Florida Senate Bill S7002 Introduced / Bill

 Florida Senate - 2024 SB 7002  By the Committee on Education Pre-K -12 581-01443-24 20247002__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to deregulation of public 3 schools/school district finance and budgets, 4 facilities, and administration and oversight; amending 5 s. 120.81, F.S.; providing that district school boards 6 are not subject to certain rule requirements under 7 certain circumstances; amending s. 163.31777, F.S.; 8 revising requirements for what a district school 9 boards interlocal agreement must address; amending s. 10 200.065, F.S.; requiring a district school board to 11 advertise its intent to adopt a tentative budget on a 12 publicly available website if it does not advertise 13 such intent in a newspaper of general circulation; 14 defining the term publicly accessible website; 15 amending s. 252.38, F.S.; requiring district school 16 boards to provide personnel access to facilities for 17 emergency management, rather than staffing such 18 facilities; amending s. 316.173, F.S.; revising 19 requirements for signage that must be posted on 20 certain school buses; amending s. 1001.02, F.S.; 21 revising a duty of the State Board of Education to 22 adopt certain rules; amending s. 1001.23, F.S.; 23 requiring the Department of Education to annually 24 inform district school superintendents that they may 25 petition to receive a specified declaratory statement; 26 requiring the department to annually provide school 27 districts with a list of statutory and rule 28 requirements; providing requirements for such list; 29 amending s. 1001.372, F.S.; requiring public notices 30 for district school board meetings be posted on a 31 publicly accessible website; deleting a requirement 32 for public notices to be published in a newspaper; 33 amending s. 1001.42, F.S.; deleting requirements for 34 financial procedures that must be followed by district 35 school boards to ensure adequate educational 36 facilities for students; amending s. 1001.49, F.S.; 37 revising the general powers of district school 38 superintendents to include establishing a process for 39 the review and approval of certain policies and 40 procedures through the delegated authority of district 41 school boards; amending s. 1002.20, F.S.; revising a 42 requirement relating to how a parent is informed of 43 placement of a student in a specified program; 44 revising requirements for student inhaler use and 45 epinephrine use; revising requirements relating to 46 student diabetes management; revising requirements 47 relating to student use of prescribed pancreatic 48 enzyme supplements; revising a requirement relating to 49 how a parent is informed of a students suspension; 50 deleting a requirement that the school financial 51 report be in the student handbook; requiring the 52 department to produce specified reports relating to 53 school accountability and make such reports available 54 on the departments website; requiring each school 55 district to provide a link to such reports; deleting a 56 requirement that an economic security report of 57 employment and earning outcomes be provided to 58 students; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; deleting a 59 requirement for an unused district school board 60 facility or property to be provided for a charter 61 schools use; revising a requirement for school 62 districts to provide certain information relating to 63 vacant classrooms to the department; amending s. 64 1002.333, F.S.; revising a provision authorizing 65 school districts to make certain unused facilities 66 available to hope operators; amending s. 1003.03, 67 F.S.; deleting a requirement for district school 68 boards to provide an accountability plan to the 69 Commissioner of Education under certain conditions; 70 amending s. 1003.53, F.S.; revising how district 71 school boards may provide notice to parents relating 72 to a dropout prevention and academic intervention 73 program; repealing s. 1006.025, F.S., relating to 74 guidance services; amending s. 1006.09, F.S.; 75 authorizing a school principal or the principals 76 designee to inform a parent of a students suspension 77 by electronic means if permitted by district school 78 board policy; amending s. 1006.1494, F.S.; providing 79 that provisions relating to student online personal 80 information protection do not require a K-12 school, 81 school district, or school board to include any 82 provisions in an operator or vendor contract; amending 83 s. 1010.02, F.S.; providing that school districts are 84 subject to varying reporting frequencies based on 85 financial status; requiring the State Board of 86 Education to adopt rules; amending s. 1010.11, F.S.; 87 providing that school districts are exempt from 88 certain requirements relating to electronic transfer 89 of funds; amending s. 1010.20, F.S.; requiring charter 90 schools to respond to monitoring questions from the 91 department; amending s. 1011.03, F.S.; requiring 92 district school boards to publish their tentative 93 budgets on a publicly accessible website if not 94 published on the districts official website; deleting 95 a requirement for district school boards to publish 96 their tentative budgets in a newspaper or at a 97 courthouse under certain circumstances; amending s. 98 1011.035, F.S.; revising requirements relating to a 99 district school board publishing its tentative budget 100 online; amending s. 1011.14, F.S.; revising the types 101 of facilities on which district school boards may 102 incur certain financial obligations; amending s. 103 1011.60, F.S.; revising circumstances under which the 104 State Board of Education may alter the requirement for 105 the minimum term schools must be open; amending s. 106 1011.68, F.S.; deleting a prohibition on use of funds 107 by school districts to purchase certain transportation 108 equipment and supplies; amending s. 1011.69, F.S.; 109 deleting a requirement relating to Title I fund 110 allocations to schools; providing a new category of 111 funding school districts are authorized to withhold; 112 revising a category of funding a school district is 113 authorized to withhold; requiring the department to 114 make certain funds available to local education 115 agencies; amending s. 1011.71, F.S.; revising the 116 types of facilities and expenditures for which 117 district school boards may use millage levies to fund; 118 amending s. 1013.15, F.S.; conforming provisions to 119 changes made by the act; providing that the lease 120 purchase of certain facilities is exempt from certain 121 requirements; making a technical change; amending s. 122 1013.16, F.S.; providing that a minimum lease term 123 requirement for land for certain construction projects 124 does not apply to district school boards; amending s. 125 1013.19, F.S.; requiring proceeds from certain sales 126 or leases of property to be used by boards of trustees 127 for a Florida College System institution or state 128 university; amending s. 1013.20, F.S.; deleting a 129 district school board requirement to plan for the use 130 of relocatables; deleting a requirement for the 131 commissioner to provide a progress report to the 132 Legislature; repealing s. 1013.21, F.S., relating to 133 reduction of relocatable facilities in use; amending 134 s. 1013.28, F.S.; deleting a requirement for surplus 135 tangible personal property to be provided to charter 136 schools; amending s. 1013.31, F.S.; requiring each 137 Florida College System institution board of trustees 138 and state university board of trustees to arrange for 139 educational plant surveys; deleting provisions 140 relating to when an educational plant survey 141 recommendation is not required; requiring Florida 142 College System institution and state university 143 boards, but not district school boards, to participate 144 in specified surveys; deleting a requirement for 145 school districts to submit certain data to the 146 department; revising requirements for what a survey 147 report must include; deleting a requirement that a 148 school districts survey must be submitted as part of 149 the district educational facilities plan; deleting a 150 requirement for the department to perform an analysis 151 of such surveys; revising requirements for a 152 facilities needs survey submitted by a district school 153 board; requiring that the release of funds for a PECO 154 project be subject to certain authorizations; amending 155 s. 1013.35, F.S.; deleting definitions; revising 156 requirements for the contents of a district school 157 board tentative district educational facilities plan; 158 deleting a requirement for district school boards to 159 coordinate with local governments to ensure 160 consistency between school district and local 161 government plans; authorizing, rather than requiring, 162 local governments to review tentative district 163 educational facilities plans; making conforming 164 changes; amending s. 1013.356, F.S.; revising 165 requirements for lease terms for certain construction 166 projects; deleting a requirement relating to certain 167 construction costs; amending s. 1013.385, F.S.; 168 deleting requirements for a resolution relating to 169 educational facilities construction which may be 170 adopted by district school boards; providing that 171 exceptions to requirements for public shelter design 172 criteria remain subject to certain emergency 173 management provisions; providing that a school board 174 may not be required to build more emergency-shelter 175 space than identified as needed; amending s. 1013.41, 176 F.S.; revising requirements for an educational 177 facilities plan; revising the duties of the Office of 178 Educational Facilities; amending s. 1013.45, F.S.; 179 exempting district school boards from certain contract 180 limitations; specifying that a requirement for the 181 services of a registered architect apply to Florida 182 College System institution and state university boards 183 of trustees; deleting a requirement for district 184 school boards to reuse existing construction 185 documents; repealing s. 1013.451, F.S., relating to 186 life-cycle costs comparison; amending s. 1013.48, 187 F.S.; deleting a requirement for a school district to 188 monitor and report change orders on a district 189 educational facilities plan; amending s. 1013.64, 190 F.S.; providing that remodeling projects for district 191 school boards must be based on specified 192 determinations; providing that a requirement for how 193 certain funds must be spent only applies to Florida 194 College System institution and state university 195 boards; revising requirements for the use of funds 196 from the Special Facility Construction Account; 197 deleting prohibitions on the use of specified funds 198 that meet certain thresholds; requiring the department 199 to estimate, rather than review and adjust, the cost 200 per student station to reflect actual construction 201 costs; deleting a requirement for the Auditor General 202 to review certain documentation; deleting requirements 203 relating to district school board use of funds for 204 construction projects; amending s. 1013.68, F.S.; 205 revising requirements for a school district to receive 206 a specified distribution of funds; amending ss. 207 163.3180, 1002.31, 1003.621, 1003.631, 1011.6202, 208 1011.73, 1012.555, and 1013.62, F.S.; conforming 209 cross-references and provisions to changes made by the 210 act; providing an effective date. 211 212 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 213 214 Section 1.Paragraph (m) is added to subsection (1) of 215 section 120.81, Florida Statutes, to read: 216 120.81Exceptions and special requirements; general areas. 217 (1)EDUCATIONAL UNITS. 218 (m)District school boards are not subject to the 219 requirements for rules in this chapter when exercising their 220 powers and duties identified in chapters 1000-1014 to formulate 221 policy with public input at a public meeting. 222 Section 2.Paragraphs (e) and (f) of subsection (2) and 223 subsection (4) of section 163.31777, Florida Statutes, are 224 amended to read: 225 163.31777Public schools interlocal agreement. 226 (2)At a minimum, the interlocal agreement must address the 227 following issues: 228 (e)A process for the school board to inform the local 229 government regarding the effect of comprehensive plan amendments 230 on school capacity. The capacity reporting must be consistent 231 with laws and rules relating to measurement of school facility 232 capacity and must also identify how the district school board 233 will meet the public school demand based on the facilities plan 234 work program adopted pursuant to s. 1013.35. 235 (f)Participation of the local governments in the 236 preparation of the annual update to the district school boards 237 5-year district facilities plan work program and educational 238 plant survey prepared pursuant to s. 1013.35. 239 (4)At the time of the evaluation and appraisal of its 240 comprehensive plan pursuant to s. 163.3191, each exempt 241 municipality shall assess the extent to which it continues to 242 meet the criteria for exemption under subsection (3). If the 243 municipality continues to meet the criteria for exemption under 244 subsection (3), the municipality shall continue to be exempt 245 from the interlocal agreement requirement. Each municipality 246 exempt under subsection (3) must comply with this section within 247 1 year after the district school board proposes, in its 5-year 248 district facilities plan work program, a new school within the 249 municipalitys jurisdiction. 250 Section 3.Paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of section 251 200.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 252 200.065Method of fixing millage. 253 (2)No millage shall be levied until a resolution or 254 ordinance has been approved by the governing board of the taxing 255 authority which resolution or ordinance must be approved by the 256 taxing authority according to the following procedure: 257 (f)1.Notwithstanding any provisions of paragraph (c) to 258 the contrary, each school district shall advertise its intent to 259 adopt a tentative budget on a publicly accessible website 260 pursuant to s. 50.0311 or in a newspaper of general circulation 261 pursuant to subsection (3) within 29 days of certification of 262 value pursuant to subsection (1). For the purpose of this 263 paragraph, the term publicly accessible website includes a 264 district school boards official website if the school board 265 website satisfies the remaining requirements of s. 50.0311. Not 266 less than 2 days or more than 5 days thereafter, the district 267 shall hold a public hearing on the tentative budget pursuant to 268 the applicable provisions of paragraph (c). In the event of 269 postponement or recess due to a declared state of emergency, the 270 school district may postpone or recess the hearing for up to 7 271 days and shall post a prominent notice at the place of the 272 original hearing showing the date, time, and place where the 273 hearing will be reconvened. The posted notice shall measure not 274 less than 8.5 by 11 inches. The school district shall make every 275 reasonable effort to provide reasonable notification of the 276 continued hearing to the taxpayers. The information must also be 277 posted on the school districts website if the district school 278 board uses a different method of advertisement. 279 2.Notwithstanding any provisions of paragraph (b) to the 280 contrary, each school district shall advise the property 281 appraiser of its recomputed proposed millage rate within 35 days 282 of certification of value pursuant to subsection (1). The 283 recomputed proposed millage rate of the school district shall be 284 considered its proposed millage rate for the purposes of 285 paragraph (b). 286 3.Notwithstanding any provisions of paragraph (d) to the 287 contrary, each school district shall hold a public hearing to 288 finalize the budget and adopt a millage rate within 80 days of 289 certification of value pursuant to subsection (1), but not 290 earlier than 65 days after certification. The hearing shall be 291 held in accordance with the applicable provisions of paragraph 292 (d), except that a newspaper advertisement need not precede the 293 hearing. 294 Section 4.Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 295 252.38, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 296 252.38Emergency management powers of political 297 subdivisions.Safeguarding the life and property of its citizens 298 is an innate responsibility of the governing body of each 299 political subdivision of the state. 300 (1)COUNTIES. 301 (d)During a declared state or local emergency and upon the 302 request of the director of a local emergency management agency, 303 the district school board or school boards in the affected area 304 shall participate in emergency management by providing 305 facilities and necessary personnel to access staff such 306 facilities. Each school board providing transportation 307 assistance in an emergency evacuation shall coordinate the use 308 of its vehicles and personnel with the local emergency 309 management agency. 310 Section 5.Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 311 316.173, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 312 316.173School bus infraction detection systems. 313 (2)(a)The school district must post high-visibility 314 reflective signage on the rear of each school bus in which a 315 school bus infraction detection system is installed and 316 operational which indicates the use of such system. The signage 317 must be in the form of one or more signs or stickers and must 318 contain the following elements in substantially the following 319 form: 320 1.The words STOP WHEN RED LIGHTS FLASH or DO NOT PASS 321 WHEN RED LIGHTS FLASH. 322 2.The words CAMERA ENFORCED. 323 3.A graphic depiction of a camera. 324 Section 6.Paragraph (n) of subsection (2) of section 325 1001.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 326 1001.02General powers of State Board of Education. 327 (2)The State Board of Education has the following duties: 328 (n)To adopt cohesive rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 329 120.54, within statutory authority as specifically provided by 330 law. 331 Section 7.Subsections (5) and (6) are added to section 332 1001.23, Florida Statutes, to read: 333 1001.23Specific powers and duties of the Department of 334 Education.In addition to all other duties assigned to it by law 335 or by rule of the State Board of Education, the department 336 shall: 337 (5)Annually by August 1, inform district school 338 superintendents that pursuant to s. 120.565, the superintendents 339 may receive a declaratory statement, within 90 days of 340 submitting a petition to receive such statement, regarding the 341 departments opinion as to the applicability to a school 342 district of a statutory or rule provision as it applies to the 343 districts particular set of circumstances. 344 (6)Annually maintain and make available to school 345 districts a list of all requirements in statute and rule 346 relating to required actions by district school boards or 347 superintendents. The list must include, but is not limited to, 348 required parent notifications; information that must be posted 349 to the district website; and reporting, filing, and 350 certification requirements. 