FSBA Session Spotlight — May 4, 2017

Budget negotiators met twice today to close out the final differences in the budget. Of particular interest to school boards, a corrected distribution list for state Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) funding was released. This provides $50 million each to Public Schools and Charter Schools for maintenance, repair, and renovations and more than $57 million for capital projects in six school districts through the Special Facilities Construction Account.  In addition, agreement was reached on the Florida Retirement System policies and employer contribution rates.  After the second meeting this evening, it was announced that the final budget will be printed and available for review by legislators and the public sometime tomorrow (Friday) morning. We will notify you when these documents are available.

In addition to the budget negotiations, the most significant education related bills discussed today were SB 926/HB 549 relating to assessments and other education issues.  You may recall that SB 926 was initially paired with HB 773 and, originally, both bills focused on reforms to the state assessment system.  However, during the Session the bills diverged and were amended to include various provisions unrelated to assessments.  Ultimately, HB 773 became bogged down in the House until it was no longer eligible for consideration under House Rules.  The chambers then looked to HB 549 as an alternative vehicle to carry the assessment issues as a companion to SB 926.  Today, the Senate took up SB 926 and replaced it with HB 549 to create a single bill.  HB 549 – a 17 page bill – was then amended with a 72 page strike all amendment and three additional amendments to produce an 80-page “train” bill that covers a variety of issues ranging from assessments to zoning issues.  We are still in the process of reviewing the details of the bill but, with regard to assessments, the bill:

• Eliminates requirements relating to the Algebra II end-of-course assessment, including Algebra II reference for the scholar designation on the diploma;
• Requires, subject to appropriation, that the ELA and mathematics assessments for grades 3 through 5 must be delivered in a paper-based format only;
• Requires that assessment results for the ELA and mathematics assessments and all EOC assessments must be made available no later than June 30, except for results for the grade 3 statewide, standardized ELA assessment, which must be made available no later than May 31;
• Requires that, beginning in 2018 and by January of each year, the commissioner must publish a calendar that includes the assessment and reporting schedules for the next 2 school years;
• With regard to test administration, provides that, beginning in 2018-2019:
  • The grade 3 ELA assessment and the writing portion of the ELA assessment for grades 4-10 must be administered no earlier than April 1 each year within an assessment window not to exceed 2 weeks;
  • All assessments (other than those listed above) that are delivered in a paper-based format must be administered no earlier than May 1 each year within an assessment window not to exceed 2 weeks;
  • All other assessments must be administered within a 4-week assessment window that opens no earlier than May 1 each year;
  • All assessment must be administered no earlier than 4 weeks before the last day of school for the district;
• With regard to assessment results, provides that:
  • ELA and mathematics assessments must be reported in an easy-to-read and understandable format and delivered in time to provide useful, actionable information to students, parents, and each student’s current teacher of record and teacher of record for the subsequent school year;
  • The district must provide the results within 1 week after receiving the results from DOE;
  • The report of student assessment results must include specified information;
• Requires DOE, subject to appropriation and beginning in 2019-2020, to publish state assessments administered in the most recent year on a specified schedule with the initial publication of assessments to occur no later than June 30, 2020, and include, at a minimum, the grade 3 ELA and mathematics assessments, the grade 10 ELA assessment, and the Algebra I EOC assessment. DOE must also provide materials to help the public interpret assessment information;
• Requires the Commissioner to contract for an independent study to determine whether a nationally recognized high school assessment may be administered in lieu of the Florida Standards Assessment and the Algebra I end-of-course assessment for high school students;
• Makes it optional for school districts to use of the Value Added Model (VAM) in the evaluation of personnel.

