FL
Florida House Bill H1259

Florida 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1259 Compare Versions

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1010 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
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14+A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to education; amending s. 212.055, 2
1616 F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 3
1717 act; amending s. 1013.62, F.S.; deleting obsolete 4
1818 language; making technical changes; revising charter 5
1919 school eligibility and ineligibility criteria to 6
2020 receive capital outlay funds; revising the calculation 7
2121 methodologies for the distribution of specified funds 8
2222 to eligible charter schools; providing school district 9
2323 requirements for the distribution of capital outlay 10
2424 funds to eligible charter schools; providing 11
2525 requirements for the use of capital outlay funds; 12
2626 providing an effective date. 13
2727 14
2828 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
2929 16
3030 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (6) of section 17
3131 212.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 18
3232 212.055 Discretionary sales surtaxes; legislative intent; 19
3333 authorization and use of proceeds. —It is the legislative intent 20
3434 that any authorization for imposition of a discretionary sales 21
3535 surtax shall be published in the Florida Statutes as a 22
3636 subsection of this section, irrespective of the duration of the 23
3737 levy. Each enactment shall specify the types of counties 24
3838 authorized to levy; the rate or rates which may be imposed; the 25
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4747 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
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5151 maximum length of time the surtax may be imposed, if any; the 26
5252 procedure which must be followed to secure voter approval, if 27
5353 required; the purpose for which the proceeds may be expended; 28
5454 and such other requirements as the Legislature may provide. 29
5555 Taxable transactions and administrative procedures shall be as 30
5656 provided in s. 212.054. 31
5757 (6) SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY SURTAX. — 32
5858 (c) The resolution providing for the imposition of the 33
5959 surtax must set forth a plan for use of the surtax proceeds for 34
6060 fixed capital expenditures or fixed capital costs associated 35
6161 with the construction, reconstruction, or improvement of school 36
6262 facilities and campuses which have a useful life expectancy of 5 37
6363 or more years, and any land acquisition, land improvement, 38
6464 design, and engineering costs related thereto, or any purchase, 39
6565 lease-purchase, lease, or maintenance of school buses, as 40
6666 defined in s. 1006.25, which have a life expectancy of 5 years 41
6767 or more. Additionally, the plan shall include the costs of 42
6868 retrofitting and providing for tech nology implementation, 43
6969 including hardware and software, for the various sites within 44
7070 the school district. Surtax revenues may be used to service bond 45
7171 indebtedness to finance projects authorized by this subsection, 46
7272 and any interest accrued thereto may be he ld in trust to finance 47
7373 such projects. Neither the proceeds of the surtax nor any 48
7474 interest accrued thereto shall be used for operational expenses. 49
7575 Surtax revenues shared with charter schools shall be shared 50
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8484 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
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8888 based on their proportionate share of total school district 51
8989 capital outlay full-time equivalent enrollment as adopted by the 52
9090 education estimating conference established in s. 216.136 and 53
9191 expended by the charter school in a manner consistent with the 54
9292 allowable uses set forth in s. 1013.62(4). All revenues and 55
9393 expenditures shall be accounted for in a charter school's 56
9494 monthly or quarterly financial statement pursuant to s. 57
9595 1002.33(9). The eligibility of a charter school to receive funds 58
9696 under this subsection shall be determined in accordance with s. 59
9797 1013.62(1). If a school's charter is not renewed or is 60
9898 terminated and the school is dissolved under the provisions of 61
9999 law under which the school was organized, any unencumbered funds 62
100100 received under this subsection shall revert to the sponsor. 63
101101 Section 2. Subsections (1), (2), (3), and (4) of section 64
102102 1013.62, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 65
103103 1013.62 Charter schools capital outlay funding. — 66
104104 (1) For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, charter school capital 67
105105 outlay funding shall consist of state funds appropriated i n the 68
106106 2022-2023 General Appropriations Act. Beginning in fiscal year 69
