Senate Bill sb1254
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1254
By Senator Wasserman Schultz
32-725-01
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to educational facilities;
3 amending ss. 235.15, 235.185, F.S.; allowing
4 each school district to modify the capacity for
5 a district facility so that it varies from the
6 capacity reported in the Florida Inventory of
7 School Houses report; providing criteria and
8 procedures for making such modifications;
9 repealing s. 235.2157, F.S., which requires
10 schools that are placed under architectural
11 contract after a specified date to be small
12 schools; providing an effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
17 235.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
18 235.15 Educational plant survey; localized need
19 assessment; PECO project funding.--
20 (1) At least every 5 years, each board, including the
21 Board of Regents, shall arrange for an educational plant
22 survey, to aid in formulating plans for housing the
23 educational program and student population, faculty,
24 administrators, staff, and auxiliary and ancillary services of
25 the district or campus, including consideration of the local
26 comprehensive plan. The Division of Workforce Development
27 shall document the need for additional career and adult
28 education programs and the continuation of existing programs
29 before facility construction or renovation related to career
30 or adult education may be included in the educational plant
31 survey of a school district or community college that delivers
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1254
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1 career or adult education programs. Information used by the
2 Division of Workforce Development to establish facility needs
3 must include, but need not be limited to, labor market data,
4 needs analysis, and information submitted by the school
5 district or community college.
6 (b) Required need assessment criteria for district,
7 community college, and state university plant surveys.--Each
8 educational plant survey completed after December 31, 1997,
9 must use uniform data sources and criteria specified in this
10 paragraph. Each educational plant survey completed after June
11 30, 1995, and before January 1, 1998, must be revised, if
12 necessary, to comply with this paragraph. Each revised
13 educational plant survey and each new educational plant survey
14 supersedes previous surveys.
15 1. Each school district's educational plant survey
16 must reflect the capacity of existing satisfactory facilities
17 as reported in the Florida Inventory of School Houses ("FISH
18 Report"). Each district, however, may modify the capacity for
19 a district facility which was reported in the FISH Report by
20 adjusting the utilization rates used to calculate the
21 capacity; however, the proposed modified utilization rate must
22 be submitted to the department for review and approval. The
23 department shall grant a variance to the FISH utilization
24 rates if a requested utilization rate does not vary more than
25 20 percent from the rate used by the department to determine
26 any facility capacity, as reported in the FISH Report, and the
27 request for variance is based on defined factors, including,
28 but not limited to, school improvement initiatives,
29 instructional needs such as class-size reduction, team
30 teaching, and course offering requirements. Upon approval of
31 the proposed modified capacity, the department shall revise
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1254
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1 the FISH Report to include the adjusted capacities. The
2 adjusted capacities must then be the basis for determining the
3 district's student station needs. Projections of facility
4 space needs may not exceed the norm space and occupant design
5 criteria established by the State Requirements for Educational
6 Facilities. Existing and projected capital outlay full-time
7 equivalent student enrollment must be consistent with data
8 prepared by the department and must include all enrollment
9 used in the calculation of the distribution formula in s.
10 235.435(3). All satisfactory relocatable classrooms, including
11 those owned, lease-purchased, or leased by the school
12 district, shall be included in the school district inventory
13 of gross capacity of facilities and must be counted at actual
14 student capacity for purposes of the inventory. For future
15 needs determination, student capacity shall not be assigned to
16 any relocatable classroom that is scheduled for elimination or
17 replacement with a permanent educational facility in the
18 adopted 5-year educational plant survey and in the district
19 facilities work program adopted under s. 235.185. Those
20 relocatables clearly identified and scheduled for replacement
21 in a school board adopted financially feasible 5-year district
22 facilities work program shall be counted at zero capacity at
23 the time the work program is adopted and approved by the
24 school board. However, if the district facilities work program
25 is changed or altered and the relocatables are not replaced as
26 scheduled in the work program, they must then be reentered
27 into the system for counting at actual capacity. Relocatables
28 may not be perpetually added to the work program and
29 continually extended for purposes of circumventing the intent
30 of this section. All remaining relocatable classrooms,
31 including those owned, lease-purchased, or leased by the
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1254
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1 school district, shall be counted at actual student capacity.
2 The educational plant survey shall identify the number of
3 relocatable student stations scheduled for replacement during
4 the 5-year survey period and the total dollar amount needed
5 for that replacement. All district educational plant surveys
6 revised after July 1, 1998, shall include information on
7 leased space used for conducting the district's instructional
8 program, in accordance with the recommendations of the
9 department's report authorized in s. 235.056. A definition of
10 satisfactory relocatable classrooms shall be established by
11 rule of the department.
