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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Florida School for Competitive 2
Academics; amending s. 1000.04, F.S.; revising the 3
components of the delivery of public education within 4
the Florida Early Learning -20 education system to 5
include the Florida School for Competitive Acad emics; 6
creating s. 1002.351, F.S.; providing for the 7
establishment of the Florida School for Competitive 8
Academics; providing for the purpose and mission of 9
the school; requiring the Commissioner of Education to 10
ensure eligible students are informed of the school; 11
providing for the appointment of the board of 12
trustees; prescribing the powers and duties of the 13
board of trustees; providing sovereign immunity to the 14
board of trustees; specifying the board's duties 15
regarding the maintenance of student and emplo yee 16
records; providing requirements regarding background 17
screening of school personnel; specifying duties of 18
the board regarding personnel; providing for funding 19
of the school; requiring the Auditor General to 20
conduct audits of the school; authorizing the 21
Department of Education's Office of Inspector General 22
to conduct investigations, as appropriate; exempting 23
the school from specified requirements in the Florida 24
Early Learning-20 Education Code; providing 25
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exceptions; specifying applicability of certain 26
provisions of law; creating s. 1011.58, F.S.; 27
prescribing procedures for the school's submittal of 28
legislative budget requests; requiring the school to 29
submit an implementation plan to the Department of 30
Education; requiring the Commissioner of Education to 31
include the school in the department's legislative 32
budget request, subject to specified conditions; 33
requiring the school to submit its fixed capital 34
outlay request to the department; creating s. 1011.59, 35
F.S.; prescribing procedures and requirements 36
governing the request and the appropriation of funds 37
for the operation of the school; requiring the board 38
to develop an annual operating budget; requiring the 39
Chief Financial Officer to transfer or reallocate 40
funds if certain conditions are met; requiring the 41
board to establish authorized positions within funds 42
appropriated to the school; providing for the carry 43
forward of any unexpended funds; providing that the 44
board of trustees may expend, reserve, or carry 45
forward of certain balances for fixed capital outlay 46
projects; amending s. 11.45, F.S.; revising the duties 47
of the Auditor General to conform to changes made by 48
the act; amending s. 110.205, F.S.; exempting school 49
personnel from provisions governing the state career 50
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service system; amending s. 216.251, F.S.; s pecifying 51
the manner of setting salaries for positions within 52
the school; amending s. 447.203, F.S.; revising the 53
definition of the terms "public employer" or 54
"employer" to include the school for purposes of part 55
II of ch. 447, F.S.; making technical chang es; 56
amending s. 1001.20, F.S.; revising the powers of the 57
department's Office of Inspector General to conform to 58
changes made by the act; providing a directive to the 59
Division of Law Revision; providing an effective date. 60
61
Be It Enacted by the Legislat ure of the State of Florida: 62
63
Section 1. Subsection (6) is added to section 1000.04, 64
Florida Statutes, to read: 65
1000.04 Components for the delivery of public education 66
within the Florida Early Learning -20 education system. —Florida's 67
Early Learning-20 education system provides for the delivery of 68
early learning and public education through publicly supported 69
and controlled K-12 schools, Florida College System 70
institutions, state universities and other postsecondary 71
educational institutions, other educa tional institutions, and 72
other educational services as provided or authorized by the 73
Constitution and laws of the state. 74
(6) THE FLORIDA SCHOOL FOR COMPETITIVE ACADEMICS. —The 75
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Florida School for Competitive Academics is a component of the 76
delivery of public education within Florida's Early Learning -20 77
education system. 78
Section 2. Section 1002.351, Florida Statutes, is created 79
to read: 80
1002.351 The Florida School for Competitive Academics. — 81
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Florida School 82
for Competitive Academics. The school shall be located in 83
Alachua County and is a state -supported public school for 84
Florida residents in grades 6 -12. The primary purpose of the 85
school is to provide a rigorous academic curriculum, and the 86
secondary purpose is to prepare students for regional, state, 87
and national academic competitions in all areas of study, 88
