Bill Text: FL S1740 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Scholarship Programs
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Education, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/SB 7070 (Ch. 2019-23) [S1740 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S1740-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2019 SB 1740 By Senator Farmer 34-00657-19 20191740__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to scholarship programs; repealing s. 3 1002.395, F.S., relating to the Florida Tax Credit 4 Scholarship Program; repealing s. 1002.40, F.S., 5 relating to the Hope Scholarship Program; repealing s. 6 1002.411, F.S., relating to reading scholarship 7 accounts; repealing s. 212.099, F.S., relating to the 8 Florida Sales Tax Credit Scholarship Program; 9 repealing ss. 211.0251, 212.1831, 220.1875, 561.1211, 10 and 624.51055, F.S., relating to credit for 11 contributions to eligible nonprofit scholarship 12 funding organizations; amending ss. 11.45, 213.053, 13 220.02, 220.13, 220.186, 1002.20, 1002.23, 1002.385, 14 1002.39, and 1002.421, F.S.; conforming provisions to 15 changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 16 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18 19 Section 1. Section 1002.395, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 20 Section 2. Section 1002.40, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 21 Section 3. Section 1002.411, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 22 Section 4. Section 212.099, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 23 Section 5. Section 211.0251, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 24 Section 6. Section 212.1831, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 25 Section 7. Section 220.1875, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 26 Section 8. Section 561.1211, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 27 Section 9. Section 624.51055, Florida Statutes, is 28 repealed. 29 Section 10. Paragraph (k) of subsection (2) and subsection 30 (8) of section 11.45, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 31 11.45 Definitions; duties; authorities; reports; rules.— 32 (2) DUTIES.—The Auditor General shall: 33(k)Annually conduct operational audits of the accounts and34records of eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations35receiving eligible contributions under s. 1002.395, including36any contracts for services with related entities, to determine37compliance with the provisions of that section. Such audits38shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the39eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization’s compliance40with s. 1002.395(6)(j). The Auditor General shall provide its41report on the results of the audits to the Governor, the42President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of43Representatives, the Chief Financial Officer, and the44Legislative Auditing Committee, within 30 days of completion of45the audit.46 47 The Auditor General shall perform his or her duties 48 independently but under the general policies established by the 49 Legislative Auditing Committee. This subsection does not limit 50 the Auditor General’s discretionary authority to conduct other 51 audits or engagements of governmental entities as authorized in 52 subsection (3). 53 (8) RULES OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL.—The Auditor General, in 54 consultation with the Board of Accountancy, shall adopt rules 55 for the form and conduct of all financial audits performed by 56 independent certified public accountants pursuant to ss. 57 215.981, 218.39, 1001.453,1002.395,1004.28, and 1004.70. The 58 rules for audits of local governmental entities, charter 59 schools, charter technical career centers, and district school 60 boards must include, but are not limited to, requirements for 61 the reporting of information necessary to carry out the purposes 62 of the Local Governmental Entity, Charter School, Charter 63 Technical Career Center, and District School Board Financial 64 Emergencies Act as stated in s. 218.501. 65 Section 11. Paragraph (s) of subsection (8) of section 66 213.053, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 67 213.053 Confidentiality and information sharing.— 68 (8) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, 69 the department may provide: 70(s)Information relative to ss. 211.0251, 212.1831,71220.1875, 561.1211, 624.51055, and 1002.395 to the Department of72Education and the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in73the conduct of official business.74 75 Disclosure of information under this subsection shall be 76 pursuant to a written agreement between the executive director 77 and the agency. Such agencies, governmental or nongovernmental, 78 shall be bound by the same requirements of confidentiality as 79 the Department of Revenue. Breach of confidentiality is a 80 misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided by s. 81 775.082 or s. 775.083. 