Some, but not all, of the other topics addressed in the bill include:

• Visitation of schools by an individual school board or charter school governing board member
• Student absence from school for treatment of autism spectrum disorder
• Student possession and use a topical sunscreen product at school
• Charter school cooperatives
• Exemptions for charter school facilities from a special exceptions, rezoning, land use, and other forms of approval by local governments
• Replication of high performing charter schools in areas near persistently low-performing schools
• Elimination of the middle school course in career and education planning
• Elimination of the requirement for students participating in certain interscholastic sports to pass a personal fitness competency test to satisfy physical education requirements
• Authorization for a student to satisfy the online course requirements by completing a blended learning course
• Mandatory recess in grades K-5
• Elimination of district option to decline to provide or contract for instruction for exceptional students
• Allowable use of district instructional materials allocation
• Elimination on the cap on bonuses awarded to teachers of IB, AICE, AP, and CAPE courses
• Criteria for post-secondary institutions to be eligible to offer dual enrollment program
• Educator certification and temporary certification requirements
• Professional Development Certification and Education Competency programs for DOE, school districts, charter schools, and charter management organizations
• The Just Read Florida! Office and related reading programs, content, certification, and endorsements
• Shared use of school indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, playgrounds, and other facilities with the residents of the school community
• Creation of a Committee on Early Childhood Development within the DOE

During discussion of the bill, some disappointment was expressed that more wasn’t accomplished with regard to reforms to the assessment system. This vastly expanded bill passed the Senate unanimously and is now in returning Messages to the House.

Below is a link to our report on other bills that were under consideration today. We’ve also provided the schedule and bills under consideration for tomorrow. Please keep in mind that, in addition any bills listed below, the chambers will be taking up bills that arrive in Messages from the other chamber.  The Message list is not published in advance and there is no set schedule for when a chamber may take up bills on the Message list so we cannot include them in the agenda below.  We will keep you informed of any particularly notable bills via our Twitter Feed and, as always, you may keep track of what is happening via live webcast on the Florida Channel.

[toggle title=”Today’s Happenings – May 4, 2017“]

In the Senate Session:
Bills on 3^rd Reading
[NOTE: None of the bills on 3^rd Reading listed below were considered today. They have been added to the calendar for Friday, May 5, 2017.  Please see the “Coming Up Tomorrow” link for the summary and other details for these bills.]  

HB 15 – Educational Options by Sullivan

HB 781 – Designation of School Grades by Porter

HB 989 – Instructional Materials by Donalds

Bills on 2^nd Reading
SB 772 – Assistive Technology Devices by Rouson – READ 2^ND TIME; SUBSTITUTED FOR HB 371; SB 772 LAID ON THE TABLE
HB 371 — Assistive Technology Devices by by Ausley – SUBSTITUTED FOR SB 772; READ 2^ND TIME; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 5/5/17
The bill revises provisions related to the use of assistive technology devices by students with disabilities. Specifically, the bill:

• Recognizes that access to and use of the assistive technology device is essential for a student moving from school to home and community;
• Allows an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) to be one of the plans that may serve as the basis for a student to retain an assistive technology device through a transition; and
• Adds the Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice within the Florida Department of Education to the group of educational entities required to enter into interagency agreements with specified agencies, as appropriate, for the transaction of assistive technology devices to ensure that an assistive technology device issued to a student remains with the student through the continuum from home to school and beyond.

[NOTE: SB 772 and HB 371 are similar.]

SB 926 – Education/Assessments by Flores – READ 2^ND TIME; SUBSTITUTED FOR HB 549; SB 926 LAID ON THE TABLE
HB 549 – Education by Fine – SUBSTITUTED FOR SB 926; READ 2^ND TIME; AMENDED; READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE SENATE; IN MESSAGES TO THE HOUSE
[NOTE: The bill modifies provisions related to K-12 student assessments, and addresses a variety of other issues including high-performing charter schools, early childhood development, visitation of schools by individual school board members, exceptional student education, district attendance policies, teacher bonuses, and sunscreen. Please see the discussion above for more details on this bill.]

