driver improvement course that relates to the rights of vulnerable road users relative to vehicles on the roadway.

The bill also imposes a $1,500 fine, a 1-year driver license suspension, and two additional points, for a total of 6 points added to a person’s driver license.  [NOTE: The House companion bill – HB 1239 – is identical, has passed all committees of reference, and is on the House Calendar on 2^nd Reading.]

In the Senate Rules Committee meeting:

SB 926 – Education/Assessments by Flores – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The bill modifies provisions related to K-12 student assessments, the minority teacher education scholars program, early childhood development, intensive reading instruction, and visitation of schools by individual school board members.  Specifically, the bill:

• Requires, beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics assessments for the specified grades to be administered no earlier than the last 3 weeks of the school year, as determined by district school board policy;
• Requires a school district to provide student performance results on statewide, standardized assessments to students’ parents and specified teachers in an easy-to-read and understandable format, and the report must include specified information;
• Requires a school district to provide student performance results on district-required local assessments to students’ teachers within one week after administering such assessments;
• Requires the Commissioner of Education to contract for an independent study to determine nationally recognized high school assessment alternatives for Florida Standards Assessment and Algebra I end-of-course (EOC) assessments for high school students and to submit a report on the findings of the study to the Governor and the Legislature by January 1, 2018;
• Requires the Commissioner to identify, by the first day of the 2017-2018 school year, concordant or comparative scores on specified articulated acceleration mechanisms, which satisfy high school graduation requirements and requires the scores of students who pass such assessment to be incorporated into the school grade calculations;
• Eliminates Geometry, Algebra II, and United States History EOC assessments for purposes of meeting high school graduation requirements and earning scholar designation on the standard high school diploma except that a student must take one statewide, standardized mathematics assessment in high school, which must be Algebra I, Geometry, or Algebra II;
• Eliminates the Civics EOC assessment for purposes of middle grades promotion;
• Requires the Commissioner to make available a non-electronic option for all statewide assessments to reduce the time spent on testing, increase instructional time for students, and ensure students demonstrate a mastery of standards assessed;
• Requires a district school superintendent to notify the commissioner that the district will use a non-electronic option for the entire district or for specific grade levels throughout the district by the beginning of the school year in which the non-electronic option is used;
• Requires the DOE to study each of the achievement levels used for statewide, standardized assessments to better communicate the meaning of such levels to students, parents, and teachers;
• For purposes of personnel evaluations, authorizes each school district to measure student learning growth using formulas developed by the commissioner;
• Expands the minority teacher education scholars program to authorize a student to use the program scholarship toward a graduate degree with a major in education, leading to an initial certification;
• Creates the Committee on Early Childhood Development, within the DOE, to develop a proposal for establishing and implementing a coordinated system focused on developmental milestones and outcomes for the school readiness program, the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program, and the Kindergarten Readiness Screener. The committee must submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature by December 1, 2017;
• Authorizes a school district to provide the required intensive reading instruction for a minimum of 90 minutes daily over the course of the school day to students who are retained in grade 3, and eliminates the requirement to provide such instruction for 90 continuous minutes daily; and
• Authorizes an individual member of a district school board to visit any district or charter school in his or her school district on any day and at any time, at his or her pleasure.

[NOTE: The bill was significantly amended today by adding provisions from several other bills to create a “train” and one questionable amendment was withdrawn (see discussion of this above). This is the last of two committees of reference for this bill.  There is no longer a direct House companion bill, but HB 773 has some comparable provisions.]

