Amendment
Bill No. 0511

Amendment No. 889331

CHAMBER ACTION
Senate		House
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1	Representative(s) Kendrick offered the following:
2	Amendment (with title amendment)
3	Remove everything after the enacting clause and insert:
4	Section 1.  Section 1003.621, Florida Statutes, is created
5	to read:
6	1003.621  Academically high-performing school
7	districts.--It is the intent of the Legislature to recognize and
8	reward school districts that demonstrate the ability to
9	consistently maintain or improve their high-performing status.
10	The purpose of this section is to provide high-performing school
11	districts with flexibility in meeting the specific requirements
12	in statute and rules of the State Board of Education.
13	(1)  ACADEMICALLY HIGH-PERFORMING SCHOOL DISTRICT.--
14	(a)  A school district is an academically high-performing
15	school district if it meets the following criteria:
16	1.a.  Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, earns a
17	grade of "A" under s. 1008.34(7) for 2 consecutive years; and
18	b.  Has no district-operated school that earns a grade of
19	"F" under s. 1008.34;
20	2.  Complies with all class size requirements in s. 1, Art.
21	IX of the State Constitution and s. 1003.03; and
22	3.  Has no material weaknesses or instances of material
23	noncompliance noted in the annual financial audit conducted
24	pursuant to s. 218.39.
25	(b)  Each school district that satisfies the eligibility
26	criteria in this subsection shall be designated by the State
27	Board of Education as an academically high-performing school
28	district. With the exception of the statutes listed in
29	subsection (2), upon designation as an academically high-
30	performing school district, each such district is exempt from
31	the provisions in chapters 1000 through 1013 which pertain to
32	school districts and rules of the State Board of Education which
33	implement these exempt provisions. This exemption remains in
34	effect during the time of the designation if the district
35	continues to meet all eligibility criteria.
36	(c)  The academically high-performing school district shall
37	retain the designation as a high-performing school district for
38	3 years, at the end of which time the district may renew the
39	designation if the district meets the requirements in this
40	section. A school district that fails to meet the requirements
41	in this section shall provide written notification to the State
42	Board of Education that the district is no longer eligible to be
43	designated as an academically high-performing school district.
44	(d)  In order to maintain the designation as an
45	academically high-performing school district pursuant to this
46	section, a school district must meet the following requirements:
47	1.  Comply with the provisions of subparagraphs(a)2. and
48	3.; and
49	2.  Earn a grade of "A" under s. 1008.34(7) for 2 years
50	within a 3-year period.
51
52	However, a district in which a district-operated school earns a
53	grade of "F" under s. 1008.34 during the 3-year period may not
54	continue to be designated as an academically high-performing
55	school district during the remainder of that 3-year period. The
56	district must meet the criteria in paragraph (a) in order to be
57	redesignated as an academically high-performing school district.
58	(2)  COMPLIANCE WITH STATUTES AND RULES.--Each academically
59	high-performing school district shall comply with all of the
60	provisions in chapters 1000 through 1013, and rules of the State
61	Board of Education which implement these provisions, pertaining
62	to the following:
63	(a)  Those statutes pertaining to the provision of services
64	to students with disabilities.
65	(b)  Those statutes pertaining to civil rights, including
66	s. 1000.05, relating to discrimination.
67	(c)  Those statutes pertaining to student health, safety,
68	and welfare.
69	(d)  Those statutes governing the election or compensation
70	of district school board members.
71	(e)  Those statutes pertaining to the student assessment
72	program and the school grading system, including chapter 1008.
73	(f)  Those statutes pertaining to financial matters,
74	including chapter 1010, except that s. 1010.20(3)(a)1., 2., and
75	3., relating to the required program expenditure levels, are
76	eligible for exemption.
77	(g)  Those statutes pertaining to planning and budgeting,
78	including chapter 1011, except s. 1011.62(9)(d), relating to the
79	requirement for a comprehensive reading plan. A district that is
80	exempt from submitting this plan shall be deemed approved to
81	receive the research-based reading instruction allocation.
