| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to expenditures for classroom instruction; |
| 3 | creating s. 1010.2155, F.S.; providing minimum |
| 4 | requirements for expenditures for classroom instruction at |
| 5 | the school district and school levels; specifying |
| 6 | requirements for uniform calculation of district operating |
| 7 | expenditures that support classroom instruction; requiring |
| 8 | annual reporting of expenditures; requiring the Department |
| 9 | of Education and district school boards to analyze |
| 10 | expenditures of certain school districts and schools; |
| 11 | providing for technical assistance in budget preparation |
| 12 | and analysis; requiring explanation of financial and |
| 13 | performance status of school districts and schools under |
| 14 | certain circumstances; authorizing rulemaking and |
| 15 | enforcement by the State Board of Education; providing an |
| 16 | effective date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Section 1. Section 1010.2155, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 21 | to read: |
| 22 | 1010.2155 Expenditures for classroom instruction.- |
| 23 | (1) School districts shall spend a minimum of 70 percent |
| 24 | of district operating funds on classroom instruction, and school |
| 25 | administrators shall spend a minimum of 70 percent of each |
| 26 | school's budget on classroom instruction. |
| 27 | (2) Each school district shall calculate annually the |
| 28 | percentage of state-funded operating expenditures that support |
| 29 | classroom instruction. |
| 30 | (a) The numerator for this calculation shall be the sum of |
| 31 | school district operating expenditures related to: |
| 32 | 1. Salaries and benefits for instructional personnel, |
| 33 | instructional specialists, and instructional support personnel, |
| 34 | as defined in s. 1010.215; |
| 35 | 2. Instructional materials and instructional supplies; |
| 36 | 3. Inservice teacher education; and |
| 37 | 4. Curriculum development. |
| 38 | (b) The denominator for this calculation shall be the sum |
| 39 | of state-funded school district operating expenditures, |
| 40 | excluding expenditures for student transportation and school |
| 41 | food services. |
| 42 | (3) The Department of Education shall develop a uniform |
| 43 | calculation for determining classroom expenditure percentages |
| 44 | and a common format for school district reporting. School |
| 45 | districts shall publish classroom expenditure information |
| 46 | annually in the school financial report required in s. 1010.215 |
| 47 | and the school report card required in s. 1008.34 and shall post |
| 48 | the information on the school district's Internet website. |
| 49 | Annual expenditure reports shall be published no later than |
| 50 | December 15 for the prior school year. |
| 51 | (4) The department shall analyze the expenditures of any |
| 52 | school district that: |
| 53 | (a) Fails to meet required classroom expenditure levels |
| 54 | and receives a district grade of "C" or lower; |
| 55 | (b) Meets the required classroom expenditure levels but |
| 56 | receives a district grade of "C" or lower; or |
| 57 | (c) Fails to meet the required classroom expenditure |
| 58 | levels but receives a district grade higher than "C." |
| 59 | (5) The district school board shall analyze the |
| 60 | expenditures of any school that: |
| 61 | (a) Fails to meet required classroom expenditure levels |
| 62 | and receives a school grade of "C" or lower; |
| 63 | (b) Meets the required classroom expenditure levels but |
| 64 | receives a school grade of "C" or lower; or |
| 65 | (c) Fails to meet the required classroom expenditure |
| 66 | levels but receives a school grade higher than "C." |
| 67 | (6) The department shall provide technical assistance in |
| 68 | budget preparation and analysis to school districts that fail to |
| 69 | meet the required classroom expenditures and may provide |
| 70 | technical assistance to any district upon request. The district |
| 71 | school superintendent of any district that fails to meet the |
| 72 | minimum classroom expenditures shall appear before the State |
| 73 | Board of Education to explain the financial and performance |
| 74 | status of the district. Such appearance shall occur no later |
| 75 | than 60 days after release of the district expenditure report. |
| 76 | The Commissioner of Education shall make written recommendations |
| 77 | to the district school superintendent and district school board |
| 78 | regarding expenditure revisions that may result in higher |
| 79 | student achievement. |
| 80 | (7) The district school board shall provide technical |
| 81 | assistance in budget preparation and analysis to principals of |
| 82 | schools that fail to meet the required classroom expenditures. |
| 83 | The principal of any school that fails to meet the minimum |
| 84 | classroom expenditures shall appear before the district school |
| 85 | board to explain the financial and performance status of the |
| 86 | school. Such appearance shall occur no later than 30 days after |
| 87 | release of the school expenditure report. |
| 88 | (8) The State Board of Education may adopt rules pursuant |
| 89 | to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section and may |
| 90 | enforce this section pursuant to s. 1008.32. |
| 91 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |