FSBA Session Spotlight — April 5, 2017

The Senate and House Appropriations Committees reviewed and amended their respective proposed state budgets today. In the Senate Appropriations Committee meeting, there were more than 120 amendments filed with about 30 of these proposed amendments relating to education. The majority of the education related amendments revised non-FEFP allocations and the remaining few focused on post-secondary education funding.  FEFP allocations were not changed.  Meanwhile, in the House Appropriations Committee meeting, there were only 8 amendments filed with 2 that revised non-FEFP allocations. We have updated our Side-by-Side Comparison of the education related portion of the House and Senate budgets to reflect today’s changes.

Unfortunately, no progress was made today in narrowing the $2 billion gap that divides the Senate and House versions of their budgets. As we have reported, more than one quarter of the $2 billion budget gap is due to the House providing more than $538 million LESS in FEFP funding than the Senate. This difference is due almost entirely to the House’s decision to reduce the Required Local Effort (RLE) millage rate – from the current 4.638 mills to 4.322 mills — which reduces total potential local funds by more than $530 million.

At the moment, there is little evidence that either chamber will budge from their positions. This is illustrated in press releases issued today from House Speaker Richard Corcoran and Senate President Joe Negron shortly after the Appropriations Committees finished their work.  In his press release, Speaker Corcoran praised the House budget because it secures long term budget surpluses ($3.6 billion), funds all of the state’s critical needs, and provides massive tax relief, including more than $500 million in property tax reductions by reducing the Required Local Effort Millage rate. Meanwhile, Senate President Joe Negron issued a press release lauding the Senate budget that prioritizes funding for Florida’s Pre-K–20 public education system and still sets aside more than $3 billion in total reserves. (There is quite a bit of information contained in the press releases linked above – we encourage you to review them.)

The next step in the budget process is for each chamber to debate, amend, and pass their respective budgets on their chamber floor. Both chambers have scheduled this for Wednesday and Thursday of next week.  We hope that you will take this time to review the two budgets and consider how your district will benefit or be hampered by the two versions.  NOW is the time to communicate with your legislators to let them know how both budgets will impact your students, schools, and communities.  To assist you, several documents are available on our 2017 Legislative Session page, including links to 2017-2018 Education Budget Materials, Legislative Delegations and Key Committees, and a Legislative Advocacy Toolkit.

In addition to the budget discussions, several conforming bills of interest were reviewed and approved today – including one House conforming bill that would make sweeping changes to charter school policy and capital funding and a second House conforming bill that proposes significant changes to how Florida addresses the issue of struggling schools. These bills and others are summarized below in the link to Today’s Happenings. In addition, there are important bills up for consideration on Thursday, including the Senate’s version of the charter school capital outlay bill. This bill and others are summarized below in the link to Coming Up Tomorrow.

[toggle title=”Today’s Happenings — April 5, 2017“]

In the House Appropriations Committee meeting:

APC1 – General Appropriations Act (GAA) – AMENDED; SUBMITTED AS A COMMITTEE BILL
The bill provides moneys for the annual period beginning July 1, 2017, and ending June 30, 2018, and supplemental appropriations for the period ending June 30, 2017, to pay salaries and other expenses, capital outlay – buildings, and other improvements, and for other specified purposes of the various agencies of state government.

APC2 – GAA Implementing Bill– SUBMITTED AS A COMMITTEE BILL
The bill provides the statutory authority necessary to implement and execute the General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017-2018. Statutory changes are temporary and expire on July 1, 2018.

HB 5007 — Florida Retirement System (Conforming Bill) — PASSED; PLACED ON HOUSE CALENDAR ON 2ND READING
The bill makes several revisions to current policies of the Florida Retirement System.  Effective July 1, 2017, the bill:

• Authorizes renewed membership in the investment plan for retirees of the investment plan and certain optional retirement programs.
• Expands the survivor benefit for members of the Special Risk Class to provide that such benefits are retroactive to July 1, 2002. The bill also establishes a survivor benefit for all other membership classes of the investment plan who are killed in the line of duty and provides that the benefit is retroactive to July 1, 2002.
• Closes the Senior Management Service Optional Annuity Program to new participants.
• Revises the employer contribution rates for the FRS based on the 2016 Actuarial Valuation adjusted for the special studies related to the changes proposed in the bill.
• Reduces the annual service accrual rate for the Judicial Subclass from 3.33 to 3.0 percent.