82 Section 12. Subsection (8) of section 220.02, Florida 83 Statutes, is amended to read: 84 220.02 Legislative intent.— 85 (8) It is the intent of the Legislature that credits 86 against either the corporate income tax or the franchise tax be 87 applied in the following order: those enumerated in s. 631.828, 88 those enumerated in s. 220.191, those enumerated in s. 220.181, 89 those enumerated in s. 220.183, those enumerated in s. 220.182, 90 those enumerated in s. 220.1895, those enumerated in s. 220.195, 91 those enumerated in s. 220.184, those enumerated in s. 220.186, 92 those enumerated in s. 220.1845, those enumerated in s. 220.19, 93 those enumerated in s. 220.185,those enumerated in s. 220.1875,94 those enumerated in s. 220.192, those enumerated in s. 220.193, 95 those enumerated in s. 288.9916, those enumerated in s. 96 220.1899, those enumerated in s. 220.194, and those enumerated 97 in s. 220.196. 98 Section 13. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 99 220.13, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 100 220.13 “Adjusted federal income” defined.— 101 (1) The term “adjusted federal income” means an amount 102 equal to the taxpayer’s taxable income as defined in subsection 103 (2), or such taxable income of more than one taxpayer as 104 provided in s. 220.131, for the taxable year, adjusted as 105 follows: 106 (a) Additions.—There shall be added to such taxable income: 107 1.a.The amount of any tax upon or measured by income, 108 excluding taxes based on gross receipts or revenues, paid or 109 accrued as a liability to the District of Columbia or any state 110 of the United States which is deductible from gross income in 111 the computation of taxable income for the taxable year. 112b.Notwithstanding sub-subparagraph a., if a credit taken113under s. 220.1875 is added to taxable income in a previous114taxable year under subparagraph 11. and is taken as a deduction115for federal tax purposes in the current taxable year, the amount116of the deduction allowed shall not be added to taxable income in117the current year. The exception in this sub-subparagraph is118intended to ensure that the credit under s. 220.1875 is added in119the applicable taxable year and does not result in a duplicate120addition in a subsequent year.121 2. The amount of interest which is excluded from taxable 122 income under s. 103(a) of the Internal Revenue Code or any other 123 federal law, less the associated expenses disallowed in the 124 computation of taxable income under s. 265 of the Internal 125 Revenue Code or any other law, excluding 60 percent of any 126 amounts included in alternative minimum taxable income, as 127 defined in s. 55(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, if the 128 taxpayer pays tax under s. 220.11(3). 129 3. In the case of a regulated investment company or real 130 estate investment trust, an amount equal to the excess of the 131 net long-term capital gain for the taxable year over the amount 132 of the capital gain dividends attributable to the taxable year. 133 4. That portion of the wages or salaries paid or incurred 134 for the taxable year which is equal to the amount of the credit 135 allowable for the taxable year under s. 220.181. This 136 subparagraph shall expire on the date specified in s. 290.016 137 for the expiration of the Florida Enterprise Zone Act. 138 5. That portion of the ad valorem school taxes paid or 139 incurred for the taxable year which is equal to the amount of 140 the credit allowable for the taxable year under s. 220.182. This 141 subparagraph shall expire on the date specified in s. 290.016 142 for the expiration of the Florida Enterprise Zone Act. 143 6. The amount taken as a credit under s. 220.195 which is 144 deductible from gross income in the computation of taxable 145 income for the taxable year. 146 7. That portion of assessments to fund a guaranty 147 association incurred for the taxable year which is equal to the 148 amount of the credit allowable for the taxable year. 149 8. In the case of a nonprofit corporation thatwhichholds 150 a pari-mutuel permit and thatwhichis exempt from federal 151 income tax as a farmers’ cooperative, an amount equal to the 152 excess of the gross income attributable to the pari-mutuel 153 operations over the attributable expenses for the taxable year. 154 9. The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year under 155 s. 220.1895. 156 10. Up to 9ninepercent of the eligible basis of any 157 designated project which is equal to the credit allowable for 158 the taxable year under s. 220.185. 15911.The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year under160s. 220.1875. The addition in this subparagraph is intended to161ensure that the same amount is not allowed for the tax purposes162of this state as both a deduction from income and a credit163against the tax. This addition is not intended to result in164adding the same expense back to income more than once.165 11.12.The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year 166 under s. 220.192. 167 12.13.The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year 168 under s. 220.193. 169 13.14.Any portion of a qualified investment, as defined in 170 s. 288.9913, which is claimed as a deduction by the taxpayer and 171 taken as a credit against income tax pursuant to s. 288.9916. 172 14.15.The costs to acquire a tax credit pursuant to s. 173 288.1254(5) that are deducted from or otherwise reduce federal 174 taxable income for the taxable year. 175 15.16.The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year 176 pursuant to s. 220.194. 177 16.17.The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year 178 under s. 220.196. The addition in this subparagraph is intended 179 to ensure that the same amount is not allowed for the tax 180 purposes of this state as both a deduction from income and a 181 credit against the tax. The addition is not intended to result 182 in adding the same expense back to income more than once. 183 Section 14. Subsection (2) of section 220.186, Florida 184 Statutes, is amended to read: 185 220.186 Credit for Florida alternative minimum tax.— 186 (2) The credit pursuant to this section shall be the amount 187 of the excess, if any, of the tax paid based upon taxable income 188 determined pursuant to s. 220.13(2)(k) over the amount of tax 189 which would have been due based upon taxable income without 190 application of s. 220.13(2)(k), before application of this191credit without application of any credit under s. 220.1875. 192 Section 15. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section 193 1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 194 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public 195 school students must receive accurate and timely information 196 regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed 197 of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12 198 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory 199 rights including, but not limited to, the following: 200 (6) EDUCATIONAL CHOICE.— 201 (b) Private educational choices.—Parents of public school 202 students may seek private educational choice options under 203 certain programs. 204 1. Under the McKay Scholarships for Students with 205 Disabilities Program, the parent of a public school student with 206 a disability may request and receive a McKay Scholarship for the 207 student to attend a private school in accordance with s. 208 1002.39. 2092.Under the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, the210parent of a student who qualifies for free or reduced-price211school lunch or who is currently placed, or during the previous212state fiscal year was placed, in foster care as defined in s.21339.01 may seek a scholarship from an eligible nonprofit214scholarship-funding organization in accordance with s. 1002.395.215 2.3.Under the Florida Personal Learning Scholarship 216 Accounts Program, the parent of a student with a qualifying 217 disability may apply for a personal learning scholarship to be 218 used for individual educational needs in accordance with s. 219 1002.385. 220 Section 16. Subsection (2) of section 1002.23, Florida 221 Statutes, is amended to read: 222 1002.23 Family and School Partnership for Student 223 Achievement Act.— 224 (2) To facilitate meaningful parent and family involvement, 225 the Department of Education shall develop guidelines for a 226 parent guide to successful student achievement which describes 227 what parents need to know about their child’s educational 228 progress and how they can help their child to succeed in school. 229 The guidelines shall include, but need not be limited to: 230 (a) Parental information regarding: 231 1. Requirements for their child to be promoted to the next 232 grade, as provided for in s. 1008.25; 233 2. Progress of their child toward achieving state and 234 district expectations for academic proficiency; 235 3. Assessment results, including report cards and progress 236 reports; 237 4. Qualifications of their child’s teachers; and 238 5. School entry requirements, including required 239 immunizations and the recommended immunization schedule; 240 (b) Services available for parents and their children, such 241 as family literacy services; mentoring, tutorial, and other 242 academic reinforcement programs; college planning, academic 243 advisement, and student counseling services; and after-school 244 programs; 245 (c) Opportunities for parental participation, such as 246 parenting classes, adult education, school advisory councils, 247 and school volunteer programs; 248 (d) Opportunities for parents to learn about rigorous 249 academic programs that may be available for