Florida Senate - 2009 SB 1978
By Senator Diaz de la Portilla
36-01751-09 20091978__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education; creating s. 1010.2155,
3 F.S.; requiring that school districts spend a
4 specified percentage of operating funds on classroom
5 instruction; requiring each school district to
6 annually calculate this percentage based on a uniform
7 calculation developed by the Department of Education;
8 requiring school districts to report classroom
9 expenditures according to a format developed by the
10 department; requiring that the department provide
11 technical assistance to districts that fail to meet
12 the required expenditures and to any district upon
13 request; requiring that the school board provide
14 assistance to principals of schools that fail to meet
15 the required expenditures; authorizing the State Board
16 of Education to adopt rules; providing an effective
17 date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Section 1010.2155, Florida Statutes, is created
22 to read:
23 1010.2155 Expenditures for classroom instruction.—
24 (1) Effective July 1, 2009, school districts shall spend a
25 minimum of 70 percent of district operating funds on classroom
26 instruction and school administrators shall spend a minimum of
27 70 percent of each school’s budget on classroom instruction.
28 (2) Each school district shall calculate annually the
29 percentage of state-funded operating expenditures that support
30 classroom instruction.
31 (a) The numerator for this calculation shall be the sum of
32 school district operating expenditures related to:
33 1. Salaries and benefits for instructional personnel,
34 instructional specialists, and educational support personnel, as
35 defined in s. 1010.215;
36 2. Instructional materials and instructional supplies;
37 3. Inservice teacher education; and
38 4. Curriculum development.
39 (b) The denominator for this calculation shall be the sum
40 of state-funded school district operating expenditures,
41 excluding student transportation and school food services.
42 (3) The Department of Education shall develop a uniform
43 calculation for determining classroom expenditure percentages
44 and shall develop a common format for district reporting. School
45 districts shall publish classroom expenditure information
46 annually in the financial report required in s. 1010.215 and in
47 the school report card required in s. 1008.34, and shall post
48 the information on the school district’s Internet website.
49 Annual expenditure reports shall be published no later than
50 December 15 for the prior school year.
51 (4) The Department of Education shall analyze the
52 expenditures of any school district that:
53 (a) Fails to meet required classroom expenditure levels and
54 receives a district grade of “C” or lower.
55 (b) Meets the required classroom expenditure levels, but
56 receives a district grade of “C” or lower.
57 (c) Fails to meet the required classroom expenditure
58 levels, but receives a grade higher than “C.”
59 (5) The district school board shall analyze the
60 expenditures of any school that:
61 (a) Fails to meet required classroom expenditure levels and
62 receives a district grade of “C” or lower.
63 (b) Meets the required classroom expenditure levels, but
64 receives a district grade of “C” or lower.
65 (c) Fails to meet the required classroom expenditure
66 levels, but receives a grade higher than “C.”
67 The department shall provide technical assistance in budget
68 preparation and analysis to districts that fail to meet the
69 required classroom expenditures and may provide technical
70 assistance to any district upon request. The superintendent of
71 schools of any district that fails to meet the minimum classroom
72 expenditures shall appear before the State Board of Education to
73 explain the financial and performance status of the district.
74 Such appearance shall occur no later than 60 days after release
75 of the district expenditure report. The Commissioner of
76 Education shall make written recommendations to the
77 superintendent of schools and school board regarding expenditure
78 revisions that may result in higher student achievement.
79 (6) The school board shall provide technical assistance in
80 budget preparation and analysis to principals of schools that
81 fail to meet the required classroom expenditures. The school
82 principal shall appear before the district school board to
83 explain the financial and performance status of the school. Such
84 appearance shall occur no more than 30 days after release of the
85 school expenditure report.
86 (7) The State Board of Education may adopt rules pursuant
87 to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer the provisions of
88 this section and may enforce the provisions of this section
89 pursuant to s. 1008.32.
90 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.