Effective January 1, 2018, the bill changes the default from the pension plan to the investment plan for members who do not affirmatively choose a plan.  In addition, effective July 1, 2018, the bill prohibits members initially enrolled in a position covered by the Elected Officers’ Class from participating in the pension plan and requires participation in the investment plan.

HB 5101 — Educational Funding (Conforming Bill) — PASSED; PLACED ON HOUSE CALENDAR ON 2ND READING
The bill conforms applicable statutes to the appropriations provided in the House proposed General Appropriations Act for Prekindergarten through grade 12 education for Fiscal Year 2017-2018.  The bill:

• Repeals the requirement for the Just Read, Florida! Office to review the K-12 comprehensive reading plan.
• Limits the amendatory period for the reporting of FTE for payment to providers and schools by early learning coalitions for the voluntary prekindergarten program.
• Removes obsolete language referencing the Florida School for Boys in Okeechobee.
• Modifies the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) by:
  • Requiring that the Supplemental Academic Instruction allocation for schools that earned a grade of “D” or “F” be used to implement the required intervention and support strategies.
  • Codifying the Sparsity Supplement current calculation methodology.
  • Requiring that the K-12 comprehensive reading plans in the Research-Based Reading Instruction allocation only be submitted by a school that earned a grade of “D” or “F” and prioritizing the use of funds for the 300 lowest performing elementary schools.
  • Repealing the requirement that a school district submit a digital classrooms plan to receive funding from the Digital Classrooms Allocation and aligning the use of the allocation to the eligible services list authorized by the federal Schools and Libraries Program, commonly referred to as the federal E-rate program.
  • Codifying the Safe Schools categorical.
  • Providing clarification of FEFP reporting requirements and audit adjustments.
• Amends the required components of a school district’s standard student attire policy for purposes of school district receiving incentive payment.

HB 5103 — Capital Outlay Funding (Conforming Bill) — PASSED; PLACED ON HOUSE CALENDAR ON 2ND READING
The bill specifies that both district schools and charter schools are eligible for the revenue generated from the discretionary 1.5 millage. The bill clarifies that charter school capital outlay funding shall consist of revenue resulting from the discretionary millage, and state funds when such funds are appropriated in the General Appropriations Act. To be eligible to receive both types of capital outlay funds, a charter school must:

• Use facilities that are:
  • Owned by a school district, political subdivision of the state, municipality, Florida College System institution, or state university;
  • Owned by an organization qualified as an exempt organization under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; or
  • Owned by and leased from a person or entity that is not an affiliated party of the charter school. The bill defines “affiliated party of the charter school” to mean:
    • The applicant for the charter school;
    • The governing board of the charter school or a member of the governing board;
    • The charter school owner;
    • The charter school principal;
    •  An employee of the charter school;
    • An independent contractor of the charter school or charter school governing board;
    • A relative of a governing board member, a charter school owner, a charter school principal, a charter school employee, or an inan  independent contractor of a charter school or governing board;
    • Certain corporations, partnerships, or related parties;, a service corporation, an affiliated corporation, a parent corporation, a limited liability company, a limited partnership, a trust, a partnership, or certain related parties;
    • Any person or entity, individually or through one or more entities that share common ownership, which directly or indirectly manages administers controls, or oversees the operation of any of the foregoing. 
• Be in operation for 2 or more years;
• Not have more than two consecutive school grades lower than “B” unless the school serves a student population at least 50% of which is eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
• Have an annual audit with no financial emergency conditions.
• Have received final approval from its sponsor for operation during that fiscal year.
• Serve students in facilities that are not provided by the charter school’s sponsor.

The bill clarifies the calculation methodology for the Department of Education (DOE) to use to allocate state capital outlay funds to eligible charter schools. The bill also establishes a calculation methodology for the DOE to use to determine the amount of the discretionary 1.5 millage revenue a school district must distribute to each eligible charter school.