SB 1302 – Private School Student Participation in Extracurricular Activities by Gibson – READ 2^ND TIME; SUBSTITUTED FOR HB 1109; SB 1302 LAID ON THE TABLE
HB 1109 — Private School Student Participation in Extracurricular Activities by Antone – SUBSTITUTED FOR SB 1302; READ 2^ND TIME; READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE SENATE; PASSED THE LEGISLATURE
The bill requires the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), in cooperation with each district school board, to allow a student attending a private school that is not a member of the FHSAA to participate in interscholastic or intrascholastic sports at a public school that a student could choose to attend pursuant to controlled open enrollment. [NOTE: SB 1302 and HB 1109 are similar.]

SB 1468 – Education by Galvano – READ 2^ND TIME; SUBSTITUTED FOR HB 833; SB 1468 LAID ON THE TABLE
HB 833 – Eligibility for K-12 Virtual Instruction by Sullivan – SUBSTITUTED FOR SB 1468; READ 2^ND TIME; AMENDED; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 5/5/17
The bill:

• Codifies the requirement for the Auditor General to conduct financial audits of accounts and records of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.
• Deems participants in on-the-job training activities administered by the Division of Blind Services (DBS) and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) as employees of the state for purposes of workers’ compensation coverage.
• Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to coordinate, in the event of an emergency, with school districts, Florida College System institutions, and the satellite offices of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Division of Blind Services to assess their needs for resources to enable such entities to reopen as soon as possible after considering the health, safety, and welfare of students and clients.
• Provides that the school district in which the student enrolls in the virtual charter school shall report the student for funding and the home school district shall not report the student for funding;
• 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;
• Removes the requirement that student enrollment in a virtual instruction program be limited to a program provided by a school district or virtual charter school operated by the district in which the student resides.
• Revises eligibility requirements for specified students to receive part-time instruction at the Florida Virtual School;
• Removes provisions requiring the Auditor General to conduct an operational audit of the Florida Virtual School;
• Provides that each student enrolled in a virtual instruction program or virtual charter school must take statewide assessments as required by law. Such assessments may be administered within the school district in which such student resides, or as specified in the contract. If requested by the approved provider or virtual charter school, the district of residence must provide the student with access to the district’s testing facilities;
• 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;
• 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;
• Establishes the Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Pilot Program in the Department of Education for a period of three school years to assist selected school districts in implementing comprehensive music education programs for students in kindergarten through grade 2;
• Codifies the December 31, 2017, deadline by which the Florida Polytechnic University must meet the criteria established in law relating to accreditation, development of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs, and operational framework;
• Creates the “Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Education Act” to specify financial literacy standards and instruction for students entering grade 9 in the 2017-2018 school year and 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; and
• *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: HB 833 only addresses virtual instruction programs while SB 1468 includes other provisions. Today’s amendment retained the virtual instruction provisions, added the other original provisions from SB 1468, and added the provisions of SB 392 relating to financial literacy (note that these provisions are also contained in other legislation). The short summary above reflects the provisions of the revised version of HB 833. Because the bill was amended, it will return to the House for consideration.]

SB 360 – Middle School Study by Stargel – READ 2^ND TIME; SUBSTITUTED FOR HB 293; SB 360 LAID ON THE TABLE
HB 293 – Middle Grades by Burton – SUBSTITUTED FOR SB 360; READ 2^ND TIME; PLACED ON 3^RD READING FOR 5/5/17
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: HB 293 and SB 360 are comparable.]

In the House Session:
[NOTE: In accordance with House Rules, at this point in the Legislative Session, the House may consider only: Returning Messages from the Senate, Conference Reports, and Concurrent Resolutions. Therefore, although House bills are listed on 2^nd and 3^rd Reading, it is unlikely that they will be considered or moved forward. There were no bills of interest taken up in the House today.]