12 2. Each survey of a special facility, joint-use
13 facility, or cooperative vocational education facility must be
14 based on capital outlay full-time equivalent student
15 enrollment data prepared by the department for school
16 districts, by the Division of Community Colleges for community
17 colleges, and by the Board of Regents for state universities.
18 A survey of space needs of a joint-use facility shall be based
19 upon the respective space needs of the school districts,
20 community colleges, and universities, as appropriate.
21 Projections of a school district's facility space needs may
22 not exceed the norm space and occupant design criteria
23 established by the State Requirements for Educational
24 Facilities.
25 3. Each community college's survey must reflect the
26 capacity of existing facilities as specified in the inventory
27 maintained by the Division of Community Colleges. Projections
28 of facility space needs must comply with standards for
29 determining space needs as specified by rule of the State
30 Board of Education. The 5-year projection of capital outlay
31 student enrollment must be consistent with the annual report
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1 of capital outlay full-time student enrollment prepared by the
2 Division of Community Colleges.
3 4. Each state university's survey must reflect the
4 capacity of existing facilities as specified in the inventory
5 maintained and validated by the Board of Regents. Projections
6 of facility space needs must be consistent with standards for
7 determining space needs approved by the Board of Regents. The
8 projected capital outlay full-time equivalent student
9 enrollment must be consistent with the 5-year planned
10 enrollment cycle for the State University System approved by
11 the Board of Regents.
12 5. The educational plant survey of a school district,
13 community college, or state university may include space needs
14 that deviate from approved standards for determining space
15 needs if the deviation is justified by the district or
16 institution and approved by the department or the Board of
17 Regents, as appropriate, as necessary for the delivery of an
18 approved educational program.
19 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
20 235.185, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
21 235.185 School district facilities work program;
22 definitions; preparation, adoption, and amendment; long-term
23 work programs.--
24 (2) PREPARATION OF TENTATIVE DISTRICT FACILITIES WORK
25 PROGRAM.--
26 (a) Annually, prior to the adoption of the district
27 school budget, each school board shall prepare a tentative
28 district facilities work program that includes:
29 1. A schedule of major repair and renovation projects
30 necessary to maintain the educational plant and ancillary
31 facilities of the district.
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1 2. A schedule of capital outlay projects necessary to
2 ensure the availability of satisfactory student stations for
3 the projected student enrollment in K-12 programs. This
4 schedule shall consider:
5 a. The locations, capacities, and planned utilization
6 rates of current educational facilities of the district. The
7 capacities and utilization rates must include any applicable
8 adjustments as provided for in s. 235.15(1)(b)1.
9 b. The proposed locations of planned facilities.
10 c. Plans for the use and location of relocatable
11 facilities, leased facilities, and charter school facilities.
12 d. Plans for multitrack scheduling, grade level
13 organization, block scheduling, or other alternatives that
14 reduce the need for permanent student stations.
15 e. Information concerning average class size and
16 utilization rate by grade level within the district that will
17 result if the tentative district facilities work program is
18 fully implemented. The average shall not include exceptional
19 student education classes or prekindergarten classes.
20 f. The number and percentage of district students
21 planned to be educated in relocatable facilities during each
22 year of the tentative district facilities work program.
23 g. Plans for the closure of any school, including
24 plans for disposition of the facility or usage of facility
25 space, and anticipated revenues.
26 3. The projected cost for each project identified in
27 the tentative district facilities work program. For proposed
28 projects for new student stations, a schedule shall be
29 prepared comparing the planned cost and square footage for
30 each new student station, by elementary, middle, and high
31 school levels, to the low, average, and high cost of
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1 facilities constructed throughout the state during the most
2 recent fiscal year for which data is available from the
3 Department of Education.
4 4. A schedule of estimated capital outlay revenues
5 from each currently approved source which is estimated to be
6 available for expenditure on the projects included in the
7 tentative district facilities work program.
8 5. A schedule indicating which projects included in
9 the tentative district facilities work program will be funded
10 from current revenues projected in subparagraph 4.
11 6. A schedule of options for the generation of
12 additional revenues by the district for expenditure on
13 projects identified in the tentative district facilities work
14 program which are not funded under subparagraph 5. Additional
15 anticipated revenues may include effort index grants, SIT
16 Program awards, and Classrooms First funds.
17 Section 3. Section 235.2157, Florida Statutes, is
18 repealed.
19 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
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22 SENATE SUMMARY
23 Allows each school district to modify the capacity for
educational facilities in the district so that it varies
24 from the capacity reported in the Florida Inventory of
School Houses Report. Provides criteria and procedures
25 for making such modifications. Repeals s. 235.2157, F.S.,
which requires schools that are placed under
26 architectural contract after July 1, 2003, to be small
schools, as defined in that section.
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