HB 383

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to public school flexibility; amending
3	s. 1001.02, F.S.; prohibiting the State Board of
4	Education from adopting rules that require the
5	redirection of certain funding; amending s. 1001.42,
6	F.S.; deleting a requirement relating to the opening
7	date for schools in a school district; amending s.
8	1002.31, F.S.; providing that the calculation for
9	compliance with class size maximums for certain public
10	schools of choice shall be the average at the school
11	level; amending s. 1003.455, F.S.; revising
12	requirements relating to physical education for
13	elementary school students; amending s. 1011.62, F.S.;
14	revising provisions relating to the transfer of
15	categorical funds to maintain specified academic
16	classroom instruction; amending s. 1013.03, F.S.;
17	revising provisions relating to student station and
18	auxiliary facility space allocations; providing that a
19	school district is not required to comply with the
20	State Uniform Building Code for Public Educational
21	Facilities Construction; providing an effective date.
22
23	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25	Section 1.  Paragraph (n) of subsection (2) of section
26	1001.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
27	1001.02  General powers of State Board of Education.-
28	(2)  The State Board of Education has the following duties:
29	(n)  To adopt cohesive rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and
30	120.54, within statutory authority. However, no rule may be
31	adopted which would require any school or school district to
32	redirect local, state, or federal funding in order to comply
33	with the rule.
34	Section 2.  Paragraph (f) of subsection (4) of section
35	1001.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
36	1001.42  Powers and duties of district school board.-The
37	district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all
38	powers and perform all duties listed below:
39	(4)  ESTABLISHMENT, ORGANIZATION, AND OPERATION OF
40	SCHOOLS.-Adopt and provide for the execution of plans for the
41	establishment, organization, and operation of the schools of the
42	district, including, but not limited to, the following:
43	(f)  Opening and closing of schools; fixing uniform date.-
44	Adopt policies for the opening and closing of schools and fix
45	uniform dates; however, beginning with the 2007-2008 school
46	year, the opening date for schools in the district may not be
47	earlier than 14 days before Labor Day each year.
48	Section 3.  Subsection (9) is added to section 1002.31,
49	Florida Statutes, to read:
50	1002.31  Public school parental choice.-
51	(9)  For a school or program that is a public school of
52	choice under this section, the calculation for compliance with
53	class size maximums, pursuant to s. 1003.03, shall be the
54	average number of students at the school level.
55	Section 4.  Subsection (3) of section 1003.455, Florida
56	Statutes, is amended to read:
57	1003.455  Physical education; assessment.-
58	(3)  Each district school board shall provide 150 minutes
59	of physical education each week for students in kindergarten
60	through grade 5 and for students in grade 6 who are enrolled in
61	a school that contains one or more elementary grades so that on
62	any day during which physical education instruction is conducted
63	there are at least 30 consecutive minutes per day. Beginning
64	with the 2009-2010 school year, the equivalent of one class
65	period per day of physical education for one semester of each
66	year is required for students enrolled in grades 6 through 8.
67	Students enrolled in such instruction shall be reported through
68	the periodic student membership surveys, and records of such
69	enrollment shall be audited pursuant to s. 1010.305. Such
70	instruction may be provided by any instructional personnel as
71	defined in s. 1012.01(2), regardless of certification, who are
72	designated by the school principal.
73	Section 5.  Subsection (6) of section 1011.62, Florida
74	Statutes, is amended to read:
75	1011.62  Funds for operation of schools.-If the annual
76	allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
77	district for operation of schools is not determined in the
78	annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
79	the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
80	follows:
81	(6)  CATEGORICAL FUNDS.-
82	(a)  In addition to the basic amount for current operations
83	for the FEFP as determined in subsection (1), the Legislature
84	may appropriate categorical funding for specified programs,
85	activities, or purposes.
86	(b)  If a district school board finds and declares in a
87	resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the school board that
88	the funds received for any of the following categorical
89	appropriations are urgently needed to maintain school board
90	specified academic classroom instruction, the school board may
91	consider and approve an amendment to the school district
92	operating budget transferring the identified amount of the
93	categorical funds to the appropriate account for expenditure:
94	1.  Funds for student transportation.
95	2.  Funds for safe schools.
96	3.  Funds for supplemental academic instruction.
97	4.  Funds for research-based reading instruction.
98	5.  Funds for instructional materials if all instructional
99	material purchases necessary to provide updated materials
100	aligned to Next Generation Sunshine State Standards and
101	benchmarks and that meet statutory requirements of content and
102	learning have been completed for that fiscal year, but no sooner
103	than March 1. Funds available after March 1 may be used to
104	purchase hardware for student instruction.
