Florida Senate - 2017                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for HB 859
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì968978yÎ968978                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                Floor: 1/AE/2R         .         Floor: SENA1/C         
             05/01/2017 04:07 PM       .      05/04/2017 02:39 PM       
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       Senator Bean moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 1000.35, Florida Statutes, is created to
    6  read:
    7         1000.35 Reciprocity agreement.—
    8         (1) The purpose of this section is to authorize this state
    9  to participate in a reciprocity agreement with other states for
   10  the delivery of postsecondary distance education. Each member
   11  state or institution participating in a reciprocity agreement
   12  must accept each other’s authorization of accredited
   13  institutions to operate in their state to offer distance
   14  educational services beyond state boundaries.
   15         (2) For purposes of this section, the term:
   16         (a) “Commission” means the Commission for Independent
   17  Education.
   18         (b) “Complaint” means a formal assertion in writing that a
   19  person, institution, state, agency, or other entity operating
   20  under a reciprocity agreement has violated the terms of a
   21  reciprocity agreement or the laws, standards, or regulations
   22  incorporated therein.
   23         (c) “Council” means the Postsecondary Reciprocal Distance
   24  Education Coordinating Council, which serves as the single
   25  portal entity designated by the state to administer a
   26  reciprocity agreement and serves as the interstate point of
   27  contact for questions, complaints, and other matters related to
   28  a reciprocity agreement.
   29         (d) “Department” means the Department of Education.
   30         (e) “Florida institution” means a postsecondary educational
   31  institution approved by the council to participate in a
   32  reciprocity agreement.
   33         (f) “Institution” means a public or private postsecondary
   34  degree-granting college or university that is accredited by a
   35  federally recognized accrediting body and that awards, at a
   36  minimum, associate-level degrees requiring at least 2 years of
   37  full-time equivalent college work.
   38         (g) “Member state” means a state, territory, or district of
   39  the United States which has been approved to participate in a
   40  reciprocity agreement.
   41         (h) “Non-Florida institution” means an institution approved
   42  by a member state other than this state to participate in a
   43  reciprocity agreement.
   44         (i) “Reciprocity agreement” means an agreement that
   45  establishes reciprocity between a member state that accepts
   46  other member states’ authorization of accredited institutions to
   47  operate in their states to offer distance educational services
   48  beyond state boundaries pursuant to the terms and conditions set
   49  forth in the agreement.
   50         (j) “State board” means the State Board of Education.
   51         (3) The council is created within the department for the
   52  purpose of administering a reciprocity agreement. The council
   53  shall consist of the following persons or their designees: the
   54  Chancellor of the State University System, the Chancellor of the
   55  Florida College System, the Commissioner of Education, the
   56  executive director of the commission, and the president of the
   57  Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida. The commission
   58  shall provide administrative support for the council. The
   59  council shall:
   60         (a) Within 60 days after the effective date of this act,
   61  apply for this state to participate as a member state of a
   62  reciprocity agreement;
   63         (b) Serve as the single portal entity for administration of
   64  a reciprocity agreement;
   65         (c) Review and approve applications from institutions in
   66  this state to participate in a reciprocity agreement and
   67  establish an appeals process for institutions that are not
   68  approved to participate in a reciprocity agreement;
   69         (d) Ensure compliance by Florida institutions with the
   70  terms and provisions of a reciprocity agreement, including, but
   71  not limited to, accreditation and institutional quality,
   72  consumer information and protection, disclosure and reporting
   73  requirements, complaint mechanisms, and financial
   74  responsibility;
   75         (e) Comply with the terms and provisions of a reciprocity
   76  agreement relating to any member state, Florida institution, or
   77  non-Florida institution;
   78         (f) Comply with the reporting requirements in a reciprocity
   79  agreement and post all such reports on the council’s website;
   80         (g) Consistent with the complaint resolution processes in a
   81  reciprocity agreement, develop and administer a complaint
   82  resolution process to resolve complaints related to a
   83  reciprocity agreement after all complaint processes in place at
   84  a Florida institution have been exhausted by the complainant;
   85         (h) Delegate any responsibilities, obligations, or
   86  authorities necessary for the administration of this state’s
   87  participation in a reciprocity agreement to the commission’s
   88  staff; and
   89         (i) Recommend rules necessary to administer this section
   90  for adoption by the state board.
