Bill Amendment: FL S0986 | 2023 | Regular Session

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: Education

Status: 2023-05-01 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 443 (Ch. 2023-102) [S0986 Detail]

Download: Florida-2023-S0986-Senate_Committee_Amendment_299576.html

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       Florida Senate - 2023                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 986
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì299576_Î299576                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Education Pre-K -12 (Burgess) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (10), paragraph (a)
    6  of subsection (20), and subsection (28) of section 1002.33,
    7  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
    8         1002.33 Charter schools.—
    9         (10) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—
   10         (d) A charter school may give enrollment preference to the
   11  following student populations:
   12         1. Students who are siblings of a student enrolled in the
   13  charter school.
   14         2. Students who are the children of a member of the
   15  governing board of the charter school.
   16         3. Students who are the children of an employee of the
   17  charter school.
   18         4. Students who are the children of:
   19         a. An employee of the business partner of a charter school
   20  in-the-workplace established under paragraph (15)(b) or a
   21  resident of the municipality in which such charter school is
   22  located; or
   23         b. A resident or employee of a municipality that operates a
   24  charter school-in-a-municipality pursuant to paragraph (15)(c)
   25  or allows a charter school to use a school facility or portion
   26  of land provided by the municipality for the operation of the
   27  charter school.
   28         5. Students who have successfully completed, during the
   29  previous year, a voluntary prekindergarten education program
   30  under ss. 1002.51-1002.79 provided by the charter school, the
   31  charter school’s governing board, or a voluntary prekindergarten
   32  provider that has a written agreement with the governing board.
   33         6. Students who are the children of an active duty member
   34  of any branch of the United States Armed Forces.
   35         7. Students who attended or are assigned to failing schools
   36  pursuant to s. 1002.38(2).
   37         8. Students who are the children of a school safety officer
   38  or officers assigned to the charter school.
   39         (20) SERVICES.—
   40         (a)1. A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and
   41  educational services to charter schools. These services shall
   42  include contract management services; full-time equivalent and
   43  data reporting services; exceptional student education
   44  administration services; services related to eligibility and
   45  reporting duties required to ensure that school lunch services
   46  under the National School Lunch Program, consistent with the
   47  needs of the charter school, are provided by the sponsor at the
   48  request of the charter school, that any funds due to the charter
   49  school under the National School Lunch Program be paid to the
   50  charter school as soon as the charter school begins serving food
   51  under the National School Lunch Program, and that the charter
   52  school is paid at the same time and in the same manner under the
   53  National School Lunch Program as other public schools serviced
   54  by the sponsor or the school district; test administration
   55  services, including payment of the costs of state-required or
   56  district-required student assessments; processing of teacher
   57  certificate data services; and information services, including
   58  equal access to the sponsor’s student information systems that
   59  are used by public schools in the district in which the charter
   60  school is located or by schools in the sponsor’s portfolio of
   61  charter schools if the sponsor is not a school district. Student
   62  performance data for each student in a charter school,
   63  including, but not limited to, FCAT scores, standardized test
   64  scores, previous public school student report cards, and student
   65  performance measures, shall be provided by the sponsor to a
   66  charter school in the same manner provided to other public
   67  schools in the district or by schools in the sponsor’s portfolio
   68  of charter schools if the sponsor is not a school district.
   69         2. A sponsor shall provide training on systems the sponsor
   70  will require the charter school to use.
   71         3. A sponsor may withhold an administrative fee for the
   72  provision of such services which shall be a percentage of the
   73  available funds defined in paragraph (17)(b) calculated based on
   74  weighted full-time equivalent students. If the charter school
   75  serves 75 percent or more exceptional education students as
   76  defined in s. 1003.01(3), the percentage shall be calculated
   77  based on unweighted full-time equivalent students. The
   78  administrative fee shall be calculated as follows:
   79         a. Up to 5 percent for:
   80         (I) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a
   81  charter school as defined in this section.
   82         (II) Enrollment of up to and including 500 students within
   83  a charter school system which meets all of the following:
   84         (A) Includes conversion charter schools and nonconversion
   85  charter schools.
   86         (B) Has all of its schools located in the same county.
   87         (C) Has a total enrollment exceeding the total enrollment
   88  of at least one school district in this state.
   89         (D) Has the same governing board for all of its schools.
   90         (E) Does not contract with a for-profit service provider
   91  for management of school operations.
   92         (III) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a
   93  virtual charter school.
   94         b. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including
   95  250 students in a high-performing charter school as defined in
   96  s. 1002.331.
   97         c. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including
   98  250 students in an exceptional student education center that
   99  meets the requirements of the rules adopted by the State Board
  100  of Education pursuant to s. 1008.3415(3).
