Bill Amendment: FL H7055 | 2018 | Regular Session
NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List
Bill Title: Education
Status: 2018-03-12 - Chapter No. 2018-6 [H7055 Detail]
Download: Florida-2018-H7055-Senate_Floor_Amendment_Delete_All_831300.html
Bill Title: Education
Status: 2018-03-12 - Chapter No. 2018-6 [H7055 Detail]
Download: Florida-2018-H7055-Senate_Floor_Amendment_Delete_All_831300.html
Florida Senate - 2018 SENATOR AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for HB 7055 Ì831300YÎ831300 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House . . . Floor: 3/AE/2R . 03/02/2018 08:53 PM . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Senators Passidomo and Galvano moved the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete everything after the enacting clause 4 and insert: 5 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (13) of section 6 121.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 7 121.091 Benefits payable under the system.—Benefits may not 8 be paid under this section unless the member has terminated 9 employment as provided in s. 121.021(39)(a) or begun 10 participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Program as 11 provided in subsection (13), and a proper application has been 12 filed in the manner prescribed by the department. The department 13 may cancel an application for retirement benefits when the 14 member or beneficiary fails to timely provide the information 15 and documents required by this chapter and the department’s 16 rules. The department shall adopt rules establishing procedures 17 for application for retirement benefits and for the cancellation 18 of such application when the required information or documents 19 are not received. 20 (13) DEFERRED RETIREMENT OPTION PROGRAM.—In general, and 21 subject to this section, the Deferred Retirement Option Program, 22 hereinafter referred to as DROP, is a program under which an 23 eligible member of the Florida Retirement System may elect to 24 participate, deferring receipt of retirement benefits while 25 continuing employment with his or her Florida Retirement System 26 employer. The deferred monthly benefits shall accrue in the 27 Florida Retirement System on behalf of the member, plus interest 28 compounded monthly, for the specified period of the DROP 29 participation, as provided in paragraph (c). Upon termination of 30 employment, the member shall receive the total DROP benefits and 31 begin to receive the previously determined normal retirement 32 benefits. Participation in the DROP does not guarantee 33 employment for the specified period of DROP. Participation in 34 DROP by an eligible member beyond the initial 60-month period as 35 authorized in this subsection shall be on an annual contractual 36 basis for all participants. 37 (b) Participation in DROP.—Except as provided in this 38 paragraph, an eligible member may elect to participate in DROP 39 for a period not to exceed a maximum of 60 calendar months. 40 1.a. An eligible member may elect to participate in DROP 41 for a period not to exceed a maximum of 60 calendar months. 42 However, members who are instructional personnel employed by the 43 Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and authorized by the 44 Board of Trustees of the Florida School for the Deaf and the 45 Blind, who are instructional personnel as defined in s. 46 1012.01(2)(a)-(d) in grades K-12 and authorized by the district 47 school superintendent, or who are instructional personnel as 48 defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a) employed by a developmental research 49 school and authorized by the school’s director, or if the school 50 has no director, by the school’s principal, may participate in 51 DROP for up to 36 calendar months beyond the 60-month period. 52 Effective July 1, 2018, instructional personnel who are 53 authorized to extend DROP participation beyond the 60-month 54 period must have a termination date that is the last day of the 55 last calendar month of the school year within the DROP extension 56 granted by the employer. If, on July 1, 2018, the member’s DROP 57 participation has already been extended for the maximum 36 58 calendar months and the extension period concludes before the 59 end of the school year, the member’s DROP participation may be 60 extended through the last day of the last calendar month of that 61 school year. The employer shall notify the division of the 62 change in termination date and the additional period of DROP 63 participation for the affected instructional personnel. 64 b. Administrative personnel in grades K-12, as defined in 65 s. 1012.01(3), who have a DROP termination date on or after July 66 1, 2018, may be authorized to extend DROP participation beyond 67 the initial 60 calendar month period if the administrative 68 personnel’s termination date is before the end of the school 69 year. Such administrative personnel may have DROP participation 70 extended until the last day of the last calendar month of the 71 school year in which their original DROP termination date 72 occurred if a date other than the last day of the last calendar 73 month of the school year is designated. The employer shall 74 notify the division of the change in termination date and the 75 additional period of DROP participation for the affected 76 administrative personnel. 77 2. Upon deciding to participate in DROP, the member shall 78 submit, on forms required by the division: 79 a. A written election to participate in DROP; 80 b. Selection of DROP participation and termination dates 81 that satisfy the limitations stated in paragraph (a) and 82 subparagraph 1. The termination date must be in a binding letter 83 of resignation to the employer establishing a deferred 84 termination date. The member may change the termination date 85 within the limitations of subparagraph 1., but only with the 86 written approval of the employer; 87 c. A properly completed DROP application for service 88 retirement as provided in this section; and 89 d. Any other information required by the division. 90 3. The DROP participant is a retiree under the Florida 91 Retirement System for all purposes, except for paragraph (5)(f) 92 and subsection (9) and ss. 112.3173, 112.363, 121.053, and 93 121.122. DROP participation is final and may not be canceled by 94 the participant after the first payment is credited during the 95 DROP participation period. However, participation in DROP does 96 not alter the participant’s employment status, and the member is 97 not deemed retired from employment until his or her deferred 98 resignation is effective and termination occurs as defined in s. 99 121.021. 100 4. Elected officers are eligible to participate in DROP 101 subject to the following: 102 a. An elected officer who reaches normal retirement date 103 during a term of office may defer the election to participate 104 until the next succeeding term in that office. An elected 105 officer who exercises this option may participate in DROP for up 106 to 60 calendar months or no longer than the succeeding term of 107 office, whichever is less. 108 b. An elected or a nonelected participant may run for a 109 term of office while participating in DROP and, if elected, 110 extend the DROP termination date accordingly; however, if such 111 additional term of office exceeds the 60-month limitation 112 established in subparagraph 1., and the officer does not resign 113 from office within such 60-month limitation, the retirement and 114 the participant’s DROP is null and void as provided in sub 115 subparagraph (c)5.d. 116 c. An elected officer who is dually employed and elects to 117 participate in DROP must terminate all employment relationships 118 as provided in s. 121.021(39) for the nonelected position within 119 the original 60-month period or maximum participation period as 120 provided in subparagraph 1. For DROP participation ending: 121 (I) Before July 1, 2010, the officer may continue 122 employment as an elected officer as provided in s. 121.053. The 123 elected officer shall be enrolled as a renewed member in the 124 Elected Officers’ Class or the Regular Class, as provided in ss. 125 121.053 and 121.122, on the first day of the month after 126 termination of employment in the nonelected position and 127 termination of DROP. Distribution of the DROP benefits shall be 128 made as provided in paragraph (c). 129 (II) On or after July 1, 2010, the officer may continue 130 employment as an elected officer but must defer termination as 131 provided in s. 121.053. 132 Section 2. The Legislature finds that a proper and 133 legitimate state purpose is served when employees and retirees 134 of the state and its political subdivisions, and the dependents, 135 survivors, and beneficiaries of such employees and retirees, are 136 extended the basic protections afforded by governmental 137 retirement systems. These persons must be provided benefits that 138 are fair and adequate and that are managed, administered, and 139 funded in an actuarially sound manner, as required by s. 14, 140 Article X of the State Constitution and part VII of chapter 112, 141 Florida Statutes. Therefore, the Legislature determines and 142 declares that the amendments made to s. 121.091, Florida 143 Statutes, by this act fulfills an important state interest. 144 Section 3. Section 212.099, Florida Statutes, is created to 145 read: 146 212.099 Florida Sales Tax Credit Scholarship Program.— 147 (1) As used in this section, the term: 148 (a) “Eligible business” means a tenant or person actually 149 occupying, using, or entitled to the use of any property from 150 which the rental or license fee is subject to taxation under s. 151 212.031. 152 (b) “Eligible contribution” or “contribution” means a 153 monetary contribution from an eligible business to an eligible 154 nonprofit scholarship-funding organization to be used pursuant 155 to s. 1002.385 or s. 1002.395. The eligible business making the 156 contribution may not designate a specific student as the 157 beneficiary of the contribution. 158 (c) “Eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization” 159 or “organization” has the same meaning as provided in s. 160 1002.395(2)(f). 161 (2) An eligible business shall be granted a credit against 162 the tax imposed under s. 212.031 and collected from the eligible 163 business by a dealer. The credit shall be in an amount equal to 164 100 percent of an eligible contribution made to an organization. 165 (3) A dealer shall take a credit against the tax imposed 166 under s. 212.031 in an amount equal to the credit taken by the 167 eligible business under subsection (2). 168 (4)(a) An eligible business must apply to the department 169 for an allocation of tax credits under this section. The 170 eligible business must specify in the application the state 171 fiscal year during which the contribution will be made, the 172 organization that will receive the contribution, the planned 173 amount of the contribution, the address of the property from 174 which the rental or license fee is subject to taxation under s. 175 212.031, and the federal employer identification number of the 176 dealer who collects the tax imposed under s. 212.031 from the 177 eligible business and who will reduce collection of taxes from 178 the eligible business pursuant to this section. The department 179 shall approve allocations of tax credits on a first-come, first 180 served basis and shall provide to the eligible business a 181 separate approval or denial letter for each dealer for which the 182 eligible business applied for an allocation of tax credits. 183 Within 10 days after approving or denying an application, the 184 department shall provide a copy of its approval or denial letter 185 to the organization specified by the eligible business in the 186 application. An approval letter must include the name and 187 federal employer identification number of the dealer from whom a 188 credit under this section can be taken and the amount of tax 189 credits approved for use with that dealer. 190 (b) Upon receipt of an eligible contribution, the 191 organization shall provide the eligible business that made the 192 contribution with a separate certificate of contribution for 193 each dealer from whom a credit can be taken as approved under 194 paragraph (a). A certificate of contribution must include the 195 contributor’s name and, if available, federal employer 196 identification number, the amount contributed, the date of 197 contribution, the name of the organization, and the name and 198 federal employer identification number of the dealer. 199 (5) Each dealer that receives from an eligible business a 200 copy of the department’s approval letter and a certificate of 201 contribution, both of which identify the dealer as the dealer 202 who collects the tax imposed under s. 212.031 from the eligible 203 business and who will reduce collection of taxes from the 204 eligible business pursuant to this section, shall reduce the tax 205 collected from the eligible business under s. 212.031 by the 206 total amount of contributions indicated in the certificate of 207 contribution. The reduction may not exceed the amount of credit 208 allocation approved by the department and may not exceed the 209 amount of tax that would otherwise be collected from the 210 eligible business by a dealer when a payment is made under the 211 rental or license fee arrangement. However, payments by an 212 eligible business to a dealer may not be reduced before October 213 1, 2018. 214 (a) If the total amount of credits an eligible business may 215 take cannot be fully used within any period that a payment is 216 due under the rental or license fee arrangement because of an 217 insufficient amount of tax that the dealer would collect from 218 the eligible business during that period, the unused amount may 219 be carried forward for a period not to exceed 10 years. 220 (b) A tax credit may not be claimed on an amended return or 221 through a refund. 222 (c) A dealer that claims a tax credit must file returns and 223 pay taxes by electronic means under s. 213.755. 224 (d) An eligible business may not convey, assign, or 225 transfer an approved tax credit or a carryforward tax credit to 226 another entity unless all of the assets of the eligible business 227 are conveyed, assigned, or transferred in the same transaction 228 and the successor business continues the same lease with the 229 dealer. 230 (e) Within any state fiscal year, an eligible business may 231 rescind all or part of a tax credit approved under this section. 232 The amount rescinded shall become available for that state 233 fiscal year to another eligible business as approved by the 234 department if the business receives notice from the department 235 that the rescindment has been accepted by the department. Any 236 amount rescinded under this subsection shall become available to 237 an eligible business on a first-come, first-served basis based 238 on tax credit applications received after the date the 239 rescindment is accepted by the department. 240 (f) Within 10 days after the rescindment of a tax credit 241 under paragraph (e) of this subsection is accepted by the 242 department, the department shall notify the eligible nonprofit 243 scholarship-funding organization specified by the eligible 244 business. The department shall also include the eligible 245 nonprofit scholarship-funding organization specified by the 246 eligible business on all letters or correspondence of 247 acknowledgment for tax credits under this section. 248 (6) An organization shall report to the department, on or 249 before the 20th day of each month, the total amount of 250 contributions received pursuant to subsection (4) in the 251 preceding calendar month on a form provided by the department. 252 Such report shall include the amount of contributions received 253 during that reporting period and the federal employer 254 identification number of each dealer associated with the 255 contribution. 256 (7)(a) Eligible contributions may be used to fund the 257 program established under s. 1002.385 if funds appropriated in a 258 state fiscal year for the program are insufficient to fund 259 eligible students. 260 (b) If the conditions in paragraph (a) are met, the 261 organization shall first use eligible contributions received 262 during a state fiscal year to fund scholarships for students in 263 the priority set forth in s. 1002.385(12)(d). Remaining 264 contributions may be used to fund scholarships for students 265 eligible pursuant to s. 1002.395(3)(b)1. or 2. 266 (c) The organization shall separately account for each 267 scholarship funded pursuant to this section. 268 (d) Notwithstanding s. 1002.385(6)(b), any funds remaining 269 from a closed scholarship account funded pursuant to this 270 section shall be used to fund other scholarships pursuant to s. 271 1002.385. 272 (e) The organization may, subject to the limitations of s. 273 1002.395(6)(j)1., use up to 3 percent of eligible contributions 274 received during the state fiscal year in which such 275 contributions are collected for administrative expenses. 276 (8) The sum of tax credits that may be approved by the 277 department in any state fiscal year is $_57.5 million. 278 (9) For purposes of the distributions of tax revenue under 279 s. 212.20, the department shall disregard any tax credits 280 allowed under this section to ensure that any reduction in tax 281 revenue received that is attributable to the tax credits results 282 only in a reduction in distributions to the General Revenue 283 Fund. 284 (10) The department may adopt rules to administer this 285 section. 286 Section 4. Section 212.1831, Florida Statutes, is amended 287 to read: 288 212.1831 Credit for contributions to eligible nonprofit 289 scholarship-funding organizations.—There is allowed a credit of 290 100 percent of an eligible contribution made to an eligible 291 nonprofit scholarship-funding organization under s. 1002.395 292 against any tax imposed by the state and due under this chapter 293 from a direct pay permit holder as a result of the direct pay 294 permit held pursuant to s. 212.183. For purposes of the dealer’s 295 credit granted for keeping prescribed records, filing timely tax 296 returns, and properly accounting and remitting taxes under s. 297 212.12, the amount of tax due used to calculate the credit shall 298 include any eligible contribution made to an eligible nonprofit 299 scholarship-funding organization from a direct pay permit 300 holder. For purposes of the distributions of tax revenue under 301 s. 212.20, the department shall disregard any tax credits 302 allowed under this section to ensure that any reduction in tax 303 revenue received that is attributable to the tax credits results 304 only in a reduction in distributions to the General Revenue 305 Fund. The provisions of s. 1002.395 apply to the credit 306 authorized by this section. 307 Section 5. Effective upon this act becoming a law, section 308 212.1832, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 309 212.1832 Credit for contributions to the Hope Scholarship 310 Program.— 311 (1) The purchaser of a motor vehicle shall be granted a 312 credit of 100 percent of an eligible contribution made to an 313 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization under s. 314 1002.40 against any tax imposed by the state under this chapter 315 and collected from the purchaser by a dealer, designated agent, 316 or private tag agent as a result of the purchase or acquisition 317 of a motor vehicle on or after October 1, 2018, except that a 318 credit may not exceed the tax that would otherwise be collected 319 from the purchaser by a dealer, designated agent, or private tag 320 agent. For purposes of this subsection, the term “purchase” does 321 not include the lease or rental of a motor vehicle. 322 (2) A dealer shall take a credit against any tax imposed by 323 the state under this chapter on the purchase of a motor vehicle 324 in an amount equal to the credit granted to the purchaser under 325 subsection (1). 326 (3) For purposes of the distributions of tax revenue under 327 s. 212.20, the department shall disregard any tax credits 328 allowed under this section to ensure that any reduction in tax 329 revenue received that is attributable to the tax credits results 330 only in a reduction in distributions to the General Revenue 331 Fund. The provisions of s. 1002.40 apply to the credit 332 authorized by this section. 333 Section 6. Effective upon this act becoming a law, 334 subsection (21) is added to section 213.053, Florida Statutes, 335 to read: 336 213.053 Confidentiality and information sharing.