   91         (4) The Governor may request that the council convene for
   92  the purpose of reconsidering this state’s participation in a
   93  reciprocity agreement. The council shall provide a
   94  recommendation to the Governor within 14 days. Regardless of the
   95  council’s recommendation, or lack thereof, the Governor may
   96  withdraw this state from participation in a reciprocity
   97  agreement. Such withdrawal shall take effect 90 days after the
   98  Governor’s decision or by the end of the current academic term
   99  of each participating Florida institution, whichever occurs
  100  later. For purposes of this subsection, the term “current
  101  academic term” means the academic term in which a participating
  102  Florida institution has enrolled students at the time of the
  103  Governor’s decision to withdraw. If the Governor decides to
  104  withdraw this state from participation in a reciprocity
  105  agreement, each participating Florida institution must provide
  106  the end date of its current academic term to the council.
  107         (5) The council shall collect an annual fee from each
  108  Florida institution participating in a reciprocity agreement.
  109  The fee shall be based on the Florida institution’s total full
  110  time equivalent (FTE) enrollment as shown in the Integrated
  111  Postsecondary Education Data System and shall be assessed as
  112  follows:
  113         (a) Not to exceed $1,500 per year for a Florida institution
  114  participating in a reciprocity agreement with fewer than 2,500
  115  total FTE enrollment.
  116         (b) Not to exceed $3,000 per year for a Florida institution
  117  participating in a reciprocity agreement with at least 2,500 but
  118  not more than 9,999 total FTE enrollment.
  119         (c) Not to exceed $4,500 per year for a Florida institution
  120  participating in a reciprocity agreement with 10,000 or more
  121  total FTE enrollment.
  122  
  123  Within the limitations imposed under this subsection, the fee
  124  shall be set at an amount that will generate no more than the
  125  total revenue necessary for the council’s operation. The council
  126  shall lower the fee if the total revenue generated is higher
  127  than the total revenue necessary for the council’s operation. By
  128  February 15, 2018, and each February 15 thereafter, the council
  129  shall submit a report to the Governor, the President of the
  130  Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The
  131  report must show that the total revenue generated is not higher
  132  than the total revenue necessary for the council’s operation,
  133  must include a justification of staff needed for the council,
  134  and must include the number of Florida institutions
  135  participating in a reciprocity agreement. All fees collected
  136  pursuant to this subsection shall be submitted by the department
  137  to the Chief Financial Officer for deposit into a separate
  138  account within the Institutional Assessment Trust Fund. Any fee
  139  collected by the council pursuant to this subsection is
  140  nonrefundable unless paid in error.
  141         (6) The council may revoke a Florida institution’s approval
  142  to participate in a reciprocity agreement if the council
  143  determines that such institution is not in compliance with the
  144  terms and provisions of the reciprocity agreement.
  145         (7) A Florida institution participating in a reciprocity
  146  agreement may withdraw from participation in the reciprocity
  147  agreement by submitting notice of its intent to withdraw to the
  148  council, which shall become effective at the beginning of the
  149  next academic term after receipt of such notice.
  150         (8) Decisions of the council are not subject to chapter
  151  120.
  152         (9) This section does not supersede the requirements in
  153  chapter 1005 relating to postsecondary educational institutions
  154  under the jurisdiction of the commission.
  155         (10) The state board shall adopt rules to implement this
  156  section.
  157         Section 2. Paragraph (h) is added to subsection (1) of
  158  section 1005.06, Florida Statutes, to read:
  159         1005.06 Institutions not under the jurisdiction or purview
  160  of the commission.—
  161         (1) Except as otherwise provided in law, the following
  162  institutions are not under the jurisdiction or purview of the
  163  commission and are not required to obtain licensure:
  164         (h) Any non-Florida institution that has been approved by a
  165  member state to participate in a reciprocity agreement, as those
  166  terms are defined in s. 1000.35(2), if the degree programs that
  167  may be offered and the activities that may be conducted by such
  168  institution in this state are limited to the distance education
  169  degree programs and activities provided in and consistent with
  170  the terms and provisions of the reciprocity agreement.
  171         Section 3. Subsection (11) of section 1005.31, Florida
  172  Statutes, is amended to read:
  173         1005.31 Licensure of institutions.—
  174         (11) The commission shall establish minimum standards for
  175  the approval of agents. The commission may adopt rules to ensure
  176  that licensed agents meet these standards and uphold the intent
  177  of this chapter. An agent may not solicit prospective students
  178  in this state for enrollment in any independent postsecondary
  179  educational institution under the commission’s purview or in any
  180  out-of-state independent postsecondary educational institution
  181  unless the agent has received a license as prescribed by the
  182  commission or solicits for a postsecondary educational
  183  institution that is not under the jurisdiction of the commission
  184  pursuant to s. 1005.06(1)(h).