including, but not limited to, science, technology, engineering, 89
and mathematics. The school may admit students in grades 6 -12 90
beginning in the 2024 -2025 school year. 91
(2) MISSION.— 92
(a) The mission of the Florida School for Competitive 93
Academics is to provide students who meet selective admissions 94
requirements an environment that will foster high academic 95
engagement and advanced understanding of subject areas, develop 96
productive work habits, build resiliency, connect students with 97
industry leaders, and promote civic leadership. 98
(b) To assist in the recruitment of students, the 99
Commissioner of Education shall ensure all eligible students are 100
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informed of the Florida School for Competitive Academics. The 101
commissioner shall inform parents of public school students that 102
they may provide their child's student records to the Florida 103
School for Competitive Academics Board of Trustees for 104
recruitment purposes. 105
(3) BOARD OF TRUSTEES. — 106
(a)1. The Florida School for Competitive Academics shall 107
be governed by a board of trustees composed of seven members 108
appointed by the Governor to 4 -year terms and confirmed by the 109
Senate. For purposes of staggering terms, four me mbers, 110
including the chair as designated by the Governor, shall be 111
appointed to 4-year terms beginning July 1, 2023, and three 112
members shall be appointed to 2 -year terms beginning July 1, 113
2023. After the initial 4 -year term, the chair shall be elected 114
by the board. 115
2. No more than 116
one employee of the school may serve on the board of trustees as 117
a member or as chairman. 118
(b) Members of the board of trustees shall serve without 119
compensation, but may be reimbursed for per diem and travel 120
expenses pursuant to s. 112.061. 121
(c) The board of trustees is a public agency entitled to 122
sovereign immunity pursuant to s. 768.28, and board members are 123
public officers who bear fiduciary responsibility for the 124
Florida School for Competitive Academics. 125
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(d) The board of trustees is a body corporate with all the 126
powers of a body corporate, and such authority as is needed for 127
the proper operation and improvement of the Florida School for 128
Competitive Academics. Title to any gift, donation, or bequest 129
received by the board o f trustees must vest in the board of 130
trustees. Title to all other property and other assets of the 131
Florida School for Competitive Academics must vest in the State 132
Board of Education, but the board of trustees has complete 133
jurisdiction over the management o f the school. 134
(e) The board of trustees has the full power and authority 135
to: 136
1. Adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to 137
implement provisions of law relating to operation of the Florida 138
School for Competitive Academics. Such rules must be s ubmitted 139
to the State Board of Education for approval or disapproval. 140
After a rule is approved by the State Board of Education, the 141
rule must be filed immediately with the Department of State. The 142
board of trustees shall act at all times in conjunction wit h the 143
rules of the State Board of Education. 144
2. Appoint a principal, administrators, teachers, and 145
other employees. 146
3. Remove principals, administrators, teachers, and other 147
employees at the board's discretion. 148
4. Determine eligibility of students an d procedures for 149
admission. 150
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5. Provide for the proper keeping of accounts and records 151
and for budgeting of funds. 152
6. Receive gifts, donations, and bequests of money or 153
property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, from any 154
person, firm, corporati on, or other legal entity for the use and 155
benefit of the school. 156
7. Recommend to the Legislature for the school to become a 157
residential public school. 158
8. Do and perform every other matter or thing requisite to 159
the proper management, maintenance, suppor t, and control of the 160
school at the highest efficiency economically possible. 161
9. Allow the school to have a stand -alone law 162
enforcement agency. 163
10. After receiving approval from the 164
Administration Commission, exercise the power of eminent domain 165
in the manner provided in chapter 73 or chapter 74. 166
(f) The board of trustees shall: 167
1. Prepare and submit legislative budget requests for 168
operations and fixed capital outlay, in accordance with chapter 169
216 and ss. 1011.56 and 1013.60, to the Department of E ducation 170
for review and approval. The department must analyze the amount 171
requested for fixed capital outlay to determine if the request 172
is consistent with the school's campus master plan, educational 173
plant survey, and facilities master plan. 174
2. Approve and administer an annual operating budget in 175