— 337 (21)(a) For purposes of this subsection, the term: 338 1. “Eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization” 339 means an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization as 340 defined in s. 1002.395(2) that meets the criteria in s. 341 1002.395(6) to use up to 3 percent of eligible contributions for 342 administrative expenses. 343 2. “Taxpayer” has the same meaning as in s. 220.03, unless 344 disclosure of the taxpayer’s name and address would violate any 345 term of an information-sharing agreement between the department 346 and an agency of the Federal Government. 347 (b) The department, upon request, shall provide to an 348 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization that 349 provides scholarships under s. 1002.395 a list of the 200 350 taxpayers with the greatest total corporate income or franchise 351 tax due as reported on the taxpayer’s return filed pursuant to 352 s. 220.22 during the previous calendar year. The list must be in 353 alphabetical order based on the taxpayer’s name and shall 354 contain the taxpayer’s address. The list may not disclose the 355 amount of tax owed by any taxpayer. 356 (c) An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization 357 may request the list once each calendar year. The department 358 shall provide the list within 45 days after the request is made. 359 (d) Any taxpayer information contained in the list may be 360 used by the eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization 361 only to notify the taxpayer of the opportunity to make an 362 eligible contribution to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship 363 Program under s. 1002.395. Any information furnished to an 364 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization under this 365 subsection may not be further disclosed by the organization 366 except as provided in this paragraph. 367 (e) An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization, 368 its officers, and employees are subject to the same requirements 369 of confidentiality and the same penalties for violating 370 confidentiality as the department and its employees. Breach of 371 confidentiality is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable 372 as provided by s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 373 Section 7. Subsection (22) is added to section 213.053, 374 Florida Statutes, as amended by this act, to read: 375 213.053 Confidentiality and information sharing.— 376 (22)(a) The department may provide to an eligible nonprofit 377 scholarship-funding organization, as defined in s. 1002.40, a 378 dealer’s name, address, federal employer identification number, 379 and information related to differences between credits taken by 380 the dealer pursuant to s. 212.1832(2) and amounts remitted to 381 the eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization under s. 382 1002.40(13)(b)3. The eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 383 organization may use the information for purposes of recovering 384 eligible contributions designated for that organization that 385 were collected by the dealer but never remitted to the 386 organization. 387 (b) Nothing in this subsection authorizes the disclosure of 388 information if such disclosure is prohibited by federal law. An 389 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization is bound by 390 the same requirements of confidentiality and the same penalties 391 for a violation of the requirements as the department. 392 Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 393 220.13, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 394 220.13 “Adjusted federal income” defined.— 395 (1) The term “adjusted federal income” means an amount 396 equal to the taxpayer’s taxable income as defined in subsection 397 (2), or such taxable income of more than one taxpayer as 398 provided in s. 220.131, for the taxable year, adjusted as 399 follows: 400 (a) Additions.—There shall be added to such taxable income: 401 1.a. The amount of any tax upon or measured by income, 402 excluding taxes based on gross receipts or revenues, paid or 403 accrued as a liability to the District of Columbia or any state 404 of the United States which is deductible from gross income in 405 the computation of taxable income for the taxable year. 406 b. Notwithstanding sub-subparagraph a., if a credit taken 407 under s. 220.1875 is added to taxable income in a previous 408 taxable year under subparagraph 11. and is taken as a deduction 409 for federal tax purposes in the current taxable year, the amount 410 of the deduction allowed shall not be added to taxable income in 411 the current year. The exception in this sub-subparagraph is 412 intended to ensure that the credit under s. 220.1875 is added in 413 the applicable taxable year and does not result in a duplicate 414 addition in a subsequent year. 415 2. The amount of interest which is excluded from taxable 416 income under s. 103(a) of the Internal Revenue Code or any other 417 federal law, less the associated expenses disallowed in the 418 computation of taxable income under s. 265 of the Internal 419 Revenue Code or any other law, excluding 60 percent of any 420 amounts included in alternative minimum taxable income, as 421 defined in s. 55(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, if the 422 taxpayer pays tax under s. 220.11(3). 423 3. In the case of a regulated investment company or real 424 estate investment trust, an amount equal to the excess of the 425 net long-term capital gain for the taxable year over the amount 426 of the capital gain dividends attributable to the taxable year. 427 4. That portion of the wages or salaries paid or incurred 428 for the taxable year which is equal to the amount of the credit 429 allowable for the taxable year under s. 220.181. This 430 subparagraph shall expire on the date specified in s. 290.016 431 for the expiration of the Florida Enterprise Zone Act. 432 5. That portion of the ad valorem school taxes paid or 433 incurred for the taxable year which is equal to the amount of 434 the credit allowable for the taxable year under s. 220.182. This 435 subparagraph shall expire on the date specified in s. 290.016 436 for the expiration of the Florida Enterprise Zone Act. 437 6. The amount taken as a credit under s. 220.195 which is 438 deductible from gross income in the computation of taxable 439 income for the taxable year. 440 7. That portion of assessments to fund a guaranty 441 association incurred for the taxable year which is equal to the 442 amount of the credit allowable for the taxable year. 443 8. In the case of a nonprofit corporation which holds a 444 pari-mutuel permit and which is exempt from federal income tax 445 as a farmers’ cooperative, an amount equal to the excess of the 446 gross income attributable to the pari-mutuel operations over the 447 attributable expenses for the taxable year. 448 9. The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year under 449 s. 220.1895. 450 10. Up to nine percent of the eligible basis of any 451 designated project which is equal to the credit allowable for 452 the taxable year under s. 220.185. 453 11. The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year under 454 s. 220.1875. The addition in this subparagraph is intended to 455 ensure that the same amount is not allowed for the tax purposes 456 of this state as both a deduction from income and a credit 457 against the tax. This addition is not intended to result in 458 adding the same expense back to income more than once. 459 12. The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year under 460 s. 220.192. 461 13. The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year under 462 s. 220.193. 463 14. Any portion of a qualified investment, as defined in s. 464 288.9913, which is claimed as a deduction by the taxpayer and 465 taken as a credit against income tax pursuant to s. 288.9916. 466 15. The costs to acquire a tax credit pursuant to s. 467 288.1254(5) that are deducted from or otherwise reduce federal 468 taxable income for the taxable year. 469 16. The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year 470 pursuant to s. 220.194. 471 17. The amount taken as a credit for the taxable year under 472 s. 220.196. The addition in this subparagraph is intended to 473 ensure that the same amount is not allowed for the tax purposes 474 of this state as both a deduction from income and a credit 475 against the tax. The addition is not intended to result in 476 adding the same expense back to income more than once. 477 Section 9. Subsection (1) of section 220.1875, Florida 478 Statutes, is amended, and subsection (4) is added to that 479 section, to read: 480 220.1875 Credit for contributions to eligible nonprofit 481 scholarship-funding organizations.— 482 (1) There is allowed a credit of 100 percent of an eligible 483 contribution made to an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 484 organization under s. 1002.395 against any tax due for a taxable 485 year under this chapter after the application of any other 486 allowable credits by the taxpayer. An eligible contribution must 487 be made to an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 488 organization on or before the date the taxpayer is required to 489 file a return pursuant to s. 220.222. The credit granted by this 490 section shall be reduced by the difference between the amount of 491 federal corporate income tax taking into account the credit 492 granted by this section and the amount of federal corporate 493 income tax without application of the credit granted by this 494 section. 495 (4) If a taxpayer applies and is approved for a credit 496 under s. 1002.395 after timely requesting an extension to file 497 under s. 220.222(2): 498 (a) The credit does not reduce the amount of tax due for 499 purposes of the department’s determination as to whether the 500 taxpayer was in compliance with the requirement to pay tentative 501 taxes under ss. 220.222 and 220.32. 502 (b) The taxpayer’s noncompliance with the requirement to 503 pay tentative taxes shall result in the revocation and 504 rescindment of any such credit. 505 (c) The taxpayer shall be assessed for any taxes, 506 penalties, or interest due from the taxpayer’s noncompliance 507 with the requirement to pay tentative taxes. 508 Section 10. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 1001.10, 509 Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (8) is added to 510 that section, to read: 511 1001.10 Commissioner of Education; general powers and 512 duties.— 513 (4) The Department of Education shall provide technical 514 assistance to school districts, charter schools, the Florida 515 School for the Deaf and the Blind, and private schools that 516 accept scholarship students who participate in a state 517 scholarship program under chapter 1002under s. 1002.39ors.5181002.395in the development of policies, procedures, and 519 training related to employment practices and standards of 520 ethical conduct for instructional personnel and school 521 administrators, as defined in s. 1012.01. 522 (5) The Department of Education shall provide authorized 523 staff of school districts, charter schools, the Florida School 524 for the Deaf and the Blind, and private schools that accept 525 scholarship students who participate in a state scholarship 526 program under chapter 1002under s. 1002.39ors. 1002.395with 527 access to electronic verification of information from the 528 following employment screening tools: 529 (a) The Professional Practices’ Database of Disciplinary 530 Actions Against Educators; and 531 (b) The Department of Education’s Teacher Certification 532 Database. 533 534 This subsection does not require the department to provide these 535 staff with unlimited access to the databases. However, the 536 department shall provide the staff with access to the data 537 necessary for performing employment history checks of the 538 instructional personnel and school administrators included in 539 the databases. 540 (8) In the event of an emergency situation, the 541 commissioner may coordinate through the most appropriate means 542 of communication with local school districts, Florida College 543 System institutions, and satellite offices of the Division of 544 Blind Services and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to 545 assess the need for resources and assistance to enable each 546 school, institution, or satellite office the ability to reopen 547 as soon as possible after considering the health, safety, and 548 welfare of students and clients. 549 Section 11. Paragraphs (d) through (g) of subsection (8) of 550 section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 551 paragraphs (c) through (f), respectively, and paragraph (b) of 552 subsection (6), paragraphs (a), (d), and (e) of subsection (7), 553 present paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of subsection (8), 554 paragraph (n) of subsection (9), paragraph (e) of subsection 555 (10), and paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (20) of that 556 section are amended, to read: 557 1002.33 Charter schools.— 558 (6) APPLICATION PROCESS AND REVIEW.—Charter school 559 applications are subject to the following requirements: 560 (b) A sponsor shall receive and review all applications for 561 a charter school using the evaluation instrument developed by 562 the Department of Education. A sponsor shall receive and 563 consider charter school applications received on or before 564 August 1 of each calendar year for charter schools to be opened 565 at the beginning of the school district’s next school year, or 566 to be opened at a time agreed to by the applicant and the 567 sponsor. A sponsor may not refuse to receive a charter school 568 application submitted before August 1 and may receive an 569 application submitted later than August 1 if it chooses. 570 Beginning in 2018 and thereafter, a sponsor shall receive and 571 consider charter school applications received on or before 572 February 1 of each calendar year for charter schools to be 573 opened 18 months later at the beginning of the school district’s 574 school year, or to be opened at a time determinedagreed toby 575 the applicantand the sponsor. A sponsor may not refuse to 576 receive a charter school application submitted before February 1 577 and may receive an application submitted later than February 1 578 if it chooses. A sponsor may not charge an applicant for a 579 charter any fee for the processing or consideration of an 580 application, and a sponsor may not base its consideration or 581 approval of a final application upon the promise of future 582 payment of any kind. Before approving or denying any 583 application, the sponsor shall allow the applicant, upon receipt 584 of written notification, at least 7 calendar days to make 585 technical or nonsubstantive corrections and clarifications, 586 including, but not limited to, corrections of grammatical, 587 typographical, and like errors or missing signatures, if such 588 errors are identified by the sponsor as cause to deny the final 589 application. 590 1. In order to facilitate an accurate budget projection 591 process, a sponsor shall be held harmless for FTE students who 592 are not included in the FTE projection due to approval of 593 charter school applications after the FTE projection deadline. 594 In a further effort to facilitate an accurate budget projection, 595 within 15 calendar days after receipt of a charter school 596 application, a sponsor shall report to the Department of 597 Education the name of the applicant entity, the proposed charter 598 school location, and its projected FTE. 599 2. In order to ensure fiscal responsibility, an application 600 for a charter school shall include a full accounting of expected 601 assets, a projection of expected sources and amounts of income, 602 including income derived from projected student enrollments and 603 from community support, and an expense projection that includes 604 full accounting of the costs of operation, including start-up 605 costs. 606 3.a. A sponsor shall by a majority vote approve or deny an 607 application no later than 90 calendar days after the application 608 is received, unless the sponsor and the applicant mutually agree 609 in writing to temporarily postpone the vote to a specific date, 610 at which time the sponsor shall by a majority vote approve or 611 deny the application. If the sponsor fails to act on the 612 application, an applicant may appeal to the State Board of 613 Education as provided in paragraph (c). If an application is 614 denied, the sponsor shall, within 10 calendar days after such 615 denial, articulate in writing the specific reasons, based upon 616 good cause, supporting its denial of the application and shall 617 provide the letter of denial and supporting documentation to the 618 applicant and to the Department of Education. 619 b. An application submitted by a high-performing charter 620 school identified pursuant to s. 1002.331 or a high-performing 621 charter school system identified pursuant to s. 1002.332 may be 622 denied by the sponsor only if the sponsor demonstrates by clear 623 and convincing evidence that: 624 (I) The application of a high-performing charter school 625 does not materially comply with the requirements in paragraph 626 (a) or, for a high-performing charter school system, the 627 application does not materially comply with s. 1002.332(2)(b); 628 (II) The charter school proposed in the application does 629 not materially comply with the requirements in paragraphs 630 (9)(a)-(f); 631 (III) The proposed charter school’s educational program 632 does not substantially replicate that of the applicant or one of 633 the applicant’s high-performing charter schools; 634 (IV) The applicant has made a material misrepresentation or 635 false statement or concealed an essential or material fact 636 during the application process; or 637 (V) The proposed charter school’s educational program and 638 financial management practices do not materially comply with the 639 requirements of this section. 640 641 Material noncompliance is a failure to follow requirements or a 642 violation of prohibitions applicable to charter school 643 applications, which failure is quantitatively or qualitatively 644 significant either individually or when aggregated with other 645 noncompliance. An applicant is considered to be replicating a 646 high-performing charter school if the proposed school is 647 substantially similar to at least one of the applicant’s high 648 performing charter schools and the organization or individuals 649 involved in the establishment and operation of the proposed 650 school are significantly involved in the operation of replicated 651 schools. 652 c. If the sponsor denies an application submitted by a 653 high-performing charter school or a high-performing charter 654 school system, the sponsor must, within 10 calendar days after 655 such denial, state in writing the specific reasons, based upon 656 the criteria in sub-subparagraph b., supporting its denial of 657 the application and must provide the letter of denial and 658 supporting documentation to the applicant and to the Department 659 of Education. The applicant may appeal the sponsor’s denial of 660 the application in accordance with paragraph (c). 661 4. For budget projection purposes, the sponsor shall report 662 to the Department of Education the approval or denial of an 663 application within 10 calendar days after such approval or 664 denial. In the event of approval, the report to the Department 665 of Education shall include the final projected FTE for the 666 approved charter school. 667 5. Upon approval of an application, the initial startup 668 shall commence with the beginning of the public school calendar 669 for the district in which the charter is granted. A charter 670 school may defer the opening of the school’s operations for up 671 to 32years to provide time for adequate facility planning. The 672 charter school must provide written notice of such intent to the 673 sponsor and the parents of enrolled students at least 30 674 calendar days before the first day of school. 675 (7) CHARTER.—The terms and conditions for the operation of 676 a charter school shall be set forth by the sponsor and the 677 applicant in a written contractual agreement, called a charter. 