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2019 Florida Statutes

Title XLVIII K-20 EDUCATION CODE
Chapter 1012 PERSONNEL Entire Chapter
SECTION 731
The Florida Best and Brightest Teacher Program.
F.S. 1012.731
11012.731 The Florida Best and Brightest Teacher Program.—
(1) The Legislature recognizes that, second only to parents, teachers play the most critical role within schools in preparing students to achieve a high level of academic performance. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to recruit, retain, and recognize teachers who meet the needs of this state and have achieved success in the classroom.
(2) The Florida Best and Brightest Teacher Program is created to provide recruitment and retention awards to classroom teachers, as defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a), and recognition awards to instructional personnel, as defined in s. 1012.01(2), to be funded as provided in s. 1011.62(18).
(3)(a) To be eligible for a one-time recruitment award as specified in the General Appropriations Act, a newly hired classroom teacher must be a content expert, based on criteria established by the department, in mathematics, science, computer science, reading, or civics.
2(b) To be eligible for a retention award as specified in the General Appropriations Act, a classroom teacher must have been rated as highly effective or effective the preceding year pursuant to s. 1012.34, and teach in a school for 2 consecutive school years, including the current year, which has improved an average of 3 percentage points or more in the percentage of total possible points achieved for determining school grades over the prior 3 years.
(c) To be eligible for a recognition award, instructional personnel must be rated as highly effective or effective and be selected by his or her school principal, based on performance criteria and policies adopted by the district school board or charter school governing board. Recognition awards must be provided from funds remaining under the allocation provided in s. 1011.62(18) after the payment of all teacher recruitment and retention awards and principal awards authorized under this section and the General Appropriations Act.
History.—s. 25, ch. 2016-62; s. 46, ch. 2017-116; s. 39, ch. 2018-6; s. 19, ch. 2019-23.
1Note.—Section 24, ch. 2019-23, provides that:

“(1) The Department of Revenue is authorized, and all conditions are deemed to be met, to adopt emergency rules pursuant to s. 120.54(4), Florida Statutes, for the purpose of administering the provisions of this act relating to the Hope Scholarship Program and Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program.

“(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, emergency rules adopted pursuant to subsection (1) are effective for 6 months after adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of the emergency rules.

“(3) This section shall take effect upon this act becoming a law and shall expire January 1, 2022.”

2Note.—Section 49, ch. 2018-6, provides that:

“(1) The Department of Revenue is authorized, and all conditions are deemed to be met, to adopt emergency rules pursuant to s. 120.54(4), Florida Statutes, for the purpose of administering the provisions of this act.

“(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, emergency rules adopted pursuant to subsection (1) are effective for 6 months after adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of the emergency rules.

“(3) This section shall take effect upon this act becoming a law and shall expire January 1, 2022.”

Section 19, ch. 2019-23, substantially reworded paragraph (3)(b), which was subject to s. 49, ch. 2018-6.