Florida 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1629 Compare Versions

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

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3	3	HB 1629 2023
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8	8	hb1629-00
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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
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14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to financial accountability in 2
16	16	publicly funded education ; amending s. 1002.421, F.S.; 3
17	17	revising requirements for a private school to 4
18	18	participate in certain educational scholarship 5
19	19	programs; requiring the Department of Education to 6
20	20	suspend the payment of funds to participating private 7
21	21	schools under certain circumstances; creating s. 8
22	22	1011.781, F.S.; creating the K -12 Education Funding 9
23	23	Task Force within the department; providing the 10
24	24	purpose of the task force; providing for membership of 11
25	25	the task force; providing for the terms of task force 12
26	26	members; providing requirements for the selection of a 13
27	27	chair, a quorum, and meetings of the task force; 14
28	28	authorizing task force members to receive specified 15
29	29	reimbursements; providing the duties and 16
30	30	responsibilities of the task force; requiring the task 17
31	31	force to annually provide a report to specified 18
32	32	individuals and the public; providing requirements for 19
33	33	such report; providing an effective date. 20
34	34	21
35	35	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
36	36	23
37	37	Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 1002.421, Florida 24
38	38	Statutes, is amended to read: 25
39	39
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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
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49	49
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51	51	1002.421 State school choice scholarship program 26
52	52	accountability and oversi ght.— 27
53	53	(1) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS. —A private 28
54	54	school participating in an educational scholarship program 29
55	55	established pursuant to this chapter must be a private school as 30
56	56	defined in s. 1002.01(2) in this state, be registered, and be in 31
57	57	compliance with all requirements of this section in addition to 32
58	58	private school requirements outlined in s. 1002.42, specific 33
59	59	requirements identified within respective scholarship program 34
60	60	laws, and other provisions of Florida law that apply to private 35
61	61	schools, and must: 36
62	62	(a) Comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42 37
63	63	U.S.C. s. 2000d. 38
64	64	(b) Notify the department of its intent to participate in 39
65	65	a scholarship program. 40
66	66	(c) Notify the department of any change in the school's 41
67	67	name, school director, mail ing address, or physical location 42
68	68	within 15 days after the change. 43
69	69	(d) Provide to the department or scholarship -funding 44
70	70	organization all documentation required for a student's 45
71	71	participation, including the private school's and student's 46
72	72	individual fee schedule, and attendance verification as required 47
73	73	by the department or scholarship -funding organization, prior to 48
74	74	scholarship payment. 49
75	75	(e) Annually complete and submit to the department a 50
76	76
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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
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86	86
87	87
88	88	notarized scholarship compliance statement certifying that all 51
89	89	school employees and contracted personnel with direct student 52
90	90	contact have undergone background screening pursuant to s. 53
91	91	435.12 and have met the screening standards as provided in s. 54
92	92	435.04. 55
93	93	(f) Demonstrate fiscal soundness and accountability by: 56
94	94	1. Being in operation for at least 3 school years or 57
95	95	obtaining a surety bond or letter of credit for the amount equal 58
96	96	to the scholarship funds for any quarter and filing the surety 59
97	97	bond or letter of credit with the department. 60
98	98	2. Requiring the parent of each schola rship student to 61
99	99	personally restrictively endorse the scholarship warrant to the 62
100	100	school or to approve a funds transfer before any funds are 63
101	101	deposited for a student. The school may not act as attorney in 64
102	102	fact for the parent of a scholarship student under th e authority 65
103	103	of a power of attorney executed by such parent, or under any 66
104	104	other authority, to endorse a scholarship warrant or approve a 67
105	105	funds transfer on behalf of such parent. 68
106	106	(g) Meet applicable state and local health, safety, and 69
107	107	welfare laws, codes, and rules, including: 70
108	108	1. Firesafety. 71
109	109	2. Building safety. 72
110	110	(h) Employ or contract with teachers who hold 73
111	111	baccalaureate or higher degrees, have at least 3 years of 74
112	112	teaching experience in public or private schools, or have 75
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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	special skills, knowledge, or expertise that qualifies them to 76
126	126	provide instruction in subjects taught. 77
127	127	(i) Maintain a physical location in the state at which 78
128	128	each student has regular and direct contact with teachers. 79