their child, such as 250 honors programs, dual enrollment, advanced placement, 251 International Baccalaureate, International General Certificate 252 of Secondary Education (pre-AICE), Advanced International 253 Certificate of Education, Florida Virtual High School courses, 254 and accelerated access to postsecondary education; 255 (e) Educational choices, as provided for in s. 1002.20(6),256and Florida tax credit scholarships, as provided for in s.2571002.395; 258 (f) Classroom and test accommodations available for 259 students with disabilities; 260 (g) School board rules, policies, and procedures for 261 student promotion and retention, academic standards, student 262 assessment, courses of study, instructional materials, and 263 contact information for school and district offices; and 264 (h) Resources for information on student health and other 265 available resources for parents. 266 Section 17. Paragraphs (e) and (g) of subsection (2), 267 paragraph (b) of subsection (3), paragraph (c) of subsection 268 (4), paragraph (c) of subsection (9), and paragraph (g) of 269 subsection (13) of section 1002.385, Florida Statutes, are 270 amended to read: 271 1002.385 The Gardiner Scholarship.— 272 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 273(e)“Eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization”274or “organization” means a nonprofit scholarship-funding275organization that is approved pursuant to s. 1002.395(15).276 (f)(g)“Eligible private school” means a private school, as 277 defined in s. 1002.01, which is located in this state, which 278 offers an education to students in any grade from kindergarten 279 to grade 12, and which meets the requirements of: 280 1. Sections 1002.42 and 1002.421; and 281 2. A scholarship program under s. 1002.39or s. 1002.395,282as applicable,if the private school participates in a 283 scholarship program under s. 1002.39or s. 1002.395. 284 (3) PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.—A parent of a student with a 285 disability may request and receive from the state a Gardiner 286 Scholarship for the purposes specified in subsection (5) if: 287 (b) The parent has applied to an eligible nonprofit 288 scholarship-funding organization to participate in the program 289 by February 1 before the school year in which the student will 290 participate or an alternative date as set by the organization 291 for any vacant, funded slots. The request must be communicated 292 directly to the organization in a manner that creates a written 293 or electronic record of the request and the date of receipt of 294 the request. In addition to the application and any 295 documentation required by the organization or by State Board of 296 Education rule, the parent may submit a final verification 297 document pursuant to this paragraph to receive scholarship funds 298 in the student’s account before the department confirms program 299 eligibility pursuant to paragraph (9)(e). The final verification 300 document must consist of one of the following items applicable 301 to the student: 302 1. A completed withdrawal form from the school district, if 303 the student was enrolled in a public school before the 304 determination of program eligibility. 305 2. A letter of admission or enrollment from an eligible 306 private school for the fiscal year in which the student wishes 307 to participate and, if applicable, a copy of the notification 308 from the private school that the student has withdrawn from the 309 John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities 310 Programor the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. 311 3. A copy of the notice of the parent’s intent to establish 312 and maintain a home education program required by s. 313 1002.41(1)(a) or the annual educational evaluation of the 314 student in a home education program, which is required by s. 315 1002.41(2). 316 (4) PROGRAM PROHIBITIONS.—A student is not eligible for the 317 program if he or she is: 318 (c) Receiving a scholarship pursuant tothe Florida Tax319Credit Scholarship Program under s. 1002.395 orthe John M. 320 McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program under 321 s. 1002.39. 322 (9) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OBLIGATIONS.—The department 323 shall: 324 (c) Investigate any written complaint of a violation of 325 this section by a parent, a student, a private school, a public 326 school or a school district, an organization, a provider, or 327 another appropriate partyin accordance with the process328established by s. 1002.421. 329 (13) FUNDING AND PAYMENT.