351 Section 8.Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2) of 352 section 1001.372, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 353 1001.372District school board meetings. 354 (2)PLACE OF MEETINGS. 355 (b)Upon the giving of due public notice on a publicly 356 accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311, regular or special 357 meetings of the district school board may be held at any 358 appropriate public place in the county. 359 (c)For purpose of this section, due public notice shall 360 consist of publication in a newspaper of general circulation in 361 the county or in each county where there is no newspaper of 362 general circulation in the county an announcement over at least 363 one radio station whose signal is generally received in the 364 county, a reasonable number of times daily during the 48 hours 365 immediately preceding the date of such meeting, or by posting a 366 notice at the courthouse door if no newspaper is published in 367 the county, at least 2 days after prior to the giving of notice 368 meeting. 369 Section 9.Paragraph (l) of subsection (12) of section 370 1001.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 371 1001.42Powers and duties of district school board.The 372 district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all 373 powers and perform all duties listed below: 374 (12)FINANCE.Take steps to assure students adequate 375 educational facilities through the financial procedure 376 authorized in chapters 1010 and 1011 and as prescribed below: 377 (l)Internal auditor.May or, in the case of a school 378 district receiving annual federal, state, and local funds in 379 excess of $500 million, shall employ an internal auditor. The 380 scope of the internal auditor shall not be restricted and shall 381 include every functional and program area of the school system. 382 1.The internal auditor shall perform ongoing financial 383 verification of the financial records of the school district, a 384 comprehensive risk assessment of all areas of the school system 385 every 5 years, and other audits and reviews as the district 386 school board directs for determining: 387 a.The adequacy of internal controls designed to prevent 388 and detect fraud, waste, and abuse as defined in s. 11.45(1). 389 b.Compliance with applicable laws, rules, contracts, grant 390 agreements, district school board-approved policies, and best 391 practices. 392 c.The efficiency of operations. 393 d.The reliability of financial records and reports. 394 e.The safeguarding of assets. 395 f.Financial solvency. 396 g.Projected revenues and expenditures. 397 h.The rate of change in the general fund balance. 398 2.The internal auditor shall prepare audit reports of his 399 or her findings and report directly to the district school board 400 or its designee. 401 3.Any person responsible for furnishing or producing any 402 book, record, paper, document, data, or sufficient information 403 necessary to conduct a proper audit or examination which the 404 internal auditor is by law authorized to perform is subject to 405 the provisions of s. 11.47(3) and (4). 406 Section 10.Subsection (3) of section 1001.49, Florida 407 Statutes, is amended to read: 408 1001.49General powers of district school superintendent. 409 The district school superintendent shall have the authority, and 410 when necessary for the more efficient and adequate operation of 411 the district school system, the district school superintendent 412 shall exercise the following powers: 413 (3)APPROVE OPERATIONAL POLICIES THROUGH THE DELEGATED 414 AUTHORITY OF THE DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD.Establish a process for 415 the review and approval of districtwide policies and procedures, 416 through the formal delegated authority of the district school 417 board, RECOMMEND POLICIES.Recommend to the district school 418 board for adoption such policies pertaining to the district 419 school system as the district school superintendent may consider 420 necessary for its more efficient operation. 421 Section 11.Paragraph (e) of subsection (2), paragraphs (h) 422 through (k) of subsection (3), paragraph (a) of subsection (4), 423 and subsections (16) and (24) of section 1002.20, Florida 424 Statutes, are amended to read: 425 1002.20K-12 student and parent rights.Parents of public 426 school students must receive accurate and timely information 427 regarding their childs academic progress and must be informed 428 of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12 429 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory 430 rights including, but not limited to, the following: 431 (2)ATTENDANCE. 432 (e)Dropout prevention and academic intervention programs. 433 The parent of a public school student has the right to receive 434 written notice by certified mail prior to placement of the 435 student in a dropout prevention and academic intervention 436 program and shall be notified in writing and entitled to an 437 administrative review of any action by school personnel relating 438 to the students placement, in accordance with the provisions of 439 s. 1003.53(5). 440 (3)HEALTH ISSUES. 441 (h)Inhaler use.Asthmatic students whose parent approves 442 and physician provide their approval to the school principal may 443 carry a metered dose inhaler on their person while in school. 444 The school principal shall be provided a copy of the parents 445 approval and the students prescription, a receipt of 446 prescription issued by a pharmacist, or a parents and 447 physicians approval. 448 (i)Epinephrine use and supply. 449 1.A student who has experienced or is at risk for life 450 threatening allergic reactions may carry an epinephrine auto 451 injector and self-administer epinephrine by auto-injector while 452 in school, participating in school-sponsored activities, or in 453 transit to or from school or school-sponsored activities if the 454 school has been provided with parental and physician 455 authorization and a copy of the students prescription, receipt 456 of prescription issued by a pharmacist, or a physicians 457 approval. The State Board of Education, in cooperation with the 458 Department of Health, shall adopt rules for such use of 459 epinephrine auto-injectors that shall include provisions to 460 protect the safety of all students from the misuse or abuse of 461 auto-injectors. A school district, county health department, 462 public-private partner, and their employees and volunteers shall 463 be indemnified by the parent of a student authorized to carry an 464 epinephrine auto-injector for any and all liability with respect 465 to the students use of an epinephrine auto-injector pursuant to 466 this paragraph. 467 2.A public school may purchase a supply of epinephrine 468 auto-injectors from a wholesale distributor as defined in s. 469 499.003 or may enter into an arrangement with a wholesale 470 distributor or manufacturer as defined in s. 499.003 for the 471 epinephrine auto-injectors at fair-market, free, or reduced 472 prices for use in the event a student has an anaphylactic 473 reaction. The epinephrine auto-injectors must be maintained in a 474 secure location on the public schools premises. The 475 participating school district shall adopt a protocol developed 476 by a licensed physician for the administration by school 477 personnel who are trained to recognize an anaphylactic reaction 478 and to administer an epinephrine auto-injection. The supply of 479 epinephrine auto-injectors may be provided to and used by a 480 student authorized to self-administer epinephrine by auto 481 injector under subparagraph 1. or trained school personnel. 482 3.The school district and its employees, agents, and the 483 physician who provides the standing protocol for school 484 epinephrine auto-injectors are not liable for any injury arising 485 from the use of an epinephrine auto-injector administered by 486 trained school personnel who follow the adopted protocol and 487 whose professional opinion is that the student is having an 488 anaphylactic reaction: 489 a.Unless the trained school personnels action is willful 490 and wanton; 491 b.Notwithstanding that the parents or guardians of the 492 student to whom the epinephrine is administered have not been 493 provided notice or have not signed a statement acknowledging 494 that the school district is not liable; and 495 c.Regardless of whether authorization has been given by 496 the students parents or guardians or by the students 497 physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered 498 nurse. 499 (j)Diabetes management.A school district may not restrict 500 the assignment of a student who has diabetes to a particular 501 school on the basis that the student has diabetes, that the 502 school does not have a full-time school nurse, or that the 503 school does not have trained diabetes personnel. Diabetic 504 students whose parent provides his or her and physician provide 505 their written authorization and the students prescription, 506 receipt of prescription issued by a pharmacist, or a physicians 507 approval to the school principal may carry diabetic supplies and 508 equipment on their person and attend to the management and care 509 of their diabetes while in school, participating in school 510 sponsored activities, or in transit to or from school or school 511 sponsored activities to the extent authorized by the parent and 512 physician and within the parameters set forth by State Board of 513 Education rule. The written authorization shall identify the 514 diabetic supplies and equipment that the student is authorized 515 to carry and shall describe the activities the child is capable 516 of performing without assistance, such as performing blood 517 glucose level checks and urine ketone testing, administering 518 insulin through the insulin-delivery system used by the student, 519 and treating hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. The State Board of 520 Education, in cooperation with the Department of Health, shall 521 adopt rules to encourage every school in which a student with 522 diabetes is enrolled to have personnel trained in routine and 523 emergency diabetes care. The State Board of Education, in 524 cooperation with the Department of Health, shall also adopt 525 rules for the management and care of diabetes by students in 526 schools that include provisions to protect the safety of all 527 students from the misuse or abuse of diabetic supplies or 528 equipment. A school district, county health department, and 529 public-private partner, and the employees and volunteers of 530 those entities, shall be indemnified by the parent of a student 531 authorized to carry diabetic supplies or equipment for any and 532 all liability with respect to the students use of such supplies 533 and equipment pursuant to this paragraph. 534 (k)Use of prescribed pancreatic enzyme supplements.A 535 student who has experienced or is at risk for pancreatic 536 insufficiency or who has been diagnosed as having cystic 537 fibrosis may carry and self-administer a prescribed pancreatic 538 enzyme supplement while in school, participating in school 539 sponsored activities, or in transit to or from school or school 540 sponsored activities if the school has been provided with 541 authorization from the students parent and the students 542 prescription, a receipt of prescription issued by a pharmacist, 543 or a physicians approval prescribing practitioner. The State 544 Board of Education, in cooperation with the Department of 545 Health, shall adopt rules for the use of prescribed pancreatic 546 enzyme supplements which shall include provisions to protect the 547 safety of all students from the misuse or abuse of the 548 supplements. A school district, county health department, 549 public-private partner, and their employees and volunteers shall 550 be indemnified by the parent of a student authorized to use 551 prescribed pancreatic enzyme supplements for any and all 552 liability with respect to the students use of the supplements 553 under this paragraph. 554 (4)DISCIPLINE. 555 (a)Suspension of public school student.In accordance with 556 the provisions of s. 1006.09(1)-(4): 557 1.A student may be suspended only as provided by rule of 558 the district school board. A good faith effort must be made to 559 immediately inform the parent by telephone of the students 560 suspension and the reason. Each suspension and the reason must 561 be reported in writing within 24 hours to the parent by United 562 States mail or other method as adopted in district school board 563 policy which is reasonably calculated to notify the parent. A 564 good faith effort must be made to use parental assistance before 565 suspension unless the situation requires immediate suspension. 566 2.A student with a disability may only be recommended for 567 suspension or expulsion in accordance with State Board of 568 Education rules. 569 (16)SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT RATING 570 REPORTS; FISCAL TRANSPARENCY.Parents of public school students 571 have the right to an easy-to-read report card about the schools 572 grade designation or, if applicable under s. 1008.341, the 573 schools improvement rating, and the schools accountability 574 report, including the school financial report as required under 575 s. 1010.215. The school financial report must be provided to the 576 parents and indicate the average amount of money expended per 577 student in the school, which must also be included in the 578 student handbook or a similar publication. The department shall 579 produce the reports under this subsection and make the reports 580 for each school available on the departments website in a 581 prominent location. Each public school district must provide a 582 link on its website to these reports for parent access. 583 (24)ECONOMIC SECURITY REPORT.Beginning in the 2014-2015 584 school year and annually thereafter, each middle school and high 585 school student or the students parent prior to registration 586 shall be provided a two-page summary of the Department of 587 Economic Opportunitys economic security report of employment 588 and earning outcomes prepared pursuant to s. 445.07 and 589 electronic access to the report. 590 Section 12.Paragraphs (e) and (g) of subsection (18) of 591 section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 592 1002.33Charter schools. 593 (18)FACILITIES. 594 (e)If a district school board facility or property is 595 available because it is surplus, marked for disposal, or 596 otherwise unused, it shall be provided for a charter schools 597 use on the same basis as it is made available to other public 598 schools in the district. A charter school that receives surplus, 599 marked for disposal, or otherwise unused facilities or receiving 600 property from the sponsor may not sell or dispose of such 601 facilities or property without written permission of the 602 sponsor. Similarly, for an existing public school converting to 603 charter status, no rental or leasing fee for the existing 604 facility or for the property normally inventoried to the 605 conversion school may be charged by the district school board to 606 the parents and teachers organizing the charter school. The 607 charter school shall agree to reasonable maintenance provisions 608 in order to maintain the facility in a manner similar to 609 district school board standards. The Public Education Capital 610 Outlay maintenance funds or any other maintenance funds 611 generated by the facility operated as a conversion school shall 612 remain with the conversion school. 613 (g)Each school district shall annually provide to the 614 Department of Education as part of its 5-year work plan the 615 number of existing vacant classrooms in each school that the 616 district does not intend to use or does not project will be 617 needed for educational purposes for the following school year. 618 The department may recommend that a district make such space 619 available to an appropriate charter school. 620 Section 13.Paragraph (d) of subsection (7) of section 621 1002.333, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 622 1002.333Persistently low-performing schools. 623 (7)FACILITIES. 624 (d)A school district may make available No later than 625 January 1, the department shall annually provide to school 626 districts a list of all underused, vacant, or surplus facilities 627 owned or operated by the school district to as reported in the 628 Florida Inventory of School Houses. A school district may 629 provide evidence to the department that the list contains errors 630 or omissions within 30 days after receipt of the list. By each 631 April 1, the department shall update and publish a final list of 632 all underused, vacant, or surplus facilities owned or operated 633 by each school district, based upon updated information provided 634 by each school district. a hope operator establishing a school 635 of hope may use an educational facility identified in this 636 paragraph at no cost or at a mutually agreeable cost not to 637 exceed $600 per student. A hope operator using a facility 638 pursuant to this paragraph may not sell or dispose of such 639 facility without the written permission of the school district. 640 For purposes of this paragraph, the term underused, vacant, or 641 surplus facility means an entire facility or portion thereof 642 which is not fully used or is used irregularly or intermittently 643 by the school district for instructional or program use. 644 Section 14.Subsection (4) of section 1003.03, Florida 645 Statutes, is amended to read: 646 1003.03Maximum class size. 647 (4)ACCOUNTABILITY.Each district that has not complied 648 with the requirements in subsection (1), based on the October 649 student membership survey, shall submit to the commissioner by 650 February 1 a plan certified by the district school board that 651 describes the specific actions the district will take in order 652 to fully comply with the requirements in subsection (1) by 653 October of the following school year. 654 Section 15.Subsection (5) of section 1003.53, Florida 655 Statutes, is amended to read: 656 1003.53Dropout prevention and academic intervention. 657 (5)Each district school board providing a dropout 658 prevention and academic intervention program pursuant to this 659 section shall maintain for each participating student records 660 documenting the students eligibility, the length of 661 participation, the type of program to which the student was 662 assigned or the type of academic intervention services provided, 663 and an evaluation of the students academic and behavioral 664 performance while in the program. The school principal or his or 665 her designee shall, prior to placement in a dropout prevention 666 and academic intervention program or the provision of an 667 academic service, provide written notice of placement or 668 services by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the 669 students parent. Written notice may be provided to the parent 670 by United States mail or by electronic transmission if 671 authorized by district school board policy as reasonably 672 calculated to notify the parent The parent of the student shall 673 sign an acknowledgment of the notice of placement or service and 674 return the signed acknowledgment to the principal within 3 days 675 after receipt of the notice. The parents of a student assigned 676 to such a dropout prevention and academic intervention program 677 shall be notified in writing and entitled to an administrative 678 review of any action by school personnel relating to such 679 placement pursuant to the provisions of chapter 120. 