SB 1582 – Workers’ Compensation Insurance by Bradley – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The bill amends several provisions relating to workers’ compensation law and the Insurance Code, which governs the rate making approval process for many, but not all, providers of workers’ compensation coverage. The bill:

• Codifies Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg,1 by increasing temporary total disability benefits and temporary partial disability benefits from 104 weeks to 260 weeks.
• Amends the attorney fee provision to require the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) to consider certain factors in determining if the attorney fees should be increased or decreased, based on a maximum hourly rate of $250. The bill removes the criminal penalty for claimant attorneys receiving fees that are not approved by the JCCs, thereby allowing claimants to enter into retainer agreements. The bill eliminates the attorney fee cap of $1,500 on medical-only claims.
• Requires greater specificity in the information that must be provided in petitions for benefits filed with the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims (OJCC), such as the specific date of maximum medical improvement and the specific date that such permanent benefits are claimed to begin.
• Clarifies that deadlines within multiple provisions relating to medical care are based on business days, not calendar days. For example, the bill requires carriers to authorize or deny medical authorization requests within three business days.
• Revises the workers’ compensation rating law. Currently, Florida law requires carriers, or rating organization filing on their behalf, to file an administered rate or full rate. The bill implements loss costs rating, which requires each insurer to seek approval for rates based on aggregate claim information filed by a rating organization with individual company data (loss costs multipliers), being used for the final rate, subject to approval by the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR).
• Limits defense and cost containment expenses of insurers to 15 percent of incurred losses, and provides that excessive defense and cost containment fees must be returned to policyholders.
• Creates a presumption that firefighters who have multiple myeloma or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma are presumed to have contracted one of these occupational diseases in the course and scope of employment. This provision will extend workers’ compensation benefits to firefighters who have either of these conditions.
• Provides and appropriation of $823,118 to the OIR and $24,720 to the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims.

[NOTE: Today’s amendment was a 40-page strike-all amendment that was then further amended.  We are still sorting through the changes and will provide an update on the content of this bill as soon as possible.  This is the last of three committees of reference for this bill.  The House companion bill – HB 7085 – is comparable, has passed all committees of reference, and is on 3^rd Reading in the House.]

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[toggle title=”Coming Up Tomorrow – April 20, 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 Judiciary Committee will meet (8:00 am-12:00 pm; 404 HOB) to consider the following items and others:

HB 205 – Juvenile Diversion Programs by Ahern
Current law authorizes four different types of juvenile diversion programs: Juvenile Civil Citation Programs; Prearrest and Postarrest Diversion Programs; Neighborhood Restorative Justice Programs; and Community Arbitration Programs. A juvenile who successfully completes one type of these four programs — a prearrest or postarrest diversion program — may seek expunction of his or her non-judicial arrest record, if authorized, via an application and payment of a $75 fee. A juvenile is then authorized to deny an expunged record in most circumstances. This bill revises the expunction process so that:

• Expunction is available for any of the four diversion programs, rather than only prearrest and postarrest diversion programs.
• A one-time expunction is available for any first-time misdemeanor when the program is successfully completed and it is no longer necessary for the agencies operating the diversion program to authorize the expunction.
• The diversion program is required to submit to the FDLE a certification for expunction when a juvenile successfully completes the program under specified circumstances, instead of requiring the juvenile to apply for expunction.
• The FDLE may not assess a fee for the expunction.
• A juvenile may lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge successful participation in a diversion program and expunction for a first-time misdemeanor for purposes of criminal justice agency employment.

In addition, the bill provides that diversion programs must submit data regarding participants and nonparticipants in diversion programs to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), which is required to compile and publish the data on its website. [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. There is no direct Senate companion bill.]

HB 575 – Threats to Kill or Do Bodily Injury by Plasencia
Under current law, it is a second degree felony to create and send certain written threats, including electronic communications, to kill or do bodily harm. To violate this section, a person must:

• Write or compose a threat to kill or do bodily injury; and
• Send, or procure the sending of, that communication to the person threatened or family member of the person threatened.

Recently, the Second District Court of Appeal issued an opinion highlighting the difficulty of applying this law to threats issued and shared publicly on social media, as such threats may not be communicated directly to any specific person. The bill revises this law to prohibit a person from making a threat to kill or do bodily injury to another person in a writing or other record, including an electronic record, by sending, posting, or transmitting, or procuring the sending, posting, or transmission of, the threat in a manner that would allow another person to view the threat. The bill removes the requirement that the written threat be sent to the person threatened or a member of his or her family so that the law would apply even if the threat is not specifically sent to or received by the person who is the target of the threat.  [NOTE: The Committee is expected to take up a Proposed Committee Substitute (PCS) for this bill. This short summary reflects the provisions of the PCS. This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 260 — is similar, has passed two of four committees of reference and is on the agenda for the Senate Appropriations Committee today (see below).]

