Senate Bill sb1046e1

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  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to education; amending s.

  3         551.106, F.S.; providing that certain funds

  4         transferred to the Educational Enhancement

  5         Trust Fund may be used for recurring

  6         appropriations; amending s. 1003.03, F.S.;

  7         defining the terms "team teaching,"

  8         "co-teaching," and "inclusion teaching" for

  9         purposes of provisions authorizing the use of

10         various teaching strategies in order to

11         implement requirements for class-size

12         reduction; amending s. 1011.62, F.S.; revising

13         the funding model for exceptional student

14         education programs to provide additional funds

15         for students who are gifted in graded K through

16         8; providing a formula for calculating a

17         supplemental allocation for juvenile justice

18         education programs; deleting certain

19         categorical appropriations that a district

20         school board may, pursuant to resolution,

21         transfer and use for academic classroom

22         instruction; repealing s. 1011.71(5)(b), F.S.,

23         relating to obsolete provisions limiting

24         certain uses of proceeds from the district

25         school tax; providing an effective date.

26  

27  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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29         Section 1.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section

30  551.106, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

31         551.106  License fee; tax rate; penalties.--


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 1         (2)  TAX ON SLOT MACHINE REVENUES.--

 2         (c)1.  Funds transferred to the Educational Enhancement

 3  Trust Fund under paragraph (b) shall be used to supplement

 4  public education funding statewide and shall not be used for

 5  recurring appropriations.

 6         2.  If necessary to comply with any covenant

 7  established pursuant to s. 1013.68(4), s. 1013.70(1), or s.

 8  1013.737(3), funds transferred to the Educational Enhancement

 9  Trust Fund under paragraph (b) shall first be available to pay

10  debt service on lottery bonds issued to fund school

11  construction in the event lottery revenues are insufficient

12  for such purpose or to satisfy debt service reserve

13  requirements established in connection with lottery bonds.

14  Moneys available pursuant to this subparagraph are subject to

15  annual appropriation by the Legislature.

16         Section 2.  Subsection (5) of section 1003.03, Florida

17  Statutes, is amended to read:

18         1003.03  Maximum class size.--

19         (5)  TEAM-TEACHING STRATEGIES.--

20         (a)  School districts may use teaching strategies that

21  include the assignment of more than one teacher to a classroom

22  of students and that were implemented before July 1, 2005.

23  Effective July 1, 2005, school districts may implement

24  additional teaching strategies that include the assignment of

25  more than one teacher to a classroom of students for the

26  following purposes only:

27         1.  Pairing teachers for the purpose of staff

28  development.

29         2.  Pairing new teachers with veteran teachers.

30         3.  Reducing turnover among new teachers.

31  


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 1         4.  Pairing teachers who are teaching out-of-field with

 2  teachers who are in-field.

 3         5.  Providing for more flexibility and innovation in

 4  the classroom.

 5         6.  Improving learning opportunities for students,

 6  including students who have disabilities.

 7         (b)  Teaching strategies, including team teaching,

 8  co-teaching, or inclusion teaching, implemented on or after

 9  July 1, 2005, pursuant to paragraph (a) may be implemented

10  subject to the following restrictions:

11         1.  Reasonable limits shall be placed on the number of

12  students in a classroom so that classrooms are not

13  overcrowded. Teacher-to-student ratios within a curriculum

14  area or grade level must not exceed constitutional limits.

15         2.  At least one member of the team must have at least

16  3 years of teaching experience.

17         3.  At least one member of the team must be teaching

18  in-field.

19         4.  The teachers must be trained in team-teaching

20  methods within 1 year after assignment.

21         (c)  As used in this subsection, the term:

22         1.  "Team teaching" or "co-teaching" means two or more

23  teachers are assigned to a group of students and each teacher

24  is responsible for all of the students during the entire class

25  period. In order to be considered team teaching or

26  co-teaching, each teacher is responsible for planning,

27  delivering, and evaluating instruction for all students in the

28  class or subject for the entire class period.

29         2.  "Inclusion teaching" means two or more teachers are

30  assigned to a group of students, but one of the teachers is

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 1  responsible for only one student or a small group of students

 2  in the classroom.

 3  

 4  The use of strategies implemented as outlined in this

 5  subsection meets the letter and intent of the Florida

 6  Constitution and the Florida Statutes which relate to

 7  implementing class-size reduction, and this subsection applies

 8  retroactively. A school district may not be penalized

 9  financially or otherwise as a result of the use of any legal

10  strategy, including, but not limited to, those set forth in

11  subsection (3) and this subsection.