107107 2023-2024, Charter school capital outlay funding shall consist 70
108108 of state funds when such funds are appropriated in the General 71
109109 Appropriations Act and revenue resulting from the discretiona ry 72
110110 millage authorized in s. 1011.71(2) if the amount of state funds 73
111111 appropriated for charter school capital outlay in any fiscal 74
112112 year is less than the average charter school capital outlay 75
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121121 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
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125125 funds per unweighted full -time equivalent student for the 2018 -76
126126 2019 fiscal year, multiplied by the estimated number of charter 77
127127 school students for the applicable fiscal year, and adjusted by 78
128128 changes in the Consumer Price Index issued by the United States 79
129129 Department of Labor from the previous fiscal year. Nothing in 80
130130 this subsection prohibits a school district from distributing to 81
131131 charter schools funds resulting from the discretionary millage 82
132132 authorized in s. 1011.71(2) . 83
133133 (a) To be eligible to receive capital outlay funds, a 84
134134 charter school must: 85
135135 1.a. Have been in operatio n for 2 or more years; 86
136136 b. Be governed by a governing board established in the 87
137137 state for 2 or more years which operates both charter schools 88
138138 and conversion charter schools within the state; 89
139139 c. Be an expanded feeder chain of a charter school within 90
140140 the same school district that is currently receiving charter 91
141141 school capital outlay funds; 92
142142 d. Have been accredited by a regional accrediting 93
143143 association as defined by State Board of Education rule; 94
144144 e. Serve students in facilities that are provided by a 95
145145 business partner for a charter school -in-the-workplace pursuant 96
146146 to s. 1002.33(15)(b); or 97
147147 f. Be operated by a hope operator pursuant to s. 1002.333. 98
148148 2. Have an annual audit that does not reveal any of the 99
149149 financial emergency conditions provided in s. 21 8.503(1) for the 100
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158158 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
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162162 most recent fiscal year for which such audit results are 101
163163 available. 102
164164 3. Have satisfactory student achievement based on state 103
165165 accountability standards applicable to the charter school. 104
166166 4. Have received final approval from its sponsor pur suant 105
167167 to s. 1002.33 for operation during that fiscal year. 106
168168 5. Serve students in facilities that are not provided by 107
169169 the charter school's sponsor. 108
170170 6. Attest in writing to the department that if the charter 109
171171 school is nonrenewed or terminated, any unencum bered funds and 110
172172 all equipment and property purchased with public funds shall 111
173173 revert pursuant to subsection (5). 112
174174 (b) A charter school is not eligible to receive capital 113
175175 outlay funds if: 114
176176 1. It was created by the conversion of a public school and 115
177177 operates in facilities provided by the charter school's sponsor 116
178178 for a nominal fee, or at no charge, or if it is directly or 117
179179 indirectly operated by the school district ; 118
180180 2. It is a developmental research (laboratory) school that 119
181181 receives state funding for capital improvement purposes pursuant 120
182182 to s. 1002.32(9)(e); or 121
183183 3. A member of the governing board, or his or her family 122
184184 member as defined in s. 440.13(1)(b), has an interest in or is 123
185185 an employee of the lessor, excluding charter schools operating 124
186186 pursuant to s. 1002.33(15). 125
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195195 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
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199199 (2) The department shall use the following calculation 126
200200 methodology to allocate state funds appropriated in the General 127
201201 Appropriations Act to eligible charter schools: 128
202202 (a) Eligible charter schools shall be grouped into 129
203203 categories based on the ir student populations according to the 130
204204 following criteria: 131
205205 1. Seventy-five percent or greater who are eligible for 132
206206 free or reduced-price school meals under the National School 133
207207 Lunch Program or, for schools operating programs under the 134
208208 Community Eligibility Provision of the Healthy, Hunger -Free Kids 135
209209 Act of 2010, an equivalent percentage of the student population 136
210210 eligible for free and reduced -price meals as determined by 137
211211 applying the multiplier authorized under the National School 138
212212 Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. s. 1 759a(a)(1)(F)(vii), to the number of 139
213213 students reported for direct certification. 140