The bill adds as allowable uses of capital outlay funds the purchase or lease of computer hardware necessary for gaining access to electronic content or to serve purposes specified in the charter schools and non-charter public schools digital classrooms plan. Charter schools are also aligned with non-charter public schools to allow payment of the cost of the opening day collection for the library media center of a new school. 

In addition, the bill aligns s. 1013.64(3), F.S., with the actual COFTE membership calculation by changing kindergarten to pre-kindergarten for students funded for the Florida Education Finance Program and limiting the second and third surveys to 0.5 FTE membership per student.

HB 5105 — School Improvement (Conforming Bill) — PASSED; PLACED ON HOUSE CALENDAR ON 2ND READING
The bill streamlines early warning system requirements and alleviates school improvement planning requirements by requiring a school improvement plan only for schools with a grade of “D” or “F.” The bill also streamlines the school improvement process by:

• Requiring the same level of intensive interventions and support strategies for “D” and “F” schools;
• Requiring the school district to provide the SBE a district-managed turnaround plan by September 1 after a school earns a “D” or “F;”
• Requiring the selection of another turnaround option after the school receives a third consecutive grade below a “C” unless the school is deemed likely to improve to a “C” and receives an additional year; and
• Requiring another turnaround option be implemented after 2 years implementing the first plan unless the school is deemed likely to improve to a “C.”

 The bill provides that an educational emergency exists in a school district when a school earns a “D” or “F” and requires the district to execute a memorandum of understanding with the collective bargaining agent concerning the selection, placement, and expectations of instructional personnel and school administrators at the school. The memorandum must also be submitted to the SBE by September 1 after a school earns a “D” or “F.”

The bill authorizes the establishment of “schools of hope” and designation of “hope operators” to provide students in areas of persistently low-performing schools with a high-quality education option designed to close the opportunity gap and increase student achievement. The bill:

• Establishes criteria for schools of hope and hope operators;
• Defines persistently low-performing schools as those subject to differentiated accountability for more than three years or closed as a result of school improvement requirements;
• Authorizes the State Board of Education (SBE) to identify and designate hope operators who meet specified criteria;
• Removes barriers to hope operators by creating a new notice and agreement process that is exempt from the current charter law and state procurement laws. The bill:
  • allows a hope operator to submit a notice of intent to establish a school of hope in a school district with one or more persistently low-performing schools;
  • requires the school district to enter into a performance based agreement with the hope operator which must include specified provisions;
• Provides a school of hope with specific exemptions from current law;
• Provides provisions for facilities and funding for schools of hope;
• Establishes a grant program to cover specified operational expenses; and
• Establishes the Schools of Hope Revolving Loan Program to help schools of hope cover school building construction and startup costs.

In the Senate Appropriations Committee meeting:
SB 2500 – General Appropriations Act (GAA) — AMENDED; SUBMITTED AS A COMMITTEE BILL
The bill provides moneys for the annual period beginning July 1, 2017, and ending June 30, 2018, and supplemental appropriations for the period ending June 30, 2017, to pay salaries and other expenses, capital outlay – buildings, and other improvements, and for other specified purposes of the various agencies of state government.

SB 2502 – GAA Implementing Bill — SUBMITTED AS A COMMITTEE BILL
The bill provides the statutory authority necessary to implement and execute the General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017-2018. Statutory changes are temporary and expire on July 1, 2018.

SB 7022 – State Administered Retirement Systems (Conforming Bill) — SUBMITTED AS A COMMITTEE BILL
The bill establishes the contribution rates paid by employers participating in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) beginning July 1, 2017. These rates are intended to fund the full normal cost and the amortization of the unfunded actuarial liability of the FRS. With these modifications to employer contribution rates, the FRS Trust Fund will receive roughly $149.5 million more revenue on an annual basis beginning July 1, 2017. The public employers that will incur these additional costs are state agencies, state universities and colleges, school districts, counties, and certain municipalities and other governmental entities.