  101         4.3. A sponsor may not charge charter schools any
  102  additional fees or surcharges for administrative and educational
  103  services in addition to the maximum percentage of administrative
  104  fees withheld pursuant to this paragraph. A sponsor may not
  105  charge or withhold any administrative fee against a charter
  106  school for any funds specifically allocated by the Legislature
  107  for teacher compensation.
  108         5.4. A sponsor shall provide to the department by September
  109  15 of each year the total amount of funding withheld from
  110  charter schools pursuant to this subsection for the prior fiscal
  111  year. The department must include the information in the report
  112  required under sub-sub-subparagraph (5)(b)1.k.(III).
  113         6. A sponsor shall annually provide a report to its charter
  114  schools on what services are being rendered from the sponsor’s
  115  portion of the administrative fee. The report must include the
  116  listed services and be submitted to the department by September
  117  15 of each year.
  118         (28) RULEMAKING.—The Department of Education, after
  119  consultation with sponsors and charter school directors, shall
  120  recommend that the State Board of Education adopt rules to
  121  implement specific subsections of this section. Such rules shall
  122  require minimum paperwork and shall not limit charter school
  123  flexibility authorized by statute. The State Board of Education
  124  shall adopt rules, pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, to
  125  implement a standard charter application form, standard
  126  application form for the replication of charter schools in a
  127  high-performing charter school system, standard evaluation
  128  instrument, standard monitoring tool, and standard charter and
  129  charter renewal contracts in accordance with this section.
  130         Section 2. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 1012.71,
  131  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  132         1012.71 The Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance
  133  Program.—
  134         (1) For purposes of the Florida Teachers Classroom Supply
  135  Assistance Program, the term “classroom teacher” means a
  136  certified teacher employed by a public school district or a
  137  public charter school in that district on or before September 1
  138  of each year whose full-time or job-share responsibility is the
  139  classroom instruction of students in prekindergarten through
  140  grade 12, including full-time media specialists and certified
  141  school counselors serving students in prekindergarten through
  142  grade 12, who are funded through the Florida Education Finance
  143  Program. A “job-share” classroom teacher is one of two teachers
  144  whose combined full-time equivalent employment for the same
  145  teaching assignment equals one full-time classroom teacher. The
  146  term “classroom teacher” may also include an administrator or a
  147  substitute teacher who holds a valid teaching certificate and
  148  who is filling a vacancy in an identified teaching position on
  149  or before September 1 of each year.
  150         (3) From the funds allocated to each school district and
  151  any funds received from local contributions for the Florida
  152  Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program, the district
  153  school board shall calculate an identical amount for each
  154  classroom teacher who is estimated to be employed by the school
  155  district or a charter school in the district on September 1 of
  156  each year, which is that teacher’s proportionate share of the
  157  total amount allocated to the district from state funds and
  158  funds received from local contributions. A job-share classroom
  159  teacher may receive a prorated share of the amount provided to a
  160  full-time classroom teacher. The school district shall calculate
  161  a prorated share of the funds for a classroom teacher who
  162  teaches less than full time. For a classroom teacher determined
  163  eligible on July 1, the district school board and each charter
  164  school board may provide the teacher with his or her total
  165  proportionate share by August 1 based on the estimate of the
  166  number of teachers who will be employed on September 1. For a
  167  classroom teacher determined eligible after July 1, the district
  168  school board and each charter school board shall provide the
  169  teacher with his or her total proportionate share by September
  170  30. The proportionate share may be provided by any means
  171  determined appropriate by the district school board or charter
  172  school board, including, but not limited to, direct deposit,
  173  check, debit card, or purchasing card. If a debit card is used,
  174  an identifier must be placed on the front of the debit card
  175  which clearly indicates that the card has been issued for the
  176  Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program.
  177  Expenditures under the program are not subject to state or local
  178  competitive bidding requirements. Funds received by a classroom
  179  teacher do not affect wages, hours, or terms and conditions of
  180  employment and, therefore, are not subject to collective
  181  bargaining. Any classroom teacher may decline receipt of or
  182  return the funds without explanation or cause.
  183         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.
  184  
  185  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  186  And the title is amended as follows:
  187         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  188  and insert:
  189                        A bill to be entitled                      
  190         An act relating to education; amending s. 1002.33,
  191         F.S.; revising which students may be eligible for an
  192         enrollment preference for charter schools; specifying
  193         training and reporting requirements for charter school
  194         sponsors; requiring the State Board of Education to
  195         adopt rules to implement a standard monitoring tool;
  196         amending s. 1012.71, F.S.; revising the definition of
  197         the term “classroom teacher”; revising how a district
  198         school board calculates certain teachers’ shares of
  199         funds from the Florida Teachers Classroom Supply
  200         Assistance Program; providing an effective date.