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accordance with ss. 1011.56 and 1011.57. 176
3. Require all purchases to be in accordance with chapter 177
287 except for purchases made with funds received as gifts, 178
donations, or bequests or funds raised by or belong ing to 179
student clubs or student organizations. 180
4. Administer and maintain personnel programs for all 181
employees of the board of trustees and the Florida School for 182
Competitive Academics, who shall be school employees, including 183
the personnel. 184
5. Ensure that the Florida School for Competitive 185
Academics complies with s. 1013.351 concerning the coordination 186
of planning between the Florida School for Competitive Academics 187
and local governing bodies. 188
6. Ensure that the Florida School for Competitive 189
Academics complies with s. 112.061 concerning per diem and 190
travel expenses. 191
7. Adopt a master plan that specifies the objectives of 192
the Florida School for Competitive Academics. The plan must be 193
for a period of 5 years and must be reviewed for needed 194
modifications every 2 years. The board of trustees shall submit 195
the initial plan and subsequent modifications to the President 196
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 197
(4) STUDENT AND EMPLOYEE RECORDS. —The board of trustees 198
shall provide for the content and custody of student and 199
employee personnel records. Student records are subject to s. 200
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1002.22. Employee records are subject to s. 1012.31. 201
(5) PERSONNEL.— 202
(a) The Florida School for Competitive Academics Board of 203
Trustees shall require a ll employees and applicants for 204
employment to undergo background screening as provided in s. 205
1012.32 as a condition of employment and continued employment. 206
Members of the board of trustees must also undergo background 207
screening in accordance with the relev ant provisions of s. 208
1012.32. An individual may not be employed as an employee or 209
contract personnel of the school or serve as a member of the 210
board of trustees if the individual is on the disqualification 211
list maintained by the department pursuant to s. 1 001.10(4)(b). 212
(b) In accordance with law and rules of the State Board of 213
Education, the board of trustees shall administer and maintain 214
personnel programs for all employees of the board of trustees 215
and the Florida School for Competitive Academics. The bo ard of 216
trustees may adopt rules, policies, and procedures related to 217
the appointment, employment, and removal of personnel. 218
1. The board of trustees shall determine the compensation, 219
including salaries and fringe benefits, and other conditions of 220
employment for such personnel. 221
2. Classroom teachers employed by the school must be 222
certified pursuant to chapter 1012. 223
3. Each person employed by the board of trustees in an 224
academic administrative or instructional capacity with the 225
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Florida School for Competitive Academics is entitled to a 226
contract as provided by rules of the board of trustees. 227
4. All employees except temporary, seasonal, and student 228
employees may be provided Florida Retirement System benefits 229
from the school through operational cost s. 230
(6) FUNDING.— 231
(a) The Florida School for Competitive Academics shall 232
receive state funds for operating purposes as provided in the 233
General Appropriations Act. 234
(b) In addition to the funds provided in the General 235
Appropriations Act, the Florida School for Competitive Academics 236
may receive other funds from grants and donations. 237
(7) AUDITS.—The Auditor General shall conduct audits of 238
the accounts and records of the Florida School for Competitive 239
Academics as provided in s. 11.45. The Department o f Education's 240
Inspector General is authorized to conduct investigations at the 241
school as provided in s. 1001.20(4)(e). 242
(8) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES. — 243
(a) The Florida School for Competitive Academics is exempt 244
from all statutes in chapters 1000 -1013. However, the Florida 245
School for Competitive Academics shall be in compliance with the 246
following statutes in chapters 1000 -1013: 247
1. This section. 248
2. Those statutes pertaining to the student assessment 249
program and school grading system. 250
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3. Those statutes pertaining to the provision of services 251
to students with disabilities. 252
4. Those statutes pertaining to civil rights, including, 253
but not limited to, s. 1000.05, relating to discrimination. 254
5. Those statutes pertaining to student health, safety, 255
and welfare. 256
(b) Additionally, the Florida School for Competitive 257
Academics shall be in compliance with the following statutes: 258