SB 2516 — Education Funding (Conforming Bill) — AMENDED; SUBMITTED AS A COMMITTEE BILL
The bill conforms various education funding statutes to the policies used to implement the funding decisions contained in SB 2500. The bill:

• Modifies the policy regarding the “extra hour of reading” at the 300 lowest-performing elementary schools by:
  • Permanently codifying the program in statute, rather than relying on annual reauthorization. The program was established for three years beginning in the 2012-2013 fiscal year but has been extended annually in the implementing bill since the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
  • Expanding the program to allow schools that improve performance to the extent that they are no longer on the most current list of 300 lowest-performing schools to maintain the program for two additional academic years.
  • Expanding the requirements of the program to include a 60-hour summer school component.
  • Codifying the methodology for calculating the allocation of Supplemental Academic Instruction (SAI) funds, which includes funds for the “extra hour of reading” requirement.
  • Requiring school districts to delineate the implementation design and reading intervention strategies for the program as part of their comprehensive reading plan.
• Modifies the small, isolated high schools provision of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) by expanding its application to elementary schools and establishing the criteria by which elementary schools may qualify.
• Permanently codifies the sparsity supplement calculation used to compute the sparsity supplement for eligible districts with a full-time equivalent (FTE) student membership of between 20,000 and 24,000, by dividing the total number of full- time equivalent students in all programs by the number of permanent senior high school centers in the district, not in excess of four (rather than three as used for other districts). This calculation has been in the implementing bill since the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
• Modifies the federally connected student supplement to allow for recalculation throughout the year based on actual student membership and the tax-exempt valuation from the most recent assessment roll.
• Permanently codifies a provision that prohibits a school district from seeking a positive allocation adjustment in the current fiscal year because of an under allocation for a prior fiscal year caused by district error.
• Modifies the qualification requirements and funding methodology for the High Growth District Capital Outlay Assistance Grant Program.
• Requires the Auditor General to conduct an annual financial audit of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.

In the House Session:
Bills on 3^rd Reading:
SB 436 – Religious Expression in Public Schools by Baxley — READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill authorizes a student to:

• Express religious beliefs in written and oral assignments free from discrimination.
• Wear jewelry that displays a religious message or symbol to the same extent as secular types of jewelry that displays messages or symbols are permitted.
• Engage in and organize religious groups before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that secular student organizations and groups are permitted.

 The bill requires a school district to:

• Allow a religious group the same access to the same school facilities for assembling as given to a secular group and allow a religious or secular group to advertise or announce its meetings.
• Permit school personnel to participate in religious activities on school grounds that are student-initiated and at reasonable times before or after the school day as long as the activities are voluntary and do not conflict with the duties and responsibilities of such school personnel.

 The bill provides that these provisions may be enforced pursuant to s. 761.04, F.S., relating to attorney’s fees and costs, authorized by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1998. [NOTE: SB 436 now carries the text of the former HB 303, so it no longer includes provisions that had been of concern. Because SB 436 is now different from the version passed earlier by the Senate, the bill must return to the Senate for consideration..]

HB 827 – Teacher Bonuses by Porter — READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
Current law provides additional funding based on student achievement in International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), Advanced Placement (AP) and Career and Professional Education (CAPE) courses and individual teachers of these courses are awarded bonuses of up to $3,000 for students who achieve specific results in these courses. The bill removes the annual teacher bonus limits for IB, AICE, AP and CAPE courses. In addition, the bill requires the district to allocate at least 80% of the AICE bonus FTE funding must be allocated to the program that generates the funds. [NOTE: There is no direct Senate companion bill for this bill.]

HB 373 – Education/Contracts for Instructional Personnel by M. Grant — READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill clarifies that the district must issue contracts on an annual basis and may not:

• Award an annual contract to instructional personnel based on a contingency or condition that is not expressed in statute; or
• Alter or limit its authority to award or not award an annual contract to instructional personnel.

 The bill provides that the provision prohibiting a school board from awarding, or altering its authority to award, an annual contract only applies to collective bargaining agreements entered into or renewed by a district school board on or after this law is enacted. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill — SB 856 – is identical and has passed the first of four committees of reference.]

HB 591 – Maximum Class Size by Massullo — READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill removes the exemptions for class size requirements and maintains class size compliance for each classroom but revises the method for calculating the penalty to be at the school average for any school that fails to comply with class size requirements. The bill repeals an increase in the penalty for failure to comply with the class size requirements and provides that a district may not have its class size categorical allocation reduced for the 2017-18 or 2018-19 fiscal years if it meets certain requirements. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 808 – is similar and has passed one of four committees of reference.]