The House Education Committee will meet (9:00 am-12:00 pm; 102 HOB) to consider the following items and others:

HB 233 – Students with Disabilities in Public Schools by Edwards
The bill amends the use of restraint and seclusion on students with disabilities. Specifically, the bill:

• Defines terms related to seclusion and restraint.
• Replaces the term “manual restraint” with “physical restraint.”
• Provides that physical restraint may be used only to protect students, school personnel or others, or to prevent the destruction of property, but not for disciplining a student. Restraints should be used only when all other strategies and techniques have been exhausted. A student may only be physical restrained for the time necessary for protection.
• Prohibits several physical restraint techniques.
• Requires school districts to develop policies and procedures to ensure the physical safety and security of all students and school personnel; and requires that students be treated with dignity and respect.
• Outlines under what circumstances seclusion and restraint may not be used.
• Describes the circumstance when time-outs may be used and prohibits certain areas.
• Requires the school to review a student’s functional behavioral assessment and individualized behavior intervention plan when a student is placed in time-out, physically restrained or secluded more than twice in a semester.
• Includes emotional and behavioral disabilities in the list of disabilities for which certain school personnel must be trained to identify for early intervention.
• Adds to staff training effective classroom behavior management strategies such as differential reinforcement, precision commands, minimizing attention or access to other reinforcers, and time-out methods.
• Directs DOE to publish data and analysis relating to incidents of seclusion and restraint on its website.

[NOTE: This is the second of two committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 810 – is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

HB 525 – High School Graduation Requirements by Silvers
The bill allows a student to use credit earned upon completion of a registered apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship program registered with the Department of Education to satisfy certain high school credit requirements for graduation with a standard diploma. Specifically, the bill:

• Authorizes the use of credit earned upon completion of a registered apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship program to satisfy up to one credit in fine or performing arts, speech and debate, or practical arts; or electives.
• Requires the State Board of Education to approve and identify in the Course Code Directory the registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs from which a student may use earned credit to satisfy such course credit requirements.

[NOTE: This is the second of two committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 978 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of reference.]

HB 549 – Publication of Student Assessments by Fine
The bill requires the Commissioner of Education, beginning with the 2019-2020 school year and every 3 years thereafter, to publish each statewide, standardized assessment and statewide EOC assessment on the DOE’s website, excluding retake and alternate assessments, administered in the most recent school year. The bill allows the commissioner to determine the schedule for publishing assessments during the 3-year period but requires that the initial publication must occur no later than June 30, 2020, and must include the grade 3 ELA and mathematics assessments, the grade 10 ELA assessment, and the Algebra I EOC assessment. The bill requires the DOE to publish materials on its website to help the public interpret the published assessment information. Because test items cannot be repeated for purposes of assessment validity, DOE would be required to purchase sufficient test items to replace assessments that are published in accordance with the bill. The bill provides an appropriation of $4,000,000 for the costs associated with the provisions of the bill.  [NOTE: This is the second of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 906 – is similar, but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

HB 955 – High School Graduation Requirements by Ahern
The bill requires students entering grade 9 in the 2017-2018 school year and thereafter to complete a one-half course credit in personal financial literacy. Currently, high school students receive financial literacy instruction as part of the one-half Economics course credit required for graduation. The bill revises the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards to include additional, specified financial literacy topics and requires the new personal financial literacy course to include discussion of or instruction in those topics. To maintain the current 24-credit graduation requirement, the bill reduces the electives credit requirement from eight credits to seven-and-one-half credits.  [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 392 – is similar, has passed all committees of reference, and is on 3^rd Reading in the Senate.]