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[toggle title=”Coming Up Tomorrow – May 5, 2017“]

The Senate will be in Session (10:00 am-completion; Senate Chamber) to consider the following items and others:
Bills on 3^rd Reading
HB 15 – Educational Options by Sullivan
The bill modifies the Gardiner Scholarship Program (GSP) to:

• Expand the definition of disability, for purposes of the GSP, to include a child:
  • Diagnosed with a rare disease or condition, which affects patient populations of fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States;
  • Diagnosed as Anaphylaxis; or
  • Identified as deaf, visually impaired, hospital or homebound, dual sensory impaired, traumatic brain injured, as defined by rules of the State Board of Education and evidenced by reports from local school districts. The bill describes hospital or homebound to mean a student who has a medically diagnosed physical or psychiatric condition or illness, as defined by the State Board in rule, and who is confined to the home or hospital for more than 6 months.
• Specify that a student’s individual education pan (IEP) is not required to be reviewed or revised within the last 12 months in order for the student to be eligible for the GSP.
• Allow a student with an IEP from another state or physician licensed in another state to qualify for the GSP, if the student meets the other eligibility requirements.
• Authorize the use of GSP funds to procure services provided by a hospital in Florida which is selected by a parent, a certified music therapist, art therapist, or services provided at a center that is a member of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International.
• Specify that a parent, student, or provider of any services may not bill an insurance company, Medicaid, or any other agency for the same services paid through Gardiner Scholarship funds.
• Provide that if a private school is unable to meet the requirements in law or has consecutive years of material exceptions listed in its agreed-upon procedures reports, the Commissioner of the Department of Education (DOE) may determine that the schools is ineligible to participate in the GSP.
• Require a student’s scholarship account to be closed and remaining funds reverted to the state if an account has been inactive for three consecutive fiscal years. The bill defines inactive to mean that eligible expenditures have not been made from a student’s scholarship account.
• Specify that if a parent does not procure the necessary educational services for the student and the student’s account has been inactive for 2 consecutive fiscal years, the student is ineligible for additional scholarship payments until the scholarship-funding organization verifies that expenditures have occurred from the account.

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: HB 15  was substituted for the Senate companion — SB 902 – on 2nd Reading and was then amended.  If passed in the Senate today, the bill will need to return to the House for consideration of the amended version.]

HB 781 – Designation of School Grades by Porter
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: HB 781 was substituted for the Senate companion bill — SB 1222 – on 2^nd Reading.]

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: HB 989 was substituted for the Senate companion bill – SB 1210 – on 2^nd Reading.]

HB 371 — Assistive Technology Devices by by Ausley
The bill revises provisions related to the use of assistive technology devices by students with disabilities. Specifically, the bill:

• Recognizes that access to and use of the assistive technology device is essential for a student moving from school to home and community;
• Allows an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) to be one of the plans that may serve as the basis for a student to retain an assistive technology device through a transition; and
• Adds the Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice within the Florida Department of Education to the group of educational entities required to enter into interagency agreements with specified agencies, as appropriate, for the transaction of assistive technology devices to ensure that an assistive technology device issued to a student remains with the student through the continuum from home to school and beyond.

[NOTE: HB 371 was substituted for the Senate companion — SB 772 – on 2^nd Reading.]

HB 833 – Eligibility for K-12 Virtual Instruction by Sullivan
The bill:

• Codifies the requirement for the Auditor General to conduct financial audits of accounts and records of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.
• Deems participants in on-the-job training activities administered by the Division of Blind Services (DBS) and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) as employees of the state for purposes of workers’ compensation coverage.
• Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to coordinate, in the event of an emergency, with school districts, Florida College System institutions, and the satellite offices of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Division of Blind Services to assess their needs for resources to enable such entities to reopen as soon as possible after considering the health, safety, and welfare of students and clients.
• Provides that the school district in which the student enrolls in the virtual charter school shall report the student for funding and the home school district shall not report the student for funding;
• 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;
• Removes the requirement that student enrollment in a virtual instruction program be limited to a program provided by a school district or virtual charter school operated by the district in which the student resides.
• Revises eligibility requirements for specified students to receive part-time instruction at the Florida Virtual School;
• Removes provisions requiring the Auditor General to conduct an operational audit of the Florida Virtual School;
• Provides that each student enrolled in a virtual instruction program or virtual charter school must take statewide assessments as required by law. Such assessments may be administered within the school district in which such student resides, or as specified in the contract. If requested by the approved provider or virtual charter school, the district of residence must provide the student with access to the district’s testing facilities;
• 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;
• 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;
• Establishes the Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Pilot Program in the Department of Education for a period of three school years to assist selected school districts in implementing comprehensive music education programs for students in kindergarten through grade 2;
• Codifies the December 31, 2017, deadline by which the Florida Polytechnic University must meet the criteria established in law relating to accreditation, development of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs, and operational framework;
• Creates the “Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Education Act” to specify financial literacy standards and instruction for students entering grade 9 in the 2017-2018 school year and 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; and
• *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: HB 833 was substituted for the Senate companion bill – SB 1468 – on 2^nd Reading and was also amended. If passed today, it will need to return to the House for consideration of the amended version.]