HB 781 – Designation of School Grades by Porter — READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
Current law provides that a school that serves any combination of K-3 students, that does not receive a school grade as a result of its students not being tested and included in the school grading system, receives the school grade of a K-3 feeder pattern school determined by the Department of Education and verified by the district. A school feeder pattern exists if at least 60% of the students are assigned to the graded school. The bill revises the number of students required to establish a school feeder pattern from 60% to a majority. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1222 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of interest.]

HB 849 – Concealed Weapons & Firearms/Private School Property by Combee — READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill amends current law that prohibits licensees from carrying a concealed weapon or concealed firearm at a school. The bill provides that a licensee is not prohibited from carrying a concealed weapon or concealed firearm on private school property if a religious institution is located on the property. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1330 – is similar and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

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[toggle title=”Coming Up Tomorrow — April 6, 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 Education Committee will meet (8:00-11:00 am; 102 HOB) to consider the following bills and others:

HB 15 — Educational Options by Sullivan
The bill revises the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship Program by:

• Increasing the base annual scholarship amount, differentiated by grade level, for students enrolled in eligible private schools;
• Increasing the amount of a transportation scholarship for a student who chooses a public school outside their district from $500 to $750;
• Allowing a dependent child of a parent who is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces to apply for a scholarship at any time;
• Authorizing a Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) to make scholarship payments on behalf of a parent only if the SFO receives prior approval from the parent each time;
• Providing that a private school that has consecutive years of material exceptions listed in their annual financial reports may be ineligible to participate in the FTC;
• Requiring the Department of Revenue (DOR) to provide a copy of a denial letter to the SFO specified by the taxpayer seeking the tax credit;
• Revising the date that a private school’s agreed upon procedures report from a CPA is due to the SFO from September 15, to August 15, of each year; and
• Removing obsolete language regarding student eligibility and funding.

[NOTE: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion – SB 1314 – is similar and has passed one of four committees of reference.]

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: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion – SB 1128 – is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

HB 293 — Middle School Study 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.
• Availability of student support services.
• Attendance policies and student mobility issues.
• Teacher quality.
• Middle school administrator leadership and performance.
• Parental and community involvement.

[NOTE: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion – SB 360 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of reference.]

HB 371 — Assistive Technology Devices by Ausley
The bill revises provisions related to the use of an assistive technology device by students with disabilities by:

• Clarifying that access to and use of the assistive technology device is essential for a student moving from school to home and community;
• Specifying an individual work plan as one of the plans that may serve as the basis for issuing an assistive technology device to a student; and
• Requiring the Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice, within the Florida Department of Education, to enter into interagency agreements with specified agencies, as appropriate, for the transaction of assistive technology devices.

[NOTE: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion – SB 772 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of reference.]

HB 655 — Exceptional Student Instruction by Porter
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: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion – SB 1368 – is similar and has passed one of four committees of reference.]

HB 833 — Student Eligibility for K-12 Virtual Instruction by Sullivan
The bill removes the prior year in public school requirement and provides that all K-12 students, including home education and private school students, are eligible for both full-time and part-time virtual instruction options. The bill removes passage of an online content assessment, by which the student demonstrates skills and competency in locating information and applying technology for instructional purposes, as an option to fulfill the online course requirement. The bill also provides a student the option of taking either an online course or a blended learning course to satisfy the requirements for a standard high school diploma. [NOTE: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion – SB 692 – is similar but has not been heard in any of three 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;
• 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: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion – SB 1210 – is comparable and has passed one of two committees of reference.]

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

The bill 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, including:

• common planning time;
• ongoing professional development targeted to the teacher’s needs;
• opportunities to observe other teachers;
• co-teaching experiences; and
• reflection and follow-up discussions.

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.