678 The sponsor and the governing board of the charter school shall 679 use the standard charter contract pursuant to subsection (21), 680 which shall incorporate the approved application and any addenda 681 approved with the application. Any term or condition of a 682 proposed charter contract that differs from the standard charter 683 contract adopted by rule of the State Board of Education shall 684 be presumed a limitation on charter school flexibility. The 685 sponsor may not impose unreasonable rules or regulations that 686 violate the intent of giving charter schools greater flexibility 687 to meet educational goals. The charter shall be signed by the 688 governing board of the charter school and the sponsor, following 689 a public hearing to ensure community input. 690 (a) The charter shall address and criteria for approval of 691 the charter shall be based on: 692 1. The school’s mission, the students to be served, and the 693 ages and grades to be included. 694 2. The focus of the curriculum, the instructional methods 695 to be used, any distinctive instructional techniques to be 696 employed, and identification and acquisition of appropriate 697 technologies needed to improve educational and administrative 698 performance which include a means for promoting safe, ethical, 699 and appropriate uses of technology which comply with legal and 700 professional standards. 701 a. The charter shall ensure that reading is a primary focus 702 of the curriculum and that resources are provided to identify 703 and provide specialized instruction for students who are reading 704 below grade level. The curriculum and instructional strategies 705 for reading must be consistent with the Next Generation Sunshine 706 State Standards and grounded in scientifically based reading 707 research. 708 b. In order to provide students with access to diverse 709 instructional delivery models, to facilitate the integration of 710 technology within traditional classroom instruction, and to 711 provide students with the skills they need to compete in the 712 21st century economy, the Legislature encourages instructional 713 methods for blended learning courses consisting of both 714 traditional classroom and online instructional techniques. 715 Charter schools may implement blended learning courses which 716 combine traditional classroom instruction and virtual 717 instruction. Students in a blended learning course must be full- 718 time students of the charter school pursuant to s. 719 1011.61(1)(a)1. Instructional personnel certified pursuant to s. 720 1012.55 who provide virtual instruction for blended learning 721 courses may be employees of the charter school or may be under 722 contract to provide instructional services to charter school 723 students. At a minimum, such instructional personnel must hold 724 an active state or school district adjunct certification under 725 s. 1012.57 for the subject area of the blended learning course. 726 The funding and performance accountability requirements for 727 blended learning courses are the same as those for traditional 728 courses. 729 3. The current incoming baseline standard of student 730 academic achievement, the outcomes to be achieved, and the 731 method of measurement that will be used. The criteria listed in 732 this subparagraph shall include a detailed description of: 733 a. How the baseline student academic achievement levels and 734 prior rates of academic progress will be established. 735 b. How these baseline rates will be compared to rates of 736 academic progress achieved by these same students while 737 attending the charter school. 738 c. To the extent possible, how these rates of progress will 739 be evaluated and compared with rates of progress of other 740 closely comparable student populations. 741 742 The district school board is required to provide academic 743 student performance data to charter schools for each of their 744 students coming from the district school system, as well as 745 rates of academic progress of comparable student populations in 746 the district school system. 747 4. The methods used to identify the educational strengths 748 and needs of students and how well educational goals and 749 performance standards are met by students attending the charter 750 school. The methods shall provide a means for the charter school 751 to ensure accountability to its constituents by analyzing 752 student performance data and by evaluating the effectiveness and 753 efficiency of its major educational programs. Students in 754 charter schools shall, at a minimum, participate in the 755 statewide assessment program created under s. 1008.22. 756 5. In secondary charter schools, a method for determining 757 that a student has satisfied the requirements for graduation in 758 s. 1002.3105(5), s. 1003.4281, or s. 1003.4282. 759 6. A method for resolving conflicts between the governing 760 board of the charter school and the sponsor. 761 7. The admissions procedures and dismissal procedures, 762 including the school’s code of student conduct. Admission or 763 dismissal must not be based on a student’s academic performance. 764 8. The ways by which the school will achieve a 765 racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or 766 within the racial/ethnic range of other public schools in the 767 same school district. 768 9. The financial and administrative management of the 769 school, including a reasonable demonstration of the professional 770 experience or competence of those individuals or organizations 771 applying to operate the charter school or those hired or 772 retained to perform such professional services and the 773 description of clearly delineated responsibilities and the 774 policies and practices needed to effectively manage the charter 775 school. A description of internal audit procedures and 776 establishment of controls to ensure that financial resources are 777 properly managed must be included. Both public sector and 778 private sector professional experience shall be equally valid in 779 such a consideration. 780 10. The asset and liability projections required in the 781 application which are incorporated into the charter and shall be 782 compared with information provided in the annual report of the 783 charter school. 784 11. A description of procedures that identify various risks 785 and provide for a comprehensive approach to reduce the impact of 786 losses; plans to ensure the safety and security of students and 787 staff; plans to identify, minimize, and protect others from 788 violent or disruptive student behavior; and the manner in which 789 the school will be insured, including whether or not the school 790 will be required to have liability insurance, and, if so, the 791 terms and conditions thereof and the amounts of coverage. 792 12. The term of the charter which shall provide for 793 cancellation of the charter if insufficient progress has been 794 made in attaining the student achievement objectives of the 795 charter and if it is not likely that such objectives can be 796 achieved before expiration of the charter. The initial term of a 797 charter shall be for4 or5 years, excluding 2 planning years. 798 In order to facilitate access to long-term financial resources 799 for charter school construction, charter schools that are 800 operated by a municipality or other public entity as provided by 801 law are eligible for up to a 15-year charter, subject to 802 approval by the district school board. A charter lab school is 803 eligible for a charter for a term of up to 15 years. In 804 addition, to facilitate access to long-term financial resources 805 for charter school construction, charter schools that are 806 operated by a private, not-for-profit, s. 501(c)(3) status 807 corporation are eligible for up to a 15-year charter, subject to 808 approval by the district school board. Such long-term charters 809 remain subject to annual review and may be terminated during the 810 term of the charter, but only according to the provisions set 811 forth in subsection (8). 812 13. The facilities to be used and their location. The 813 sponsor may not require a charter school to have a certificate 814 of occupancy or a temporary certificate of occupancy for such a 815 facility earlier than 15 calendar days before the first day of 816 school. 817 14. The qualifications to be required of the teachers and 818 the potential strategies used to recruit, hire, train, and 819 retain qualified staff to achieve best value. 820 15. The governance structure of the school, including the 821 status of the charter school as a public or private employer as 822 required in paragraph (12)(i). 823 16. A timetable for implementing the charter which 824 addresses the implementation of each element thereof and the 825 date by which the charter shall be awarded in order to meet this 826 timetable. 827 17. In the case of an existing public school that is being 828 converted to charter status, alternative arrangements for 829 current students who choose not to attend the charter school and 830 for current teachers who choose not to teach in the charter 831 school after conversion in accordance with the existing 832 collective bargaining agreement or district school board rule in 833 the absence of a collective bargaining agreement. However, 834 alternative arrangements shall not be required for current 835 teachers who choose not to teach in a charter lab school, except 836 as authorized by the employment policies of the state university 837 which grants the charter to the lab school. 838 18. Full disclosure of the identity of all relatives 839 employed by the charter school who are related to the charter 840 school owner, president, chairperson of the governing board of 841 directors, superintendent, governing board member, principal, 842 assistant principal, or any other person employed by the charter 843 school who has equivalent decisionmaking authority. For the 844 purpose of this subparagraph, the term “relative” means father, 845 mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first 846 cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in 847 law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, 848 stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, 849 stepsister, half brother, or half sister. 850 19. Implementation of the activities authorized under s. 851 1002.331 by the charter school when it satisfies the eligibility 852 requirements for a high-performing charter school. A high 853 performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in writing by 854 March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or expand grade 855 levels the following school year. The written notice shall 856 specify the amount of the enrollment increase and the grade 857 levels that will be added, as applicable. 858 (d) A charter may be modified during its initial term or 859 any renewal term upon the recommendation of the sponsor or the 860 charter school’s governing board and the approval of both 861 parties to the agreement. Modification during any term may 862 include, but is not limited to, consolidation of multiple 863 charters into a single charter if the charters are operated 864 under the same governing boardand physically located on the865same campus, regardless of the renewal cycle. A charter school 866 that is not subject to a school improvement plan and that closes 867 as part of a consolidation shall be reported by the school 868 district as a consolidation. 869 (e) A charter may be terminated by a charter school’s 870 governing board through voluntary closure. The decision to cease 871 operations must be determined at a public meeting. The governing 872 board shall notify the parents and sponsor of the public meeting 873 in writing before the public meeting. The governing board must 874 notify the sponsor, parents of enrolled students, and the 875 department in writing within 24 hours after the public meeting 876 of its determination. The notice shall state the charter 877 school’s intent to continue operations or the reason for the 878 closure and acknowledge that the governing board agrees to 879 follow the procedures for dissolution and reversion of public 880 funds pursuant to paragraphs (8)(d)-(f) and (9)(o)paragraphs881(8)(e)-(g) and (9)(o). 882 (8) CAUSES FOR NONRENEWAL OR TERMINATION OF CHARTER.— 883 (a) The sponsor shall make student academic achievement for 884 all students the most important factor when determining whether 885 to renew or terminate the charter. The sponsor may also choose 886 not to renew or may terminate the charter if the sponsor finds 887 that one of the grounds set forth below exists by clear and 888 convincing evidencefor any of the following grounds: 889 1. Failure to participate in the state’s education 890 accountability system created in s. 1008.31, as required in this 891 section, or failure to meet the requirements for student 892 performance stated in the charter. 893 2. Failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal 894 management. 895 3. Material violation of law. 896 4. Other good cause shown. 897 (b) At least 90 days before renewing, nonrenewing, or 898 terminating a charter, the sponsor shall notify the governing 899 board of the school of the proposed action in writing. The 900 notice shall state in reasonable detail the grounds for the 901 proposed action and stipulate that the school’s governing board 902 may, within 14 calendar days after receiving the notice, request 903 a hearing. The hearing shall be conductedat the sponsor’s904election in accordance with one of the following procedures:9051.A direct hearing conducted by the sponsor within 60 days906after receipt of the request for a hearing. The hearing shall be907conducted in accordance with ss. 120.569 and 120.57. The sponsor908shall decide upon nonrenewal or termination by a majority vote.909The sponsor’s decision shall be a final order; or9102.A hearing conductedby an administrative law judge 911 assigned by the Division of Administrative Hearings. The hearing 912 shall be conducted within 9060days after receipt of the 913 request for a hearing and in accordance with chapter 120. The 914 administrative law judge’s finalrecommendedorder shall be 915 submitted to the sponsor. The administrative law judge shall 916 award the prevailing party reasonable attorney fees and costs 917 incurred during the administrative proceeding and any appealsA918majority vote by the sponsor shall be required to adopt or919modify the administrative law judge’s recommended order. The920sponsor shall issue a final order. 921(c) The final order shall state the specific reasons for922the sponsor’s decision. The sponsor shall provide its final923order to the charter school’s governing board and the Department924of Education no later than 10 calendar days after its issuance.925 The charter school’s governing board may, within 30 calendar 926 days after receiving thesponsor’sfinal order, appeal the 927 decision pursuant to s. 120.68. 928 (9) CHARTER SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.— 929 (n)1. The director and a representative of the governing 930 board of a charter school that has earned a grade of “D” or “F” 931 pursuant to s. 1008.34 shall appear before the sponsor to 932 present information concerning each contract component having 933 noted deficiencies. The director and a representative of the 934 governing board shall submit to the sponsor for approval a 935 school improvement plan to raise student performance. Upon 936 approval by the sponsor, the charter school shall begin 937 implementation of the school improvement plan. The department 938 shall offer technical assistance and training to the charter 939 school and its governing board and establish guidelines for 940 developing, submitting, and approving such plans. 941 2.a. If a charter school earns three consecutive grades 942 below a “C,” the charter school governing board shall choose one 943 of the following corrective actions: 944 (I) Contract for educational services to be provided 945 directly to students, instructional personnel, and school 946 administrators, as prescribed in state board rule; 947 (II) Contract with an outside entity that has a 948 demonstrated record of effectiveness to operate the school; 949 (III) Reorganize the school under a new director or 950 principal who is authorized to hire new staff; or 951 (IV) Voluntarily close the charter school. 952 b. The charter school must implement the corrective action 953 in the school year following receipt of a third consecutive 954 grade below a “C.” 955 c. The sponsor may annually waive a corrective action if it 956 determines that the charter school is likely to improve a letter 957 grade if additional time is provided to implement the 958 intervention and support strategies prescribed by the school 959 improvement plan. Notwithstanding this sub-subparagraph, a 960 charter school that earns a second consecutive grade of “F” is 961 subject to subparagraph 3. 962 d. A charter school is no longer required to implement a 963 corrective action if it improves to a “C” or higher. However, 964 the charter school must continue to implement strategies 965 identified in the school improvement plan. The sponsor must 966 annually review implementation of the school improvement plan to 967 monitor the school’s continued improvement pursuant to 968 subparagraph 4. 969 e. A charter school implementing a corrective action that 970 does not improve to a “C” or higher after 2 full school years of 971 implementing the corrective action must select a different 972 corrective action. Implementation of the new corrective action 973 must begin in the school year following the implementation 974 period of the existing corrective action, unless the sponsor 975 determines that the charter school is likely to improve to a “C” 976 or higher if additional time is provided to implement the 977 existing corrective action. Notwithstanding this sub 978 subparagraph, a charter school that earns a second consecutive 979 grade of “F” while implementing a corrective action is subject 980 to subparagraph 3. 981 3. A charter school’s charter contract is automatically 982 terminated if the school earns two consecutive grades of “F” 983 after all school grade appeals are final unless: 984 a. The charter school is established to turn around the 985 performance of a district public school pursuant to s. 986 1008.33(4)(b)2. Such charter schools shall be governed by s. 987 1008.33; 988 b. The charter school serves a student population the 989 majority of which resides in a school zone served by a district 990 public school subject to s. 1008.33(4) and the charter school 991 earns at least a grade of “D” in its third year of operation. 992 The exception provided under this sub-subparagraph does not 993 apply to a charter school in its fourth year of operation and 994 thereafter; or 995 c. The state board grants the charter school a waiver of 996 termination. The charter school must request the waiver within 997 15 days after the department’s official release of school 998 grades. The state board may waive termination if the charter 999 school demonstrates that the Learning Gains of its students on 1000 statewide assessments are comparable to or better than the 1001 Learning Gains of similarly situated students enrolled in nearby 1002 district public schools. The waiver is valid for 1 year and may 1003 only be granted once. Charter schools that have been in 1004 operation for more than 5 years are not eligible for a waiver 1005 under this sub-subparagraph. 1006 1007 The sponsor shall notify the charter school’s governing board, 1008 the charter school principal, and the department in writing when 1009 a charter contract is terminated under this subparagraph.The1010letter of termination must meet the requirements of paragraph1011(8)(c).A charter terminated under this subparagraph must follow 1012 the procedures for dissolution and reversion of public funds 1013 pursuant to paragraphs (8)(d)-(f) and (9)(o)paragraphs (8)(e)1014(g) and (9)(o). 1015 4. The director and a representative of the governing board 1016 of a graded charter school that has implemented a school 1017 improvement plan under this paragraph shall appear before the 1018 sponsor at least once a year to present information regarding 1019 the progress of intervention and support strategies implemented 1020 by the school pursuant to the school improvement plan and 1021 corrective actions, if applicable. The sponsor shall communicate 1022 at the meeting, and in writing to the director, the services 1023 provided to the school to help the school address its 1024 deficiencies. 1025 5. Notwithstanding any provision of this paragraph except 1026 sub-subparagraphs 3.a.-c., the sponsor may terminate the charter 1027 at any time pursuant to subsection (8). 1028 (10) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.