1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and 259
records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties. 260
2. Chapter 119, relating to public records. 261
3. Section 1006.12, relating to safe -school officers. 262
4. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat assessment 263
teams. 264
5. Section 1006.07(9), relating to school environmental 265
safety incident reporting. 266
6. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of 267
involuntary examinations. 268
7. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe Schools 269
Assessment Tool. 270
8. Section 1006.07(6)(d), relating to adopting active 271
assailant response plans. 272
9. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile 273
suspicious activity reporting tool. 274
10. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health 275
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awareness and assistance training. 276
11. Section 1003.4282, relating to requirements for a 277
standard high school diploma. 278
12. Section 1003.03(1), relating t o class size maximums. 279
13.a. Section 1011.61, relating to instructional 280
hours requirements. 281
b. Notwithstanding sub -subparagraph a., the 282
school may provide instruction that exceeds the minimum time 283
requirements for the purposes of offering a summer program. 284
(c) For purposes of this subsection: 285
1. The duties assigned to a district school superintendent 286
apply to the director of the Florida School for Competitive 287
Academics. 288
2. The duties assigned to a district school board apply to 289
the board of trustees. 290
Section 3. Section 1011.58, Florida Statutes, is created 291
to read: 292
1011.58 Procedure for legislative budget requests for the 293
Florida School for Competitive Academics. — 294
(1)(a) The legislative budget request of the Florida 295
School for Competiti ve Academics established in s. 1002.351 must 296
be prepared using the same format, procedures, and timelines 297
required for the submission of the legislative budget of the 298
Department of Education. 299
(b) The Florida School for Competitive Academics shall 300
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submit its legislative budget request to the Department of 301
Education for review and approval. The school must create and 302
submit to the department an implementation plan before the 303
department may approve the budget request. 304
(c) Subsequent to the Department of Ed ucation's approval, 305
the Commissioner of Education shall include the Florida School 306
for Competitive Academics in the department's legislative budget 307
request to the State Board of Education, the Governor, and the 308
Legislature. The legislative budget request a nd the 309
appropriation for the Florida School for Competitive Academics 310
must be a separate identifiable sum in the public schools budget 311
entity of the Department of Education. 312
(d) The annual appropriation for the school shall be 313
distributed quarterly, with out using the Florida Education 314
Finance Program, in payments as nearly equal as possible. 315
Appropriations for textbooks, instructional technology, and 316
school buses may be released and distributed as necessary to 317
serve the instructional program for the stude nts. 318
(2) The school shall submit its fixed capital outlay 319
request to the Department of Education for review and approval 320
in accordance with s. 1002.36(4)(f)1. Subsequent to the 321
department's approval, the school's request must be included 322
within the department's public education capital outlay 323
legislative budget request. 324
Section 4. Section 1011.59, Florida Statutes, is created 325
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to read: 326
1011.59 Florida School for Competitive Academics; board of 327
trustees; management flexibility. — 328
(1) Notwithstanding ss. 216.031, 216.181, and 216.262 to 329
the contrary and pursuant s. 216.351, but subject to any 330
guidelines imposed in the General Appropriations Act, funds for 331
the operation of the Florida School for Competitive Academics 332
shall be requested and appropriated within budget entities, 333
program components, program categories, lump sums, or special 334
categories. Funds appropriated to the Florida School for 335
Competitive Academics for each program category, lump sum, or 336
special category may be transferred to traditional categories 337
for expenditure by the board of trustees of the school. The 338
board of trustees shall develop an annual operating budget that 339
allocates funds by program component and traditional expenditure 340
category. 341
(2) Notwithstanding s. 216.181 and pursuant to s. 216.351, 342
but subject to any requirements imposed in the General 343
Appropriations Act, a lump -sum plan is not required to implement 344
the special categories, program categories, or lump -sum 345
appropriations. Upon release of the special categories, program 346