— 330 (g) In addition to funds appropriated for scholarship 331 awards and subject to a separate, specific legislative 332 appropriation, an organization may receive an amount equivalent 333 to not more than 3 percent of the amount of each scholarship 334 award from state funds for administrative expenses if the 335 organization has operated as a nonprofit entity for at least the 336 preceding 3 fiscal years and did not have any findings of 337 material weakness or material noncompliance in its most recent 338 auditunder s. 1002.395(6)(m). Such administrative expenses must 339 be reasonable and necessary for the organization’s management 340 and distribution of scholarships under this section. Funds 341 authorized under this paragraph may not be used for lobbying or 342 political activity or expenses related to lobbying or political 343 activity. An organization may not charge an application fee for 344 a scholarship. Administrative expenses may not be deducted from 345 funds appropriated for scholarship awards. 346 Section 18. Subsection (3) of section 1002.39, Florida 347 Statutes, is amended to read: 348 1002.39 The John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with 349 Disabilities Program.—There is established a program that is 350 separate and distinct from the Opportunity Scholarship Program 351 and is named the John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with 352 Disabilities Program. 353 (3) JOHN M. MCKAY SCHOLARSHIP PROHIBITIONS.—A student is 354 not eligible for a John M. McKay Scholarship: 355 (a) While he or she is enrolled in a school operating for 356 the purpose of providing educational services to youth in 357 Department of Juvenile Justice commitment programs; 358(b)While he or she is receiving a Florida tax credit359scholarship under s. 1002.395;360 (b)(c)While he or she is receiving an educational 361 scholarship pursuant to this chapter; 362 (c)(d)While he or she is participating in a home education 363 program as defined in s. 1002.01(1); 364 (d)(e)While he or she is participating in a private 365 tutoring program pursuant to s. 1002.43; 366 (e)(f)While he or she is participating in a virtual 367 school, correspondence school, or distance learning program that 368 receives state funding pursuant to the student’s participation 369 unless the participation is limited to no more than two courses 370 per school year; 371 (f)(g)While he or she is enrolled in the Florida School 372 for the Deaf and the Blind; 373 (g)(h)While he or she is not having regular and direct 374 contact with his or her private school teachers at the school’s 375 physical location unless he or she is enrolled in the private 376 school’s transition-to-work program pursuant to subsection (9); 377 or 378 (h)(i)If he or she has been issued a temporary 504 379 accommodation plan under s. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 380 1973 which is valid for 6 months or less. 381 Section 19. Paragraph (q) of subsection (1) of section 382 1002.421, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 383 1002.421 State school choice scholarship program 384 accountability and oversight.— 385 (1) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—A private 386 school participating in an educational scholarship program 387 established pursuant to this chapter must be a private school as 388 defined in s. 1002.01(2) in this state, be registered, and be in 389 compliance with all requirements of this section in addition to 390 private school requirements outlined in s. 1002.42, specific 391 requirements identified within respective scholarship program 392 laws, and other provisions of Florida law that apply to private 393 schools, and must: 394(q) Provide a report from an independent certified public395accountant who performs the agreed-upon procedures developed396pursuant to s. 1002.395(6)(o) if the private school receives397more than $250,000 in funds from scholarships awarded under this398chapter in a state fiscal year. A private school subject to this399subsection must annually submit the report by September 15 to400the scholarship-funding organization that awarded the majority401of the school’s scholarship funds. However, a school that402receives more than $250,000 in scholarship funds only through403the John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities404Program pursuant to s. 1002.39 must submit the annual report by405September 15 to the department. The agreed-upon procedures must406be conducted in accordance with attestation standards407established by the American Institute of Certified Public408Accountants.409 410 The department shall suspend the payment of funds to a private 411 school that knowingly fails to comply with this subsection, and 412 shall prohibit the school from enrolling new scholarship 413 students, for 1 fiscal year and until the school complies. If a 414 private school fails to meet the requirements of this subsection 415or has consecutive years of material exceptions listed in the416report required under paragraph (q), the commissioner may 417 determine that the private school is ineligible to participate 418 in a scholarship program. 419 Section 20. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.