— 1029 (e) A charter school may limit the enrollment process only 1030 to target the following student populations: 1031 1. Students within specific age groups or grade levels. 1032 2. Students considered at risk of dropping out of school or 1033 academic failure. Such students shall include exceptional 1034 education students. 1035 3. Students enrolling in a charter school-in-the-workplace 1036 or charter school-in-a-municipality established pursuant to 1037 subsection (15). 1038 4. Students residing within a reasonable distance of the 1039 charter school, as described in paragraph (20)(c). Such students 1040 shall be subject to a random lottery and to the racial/ethnic 1041 balance provisions described in subparagraph (7)(a)8. or any 1042 federal provisions that require a school to achieve a 1043 racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or 1044 within the racial/ethnic range of other public schools in the 1045 same school district. 1046 5. Students who meet reasonable academic, artistic, or 1047 other eligibility standards established by the charter school 1048 and included in the charter school application and charter or, 1049 in the case of existing charter schools, standards that are 1050 consistent with the school’s mission and purpose. Such standards 1051 shall be in accordance with current state law and practice in 1052 public schools and may not discriminate against otherwise 1053 qualified individuals. 1054 6. Students articulating from one charter school to another 1055 pursuant to an articulation agreement between the charter 1056 schools that has been approved by the sponsor. 1057 7. Students living in a development in which a business 1058 entity provides the school facility and related property having 1059 an appraised value of at least $510million to be used as a 1060 charter school to mitigate the educational impact created byfor1061 the development of new residential dwelling units. Students 1062 living in the development shall be entitled to no more than 50 1063 percent of the student stations in the charter school. The 1064 students who are eligible for enrollment are subject to a random 1065 lottery, the racial/ethnic balance provisions, or any federal 1066 provisions, as described in subparagraph 4. The remainder of the 1067 student stations shall be filled in accordance with subparagraph 1068 4. 1069 (20) SERVICES.— 1070 (a)1. A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and 1071 educational services to charter schools. These services shall 1072 include contract management services; full-time equivalent and 1073 data reporting services; exceptional student education 1074 administration services; services related to eligibility and 1075 reporting duties required to ensure that school lunch services 1076 under the National School Lunch Program, consistent with the 1077 needs of the charter school, are provided by the school district 1078 at the request of the charter school, that any funds due to the 1079 charter school under the National School Lunch Program be paid 1080 to the charter school as soon as the charter school begins 1081 serving food under the National School Lunch Program, and that 1082 the charter school is paid at the same time and in the same 1083 manner under the National School Lunch Program as other public 1084 schools serviced by the sponsor or the school district; test 1085 administration services, including payment of the costs of 1086 state-required or district-required student assessments; 1087 processing of teacher certificate data services; and information 1088 services, including equal access to student information systems 1089 that are used by public schools in the district in which the 1090 charter school is located. Student performance data for each 1091 student in a charter school, including, but not limited to, FCAT 1092 scores, standardized test scores, previous public school student 1093 report cards, and student performance measures, shall be 1094 provided by the sponsor to a charter school in the same manner 1095 provided to other public schools in the district. 1096 2. A sponsor may withhold an administrative fee for the 1097 provision of such services which shall be a percentage of the 1098 available funds defined in paragraph (17)(b) calculated based on 1099 weighted full-time equivalent students. If the charter school 1100 serves 75 percent or more exceptional education students as 1101 defined in s. 1003.01(3), the percentage shall be calculated 1102 based on unweighted full-time equivalent students. The 1103 administrative fee shall be calculated as follows: 1104 a. Up to 5 percent for: 1105 (I) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a 1106 charter school as defined in this section. 1107 (II) Enrollment of up to and including 500 students within 1108 a charter school system which meets all of the following: 1109 (A) Includes conversion charter schools and nonconversion 1110 charter schools. 1111 (B) Has all of its schools located in the same county. 1112 (C) Has a total enrollment exceeding the total enrollment 1113 of at least one school district in the state. 1114 (D) Has the same governing board for all of its schools. 1115 (E) Does not contract with a for-profit service provider 1116 for management of school operations. 1117 (III) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a 1118 virtual charter school. 1119 b. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including 1120 250 students in a high-performing charter school as defined in 1121 s. 1002.331. 1122 3. A sponsor may not charge charter schools any additional 1123 fees or surcharges for administrative and educational services 1124 in addition to the maximum percentage of administrative fees 1125 withheld pursuant to this paragraph. 1126 4. A sponsor shall provide to the department by September 1127 15 of each year the total amount of funding withheld from 1128 charter schools pursuant to this subsection for the prior fiscal 1129 year. The department must include the information in the report 1130 required under sub-sub-subparagraph (5)(b)1.k.III. 1131 (b) If goods and services are made available to the charter 1132 school through the contract with the school district, they shall 1133 be provided to the charter school at a rate no greater than the 1134 district’s actual cost unless mutually agreed upon by the 1135 charter school and the sponsor in a contract negotiated 1136 separately from the charter. When mediation has failed to 1137 resolve disputes over contracted services or contractual matters 1138 not included in the charter, an appeal may be made to an 1139 administrative law judge appointed by the Division of 1140 Administrative Hearings. The administrative law judge has final 1141 order authority to rule on the dispute. The administrative law 1142 judge shall award the prevailing party reasonable attorney fees 1143 and costs incurred during the mediation process, administrative 1144 proceeding, and any appeals, to be paid by the party whom the 1145 administrative law judge rules againstfor a dispute resolution1146hearing before the Charter School Appeal Commission. To maximize 1147 the use of state funds, school districts shall allow charter 1148 schools to participate in the sponsor’s bulk purchasing program 1149 if applicable. 1150 Section 12. Subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection 1151 (2), and paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 1002.331, 1152 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1153 1002.331 High-performing charter schools.— 1154 (1) A charter school is a high-performing charter school if 1155 it: 1156 (a) Received at least two school grades of “A” and no 1157 school grade below “B,” pursuant to s. 1008.34, during each of 1158 the previous 3 school years or received at least two consecutive 1159 school grades of “A” in the most recent 2 school years. 1160 (b) Received an unqualified opinion on each annual 1161 financial audit required under s. 218.39 in the most recent 3 1162 fiscal years for which such audits are available. 1163 (c) Did not receive a financial audit that revealed one or 1164 more of the financial emergency conditions set forth in s. 1165 218.503(1) in the most recent 3 fiscal years for which such 1166 audits are available. However, this requirement is deemed met 1167 for a charter school-in-the-workplace if there is a finding in 1168 an audit that the school has the monetary resources available to 1169 cover any reported deficiency or that the deficiency does not 1170 result in a deteriorating financial condition pursuant to s. 1171 1002.345(1)(a)3. 1172 1173 For purposes of determining initial eligibility, the 1174 requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) only apply for the most 1175 recent 2 fiscal years if the charter school earns two 1176 consecutive grades of “A.” A virtual charter school established 1177 under s. 1002.33 is not eligible for designation as a high 1178 performing charter school. 1179 (2) A high-performing charter school is authorized to: 1180 (a) Increase its student enrollment once per school year to 1181 more than the capacity identified in the charter, but student 1182 enrollment may not exceed thecurrent facilitycapacity of the 1183 facility at the time the enrollment increase will take effect. 1184 Facility capacity for purposes of grade level expansion shall 1185 include any improvements to an existing facility or any new 1186 facility in which a majority of the students of the high 1187 performing charter school will enroll. 1188 1189 A high-performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in 1190 writing by March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or 1191 expand grade levels the following school year. The written 1192 notice shall specify the amount of the enrollment increase and 1193 the grade levels that will be added, as applicable. If a charter 1194 school notifies the sponsor of its intent to expand, the sponsor 1195 shall modify the charter within 90 days to include the new 1196 enrollment maximum and may not make any other changes. The 1197 sponsor may deny a request to increase the enrollment of a high 1198 performing charter school if the commissioner has declassified 1199 the charter school as high-performing. If a high-performing 1200 charter school requests to consolidate multiple charters, the 1201 sponsor shall have 40 days after receipt of that request to 1202 provide an initial draft charter to the charter school. The 1203 sponsor and charter school shall have 50 days thereafter to 1204 negotiate and notice the charter contract for final approval by 1205 the sponsor. 1206 (3) 1207 (b) A high-performing charter school may not establish more 1208 than twoonecharter schoolsschoolwithin the state under 1209 paragraph (a) in any year. A subsequent application to establish 1210 a charter school under paragraph (a) may not be submitted unless 1211 each charter school established in this manner achieves high 1212 performing charter school status. However, a high-performing 1213 charter school may establish more than one charter school within 1214 the state under paragraph (a) in any year if it operates in the 1215 area of a persistently low-performing school and serves students 1216 from that school. 1217 Section 13. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (10) of 1218 section 1002.333, Florida Statutes, to read: 1219 1002.333 Persistently low-performing schools.— 1220 (10) SCHOOLS OF HOPE PROGRAM.—The Schools of Hope Program 1221 is created within the Department of Education. 1222 (d) Notwithstanding s. 216.301 and pursuant to s. 216.351, 1223 funds allocated for the purpose of this subsection which are not 1224 disbursed by June 30 of the fiscal year in which the funds are 1225 allocated may be carried forward for up to 5 years after the 1226 effective date of the original appropriation. 1227 Section 14. Present paragraph (c) of subsection (9) of 1228 section 1002.37, Florida Statutes, is amended, and a new 1229 paragraph (c) is added to subsection (9) of that section, to 1230 read: 1231 1002.37 The Florida Virtual School.— 1232 (9) 1233 (c) Industry certification examinations, national 1234 assessments, and statewide assessments offered by the school 1235 district shall be available to all Florida Virtual School 1236 students. 1237 (d)(c)Unless an alternative testing site is mutually 1238 agreed to by the Florida Virtual School and the school district 1239 or as contracted under s. 1008.24, all industry certification 1240 examinations, national assessments, and statewide assessments 1241 must be taken at the school to which the student would be 1242 assigned according to district school board attendance areas. A 1243 school district must provide the student with access to the 1244 school’s testing facilities and the date and time of the 1245 administration of each examination or assessment. 1246 Section 15. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2), paragraphs (d) 1247 and (h) of subsection (5), subsection (8), paragraph (c) of 1248 subsection (9), paragraph (a) of subsection (10), and paragraph 1249 (a) of subsection (11) of section 1002.385, Florida Statutes, 1250 are amended, and paragraph (p) is added to subsection (5) of 1251 that section, to read: 1252 1002.385 The Gardiner Scholarship.— 1253 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 1254 (e) “Eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization” 1255 or “organization” means a nonprofit scholarship-funding 1256 organization that is approved pursuant to s. 1002.395(15)s.12571002.395(16). 1258 (5) AUTHORIZED USES OF PROGRAM FUNDS.—Program funds must be 1259 used to meet the individual educational needs of an eligible 1260 student and may be spent for the following purposes: 1261 (d)Enrollment in, orTuition or fees associated with full 1262 time or part-time enrollment in,a home education program, an 1263 eligible private school, an eligible postsecondary educational 1264 institution or a program offered by the postsecondary 1265 institution, a private tutoring program authorized under s. 1266 1002.43, a virtual program offered by a department-approved 1267 private online provider that meets the provider qualifications 1268 specified in s. 1002.45(2)(a), the Florida Virtual School as a 1269 private paying student, or an approved online course offered 1270 pursuant to s. 1003.499 or s. 1004.0961. 1271 (h) Tuition and fees for part-time tutoring services 1272 provided by a person who holds a valid Florida educator’s 1273 certificate pursuant to s. 1012.56; a person who holds an 1274 adjunct teaching certificate pursuant to s. 1012.57; a person 1275 who has a bachelor’s degree or a graduate degree in the subject 1276 area in which instruction is given; or a person who has 1277 demonstrated a mastery of subject area knowledge pursuant to s. 1278 1012.56(5). As used in this paragraph, the term “part-time 1279 tutoring services” does not qualify as regular school attendance 1280 as defined in s. 1003.01(13)(e). 1281 (p) Tuition or fees associated with enrollment in a 1282 nationally or internationally recognized research-based training 1283 program for a child with a neurological disorder or brain 1284 damage. 1285 1286 A provider of any services receiving payments pursuant to this 1287 subsection may not share, refund, or rebate any moneys from the 1288 Gardiner Scholarship with the parent or participating student in 1289 any manner. A parent, student, or provider of any services may 1290 not bill an insurance company, Medicaid, or any other agency for 1291 the same services that are paid for using Gardiner Scholarship 1292 funds. 1293 (8) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—An eligible 1294 private school may be sectarian or nonsectarian and shall: 1295 (a) Comply with all requirements for private schools 1296 participating in state school choice scholarship programs 1297 pursuant to s. 1002.421. 1298(b)Provide to the organization, upon request, all1299documentation required for the student’s participation,1300including the private school’s and student’s fee schedules.1301(c)Be academically accountable to the parent for meeting1302the educational needs of the student by:13031.At a minimum, annually providing to the parent a written1304explanation of the student’s progress.1305 (b)1.2.Annually administer or makeadministering or making1306 provision for students participating in the program in grades 3 1307 through 10 to take one of the nationally norm-referenced tests 1308 identified by the Department of Education or the statewide 1309 assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22. Students with disabilities 1310 for whom standardized testing is not appropriate are exempt from 1311 this requirement. A participating private school shall report a 1312 student’s scores to the parent. 1313 2.3.AdministerCooperating with the scholarship student1314whose parent chooses to have the student participate inthe 1315 statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22or,if a private 1316 school chooses to offer the statewide assessments, administering1317the assessments at the school. 1318a.A participating private school may choose to offer and 1319 administer the statewide assessments to all students who attend 1320 the private school in grades 3 through 10 and must.1321b.A participating private school shallsubmit a request in 1322 writing to the Department of Education by March 1 of each year 1323 in order to administer the statewide assessments in the 1324 subsequent school year. 1325(d)Employ or contract with teachers who have regular and1326direct contact with each student receiving a scholarship under1327this section at the school’s physical location.1328(e)Provide a report from an independent certified public1329accountant who performs the agreed-upon procedures developed1330under s. 1002.395(6)(o) if the private school receives more than1331$250,000 in funds from scholarships awarded under this section1332in a state fiscal year. A private school subject to this1333paragraph must annually submit the report by September 15 to the1334organization that awarded the majority of the school’s1335scholarship funds. The agreed-upon procedures must be conducted1336in accordance with attestation standards established by the1337American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.1338 1339 If a private school failsis unableto meet the requirements of 1340 this subsection or s. 1002.421or has consecutive years of1341material exceptions listed in the report required under1342paragraph (e), the commissioner may determine that the private 1343 school is ineligible to participate in the scholarship program. 1344 (9) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OBLIGATIONS.—The department 1345 shall: 1346 (c) Investigate any written complaint of a violation of 1347 this section by a parent, a student, a private school, a public 1348 school or a school district, an organization, a provider, or 1349 another appropriate party in accordance with the process 1350 established by s. 1002.421s. 1002.395(9)(f). 1351 (10) COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION AUTHORITY AND OBLIGATIONS.— 1352 (a) The Commissioner of Education: 1353 1. May suspend or revoke program participation or use of 1354 program funds by the student or participation or eligibility of 1355 an organization,eligible private school,eligible postsecondary 1356 educational institution, approved provider, or other party for a 1357 violation of this section. 1358 2. May determine the length of, and conditions for lifting, 1359 a suspension or revocation specified in this subsection. 1360 3. May recover unexpended program funds or withhold payment 1361 of an equal amount of program funds to recover program funds 1362 that were not authorized for use. 1363 4. Shall deny or terminate program participation upon a 1364 parent’s forfeiture of a Gardiner Scholarship pursuant to 1365 subsection (11). 1366 (11) PARENT AND STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PROGRAM 1367 PARTICIPATION.—A parent who applies for program participation 1368 under this section is exercising his or her parental option to 1369 determine the appropriate placement or the services that best 1370 meet the needs of his or her child. The scholarship award for a 1371 student is based on a matrix that assigns the student to support 1372 Level III services. If a parent receives an IEP and a matrix of 1373 services from the school district pursuant to subsection (7), 1374 the amount of the payment shall be adjusted as needed, when the 1375 school district completes the matrix. 