categories, or lump-sum appropriations to the board of trustees, 347
the Chief Financial Officer shall, upon the request of the board 348
of trustees, transfer or reallocate funds to or among accounts 349
established for disbursement purposes. The board of trustees 350
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shall maintain records to account for the original 351
appropriation. 352
(3) Notwithstanding ss. 216.031, 216.181, 216.251, and 353
216.262 to the contrary and pursuant to s. 216.351, but subject 354
to any requirements imposed in the General Appropriations Act, 355
the board of trustees shall establish the authorized positions 356
and may amend such positions within the total funds authorized 357
annually in the appropriations act. 358
(4)(a) Notwithstanding s. 216.301 to the contrary, all 359
unexpended funds appropriated for the Florida School for 360
Competitive Academics shall be carried forward and included as 361
the balance forward for that fund in the approved operating 362
budget for the following year. 363
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, for the 2023 -2024 364
through 2027-2028 fiscal years, the school's board of trustees 365
may expend, reserve, or carry forward balances from prior year 366
operational and programmatic appropriations for fixed capital 367
outlay projects needed for the establishment of this school. 368
Section 5. Paragraphs (d) and (f) of su bsection (2) of 369
section 11.45, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 370
11.45 Definitions; duties; authorities; reports; rules. — 371
(2) DUTIES.—The Auditor General shall: 372
(d) Annually conduct financial audits of the accounts and 373
records of all district sc hool boards in counties with 374
populations of fewer than 150,000, according to the most recent 375
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federal decennial statewide census, and the Florida School for 376
the Deaf and the Blind , and the Florida School for Competitive 377
Academics. 378
(f) At least every 3 yea rs, conduct operational audits of 379
the accounts and records of state agencies, state universities, 380
state colleges, district school boards, the Florida Clerks of 381
Court Operations Corporation, water management districts, and 382
the Florida School for the Deaf an d the Blind, and the Florida 383
School for Competitive Academics . 384
385
The Auditor General shall perform his or her duties 386
independently but under the general policies established by the 387
Legislative Auditing Committee. This subsection does not limit 388
the Auditor General's discretionary authority to conduct other 389
audits or engagements of governmental entities as authorized in 390
subsection (3). 391
Section 6. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 392
110.205, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 393
110.205 Career service; exemptions.— 394
(2) EXEMPT POSITIONS. —The exempt positions that are not 395
covered by this part include the following: 396
(d) All officers and employees of the state universities 397
and the academic personnel and academic administrative personnel 398
of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and the Florida 399
School for Competitive Academics . In accordance with the 400
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provisions of s. 1002.36, the salaries for academic personnel 401
and academic administrative personnel of the Florida School for 402
the Deaf and the Blind and the Florida School for Competitive 403
Academics shall be set by the board of trustees for the 404
respective schools school, subject only to the approval of the 405
State Board of Education. 406
Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 407
216.251, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 408
216.251 Salary appropriations; limitations. — 409
(2)(a) The salary for each position not specifically 410
indicated in the appropriations acts shall be as provided in one 411
of the following subparagraphs: 412
1. Within the classification and pay plans provided for in 413
chapter 110. 414
2. Within the classification and pay plans established by 415
the Board of Trustees for the Florida School for the Deaf and 416
the Blind of the Department of Education and approved by the 417
State Board of Education for academic and academic 418
administrative personnel. 419
3. Within the classification and pay plan approved and 420
administered by the Board of Governors or the designee of the 421
board for those positions in the State University System. 422
4. Within the classification and pay plan approved by the 423
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 424
Representatives, as the cas e may be, for employees of the 425
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Legislature. 426
5. Within the approved classification and pay plan for the 427
judicial branch. 428
6. Within the classification and pay plans established by 429