82	(h)  Sections 1012.22(1)(c) and 1012.27(2), relating to
83	differentiated pay and performance-pay policies for school
84	administrators and instructional personnel. Professional service
85	contracts are subject to the provisions of ss. 1012.33 and
86	1012.34.
87	(i)  Those statutes pertaining to educational facilities,
88	including chapter 1013, except that s. 1013.20, relating to
89	covered walkways for portables, and s. 1013.21, relating to the
90	use of relocatable facilities that exceed 20 years of age, are
91	eligible for exemption.
92	(j)  Those statutes relating to instructional materials,
93	except that s. 1006.37, relating to the requisition of state-
94	adopted materials from the depository under contract with the
95	publisher, and s. 1006.40(3)(a), relating to the use of 50
96	percent of the instructional materials allocation, shall be
97	eligible for exemption.
98	(k)  This section.
99	(3)  GOVERNING BOARD.--The governing board of the
100	academically high-performing school district shall be the duly
101	elected district school board. The district school board shall
102	supervise the academically high-performing school district.
103	(4)  REPORTS.--The academically high-performing school
104	district shall submit to the State Board of Education and the
105	Legislature an annual report on December 1 which delineates the
106	performance of the school district relative to the academic
107	performance of students at each grade level in reading, writing,
108	mathematics, science, and any other subject that is included as
109	a part of the statewide assessment program in s. 1008.22. The
110	annual report shall be submitted in a format prescribed by the
111	Department of Education and shall include, but need not be
112	limited to, the following:
113	(a)  Longitudinal performance of students in mathematics,
114	reading, writing, science, and any other subject that is
115	included as a part of the statewide assessment program in s.
116	1008.22;
117	(b)  Longitudinal performance of students by grade level
118	and subgroup in mathematics, reading, writing, science, and any
119	other subject that is included as a part of the statewide
120	assessment program in s. 1008.22;
121	(c)  Longitudinal performance regarding efforts to close
122	the achievement gap;
123	(d)1.  Number and percentage of students who take an
124	Advanced Placement Examination; and
125	2.  Longitudinal performance regarding students who take an
126	Advanced Placement Examination by demographic group,
127	specifically by age, gender, race, and Hispanic origin, and by
128	participation in the National School Lunch Program;
129	(e)  Evidence of compliance with subsection (1); and
130	(f)  A description of each waiver and the status of each
131	waiver.
132	Section 2.  The State Board of Education shall identify any
133	reporting requirements in state law which duplicate the
134	requirements for reporting under the federal No Child Left
135	Behind Act and make recommendations to the Legislature by
136	December 1, 2007, for eliminating duplicative requirements in
137	state law.
138	Section 3.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of section
139	200.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
140	200.065  Method of fixing millage.--
141	(9)(a)  In addition to the notice required in subsection
142	(3), a district school board shall publish a second notice of
143	intent to levy additional taxes under s. 1011.71(2).  Such
144	notice shall specify the projects or number of school buses
145	anticipated to be funded by such additional taxes and shall be
146	published in the size, within the time periods, adjacent to, and
147	in substantial conformity with the advertisement required under
148	subsection (3). The projects shall be listed in priority within
149	each category as follows: construction and remodeling;
150	maintenance, renovation, and repair; motor vehicle purchases;
151	new and replacement equipment; payments for educational
152	facilities and sites due under a lease-purchase agreement;
153	payments for renting and leasing educational facilities and
154	sites; payments of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and
155	1011.15; payment of costs of compliance with environmental
156	statutes and regulations; payment of premiums for property and
157	casualty insurance necessary to insure the educational and
158	ancillary plants of the school district; payment of costs of
159	leasing relocatable educational facilities; and payments to
160	private entities to offset the cost of school buses pursuant to
161	s. 1011.71(2)(i). The additional notice shall be in the
162	following form, except that if the district school board is
163	proposing to levy the same millage under s. 1011.71(2) which it
164	levied in the prior year, the words "continue to" shall be
165	inserted before the word "impose" in the first sentence, and
166	except that the second sentence of the second paragraph shall be
167	deleted if the district is advertising pursuant to paragraph
168	(3)(e):
169	NOTICE OF TAX FOR SCHOOL
170
171	CAPITAL OUTLAY
172	The (name of school district) will soon consider a measure
173	to impose a (number) mill property tax for the capital outlay
174	projects listed herein.