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: HB 293 was substituted for the Senate companion bill — SB 360 – on 2^nd Reading.]

Bills on 2^nd Reading
SB 1314 – Educational Options by Grimsley
The bill revises the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship Program to:

• Require the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) to provide a copy to the Scholarship-Funding Organization (SFO) of its letter denying an application for a tax credit and approving or denying any of the following transactions:
  • An application for a carryforward tax credit.
  • The conveyance, transfer, or assignment of a tax credit.
  • The rescindment of a tax credits.
  • Acknowledgement of tax credits.
• Allow a dependent child of a parent or guardian who is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces to apply for the FTC at any time.
• Specify that a parent must approve any payment made by funds transfer.
• Change the deadline from September 15 to August 15 for a private school participating in the FTC to submit its report to the SFO on the results of its agreed-upon procedures.
• Provide that the Commissioner has the discretion to determine that a private school that is unable to meet the program requirements or has consecutive years of material exceptions listed in its agreed-upon procedures report is ineligible to participate in the FTC program.
• Authorize the Learning System Institute at the Florida State University to be compensated for additional research through the project grant award issued by the DOE.
• Increases (from the current 82%) the FTC scholarship award amount to a percentage of the unweighted FTE funding amount for that state fiscal year and thereafter as follows:
  • 88% for a student in kindergarten through grade 5.
  • 92% for a student enrolled in grades 7-8.
  • 96% for a student enrolled in grades 9-12.
• Raise the transportation scholarship award for a student who chooses a public school outside of his or her district from $500 to $750.
• Provide that an SFO can make payments by fund transfer and specifies that a student’s scholarship award may not be reduced for debit card or electronic payment fees.
• Revise provisions relating to home education programs to provide:
• A school district is prohibited from requiring certain information from a home education program parent unless the student chooses to participate in a school district program or service;
• A school district is prohibited from taking certain actions against a home education program student’s parent unless such action is required for a school district program or service;
• A district superintendent is prohibited from requiring certain evidence relating to a child’s age from children enrolled in specified private, religious, tutoring, and home education programs.

[NOTE: The House companion bill – HB 15 – is on 3rd Reading in the Senate (see above).  It already includes most of the provisions of this bill so there is little incentive to move this bill forward..]

SB 1582 – Workers’ Compensation Insurance by Bradley
The bill amends several provisions relating to Florida’s workers’ compensation and the Insurance Code. The bill:

• Codifies Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg, 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 an appropriation of $823,118 to the OIR and $24,720 to the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims to cover the costs associated with these changes.  

[NOTE: The House companion bill – HB 7085 – is comparable, has passed the House, and is available for consideration in the Senate.]

The House will be in Session (1:00 pm – completion; House Chamber)
[NOTE: In accordance with House Rules, at this point in the Legislative Session, the House may consider only: Returning Messages from the Senate, Conference Reports, and Concurrent Resolutions. Therefore, although House bills are listed on 2^nd and 3^rd Reading, it is unlikely that they will be considered or moved forward. However, there are a number of bills under consideration in the Senate and several will be returned to the House in Messages.]

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