680 Section 16.Section 1006.025, Florida Statutes, is 681 repealed. 682 Section 17.Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 683 1006.09, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 684 1006.09Duties of school principal relating to student 685 discipline and school safety. 686 (1) 687 (b)The principal or the principals designee may suspend a 688 student only in accordance with the rules of the district school 689 board. The principal or the principals designee shall make a 690 good faith effort to immediately inform a students parent by 691 telephone of a students suspension and the reasons for the 692 suspension. Each suspension and the reasons for the suspension 693 shall be reported in writing within 24 hours to the students 694 parent by United States mail or by electronic transmission if 695 authorized by district school board policy as reasonably 696 calculated to notify the parent. Each suspension and the reasons 697 for the suspension shall also be reported in writing within 24 698 hours to the district school superintendent. A good faith effort 699 shall be made by the principal or the principals designee to 700 employ parental assistance or other alternative measures prior 701 to suspension, except in the case of emergency or disruptive 702 conditions which require immediate suspension or in the case of 703 a serious breach of conduct as defined by rules of the district 704 school board. Such rules shall require oral and written notice 705 to the student of the charges and an explanation of the evidence 706 against him or her prior to the suspension. Each student shall 707 be given an opportunity to present his or her side of the story. 708 No student shall be suspended for unexcused tardiness, lateness, 709 absence, or truancy. The principal or the principals designee 710 may suspend any student transported to or from school at public 711 expense from the privilege of riding on a school bus for 712 violation of district school board transportation policies, 713 which shall include a policy regarding behavior at school bus 714 stops, and the principal or the principals designee shall give 715 notice in writing to the students parent and to the district 716 school superintendent within 24 hours. School personnel shall 717 not be held legally responsible for suspensions of students made 718 in good faith. 719 Section 18.Paragraph (j) is added to subsection (6) of 720 section 1006.1494, Florida Statutes, to read: 721 1006.1494Student online personal information protection. 722 (6)This section does not do any of the following: 723 (j)Require a K-12 school, school district, or district 724 school board to include any provision in a contract with any 725 operator or vendor. 726 727 The State Board of Education may adopt rules to implement this 728 section. 729 Section 19.Subsection (1) of section 1010.02, Florida 730 Statutes, is amended to read: 731 1010.02Financial accounting and expenditures. 732 (1)All funds accruing to a school district or a Florida 733 College System institution must be received, accounted for, and 734 expended in accordance with law and rules of the State Board of 735 Education. 736 (a)A school district may be subject to varying reporting 737 frequencies based on its financial status, as determined in 738 State Board of Education rule: 739 1.A school district identified as having a financial 740 concern may be required to submit monthly financial reports. 741 2.A school district not identified as having a financial 742 concern may be required to submit financial reports no more 743 often than once every quarter. 744 (b)The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to 745 establish criteria for determining the financial status of 746 school districts for the purpose of financial reporting. 747 Section 20.Section 1010.11, Florida Statutes, is amended 748 to read: 749 1010.11Electronic transfer of funds.Pursuant to the 750 provisions of s. 215.85, each district school board, Florida 751 College System institution board of trustees, and university 752 board of trustees shall adopt written policies prescribing the 753 accounting and control procedures under which any funds under 754 their control are allowed to be moved by electronic transaction 755 for any purpose including direct deposit, wire transfer, 756 withdrawal, investment, or payment. Electronic transactions 757 shall comply with the provisions of chapter 668. However, 758 district school boards are exempt from the requirements in s. 759 668.50(18)(b). 760 Section 21.Subsection (2) of section 1010.20, Florida 761 Statutes, is amended to read: 762 1010.20Cost accounting and reporting for school 763 districts. 764 (2)COST REPORTING. 765 (a)Each district shall report on a district-aggregate 766 basis expenditures for inservice training pursuant to s. 767 1011.62(3) and for categorical programs as provided in s. 768 1011.62(17). 769 (b)Each district shall report to the department on a 770 school-by-school and on an aggregate district basis expenditures 771 for: 772 1.Each program funded in s. 1011.62(1)(c). 773 2.Total operating costs as reported pursuant to s. 774 1010.215. 775 3.Expenditures for classroom instruction pursuant to the 776 calculation in s. 1010.215(4)(b)1. and 2. 777 (c)Each charter school shall receive and respond to 778 monitoring questions from the department. 779 (d)The department shall: 780 1.Categorize all public schools and districts into 781 appropriate groups based primarily on average full-time 782 equivalent student enrollment as reported on the most recent 783 student membership survey under s. 1011.62 and in state board 784 rule to determine groups of peer schools and districts. 785 2.Annually calculate for each public school, district, and 786 for the entire state, the percentage of classroom expenditures 787 to total operating expenditures reported in subparagraphs (b)2. 788 and 3. The results shall be categorized pursuant to this 789 paragraph. 790 3.Annually calculate for all public schools, districts, 791 and the state, the average percentage of classroom expenditures 792 to total operating expenditures reported in subparagraphs (b)2. 793 and 3. The results shall be categorized pursuant to this 794 paragraph. 795 4.Develop a web-based fiscal transparency tool that 796 identifies public schools and districts that produce high 797 academic achievement based on the ratio of classroom instruction 798 expenditures to total expenditures. The fiscal transparency tool 799 shall combine the data calculated pursuant to this paragraph 800 with the student performance measurements calculated pursuant to 801 s. 1012.34(7) to determine the financial efficiency of each 802 public school and district. The results shall be displayed in an 803 easy to use format that enables the user to compare performance 804 among public schools and districts. 805 (e)(d)The Commissioner of Education shall present to the 806 Legislature, prior to the opening of the regular session each 807 year, a district-by-district report of the expenditures reported 808 pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b). The report shall include 809 total expenditures, a detailed analysis showing expenditures for 810 each program, and such other data as may be useful for 811 management of the education system. The Commissioner of 812 Education shall also compute cost factors relative to the base 813 student allocation for each funded program in s. 1011.62(1)(c). 814 Section 22.Subsections (1) and (3) of section 1011.03, 815 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 816 1011.03Public hearings; budget to be submitted to 817 Department of Education. 818 (1)Each district school board shall cause a summary of its 819 tentative budget, including the proposed millage levies as 820 provided for by law, to be posted on the districts official 821 website and advertised once in a newspaper of general 822 circulation published in the district or on a publicly 823 accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 to be posted at the 824 courthouse if there be no such newspaper. 825 (3)The board shall hold public hearings to adopt tentative 826 and final budgets pursuant to s. 200.065. The hearings shall be 827 primarily for the purpose of hearing requests and complaints 828 from the public regarding the budgets and the proposed tax 829 levies and for explaining the budget and proposed or adopted 830 amendments thereto, if any. The tentative budget must be posted 831 on the districts official website at least 2 days before the 832 budget hearing held pursuant to s. 200.065 or other law. The 833 final adopted budget must be posted on the districts official 834 website within 30 days after adoption. The board shall require 835 the superintendent to transmit two copies of the adopted budget 836 to the Department of Education as prescribed by law and rules of 837 the State Board of Education. 838 Section 23.Subsections (2) and (4) of section 1011.035, 839 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 840 1011.035School district fiscal transparency. 841 (2)Each district school board shall post on its website: 842 (a)A plain language version of each proposed, tentative, 843 and official budget which describes each budget item in terms 844 that are easily understandable to the public and includes: 845 (a)Graphical representations, for each public school 846 within the district and for the school district, of the 847 following: 848 1.Summary financial efficiency data. 849 2.Fiscal trend information for the previous 3 years on: 850 a.The ratio of full-time equivalent students to full-time 851 equivalent instructional personnel. 852 b.The ratio of full-time equivalent students to full-time 853 equivalent administrative personnel. 854 c.The total operating expenditures per full-time 855 equivalent student. 856 d.The total instructional expenditures per full-time 857 equivalent student. 858 e.The general administrative expenditures as a percentage 859 of total budget. 860 f.The rate of change in the general funds ending fund 861 balance not classified as restricted. 862 (b)A link to the web-based fiscal transparency tool 863 developed by the department pursuant to s. 1010.20 to enable 864 taxpayers to evaluate the financial efficiency of the school 865 district and compare the financial efficiency of the school 866 district with other similarly situated school districts. 867 868 This information must be prominently posted on the school 869 districts website in a manner that is readily accessible to the 870 public. 871 (4)The website should contain links to: 872 (a)Help explain or provide background information on 873 various budget items that are required by state or federal law. 874 (b)Allow users to navigate to related sites to view 875 supporting details. 876 (c)enable taxpayers, parents, and education advocates to 877 send e-mails asking questions about the budget and enable others 878 to view the questions and responses. 879 Section 24.Subsection (1) of section 1011.14, Florida 880 Statutes, is amended to read: 881 1011.14Obligations for a period of 1 year.District school 882 boards are authorized only under the following conditions to 883 create obligations by way of anticipation of budgeted revenues 884 accruing on a current basis without pledging the credit of the 885 district or requiring future levy of taxes for certain purposes 886 for a period of 1 year; however, such obligations may be 887 extended from year to year with the consent of the lender for a 888 period not to exceed 4 years, or for a total of 5 years 889 including the initial year of the loan: 890 (1)PURPOSES.The purposes for which such obligations may 891 be incurred within the intent of this section shall include only 892 the purchase of school buses, land, and equipment for 893 educational purposes; the erection of, alteration to, or 894 addition to educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary 895 facilities; and the adjustment of insurance on educational 896 property on a 5-year plan, as provided by rules of the State 897 Board of Education. 898 Section 25.Subsection (2) of section 1011.60, Florida 899 Statutes, is amended to read: 900 1011.60Minimum requirements of the Florida Education 901 Finance Program.Each district which participates in the state 902 appropriations for the Florida Education Finance Program shall 903 provide evidence of its effort to maintain an adequate school 904 program throughout the district and shall meet at least the 905 following requirements: 906 (2)MINIMUM TERM.Operate all schools for a term of 180 907 actual teaching days or the equivalent on an hourly basis as 908 specified by rules of the State Board of Education each school 909 year. The State Board of Education may prescribe procedures for 910 altering, and, upon written application, may alter, this 911 requirement during a national, state, or local emergency as it 912 may apply to an individual school or schools in any district or 913 districts if the district school board certifies to the 914 Commissioner of Education that if, in the opinion of the board, 915 it is not necessary feasible to make up lost days or hours, and 916 the apportionment may, at the discretion of the Commissioner of 917 Education and if the board determines that the reduction of 918 school days or hours is caused by the existence of a bona fide 919 emergency, be reduced for such district or districts in 920 proportion to the decrease in the length of term in any such 921 school or schools. A strike, as defined in s. 447.203(6), by 922 employees of the school district may not be considered an 923 emergency. 924 Section 26.Subsection (4) of section 1011.68, Florida 925 Statutes, is amended to read: 926 1011.68Funds for student transportation.The annual 927 allocation to each district for transportation to public school 928 programs, including charter schools as provided in s. 929 1002.33(17)(b), of students in membership in kindergarten 930 through grade 12 and in migrant and exceptional student programs 931 below kindergarten shall be determined as follows: 932 (4)No district shall use funds to purchase transportation 933 equipment and supplies at prices which exceed those determined 934 by the department to be the lowest which can be obtained, as 935 prescribed in s. 1006.27(1). 936 Section 27.Subsection (4) of section 1011.69, Florida 937 Statutes, is amended, and subsection (5) is added to that 938 section, to read: 939 1011.69Equity in School-Level Funding Act. 940 (4)After providing Title I, Part A, Basic funds to schools 941 above the 75 percent poverty threshold, which may include high 942 schools above the 50 percent threshold as permitted by federal 943 law, school districts shall provide any remaining Title I, Part 944 A, Basic funds directly to all eligible schools as provided in 945 this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, an eligible 946 school is a school that is eligible to receive Title I funds, 947 including a charter school. The threshold for identifying 948 eligible schools may not exceed the threshold established by a 949 school district for the 2016-2017 school year or the statewide 950 percentage of economically disadvantaged students, as determined 951 annually. 952 (a)Prior to the allocation of Title I funds to eligible 953 schools, a school district may withhold funds only as follows: 954 1.One percent for parent involvement, in addition to the 955 one percent the district must reserve under federal law for 956 allocations to eligible schools for parent involvement; 957 2.A necessary and reasonable amount for administration 958 which includes the districts indirect cost rate, not to exceed 959 a total of 10 percent; 960 3.A reasonable and necessary amount to provide: 961 a.Homeless programs; 962 b.Delinquent and neglected programs; 963 c.Prekindergarten programs and activities; 964 d.Private school equitable services; and 965 e.Transportation for foster care children to their school 966 of origin or choice programs; 967 4.Up to 5 percent to provide financial incentives and 968 rewards to teachers who serve students in Title I schools 969 identified for comprehensive support and improvement activities 970 or targeted support and improvement activities, for the purpose 971 of attracting and retaining qualified and effective teachers, 972 including teachers of any subject or grade level for whom a 973 measurement under s. 1012.34(7) or a state-approved Alternative 974 Student Growth Model is unavailable; and 975 5.4.A necessary and reasonable amount, not to exceed 1 976 percent, for eligible schools to provide educational services in 977 accordance with the approved Title I plan. 978 (b)All remaining Title I funds shall be distributed to all 979 eligible schools in accordance with federal law and regulation. 980 An eligible school may use funds under this subsection to 981 participate in discretionary educational services provided by 982 the school district. Any funds provided by an eligible school to 983 participate in discretionary educational services provided by 984 the school district are not subject to the requirements of this 985 subsection. 986 (c)Any funds carried forward by the school district are 987 not subject to the requirements of this subsection. 988 (5)The Department of Education shall make funds from Title 989 I, Title II, and Title III programs available to local education 990 agencies for the full period of availability provided in federal 991 law. 992 Section 28.Paragraphs (e) and (h) of subsection (2) and 993 subsections (5) and (6) of section 1011.71, Florida Statutes, 994 are amended, and paragraphs (l) and (m) are added to subsection 995 (2) of that section, to read: 996 1011.71District school tax. 997 (2)In addition to the maximum millage levy as provided in 998 subsection (1), each school board may levy not more than 1.5 999 mills against the taxable value for school purposes for charter 1000 schools pursuant to s. 1013.62(1) and (3) and for district 1001 schools to fund: 1002 (e)Payments for educational plants, ancillary plants, and 1003 auxiliary facilities and sites due under a lease-purchase 1004 agreement entered into by a district school board pursuant to s. 1005 1003.02(1)(f) or s. 1013.15(2), not exceeding, in the aggregate, 1006 an amount equal to three-fourths of the proceeds from the 1007 millage levied by a district school board pursuant to this 1008 subsection. The three-fourths limit is waived for lease-purchase 1009 agreements entered into before June 30, 2009, by a district 1010 school board pursuant to this paragraph. If payments under 1011 lease-purchase agreements in the aggregate, including lease 1012 purchase agreements entered into before June 30, 2009, exceed 1013 three-fourths of the proceeds from the millage levied pursuant 1014 to this subsection, the district school board may not withhold 1015 the administrative fees authorized by s. 1002.33(20) from any 1016 charter school operating in the school district. 