With respect to professional development, the bill 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 training must include components on teacher development, peer coaching, time management, and other related topics as determined by the DOE. The bill requires model professional development programs disseminated by the DOE to include effective mentorship activities to new teachers and training to mentors. The bill also streamlines the temporary certificate application process. [NOTE: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion – SB 1474 – is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

HB 1131 — Shared Use of Public School Playground Facilities by Drake
The bill requires the Department of Education (DOE) to provide technical assistance to school districts to promote community use of shared facilities. The bill also creates a Shared Use Task Force to identify barriers in creating shared use agreements and to make recommendations to facilitate the shared use of school facilities generally and in high-need communities. [NOTE: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion – SB 984 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of reference.]

HB 1331 – Education/Schools of Excellence/Certification by Grall
The bill establishes the Schools of Excellence Program to provide administrative flexibility to the state’s highest performing schools. 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 includes several provisions relating to certification. Under the bill, 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.

The bill 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 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.

The bill 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. [NOTE: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 1598 – is comparable and has passed one of three committees of reference.]

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;
• 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);
• Requiring 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; and
  • establish competencies and identify outcomes for the course; and
  • 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.

[NOTE: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 1710 – is similar and has passed one of four committees of reference.]

HB 7101 — K-12 Education by PreK-12 Innovation
The bill makes several revisions to current policies relating to charter schools. The bill:

• Requires the sponsor and the charter school governing board to use the standard charter contract developed by DOE which incorporates the approved application and any addenda approved with the application, provides that the standard contract cannot be altered in any way, and provides that any term or condition of a proposed contract that differs from the standard contract shall be presumed a limitation on charter school flexibility;
• Provides that charter schools and their governing boards are subject to the same waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions as the state, state agencies and or subdivisions;
• Removes the provision that charter school student performance on statewide standardized assessments and other performance data be compared to student performance data of traditional public schools.
• Provides that student performance data from eligible students attending an alternative charter school shall be included in the calculation of the home school’s grade, as well as a high school student who transfers to a private school with which the school district has a contractual agreement (i.e. for which the school district subsidizes, in whole or in part, the enrollment fees;
• Allows the use of concordant scores, in addition to assessment scores or comparable scores, in determining an alternative school’s school improvement rating.
• Deletes the list of specific services that 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;
• Specifies that a not-for-profit or municipal entity operating a charter school may use unrestricted surplus or net assets of their charter school(s) for K-12 educational purposes in their other schools;
• Clarifies 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.
• 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.
• Revises the definition of a “charter school system” with regard to LEA eligibility status by removing the requirements that a system of charter schools include both conversion and non-conversion charter schools and the provision that the system does not contract with a for-profit service provider for management of school operations.
• Changes the charter school application deadline from August 1 to February 1;
• Deletes language regarding federal funds that conflicts with federal requirements for distribution of such funds; 
• Removes the requirement that the online learning portion of a blended learning model be in a classroom setting at the charter school;
• 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: The bill was previously amended to remove provisions that would require school districts to share discretionary millage with charter schools-in-a-municipality and provisions that would have deleted the requirement that a charter school have satisfactory student achievement to be eligible for charter school capital outlay funding. However, concerns remain. This is the last committee of reference for this bill. There is no direct Senate companion bill.]

The Senate Appropriations Committee will meet (8:00-10:00 am; 412 KOB) to consider the following item and others:

SB 376 – Charter School Capital Outlay Funding by Simmons
The bill restructures charter school capital outlay to dedicate a source of funding consisting of shared local capital outlay funding derived from the discretionary millage revenue. The bill allows the legislature the discretion to determine whether to provide additional charter school capital outlay funds in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

The bill amends eligibility requirements and the funding allocation methodology for charter school capital outlay funding. The bill provides that the eligibility criteria for shared local capital outlay allocation is the same as that in existing law for state funds provided in the GAA. However, the bill adds a new eligibility requirement (for both shared local capital outlay and for state funds provided in the GAA) consisting of a prohibition on personal financial enrichment. The bill provides that it is the intent of the Legislature that the public interest be protected by prohibiting personal financial enrichment by owners, operators, managers, and other affiliated parties of charter schools. Additionally, the bill emphasizes that a charter school is not eligible for a funding allocation unless the chair of the governing board and chief administrative officer of the charter school annually certify under oath that the funds will be used solely and exclusively for constructing, renovating, or improving charter school facilities that are:

• Owned by a school district, political subdivision of the state, municipality, Florida College System institution, or state university;
• Owned by an organization, qualified as an exempt organization under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, whose articles of incorporation specify that upon the organization’s dissolution, the subject property will be transferred to a school district, political subdivision of the state, municipality, Florida College System institution, or state university; or
• Owned by and leased, at a fair market value in the school district in which the charter school is located, from a person or entity that is not an affiliated party of the charter school.