105	(c)  Each district school board shall include in its annual
106	financial report to the Department of Education the amount of
107	funds the school board transferred from any each of the
108	categorical fund pursuant to paragraph (b) funds identified in
109	this subsection and the specific academic classroom instruction
110	for which the transferred funds were expended. The Department of
111	Education shall provide instructions and specify the format to
112	be used in submitting this required information as a part of the
113	district annual financial report. The Department of Education
114	shall submit a report to the Legislature that identifies by
115	district and by categorical fund the amount transferred and the
116	specific academic classroom activity for which the funds were
117	expended.
118	(d)  If a district school board transfers funds from its
119	research-based reading instruction allocation, the board must
120	also submit to the Department of Education an amendment
121	describing the changes that the district is making to its
122	reading plan approved pursuant to paragraph (9)(d).
123	Section 6.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of section
124	1013.03, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
125	1013.03  Functions of the department and the Board of
126	Governors.-The functions of the Department of Education as it
127	pertains to educational facilities of school districts and
128	Florida College System institutions and of the Board of
129	Governors as it pertains to educational facilities of state
130	universities shall include, but not be limited to, the
131	following:
132	(10)(a)  Review and validate surveys proposed or amended by
133	the boards and recommend to the Commissioner of Education, or
134	the Chancellor of the State University System, as appropriate,
135	for approval, surveys that meet the requirements of this
136	chapter.
137	1.  The term "validate" as applied to surveys by school
138	districts means to review inventory data as submitted to the
139	department by district school boards; provide for review and
140	inspection, where required, of student stations and aggregate
141	square feet of inventory changed from satisfactory to
142	unsatisfactory or changed from unsatisfactory to satisfactory;
143	compare new school inventory to allocation limits provided by
144	this chapter; review cost projections for conformity with cost
145	limits set by s. 1013.64(6); compare total capital outlay full-
146	time equivalent enrollment projections in the survey with the
147	department's projections; review facilities lists to verify that
148	student station and auxiliary facility space allocations do not
149	exceed the limits provided by this chapter and related rules;
150	review and confirm the application of uniform facility
151	utilization factors, where provided by this chapter or related
152	rules; utilize the documentation of programs offered per site,
153	as submitted by the board, to analyze facility needs; confirm
154	that need projections for career and adult educational programs
155	comply with needs documented by the Department of Education; and
156	confirm the assignment of full-time student stations to all
157	space except auxiliary facilities, which, for purposes of
158	exemption from student station assignment, include the
159	following:
160	a.  Cafeterias.
161	b.  Multipurpose dining areas.
162	c.  Media centers.
163	d.  Auditoriums.
164	e.  Administration.
165	f.  Elementary, middle, and high school resource rooms, up
166	to the number of such rooms recommended for the applicable
167	occupant and space design capacity of the educational plant in
168	the State Requirements for Educational Facilities, beyond which
169	student stations must be assigned.
170	g.  Elementary, middle, and high school skills labs, up to
171	the number of such rooms recommended for the applicable occupant
172	and space design capacity of the educational plant in the State
173	Requirements for Educational Facilities, beyond which student
174	stations must be assigned.
175	h.  Elementary school art, science, and music rooms. Middle
176	and high school music rooms may not be assigned more than 30
177	student stations.
178	i.  Gymnasiums.
179	j.  Middle and high school science labs that are separate
180	from science classrooms.
181	k.  Part-time exceptional student education rooms. Full-
182	time exceptional student education rooms may not be assigned
183	more than seven student stations.
184	2.  The term "validate" as applied to surveys by Florida
185	College System institutions and universities means to review and
186	document the approval of each new site and official designation,
187	where applicable; review the inventory database as submitted by
188	each board to the department, including noncareer, and total
189	capital outlay full-time equivalent enrollment projections per
190	site and per college; provide for the review and inspection,
191	where required, of student stations and aggregate square feet of
192	space changed from satisfactory to unsatisfactory; utilize and
193	review the documentation of programs offered per site submitted
194	by the boards as accurate for analysis of space requirements and
195	needs; confirm that needs projected for career and adult
196	educational programs comply with needs documented by the
197	Department of Education; compare new facility inventory to
198	allocations limits as provided in this chapter; review cost
199	projections for conformity with state averages or limits
200	designated by this chapter; compare student enrollment
201	projections in the survey to the department's projections;
202	review facilities lists to verify that area allocations and
203	space factors for generating space needs do not exceed the
204	limits as provided by this chapter and related rules; confirm
205	the application of facility utilization factors as provided by
206	this chapter and related rules; and review, as submitted,
207	documentation of how survey recommendations will implement the
208	detail of current campus master plans and integrate with local
209	comprehensive plans and development regulations.
210	Section 7.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
211	contrary, a school district is not required to comply, but may
212	comply, with the State Uniform Building Code for Public
213	Educational Facilities Construction adopted pursuant to chapter
214	1013, Florida Statutes.
215	Section 8.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.

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