175	This tax is in addition to the school board's proposed tax
176	of (number) mills for operating expenses and is proposed solely
177	at the discretion of the school board.  THE PROPOSED COMBINED
178	SCHOOL BOARD TAX INCREASE FOR BOTH OPERATING EXPENSES AND
179	CAPITAL OUTLAY IS SHOWN IN THE ADJACENT NOTICE.
180	The capital outlay tax will generate approximately
181	$(amount), to be used for the following projects:
182	(list of capital outlay projects)
183
184	All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing to
185	be held on (date and time) at (meeting place).
186	A DECISION on the proposed CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be
187	made at this hearing.
188	Section 4.  Section 1011.71, Florida Statutes, is amended
189	to read:
190	1011.71  District school tax.--
191	(1)  If the district school tax is not provided in the
192	General Appropriations Act or the substantive bill implementing
193	the General Appropriations Act, each district school board
194	desiring to participate in the state allocation of funds for
195	current operation as prescribed by s. 1011.62(10) shall levy on
196	the taxable value for school purposes of the district, exclusive
197	of millage voted under the provisions of s. 9(b) or s. 12, Art.
198	VII of the State Constitution, a millage rate not to exceed the
199	amount certified by the commissioner as the minimum millage rate
200	necessary to provide the district required local effort for the
201	current year, pursuant to s. 1011.62(4)(a)1. In addition to the
202	required local effort millage levy, each district school board
203	may levy a nonvoted current operating discretionary millage. The
204	Legislature shall prescribe annually in the appropriations act
205	the maximum amount of millage a district may levy.
206	(2)  In addition to the maximum millage levy as provided in
207	subsection (1), each school board may levy not more than 2 mills
208	against the taxable value for school purposes for district
209	schools, including charter schools at the discretion of the
210	school board, to fund:
211	(a)  New construction and remodeling projects, as set forth
212	in s. 1013.64(3)(b) and (6)(b) and included in the district's
213	educational plant survey pursuant to s. 1013.31, without regard
214	to prioritization, sites and site improvement or expansion to
215	new sites, existing sites, auxiliary facilities, athletic
216	facilities, or ancillary facilities.
217	(b)  Maintenance, renovation, and repair of existing school
218	plants or of leased facilities to correct deficiencies pursuant
219	to s. 1013.15(2).
220	(c)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of school
221	buses; drivers' education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the
222	maintenance or operation of plants and equipment; security
223	vehicles; or vehicles used in storing or distributing materials
224	and equipment.
225	(d)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of new and
226	replacement equipment.
227	(e)  Payments for educational facilities and sites due
228	under a lease-purchase agreement entered into by a district
229	school board pursuant to s. 1003.02(1)(f) or s. 1013.15(2), not
230	exceeding, in the aggregate, an amount equal to three-fourths of
231	the proceeds from the millage levied by a district school board
232	pursuant to this subsection.
233	(f)  Payment of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and
234	1011.15.
235	(g)  Payment of costs directly related to complying with
236	state and federal environmental statutes, rules, and regulations
237	governing school facilities.
238	(h)  Payment of costs of leasing relocatable educational
239	facilities, of renting or leasing educational facilities and
240	sites pursuant to s. 1013.15(2), or of renting or leasing
241	buildings or space within existing buildings pursuant to s.
242	1013.15(4).