  185         Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 1010.83, Florida
  186  Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (d) is added to subsection
  187  (2) of that section, to read:
  188         1010.83 Institutional Assessment Trust Fund.—
  189         (1) Chapter 99-32, Laws of Florida, re-created the
  190  Institutional Assessment Trust Fund to be administered by the
  191  Department of Education pursuant to this section and rules of
  192  the State Board of Education. The trust fund shall consist of:
  193         (a) All fees and fines imposed upon nonpublic colleges and
  194  schools pursuant to chapter 1005 and this chapter, including all
  195  fees collected from nonpublic colleges and schools for
  196  participation in the Student Protection Fund pursuant to s.
  197  1005.37.
  198         (b) All fees imposed upon nonpublic colleges and schools
  199  for participation in the statewide course numbering system
  200  pursuant to s. 1007.24.
  201         (c) All fees collected from institutions for participation
  202  in a reciprocity agreement pursuant to s. 1000.35.
  203  
  204  The department shall maintain separate accounts for the
  205  operation of the Commission for Independent Education, the
  206  Student Protection Fund, a reciprocity agreement pursuant to s.
  207  1000.35, and the Department of Education all fees and fines
  208  imposed upon nonpublic colleges and schools pursuant to this
  209  chapter and chapter 1005, including all fees collected from
  210  nonpublic colleges and schools for participation in the Student
  211  Protection Fund and the statewide course numbering system. The
  212  department shall maintain separate accounts for the operation of
  213  the Commission for Independent Education; the Student Protection
  214  Fund; and the Department of Education.
  215         (2) Funds from the trust fund shall be used for purposes
  216  including, but not limited to, the following:
  217         (d) Expenses authorized by the Department of Education
  218  related to a reciprocity agreement.
  219         Section 5. For the 2017-2018 fiscal year, the sum of
  220  $225,534 in recurring funds is appropriated from the
  221  Institutional Assessment Trust Fund to the Department of
  222  Education and two full-time equivalent positions with associated
  223  salary rate of 110,000 are authorized for the purpose of
  224  implementing the requirements of this act.
  225         Section 6. The Division of Law Revision and Information is
  226  directed to replace the phrase “the effective date of this act”
  227  wherever it occurs in this act with the date this act becomes a
  228  law.
  229         Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
  230  
  231  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  232  And the title is amended as follows:
  233         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  234  and insert:
  235                        A bill to be entitled                      
  236         An act relating to postsecondary distance education;
  237         creating s. 1000.35, F.S.; providing a purpose;
  238         defining terms; establishing the Postsecondary
  239         Reciprocal Distance Education Coordinating Council
  240         within the Department of Education; requiring the
  241         Commission for Independent Education to provide
  242         administrative support for the council; providing
  243         membership and duties of the council; authorizing the
  244         Governor to request the council to convene for the
  245         purpose of reconsidering participation in a
  246         reciprocity agreement; requiring the council to
  247         provide recommendations to the Governor within a
  248         specified period after such request; authorizing the
  249         Governor to withdraw the state from participation in a
  250         reciprocity agreement; defining the term “current
  251         academic term”; requiring the council to collect
  252         annual fees from Florida institutions participating in
  253         a reciprocity agreement based on total full-time
  254         equivalent enrollment; requiring the council to submit
  255         an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature
  256         by a specified date; providing for deposit of such
  257         fees into a specified trust fund; specifying that such
  258         fees are nonrefundable unless paid in error;
  259         authorizing the council to revoke a Florida
  260         institution’s participation in a reciprocity agreement
  261         for noncompliance; authorizing a Florida institution
  262         to withdraw from participation in a reciprocity
  263         agreement after providing notice; exempting council
  264         decisions from the Administrative Procedure Act;
  265         providing that provisions relating to the jurisdiction
  266         of the commission are not superseded; requiring the
  267         State Board of Education to adopt rules; amending s.
  268         1005.06, F.S.; providing that the commission does not
  269         have jurisdiction over certain non-Florida
  270         institutions participating in a reciprocity agreement;
  271         amending s. 1005.31, F.S.; authorizing an agent to
  272         solicit prospective students for enrollment in certain
  273         postsecondary educational institutions; amending s.
  274         1010.83, F.S.; requiring that the Institutional
  275         Assessment Trust Fund administered by the department
  276         consist of certain fees and fines; requiring the
  277         department to maintain a separate account within such
  278         trust fund for the operation of a reciprocity
  279         agreement; authorizing the use of funds from such
  280         trust fund for certain expenses related to
  281         administration of a reciprocity agreement; providing
  282         an appropriation; providing a directive to the
  283         Division of Law Revision and Information; providing an
  284         effective date.