HB 1229 – Committee on Early Grade Success by Grall
The bill creates the Committee on Early Grade Success, within the Department of Education to develop a proposal for establishing and implementing a coordinated child assessment system for the School Readiness Program, the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program, and the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment.  The 17-member committee’s proposal must include legislative recommendations for the design and implementation of a coordinated child assessment system, including, but not limited to:

• The purpose of a child assessment, with a focus on developmentally appropriate learning gains.
• Attributes for tool selection that provide guidance on procurement policies.
• An implementation schedule and protocols, including the frequency of data collection and a timeline for training to ensure reliability of the system.
• The methodology for collecting and analyzing data that define reporting requirements.
• A budget for the system, including cost analyses for purchasing materials and the necessary technology, training to ensure reliability, and data system management.
• Considerations for student privacy and tracking child development over time.

The bill provides that members of the committee serve without compensation and to reduce costs, the committee must meet at least three times by teleconference or other electronic means, if possible. The University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning must provide the committee with staff necessary to assist the committee in the performance of its duties.  [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 806 – is similar but has not been heard in any of four committees of reference.]

HB 6017 – Florida Center for the Partnerships for Arts Integrated Teaching by Gruters
The bill repeals the July 1, 2017, expiration date of The Florida Center for the Partnerships for Arts Integrated Teaching (PAInT) which is created within the University of South Florida Sarasota/Manatee. PAInT was established to increase the knowledge and research of arts-integrated instruction statewide, provide analysis of arts-integrated programs, and to partner with arts and educational organizations to introduce arts-integrated programs to more Florida Schools. Arts-integrated instruction is a teaching method in which the arts and academics are woven together to strengthen students’ understanding and retention of academic material. PAInT maintains partnerships with its host communities of Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties and to schools and districts across Florida, including public, private, and charter schools. [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 256 – is identical, has passed all committees of reference, and is on the Senate Calendar on 2^nd Reading.]

The Senate Appropriations Committee will meet (10:00 am-1:00 pm; 412 KOB) to consider the following items and others:

SB 260 – Threats to Kill or Do Bodily Injury by Steube
The bill deletes the current statutory requirements that a specific person be directly threatened by a person making a threat through means of a letter, inscribed communication, or electronic communication, and that the specific person actually receive the threat.  The bill:

• Reorganizes the elements of the offense so that current law provides for a violation if a threat to kill or do bodily injury to another is sent, posted, or transmitted in a manner that would allow another person to view the threat.
• Creates a definition for the term “electronic record.”
• Provides that a juvenile who violates these provisions commits a first degree misdemeanor (rather than the existing second degree felony).
• Adds a new exception to the general rule that a misdemeanor must be committed in a law enforcement officer’s presence in order for a warrantless arrest to occur.

[NOTE: The Committee is expected to take up a PCS for this bill. This short summary reflects the provisions of the PCS. This is the third of four committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HB 575 – is similar, has passed two or three committees of reference, and is on the agenda for the House Judiciary Committee today (see above).]

SB 534 – Public Works Projects by Perry
The bill prohibits the state and its political subdivisions that contract for public works projects from imposing restrictive conditions on certain contractors, subcontractors, or material suppliers or carriers, except as otherwise required by federal or state law. Specifically, the state or political subdivision that contracts for a public works project may not require that a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier or carrier engaged in the project:

• Pay employees a predetermined amount of wages or prescribe any wage rate;
• Provide employees a specified type, amount, or rate of employee benefits;
• Control, limit, or expand staffing; or
• Recruit, train, or hire employees from a designated, restricted, or single source.

The bill specifies that public works projects include only those projects for which 50% or more of the cost will be paid from state-appropriated funds. In addition, the bill prohibits the state or a political subdivision from restricting a qualified contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier or carrier from submitting a bid on any public works project or being awarded any contract, subcontract, material order, or carrying order. However, the prohibition does not apply to discriminatory vendors or those that have committed a public entity crime.  [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HB 599 – is identical, has passed all committees of reference, and has passed the House.]