243	(i)  Payment of the cost of school buses when a school
244	district contracts with a private entity to provide student
245	transportation services if the district meets the requirements
246	of this paragraph.
247	1.  The district's contract must require that the private
248	entity purchase, lease-purchase, or lease, and operate and
249	maintain, one or more school buses of a specific type and size
250	that meet the requirements of s. 1006.25.
251	2.  Each such school bus must be used for the daily
252	transportation of public school students in the manner required
253	by the school district.
254	3.  Annual payment for each such school bus may not exceed
255	10 percent of the purchase price of the state pool bid.
256	4.  The proposed expenditure of the funds for this purpose
257	must have been included in the district school board's notice of
258	proposed tax for school capital outlay as provided in s.
259	200.065(9).
260	(j)  Payment of the cost of the opening day collection for
261	the library media center of a new school.
262	(3)  A school district that has met the reduction
263	requirements regarding class size for the current year pursuant
264	to s. 1003.03, has received an unqualified opinion on its
265	financial statements for the preceding 3 years, has no material
266	weaknesses or instances of material noncompliance noted in an
267	audit for the preceding 3 years, and certifies to the
268	Commissioner of Education that all of the district's
269	instructional space needs for the next 5 years can be met from
270	capital outlay sources that the district reasonably expects to
271	receive during the next 5 years from local revenues and from
272	currently appropriated state facilities funding or from
273	alternative scheduling or construction, leasing, rezoning, or
274	technological methodologies that exhibit sound management may
275	expend revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by
276	subsection (2) to fund, in addition to expenditures authorized
277	in paragraphs (2)(a)-(j), the following:
278	(a)  The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of driver's
279	education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or
280	operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or
281	vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and
282	equipment.
283	(b)  Payment of the cost of premiums for property and
284	casualty insurance necessary to insure school district
285	educational and ancillary plants. Operating revenues that are
286	made available through the payment of property and casualty
287	insurance premiums from revenues generated under this subsection
288	may be expended only for nonrecurring operational expenditures
289	of the school district.
290	(4)  Violations of the these expenditure provisions in
291	subsection (2) or subsection (3) shall result in an equal dollar
292	reduction in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) funds
293	for the violating district in the fiscal year following the
294	audit citation.
295	(5)(3)  These taxes shall be certified, assessed, and
296	collected as prescribed in s. 1011.04 and shall be expended as
297	provided by law.
298	(6)(4)  Nothing in s. 1011.62(4)(a)1. shall in any way be
299	construed to increase the maximum school millage levies as
300	provided for in subsection (1).
301	(5)(a)  It is the intent of the Legislature that, by July
302	1, 2003, revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by
303	subsection (2) should be used only for the costs of
304	construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, and repair of
305	the educational plant; for the purchase, lease, or lease-
306	purchase of equipment, educational plants, and construction
307	materials directly related to the delivery of student
308	instruction; for the rental or lease of existing buildings, or
309	space within existing buildings, originally constructed or used
310	for purposes other than education, for conversion to use as
311	educational facilities; for the opening day collection for the
312	library media center of a new school; for the purchase, lease-
313	purchase, or lease of school buses or the payment to a private
314	entity to offset the cost of school buses pursuant to paragraph
315	(2)(i); and for servicing of payments related to certificates of
316	participation issued for any purpose prior to the effective date
317	of this act. Costs associated with the lease-purchase of
318	equipment, educational plants, and school buses may include the
319	issuance of certificates of participation on or after the
320	effective date of this act and the servicing of payments related
321	to certificates so issued. For purposes of this section,
322	"maintenance and repair" is defined in s. 1013.01.
323	(b)  For purposes not delineated in paragraph (a) for which
324	proceeds received from millage levied under subsection (2) may
325	be legally expended, a district school board may spend no more
326	than the following percentages of the amount the district spent
327	for these purposes in fiscal year 1995-1996:
328	1.  In fiscal year 2000-2001, 40 percent.