1017 (h)Payment of costs of leasing relocatable educational 1018 plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities, of renting 1019 or leasing educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary 1020 facilities and sites pursuant to s. 1013.15(2), or of renting or 1021 leasing buildings or space within existing buildings pursuant to 1022 s. 1013.15(4). 1023 (l)The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of driver 1024 education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or 1025 operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or 1026 vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and 1027 equipment. 1028 (m)Payment of the cost of premiums, as defined in s. 1029 627.403, for property and casualty insurance necessary to insure 1030 school district educational and ancillary plants. As used in 1031 this paragraph, the term casualty insurance means the lines of 1032 insurance specified in s. 624.605(1)(d), (f), (g), (h), and (m). 1033 Operating revenues that are made available through the payment 1034 of property and casualty insurance premiums from revenues 1035 generated under this subsection may be expended only for 1036 nonrecurring operational expenditures of the school district. 1037 (5)A school district may expend, subject to s. 200.065, up 1038 to $175 per unweighted full-time equivalent student from the 1039 revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by subsection 1040 (2) to fund, in addition to expenditures authorized in 1041 paragraphs (2)(a)-(j), expenses for the following: 1042 (a)The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of drivers 1043 education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or 1044 operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or 1045 vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and 1046 equipment. 1047 (b)Payment of the cost of premiums, as defined in s. 1048 627.403, for property and casualty insurance necessary to insure 1049 school district educational and ancillary plants. As used in 1050 this paragraph, casualty insurance has the same meaning as in s. 1051 624.605(1)(d), (f), (g), (h), and (m). Operating revenues that 1052 are made available through the payment of property and casualty 1053 insurance premiums from revenues generated under this subsection 1054 may be expended only for nonrecurring operational expenditures 1055 of the school district. 1056 (6)Violations of the expenditure provisions in subsection 1057 (2) or subsection (5) shall result in an equal dollar reduction 1058 in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) funds for the 1059 violating district in the fiscal year following the audit 1060 citation. 1061 Section 29.Section 1013.15, Florida Statutes, is amended 1062 to read: 1063 1013.15Lease, rental, and lease-purchase of educational 1064 plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites. 1065 (1)A board may lease any land, facilities, or educational 1066 plants owned by it to any person or entity for such term, for 1067 such rent, and upon such terms and conditions as the board 1068 determines to be in its best interests; any such lease may 1069 provide for the optional or binding purchase of the land, 1070 facilities, or educational plants by the lessee upon such terms 1071 and conditions as the board determines are in its best 1072 interests. A determination that any such land, facility, or 1073 educational plant so leased is unnecessary for educational 1074 purposes is not a prerequisite to the leasing or lease-purchase 1075 of such land, facility, or educational plant. Prior to entering 1076 into or executing any such lease, a board shall consider 1077 approval of the lease or lease-purchase agreement at a public 1078 meeting, at which a copy of the proposed agreement in its final 1079 form shall be available for inspection and review by the public, 1080 after due notice as required by law. 1081 (2)(a)A district school board may rent or lease 1082 educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities 1083 and sites as defined in s. 1013.01. Educational plants, 1084 ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites rented or 1085 leased for 1 year or less shall be funded through the operations 1086 budget or funds derived from millage proceeds pursuant to s. 1087 1011.71(2). A lease contract for 1 year or less, when extended 1088 or renewed beyond a year, becomes a multiple-year lease. 1089 Operational funds or funds derived from millage proceeds 1090 pursuant to s. 1011.71(2) may be authorized to be expended for 1091 multiple-year leases. All leased facilities and sites must be 1092 inspected prior to occupancy by the authority having 1093 jurisdiction. 1094 1.All newly leased spaces must be inspected and brought 1095 into compliance with the Florida Building Code pursuant to 1096 chapter 553 and the life safety codes pursuant to chapter 633, 1097 prior to occupancy, using the boards operations budget or funds 1098 derived from millage proceeds pursuant to s. 1011.71(2). 1099 2.Plans for renovation or remodeling of leased space shall 1100 conform to the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire 1101 Prevention Code for educational occupancies or other 1102 occupancies, as appropriate and as required in chapters 553 and 1103 633, prior to occupancy. 1104 3.All leased facilities must be inspected annually for 1105 firesafety deficiencies in accordance with the applicable code 1106 and have corrections made in accordance with s. 1013.12. 1107 Operational funds or funds derived from millage proceeds 1108 pursuant to s. 1011.71(2) may be used to correct deficiencies in 1109 leased space. 1110 4.When the board declares that a public emergency exists, 1111 it may take up to 30 days to bring the leased facility into 1112 compliance with the requirements of State Board of Education 1113 rules. 1114 (b)A board is authorized to lease-purchase educational 1115 plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites as 1116 defined in s. 1013.01, and a district school board is authorized 1117 to lease-purchase educational plants, ancillary plants, and 1118 auxiliary facilities and sites. The lease-purchase of 1119 educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities 1120 and sites must, where applicable, comply with shall be as 1121 required by s. 1013.37, subject to the authorization in s. 1122 1013.385 to exempt certain facilities from the requirements of 1123 that section; must shall be advertised for and receive 1124 competitive proposals and be awarded to the best proposer;, and 1125 must shall be funded using current or other funds specifically 1126 authorized by law to be used for such purpose. 1127 1.A district school board, by itself, or through a direct 1128 support organization formed pursuant to s. 1001.453 or nonprofit 1129 educational organization or a consortium of district school 1130 boards, may, in developing a lease-purchase of educational 1131 plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites 1132 provide for separately advertising for and receiving competitive 1133 bids or proposals on the construction of facilities and the 1134 selection of financing to provide the lowest cost funding 1135 available, so long as the board determines that such process 1136 would best serve the public interest and the available pledged 1137 revenues are limited to those authorized in s. 1011.71(2) s. 1138 1011.71(2)(e). 1139 2.All activities and information, including lists of 1140 individual participants, associated with agreements made 1141 pursuant to this section shall be subject to the provisions of 1142 chapter 119 and s. 286.011. 1143 (c)1.The term of any lease-purchase agreement, including 1144 the initial term and any subsequent renewals, shall not exceed 1145 the useful life of the educational facilities and sites for 1146 which the agreement is made, or 30 years, whichever is less. 1147 2.The initial term or any renewal term of any lease 1148 purchase agreement shall expire on June 30 of each fiscal year, 1149 but may be automatically renewed annually, subject to a board 1150 making sufficient annual appropriations therefor. Under no 1151 circumstances shall the failure of a board to renew a lease 1152 purchase agreement constitute a default or require payment of 1153 any penalty or in any way limit the right of a board to purchase 1154 or utilize educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary 1155 facilities and sites similar in function to the educational 1156 plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities and sites 1157 that are the subject of the said lease-purchase agreement. 1158 Educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary facilities 1159 and sites being acquired pursuant to a lease-purchase agreement 1160 shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. 1161 3.No lease-purchase agreement entered into pursuant to 1162 this subsection shall constitute a debt, liability, or 1163 obligation of the state or a board or shall be a pledge of the 1164 faith and credit of the state or a board. 1165 4.Any lease-purchase agreement entered into pursuant to 1166 this subsection shall stipulate an annual rate which may consist 1167 of a principal component and an interest component, provided 1168 that the maximum interest rate of any interest component payable 1169 under any such lease-purchase agreement, or any participation or 1170 certificated portion thereof, shall be calculated in accordance 1171 with and be governed by the provisions of s. 215.84. 1172 (3)Lease or lease-purchase agreements entered into by 1173 university boards of trustees shall comply with the provisions 1174 of ss. 1013.171 and 1010.62. 1175 (4)(a)A board may rent or lease existing buildings, or 1176 space within existing buildings, originally constructed or used 1177 for purposes other than education, for conversion to use as 1178 educational facilities. Such buildings rented or leased for 1 1179 year or less shall be funded through the operations budget or 1180 funds derived from millage pursuant to s. 1011.71(2). A rental 1181 agreement or lease contract for 1 year or less, when extended or 1182 renewed beyond a year, becomes a multiple-year rental or lease. 1183 Operational funds or funds derived from millage proceeds 1184 pursuant to s. 1011.71(2) may be authorized to be expended for 1185 multiple-year rentals or leases. Notwithstanding any other 1186 provisions of this section, if a building was constructed in 1187 conformance with all applicable building and life safety codes, 1188 it shall be deemed to meet the requirements for use and 1189 occupancy as an educational facility subject only to the 1190 provisions of this subsection. 1191 (b)Prior to occupying a rented or a leased existing 1192 building, or space within an existing building, pursuant to this 1193 subsection, a school board shall, in a public meeting, adopt a 1194 resolution certifying that the following circumstances apply to 1195 the building proposed for occupancy: 1196 1.Growth among the school-age population in the school 1197 district has created a need for new educational facilities in a 1198 neighborhood where there is little or no vacant land. 1199 2.There exists a supply of vacant space in existing 1200 buildings that meet state minimum building and life safety 1201 codes. 1202 3.Acquisition and conversion to use as educational 1203 facilities of an existing building or buildings is a cost-saving 1204 means of providing the needed classroom space as determined by 1205 the difference between the cost of new construction, including 1206 land acquisition and preparation and, if applicable, demolition 1207 of existing structures, and the cost of acquisition through 1208 rental or lease and conversion of an existing building or 1209 buildings. 1210 4.The building has been examined for suitability, safety, 1211 and conformance with state minimum building and life safety 1212 codes. The building examination shall consist, at a minimum, of 1213 a review of existing documents, building site reconnaissance, 1214 and analysis of the building conducted by, or under the 1215 responsible charge of, a licensed structural engineer. 1216 5.A certificate of evaluation has been issued by an 1217 appropriately licensed design professional which states that, 1218 based on available documents, building site reconnaissance, 1219 current knowledge, and design judgment in the professionals 1220 opinion, the building meets the requirements of state minimum 1221 building and life safety codes, provides safe egress of 1222 occupants from the building, provides adequate firesafety, and 1223 does not pose a substantial threat to life to persons who would 1224 occupy the building for classroom use. 1225 6.The plans for conversion of the building were prepared 1226 by an appropriate design professional licensed in this state and 1227 the work of conversion was performed by contractors licensed in 1228 this state. 1229 7.The conversion of the building was observed by an 1230 appropriate design professional licensed in this state. 1231 8.The building has been reviewed, inspected, and granted a 1232 certificate of occupancy by the local building department. 1233 9.All ceilings, light fixtures, ducts, and registers 1234 within the area to be occupied for classroom purposes were 1235 constructed or have been reconstructed to meet state minimum 1236 requirements. 1237 Section 30.Subsection (1) of section 1013.16, Florida 1238 Statutes, is amended to read: 1239 1013.16Construction of facilities on leased property; 1240 conditions. 1241 (1)A board may construct or place educational facilities 1242 and ancillary facilities on land that is owned by any person 1243 after the board has acquired from the owner of the land a long 1244 term lease for the use of this land for a period of not less 1245 than 40 years or the life expectancy of the permanent facilities 1246 constructed thereon, whichever is longer; however, the minimum 1247 lease term of 40 years does not apply to district school boards. 1248 Section 31.Section 1013.19, Florida Statutes, is amended 1249 to read: 1250 1013.19Purchase, conveyance, or encumbrance of property 1251 interests above surface of land; joint-occupancy structures.For 1252 the purpose of implementing jointly financed construction 1253 project agreements, or for the construction of combined 1254 occupancy structures, any board may purchase, own, convey, sell, 1255 lease, or encumber airspace or any other interests in property 1256 above the surface of the land, provided the lease of airspace 1257 for nonpublic use is for such reasonable rent, length of term, 1258 and conditions as the board in its discretion may determine. All 1259 proceeds from such sale or lease shall be used by a the board of 1260 trustees for a Florida College System institution or state 1261 university or boards receiving the proceeds solely for fixed 1262 capital outlay purposes. These purposes may include the 1263 renovation or remodeling of existing facilities owned by the 1264 board or the construction of new facilities; however, for a 1265 Florida College System institution board or university board, 1266 such new facility must be authorized by the Legislature. It is 1267 declared that the use of such rental by the board for public 1268 purposes in accordance with its statutory authority is a public 1269 use. Airspace or any other interest in property held by the 1270 Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund or the 1271 State Board of Education may not be divested or conveyed without 1272 approval of the respective board. Any building, including any 1273 building or facility component that is common to both nonpublic 1274 and educational portions thereof, constructed in airspace that 1275 is sold or leased for nonpublic use pursuant to this section is 1276 subject to all applicable state, county, and municipal 1277 regulations pertaining to land use, zoning, construction of 1278 buildings, fire protection, health, and safety to the same 1279 extent and in the same manner as such regulations would be 1280 applicable to the construction of a building for nonpublic use 1281 on the appurtenant land beneath the subject airspace. Any 1282 educational facility constructed or leased as a part of a joint 1283 occupancy facility is subject to all rules and requirements of 1284 the respective boards or departments having jurisdiction over 1285 educational facilities. Any contract executed by a university 1286 board of trustees pursuant to this section is subject to the 1287 provisions of s. 1010.62. 1288 Section 32.Subsection (1) of section 1013.20, Florida 1289 Statutes, is amended to read: 1290 1013.20Standards for relocatables used as classroom space; 1291 inspections. 1292 (1)The State Board of Education shall adopt rules 1293 establishing standards for relocatables intended for long-term 1294 use as classroom space at a public elementary school, middle 1295 school, or high school. Long-term use means the use of 1296 relocatables at the same educational plant for a period of 4 1297 years or more. Each relocatable acquired by a district school 1298 board after the effective date of the rules and intended for 1299 long-term use must comply with the standards. District school 1300 boards shall submit a plan for the use of existing relocatables 1301 within the 5-year work program to be reviewed and approved by 1302 the commissioner by January 1, 2003. A progress report shall be 1303 provided by the commissioner to the Speaker of the House of 1304 Representatives and the President of the Senate each January 1305 thereafter. Relocatables that fail to meet the standards after 1306 completion of the approved plan may not be used as classrooms. 1307 The standards shall protect the health, safety, and welfare of 1308 occupants by requiring compliance with the Florida Building Code 1309 or the State Requirements for Educational Facilities for 1310 existing relocatables, as applicable, to ensure the safety and 1311 stability of construction and onsite installation; fire and 1312 moisture protection; air quality and ventilation; appropriate 1313 wind resistance; and compliance with the requirements of the 1314 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. If appropriate and 1315 where relocatables are not scheduled for replacement, the 1316 standards must also require relocatables to provide access to 1317 the same technologies available to similar classrooms within the 1318 main school facility and, if appropriate, and where relocatables 1319 are not scheduled for replacement, to be accessible by adequate 1320 covered walkways. A relocatable that is subject to this section 1321 and does not meet the standards shall not be reported as 1322 providing satisfactory student stations in the Florida Inventory 1323 of School Houses. 1324 Section 33.Section 1013.21, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 1325 Section 34.Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 1326 1013.28, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1327 1013.28Disposal of property. 