SB 1222 – School Grades by Bradley
This bill reduces the percentage of students that must be scheduled to be assigned to another school from 60% to a majority (over 50%). With this change, a K-3 school that does not receive a school grade itself will be assigned the school grade of a graded school for which it is designated to be a feeder pattern school. A designated feeder pattern school may be eligible to receive Florida School Recognition Program funding and a charter school that is an expanded feeder chain of a charter school within the same school district that is currently receiving charter school capital outlay funds may be eligible to receive a charter school capital outlay funding allocation.  [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HB 781 – is similar, has passed all committees of reference, and has passed the House.]

SB 1416 – Enhanced Safety for School Crossings by Young
The bill requires the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to evaluate the viability and cost of a uniform system of pavement markings and signage for use on all state and local arterial or collector roads within a one-mile radius of all public and private schools for the purpose of designating safe school crossing locations.  [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HB 493 – is similar, has passed all committees of reference, and is on 3^rd Reading in the House today (see below).]

SB 1210 – Instructional Materials in K-12 Public Education by Lee
The bill revises provisions relating to the definition and acquisition of instructional materials. Specifically, the bill:

• Defines “legal resident” or “resident” to mean a person who has maintained his or her legal residence in the state for the preceding year, has purchased a home that is occupied by him or her as his or her residence, or has established a domicile in this state pursuant to Florida law.
• Requires a district school board to adopt a policy regarding the right of a parent or legal resident of the county to object to the use of an instructional material based on specified criteria or contest the district school boards’ adoption of specific instructional materials.
• Revises the review process for district school boards that implement their own instructional materials review program.
• Requires district school board, upon a written request, to provide access to any instructional material or book specified in the written request, which is maintained in a district school system library and is available for review.
• Revises requirements related to the instructional materials allocation.

[NOTE: This is the second of two committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HB 989 – is comparable, has passed all committees of reference, and is on 3^rd Reading in the House today (see below).]

 The House will be in Session (1:00 pm-completion; House Chamber) to consider the following items and others:
Bills on 3^rd Reading
HB 7057 – Civic Literacy by PreK-12 Quality
To bolster civics instruction in Florida and prepare students to be civically engaged, knowledgeable adults, the bill:

• Designates the month of September as “American Founders’ Month” and authorizes the Governor to issue a proclamation urging public and private organizations within the state to celebrate the month;
• Encourages all public schools to coordinate instruction on the founding fathers with “American Founders’ Month;”
• Requires the Just Read, Florida! Office to develop sequenced, content-rich programming to help elementary schools incorporate social studies, science, and fine arts content into literacy skills instruction;
• Provides that it is a priority of the K-20 public education system to prepare students to become civically engaged and knowledgeable adults who make positive contributions to their community;
• Requires students entering a Florida College System or State University System institution in 2018-2019 or thereafter to demonstrate competence in civic literacy either through a general education civics course or by passing an assessment adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE) or the Board of Governors (BOG); and
• Require the chairs of the SBE and BOG to jointly appoint a faculty committee to develop a new course in civic literacy or revise an existing general education core course in American Government or American History to include civic literacy and  establish competencies and identify outcomes for the course.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1710 – is similar and has passed two of four committees of reference.]

HB 1331 – Education/Schools of Excellence/Certification by Grall
The bill requires the State Board of Education to designate a school as a School of Excellence if it has a school grades score in the 80th percentile or higher, statewide, for schools of its type (elementary, middle, high, or combination) for 2 of the last 3 school years. A school retains its designation for 3 years unless it earns a school grade lower than a “B” during that span. A school may renew its designation if it remains in the 80th percentile or higher for 2 of the 3 years and does not receive a grade lower than a “B.” The bill provides the following administrative flexibilities to a School of Excellence:

• Exemption from any provision in law or rule that expressly requires a minimum period of daily or weekly instruction in reading.
• The same autonomy over personnel and budgetary decisions for the school’s principal as provided to principals participating in the Principal Autonomy Pilot Project Initiative.
• Exemption from district-set starting and stopping times for the school day.
• Allowing a teacher to substitute 1 school year of employment at a School of Excellence for 20 inservice points toward the renewal of their professional certificate, up to 60 inservice points.
• Calculation for compliance with maximum class size at the school level rather than the classroom level.