1376 (a) To satisfy or maintain program eligibility, including 1377 eligibility to receive and spend program payments, the parent 1378 must sign an agreement with the organization and annually submit 1379 a notarized, sworn compliance statement to the organization to: 1380 1. Affirm that the student is enrolled in a program that 1381 meets regular school attendance requirements as provided in s. 1382 1003.01(13)(b)-(d). 1383 2. Affirm that the program funds are used only for 1384 authorized purposes serving the student’s educational needs, as 1385 described in subsection (5). 1386 3. Affirm that the parent is responsible for the education 1387 of his or her student by, as applicable: 1388 a. Requiring the student to take an assessment in 1389 accordance with paragraph (8)(b)paragraph (8)(c); 1390 b. Providing an annual evaluation in accordance with s. 1391 1002.41(1)(c); or 1392 c. Requiring the child to take any preassessments and 1393 postassessments selected by the provider if the child is 4 years 1394 of age and is enrolled in a program provided by an eligible 1395 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program provider. A student 1396 with disabilities for whom a preassessment and postassessment is 1397 not appropriate is exempt from this requirement. A participating 1398 provider shall report a student’s scores to the parent. 1399 4. Affirm that the student remains in good standing with 1400 the provider or school if those options are selected by the 1401 parent. 1402 1403 A parent who fails to comply with this subsection forfeits the 1404 Gardiner Scholarship. 1405 Section 16. Subsections (8) through (14) of section 1406 1002.39, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (7) 1407 through (13), respectively, and paragraph (b) of subsection (2), 1408 paragraph (h) of subsection (3), and present subsections (6), 1409 (7), and (8) of that section are amended, to read: 1410 1002.39 The John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with 1411 Disabilities Program.—There is established a program that is 1412 separate and distinct from the Opportunity Scholarship Program 1413 and is named the John M. McKay Scholarships for Students with 1414 Disabilities Program. 1415 (2) JOHN M. MCKAY SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.—The parent of a 1416 student with a disability may request and receive from the state 1417 a John M. McKay Scholarship for the child to enroll in and 1418 attend a private school in accordance with this section if: 1419 (b) The parent has obtained acceptance for admission of the 1420 student to a private school that is eligible for the program 1421 under subsection (7)subsection (8)and has requested from the 1422 department a scholarship at least 60 days before the date of the 1423 first scholarship payment. The request must be communicated 1424 directly to the department in a manner that creates a written or 1425 electronic record of the request and the date of receipt of the 1426 request. The department must notify the district of the parent’s 1427 intent upon receipt of the parent’s request. 1428 (3) JOHN M. MCKAY SCHOLARSHIP PROHIBITIONS.—A student is 1429 not eligible for a John M. McKay Scholarship: 1430 (h) While he or she is not having regular and direct 1431 contact with his or her private school teachers at the school’s 1432 physical location unless he or she is enrolled in the private 1433 school’s transition-to-work program pursuant to subsection (9) 1434subsection (10); or 1435 (6) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OBLIGATIONS.—The department 1436 shall:1437(a)Establish a toll-free hotline that provides parents and1438private schools with information on participation in the John M.1439McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program.1440(b)Annually verify the eligibility of private schools that1441meet the requirements of subsection (8).1442(c)Establish a process by which individuals may notify the1443department of any violation by a parent, private school, or1444school district of state laws relating to program participation.1445The department shall conduct an inquiry of any written complaint1446of a violation of this section, or make a referral to the1447appropriate agency for an investigation, if the complaint is1448signed by the complainant and is legally sufficient. A complaint1449is legally sufficient if it contains ultimate facts that show1450that a violation of this section or any rule adopted by the1451State Board of Education has occurred. In order to determine1452legal sufficiency, the department may require supporting1453information or documentation from the complainant. A department1454inquiry is not subject to the requirements of chapter 120.1455(d)Require an annual, notarized, sworn compliance1456statement by participating private schools certifying compliance1457with state laws and shall retain such records.1458(e)cross-check the list of participating scholarship 1459 students with the public school enrollment lists prior to each 1460 scholarship payment to avoid duplication. 1461(f)1.Conduct random site visits to private schools1462participating in the John M. McKay Scholarships for Students1463with Disabilities Program. The purpose of the site visits is1464solely to verify the information reported by the schools1465concerning the enrollment and attendance of students, the1466credentials of teachers, background screening of teachers, and1467teachers’ fingerprinting results, which information is required1468by rules of the State Board of Education, subsection (8), and s.14691002.421. The Department of Education may not make more than1470three random site visits each year and may not make more than1471one random site visit each year to the same private school.14722.Annually, by December 15, report to the Governor, the1473President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of1474Representatives the Department of Education’s actions with1475respect to implementing accountability in the scholarship1476program under this section and s. 1002.421, any substantiated1477allegations or violations of law or rule by an eligible private1478school under this program concerning the enrollment and1479attendance of students, the credentials of teachers, background1480screening of teachers, and teachers’ fingerprinting results and1481the corrective action taken by the Department of Education.1482(7)COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION AUTHORITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—1483(a)The Commissioner of Education:14841.Shall deny, suspend, or revoke a private school’s1485participation in the scholarship program if it is determined1486that the private school has failed to comply with the provisions1487of this section. However, if the noncompliance is correctable1488within a reasonable amount of time and if the health, safety, or1489welfare of the students is not threatened, the commissioner may1490issue a notice of noncompliance which provides the private1491school with a timeframe within which to provide evidence of1492compliance before taking action to suspend or revoke the private1493school’s participation in the scholarship program.14942.May deny, suspend, or revoke a private school’s1495participation in the scholarship program if the commissioner1496determines that an owner or operator of the private school is1497operating or has operated an educational institution in this1498state or in another state or jurisdiction in a manner contrary1499to the health, safety, or welfare of the public.1500a.In making such a determination, the commissioner may1501consider factors that include, but are not limited to, acts or1502omissions by an owner or operator which led to a previous denial1503or revocation of participation in an education scholarship1504program; an owner’s or operator’s failure to reimburse the1505Department of Education for scholarship funds improperly1506received or retained by a school; imposition of a prior criminal1507sanction related to an owner’s or operator’s management or1508operation of an educational institution; imposition of a civil1509fine or administrative fine, license revocation or suspension,1510or program eligibility suspension, termination, or revocation1511related to an owner’s or operator’s management or operation of1512an educational institution; or other types of criminal1513proceedings in which an owner or operator was found guilty of,1514regardless of adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere1515or guilty to, any offense involving fraud, deceit, dishonesty,1516or moral turpitude.1517b.For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “owner or1518operator” includes an owner, operator, superintendent, or1519principal of, or a person who has equivalent decisionmaking1520authority over, a private school participating in the1521scholarship program.1522(b)The commissioner’s determination is subject to the1523following:15241.If the commissioner intends to deny, suspend, or revoke1525a private school’s participation in the scholarship program, the1526department shall notify the private school of such proposed1527action in writing by certified mail and regular mail to the1528private school’s address of record with the department. The1529notification shall include the reasons for the proposed action1530and notice of the timelines and procedures set forth in this1531paragraph.15322.The private school that is adversely affected by the1533proposed action shall have 15 days from receipt of the notice of1534proposed action to file with the department’s agency clerk a1535request for a proceeding pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 120.57. If1536the private school is entitled to a hearing under s. 120.57(1),1537the department shall forward the request to the Division of1538Administrative Hearings.15393.Upon receipt of a request referred pursuant to this1540paragraph, the director of the Division of Administrative1541Hearings shall expedite the hearing and assign an administrative1542law judge who shall commence a hearing within 30 days after the1543receipt of the formal written request by the division and enter1544a recommended order within 30 days after the hearing or within154530 days after receipt of the hearing transcript, whichever is1546later. Each party shall be allowed 10 days in which to submit1547written exceptions to the recommended order. A final order shall1548be entered by the agency within 30 days after the entry of a1549recommended order. The provisions of this subparagraph may be1550waived upon stipulation by all parties.1551(c)The commissioner may immediately suspend payment of1552scholarship funds if it is determined that there is probable1553cause to believe that there is:15541.An imminent threat to the health, safety, or welfare of1555the students; or15562.Fraudulent activity on the part of the private school.1557Notwithstanding s. 1002.22, in incidents of alleged fraudulent1558activity pursuant to this section, the Department of Education’s1559Office of Inspector General is authorized to release personally1560identifiable records or reports of students to the following1561persons or organizations:1562a.A court of competent jurisdiction in compliance with an1563order of that court or the attorney of record in accordance with1564a lawfully issued subpoena, consistent with the Family1565Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g.1566b.A person or entity authorized by a court of competent1567jurisdiction in compliance with an order of that court or the1568attorney of record pursuant to a lawfully issued subpoena,1569consistent with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act,157020 U.S.C. s. 1232g.1571c.Any person, entity, or authority issuing a subpoena for1572law enforcement purposes when the court or other issuing agency1573has ordered that the existence or the contents of the subpoena1574or the information furnished in response to the subpoena not be1575disclosed, consistent with the Family Educational Rights and1576Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g, and 34 C.F.R. s. 99.31.1577 1578The commissioner’s order suspending payment pursuant to this1579paragraph may be appealed pursuant to the same procedures and1580timelines as the notice of proposed action set forth in1581paragraph (b).1582 (7)(8)PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—To be 1583 eligible to participate in the John M. McKay Scholarships for 1584 Students with Disabilities Program, a private school may be 1585 sectarian or nonsectarian and must: 1586 (a) Comply with all requirements for private schools 1587 participating in state school choice scholarship programs 1588 pursuant to s. 1002.421. 1589 (b) Provide to the department all documentation required 1590 for a student’s participation, including the private school’s 1591 and student’s fee schedules, at least 30 days before any 1592 quarterly scholarship payment is made for the student pursuant 1593 to paragraph (10)(e)paragraph (11)(e). A student is not 1594 eligible to receive a quarterly scholarship payment if the 1595 private school fails to meet this deadline. 1596(c)Be academically accountable to the parent for meeting1597the educational needs of the student by:15981.At a minimum, annually providing to the parent a written1599explanation of the student’s progress.16002.Cooperating with the scholarship student whose parent1601chooses to participate in the statewide assessments pursuant to1602s. 1008.22.1603(d)Maintain in this state a physical location where a1604scholarship student regularly attends classes.1605 1606 IfTheinabilityofa private school fails to meet the 1607 requirements of this subsection or s. 1002.421, the commissioner 1608 may determine that the private school is ineligibleshall1609constitute a basis for the ineligibility of the private school1610 to participate in the scholarship programas determined by the1611department. 1612 Section 17. Present subsections (12) through (16) of 1613 section 1002.395, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as 1614 subsections (11) through (15), respectively, and paragraphs (f) 1615 and (j) of subsection (2), paragraphs (b), (c), (f), and (g) of 1616 subsection (5), paragraphs (n), (o), and (p) of subsection (6), 1617 subsections (8) and (9), and present subsection (11) of that 1618 section are amended, to read: 1619 1002.395 Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program.— 1620 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 1621 (f) “Eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization” 1622 means a state university; or an independent college or 1623 university that is eligible to participate in the William L. 1624 Boyd, IV, Florida Resident Access Grant Program, located and 1625 chartered in this state, is not for profit, and is accredited by 1626 the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of 1627 Colleges and Schools; or is a charitable organization that: 1628 1. Is exempt from federal income tax pursuant to s. 1629 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; 1630 2. Is a Florida entity formed under chapter 605, chapter 1631 607, or chapter 617 and whose principal office is located in the 1632 state; and 1633 3. Complies with subsections (6) and (15)subsections (6)1634and (16). 1635 (j) “Tax credit cap amount” means the maximum annual tax 1636 credit amount that the department may approve forina state 1637 fiscal year. 1638 (5) SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING TAX CREDITS; LIMITATIONS.— 1639 (b) A taxpayer may submit an application to the department 1640 for a tax credit or credits under one or more of s. 211.0251, s. 1641 212.1831, s. 220.1875, s. 561.1211, or s. 624.51055. 1642 1. The taxpayer shall specify in the application each tax 1643 for which the taxpayer requests a credit and the applicable 1644 taxable year for a credit under s. 220.1875 or s. 624.51055 or 1645 the applicable state fiscal year for a credit under s. 211.0251, 1646 s. 212.1831, or s. 561.1211. For purposes of s. 220.1875, a 1647 taxpayer may apply for a credit to be used for a prior taxable 1648 year before the date the taxpayer is required to file a return 1649 for that year pursuant to s. 220.222. The department shall 1650 approve tax credits on a first-come, first-served basis and must 1651 obtain the division’s approval before approving a tax credit 1652 under s. 561.1211. 1653 2. Within 10 days after approving or denying an 1654 application, the department shall provide a copy of its approval 1655 or denial letter to the eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 1656 organization specified by the taxpayer in the application. 1657 (c) If a tax credit approved under paragraph (b) is not 1658 fully used within the specified state fiscal year for credits 1659 under s. 211.0251, s. 212.1831, or s. 561.1211 or against taxes 1660 due for the specified taxable year for credits under s. 220.1875 1661 or s. 624.51055 because of insufficient tax liability on the 1662 part of the taxpayer, the unused amount shallmaybe carried 1663 forward for a period not to exceed 105years. For purposes of 1664 s. 220.1875, a credit carried forward may be used in a 1665 subsequent year after applying the other credits and unused 1666 carryovers in the order provided in s. 220.02(8).However, any1667taxpayer that seeks to carry forward an unused amount of tax1668credit must submit an application to the department for approval1669of the carryforward tax credit in the year that the taxpayer1670intends to use the carryforward. The department must obtain the1671division’s approval prior to approving the carryforward of a tax1672credit under s. 561.1211.1673 (f) Within 10 days after approving or denyingan1674application for a carryforward tax credit under paragraph (c),1675 the conveyance, transfer, or assignment of a tax credit under 1676 paragraph (d), or the rescindment of a tax credit under 1677 paragraph (e), the department shall provide a copy of its 1678 approval or denial letter to the eligible nonprofit scholarship 1679 funding organization specified by the taxpayer. The department 1680 shall also include the eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 1681 organization specified by the taxpayer on all letters or 1682 correspondence of acknowledgment for tax credits under s. 1683 212.1831. 1684 (g) For purposes of calculating the underpayment of 1685 estimated corporate income taxes pursuant to s. 220.34 and tax 1686 installment payments for taxes on insurance premiums or 1687 assessments under s. 624.5092, the final amount due is the 1688 amount after credits earned under s. 220.1875 or s. 624.51055 1689 for contributions to eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 1690 organizations are deducted. 1691 1. For purposes of determining if a penalty or interest 1692 shall be imposed for underpayment of estimated corporate income 1693 tax pursuant to s. 220.34(2)(d)1., a taxpayer may, after earning 1694 a credit under s. 220.1875, reduce anythe followingestimated 1695 payment in that taxable year by the amount of the credit. This 1696 subparagraph applies to contributions made on or after July 1, 1697 2014. 1698 2. For purposes of determining if a penalty under s. 1699 624.5092 shall be imposed, an insurer may, after earning a 1700 credit under s. 624.51055, reduce the following installment 1701 payment of 27 percent of the amount of the net tax due as 1702 reported on the return for the preceding year under s. 1703 624.5092(2)(b) by the amount of the credit. This subparagraph 1704 applies to contributions made on or after July 1, 2014. 1705 (6) OBLIGATIONS OF ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT SCHOLARSHIP-FUNDING 1706 ORGANIZATIONS.—An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 1707 organization: 1708 (n) Must prepare and submit quarterly reports to the 1709 Department of Education pursuant to paragraph (9)(i)paragraph1710(9)(m). In addition, an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 1711 organization must submit in a timely manner any information 1712 requested by the Department of Education relating to the 1713 scholarship program. 