329	2.  In fiscal year 2001-2002, 25 percent.
330	3.  In fiscal year 2002-2003, 10 percent.
331	(c)  Beginning July 1, 2003, revenue generated by the
332	millage levy authorized by subsection (2) must be used only for
333	the purposes delineated in paragraph (a).
334	(d)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this
335	subsection, if through its adopted educational facilities plan a
336	district has clearly identified the need for an ancillary plant,
337	has provided opportunity for public input as to the relative
338	value of the ancillary plant versus an educational plant, and
339	has obtained public approval, the district may use revenue
340	generated by the millage levy authorized by subsection (2) for
341	the acquisition, construction, renovation, remodeling,
342	maintenance, or repair of an ancillary plant.
343
344	A district that violates these expenditure restrictions shall
345	have an equal dollar reduction in funds appropriated to the
346	district under s. 1011.62 in the fiscal year following the audit
347	citation. The expenditure restrictions do not apply to any
348	school district that certifies to the Commissioner of Education
349	that all of the district's instructional space needs for the
350	next 5 years can be met from capital outlay sources that the
351	district reasonably expects to receive during the next 5 years
352	or from alternative scheduling or construction, leasing,
353	rezoning, or technological methodologies that exhibit sound
354	management.
355	(7)(6)  In addition to the maximum millage levied under
356	this section and the General Appropriations Act, a school
357	district may levy, by local referendum or in a general election,
358	additional millage for school operational purposes up to an
359	amount that, when combined with nonvoted millage levied under
360	this section, does not exceed the 10-mill limit established in
361	s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution. Any such levy shall
362	be for a maximum of 4 years and shall be counted as part of the
363	10-mill limit established in s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State
364	Constitution. Millage elections conducted under the authority
365	granted pursuant to this section are subject to s. 1011.73.
366	Funds generated by such additional millage do not become a part
367	of the calculation of the Florida Education Finance Program
368	total potential funds in 2001-2002 or any subsequent year and
369	must not be incorporated in the calculation of any hold-harmless
370	or other component of the Florida Education Finance Program
371	formula in any year. If an increase in required local effort,
372	when added to existing millage levied under the 10-mill limit,
373	would result in a combined millage in excess of the 10-mill
374	limit, any millage levied pursuant to this subsection shall be
375	considered to be required local effort to the extent that the
376	district millage would otherwise exceed the 10-mill limit.
377	Section 5.  Subsection (2) of section 1011.73, Florida
378	Statutes, is amended to read:
379	1011.73  District millage elections.--
380	(2)  MILLAGE AUTHORIZED NOT TO EXCEED 4 YEARS.--The
381	district school board, pursuant to resolution adopted at a
382	regular meeting, shall direct the county commissioners to call
383	an election at which the electors within the school district may
384	approve an ad valorem tax millage as authorized under s.
385	1011.71(7)(6). Such election may be held at any time, except
386	that not more than one such election shall be held during any
387	12-month period. Any millage so authorized shall be levied for a
388	period not in excess of 4 years or until changed by another
389	millage election, whichever is earlier. If any such election is
390	invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
391	invalidated election shall be considered not to have been held.
392	Section 6.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
393
394	================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T =================
395	Remove the entire title and insert:
396	A bill to be entitled
397	An act relating to school districts; creating s. 1003.621,
398	F.S.; providing criteria for designating academically
399	high-performing school districts; providing exceptions for
400	such districts to be exempt from certain statutes and
401	rules; providing compliance requirements; providing for
402	district governing boards; providing for reports;
403	providing for a review by the State Board of Education of
404	certain reporting requirements; amending s. 200.065, F.S.;
405	providing for notice concerning property and casualty
406	insurance costs; amending s. 1011.71, F.S., relating to
407	the district school tax; providing criteria for using
408	funds; authorizing the use of funds for specified
409	purposes; eliminating restrictions on the use of funds;
410	amending s. 1011.73, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference;
411	providing an effective date.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.