129	129	(j) Publish on the school's website, or provide in a 80
130	130	written format, information for parents regarding the school, 81
131	131	including, but not limited to, programs, services, and the 82
132	132	qualifications of classroom teachers. 83
133	133	(k) At a minimum, provide the parent of each scholarship 84
134	134	student with a written explanation of the student' s progress on 85
135	135	a quarterly basis. 86
136	136	(l) Cooperate with a student whose parent chooses to 87
137	137	participate in the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22. 88
138	138	(m) Require each employee and contracted personnel with 89
139	139	direct student contact, upon employment or en gagement to provide 90
140	140	services, to undergo a state and national background screening, 91
141	141	pursuant to s. 943.0542, by electronically filing with the 92
142	142	Department of Law Enforcement a complete set of fingerprints 93
143	143	taken by an authorized law enforcement agency or an employee of 94
144	144	the private school, a school district, or a private company who 95
145	145	is trained to take fingerprints and deny employment to or 96
146	146	terminate an employee if he or she fails to meet the screening 97
147	147	standards under s. 435.04. Results of the screening shall b e 98
148	148	provided to the participating private school. For purposes of 99
149	149	this paragraph: 100
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158	158	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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162	162	1. An "employee or contracted personnel with direct 101
163	163	student contact" means any employee or contracted personnel who 102
164	164	has unsupervised access to a scholarship student for whom the 103
165	165	private school is responsible. 104
166	166	2. The costs of fingerprinting and the background check 105
167	167	shall not be borne by the state. 106
168	168	3. Continued employment of an employee or contracted 107
169	169	personnel after notification that he or she has failed the 108
170	170	background screening under this paragraph shall cause a private 109
171	171	school to be ineligible for participation in a scholarship 110
172	172	program. 111
173	173	4. An employee or contracted personnel holding a valid 112
174	174	Florida teaching certificate who has been fingerprinted pursuant 113
175	175	to s. 1012.32 is not required to comply with the provisions of 114
176	176	this paragraph. 115
177	177	5. All fingerprints submitted to the Department of Law 116
178	178	Enforcement as required by this section shall be retained by the 117
179	179	Department of Law Enforcement in a manner provided by rule and 118
180	180	entered in the statewide automated biometric identification 119
181	181	system authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b). Such fingerprints shall 120
182	182	thereafter be available for all purposes and uses authorized for 121
183	183	arrest fingerprints entered in the statewide automated biometric 122
184	184	identification system pursuant to s. 943.051. 123
185	185	6. The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all 124
186	186	arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the 125
187	187
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195	195	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
196	196
197	197
198	198
199	199	fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric 126
200	200	identification system under subparagraph 5. Any arr est record 127
201	201	that is identified with the retained fingerprints of a person 128
202	202	subject to the background screening under this section shall be 129
203	203	reported to the employing school with which the person is 130
204	204	affiliated. Each private school participating in a scholarshi p 131
205	205	program is required to participate in this search process by 132
206	206	informing the Department of Law Enforcement of any change in the 133
207	207	employment or contractual status of its personnel whose 134
208	208	fingerprints are retained under subparagraph 5. The Department 135
209	209	of Law Enforcement shall adopt a rule setting the amount of the 136
210	210	annual fee to be imposed upon each private school for performing 137
211	211	these searches and establishing the procedures for the retention 138
212	212	of private school employee and contracted personnel fingerprints 139
213	213	and the dissemination of search results. The fee may be borne by 140
214	214	the private school or the person fingerprinted. 141
215	215	7. Employees and contracted personnel whose fingerprints 142
216	216	are not retained by the Department of Law Enforcement under 143
217	217	subparagraphs 5. and 6. are re quired to be refingerprinted and 144
218	218	must meet state and national background screening requirements 145
219	219	upon reemployment or reengagement to provide services in order 146
220	220	to comply with the requirements of this section. 147
221	221	8. Every 5 years following employment or engag ement to 148
222	222	provide services with a private school, employees or contracted 149
223	223	personnel required to be screened under this section must meet 150
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232	232	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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234	234
235	235
236	236	screening standards under s. 435.04, at which time the private 151
237	237	school shall request the Department of Law Enforcement to 152
238	238	forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 153