1714 (o)1.a. Must participate in the joint development of 1715 agreed-upon proceduresto be performed by an independent1716certified public accountant as required under paragraph (8)(e)1717if the scholarship-funding organization provided more than1718$250,000 in scholarship funds to an eligible private school1719under this sectionduring the 2009-2010 state fiscal year. The 1720 agreed-upon procedures must uniformly apply to all private 1721 schools and must determine, at a minimum, whether the private 1722 school has been verified as eligible by the Department of 1723 Education under s. 1002.421paragraph (9)(c); has an adequate 1724 accounting system, system of financial controls, and process for 1725 deposit and classification of scholarship funds; and has 1726 properly expended scholarship funds for education-related 1727 expenses. During the development of the procedures, the 1728 participating scholarship-funding organizations shall specify 1729 guidelines governing the materiality of exceptions that may be 1730 found during the accountant’s performance of the procedures. The 1731 procedures and guidelines shall be provided to private schools 1732 and the Commissioner of Education by March 15, 2011. 1733 b. Must participate in a joint review of the agreed-upon 1734 procedures and guidelines developed under sub-subparagraph a., 1735 by February of each biennium2013 and biennially thereafter, if 1736 the scholarship-funding organization provided more than $250,000 1737 in scholarship funds to an eligible private school under this 1738 chaptersectionduring the state fiscal year preceding the 1739 biennial review. If the procedures and guidelines are revised, 1740 the revisions must be provided to private schools and the 1741 Commissioner of Education by March 15 of the year in which the 1742 revisions were completed. The revised agreed-upon procedures 1743 shall take effect the subsequent school year. For the 2018-2019 1744 school year only, the joint review of the agreed-upon procedures 1745 must be completed and the revisions submitted to the 1746 commissioner no later than September 15, 2018. The revised 1747 procedures are applicable to the 2018-2019 school year, 2013,1748and biennially thereafter. 1749 c. Must monitor the compliance of a private school with s. 1750 1002.421(1)(q)paragraph (8)(e)if the scholarship-funding 1751 organization provided the majority of the scholarship funding to 1752 the school. For each private school subject to s. 1002.421(1)(q) 1753paragraph (8)(e), the appropriate scholarship-funding 1754 organization shall annually notify the Commissioner of Education 1755 by October 30, 2011, and annually thereafterof: 1756 (I) A private school’s failure to submit a report required 1757 under s. 1002.421(1)(q)paragraph (8)(e); or 1758 (II) Any material exceptions set forth in the report 1759 required under s. 1002.421(1)(q)paragraph (8)(e). 1760 2. Must seek input from the accrediting associations that 1761 are members of the Florida Association of Academic Nonpublic 1762 Schools and the Department of Education when jointly developing 1763 the agreed-upon procedures and guidelines under sub-subparagraph 1764 1.a. and conducting a review of those procedures and guidelines 1765 under sub-subparagraph 1.b. 1766 (p) Must maintain the surety bond or letter of credit 1767 required by subsection (15)subsection (16). The amount of the 1768 surety bond or letter of credit may be adjusted quarterly to 1769 equal the actual amount of undisbursed funds based upon 1770 submission by the organization of a statement from a certified 1771 public accountant verifying the amount of undisbursed funds. The 1772 requirements of this paragraph are waived if the cost of 1773 acquiring a surety bond or letter of credit exceeds the average 1774 10-year cost of acquiring a surety bond or letter of credit by 1775 200 percent. The requirements of this paragraph are waived for a 1776 state university; or an independent college or university which 1777 is eligible to participate in the William L. Boyd, IV, Florida 1778 Resident Access Grant Program, located and chartered in this 1779 state, is not for profit, and is accredited by the Commission on 1780 Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. 1781 1782 Information and documentation provided to the Department of 1783 Education and the Auditor General relating to the identity of a 1784 taxpayer that provides an eligible contribution under this 1785 section shall remain confidential at all times in accordance 1786 with s. 213.053. 1787 (8) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—An eligible 1788 private school may be sectarian or nonsectarian and must: 1789 (a) Comply with all requirements for private schools 1790 participating in state school choice scholarship programs 1791 pursuant to s. 1002.421. 1792(b)Provide to the eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding1793organization, upon request, all documentation required for the1794student’s participation, including the private school’s and1795student’s fee schedules.1796(c)Be academically accountable to the parent for meeting1797the educational needs of the student by:17981.At a minimum, annually providing to the parent a written1799explanation of the student’s progress.1800 (b)1.2.Annually administer or makeadministering or making1801 provision for students participating in the scholarship program 1802 in grades 3 through 10 to take one of the nationally norm 1803 referenced tests identified by the Department of Education or 1804 the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22. Students with 1805 disabilities for whom standardized testing is not appropriate 1806 are exempt from this requirement. A participating private school 1807 must report a student’s scores to the parent. A participating 1808 private school must annually report by August 15 the scores of 1809 all participating students to a state universitythe Learning1810System Institutedescribed in paragraph (9)(f)paragraph (9)(j). 1811 2.3.AdministerCooperating with the scholarship student1812whose parent chooses to have the student participate inthe 1813 statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22or,if a private 1814 school chooses to offer the statewide assessments, administering1815the assessments at the school. 1816a.A participating private school may choose to offer and 1817 administer the statewide assessments to all students who attend 1818 the private school in grades 3 through 10 and.1819b.A participating private schoolmust submit a request in 1820 writing to the Department of Education by March 1 of each year 1821 in order to administer the statewide assessments in the 1822 subsequent school year. 1823(d)Employ or contract with teachers who have regular and1824direct contact with each student receiving a scholarship under1825this section at the school’s physical location.1826(e)Provide a report from an independent certified public1827accountant who performs the agreed-upon procedures developed1828under paragraph (6)(o) if the private school receives more than1829$250,000 in funds from scholarships awarded under this section1830in a state fiscal year. A private school subject to this1831paragraph must annually submit the report by September 15 to the1832scholarship-funding organization that awarded the majority of1833the school’s scholarship funds. The agreed-upon procedures must1834be conducted in accordance with attestation standards1835established by the American Institute of Certified Public1836Accountants.1837 1838 If a private school failsis unableto meet the requirements of 1839 this subsection or s. 1002.421or has consecutive years of1840material exceptions listed in the report required under1841paragraph (e), the commissioner may determine that the private 1842 school is ineligible to participate in the scholarship program 1843as determined by the Department of Education. 1844 (9) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OBLIGATIONS.—The Department of 1845 Education shall: 1846 (a) Annually submit to the department and division, by 1847 March 15, a list of eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 1848 organizations that meet the requirements of paragraph (2)(f). 1849 (b) Annually verify the eligibility of nonprofit 1850 scholarship-funding organizations that meet the requirements of 1851 paragraph (2)(f). 1852(c)Annually verify the eligibility of private schools that1853meet the requirements of subsection (8).1854 (c)(d)Annually verify the eligibility of expenditures as 1855 provided in paragraph (6)(d) using the audit required by 1856 paragraph (6)(m) and s. 11.45(2)(l)s. 11.45(2)(k). 1857(e)Establish a toll-free hotline that provides parents and1858private schools with information on participation in the1859scholarship program.1860(f)Establish a process by which individuals may notify the1861Department of Education of any violation by a parent, private1862school, or school district of state laws relating to program1863participation. The Department of Education shall conduct an1864inquiry of any written complaint of a violation of this section,1865or make a referral to the appropriate agency for an1866investigation, if the complaint is signed by the complainant and1867is legally sufficient. A complaint is legally sufficient if it1868contains ultimate facts that show that a violation of this1869section or any rule adopted by the State Board of Education has1870occurred. In order to determine legal sufficiency, the1871Department of Education may require supporting information or1872documentation from the complainant. A department inquiry is not1873subject to the requirements of chapter 120.1874(g)Require an annual, notarized, sworn compliance1875statement by participating private schools certifying compliance1876with state laws and shall retain such records.1877 (d)(h)Cross-check the list of participating scholarship 1878 students with the public school enrollment lists to avoid 1879 duplication. 1880 (e)(i)Maintain a list of nationally norm-referenced tests 1881 identified for purposes of satisfying the testing requirement in 1882 subparagraph (8)(b)1subparagraph (8)(c)2. The tests must meet 1883 industry standards of quality in accordance with State Board of 1884 Education rule. 1885 (f)(j)Issue a project grant award to a state university 1886the Learning System Institute at the Florida State University, 1887 to which participating private schools must report the scores of 1888 participating students on the nationally norm-referenced tests 1889 or the statewide assessments administered by the private school 1890 in grades 3 through 10. The project term is 2 years, and the 1891 amount of the project is up to $250,000$500,000per year. The 1892 project grant award must be reissued in 2-year intervals in 1893 accordance with this paragraph. 1894 1. The state universityLearning System Institutemust 1895 annually report to the Department of Education on the student 1896 performance of participating students: 1897 a. On a statewide basis. The report shall also include, to 1898 the extent possible, a comparison of scholarship students’ 1899 performance to the statewide student performance of public 1900 school students with socioeconomic backgrounds similar to those 1901 of students participating in the scholarship program. To 1902 minimize costs and reduce time required for the state 1903 university’sLearning System Institute’sanalysis and 1904 evaluation, the Department of Education shall coordinate with 1905 the state universityLearning System Instituteto provide data 1906 to the state universityLearning System Institutein order to 1907 conduct analyses of matched students from public school 1908 assessment data and calculate control group student performance 1909 using an agreed-upon methodology with the state university 1910Learning System Institute; and 1911 b. On an individual school basis. The annual report must 1912 include student performance for each participating private 1913 school in which at least 51 percent of the total enrolled 1914 students in the private school participated in the Florida Tax 1915 Credit Scholarship Program in the prior school year. The report 1916 shall be according to each participating private school, and for 1917 participating students, in which there are at least 30 1918 participating students who have scores for tests administered. 1919 If the state universityLearning System Institutedetermines 1920 that the 30-participating-student cell size may be reduced 1921 without disclosing personally identifiable information, as 1922 described in 34 C.F.R. s. 99.12, of a participating student, the 1923 state universityLearning System Institutemay reduce the 1924 participating-student cell size, but the cell size must not be 1925 reduced to less than 10 participating students. The department 1926 shall provide each private school’s prior school year’s student 1927 enrollment information to the state universityLearning System1928Instituteno later than June 15 of each year, or as requested by 1929 the state universityLearning System Institute. 1930 2. The sharing and reporting of student performance data 1931 under this paragraph must be in accordance with requirements of 1932 ss. 1002.22 and 1002.221 and 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g, the Family 1933 Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and the applicable rules and 1934 regulations issued pursuant thereto, and shall be for the sole 1935 purpose of creating the annual report required by subparagraph 1936 1. All parties must preserve the confidentiality of such 1937 information as required by law. The annual report must not 1938 disaggregate data to a level that will identify individual 1939 participating schools, except as required under sub-subparagraph 1940 1.b., or disclose the academic level of individual students. 1941 3. The annual report required by subparagraph 1. shall be 1942 published by the Department of Education on its website. 1943 (g)(k)Notify an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 1944 organization of any of the organization’s identified students 1945 who are receiving educational scholarships pursuant to chapter 1946 1002. 1947 (h)(l)Notify an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 1948 organization of any of the organization’s identified students 1949 who are receiving tax credit scholarships from other eligible 1950 nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations. 1951 (i)(m)Require quarterly reports by an eligible nonprofit 1952 scholarship-funding organization regarding the number of 1953 students participating in the scholarship program, the private 1954 schools at which the students are enrolled, and other 1955 information deemed necessary by the Department of Education. 1956(n)1.Conduct site visits to private schools participating1957in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. The purpose of1958the site visits is solely to verify the information reported by1959the schools concerning the enrollment and attendance of1960students, the credentials of teachers, background screening of1961teachers, and teachers’ fingerprinting results. The Department1962of Education may not make more than seven site visits each year;1963however, the department may make additional site visits at any1964time to any school that has received a notice of noncompliance1965or a notice of proposed action within the previous 2 years.19662.Annually, by December 15, report to the Governor, the1967President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of1968Representatives the Department of Education’s actions with1969respect to implementing accountability in the scholarship1970program under this section and s. 1002.421, any substantiated1971allegations or violations of law or rule by an eligible private1972school under this program concerning the enrollment and1973attendance of students, the credentials of teachers, background1974screening of teachers, and teachers’ fingerprinting results and1975the corrective action taken by the Department of Education.1976 (j)(o)Provide a process to match the direct certification 1977 list with the scholarship application data submitted by any 1978 nonprofit scholarship-funding organization eligible to receive 1979 the 3-percent administrative allowance under paragraph (6)(j). 1980(p)Upon the request of a participating private school,1981provide at no cost to the school the statewide assessments1982administered under s. 1008.22 and any related materials for1983administering the assessments. Students at a private school may1984be assessed using the statewide assessments if the addition of1985those students and the school does not cause the state to exceed1986its contractual caps for the number of students tested and the1987number of testing sites. The state shall provide the same1988materials and support to a private school that it provides to a1989public school. A private school that chooses to administer1990statewide assessments under s. 1008.22 shall follow the1991requirements set forth in ss. 1008.22 and 1008.24, rules adopted1992by the State Board of Education to implement those sections, and1993district-level testing policies established by the district1994school board.1995(11)COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION AUTHORITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—1996(a)1.The Commissioner of Education shall deny, suspend, or1997revoke a private school’s participation in the scholarship1998program if it is determined that the private school has failed1999to comply with the provisions of this section. However, in2000instances in which the noncompliance is correctable within a2001reasonable amount of time and in which the health, safety, or2002welfare of the students is not threatened, the commissioner may2003issue a notice of noncompliance that shall provide the private2004school with a timeframe within which to provide evidence of2005compliance prior to taking action to suspend or revoke the2006private school’s participation in the scholarship program.20072.The Commissioner of Education may deny, suspend, or2008revoke a private school’s participation in the scholarship2009program if the commissioner determines that:2010a.An owner or operator of a private school has exhibited a2011previous pattern of failure to comply with this section or s.20121002.421; or2013b.An owner or operator of the private school is operating2014or has operated an educational institution in this state or2015another state or jurisdiction in a manner contrary to the2016health, safety, or welfare of the public.2017 2018In making the determination under this subparagraph, the2019commissioner may consider factors that include, but are not2020limited to, acts or omissions by an owner or operator that led2021to a previous denial or revocation of participation in an2022education scholarship program; an owner’s or operator’s failure2023to reimburse the Department of Education or a nonprofit2024scholarship-funding organization for scholarship funds2025improperly received or retained by a school; imposition of a2026prior criminal sanction, civil fine, administrative fine,2027license revocation or suspension, or program eligibility2028suspension, termination, or revocation related to an owner’s or2029operator’s management or operation of an educational2030institution; or other types of criminal proceedings in which the2031owner or operator was found guilty of, regardless of2032adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to,2033any offense involving fraud, deceit, dishonesty, or moral2034turpitude.2035(b)The commissioner’s determination is subject to the2036following:20371.If the commissioner intends to deny, suspend, or revoke2038a private school’s participation in the scholarship program, the2039Department of Education shall notify the private school of such2040proposed action in writing by certified mail and regular mail to2041the private school’s address of record with the Department of2042Education. The notification shall include the reasons for the2043proposed action and notice of the timelines and procedures set2044forth in this paragraph.20452.The private school that is adversely affected by the2046proposed action shall have 15 days from receipt of the notice of2047proposed action to file with the Department of Education’s2048agency clerk a request for a proceeding pursuant to ss. 120.5692049and 120.57. If the private school is entitled to a hearing under2050s. 120.57(1), the Department of Education shall forward the2051request to the Division of Administrative Hearings.20523.Upon receipt of a request referred pursuant to this2053paragraph, the director of the Division of Administrative2054Hearings shall expedite the hearing and assign an administrative2055law judge who shall commence a hearing within 30 days after the2056receipt of the formal written request by the division and enter2057a recommended order within 30 days after the hearing or within205830 days after receipt of the hearing transcript, whichever is2059later. Each party shall be allowed 10 days in which to submit2060written exceptions to the recommended order. A final order shall2061be entered by the agency within 30 days after the entry of a2062recommended order. The provisions of this subparagraph may be2063waived upon stipulation by all parties.2064(c)The commissioner may immediately suspend payment of2065scholarship funds if it is determined that there is probable2066cause to believe that there is:20671.An imminent threat to the health, safety, and welfare of2068the students;20692.A previous pattern of failure to comply with this2070section or s. 1002.421; or20713.Fraudulent activity on the part of the private school.2072Notwithstanding s. 1002.22, in incidents of alleged fraudulent2073activity pursuant to this section, the Department of Education’s2074Office of Inspector General is authorized to release personally2075identifiable records or reports of students to the following2076persons or organizations:2077a.A court of competent jurisdiction in compliance with an2078order of that court or the attorney of record in accordance with2079a lawfully issued subpoena, consistent with the Family2080Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g.2081b.A person or entity authorized by a court of competent2082jurisdiction in compliance with an order of that court or the2083attorney of record pursuant to a lawfully issued subpoena,2084consistent with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act,208520 U.S.C. s. 1232g.2086c.Any person, entity, or authority issuing a subpoena for2087law enforcement purposes when the court or other issuing agency2088has ordered that the existence or the contents of the subpoena2089or the information furnished in response to the subpoena not be2090disclosed, consistent with the Family Educational Rights and2091Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g, and 34 C.F.R. s. 99.31.2092 2093The commissioner’s order suspending payment pursuant to this2094paragraph may be appealed pursuant to the same procedures and2095timelines as the notice of proposed action set forth in2096paragraph (b).2097 Section 18. Effective upon this act becoming a law, section 2098 1002.40, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 2099 1002.40 The Hope Scholarship Program.