1328 (2)TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY. 1329 (a)Tangible personal property that has been properly 1330 classified as surplus by a district school board or Florida 1331 College System institution board of trustees shall be disposed 1332 of in accordance with the procedure established by chapter 274. 1333 However, the provisions of chapter 274 shall not be applicable 1334 to a motor vehicle used in driver education to which title is 1335 obtained for a token amount from an automobile dealer or 1336 manufacturer. In such cases, the disposal of the vehicle shall 1337 be as prescribed in the contractual agreement between the 1338 automotive agency or manufacturer and the board. Tangible 1339 personal property that has been properly classified as surplus, 1340 marked for disposal, or otherwise unused by a district school 1341 board shall be provided for a charter schools use on the same 1342 basis as it is made available to other public schools in the 1343 district. A charter school receiving tangible personal property 1344 that has been properly classified as surplus, marked for 1345 disposal, or otherwise unused by a district school board 1346 property from the school district may not sell or dispose of 1347 such property without the written permission of the school 1348 district. 1349 Section 35.Section 1013.31, Florida Statutes, is amended 1350 to read: 1351 1013.31Educational plant survey; localized need 1352 assessment; PECO project funding. 1353 (1)At least every 5 years, each Florida College System 1354 institution and state university board shall arrange for an 1355 educational plant survey, to aid in formulating plans for 1356 housing the educational program and student population, faculty, 1357 administrators, staff, and auxiliary and ancillary services of 1358 the district or campus, including consideration of the local 1359 comprehensive plan. The Department of Education shall document 1360 the need for additional career and adult education programs and 1361 the continuation of existing programs before facility 1362 construction or renovation related to career or adult education 1363 may be included in the educational plant survey of a school 1364 district or Florida College System institution that delivers 1365 career or adult education programs. Information used by the 1366 Department of Education to establish facility needs must 1367 include, but need not be limited to, labor market data, needs 1368 analysis, and information submitted by the school district or 1369 Florida College System institution. 1370 (a)Educational plant survey and localized need assessment 1371 for capital outlay purposes.A survey recommendation is not 1372 required when a district uses funds from the following sources 1373 for educational, auxiliary, and ancillary plant capital outlay 1374 purposes: 1375 1.The local capital outlay improvement fund, consisting of 1376 funds that come from and are a part of the districts basic 1377 operating budget; 1378 2.A taxpayer-approved bond referendum, to fund 1379 construction of an educational, auxiliary, or ancillary plant 1380 facility; 1381 3.One-half cent sales surtax revenue; 1382 4.One cent local governmental surtax revenue; 1383 5.Impact fees; 1384 6.Private gifts or donations; and 1385 7.The district school tax levied pursuant to s. 1386 1011.71(2). 1387 (b)Survey preparation and required data.Each survey must 1388 shall be conducted by the Florida College System institution or 1389 state university board or an agency employed by the board. 1390 Surveys must shall be reviewed and approved by the board, and a 1391 file copy must shall be submitted to the Department of Education 1392 or the Chancellor of the State University System, as 1393 appropriate. The survey report must shall include at least an 1394 inventory of existing educational and ancillary plants, 1395 including safe access facilities; recommendations for existing 1396 educational and ancillary plants; recommendations for new 1397 educational or ancillary plants, including the general location 1398 of each in coordination with the land use plan and safe access 1399 facilities; campus master plan update and detail for Florida 1400 College System institutions; the utilization of school plants 1401 based on an extended school day or year-round operation; and 1402 such other information as may be required by the Department of 1403 Education. This report may be amended, if conditions warrant, at 1404 the request of the department or commissioner. 1405 (b)(c)Required need assessment criteria for district, 1406 Florida College System institution, state university, and 1407 Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind plant surveys. 1408 Educational plant surveys must use uniform data sources and 1409 criteria specified in this paragraph. Each revised educational 1410 plant survey and each new educational plant survey supersedes 1411 previous surveys. 1412 1.The school districts survey must be submitted as a part 1413 of the district educational facilities plan defined in s. 1414 1013.35. To ensure that the data reported to the Department of 1415 Education as required by this section is correct, the department 1416 shall annually conduct an onsite review of 5 percent of the 1417 facilities reported for each school district completing a new 1418 survey that year. If the departments review finds the data 1419 reported by a district is less than 95 percent accurate, within 1420 1 year from the time of notification by the department the 1421 district must submit revised reports correcting its data. If a 1422 district fails to correct its reports, the commissioner may 1423 direct that future fixed capital outlay funds be withheld until 1424 such time as the district has corrected its reports so that they 1425 are not less than 95 percent accurate. 1426 2.Each survey of a special facility, joint-use facility, 1427 or cooperative career education facility must be based on 1428 capital outlay full-time equivalent student enrollment data 1429 prepared by the department for school districts and Florida 1430 College System institutions and by the Chancellor of the State 1431 University System for universities. A survey of space needs of a 1432 joint-use facility shall be based upon the respective space 1433 needs of the school districts, Florida College System 1434 institutions, and universities, as appropriate. Projections of a 1435 school districts facility space needs may not exceed the norm 1436 space and occupant design criteria established by the State 1437 Requirements for Educational Facilities. 1438 2.3.Each Florida College System institutions survey must 1439 reflect the capacity of existing facilities as specified in the 1440 inventory maintained by the Department of Education. Projections 1441 of facility space needs must comply with standards for 1442 determining space needs as specified by rule of the State Board 1443 of Education. The 5-year projection of capital outlay student 1444 enrollment must be consistent with the annual report of capital 1445 outlay full-time student enrollment prepared by the Department 1446 of Education. 1447 3.4.Each state universitys survey must reflect the 1448 capacity of existing facilities as specified in the inventory 1449 maintained and validated by the Chancellor of the State 1450 University System. Projections of facility space needs must be 1451 consistent with standards for determining space needs as 1452 specified by regulation of the Board of Governors. The projected 1453 capital outlay full-time equivalent student enrollment must be 1454 consistent with the 5-year planned enrollment cycle for the 1455 State University System approved by the Board of Governors. 1456 4.5.The district educational facilities plan of a school 1457 district and the educational plant survey of a Florida College 1458 System institution, state university, or the Florida School for 1459 the Deaf and the Blind may include space needs that deviate from 1460 approved standards for determining space needs if the deviation 1461 is justified by the district or institution and approved by the 1462 department or the Board of Governors, as appropriate, as 1463 necessary for the delivery of an approved educational program. 1464 (c)(d)Review and validation.The Department of Education 1465 shall review and validate the surveys of school districts and 1466 Florida College System institutions, and the Chancellor of the 1467 State University System shall review and validate the surveys of 1468 universities, and any amendments thereto for compliance with the 1469 requirements of this chapter and shall recommend those in 1470 compliance for approval by the State Board of Education or the 1471 Board of Governors, as appropriate. Annually, the department 1472 shall perform an in-depth analysis of a representative sample of 1473 each survey of recommended needs for five districts selected by 1474 the commissioner from among districts with the largest need-to 1475 revenue ratio. For the purpose of this subsection, the need-to 1476 revenue ratio is determined by dividing the total 5-year cost of 1477 projects listed on the district survey by the total 5-year fixed 1478 capital outlay revenue projections from state and local sources 1479 as determined by the department. The commissioner may condition 1480 the receipt of direct fixed capital outlay funds provided from 1481 general revenue or from state trust funds by district school 1482 boards to be withheld from districts until such time as the 1483 district school board submits a survey that accurately projects 1484 facilities needs as indicated by the Florida Inventory of School 1485 Houses, as compared with the districts capital outlay full-time 1486 equivalent enrollment, as determined by the department. 1487 (d)(e)Periodic update of Florida Inventory of School 1488 Houses.School districts shall periodically update their 1489 inventory of educational facilities as new capacity becomes 1490 available and as unsatisfactory space is eliminated. The State 1491 Board of Education shall adopt rules to determine the timeframe 1492 in which districts must provide a periodic update. 1493 (2)Only the district school superintendent, Florida 1494 College System institution president, or the university 1495 president shall certify to the Department of Education a 1496 projects compliance with the requirements for expenditure of 1497 PECO funds prior to release of funds. 1498 (a)Upon request for release of PECO funds for planning 1499 purposes, certification must be made to the Department of 1500 Education that the need for and location of the facility are in 1501 compliance with the board-approved survey recommendations, that 1502 the project meets the definition of a PECO project and the 1503 limiting criteria for expenditures of PECO funding, and that the 1504 plan is consistent with the local government comprehensive plan. 1505 (b)Upon request for release of construction funds, 1506 certification must be made to the Department of Education that 1507 the need and location of the facility are in compliance with the 1508 board-approved survey recommendations, that the project meets 1509 the definition of a PECO project and the limiting criteria for 1510 expenditures of PECO funding, and that the construction 1511 documents meet the requirements of the Florida Building Code for 1512 educational facilities construction, subject to the 1513 authorization in s. 1013.385 to exempt certain facilities from 1514 the requirements of s. 1013.37, or other applicable codes as 1515 authorized in this chapter. 1516 Section 36.Section 1013.35, Florida Statutes, is amended 1517 to read: 1518 1013.35School district educational facilities plan; 1519 definitions; preparation, adoption, and amendment; long-term 1520 work programs. 1521 (1)DEFINITIONS.As used in this section, the term: 1522 (a)Adopted educational facilities plan means the 1523 comprehensive planning document that is adopted annually by the 1524 district school board as provided in subsection (2) and that 1525 contains the educational plant survey. 1526 (b)District facilities work program means the 5-year 1527 listing of capital outlay projects adopted by the district 1528 school board as provided in subparagraph (2)(a)2. and paragraph 1529 (2)(b) as part of the district educational facilities plan, 1530 which is required in order to: 1531 1.Properly maintain the educational plant and ancillary 1532 facilities of the district. 1533 2.Provide an adequate number of satisfactory student 1534 stations for the projected student enrollment of the district in 1535 K-12 programs in accordance with the goal in s. 1013.21. 1536 (c)Tentative educational facilities plan means the 1537 comprehensive planning document prepared annually by the 1538 district school board and submitted to the Office of Educational 1539 Facilities and the affected general-purpose local governments. 1540 (2)PREPARATION OF TENTATIVE DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL 1541 FACILITIES PLAN. 1542 (a)Annually, before prior to the adoption of the district 1543 school budget, each district school board shall prepare a 1544 tentative district educational facilities plan that includes 1545 long-range planning for facilities needs over 5-year, 10-year, 1546 and 20-year periods. The plan must be developed in coordination 1547 with the general-purpose local governments and be consistent 1548 with the local government comprehensive plans. The school 1549 boards plan for provision of new schools must meet the needs of 1550 all growing communities in the district, ranging from small 1551 rural communities to large urban cities. The plan must include: 1552 1.Projected student populations apportioned geographically 1553 at the local level. The projections must be based on information 1554 produced by the demographic, revenue, and education estimating 1555 conferences pursuant to s. 216.136, where available, as modified 1556 by the district based on development data and agreement with the 1557 local governments and the Office of Educational Facilities. The 1558 projections must be apportioned geographically with assistance 1559 from the local governments using local development trend data 1560 and the school district student enrollment data. 1561 2.An inventory of existing school facilities. Any 1562 anticipated expansions or closures of existing school sites over 1563 the 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year periods must be identified. The 1564 inventory must include an assessment of areas proximate to 1565 existing schools and identification of the need for improvements 1566 to infrastructure, safety, including safe access routes, and 1567 conditions in the community. The plan must also provide a 1568 listing of major repairs and renovation projects anticipated 1569 over the period of the plan. 1570 3.Projections of facilities space needs, which may not 1571 exceed the norm space and occupant design criteria established 1572 in the State Requirements for Educational Facilities. 1573 4.Information on leased, loaned, and donated space and 1574 relocatables used for conducting the districts instructional 1575 programs. 1576 5.The general location of public schools proposed to be 1577 constructed over the 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year time periods, 1578 including a listing of the proposed schools site acreage needs 1579 and anticipated capacity and maps showing the general locations. 1580 The school boards identification of general locations of future 1581 school sites must be based on the school siting requirements of 1582 s. 163.3177(6)(a) and policies in the comprehensive plan which 1583 provide guidance for appropriate locations for school sites. 1584 6.The identification of options deemed reasonable and 1585 approved by the school board which reduce the need for 1586 additional permanent student stations. Such options may include, 1587 but need not be limited to: 1588 a.Acceptable capacity; 1589 b.Redistricting; 1590 c.Busing; 1591 d.Year-round schools; 1592 e.Charter schools; 1593 f.Magnet schools; and 1594 g.Public-private partnerships. 1595 7.The criteria and method, jointly determined by the local 1596 government and the school board, for determining the impact of 1597 proposed development to public school capacity. 1598 (b)The plan must also include a financially feasible 1599 district facilities work program for a 5-year period. The work 1600 program must include: 1601 1.A schedule of major repair and renovation projects 1602 necessary to maintain the educational facilities and ancillary 1603 facilities of the district. 1604 2.A schedule of capital outlay projects necessary to 1605 ensure the availability of satisfactory student stations for the 1606 projected student enrollment in K-12 programs. This schedule 1607 shall consider: 1608 a.The locations, capacities, and planned utilization rates 1609 of current educational facilities of the district. The capacity 1610 of existing satisfactory facilities, as reported in the Florida 1611 Inventory of School Houses must be compared to the capital 1612 outlay full-time-equivalent student enrollment as determined by 1613 the department, including all enrollment used in the calculation 1614 of the distribution formula in s. 1013.64. 1615 b.The proposed locations of planned facilities, whether 1616 those locations are consistent with the comprehensive plans of 1617 all affected local governments, and recommendations for 1618 infrastructure and other improvements to land adjacent to 1619 existing facilities. The provisions of ss. 1013.33(6), (7), and 1620 (8) and 1013.36 must be addressed for new facilities planned 1621 within the first 3 years of the work plan, as appropriate. 1622 c.Plans for the use and location of relocatable 1623 facilities, leased facilities, and charter school facilities. 1624 d.Plans for multitrack scheduling, grade level 1625 organization, block scheduling, or other alternatives that 1626 reduce the need for additional permanent student stations. 1627 e.Information concerning average class size and 1628 utilization rate by grade level within the district which will 1629 result if the tentative district facilities work program is 1630 fully implemented. 1631 f.The number and percentage of district students planned 1632 to be educated in relocatable facilities during each year of the 1633 tentative district facilities work program. For determining 1634 future needs, student capacity may not be assigned to any 1635 relocatable classroom that is scheduled for elimination or 1636 replacement with a permanent educational facility in the current 1637 year of the adopted district educational facilities plan and in 1638 the district facilities work program adopted under this section. 1639 Those relocatable classrooms clearly identified and scheduled 1640 for replacement in a school-board-adopted, financially feasible, 1641 5-year district facilities work program shall be counted at zero 1642 capacity at the time the work program is adopted and approved by 1643 the school board. However, if the district facilities work 1644 program is changed and the relocatable classrooms are not 1645 replaced as scheduled in the work program, the classrooms must 1646 be reentered into the system and be counted at actual capacity. 