Florida Senate - 2018                                    SB 1690
       
       
        
       By Senator Farmer
       
       
       
       
       
       34-01438-18                                           20181690__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to charter school employees; amending
    3         s. 1002.33, F.S.; requiring each charter school
    4         principal, chief financial officer, or their
    5         equivalent, to meet certain certification
    6         requirements; amending s. 1012.32, F.S.; conforming a
    7         cross-reference; providing an effective date.
    8          
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Present paragraphs (g), (h), and (i) of
   12  subsection (12) of section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are
   13  redesignated as paragraphs (h), (i), and (j), respectively, and
   14  a new paragraph (g) is added to that subsection, to read:
   15         1002.33 Charter schools.—
   16         (12) EMPLOYEES OF CHARTER SCHOOLS.—
   17         (g) Each charter school principal, chief financial officer,
   18  or equivalent position must hold a valid certification issued by
   19  a third-party credentialing organization that is recognized
   20  under s. 402.40, at least 30 days before the school opens or
   21  before his or her first date of employment, whichever comes
   22  first. The credentialing organization must certify the
   23  individual’s core competence in the administration of a charter
   24  school, including, but not limited to, developing and adjusting
   25  business plans; accurate financial planning and good business
   26  practices, including accounting for costs and income; state and
   27  federal grant and student performance accountability
   28  requirements; identification of, and application for, state and
   29  federal funding sources; governance, including government in the
   30  sunshine, conflicts of interest, ethics, and financial
   31  responsibility. An individual certified under this paragraph
   32  meets the training requirements under s. 1002.33(6)(f),
   33  (9)(j)4., and (12)(g)3.
   34         Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
   35  1012.32, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   36         1012.32 Qualifications of personnel.—
   37         (2)
   38         (b) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are
   39  hired or contracted to fill positions in any charter school and
   40  members of the governing board of any charter school, in
   41  compliance with s. 1002.33(12)(h) s. 1002.33(12)(g), must, upon
   42  employment, engagement of services, or appointment, undergo
   43  background screening as required under s. 1012.465 or s.
   44  1012.56, whichever is applicable, by filing with the district
   45  school board for the school district in which the charter school
   46  is located a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized
   47  law enforcement agency or an employee of the school or school
   48  district who is trained to take fingerprints.
   49  
   50  Fingerprints shall be submitted to the Department of Law
   51  Enforcement for statewide criminal and juvenile records checks
   52  and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal criminal
   53  records checks. A person subject to this subsection who is found
   54  ineligible for employment under s. 1012.315, or otherwise found
   55  through background screening to have been convicted of any crime
   56  involving moral turpitude as defined by rule of the State Board
   57  of Education, shall not be employed, engaged to provide
   58  services, or serve in any position that requires direct contact
   59  with students. Probationary persons subject to this subsection
   60  terminated because of their criminal record have the right to
   61  appeal such decisions. The cost of the background screening may
   62  be borne by the district school board, the charter school, the
   63  employee, the contractor, or a person subject to this
   64  subsection.
   65         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.