239	239	for national processing. If the fingerprints of employees or 154
240	240	contracted personnel are not retained by the Department of Law 155
241	241	Enforcement under subparagraph 5., employees and contracted 156
242	242	personnel must electronically file a complete set of 157
243	243	fingerprints with the Department of Law Enforcement. Upon 158
244	244	submission of fingerprints for this purpose, the private school 159
245	245	shall request that the Department of Law Enforcement forward the 160
246	246	fingerprints to the Fed eral Bureau of Investigation for national 161
247	247	processing, and the fingerprints shall be retained by the 162
248	248	Department of Law Enforcement under subparagraph 5. 163
249	249	(n) Adopt policies establishing standards of ethical 164
250	250	conduct for educational support employees, instru ctional 165
251	251	personnel, and school administrators. The policies must require 166
252	252	all educational support employees, instructional personnel, and 167
253	253	school administrators, as defined in s. 1012.01, to complete 168
254	254	training on the standards; establish the duty of educationa l 169
255	255	support employees, instructional personnel, and school 170
256	256	administrators to report, and procedures for reporting, alleged 171
257	257	misconduct by other educational support employees, instructional 172
258	258	personnel, and school administrators which affects the health, 173
259	259	safety, or welfare of a student; and include an explanation of 174
260	260	the liability protections provided under ss. 39.203 and 768.095. 175
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269	269	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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273	273	A private school, or any of its employees, may not enter into a 176
274	274	confidentiality agreement regarding terminated or dismissed 177
275	275	educational support employees, instructional personnel, or 178
276	276	school administrators, or employees, personnel, or 179
277	277	administrators who resign in lieu of termination, based in whole 180
278	278	or in part on misconduct that affects the health, safety, or 181
279	279	welfare of a student, and may n ot provide the employees, 182
280	280	personnel, or administrators with employment references or 183
281	281	discuss the employees', personnel's, or administrators' 184
282	282	performance with prospective employers in another educational 185
283	283	setting, without disclosing the employees', personnel 's, or 186
284	284	administrators' misconduct. Any part of an agreement or contract 187
285	285	that has the purpose or effect of concealing misconduct by 188
286	286	educational support employees, instructional personnel, or 189
287	287	school administrators which affects the health, safety, or 190
288	288	welfare of a student is void, is contrary to public policy, and 191
289	289	may not be enforced. 192
290	290	(o) Before employing a person in any position that 193
291	291	requires direct contact with students, conduct employment 194
292	292	history checks of previous employers, screen the person through 195
293	293	use of the screening tools described in s. 1001.10(5), and 196
294	294	document the findings. If unable to contact a previous employer, 197
295	295	the private school must document efforts to contact the 198
296	296	employer. The private school may not employ a person whose 199
297	297	educator certificate is revoked, who is barred from reapplying 200
298	298
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306	306	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
307	307
308	308
309	309
310	310	for an educator certificate, or who is on the disqualification 201
311	311	list maintained by the department pursuant to s. 1001.10(4)(b). 202
312	312	(p) Require each owner or operator of the private school, 203
313	313	prior to employment or eng agement to provide services, to 204
314	314	undergo level 2 background screening as provided under chapter 205
315	315	435. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "owner or 206
316	316	operator" means an owner, operator, superintendent, or principal 207
317	317	of, or a person with equivalent decision making authority over, a 208
318	318	private school participating in a scholarship program 209
319	319	established pursuant to this chapter. The fingerprints for the 210
320	320	background screening must be electronically submitted to the 211
321	321	Department of Law Enforcement and may be taken by an authorized 212
322	322	law enforcement agency or a private company who is trained to 213
323	323	take fingerprints. However, the complete set of fingerprints of 214
324	324	an owner or operator may not be taken by the owner or operator. 215
325	325	The owner or operator shall provide a copy of the resul ts of the 216
326	326	state and national criminal history check to the Department of 217
327	327	Education. The cost of the background screening may be borne by 218
328	328	the owner or operator. 219
329	329	1. Every 5 years following employment or engagement to 220
330	330	provide services, each owner or operato r must meet level 2 221
331	331	screening standards as described in s. 435.04, at which time the 222
332	332	owner or operator shall request the Department of Law 223
333	333	Enforcement to forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of 224
334	334	Investigation for level 2 screening. If the fingerpr ints of an 225