1647 Relocatable classrooms may not be perpetually added to the work 1648 program or continually extended for purposes of circumventing 1649 this section. All relocatable classrooms not identified and 1650 scheduled for replacement, including those owned, lease 1651 purchased, or leased by the school district, must be counted at 1652 actual student capacity. The district educational facilities 1653 plan must identify the number of relocatable student stations 1654 scheduled for replacement during the 5-year survey period and 1655 the total dollar amount needed for that replacement. 1656 g.Plans for the closure of any school, including plans for 1657 disposition of the facility or usage of facility space, and 1658 anticipated revenues. 1659 h.Projects for which capital outlay and debt service funds 1660 accruing under s. 9(d), Art. XII of the State Constitution are 1661 to be used shall be identified separately in priority order on a 1662 project priority list within the district facilities work 1663 program. 1664 3.The projected cost for each project identified in the 1665 district facilities work program. For proposed projects for new 1666 student stations, a schedule shall be prepared comparing the 1667 planned cost and square footage for each new student station, by 1668 elementary, middle, and high school levels, to the low, average, 1669 and high cost of facilities constructed throughout the state 1670 during the most recent fiscal year for which data is available 1671 from the Department of Education. 1672 4.A schedule of estimated capital outlay revenues from 1673 each currently approved source which is estimated to be 1674 available for expenditure on the projects included in the 1675 district facilities work program. 1676 5.A schedule indicating which projects included in the 1677 district facilities work program will be funded from current 1678 revenues projected in subparagraph 4. 1679 6.A schedule of options for the generation of additional 1680 revenues by the district for expenditure on projects identified 1681 in the district facilities work program which are not funded 1682 under subparagraph 5. Additional anticipated revenues may 1683 include Classrooms First funds. 1684 (c)To the extent available, the tentative district 1685 educational facilities plan shall be based on information 1686 produced by the demographic, revenue, and education estimating 1687 conferences pursuant to s. 216.136. 1688 (2)(d)Provision must shall be made for public comment 1689 concerning the tentative district educational facilities plan. 1690 (e)The district school board shall coordinate with each 1691 affected local government to ensure consistency between the 1692 tentative district educational facilities plan and the local 1693 government comprehensive plans of the affected local governments 1694 during the development of the tentative district educational 1695 facilities plan. 1696 (3)(f)Not less than once every 5 years, the district 1697 school board shall have an audit conducted of the districts 1698 educational planning and construction activities. An operational 1699 audit conducted by the Auditor General pursuant to s. 11.45 1700 satisfies this requirement. 1701 (4)(3)SUBMITTAL OF TENTATIVE DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL 1702 FACILITIES PLAN TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT.The district school board 1703 shall submit a copy of its tentative district educational 1704 facilities plan to all affected local governments before prior 1705 to adoption by the board. The affected local governments may 1706 shall review the tentative district educational facilities plan 1707 and comment to the district school board on the consistency of 1708 the plan with the local comprehensive plan, whether a 1709 comprehensive plan amendment will be necessary for any proposed 1710 educational facility, and whether the local government supports 1711 a necessary comprehensive plan amendment. If the local 1712 government does not support a comprehensive plan amendment for a 1713 proposed educational facility, the matter must shall be resolved 1714 pursuant to the interlocal agreement when required by ss. 1715 163.3177(6)(h), 163.31777, and 1013.33(2). The process for the 1716 submittal and review must shall be detailed in the interlocal 1717 agreement when required pursuant to ss. 163.3177(6)(h), 1718 163.31777, and 1013.33(2). 1719 (5)(4)ADOPTED DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES PLAN. 1720 Annually, the district school board shall consider and adopt the 1721 tentative district educational facilities plan completed 1722 pursuant to subsection (2). Upon giving proper notice to the 1723 public and local governments and opportunity for public comment, 1724 the district school board may amend the plan to revise the 1725 priority of projects, to add or delete projects, to reflect the 1726 impact of change orders, or to reflect the approval of new 1727 revenue sources which may become available. The adopted district 1728 educational facilities plan must shall: 1729 (a)Be a complete, balanced, and financially feasible 1730 capital outlay financial plan for the district. 1731 (b)Set forth the proposed commitments and planned 1732 expenditures of the district to address the educational 1733 facilities needs of its students and to adequately provide for 1734 the maintenance of the educational plant and ancillary 1735 facilities, including safe access ways from neighborhoods to 1736 schools. 1737 (6)(5)EXECUTION OF ADOPTED DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES 1738 PLAN.The first year of the adopted district educational 1739 facilities plan constitutes shall constitute the capital outlay 1740 budget required in s. 1013.61. The adopted district educational 1741 facilities plan shall include the information required in 1742 subparagraphs (2)(b)1., 2., and 3., based upon projects actually 1743 funded in the plan. 1744 Section 37.Section 1013.356, Florida Statutes, is amended 1745 to read: 1746 1013.356Local funding for educational facilities benefit 1747 districts or community development districts.Upon confirmation 1748 by a district school board of the commitment of revenues by an 1749 educational facilities benefit district or community development 1750 district necessary to construct and maintain an educational 1751 facility contained within an individual district facilities work 1752 program or proposed by an approved charter school or a charter 1753 school applicant, the following funds shall be provided to the 1754 educational facilities benefit district or community development 1755 district annually, beginning with the next fiscal year after 1756 confirmation until the districts financial obligations are 1757 completed: 1758 (1)All educational facilities impact fee revenue collected 1759 for new development within the educational facilities benefit 1760 district or community development district. Funds provided under 1761 this subsection shall be used to fund the construction and 1762 capital maintenance costs of educational facilities. 1763 (2)For construction and capital maintenance costs not 1764 covered by the funds provided under subsection (1), an annual 1765 amount contributed by the district school board equal to one 1766 half of the remaining costs of construction and capital 1767 maintenance of the educational facility. Any construction costs 1768 above the cost-per-student criteria established in s. 1769 1013.64(6)(b)1. shall be funded exclusively by the educational 1770 facilities benefit district or the community development 1771 district. Funds contributed by a district school board shall not 1772 be used to fund operational costs. 1773 1774 Educational facilities funded pursuant to this act may be 1775 constructed on land that is owned by any person after the 1776 district school board has acquired from the owner of the land a 1777 long-term lease for the use of this land for a period of not 1778 less than 40 years or the life expectancy of the permanent 1779 facilities constructed thereon, whichever is longer. All 1780 interlocal agreements entered into pursuant to this act must 1781 shall provide for ownership of educational facilities funded 1782 pursuant to this act to revert to the district school board if 1783 such facilities cease to be used for public educational purposes 1784 before prior to 40 years after construction or prior to the end 1785 of the life expectancy of the educational facilities, whichever 1786 is longer. 1787 Section 38.Section 1013.385, Florida Statutes, is amended 1788 to read: 1789 1013.385School district construction flexibility. 1790 (1)A district school board may, with a majority vote at a 1791 public meeting that begins no earlier than 5 p.m., adopt a 1792 resolution to implement one or more of the exceptions to the 1793 educational facilities construction requirements to provide 1794 provided in this section. 1795 (2)A resolution adopted under this section may propose 1796 implementation of exceptions to requirements of the uniform 1797 statewide building code for the planning and construction of 1798 public educational and ancillary plants adopted pursuant to ss. 1799 553.73 and 1013.37 relating to: 1800 (a)Interior non-load-bearing walls, by approving the use 1801 of fire-rated wood stud walls in new construction or remodeling 1802 for interior non-load-bearing wall assemblies that will not be 1803 exposed to water or located in wet areas. 1804 (b)Walkways, roadways, driveways, and parking areas, by 1805 approving the use of designated, stabilized, and well-drained 1806 gravel or grassed student parking areas. 1807 (c)Standards for relocatables used as classroom space, as 1808 specified in s. 1013.20, by approving construction 1809 specifications for installation of relocatable buildings that do 1810 not have covered walkways leading to the permanent buildings 1811 onsite. 1812 (d)Site lighting, by approving construction specifications 1813 regarding site lighting that: 1814 1.Do not provide for lighting of gravel or grassed 1815 auxiliary or student parking areas. 1816 2.Provide lighting for walkways, roadways, driveways, 1817 paved parking lots, exterior stairs, ramps, and walkways from 1818 the exterior of the building to a public walkway through 1819 installation of a timer that is set to provide lighting only 1820 during periods when the site is occupied. 1821 3.Allow lighting for building entrances and exits to be 1822 installed with a timer that is set to provide lighting only 1823 during periods in which the building is occupied. The minimum 1824 illumination level at single-door exits may be reduced to no 1825 less than 1 foot-candle. 1826 (e)Any other provisions that limit a school with the 1827 ability of a school to operate in a facility on the same basis 1828 as a charter school pursuant to s. 1002.33(18). When a hurricane 1829 evacuation shelter deficit, as determined by the Division of 1830 Emergency Management, in the regional planning council region in 1831 which the county is located makes public shelter design criteria 1832 applicable, any exceptions to the public shelter design criteria 1833 remain subject to the concurrence of the applicable local 1834 emergency management agency or the Division of Emergency 1835 Management so long as the regional planning council determines 1836 that there is sufficient shelter capacity within the school 1837 district as documented in the Statewide Emergency Shelter Plan. 1838 A school board may not be required to build more emergency 1839 shelter space than identified as needed in the Statewide 1840 Emergency Shelter Plan. 1841 Section 39.Subsections (3) and (4) of section 1013.41, 1842 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1843 1013.41SMART schools; Classrooms First; legislative 1844 purpose. 1845 (3)SCHOOL DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES PLAN.It is the 1846 purpose of the Legislature to create s. 1013.35, requiring each 1847 school district annually to adopt an educational facilities plan 1848 that provides an integrated long-range facilities plan, 1849 including the survey of projected needs and the 5-year work 1850 program. The purpose of the educational facilities plan is to 1851 keep the district school board, local governments, and the 1852 public fully informed as to whether the district is using sound 1853 policies and practices that meet the essential needs of students 1854 and that warrant public confidence in district operations. The 1855 educational facilities plan will be monitored by the Office of 1856 Educational Facilities, which will also apply performance 1857 standards pursuant to s. 1013.04. 1858 (4)OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES.It is the purpose of 1859 the Legislature to require the Office of Educational Facilities 1860 to assist school districts in building SMART schools utilizing 1861 functional and frugal practices. The Office of Educational 1862 Facilities shall must review district facilities work programs 1863 and projects and identify opportunities to maximize design and 1864 construction savings; develop school district facilities work 1865 program performance standards; and provide for review and 1866 recommendations to the Governor, the Legislature, and the State 1867 Board of Education. 1868 Section 40.Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) and subsection 1869 (4) of section 1013.45, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1870 1013.45Educational facilities contracting and construction 1871 techniques for school districts and Florida College System 1872 institutions. 1873 (1)District school boards and boards of trustees of 1874 Florida College System institutions may employ procedures to 1875 contract for construction of new facilities, or for additions, 1876 remodeling, renovation, maintenance, or repairs to existing 1877 facilities, which include, but are not limited to: 1878 (e)Day-labor contracts not exceeding $280,000 for 1879 construction, renovation, remodeling, or maintenance of existing 1880 facilities. This amount shall be adjusted annually based upon 1881 changes in the Consumer Price Index. District school boards are 1882 exempt from the contract limitations provided in this paragraph. 1883 (4)Except as otherwise provided in this section and s. 1884 481.229, the services of a registered architect must be used by 1885 Florida College System institution and state university boards 1886 of trustees for the development of plans for the erection, 1887 enlargement, or alteration of any educational facility. The 1888 services of a registered architect are not required for a minor 1889 renovation project for which the construction cost is less than 1890 $50,000 or for the placement or hookup of relocatable 1891 educational facilities that conform to standards adopted under 1892 s. 1013.37. However, boards must provide compliance with 1893 building code requirements and ensure that these structures are 1894 adequately anchored for wind resistance as required by law. A 1895 district school board shall reuse existing construction 1896 documents or design criteria packages if such reuse is feasible 1897 and practical. If a school districts 5-year educational 1898 facilities work plan includes the construction of two or more 1899 new schools for students in the same grade group and program, 1900 such as elementary, middle, or high school, the district school 1901 board must require that prototype design and construction be 1902 used for the construction of these schools. Notwithstanding s. 1903 287.055, a board may purchase the architectural services for the 1904 design of educational or ancillary facilities under an existing 1905 contract agreement for professional services held by a district 1906 school board in the State of Florida, provided that the purchase 1907 is to the economic advantage of the purchasing board, the 1908 services conform to the standards prescribed by rules of the 1909 State Board of Education, and such reuse is not without notice 1910 to, and permission from, the architect of record whose plans or 1911 design criteria are being reused. Plans must be reviewed for 1912 compliance with the State Requirements for Educational 1913 Facilities. Rules adopted under this section must establish 1914 uniform prequalification, selection, bidding, and negotiation 1915 procedures applicable to construction management contracts and 1916 the design-build process. This section does not supersede any 1917 small, woman-owned, or minority-owned business enterprise 1918 preference program adopted by a board. Except as otherwise 1919 provided in this section, the negotiation procedures applicable 1920 to construction management contracts and the design-build 1921 process must conform to the requirements of s. 287.055. A board 1922 may not modify any rules regarding construction management 1923 contracts or the design-build process. 1924 Section 41.Section 1013.451, Florida Statutes, is 1925 repealed. 1926 Section 42.Section 1013.48, Florida Statutes, is amended 1927 to read: 1928 1013.48Changes in construction requirements after award of 1929 contract.The board may, at its option and by written policy 1930 duly adopted and entered in its official minutes, authorize the 1931 superintendent or president or other designated individual to 1932 approve change orders in the name of the board for 1933 preestablished amounts. Approvals must shall be for the purpose 1934 of expediting the work in progress and must shall be reported to 1935 the board and entered in its official minutes. For 1936 accountability, the school district shall monitor and report the 1937 impact of change orders on its district educational facilities 1938 plan pursuant to s. 1013.35. 1939 Section 43.Section 1013.64, Florida Statutes, is amended 1940 to read: 1941 1013.64Funds for comprehensive educational plant needs; 1942 construction cost maximums for school district capital 1943 projects.Allocations from the Public Education Capital Outlay 1944 and Debt Service Trust Fund to the various boards for capital 1945 outlay projects must shall be determined as follows: 1946 (1)(a)Funds for remodeling, renovation, maintenance, 1947 repairs, and site improvement for existing satisfactory 1948 facilities shall be given priority consideration by the 1949 Legislature for appropriations allocated to the boards from the 1950 total amount of the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt 1951 Service Trust Fund appropriated. These funds shall be calculated 1952 pursuant to the following basic formula: the building value 1953 times the building age over the sum of the years digits 1954 assuming a 50-year building life. For modular noncombustible 1955 facilities, a 35-year life shall be used, and for relocatable 1956 facilities, a 20-year life shall be used. Building value is 1957 calculated by multiplying each buildings total assignable 1958 square feet times the appropriate net-to-gross conversion rate 1959 found in state board rules and that product times the current 1960 average new construction cost. Building age is calculated by 1961 multiplying the prior years building age times 1 minus the 1962 prior years sum received from this subsection divided by the 1963 prior years building value. To the net result shall be added 1964 the number 1. Each board shall receive the percentage generated 1965 by the preceding formula of the total amount appropriated for 1966 the purposes of this section. 