The bill defines “affiliated party of the charter school” to mean:

• The applicant for the charter school;
• The governing board of the charter school or a member of the governing board;
• The charter school owner; The charter school principal;
• An employee of the charter school;
• An independent contractor of a charter school or charter school governing board;
• A subsidiary corporation, a service corporation, and affiliated corporation, a parent corporation, a limited liability company, a limited partnership, a trust, a partnership, or a related party that, individually or through one or more entities shares common ownership or control and directly or indirectly manages, administers, controls, or oversees the operation of the charter school; or
• Any person or entity, individually or through one or more entities that share common ownership, which directly or indirectly manages, administers, controls, or oversees the operation of any of the foregoing.

The bill provides that the DOE must calculate the shared local capital outlay allocation by dividing the revenue generated from the local discretionary millage and levied by the school board by the sum of the district fixed capital outlay FTE and the FTE for eligible charter schools. This calculated capital outlay allocation per FTE must then be multiplied by the eligible charter school’s FTE to provide a maximum calculated capital outlay allocation.

The bill provides that the eligibility criteria for shared local capital outlay allocation is identical to that in existing law for state funds provided in the GAA. The bill also codifies existing DOE implementation for determining a charter school’s eligible population for free or reduced-price lunch by adding an equivalent percentage of students that are eligible under the Community Eligibility Provision of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The bill provides that the allocation formula for the shared local capital outlay allocation utilize a weighted funding approach to provide additional funds to charter schools who serve high proportions of students eligible for free and reduced price lunch or students with disabilities, or both. More specifically:

• An eligible charter school will receive a base allocation of 50% of the maximum calculated capital outlay allocation.
• Charter schools will receive an additional 25% of the maximum allocation if the school has either of the following criteria:
  • 75% or more free or reduced-price lunch eligible enrollment or an equivalent percentage who are eligible under the Community Eligibility Provision of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 when the multiplier authorized under the National School Lunch Act is applied to the number of students reported for direct certification; or
  • 25% or greater population of students with a disability.
• Charter schools that that meet both criteria would receive an additional 50% of the maximum allocation (the maximum calculated capital outlay allocation).

The bill requires each school district to distribute 1/12th of the calculated shared local capital outlay funds to eligible charter schools on a monthly basis, beginning in the first quarter of the fiscal year. If local funds are not available, the school district must provide an equivalent amount from another funding source. If the school district is unable to provide the calculated local funds from its millage, the school district must provide an equivalent amount to the eligible charter schools from another school district funding source. Each district must adjust payments to charter schools to reflect updated calculations of the shared local charter school allocations, as determined by the Department of Education (DOE). The bill limits the ability of a charter school governing board to only use charter school capital outlay funds at the charter school that generated the funding.  [NOTE: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The House companion bill — HB 5103  — is comparable and is on the House Calendar on 2^nd Reading.]

The House Government Accountability Committee will meet (1:30-4:30 pm; 17 HOB) to consider the following items and others:

HB 163 – Public Records by Burgess
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.

However, the complainant is not required to provide written notice of the public record request, as required above, if the agency does not prominently post the contact information for the agency’s custodian of public records in the agency’s primary administrative building in which public records are routinely created, sent, received, maintained, and requested and on the agency’s website, if the agency has a website. 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. [NOTE: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 80 — is similar, has passed the Senate and is in Messages to the House.]

HB 1239 – School Bus Safety by Eagle
The bill creates the Cameron Mayhew Act, providing that in addition to any other civil, criminal, or administrative penalty, a person who fails to stop for a school bus causing or resulting in the serious bodily injury or death of another person is required to:

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

The bill provides for a fine of $1,500 and a one-year driver license suspension for failing to stop for a school bus resulting in the serious bodily injury or death of another. [NOTE: This is the last committee of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 1622 — is similar and has one of three committees of reference.]

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