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343	343	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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347	347	owner or operator are not retained by the Department of Law 226
348	348	Enforcement under subparagraph 2., the owner or operator must 227
349	349	electronically file a complete set of fingerprints with the 228
350	350	Department of Law Enforcement. Upon submission of fingerprints 229
351	351	for this purpose, the owner or operator shall request that the 230
352	352	Department of Law Enforcement forward the fingerprints to the 231
353	353	Federal Bureau of Investigation for level 2 screening, and the 232
354	354	fingerprints shall be retained by the Department of Law 233
355	355	Enforcement under subparagraph 2. 234
356	356	2. Fingerprints submitted to the Department of Law 235
357	357	Enforcement as required by this paragraph must be retained by 236
358	358	the Department of Law Enforcement in a manner approved by rule 237
359	359	and entered in the statewide automated biometric identif ication 238
360	360	system authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b). The fingerprints must 239
361	361	thereafter be available for all purposes and uses authorized for 240
362	362	arrest fingerprints entered in the statewide automated biometric 241
363	363	identification system pursuant to s. 943.051. 242
364	364	3. The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all 243
365	365	arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the 244
366	366	fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric 245
367	367	identification system under subparagraph 2. Any arrest record 246
368	368	that is identified with an owner' s or operator's fingerprints 247
369	369	must be reported to the owner or operator, who must report to 248
370	370	the Department of Education. Any costs associated with the 249
371	371	search shall be borne by the owner or operator. 250
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380	380	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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384	384	4. An owner or operator who fails the level 2 background 251
385	385	screening is not eligible to participate in a scholarship 252
386	386	program under this chapter. 253
387	387	5. In addition to the offenses listed in s. 435.04, a 254
388	388	person required to undergo background screening pursuant to this 255
389	389	part or authorizing statutes may not have an arr est awaiting 256
390	390	final disposition for, must not have been found guilty of, or 257
391	391	entered a plea of nolo contendere to, regardless of 258
392	392	adjudication, and must not have been adjudicated delinquent for, 259
393	393	and the record must not have been sealed or expunged for, any of 260
394	394	the following offenses or any similar offense of another 261
395	395	jurisdiction: 262
396	396	a. Any authorizing statutes, if the offense was a felony. 263
397	397	b. This chapter, if the offense was a felony. 264
398	398	c. Section 409.920, relating to Medicaid provider fraud. 265
399	399	d. Section 409.9201, relating to Medicaid fraud. 266
400	400	e. Section 741.28, relating to domestic violence. 267
401	401	f. Section 817.034, relating to fraudulent acts through 268
402	402	mail, wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or 269
403	403	photooptical systems. 270
404	404	g. Section 817.234, relating to false and fraudulent 271
405	405	insurance claims. 272
406	406	h. Section 817.505, relating to patient brokering. 273
407	407	i. Section 817.568, relating to criminal use of personal 274
408	408	identification information. 275
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417	417	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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421	421	j. Section 817.60, relating to obtaining a credit card 276
422	422	through fraudulent m eans. 277
423	423	k. Section 817.61, relating to fraudulent use of credit 278
424	424	cards, if the offense was a felony. 279
425	425	l. Section 831.01, relating to forgery. 280
426	426	m. Section 831.02, relating to uttering forged 281
427	427	instruments. 282
428	428	n. Section 831.07, relating to forging bank bills, checks, 283
429	429	drafts, or promissory notes. 284
430	430	o. Section 831.09, relating to uttering forged bank bills, 285
431	431	checks, drafts, or promissory notes. 286
432	432	p. Section 831.30, relating to fraud in obtaining 287
433	433	medicinal drugs. 288
434	434	q. Section 831.31, relating to the sale, manufact ure, 289
435	435	delivery, or possession with the intent to sell, manufacture, or 290
436	436	deliver any counterfeit controlled substance, if the offense was 291
437	437	a felony. 292
438	438	6. At least 30 calendar days before a transfer of 293
439	439	ownership of a private school, the owner or operator shall 294
440	440	notify the parent of each scholarship student. 295
441	441	7. The owner or operator of a private school that has been 296
442	442	deemed ineligible to participate in a scholarship program 297
443	443	pursuant to this chapter may not transfer ownership or 298
444	444	management authority of the school to a relative in order to 299
445	445	participate in a scholarship program as the same school or a new 300
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454	454	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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456	456
457	457
458	458	school. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "relative" 301
459	459	means father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother, 302