— 2100 (1) PURPOSE.—The Hope Scholarship Program is established to 2101 provide the parent of a public school student who was subjected 2102 to an incident listed in subsection (3) an opportunity to 2103 transfer the student to another public school or to request a 2104 scholarship for the student to enroll in and attend an eligible 2105 private school. 2106 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 2107 (a) “Dealer” has the same meaning as provided in s. 212.06. 2108 (b) “Department” means the Department of Education. 2109 (c) “Designated agent” has the same meaning as provided in 2110 s. 212.06(10). 2111 (d) “Eligible contribution” or “contribution” means a 2112 monetary contribution from a person purchasing a motor vehicle, 2113 subject to the restrictions provided in this section, to an 2114 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization. The person 2115 making the contribution may not designate a specific student as 2116 the beneficiary of the contribution. 2117 (e) “Eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization” 2118 or “organization” has the same meaning as provided in s. 2119 1002.395(2)(f). 2120 (f) “Eligible private school” has the same meaning as 2121 provided in s. 1002.395(2)(g). 2122 (g) “Motor vehicle” has the same meaning as provided in s. 2123 320.01(1)(a), but does not include a heavy truck, truck tractor, 2124 trailer, or motorcycle. 2125 (h) “Parent” means a resident of this state who is a 2126 parent, as defined in s. 1000.21, and whose student reported an 2127 incident in accordance with subsection (6). 2128 (i) “Program” means the Hope Scholarship Program. 2129 (j) “School” means any educational program or activity 2130 conducted by a public K-12 educational institution, any school 2131 related or school-sponsored program or activity, and riding on a 2132 school bus, as defined in s. 1006.25(1), including waiting at a 2133 school bus stop. 2134 (k) “Unweighted FTE funding amount” means the statewide 2135 average total funds per unweighted full-time equivalent funding 2136 amount that is incorporated by reference in the General 2137 Appropriations Act, or by a subsequent special appropriations 2138 act, for the applicable state fiscal year. 2139 (3) PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY.—Beginning with the 2018-2019 2140 school year, contingent upon available funds, and on a first 2141 come, first-served basis, a student enrolled in a Florida public 2142 school in kindergarten through grade 12 is eligible for a 2143 scholarship under this program if the student reported an 2144 incident in accordance with subsection (6). For purposes of this 2145 section, the term “incident” means battery; harassment; hazing; 2146 bullying; kidnapping; physical attack; robbery; sexual offenses, 2147 harassment, assault, or battery; threat or intimidation; or 2148 fighting at school, as defined by the department in accordance 2149 with s. 1006.09(6). 2150 (4) PROGRAM PROHIBITIONS.—Payment of a scholarship to a 2151 student enrolled in a private school may not be made if a 2152 student is: 2153 (a) Enrolled in a public school, including, but not limited 2154 to, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind; the College 2155 Preparatory Boarding Academy; a developmental research school 2156 authorized under s. 1002.32; or a charter school authorized 2157 under s. 1002.33, s. 1002.331, or s. 1002.332; 2158 (b) Enrolled in a school operating for the purpose of 2159 providing educational services to youth in the Department of 2160 Juvenile Justice commitment programs; 2161 (c) Participating in a virtual school, correspondence 2162 school, or distance learning program that receives state funding 2163 pursuant to the student’s participation unless the participation 2164 is limited to no more than two courses per school year; or 2165 (d) Receiving any other educational scholarship pursuant to 2166 this chapter. 2167 (5) TERM OF HOPE SCHOLARSHIP.—For purposes of continuity of 2168 educational choice, a Hope scholarship shall remain in force 2169 until the student returns to public school or graduates from 2170 high school, whichever occurs first. A scholarship student who 2171 enrolls in a public school or public school program is 2172 considered to have returned to a public school for the purpose 2173 of determining the end of the scholarship’s term. 2174 (6) SCHOOL DISTRICT OBLIGATIONS; PARENTAL OPTIONS.— 2175 (a) Upon receipt of a report of an incident, the school 2176 principal, or his or her designee, shall provide a copy of the 2177 report to the parent and investigate the incident to determine 2178 if the incident must be reported as required by s. 1006.09(6). 2179 Within 24 hours after receipt of the report, the principal or 2180 his or her designee shall provide a copy of the report to the 2181 parent of the alleged offender and to the superintendent. Upon 2182 conclusion of the investigation or within 15 days after the 2183 incident was reported, whichever occurs first, the school 2184 district shall notify the parent of the program and offer the 2185 parent an opportunity to enroll his or her student in another 2186 public school that has capacity or to request and receive a 2187 scholarship to attend an eligible private school, subject to 2188 available funding. A parent who chooses to enroll his or her 2189 student in a public school located outside the district in which 2190 the student resides pursuant to s. 1002.31 shall be eligible for 2191 a scholarship to transport the student as provided in paragraph 2192 (11)(b). 2193 (b) For each student participating in the program in an 2194 eligible private school who chooses to participate in the 2195 statewide assessments under s. 1008.22 or the Florida Alternate 2196 Assessment, the school district in which the student resides 2197 must notify the student and his or her parent about the 2198 locations and times to take all statewide assessments. 2199 (7) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—An eligible 2200 private school may be sectarian or nonsectarian and shall: 2201 (a) Comply with all requirements for private schools 2202 participating in state school choice scholarship programs 2203 pursuant to this section and s. 1002.421. 2204 (b)1. Annually administer or make provision for students 2205 participating in the program in grades 3 through 10 to take one 2206 of the nationally norm-referenced tests identified by the 2207 department or the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22. 2208 Students with disabilities for whom standardized testing is not 2209 appropriate are exempt from this requirement. A participating 2210 private school shall report a student’s scores to his or her 2211 parent. 2212 2. Administer the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 2213 1008.22 if a private school chooses to offer the statewide 2214 assessments. A participating private school may choose to offer 2215 and administer the statewide assessments to all students who 2216 attend the private school in grades 3 through 10 and must submit 2217 a request in writing to the department by March 1 of each year 2218 in order to administer the statewide assessments in the 2219 subsequent school year. 2220 2221 If a private school fails to meet the requirements of this 2222 subsection or s. 1002.421, the commissioner may determine that 2223 the private school is ineligible to participate in the program. 2224 (8) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OBLIGATIONS.—The department 2225 shall: 2226 (a) Cross-check the list of participating scholarship 2227 students with the public school enrollment lists to avoid 2228 duplication. 2229 (b) Maintain a list of nationally norm-referenced tests 2230 identified for purposes of satisfying the testing requirement in 2231 paragraph (9)(f). The tests must meet industry standards of 2232 quality in accordance with State Board of Education rule. 2233 (c) Require quarterly reports by an eligible nonprofit 2234 scholarship-funding organization regarding the number of 2235 students participating in the program, the private schools in 2236 which the students are enrolled, and other information deemed 2237 necessary by the department. 2238 (d) Contract with an independent entity to provide an 2239 annual evaluation of the program by: 2240 1. Reviewing the school bullying prevention education 2241 program, climate and code of student conduct of each public 2242 school from which 10 or more students transferred to another 2243 public school or private school using the Hope scholarship to 2244 determine areas in the school or school district procedures 2245 involving reporting, investigating, and communicating a parent’s 2246 and student’s rights that are in need of improvement. At a 2247 minimum, the review must include: 2248 a. An assessment of the investigation time and quality of 2249 the response of the school and the school district. 2250 b. An assessment of the effectiveness of communication 2251 procedures with the students involved in an incident, the 2252 students’ parents, and the school and school district personnel. 2253 c. An analysis of school incident and discipline data. 2254 d. The challenges and obstacles relating to implementing 2255 recommendations from the review. 2256 2. Reviewing the school bullying prevention education 2257 program, climate and code of student conduct of each public 2258 school to which a student transferred if the student was from a 2259 school identified in subparagraph 1. in order to identify best 2260 practices and make recommendations to a public school at which 2261 the incidents occurred. 2262 3. Reviewing the performance of participating students 2263 enrolled in a private school in which at least 51 percent of the 2264 total enrolled students in the prior school year participated in 2265 the program and in which there are at least 10 participating 2266 students who have scores for tests administered. 2267 4. Surveying the parents of participating students to 2268 determine academic, safety, and school climate satisfaction and 2269 to identify any challenges to or obstacles in addressing the 2270 incident or relating to the use of the scholarship. 2271 (9) PARENT AND STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PROGRAM 2272 PARTICIPATION.—A parent who applies for a Hope scholarship is 2273 exercising his or her parental option to place his or her 2274 student in an eligible private school. 2275 (a) The parent must select an eligible private school and 2276 apply for the admission of his or her student. 2277 (b) The parent must inform the student’s school district 2278 when the parent withdraws his or her student to attend an 2279 eligible private school. 2280 (c) Any student participating in the program must remain in 2281 attendance throughout the school year unless excused by the 2282 school for illness or other good cause. 2283 (d) Each parent and each student has an obligation to the 2284 private school to comply with such school’s published policies. 2285 (e) Upon reasonable notice to the department and the school 2286 district, the parent may remove the student from the private 2287 school and place the student in a public school in accordance 2288 with this section. 2289 (f) The parent must ensure that the student participating 2290 in the program takes the norm-referenced assessment offered by 2291 the private school. The parent may also choose to have the 2292 student participate in the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 2293 1008.22. If the parent requests that the student take the 2294 statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22 and the private 2295 school has not chosen to offer and administer the statewide 2296 assessments, the parent is responsible for transporting the 2297 student to the assessment site designated by the school 2298 district. 2299 (g) Upon receipt of a scholarship warrant, the parent to 2300 whom the warrant is made must restrictively endorse the warrant 2301 to the private school for deposit into the account of such 2302 school. If payment is made by funds transfer in accordance with 2303 paragraph (11)(d), the parent must approve each payment before 2304 the scholarship funds may be deposited. The parent may not 2305 designate any entity or individual associated with the 2306 participating private school as the parent’s attorney in fact to 2307 endorse a scholarship warrant or approve a funds transfer. A 2308 parent who fails to comply with this paragraph forfeits the 2309 scholarship. 2310 (10) OBLIGATIONS OF ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT SCHOLARSHIP-FUNDING 2311 ORGANIZATIONS.—An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 2312 organization may establish scholarships for eligible students 2313 by: 2314 (a) Receiving applications and determining student 2315 eligibility in accordance with the requirements of this section. 2316 (b) Notifying parents of their receipt of a scholarship on 2317 a first-come, first-served basis, based upon available funds. 2318 (c) Establishing a date by which the parent of a 2319 participating student must confirm continuing participation in 2320 the program. 2321 (d) Awarding scholarship funds to eligible students, giving 2322 priority to renewing students from the previous year. 2323 (e) Preparing and submitting quarterly reports to the 2324 department pursuant to paragraph (8)(c). In addition, an 2325 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization must submit 2326 in a timely manner any information requested by the department 2327 relating to the program. 2328 (f) Notifying the department of any violation of this 2329 section. 2330 (11) FUNDING AND PAYMENT.— 2331 (a) The maximum amount awarded to a student enrolled in an 2332 eligible private school shall be determined as a percentage of 2333 the unweighted FTE funding amount for that state fiscal year and 2334 thereafter as follows: 2335 1. Eighty-eight percent for a student enrolled in 2336 kindergarten through grade 5. 2337 2. Ninety-two percent for a student enrolled in grade 6 2338 through grade 8. 2339 3. Ninety-six percent for a student enrolled in grade 9 2340 through grade 12. 2341 (b) The maximum amount awarded to a student enrolled in a 2342 public school located outside of the district in which the 2343 student resides shall be $750. 2344 (c) When a student enters the program, the eligible 2345 nonprofit scholarship-funding organization must receive all 2346 documentation required for the student’s participation, 2347 including a copy of the report of the incident received pursuant 2348 to subsection (6) and the private school’s and student’s fee 2349 schedules. The initial payment shall be made after verification 2350 of admission acceptance, and subsequent payments shall be made 2351 upon verification of continued enrollment and attendance at the 2352 private school. 2353 (d) Payment of the scholarship by the eligible nonprofit 2354 scholarship-funding organization may be by individual warrant 2355 made payable to the student’s parent or by funds transfer, 2356 including, but not limited to, debit cards, electronic payment 2357 cards, or any other means of payment that the department deems 2358 to be commercially viable or cost-effective. If payment is made 2359 by warrant, the warrant must be delivered by the eligible 2360 nonprofit scholarship-funding organization to the private school 2361 of the parent’s choice, and the parent shall restrictively 2362 endorse the warrant to the private school. If payments are made 2363 by funds transfer, the parent must approve each payment before 2364 the scholarship funds may be deposited. The parent may not 2365 designate any entity or individual associated with the 2366 participating private school as the parent’s attorney in fact to 2367 endorse a scholarship warrant or approve a funds transfer. 2368 (e) An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization 2369 shall obtain verification from the private school of a student’s 2370 continued attendance at the school for each period covered by a 2371 scholarship payment. 2372 (f) Payment of the scholarship shall be made by the 2373 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization no less 2374 frequently than on a quarterly basis. 2375 (g) An eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization 2376 may use up to 3 percent of eligible contributions received 2377 during the state fiscal year in which such contributions are 2378 collected for administrative expenses if the organization has 2379 operated as an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 2380 organization for at least the preceding 3 fiscal years and did 2381 not have any findings of material weakness or material 2382 noncompliance in its most recent audit under s. 1002.395(6)(m). 2383 Such administrative expenses must be reasonable and necessary 2384 for the organization’s management and distribution of eligible 2385 contributions under this section. Funds authorized under this 2386 paragraph may not be used for lobbying or political activity or 2387 expenses related to lobbying or political activity. Up to one 2388 third of the funds authorized for administrative expenses under 2389 this paragraph may be used for expenses related to the 2390 recruitment of contributions. An eligible nonprofit scholarship 2391 funding organization may not charge an application fee. 2392 (h) Moneys received pursuant to this section do not 2393 constitute taxable income to the qualified student or his or her 2394 parent. 2395 (12) OBLIGATIONS OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL.— 2396 (a) The Auditor General shall conduct an annual operational 2397 audit of accounts and records of each organization that 2398 participates in the program. As part of this audit, the Auditor 2399 General shall verify, at a minimum, the total number of students 2400 served and transmit that information to the department. The 2401 Auditor General shall provide the commissioner with a copy of 2402 each annual operational audit performed pursuant to this 2403 paragraph within 10 days after the audit is finalized. 2404 (b) The Auditor General shall notify the department of any 2405 organization that fails to comply with a request for 2406 information. 2407 (13) SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING TAX CREDITS.