Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 2686
       
       
       
       By Senators Garcia and Villalobos
       
       
       
       
       40-01912-10                                           20102686__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to a study of school district costs;
    3         requiring the Department of Education to contract with
    4         an out-of-state postsecondary educational institution
    5         to conduct a study to analyze Florida’s district cost
    6         differential amenities index and to develop a cost-of
    7         education index; requiring a report and submission of
    8         the report to the Legislature and the Governor;
    9         providing an effective date.
   10  
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. (1) The Department of Education shall contract
   14  with a qualified third party to conduct a study to analyze the
   15  state’s current school district cost differential amenities
   16  index and to develop a cost-of-education index that focuses on
   17  the cost differences integral to K-12 public school district
   18  operations.
   19         (2) For purposes of the study, the cost-of-education index
   20  shall be a tool used to adjust state education calculations to
   21  compensate for regional variations in costs of education beyond
   22  the control of school districts and may include, but not be
   23  limited to, costs for teacher salaries, costs for health
   24  insurance for employees, and property insurance and
   25  transportation costs per full-time equivalent student.
   26         (3) The third party contracted to conduct the study shall
   27  be an out-of-state postsecondary educational institution. The
   28  report prepared by the postsecondary educational institution
   29  shall be submitted by the Department of Education to the
   30  President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
   31  Representatives, and the Governor by January 1, 2011.
   32         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.