460	460	brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, n ephew, niece, husband, 303
461	461	wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, 304
462	462	brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, 305
463	463	stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half -brother, or half-306
464	464	sister. 307
465	465	(q) Provide a report from an inde pendent certified public 308
466	466	accountant who performs the agreed -upon procedures developed 309
467	467	pursuant to s. 1002.395(6)(o) if the private school receives 310
468	468	more than $250,000 in funds from scholarships awarded under this 311
469	469	chapter in a state fiscal year. A private sc hool subject to this 312
470	470	subsection must annually submit the report by September 15 to 313
471	471	the scholarship-funding organization that awarded the majority 314
472	472	of the school's scholarship funds. However, a school that 315
473	473	receives more than $250,000 in scholarship funds onl y through 316
474	474	the John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities 317
475	475	Program pursuant to s. 1002.39 must submit the annual report by 318
476	476	September 15 to the department. The agreed -upon procedures must 319
477	477	be conducted in accordance with attestation standards 320
478	478	established by the American Institute of Certified Public 321
479	479	Accountants. 322
480	480	(r) Prohibit education support employees, instructional 323
481	481	personnel, and school administrators from employment in any 324
482	482	position that requires direct contact with students if the 325
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491	491	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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493	493
494	494
495	495	personnel or administrators are ineligible for such employment 326
496	496	pursuant to this section or s. 1012.315, or have been terminated 327
497	497	or have resigned in lieu of termination for sexual misconduct 328
498	498	with a student. If the prohibited conduct occurs subsequent to 329
499	499	employment, the private school must report the person and the 330
500	500	disqualifying circumstances to the department for inclusion on 331
501	501	the disqualification list maintained pursuant to s. 332
502	502	1001.10(4)(b). 333
503	503	(s) Publish on the school's website, and provide to 334
504	504	parents in a written for mat, a clear and easy to understand 335
505	505	disclosure of any conditions of attendance or policies of the 336
506	506	school that require the following: 337
507	507	1. Compliance with religious tenants. 338
508	508	2. Compliance with a student code of conduct or dress code 339
509	509	which specifies groo ming or hair style requirements. 340
510	510	3. Compliance with provisions related to sexual 341
511	511	orientation or gender identity. 342
512	512	(t) Beginning February 28, 2024, and annually on February 343
513	513	28 thereafter, disclose to the school district the number of 344
514	514	vacant seats the sch ool intends to offer to eligible scholarship 345
515	515	students during the subsequent school year. 346
516	516	(u) Disclose to the department when a student is 347
517	517	disenrolled by the school . This paragraph does not apply to a 348
518	518	student removed at a parent's choosing. 349
519	519	(v) Return to the department or an eligible nonprofit 350
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528	528	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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532	532	scholarship-funding organization, as appropriate, a prorated 351
533	533	amount of funds, as determined by the department, for students 352
534	534	who disenroll from the private school midyear and enroll in a 353
535	535	public school, including a c harter school. 354
536	536	355
537	537	The department shall suspend the payment of funds to a private 356
538	538	school that disenrolls, without the parents' consent, more than 357
539	539	25 percent of scholarship students within a single school year 358
540	540	or knowingly fails to comply with this subsection , and shall 359
541	541	prohibit the school from enrolling new scholarship students, for 360
542	542	1 fiscal year and until the school complies. If a private school 361
543	543	fails to meet the requirements of this subsection or has 362
544	544	consecutive years of material exceptions listed in the re port 363
545	545	required under paragraph (q), the commissioner may determine 364
546	546	that the private school is ineligible to participate in a 365
547	547	scholarship program. 366
548	548	Section 2. Section 1011.781, Florida Statutes, is created 367
549	549	to read: 368
550	550	1011.781 K-12 Education Funding Task F orce.— 369
551	551	(1) The K-12 Education Funding Task Force, a task force as 370
552	552	defined in s. 20.03(8), is created within the Department of 371
553	553	Education to: 372
554	554	(a) Make recommendations to identify and examine issues 373
555	555	within nontraditional schools that receive state funds. 374
556	556	(b) Provide recommendations for increased transparency 375
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569	569	with such schools. 376
570	570	(c) Provide recommendations for universal standards for 377
571	571	the use of public dollars in education. 378
572	572	(d) Provide recommendations for accountability measures 379
573	573	for nontraditional schools that fail to meet specified 380
574	574	requirements. 381
575	575	(2)(a) The task force shall be comprised of 16 members 382
576	576	appointed as follows: 383