214214 2. Twenty-five percent or greater with disabilities as 141
215215 defined in state board rule and consistent with the requirements 142
216216 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 143
217217 (b) If an eligible charter school does not meet the 144
218218 criteria for either category under paragraph (a), its FTE shall 145
219219 be provided as the base amount of funding and shall be assigned 146
220220 a weight of 1.0. An eligible charter school that meets the 147
221221 criteria under subparagraph (a)1. or subparagraph (a)2. shall be 148
222222 provided an additional 25 percent above the base funding amount, 149
223223 and the total FTE shall be multiplied by a weight of 1.25. An 150
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232232 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
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236236 eligible charter school that meets the criteria under both 151
237237 subparagraphs (a)1. a nd (a)2. shall be provided an additional 50 152
238238 percent above the base funding amount, and the FTE for that 153
239239 school shall be multiplied by a weight of 1.5. 154
240240 (a)(c) Divide the state appropriation for charter school 155
241241 capital outlay shall be divided by the total weighted FTE for 156
242242 all eligible charter schools to determine the base charter 157
243243 school per weighted FTE allocation amount. The base charter 158
244244 school per weighted FTE allocation amount shall be multiplied by 159
245245 the weighted FTE of each charter school to determine each 160
246246 charter school's capital outlay allocation. 161
247247 (b)(d) The department shall calculate the eligible charter 162
248248 school funding allocations. Funds shall be allocated using full -163
249249 time equivalent membership from the second and third enrollment 164
250250 surveys and free and reduced-price school lunch data . The 165
251251 department shall recalculate the allocations periodically based 166
252252 on the receipt of revised information, on a schedule established 167
253253 by the Commissioner of Education. 168
254254 (c)(e) The department shall distribute capital outlay 169
255255 funds monthly, beginning in the first quarter of the fiscal 170
256256 year, based on one-twelfth of the amount the department 171
257257 reasonably expects the charter school to receive during that 172
258258 fiscal year. The commissioner shall adjust subsequent 173
259259 distributions as necessar y to reflect each charter school's 174
260260 recalculated allocation. 175
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269269 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
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273273 (3) If the school board levies the discretionary millage 176
274274 authorized in s. 1011.71(2), and the state funds appropriated 177
275275 for charter school capital outlay in any fiscal year are less 178
276276 than the average charter school capital outlay funds per 179
277277 unweighted full-time equivalent student for the 2018 -2019 fiscal 180
278278 year, multiplied by the estimated number of charter school 181
279279 students for the applicable fiscal year, and adjusted by changes 182
280280 in the Consumer Price I ndex issued by the United States 183
281281 Department of Labor from the previous fiscal year, the 184
282282 department shall use the following calculation methodology to 185
283283 determine the amount of revenue that a school district must 186
284284 distribute to each eligible charter school: 187
285285 (a) Reduce the total discretionary millage revenue by the 188
286286 school district's annual debt service obligation incurred as of 189
287287 March 1, 2017, which has not been subsequently retired, and any 190
288288 amount of participation requirement pursuant to s. 191
289289 1013.64(2)(a)8. that is being satisfied by revenues raised by 192
290290 the discretionary millage. 193
291291 (b) Divide the school district's adjusted discretionary 194
292292 millage revenue by the district's total capital outlay full -time 195
293293 equivalent membership and the total number of unweighted full-196
294294 time equivalent students of each eligible charter school to 197
295295 determine a capital outlay allocation per full -time equivalent 198
296296 student. 199
297297 (c) Multiply the capital outlay allocation per full -time 200
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306306 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
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310310 equivalent student by the total number of full -time equivalent 201
311311 students of each eligible charter school to determine the 202
312312 capital outlay allocation for each charter school. 203
313313 (d) If applicable, reduce the capital outlay allocation 204
314314 identified in paragraph (c) by the total amount of state funds 205
315315 allocated to each eligible ch arter school in subsection (2) to 206
316316 determine the maximum calculated capital outlay allocation. The 207