the Board of Trustees for the Florida School for Competitive 430
Academics of the Department of Education and approved by the 431
State Board of Education for academic and academic 432
administrative personnel. 433
Section 8. Subsection (2) of section 447.203, Florida 434
Statutes, is amended to read: 435
447.203 Definitions. —As used in this part : 436
(2) "Public employer" or "employer" means the state or any 437
county, municipality, or special district or any subdivision or 438
agency thereof which the commission determines has sufficient 439
legal distinctiveness properly to carry out the functions of a 440
public employer. With respect to all public employees determined 441
by the commission as properly belonging to a statewide 442
bargaining unit composed of State Career Service System 443
employees or Selected Professional Service employees, the 444
Governor is shall be deemed to be the public employer; and the 445
Board of Governors of the State University System, or the 446
board's designee, is shall be deemed to be the public employer 447
with respect to all public employees of each constituent state 448
university. The board of trustees o f a community college is 449
shall be deemed to be the public employer with respect to all 450
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employees of the community college. The district school board is 451
shall be deemed to be the public employer with respect to all 452
employees of the school district. The Boar d of Trustees of the 453
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind is shall be deemed to 454
be the public employer with respect to the academic and academic 455
administrative personnel of the Florida School for the Deaf and 456
the Blind. The Board of Trustees of the Fl orida School for 457
Competitive Academics is deemed to be the public employer with 458
respect to the academic and academic administrative personnel of 459
the Florida School for Competitive Academics. The Governor is 460
shall be deemed to be the public employer with re spect to all 461
employees in the Correctional Education Program of the 462
Department of Corrections established pursuant to s. 944.801. 463
Section 9. Paragraph (e) of subsection (4) of section 464
1001.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 465
1001.20 Department under direction of state board. — 466
(4) The Department of Education shall establish the 467
following offices within the Office of the Commissioner of 468
Education which shall coordinate their activities with all other 469
divisions and offices: 470
(e) Office of Inspector General.—Organized using existing 471
resources and funds and responsible for promoting 472
accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness and detecting 473
fraud and abuse within school districts, the Florida School for 474
the Deaf and the Blind, the Florida School f or Competitive 475
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Academics, and Florida College System institutions in Florida. 476
If the Commissioner of Education determines that a district 477
school board, the Board of Trustees for the Florida School for 478
the Deaf and the Blind, the Board of Trustees for the F lorida 479
School for Competitive Academics, or a Florida College System 480
institution board of trustees is unwilling or unable to address 481
substantiated allegations made by any person relating to waste, 482
fraud, or financial mismanagement within the school distric t, 483
the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, the Florida 484
School for Competitive Academics, or the Florida College System 485
institution, the office must shall conduct, coordinate, or 486
request investigations into such substantiated allegations. The 487
office shall investigate allegations or reports of possible 488
fraud or abuse against a district school board made by any 489
member of the Cabinet; the presiding officer of either house of 490
the Legislature; a chair of a substantive or appropriations 491
committee with juris diction; or a member of the board for which 492
an investigation is sought. The office shall have access to all 493
information and personnel necessary to perform its duties and 494
shall have all of its current powers, duties, and 495
responsibilities authorized in s. 20 .055. 496
Section 10. The Division of Law Revision is directed to 497
revise the title of subpart D of part I of chapter 1011, Florida 498
Statutes, consisting of ss. 1011.55 -1011.59, Florida Statutes, 499
to read "Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and Florida 500
HB 1393 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1393-00
Page 21 of 21
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
School for Competitive Academics: Preparation, Adoption, and 501
Implementation of Budgets" to conform to the amendments made by 502
this act. 503
Section 11. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 504