577	577	1. Six members appointed by the Commissioner of Education 384
578	578	as follows: 385
579	579	a. One member who is a behavioral health professional who 386
580	580	specializes in childhood behavioral disabilities. 387
581	581	b. One member who is a health professional who specializes 388
582	582	in childhood developmental disabilities. 389
583	583	c. One member who i s a school safety specialist. 390
584	584	d. One member who is a certified school counselor, child 391
585	585	psychologist, or social worker. 392
586	586	e. One member who is an English for Speakers of Other 393
587	587	Languages representative. 394
588	588	f. One member who has experience with the state's a cademic 395
589	589	standards and curriculum transparency requirements. 396
590	590	2. The Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Association 397
591	591	of District School Superintendents or his or her designee. 398
592	592	3. One member who is selected by the Florida Education 399
593	593	Association. 400
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606	606	4. One member who is selected by the Minority Leader of 401
607	607	the House of Representatives. 402
608	608	5. One member who is selected by the Minority Leader of 403
609	609	the Senate. 404
610	610	6. Three members who are selected by the Speaker of the 405
611	611	House of Representatives. 406
612	612	7. Three members who are selected by the President of the 407
613	613	Senate. 408
614	614	(b) Members shall serve 4 -year terms. However, for the 409
615	615	purpose of staggered terms, of the initial appointments, seven 410
616	616	members shall be appointed for 2 -year terms and nine members 411
617	617	shall be appointed for 4 -year terms. 412
618	618	(c) The chair of the task force shall be selected by a 413
619	619	majority vote of members. A majority of the members of the task 414
620	620	force constitutes a quorum. 415
621	621	(d) The task force shall meet as necessary to accomplish 416
622	622	its responsibilities or at the call o f the chair and at a time a 417
623	623	place designated by the chair. The task force may conduct its 418
624	624	meetings through teleconferences or other similar means. Member s 419
625	625	of the task force are entitled to receive a reimbursement for 420
626	626	per diem and travel expenses pursuant t o s. 112.061. 421
627	627	(3) The task force shall develop recommendations for 422
628	628	establishing universal standards for the use of public funds in 423
629	629	the public education system and in nontraditional schools and 424
630	630	improve public integrity of such funding. 425
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643	643	(4) The task force shall identify and examine: 426
644	644	(a) All nontraditional schools that receive state funds. 427
645	645	(b) The number of students disenrolled by such schools 428
646	646	receiving state funds. Such examination does not include 429
647	647	students who are disenrolled at the choice of their p arents. 430
648	648	(c) The number of students removed from such schools at 431
649	649	the parents' request. 432
650	650	(d) The areas in which schools receiving state funds lack 433
651	651	transparency, including, but not limited to, such schools' high 434
652	652	school graduation rates, disclosure of any c onditions of 435
653	653	attendance or policies that require compliance with religious 436
654	654	tenants, student codes of conduct or dress codes which specify 437
655	655	grooming or hair style requirements, and policies related to 438
656	656	sexual orientation or gender identity. 439
657	657	(e) The impacts of the lack of transparency in the areas 440
658	658	identified in paragraph (d). 441
659	659	(f) The disciplinary data for such schools, including the 442
660	660	number of students expelled or suspended and the reasons for 443
661	661	such expulsions or suspensions. 444
662	662	(g) The quality of the curricul a and instructional 445
663	663	materials of such schools and the parental access to such 446
664	664	curricula and instructional materials. 447
665	665	(h) The experience and credentials of educators at such 448
666	666	schools. 449
667	667	(i) Data of students enrolled at such schools, including 450
668	668
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680	680	student achievement, learning gains, and acceleration success 451
681	681	data. 452
682	682	(j) Any information or data provided from parents of 453
683	683	students enrolled at such schools. 454
684	684	(k) Possible accountability measures for nontraditional 455
685	685	schools that fail to meet accountability measure s. 456
686	686	(5) The task force shall, beginning October 1, 2024, and 457
687	687	annually on October 1 , thereafter, provide a report to the 458
688	688	Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House 459
689	689	of Representatives, and the Minority Leaders of the House of 460
690	690	Representatives and the Senate and make such report available to 461
691	691	the public. The report must include: 462
692	692	(a) A summary of the task force's activities and progress 463
693	693	in identifying and examining the information in subsection ( 4). 464
694	694	(b) Any statutory or rule changes nece ssary to accomplish 465
695	695	the goals of the task force. 466
696	696	(c) Proposed accountability measures for nontraditional 467
697	697	schools that receive state funds, including, but not limited to, 468
698	698	bond or surety requirements, assigning property to the state, 469
699	699	and the imposition of liens. 470
700	700	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 471