1967 (b)Each board is prohibited from using the funds received 1968 pursuant to this section to supplant funds in the current fiscal 1969 year approved operating budget, and all budgeted funds shall be 1970 expended at a rate not less than would have been expended had 1971 the funds under this section not been received. 1972 (c)Each remodeling, renovation, maintenance, repair, or 1973 site improvement project will expand or upgrade current 1974 educational plants to prolong the useful life of the plant. 1975 (d)Each board shall maintain fund accounting in a manner 1976 which will permit a detailed audit of the funds expended in this 1977 program. 1978 (e)Remodeling projects must shall be based on the 1979 recommendations of a survey pursuant to s. 1013.31, or, for 1980 district school boards, as indicated by the relative need as 1981 determined by the Florida Inventory of School Houses and the 1982 capital outlay full-time equivalent enrollment in the district. 1983 (f)At least one-tenth of a Florida College System 1984 institutions or state universitys board of trustees boards 1985 annual allocation provided under this section must shall be 1986 spent to correct unsafe, unhealthy, or unsanitary conditions in 1987 its educational facilities, as required by s. 1013.12, or a 1988 lesser amount sufficient to correct all deficiencies cited in 1989 its annual comprehensive safety inspection reports. This 1990 paragraph must shall not be construed to limit the amount a 1991 board may expend to correct such deficiencies. 1992 (g)When an existing educational plant is determined to be 1993 unsatisfactory pursuant to the survey conducted under s. 1994 1013.31, the board may, by resolution, designate the plant as a 1995 historic educational facility and may use funds generated for 1996 renovation and remodeling pursuant to this section to restore 1997 the facility for use by the board. The board shall agree to pay 1998 renovation and remodeling costs in excess of funds which such 1999 facility would have generated through the depreciation formula 2000 in paragraph (a) had the facility been determined to be 2001 satisfactory. The board shall further agree that the plant shall 2002 continue to house students. The board may designate a plant as a 2003 historic educational facility only if the Division of Historical 2004 Resources of the Department of State or the appropriate historic 2005 preservation board under chapter 266 certifies that: 2006 1.The plant is listed or determined eligible for listing 2007 in the National Register of Historic Places pursuant to the 2008 National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, 16 2009 U.S.C. s. 470; 2010 2.The plant is designated historic within a certified 2011 local district pursuant to s. 48(g)(3)(B)(ii) of the Internal 2012 Revenue Code; or 2013 3.The division or historic preservation board otherwise 2014 finds that the plant is historically significant. 2015 (h)University boards of trustees may utilize funds 2016 appropriated pursuant to this section for replacement of minor 2017 facilities. Minor facilities may not be replaced from funds 2018 provided pursuant to this section unless the board determines 2019 that the cost of repair or renovation is greater than or equal 2020 to the cost of replacement. 2021 (2)(a)The department shall establish, as a part of the 2022 Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund, a 2023 separate account, in an amount determined by the Legislature, to 2024 be known as the Special Facility Construction Account. The 2025 Special Facility Construction Account shall be used to provide 2026 necessary construction funds to school districts which have 2027 urgent construction needs but which lack sufficient resources at 2028 present, and cannot reasonably anticipate sufficient resources 2029 within the period of the next 3 years, for these purposes from 2030 currently authorized sources of capital outlay revenue. A school 2031 district requesting funding from the Special Facility 2032 Construction Account shall submit one specific construction 2033 project, not to exceed one complete educational plant, to the 2034 Special Facility Construction Committee. A district may not 2035 receive funding for more than one approved project in any 3-year 2036 period or while any portion of the districts participation 2037 requirement is outstanding. The first year of the 3-year period 2038 shall be the first year a district receives an appropriation. 2039 During the 2019-2020 school year, a school district that 2040 sustained hurricane damage in the 2018-2019 school year may 2041 request funding from the Special Facility Construction Account 2042 for a new project before the completion of the districts 2043 participation requirement for an outstanding project. The 2044 department shall encourage a construction program that reduces 2045 the average size of schools in the district. The request must 2046 meet the following criteria to be considered by the committee: 2047 1.The project must be deemed a critical need and must be 2048 recommended for funding by the Special Facility Construction 2049 Committee. Before developing construction plans for the proposed 2050 facility, the district school board must request a 2051 preapplication review by the Special Facility Construction 2052 Committee or a project review subcommittee convened by the chair 2053 of the committee to include two representatives of the 2054 department and two staff members from school districts not 2055 eligible to participate in the program. A school district may 2056 request a preapplication review at any time; however, if the 2057 district school board seeks inclusion in the departments next 2058 annual capital outlay legislative budget request, the 2059 preapplication review request must be made before February 1. 2060 Within 90 days after receiving the preapplication review 2061 request, the committee or subcommittee must meet in the school 2062 district to review the project proposal and existing facilities. 2063 To determine whether the proposed project is a critical need, 2064 the committee or subcommittee shall consider, at a minimum, the 2065 capacity of all existing facilities within the district as 2066 determined by the Florida Inventory of School Houses; the 2067 districts pattern of student growth; the districts existing 2068 and projected capital outlay full-time equivalent student 2069 enrollment as determined by the demographic, revenue, and 2070 education estimating conferences established in s. 216.136; the 2071 districts existing satisfactory student stations in the 2072 vicinity of the proposed facility; the use of all existing 2073 district property and facilities; grade level configurations; 2074 and any other information that may affect the need for the 2075 proposed project. 2076 2.The construction project must be recommended in the most 2077 recent survey or survey amendment cooperatively prepared by the 2078 district school board and the department, and approved by the 2079 department under the rules of the State Board of Education. If a 2080 district school board employs a consultant in the preparation of 2081 a survey or survey amendment, the consultant may not be employed 2082 by or receive compensation from a third party that designs or 2083 constructs a project recommended by the survey. 2084 3.The construction project must appear on the districts 2085 approved project priority list under the rules of the State 2086 Board of Education. 2087 4.The district school board must have selected and had 2088 approved a site for the construction project in compliance with 2089 s. 1013.36 and the rules of the State Board of Education. 2090 5.The district school board shall have developed a 2091 district school board adopted list of facilities that do not 2092 exceed the norm for net square feet occupancy requirements under 2093 the State Requirements for Educational Facilities, using all 2094 possible programmatic combinations for multiple use of space to 2095 obtain maximum daily use of all spaces within the facility under 2096 consideration. 2097 6.Upon construction, the total cost per student station, 2098 including change orders, must not exceed the cost per student 2099 station as provided in subsection (6) unless approved by the 2100 Special Facility Construction Committee. At the discretion of 2101 the committee, costs that exceed the cost per student station 2102 for special facilities may include legal and administrative 2103 fees, the cost of site improvements or related offsite 2104 improvements, the cost of complying with public shelter and 2105 hurricane hardening requirements, cost overruns created by a 2106 disaster as defined in s. 252.34(2), costs of security 2107 enhancements approved by the school safety specialist, and 2108 unforeseeable circumstances beyond the districts control. 2109 7.There shall be an agreement signed by the district 2110 school board stating that it will advertise for bids within 30 2111 days of receipt of its encumbrance authorization from the 2112 department. 2113 7.8.For construction projects for which Special Facilities 2114 Construction Account funding is sought before the 2019-2020 2115 fiscal year, the district shall, at the time of the request and 2116 for a continuing period necessary to meet the districts 2117 participation requirement, levy the maximum millage against its 2118 nonexempt assessed property value as allowed in s. 1011.71(2) or 2119 shall raise an equivalent amount of revenue from the school 2120 capital outlay surtax authorized under s. 212.055(6). Beginning 2121 with construction projects for which Special Facilities 2122 Construction Account funding is sought in the 2019-2020 fiscal 2123 year, the district shall, for a minimum of 3 years before 2124 submitting the request and for a continuing period necessary to 2125 meet its participation requirement, levy the maximum millage 2126 against the districts nonexempt assessed property value as 2127 authorized under s. 1011.71(2) or shall raise an equivalent 2128 amount of revenue from the school capital outlay surtax 2129 authorized under s. 212.055(6). Any district with a new or 2130 active project, funded under the provisions of this subsection, 2131 shall be required to budget no more than the value of 1 mill per 2132 year to the project until the districts participation 2133 requirement relating to the local discretionary capital 2134 improvement millage or the equivalent amount of revenue from the 2135 school capital outlay surtax is satisfied. 2136 8.9.If a contract has not been signed 90 days after the 2137 advertising of bids, the funding for the specific project shall 2138 revert to the Special Facility New Construction Account to be 2139 reallocated to other projects on the list. However, an 2140 additional 90 days may be granted by the commissioner. 2141 9.10.The department shall certify the inability of the 2142 district to fund the survey-recommended project over a 2143 continuous 3-year period using projected capital outlay revenue 2144 derived from s. 9(d), Art. XII of the State Constitution, as 2145 amended, paragraph (3)(a) of this section, and s. 1011.71(2). 2146 10.11.The district shall have on file with the department 2147 an adopted resolution acknowledging its commitment to satisfy 2148 its participation requirement, which is equivalent to all 2149 unencumbered and future revenue acquired from s. 9(d), Art. XII 2150 of the State Constitution, as amended, paragraph (3)(a) of this 2151 section, and s. 1011.71(2), in the year of the initial 2152 appropriation and for the 2 years immediately following the 2153 initial appropriation. 2154 11.12.Phase I plans must be approved by the district 2155 school board as being in compliance with the building and life 2156 safety codes before June 1 of the year the application is made. 2157 (b)The Special Facility Construction Committee shall be 2158 composed of the following: two representatives of the Department 2159 of Education, a representative from the Governors office, a 2160 representative selected annually by the district school boards, 2161 and a representative selected annually by the superintendents. A 2162 representative of the department shall chair the committee. 2163 (c)The committee shall review the requests submitted from 2164 the districts, evaluate the ability of the project to relieve 2165 critical needs, and rank the requests in priority order. This 2166 statewide priority list for special facilities construction 2167 shall be submitted to the Legislature in the commissioners 2168 annual capital outlay legislative budget request at least 45 2169 days prior to the legislative session. 2170 (3)(a)Each district school board shall receive an amount 2171 from the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust 2172 Fund to be calculated by computing the capital outlay membership 2173 as determined by the department. Such membership must include, 2174 but is not limited to, prekindergarten through grade 12 students 2175 whose instruction is funded by the Florida Education Finance 2176 Program and for whom the school district provides the 2177 educational facility. 2178 (b)The capital outlay full-time equivalent membership 2179 shall be determined by counting the reported unweighted full 2180 time equivalent student membership for the second and third 2181 surveys with each survey limited to 0.5 full-time equivalent 2182 student membership per student and comparing the results on a 2183 school-by-school basis with the Florida Inventory of School 2184 Houses. 2185 (c)The capital outlay full-time equivalent membership by 2186 grade level organization shall be used in making calculations. 2187 The capital outlay membership by grade level organization for 2188 the 4th prior year must be used to compute the base-year 2189 allocation. The capital outlay full-time equivalent membership 2190 by grade-level organization for the prior year must be used to 2191 compute the growth over the highest of the 3 years preceding the 2192 prior year. From the total amount appropriated by the 2193 Legislature pursuant to this subsection, 40 percent shall be 2194 allocated among the base capital outlay full-time equivalent 2195 membership and 60 percent among the growth capital outlay full 2196 time equivalent membership. The allocation within each of these 2197 groups shall be prorated to the districts based upon each 2198 districts percentage of base and growth capital outlay full 2199 time equivalent membership. The most recent 4-year capital 2200 outlay full-time equivalent membership data shall be used in 2201 each subsequent years calculation for the allocation of funds 2202 pursuant to this subsection. If a change, correction, or 2203 recomputation of data during any year results in a reduction or 2204 increase of the calculated amount previously allocated to a 2205 district, the allocation to that district shall be adjusted 2206 accordingly. If such recomputation results in an increase or 2207 decrease of the calculated amount, such additional or reduced 2208 amounts shall be added to or reduced from the districts future 2209 appropriations. However, no change, correction, or recomputation 2210 of data shall be made subsequent to 2 years following the 2211 initial annual allocation. 2212 (d)Funds accruing to a district school board from the 2213 provisions of this section shall be expended on needed projects 2214 as shown by survey or surveys under the rules of the State Board 2215 of Education. 2216 (e)A district school board may lease relocatable 2217 educational facilities for up to 3 years using nonbonded PECO 2218 funds and for any time period using local capital outlay 2219 millage. 2220 (f)Funds distributed to the district school boards shall 2221 be allocated solely based on the provisions of paragraphs (1)(a) 2222 and (2)(a) and paragraphs (a)-(c) of this subsection. No 2223 individual school district projects shall be funded off the top 2224 of funds allocated to district school boards. 2225 (4)(a)Florida College System institution boards of 2226 trustees and university boards of trustees shall receive funds 2227 for projects based on a 3-year priority list, to be updated 2228 annually, which is submitted to the Legislature in the 2229 legislative budget request at least 90 days prior to the 2230 legislative session. The State Board of Education shall submit a 2231 3-year priority list for Florida College System institutions, 2232 and the Board of Governors shall submit a 3-year priority list 2233 for universities. The lists shall reflect decisions by the State 2234 Board of Education for Florida College System institutions and 2235 the Board of Governors for state universities concerning program 2236 priorities that implement the statewide plan for program growth 2237 and quality improvement in education. No remodeling or 2238 renovation project shall be included on the 3-year priority list 2239 unless the project has been recommended pursuant to s. 1013.31 2240 or is for the purpose of correcting health and safety 2241 deficiencies. No new construction project shall be included on 2242 the first year of the 3-year priority list unless the 2243 educational specifications have been approved by the 2244 commissioner for a Florida College System institution project or 2245 by the Board of Governors for a university project, as 2246 applicable. The funds requested for a new construction project 2247 in the first year of the 3-year priority list shall be in 2248 conformance with the scope of the project as defined in the 2249 educational specifications. Any new construction project 2250 requested in the first year of the 3-year priority list which is 2251 not funded by the Legislature shall be carried forward to be 2252 listed first in developing the updated 3-year priority list for 2253 the subsequent years capital outlay budget. Should the order of 2254 the priority of the projects change from year to year, a 2255 justification for such change shall be included with the updated 2256 priority list. 2257 (b)Florida College System institution boards of trustees 2258 and university boards of trustees may lease relocatable 2259 educational facilities for up to 3 years using nonbonded PECO 2260 funds. 2261 (c)Florida College System institution boards of trustees 2262 and university boards of trustees shall receive funds for 2263 remodeling, renovation, maintenance and repairs, and site 2264 improvement for existing satisfactory facilities pursuant to 2265 subsection (1). 2266 (5)District school boards shall identify each fund source 2267 and the use of each proportionate to the project cost, as 2268 identified in the bid document, to assure compliance with this 2269 section. The data shall be submitted to the department, which 2270 shall track this information as submitted by the boards. PECO 2271 funds shall not be expended as indicated in the following: 2272 (a)District school boards shall provide landscaping by 2273 local funding sources or initiatives. District school boards are 2274 exempt from local landscape ordinances but may comply with the 2275 local requirements if such compliance is less costly than 2276 compliance with the landscape requirements of the Florida 2277 Building Code for public educational facilities. 