12         Section 3.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section

13  1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended, present paragraphs (p),

14  (q), (r), (s), and (t) of that subsection are redesignated as

15  paragraphs (q), (r), (s), (t), and (u), respectively, a new

16  paragraph (p) is added to that subsection, and paragraph (b)

17  of subsection (6) of that section is amended, to read:

18         1011.62  Funds for operation of schools.--If the annual

19  allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each

20  district for operation of schools is not determined in the

21  annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing

22  the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as

23  follows:

24         (1)  COMPUTATION OF THE BASIC AMOUNT TO BE INCLUDED FOR

25  OPERATION.--The following procedure shall be followed in

26  determining the annual allocation to each district for

27  operation:

28         (e)  Funding model for exceptional student education

29  programs.--

30         1.a.  The funding model uses basic, at-risk, support

31  levels IV and V for exceptional students and career Florida


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 1  Education Finance Program cost factors, and a guaranteed

 2  allocation for exceptional student education programs.

 3  Exceptional education cost factors are determined by using a

 4  matrix of services to document the services that each

 5  exceptional student will receive. The nature and intensity of

 6  the services indicated on the matrix shall be consistent with

 7  the services described in each exceptional student's

 8  individual educational plan.

 9         b.  In order to generate funds using one of the two

10  weighted cost factors, a matrix of services must be completed

11  at the time of the student's initial placement into an

12  exceptional student education program and at least once every

13  3 years by personnel who have received approved training.

14  Nothing listed in the matrix shall be construed as limiting

15  the services a school district must provide in order to ensure

16  that exceptional students are provided a free, appropriate

17  public education.

18         c.  Students identified as exceptional, in accordance

19  with chapter 6A-6, Florida Administrative Code, who do not

20  have a matrix of services as specified in sub-subparagraph b.

21  shall generate funds on the basis of full-time-equivalent

22  student membership in the Florida Education Finance Program at

23  the same funding level per student as provided for basic

24  students. Additional funds for these exceptional students and

25  students who are gifted in grades K through 8 will be provided

26  through the guaranteed allocation designated in subparagraph

27  2.

28         2.  For students identified as exceptional who do not

29  have a matrix of services and students who are gifted in

30  grades K through 8, there is created a guaranteed allocation

31  to provide these students with a free appropriate public


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 1  education, in accordance with s. 1001.42(4)(m) and rules of

 2  the State Board of Education, which shall be allocated

 3  annually to each school district in the amount provided in the

 4  General Appropriations Act. These funds shall be in addition

 5  to the funds appropriated on the basis of FTE student

 6  membership in the Florida Education Finance Program, and the

 7  amount allocated for each school district shall not be

 8  recalculated during the year. These funds shall be used to

 9  provide special education and related services for exceptional

10  students and students who are gifted in grades K through 8.

11  Beginning with the 2007-2008 fiscal year, a district's

12  expenditure of funds from the guaranteed allocation for

13  students in grades 9 through 12 who are gifted may not be

14  greater than the amount expended during the 2006-2007 fiscal

15  year for gifted students in grades 9 through 12.

16         (p)  Calculation of supplemental allocation for

17  juvenile justice education programs.--Beginning with the

18  2007-2008 General Appropriations Act, the total K-12 weighted

19  full-time equivalent student membership in juvenile justice

20  education programs in each school district shall be multiplied

21  by the amount of the state average class-size-reduction factor

22  multiplied by the district's cost differential. An amount

23  equal to the sum of this calculation shall be allocated in the

24  FEFP to each school district to supplement other sources of

25  funding for students in juvenile justice education programs.

26         (6)  CATEGORICAL FUNDS.--

27         (b)  If a district school board finds and declares in a

28  resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the school board

29  that the funds received for any of the following categorical

30  appropriations are urgently needed to maintain school board

31  specified academic classroom instruction, the school board may


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 1  consider and approve an amendment to the school district

 2  operating budget transferring the identified amount of the

 3  categorical funds to the appropriate account for expenditure:

 4         1.  Funds for student transportation.

 5         2.  Funds for in-service educational personnel

 6  training.

 7         2.3.  Funds for safe schools.

 8         4.  Funds for public school technology.

 9         3.5.  Funds for supplemental academic instruction.

10         Section 4.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section

11  1011.71, Florida Statutes, is repealed.

12         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

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