CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for SB 2434
    Amendment No. 4
                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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10                                                                
11  The Committee on Fiscal Policy recommended the following
12  amendment:
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14         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 
15         On page 13, between lines 22 and 23,
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17  insert:
18         Section 5.  Section 228.058, Florida Statutes, is
19  created to read:
20         228.058  Charter School Districts Pilot Program.--The
21  State Board of Education is authorized to enter into a
22  performance contract with up to six school districts for the
23  purpose of establishing them as charter school districts. The
24  purpose of this pilot program is to examine a new relationship
25  between the State Board of Education and school districts that
26  may produce significant improvements in student achievement
27  and school management while at the same time complying with
28  constitutional requirements assigned to each entity.
29         (1)  CHARTER DISTRICT.--A charter school district is a
30  school district in Florida in which the school board has
31  submitted and the state board has approved a charter proposal
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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for SB 2434
    Amendment No. 4
 1  that exchanges statutory and rule exemption for agreement to
 2  meet performance goals in the proposal.  The charter school
 3  district shall be chartered for 3 years, at the end of which
 4  the performance shall be evaluated. At the end of the charter
 5  period, the charter may be revoked or non-renewed pursuant to
 6  s. 228.056(10)(a) and (b).
 7         (2)  EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES AND RULES.--Charter school
 8  districts shall be exempt from state statutes and state board
 9  rules as provided in s. 228.056(11), and subject to the
10  limitations as provided by the State Board of Education. The
11  school board of a charter school district shall not be exempt
12  from any statute governing election of board members, public
13  meetings and public records requirements, financial
14  disclosure, conflicts of interest, operation in the sunshine,
15  or other provisions outside the Florida School Code.
16         (3)  GOVERNING BOARD.--The governing board of the
17  charter school district shall be the duly elected school
18  board.  The school board shall be responsible for supervising
19  the schools in the charter district and is authorized to
20  charter each of its existing public schools pursuant to s.
21  228.056, apply for deregulation of its public schools pursuant
22  to s. 228.0565, or otherwise establish performance-based
23  contractual relationships with its public schools for the
24  purpose of giving them greater autonomy with accountability
25  for performance.
26         (4)  CHARTER PROPOSAL.--Competitive charter proposal
27  applications shall be accepted by the State Board of Education
28  no later than February 1, 2000. Priority consideration for
29  approval shall be given to school districts that have
30  demonstrated the most success in chartering or deregulating
31  existing schools. The charter proposal shall include, but not
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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for SB 2434
    Amendment No. 4
 1  be limited to:
 2         (a)  Authorization approved in an open school board
 3  meeting for participation in the pilot program.
 4         (b)  The vision of what the school board proposes to
 5  accomplish by becoming a charter school district.
 6         (c)  A management plan for reaching performance goals,
 7  including an anticipated list of the statutes and rules from
 8  which the school board desires exemption and the purpose of
 9  the exemption.
10         (d)  The performance goals proposed by the school
11  board, the measures to be used to assess progress, the
12  district's current baseline status with respect to the goals,
13  and the timeframe for accomplishing the goals.
14         (e)  A plan for chartering, deregulating, or otherwise
15  freeing schools in the district from state statutes and rules
16  and school board policies and procedures.  This portion may
17  include a phased-in approach, but shall be included as a
18  performance goal.
19         (f)  Agreement to file an annual report of progress to
20  the state board.
21         (g)  Any other provisions required by state board rule.
22         (5)  PRECHARTER AGREEMENT.--The state board is
23  authorized to approve a precharter agreement with a potential
24  charter school district.  The agreement may provide limited
25  flexibility pursuant to s. 228.056(11) and direction for the
26  development of a full charter proposal. School boards desiring
27  to apply for charter status may request a pre-charter
28  agreement at any time prior to or in lieu of submitting a
29  charter proposal by the February 1 deadline.
30         (6)  TIME PERIOD FOR PILOT.--The pilot program shall be
31  authorized for a period of 3 full school years commencing with
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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. CS for SB 2434
    Amendment No. 4
 1  award of a charter. The charter may be renewed upon action of
 2  the state board.
 3         (7)  REPORTS.--The state board shall annually report on
 4  the implementation of the charter school district pilot
 5  program.  Upon the completion of the first 3-year term, the
 6  state board, through the Commissioner of Education, shall
 7  submit to the Legislature a full evaluation of the
 8  effectiveness of the program.
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10  (Redesignate subsequent sections.)
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13  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============
14  And the title is amended as follows:
15         On page 2, line 12, after the semicolon
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17  insert:
18         creating s. 228.058, F.S.; establishing a
19         charter school districts pilot program;
20         providing requirements for charter school
21         districts; providing for exemptions from
22         statutes and rules; providing for a governing
23         board; providing for charter proposals;
24         providing for a precharter agreement; providing
25         a time period for the pilot project; requiring
26         an annual report;
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