Florida 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0953 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	HB 953 2023
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
8	8	hb0953-00
9	9	Page 1 of 4
10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
11	11
12	12
13	13
14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to educational support employee and 2
16	16	paraprofessional teacher certification; creating the 3
17	17	Growing Teachers from Within Pilot Program within the 4
18	18	Department of Education, contingent upon legislative 5
19	19	appropriation; providing a purpose for the pilot 6
20	20	program; requiring school districts to apply to the 7
21	21	department by a specified date in order to participate 8
22	22	in the pilot program; requiring the Commissione r of 9
23	23	Education to select participating school districts 10
24	24	based on specified criteria to participate in the 11
25	25	pilot program; requiring the commissioner to 12
26	26	coordinate with certain state universities; specifying 13
27	27	eligibility requirements for participation by scho ol 14
28	28	employees in the pilot program; requiring that funding 15
29	29	for the pilot program be used in a specified manner; 16
30	30	requiring participating school districts to submit a 17
31	31	report to the commissioner on an annual basis; 18
32	32	authorizing the State Board of Education to a dopt 19
33	33	rules; providing for expiration; providing an 20
34	34	effective date. 21
35	35	22
36	36	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 23
37	37	24
38	38	Section 1. Growing Teachers from Within Pilot Program. — 25
39	39
40	40	HB 953 2023
41	41
42	42
43	43
44	44	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
45	45	hb0953-00
46	46	Page 2 of 4
47	47	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
48	48
49	49
50	50
51	51	(1) Contingent upon legislative appropriation, the Growing 26
52	52	Teachers from Within Pilot Program is created within the 27
53	53	Department of Education. The purpose of the pilot program is to 28
54	54	assist school district employees who work in a public school but 29
55	55	are not employed as instructional personnel by removing barriers 30
56	56	to their obtaining a teaching certificate in order to help 31
57	57	alleviate the growing teacher shortage throughout this state. 32
58	58	(2) In order to participate in the pilot program, school 33
59	59	districts must submit an application to the department by 34
60	60	October 1, 2023. The Comm issioner of Education shall select up 35
61	61	to three school districts for participation in the pilot 36
62	62	program. The commissioner shall select one school district of a 37
63	63	county with a population less than 100,000 as of the most recent 38
64	64	decennial census, one school dis trict of a county with a 39
65	65	population between 100,000 and 500,000 as of the most recent 40
66	66	decennial census, and one school district of a county with a 41
67	67	population exceeding 500,000 as of the most recent decennial 42
68	68	census. The commissioner shall coordinate with s tate 43
69	69	universities in proximity of the selected school districts to 44
70	70	assist in the department's administration of the pilot program. 45
71	71	(3) To be eligible to participate in the pilot program, an 46
72	72	employee of a participating school district must: 47
73	73	(a) Be employed as an educational support employee or as 48
74	74	an education paraprofessional and have received an associate 49
75	75	degree or successfully completed 60 semester credit hours at a 50
76	76
77	77	HB 953 2023
78	78
79	79
80	80
81	81	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
82	82	hb0953-00
83	83	Page 3 of 4
84	84	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
85	85
86	86
87	87
88	88	postsecondary institution. 51
89	89	(b) Commit to teach in the school district for a minimum 52
90	90	of 2 years or a pro rata number of years after obtaining a 53
91	91	teaching certificate. 54
92	92	(4) Funds appropriated for the pilot program must be used 55
93	93	for all of the following: 56
94	94	(a) Establishing a customized coursework schedule to allow 57
95	95	for flexibility for participa ting school district employees to 58
96	96	complete credit hours toward earning a bachelor's degree while 59
97	97	maintaining employment with the school district and ultimately 60
98	98	attaining a teacher certification. 61
99	99	(b) Financial support for tuition, credentials, 62
100	100	technology, and instructional materials for participating school 63
101	101	district employees. 64
102	102	(5) Participating school districts shall submit a report 65
103	103	to the Commissioner of Education by June 1 of each year for the 66
104	104	duration of the pilot program which includes, but is not li mited 67
105	105	to, detailing findings regarding the pilot program's 68
106	106	implementation and whether it is meeting its intended goal of 69
107	107	serving as a recruitment tool and a strategy to retain school 70
108	108	district employees in order to alleviate the growing teacher 71
109	109	shortage in this state. 72
110	110	(6) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to 73
111	111	administer this section. 74
112	112	(7) This section expires June 30, 2026. 75
113	113
114	114	HB 953 2023
115	115
116	116
117	117
118	118	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
119	119	hb0953-00
120	120	Page 4 of 4
121	121	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
122	122
123	123
124	124
125	125	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 76