317317 amount of funds a school district must distribute to charter 208
318318 schools shall be as follows: 209
319319 1. For fiscal year 2023 -2024, the amount is 20 percent of 210
320320 the amount calculated under this paragraph. 211
321321 2. For fiscal year 2024 -2025, the amount is 40 percent of 212
322322 the amount calculated under this paragraph. 213
323323 3. For fiscal year 2025 -2026, the amount is 60 percent of 214
324324 the amount calculated under this paragraph. 215
325325 4. For fiscal year 2026-2027, the amount is 80 percent of 216
326326 the amount calculated under this paragraph. 217
327327 5. For fiscal year 2027 -2028, and each fiscal year 218
328328 thereafter, the amount is 100 percent of the amount calculated 219
329329 under this paragraph. 220
330330 (e) School districts shall distribute capital outlay funds 221
331331 to eligible charter schools no later than February 1 of each 222
332332 year, as required by this subsection, based on the amount of 223
333333 funds received by the district school board. School districts 224
334334 shall distribute any remaining capital outlay funds, as required 225
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343343 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
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347347 by this subsection, upon the receipt of such funds until the 226
348348 total amount calculated pursuant to this subsection is 227
349349 distributed. 228
350350 229
351351 By October 1 of each year, each school district shall certify to 230
352352 the department the amount of debt service and participation 231
353353 requirement that complies with the requirement of paragraph (a) 232
354354 and can be reduced from the total discretionary millage revenue. 233
355355 The Auditor General shall verify compliance with the 234
356356 requirements of paragr aph (a) and s. 1011.71(2)(e) during 235
357357 scheduled operational audits of school districts. 236
358358 (4) A charter school's governing body may use charter 237
359359 school capital outlay funds for the following purposes: 238
360360 (a) Purchase of real property. 239
361361 (b) Construction of sch ool facilities. 240
362362 (c) Purchase, lease -purchase, or lease of permanent or 241
363363 relocatable school facilities. 242
364364 (d) Purchase of vehicles to transport students to and from 243
365365 the charter school. 244
366366 (e) Renovation, repair, and maintenance of school 245
367367 facilities that the charter school owns or is purchasing through 246
368368 a lease-purchase or long-term lease of 5 years or longer. 247
369369 (f) Payment of the cost of premiums for property and 248
370370 casualty insurance necessary to insure the school facilities. 249
371371 (g) Purchase, lease -purchase, or lease of driver's 250
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380380 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
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384384 education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or 251
385385 operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or 252
386386 vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and 253
387387 equipment. 254
388388 (h) Purchase, lease -purchase, or lease of computer and 255
389389 device hardware and operating system software necessary for 256
390390 gaining access to or enhancing the use of electronic and digital 257
391391 instructional content and resources; and enterprise resource 258
392392 software applications that are classified as capital assets in 259
393393 accordance with definitions of the Governmental Accounting 260
394394 Standards Board, have a useful life of at least 5 years, and are 261
395395 used to support schoolwide administration or state -mandated 262
396396 reporting requirements. Enterprise resource software may be 263
397397 acquired by annual license fees, maintenance fees, or lease 264
398398 agreement. 265
399399 (i) Payment of the cost of the opening day collection for 266
400400 the library media center of a new school. 267
401401 268
402402 Any purchase, lease-purchase, or lease made pursuant to this 269
403403 subsection must be at the appraised value. For purposes of this 270
404404 subsection, the term "appraised value" means the fair market 271
405405 value as determined by an independent, Florida -licensed, 272
406406 qualified appraiser selected by the governing board. 273
407407 Documentation of the appraised value shall be provided t o the 274
408408 department upon its request. Conversion charter schools may use 275
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417417 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
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421421 capital outlay funds received through the reduction in the 276
422422 administrative fee provided in s. 1002.33(20) for renovation, 277
423423 repair, and maintenance of school facilities that are owned by 278
424424 the sponsor. 279
425425 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 280