 The bill also addresses the issue of certification as follows:

• Provides that a temporary certificate holder who completes an approved professional development certification program and earns a highly effective rating will qualify for a renewable professional certificate without having to complete additional classwork or pass the Professional Education Test.
• Allows a charter schools and charter management organizations to offer a professional development certification and educator competence program and requires the mentorship and induction component of a program to, at a minimum, provide weekly opportunities for specified mentoring and induction activities. The mentorship and induction activities must be provided for a teacher’s first year in the program and may be provided until the teacher attains his or her professional certificate. The bill requires the DOE to adopt standards for approving a professional development certification and educator competence program, including the mentorship and induction component.
• Allows mentoring activities, including serving as a mentor, to count towards a teacher’s inservice requirements for certification renewal. The bill requires professional development activities to provide training to mentors. The bill requires model professional development programs disseminated by the DOE to include effective mentorship activities to new teachers and training to mentors.
• Streamlines the temporary certificate application process and revises provisions related to the expiration of a temporary certificate.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1598 – is comparable, has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 493 – Enhanced Safety for School Crossings by Toledo
The bill requires DOT to evaluate the viability and cost of establishing a uniform system for the designation of safe school crossing locations on arterial or collector roads within a one-mile radius of all schools. The bill requires DOT to report its findings to the Governor and Legislature before January 1, 2018.  [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1416 – is similar, has passed two of three committees of reference, and is on the agenda for the Senate Appropriations Committee today (see above).]

HB 655 – Exceptional Student Instruction by Porter
Current law requires that, after receiving the notification that an exceptional student is located in a residential facility, the receiving school district must review the student’s IEP to determine if it can be implemented by the receiving school district or by a provider or facility under contract with the receiving school district. The receiving school district must:

• provide educational instruction to the student;
• contract with another provider or facility to provide the educational instruction;
• contract with the residential care facility in which the student resides to provide the educational instruction; or
• decline to provide or contract for educational instruction.
• The bill removes the option for school districts receiving an exceptional student with a disability who resides in a residential facility to decline to provide or contract for educational instruction.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1368 – is comparable, has passed two of four committees of reference.]

HB 989 – Instructional Materials by Donalds
The bill provides for greater transparency in the district-level adoption process and more opportunities to review and challenge materials made available to students by:

• Allowing parents and residents of the county to provide the district school board evidence that an instructional material for adoption by the district does not meet the state criteria, contains prohibited content, or is otherwise inappropriate or unsuitable;
• Allowing county residents to contest the adoption of an instructional material and object to the use of a material made available to students;
• Requiring the process for contesting the adoption of an instructional material to provide for an impartial hearing officer and to provide certain procedural protections;
• Requiring school districts to discontinue use of a material found to be inappropriate or unsuitable;
• Requiring school districts to provide access to library materials upon written request;
• Requiring school districts to maintain a current list of purchased instructional materials on their websites;
• Requiring that instructional materials purchased using the instructional materials allocation be on the state-adopted list unless purchased through a district instructional materials program;
• Requiring that instructional materials purchased through a district instructional materials program meet the criteria for inclusion in the state-adopted list, be aligned to the state academic standards, and be consistent with course expectations and course descriptions;
• Eliminating the requirement that 50 percent of the instructional materials allocation be used to purchase electronic or digital materials; and
• Clarifying that a school district is responsible for the content of all materials made available to students, including those that may not meet the statutory definition of an instructional material.

The bill also specifies that an instructional material must be free of content that is pornographic or harmful to minors in order to be recommended for inclusion in the state-adopted list and that any material used in a classroom must also be free of such content. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1210 – is comparable, has passed one of two committees of reference, and is on the agenda for the Senate Appropriations Committee today (see above).]