2278 (b)PECO funds shall not be used for the construction of 2279 football fields, bleachers, site lighting for athletic 2280 facilities, tennis courts, stadiums, racquetball courts, or any 2281 other competition-type facilities not required for physical 2282 education curriculum. Regional or intradistrict football 2283 stadiums may be constructed with these funds provided a minimum 2284 of two high schools and two middle schools are assigned to the 2285 facility and the stadiums are survey recommended. Sophisticated 2286 auditoria shall be limited to magnet performing arts schools, 2287 with all other schools using basic lighting and sound systems as 2288 determined by rule. Local funds shall be used for enhancement of 2289 athletic and performing arts facilities. 2290 (6)(a)Each district school board must meet all educational 2291 plant space needs of its elementary, middle, and high schools 2292 before spending funds from the Public Education Capital Outlay 2293 and Debt Service Trust Fund or the School District and Community 2294 College District Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund for 2295 any ancillary plant or any other new construction, renovation, 2296 or remodeling of ancillary space. Expenditures to meet such 2297 space needs may include expenditures for site acquisition; new 2298 construction of educational plants; renovation, remodeling, and 2299 maintenance and repair of existing educational plants, including 2300 auxiliary facilities; and the directly related costs of such 2301 services of school district personnel. It is not the intent of 2302 the Legislature to preclude the use of capital outlay funding 2303 for the labor costs necessary to accomplish the authorized uses 2304 for the capital outlay funding. Day-labor contracts or any other 2305 educational facilities contracting and construction techniques 2306 pursuant to s. 1013.45 are authorized. Additionally, if a school 2307 district has salaried maintenance staff whose duties consist 2308 solely of performing the labor necessary to accomplish the 2309 authorized uses for the capital outlay funding, such funding may 2310 be used for those salaries; however, if a school district has 2311 salaried staff whose duties consist partially of performing the 2312 labor necessary to accomplish the authorized uses for the 2313 capital outlay funding, the district shall prorate the portion 2314 of salary of each such employee that is based on labor for 2315 authorized capital outlay funding, and such funding may be used 2316 to pay that portion. 2317 (b)1.A district school board may not use funds from the 2318 following sources: Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt 2319 Service Trust Fund; School District and Community College 2320 District Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund; Classrooms 2321 First Program funds provided in s. 1013.68; nonvoted 1.5-mill 2322 levy of ad valorem property taxes provided in s. 1011.71(2); 2323 Classrooms for Kids Program funds provided in s. 1013.735; 2324 District Effort Recognition Program funds provided in s. 2325 1013.736; or High Growth District Capital Outlay Assistance 2326 Grant Program funds provided in s. 1013.738 to pay for any 2327 portion of the cost of any new construction of educational plant 2328 space with a total cost per student station, including change 2329 orders, which exceeds: 2330 a.$17,952 for an elementary school; 2331 b.$19,386 for a middle school; or 2332 c.$25,181 for a high school, 2333 2334 (January 2006) as adjusted annually to reflect increases or 2335 decreases in the Consumer Price Index. The department, in 2336 conjunction with the Office of Economic and Demographic 2337 Research, shall estimate review and adjust the cost per student 2338 station limits to reflect actual construction costs by January 2339 1, 2020, and annually thereafter. The adjusted cost per student 2340 station shall be used by the department for computation of the 2341 statewide average costs per student station for each 2342 instructional level pursuant to paragraph (d). The department 2343 may shall also collaborate with the Office of Economic and 2344 Demographic Research to select an industry-recognized 2345 construction index to reflect annual changes in the cost per 2346 student station replace the Consumer Price Index by January 1, 2347 2020, adjusted annually to reflect changes in the construction 2348 index. 2349 2.District school boards School districts shall maintain 2350 accurate documentation related to the costs of all new 2351 construction of educational plant space reported to the 2352 Department of Education pursuant to paragraph (c) (d). The 2353 Auditor General shall review the documentation maintained by the 2354 school districts and verify compliance with the limits under 2355 this paragraph during its scheduled operational audits of the 2356 school district. 2357 3.Except for educational facilities and sites subject to a 2358 lease-purchase agreement entered pursuant to s. 1011.71(2)(e) or 2359 funded solely through local impact fees, in addition to the 2360 funding sources listed in subparagraph 1., a district school 2361 board may not use funds from any sources for new construction of 2362 educational plant space with a total cost per student station, 2363 including change orders, which equals more than the current 2364 adjusted amounts provided in sub-subparagraphs 1.a.-c. However, 2365 if a contract has been executed for architectural and design 2366 services or for construction management services before July 1, 2367 2017, a district school board may use funds from any source for 2368 the new construction of educational plant space and such funds 2369 are exempt from the total cost per student station requirements. 2370 4.A district school board must not use funds from the 2371 Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund or 2372 the School District and Community College District Capital 2373 Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund for any new construction of 2374 an ancillary plant that exceeds 70 percent of the average cost 2375 per square foot of new construction for all schools. 2376 (c)Except as otherwise provided, new construction for 2377 which a contract has been executed for architectural and design 2378 services or for construction management services by a district 2379 school board on or after July 1, 2017, may not exceed the cost 2380 per student station as provided in paragraph (b). 2381 (d)The department shall: 2382 1.Compute for each calendar year the statewide average 2383 construction costs for facilities serving each instructional 2384 level, for relocatable educational facilities, for 2385 administrative facilities, and for other ancillary and auxiliary 2386 facilities. The department shall compute the statewide average 2387 costs per student station for each instructional level. 2388 2.Annually review the actual completed construction costs 2389 of educational facilities in each school district. For any 2390 school district in which the total actual cost per student 2391 station, including change orders, exceeds the statewide limits 2392 established in paragraph (b), the school district shall report 2393 to the department the actual cost per student station and the 2394 reason for the school districts inability to adhere to the 2395 limits established in paragraph (b). The department shall 2396 collect all such reports and shall provide these reports to the 2397 Auditor General for verification purposes. 2398 2399 Cost per student station includes contract costs, fees of 2400 architects and engineers, and the cost of furniture and 2401 equipment. Cost per student station does not include the cost of 2402 purchasing or leasing the site for the construction, legal and 2403 administrative costs, or the cost of related site or offsite 2404 improvements. Cost per student station also does not include the 2405 cost for securing entries, checkpoint construction, lighting 2406 specifically designed for entry point security, security 2407 cameras, automatic locks and locking devices, electronic 2408 security systems, fencing designed to prevent intruder entry 2409 into a building, bullet-proof glass, or other capital 2410 construction items approved by the school safety specialist to 2411 ensure building security for new educational, auxiliary, or 2412 ancillary facilities. 2413 (e)Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection, an 2414 unfinished construction project for new construction of 2415 educational plant space that was started on or before July 1, 2416 2026, is exempt from the total cost per student station 2417 requirements established in paragraph (b). 2418 Section 44.Subsections (5) and (6) of section 1013.68, 2419 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2420 1013.68Classrooms First Program; uses. 2421 (5)A school district may only receive a distribution for 2422 use pursuant to paragraph (2)(a) if the district school board 2423 certifies to the Commissioner of Education that the district has 2424 no immediate unmet need for permanent classroom facilities in 2425 its facilities 5-year capital outlay work plan. If the work plan 2426 contains such unmet needs, the district must use its 2427 distribution for the payment of bonds pursuant to paragraph 2428 (2)(b). If the district does not require its full bonded 2429 distribution to eliminate such unmet need, it may bond only that 2430 portion of its allocation necessary to meet the needs. 2431 (6)School districts may enter into interlocal agreements 2432 to lend their Classrooms First Program funds as provided in 2433 paragraph (2)(c). A school district or multiple school districts 2434 that receive cash proceeds may, after considering their own new 2435 construction needs outlined in their 5-year district facilities 2436 work program, lend their Classrooms First Program funds to 2437 another school district that has need for new facilities. The 2438 interlocal agreement must be approved by the Commissioner of 2439 Education and must outline the amount of the funds to be lent, 2440 the term of the loan, the repayment schedule, and any interest 2441 amount to be repaid in addition to the principal amount of the 2442 loan. 2443 Section 45.Paragraph (e) of subsection (6) of section 2444 163.3180, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2445 163.3180Concurrency. 2446 (6) 2447 (e)A school district that includes relocatable facilities 2448 in its inventory of student stations shall include the capacity 2449 of such relocatable facilities as provided in s. 2450 1013.35(2)(b)2.f., provided the relocatable facilities were 2451 purchased after 1998 and the relocatable facilities meet the 2452 standards for long-term use pursuant to s. 1013.20. 2453 Section 46.Subsection (5) of section 1002.31, Florida 2454 Statutes, is amended to read: 2455 1002.31Controlled open enrollment; public school parental 2456 choice. 2457 (5)For a school or program that is a public school of 2458 choice under this section, the calculation for compliance with 2459 maximum class size pursuant to s. 1003.03(1) s. 1003.03(4) is 2460 the average number of students at the school level. 2461 Section 47.Paragraph (i) of subsection (2) of section 2462 1003.621, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2463 1003.621Academically high-performing school districts.It 2464 is the intent of the Legislature to recognize and reward school 2465 districts that demonstrate the ability to consistently maintain 2466 or improve their high-performing status. The purpose of this 2467 section is to provide high-performing school districts with 2468 flexibility in meeting the specific requirements in statute and 2469 rules of the State Board of Education. 2470 (2)COMPLIANCE WITH STATUTES AND RULES.Each academically 2471 high-performing school district shall comply with all of the 2472 provisions in chapters 1000-1013, and rules of the State Board 2473 of Education which implement these provisions, pertaining to the 2474 following: 2475 (i)Those statutes pertaining to educational facilities, 2476 including chapter 1013, except that s. 1013.20, relating to 2477 covered walkways for portables, and s. 1013.21, relating to the 2478 use of relocatable facilities that exceed 20 years of age, are 2479 eligible for exemption. 2480 Section 48.Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section 2481 1003.631, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2482 1003.631Schools of Excellence.The Schools of Excellence 2483 Program is established to provide administrative flexibility to 2484 the states top schools so that the instructional personnel and 2485 administrative staff at such schools can continue to serve their 2486 communities and increase student learning to the best of their 2487 professional ability. 2488 (2)ADMINISTRATIVE FLEXIBILITIES.A School of Excellence 2489 must be provided the following administrative flexibilities: 2490 (e)Calculation for compliance with maximum class size 2491 pursuant to s. 1003.03(1) s. 1003.03(4) based on the average 2492 number of students at the school level. 2493 Section 49.Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 2494 1011.6202, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2495 1011.6202Principal Autonomy Program Initiative.The 2496 Principal Autonomy Program Initiative is created within the 2497 Department of Education. The purpose of the program is to 2498 provide a highly effective principal of a participating school 2499 with increased autonomy and authority to operate his or her 2500 school, as well as other schools, in a way that produces 2501 significant improvements in student achievement and school 2502 management while complying with constitutional requirements. The 2503 State Board of Education may, upon approval of a principal 2504 autonomy proposal, enter into a performance contract with the 2505 district school board for participation in the program. 2506 (3)EXEMPTION FROM LAWS. 2507 (b)A participating school or a school operated by a 2508 principal pursuant to subsection (5) shall comply with the 2509 provisions of chapters 1000-1013, and rules of the state board 2510 that implement those provisions, pertaining to the following: 2511 1.Those laws relating to the election and compensation of 2512 district school board members, the election or appointment and 2513 compensation of district school superintendents, public meetings 2514 and public records requirements, financial disclosure, and 2515 conflicts of interest. 2516 2.Those laws relating to the student assessment program 2517 and school grading system, including chapter 1008. 2518 3.Those laws relating to the provision of services to 2519 students with disabilities. 2520 4.Those laws relating to civil rights, including s. 2521 1000.05, relating to discrimination. 2522 5.Those laws relating to student health, safety, and 2523 welfare. 2524 6.Section 1001.42(4)(f), relating to the uniform opening 2525 date for public schools. 2526 7.Section 1003.03, governing maximum class size, except 2527 that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s. 1003.03 is 2528 the average at the school level for a participating school. 2529 8.Sections 1012.22(1)(c) and 1012.27(2), relating to 2530 compensation and salary schedules. 2531 9.Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions for 2532 annual contracts for instructional personnel. This subparagraph 2533 does not apply to at-will employees. 2534 10.Section 1012.335, relating to annual contracts for 2535 instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011. This 2536 subparagraph does not apply to at-will employees. 2537 11.Section 1012.34, relating to personnel evaluation 2538 procedures and criteria. 2539 12.Those laws pertaining to educational facilities, 2540 including chapter 1013, except that s. 1013.20, relating to 2541 covered walkways for relocatables, and s. 1013.21, relating to 2542 the use of relocatable facilities exceeding 20 years of age, are 2543 eligible for exemption. 2544 13.Those laws pertaining to participating school 2545 districts, including this section and ss. 1011.69(2) and 2546 1012.28(8). 2547 Section 50.Subsection (2) of section 1011.73, Florida 2548 Statutes, is amended to read: 2549 1011.73District millage elections. 2550 (2)MILLAGE AUTHORIZED NOT TO EXCEED 4 YEARS.The district 2551 school board, pursuant to resolution adopted at a regular 2552 meeting, shall direct the county commissioners to call an 2553 election at which the electors within the school district may 2554 approve an ad valorem tax millage as authorized under s. 2555 1011.71(8) s. 1011.71(9). Such election may be held at any time, 2556 except that not more than one such election shall be held during 2557 any 12-month period. Any millage so authorized shall be levied 2558 for a period not in excess of 4 years or until changed by 2559 another millage election, whichever is earlier. If any such 2560 election is invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, 2561 such invalidated election shall be considered not to have been 2562 held. 2563 Section 51.Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 2564 1012.555, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2565 1012.555Teacher Apprenticeship Program. 2566 (2) 2567 (b)As a condition of participating in the program, an 2568 apprentice teacher must commit to spending the first 2 years in 2569 the classroom of a mentor teacher using team teaching strategies 2570 identified in s. 1003.03(4)(b) s. 1003.03(5)(b) and fulfilling 2571 the on-the-job training component of the registered 2572 apprenticeship and its associated standards. 2573 Section 52.Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 2574 1013.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2575 1013.62Charter schools capital outlay funding. 2576 (3)If the school board levies the discretionary millage 2577 authorized in s. 1011.71(2), the department shall use the 2578 following calculation methodology to determine the amount of 2579 revenue that a school district must distribute to each eligible 2580 charter school: 2581 (a)Reduce the total discretionary millage revenue by the 2582 school districts annual debt service obligation incurred as of 2583 March 1, 2017, which has not been subsequently retired, and any 2584 amount of participation requirement pursuant to s. 2585 1013.64(2)(a)7. s. 1013.64(2)(a)8. that is being satisfied by 2586 revenues raised by the discretionary millage. 2587 2588 By October 1 of each year, each school district shall certify to 2589 the department the amount of debt service and participation 2590 requirement that complies with the requirement of paragraph (a) 2591 and can be reduced from the total discretionary millage revenue. 2592 The Auditor General shall verify compliance with the 2593 requirements of paragraph (a) and s. 1011.71(2)(e) during 2594 scheduled operational audits of school districts. 2595 Section 53.This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.