HB 293 – Middle Grades by Burton
The bill directs the Florida Department of Education to issue a competitive solicitation for a contract to conduct a comprehensive study of states with high-performing students in grades 6 through 8 in reading and mathematics, based on the states’ performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The findings of the study and the recommendations to improve middle school study performance must be reported to the Governor, the State Board of Education, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 2017. The study must include a review of the following general topics:

• Academic expectations and instructional strategies.
• Attendance policies and student mobility issues.
• Teacher quality.
• Middle school administrator leadership and performance.
• Parental and community involvement.

In addition, the bill deletes the requirement for middle grade students to complete the career and education planning course.  [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 360 – is comparable and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 1109 – Private School Student / Extracurricular Activities by Antone
Current law provides that a student attending a private middle school or high school may participate in interscholastic or intrascholastic sports at a public school that is zoned for the physical address at which the student resides if the private school where the student is enrolled is not a member of the FHSAA and has an enrollment of less than 125 students. The bill revises private school student eligibility by allowing a student in a non-FHSAA member private school to participate in interscholastic or intrascholastic activities at the school where the student could choose to attend pursuant to controlled open enrollment provided the public school has not reached capacity as determined by the school board, in addition to the student’s zoned school which is currently permitted by law. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1302 – is similar and has passed two of four committees of reference.]

SB 80 – Public Records by Steube
The bill provides that a court must assess and award the reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney fees, against the responsible agency if the court determines that:

• The agency unlawfully refused to permit the public record to be inspected or copied; and
• The complainant provided written notice identifying the public record request to the agency’s custodian of public records at least 5 days before filing the civil action.

The bill requires a court to determine whether a complainant made a public record request or participated in the civil action for an improper purpose. If the court determines there was an improper purpose, the bill prohibits the court from awarding the reasonable costs of enforcement, including attorney fees, to the complainant, and instead requires the court to award against the complainant and to the agency such reasonable costs incurred by the agency in responding to the civil action.

HB 127 – Public School Attendance Policies by Plasencia
The bill:

• Requires district school boards to adopt student absence policies regarding student appointments to receive autism spectrum disorder therapy, including but not limited to, applied behavioral analysis, speech therapy and occupational therapy;
• Allows a parent to request and be granted permission for a student’s absence resulting from an appointment to receive therapy provided by a licensed health care practitioner or a certified behavior analyst for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder; and
• Allows a student who is continually sick and repeatedly absent to satisfy nonattendance requirement by being under the supervision of a licensed health care practitioner or a certified behavior analyst for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1128 – is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

HB 1111 – Teacher Certification by Plasencia
The bill revises the requirements for a district professional development certification and educator competence program. The bill:

• Provides that a temporary certificate holder who completes a Florida Department of Education (DOE) approved program and earns a highly effective rating will qualify for a renewable professional certificate without having to complete additional classwork or pass the Professional Education Test.
• Allows charter schools and charter management organizations to offer a professional development certification and educator competence program and requires the mentorship and induction component of the program to, at a minimum, provide weekly opportunities for mentoring and induction activities. The mentorship and induction activities must be provided for a teacher’s first year in the program and may be provided until the teacher attains his or her professional certificate.
• Requires the DOE to adopt standards for approving a professional development certification and educator competence program, including the mentorship and induction component.
• Allows mentoring activities, including serving as a mentor, to count towards a teacher’s inservice requirements for certification renewal.
• Requires professional development activities to provide training to mentors. The training must include components on teacher development, peer coaching, time management, and other related topics as determined by the DOE.
• Requires model professional development programs disseminated by the DOE to include effective mentorship activities to new teachers and training to mentors.
• Streamlines the temporary certificate application process and revises provisions related to the expiration of a temporary certificate.

[NOTE: Today’s amendment added the substance of HB The Senate companion bill – SB 1474 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of reference. The certification requirements in HB 1111 and SB 1474 are similar to those in HB 1331 and SB 1598.]

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