— 2408 (a) A tax credit is available under s. 212.1832(1) for use 2409 by a person that makes an eligible contribution. Each eligible 2410 contribution is limited to a single payment of $105 per motor 2411 vehicle purchased at the time of purchase of a motor vehicle or 2412 a single payment of $105 per motor vehicle purchased at the time 2413 of registration of a motor vehicle that was not purchased from a 2414 dealer, except that a contribution may not exceed the state tax 2415 imposed under chapter 212 that would otherwise be collected from 2416 the purchaser by a dealer, designated agent, or private tag 2417 agent. Payments of contributions shall be made to a dealer at 2418 the time of purchase of a motor vehicle or to a designated agent 2419 or private tag agent at the time of registration of a motor 2420 vehicle that was not purchased from a dealer. An eligible 2421 contribution shall be accompanied by a contribution election 2422 form provided by the Department of Revenue. The form shall 2423 include, at a minimum, the following brief description of the 2424 Hope Scholarship Program: “THE HOPE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM PROVIDES 2425 A PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT WHO WAS SUBJECTED TO AN INCIDENT OF 2426 VIOLENCE OR BULLYING AT SCHOOL THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR A 2427 SCHOLARSHIP TO ATTEND AN ELIGIBLE PRIVATE SCHOOL RATHER THAN 2428 REMAIN IN AN UNSAFE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT.” The form shall also 2429 include, at a minimum, a section allowing the consumer to 2430 designate, from all participating scholarship funding 2431 organizations, which organization will receive his or her 2432 donation. For purposes of this subsection, the term “purchase” 2433 does not include the lease or rental of a motor vehicle. 2434 (b) A dealer, designated agent, or private tag agent shall: 2435 1. Provide the purchaser the contribution election form, as 2436 provided by the Department of Revenue, at the time of purchase 2437 of a motor vehicle or at the time of registration of a motor 2438 vehicle that was not purchased from a dealer. 2439 2. Collect eligible contributions. 2440 3. Using a form provided by the Department of Revenue, 2441 which shall include the dealer’s or agent’s federal employer 2442 identification number, remit to an organization no later than 2443 the date the return filed pursuant to s. 212.11 is due the total 2444 amount of contributions made to that organization and collected 2445 during the preceding reporting period. Using the same form, the 2446 dealer or agent shall also report this information to the 2447 Department of Revenue no later than the date the return filed 2448 pursuant to s. 212.11 is due. 2449 4. Report to the Department of Revenue on each return filed 2450 pursuant to s. 212.11 the total amount of credits granted under 2451 s. 212.1832 for the preceding reporting period. 2452 (c) An organization shall report to the Department of 2453 Revenue, on or before the 20th day of each month, the total 2454 amount of contributions received pursuant to paragraph (b) in 2455 the preceding calendar month on a form provided by the 2456 Department of Revenue. Such report shall include: 2457 1. The federal employer identification number of each 2458 designated agent, private tag agent, or dealer who remitted 2459 contributions to the organization during that reporting period. 2460 2. The amount of contributions received from each 2461 designated agent, private tag agent, or dealer during that 2462 reporting period. 2463 (d) A person who, with the intent to unlawfully deprive or 2464 defraud the program of its moneys or the use or benefit thereof, 2465 fails to remit a contribution collected under this section is 2466 guilty of theft, punishable as follows: 2467 1. If the total amount stolen is less than $300, the 2468 offense is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as 2469 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Upon a second conviction, 2470 the offender is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, 2471 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Upon a third 2472 or subsequent conviction, the offender is guilty of a felony of 2473 the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 2474 775.083, or s. 775.084. 2475 2. If the total amount stolen is $300 or more, but less 2476 than $20,000, the offense is a felony of the third degree, 2477 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 2478 3. If the total amount stolen is $20,000 or more, but less 2479 than $100,000, the offense is a felony of the second degree, 2480 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 2481 4. If the total amount stolen is $100,000 or more, the 2482 offense is a felony of the first degree, punishable as provided 2483 in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 2484 (e) A person convicted of an offense under paragraph (d) 2485 shall be ordered by the sentencing judge to make restitution to 2486 the organization in the amount that was stolen from the program. 2487 (f) Upon a finding that a dealer failed to remit a 2488 contribution under subparagraph (b)3. for which the dealer 2489 claimed a credit pursuant to s. 212.1832(2), the Department of 2490 Revenue shall notify the affected organizations of the dealer’s 2491 name, address, federal employer identification number, and 2492 information related to differences between credits taken by the 2493 dealer pursuant to s. 212.1832(2) and amounts remitted to the 2494 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization under 2495 subparagraph (b)3. 2496 (g) Any dealer, designated agent, private tag agent, or 2497 organization that fails to timely submit reports to the 2498 Department of Revenue as required in paragraphs (b) and (c) is 2499 subject to a penalty of $1,000 for every month, or part thereof, 2500 the report is not provided, up to a maximum amount of $10,000. 2501 Such penalty shall be collected by the Department of Revenue and 2502 shall be transferred into the General Revenue Fund. Such penalty 2503 must be settled or compromised if it is determined by the 2504 Department of Revenue that the noncompliance is due to 2505 reasonable cause and not due to willful negligence, willful 2506 neglect, or fraud. 2507 (14) LIABILITY.—The state is not liable for the award of or 2508 any use of awarded funds under this section. 2509 (15) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.—This section does not expand the 2510 regulatory authority of this state, its officers, or any school 2511 district to impose additional regulation on participating 2512 private schools beyond those reasonably necessary to enforce 2513 requirements expressly set forth in this section. 2514 (16) RULES.—The State Board of Education shall adopt rules 2515 to administer this section, except the Department of Revenue 2516 shall adopt rules to administer subsection (13). 2517 Section 19. Section 1002.411, Florida Statutes, is created 2518 to read: 2519 1002.411 Reading scholarship accounts.— 2520 (1) READING SCHOLARSHIP ACCOUNTS.—Reading scholarship 2521 accounts are established to provide educational options for 2522 students. 2523 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—Contingent upon available funds, and on a 2524 first-come, first-served basis, each student in grades 3 through 2525 5 who is enrolled in a Florida public school is eligible for a 2526 reading scholarship account if the student scored below a Level 2527 3 on the grade 3 or grade 4 statewide, standardized English 2528 Language Arts (ELA) assessment in the prior school year. An 2529 eligible student who is classified as an English Language 2530 Learner and is enrolled in a program or receiving services that 2531 are specifically designed to meet the instructional needs of 2532 English Language Learner students shall receive priority. 2533 (3) PARENT AND STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PARTICIPATION.— 2534 (a) For an eligible student to receive a reading 2535 scholarship account, the student’s parent must: 2536 1. Submit an application to an eligible nonprofit 2537 scholarship-funding organization by the deadline established by 2538 such organization; and 2539 2. Submit eligible expenses to the eligible nonprofit 2540 scholarship-funding organization for reimbursement of qualifying 2541 expenditures, which may include: 2542 a. Instructional materials. 2543 b. Curriculum. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the term 2544 “curriculum” means a complete course of study for a particular 2545 content area or grade level, including any required supplemental 2546 materials and associated online instruction. 2547 c. Tuition and fees for part-time tutoring services 2548 provided by a person who holds a valid Florida educator’s 2549 certificate pursuant to s. 1012.56; a person who holds a 2550 baccalaureate or graduate degree in the subject area; a person 2551 who holds an adjunct teaching certificate pursuant to s. 2552 1012.57; or a person who has demonstrated a mastery of subject 2553 area knowledge pursuant to s. 1012.56(5). 2554 d. Fees for summer education programs designed to improve 2555 reading or literacy skills. 2556 e. Fees for after-school education programs designed to 2557 improve reading or literacy skills. 2558 2559 A provider of any services receiving payments pursuant to this 2560 subparagraph may not share any moneys from the reading 2561 scholarship with, or provide a refund or rebate of any moneys 2562 from such scholarship to, the parent or participating student in 2563 any manner. A parent, student, or provider of any services may 2564 not bill an insurance company, Medicaid, or any other agency for 2565 the same services that are paid for using reading scholarship 2566 funds. 2567 (b) The parent is responsible for the payment of all 2568 eligible expenses in excess of the amount in the account in 2569 accordance with the terms agreed to between the parent and any 2570 providers and may not receive any refund or rebate of any 2571 expenditures made in accordance with paragraph (a). 2572 (4) ADMINISTRATION.—An eligible nonprofit scholarship 2573 funding organization participating in the Florida Tax Credit 2574 Scholarship Program established by s. 1002.395 may establish 2575 reading scholarship accounts for eligible students in accordance 2576 with the requirements of eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 2577 organizations under this chapter. 2578 (5) DEPARTMENT OBLIGATIONS.—The department shall have the 2579 same duties imposed by this chapter upon the department 2580 regarding oversight of scholarship programs administered by an 2581 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization. 2582 (6) SCHOOL DISTRICT OBLIGATIONS; PARENTAL OPTIONS.—By 2583 September 30, the school district shall notify the parent of 2584 each student in grades 3 through 5 who scored below a level 3 on 2585 the statewide, standardized ELA assessment in the prior school 2586 year of the process to request and receive a reading 2587 scholarship, subject to available funds. 2588 (7) ACCOUNT FUNDING AND PAYMENT.— 2589 (a) For the 2018-2019 school year, the amount of the 2590 scholarship shall be $500 per eligible student. Thereafter, the 2591 maximum amount granted for an eligible student shall be provided 2592 in the General Appropriations Act. 2593 (b) One hundred percent of the funds appropriated for the 2594 reading scholarship accounts shall be released to the department 2595 at the beginning of the first quarter of each fiscal year. 2596 (c) Upon notification from the eligible nonprofit 2597 scholarship-funding organization that a student has been 2598 determined eligible for a reading scholarship, the department 2599 shall release the student’s scholarship funds to such 2600 organization to be deposited into the student’s account. 2601 (d) Accrued interest in the student’s account is in 2602 addition to, and not part of, the awarded funds. Account funds 2603 include both the awarded funds and accrued interest. 2604 (e) The eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization 2605 may develop a system for payment of scholarship funds by funds 2606 transfer, including, but not limited to, debit cards, electronic 2607 payment cards, or any other means of payment that the department 2608 deems to be commercially viable or cost-effective. A student’s 2609 scholarship award may not be reduced for debit card or 2610 electronic payment fees. Commodities or services related to the 2611 development of such a system shall be procured by competitive 2612 solicitation unless they are purchased from a state term 2613 contract pursuant to s. 287.056. 2614 (f) Payment of the scholarship shall be made by the 2615 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization no less 2616 frequently than on a quarterly basis. 2617 (g) In addition to funds appropriated for scholarships and 2618 subject to a separate, specific legislative appropriation, an 2619 organization may receive an amount equivalent to not more than 3 2620 percent of the amount of each scholarship from state funds for 2621 administrative expenses if the organization has operated as a 2622 nonprofit entity for at least the preceding 3 fiscal years and 2623 did not have any findings of material weakness or material 2624 noncompliance in its most recent audit under s. 1002.395. Such 2625 administrative expenses must be reasonable and necessary for the 2626 organization’s management and distribution of scholarships under 2627 this section. Funds authorized under this paragraph may not be 2628 used for lobbying or political activity or expenses related to 2629 lobbying or political activity. An organization may not charge 2630 an application fee for a scholarship. Administrative expenses 2631 may not be deducted from funds appropriated for scholarships. 2632 (h) Moneys received pursuant to this section do not 2633 constitute taxable income to the qualified student or his or her 2634 parent. 2635 (i) A student’s scholarship account must be closed and any 2636 remaining funds shall revert to the state after: 2637 1. Denial or revocation of scholarship eligibility by the 2638 commissioner for fraud or abuse, including, but not limited to, 2639 the student or student’s parent accepting any payment, refund, 2640 or rebate, in any manner, from a provider of any services 2641 received pursuant to subsection (3); or 2642 2. Three consecutive fiscal years in which an account has 2643 been inactive. 2644 (8) LIABILITY.—No liability shall arise on the part of the 2645 state based on the award or use of a reading scholarship 2646 account. 2647 Section 20. Section 1002.421, Florida Statutes, is amended 2648 to read: 2649 1002.421Accountability of private schools participating in2650 State school choice scholarship program accountability and 2651 oversightprograms.— 2652 (1) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—AFlorida2653 private school participating inthe Florida Tax Credit2654Scholarship Program established pursuant to s. 1002.395 oran 2655 educational scholarship program established pursuant to this 2656 chapter must be a private school as defined in s. 1002.01(2) in 2657 this state, be registered, and be in compliancecomplywith all 2658 requirements of this section in addition to private school 2659 requirements outlined in s. 1002.42, specific requirements 2660 identified within respective scholarship program laws, and other 2661 provisions of Florida law that apply to private schools, and 2662 must:.2663(2)A private school participating in a scholarship program2664must be a Florida private school as defined in s. 1002.01(2),2665must be registered in accordance with s. 1002.42, and must:2666 (a) Comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42 2667 U.S.C. s. 2000d. 2668 (b) Notify the department of its intent to participate in a 2669 scholarship program. 2670 (c) Notify the department of any change in the school’s 2671 name, school director, mailing address, or physical location 2672 within 15 days after the change. 2673 (d) Provide to the department or scholarship-funding 2674 organization all documentation required for a student’s 2675 participation, including the private school’s and student’s 2676 individual fee schedule, andComplete student enrollment and2677attendance verification requirements, including use of an online2678 attendance verification as required by the department or 2679 scholarship-funding organizationform, prior to scholarship 2680 payment. 2681 (e) Annually complete and submit to the department a 2682 notarized scholarship compliance statement certifying that all 2683 school employees and contracted personnel with direct student 2684 contact have undergone background screening pursuant to s. 2685 943.0542 and have met the screening standards as provided in s. 2686 435.04. 2687 (f) Demonstrate fiscal soundness and accountability by: 2688 1. Being in operation for at least 3 school years or 2689 obtaining a surety bond or letter of credit for the amount equal 2690 to the scholarship funds for any quarter and filing the surety 2691 bond or letter of credit with the department. 2692 2. Requiring the parent of each scholarship student to 2693 personally restrictively endorse the scholarship warrant to the 2694 school or to approve a funds transfer before any funds are 2695 deposited for a student. The school may not act as attorney in 2696 fact for the parent of a scholarship student under the authority 2697 of a power of attorney executed by such parent, or under any 2698 other authority, to endorse a scholarship warrant or approve a 2699 funds transferwarrantson behalf of such parent. 2700 (g) Meet applicable state and local health, safety, and 2701 welfare laws, codes, and rules, including: 2702 1. Firesafety. 2703 2. Building safety. 2704 (h) Employ or contract with teachers who hold baccalaureate 2705 or higher degrees, have at least 3 years of teaching experience 2706 in public or private schools, or have special skills, knowledge, 2707 or expertise that qualifies them to provide instruction in 2708 subjects taught. 2709 (i) Maintain a physical location in the state at which each 2710 student has regular and direct contact with teachers. 2711 (j) Publish on the school’s website, or provide in a 2712 written format, information for parents regarding the school, 2713 including, but not limited to, programs, services, and the 2714 qualifications of classroom teachers. 2715 (k) At a minimum, provide the parent of each scholarship 2716 student with a written explanation of the student’s progress on 2717 a quarterly basis. 2718 (l) Cooperate with a student whose parent chooses to 2719 participate in the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22. 2720 (m)(i)Require each employee and contracted personnel with 2721 direct student contact, upon employment or engagement to provide 2722 services, to undergo a state and national background screening, 2723 pursuant to s. 943.0542, by electronically filing with the 2724 Department of Law Enforcement a complete set of fingerprints 2725 taken by an authorized law enforcement agency or an employee of 2726 the private school, a school district, or a private company who 2727 is trained to take fingerprints and deny employment to or 2728 terminate an employee if he or she fails to meet the screening 2729 standards under s. 435.04. Results of the screening shall be 2730 provided to the participating private school. For purposes of 2731 this paragraph: 2732 1. An “employee or contracted personnel with direct student 2733 contact” means any employee or contracted personnel who has 2734 unsupervised access to a scholarship student for whom the 2735 private school is responsible. 2736 2. The costs of fingerprinting and the background check 2737 shall not be borne by the state. 2738 3. Continued employment of an employee or contracted 2739 personnel after notification that he or she has failed the 2740 background screening under this paragraph shall cause a private 2741 school to be ineligible for participation in a scholarship 2742 program. 2743 4. An employee or contracted personnel holding a valid 2744 Florida teaching certificate who has been fingerprinted pursuant 2745 to s. 1012.32 is not required to comply with the provisions of 2746 this paragraph. 2747 5.(3)(a)All fingerprints submitted to the Department of 2748 Law Enforcement as required by this section shall be retained by 2749 the Department of Law Enforcement in a manner provided by rule 2750 and entered in the statewide automated biometric identification 2751 system authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b). Such fingerprints shall 2752 thereafter be available for all purposes and uses authorized for 2753 arrest fingerprints entered in the statewide automated biometric 2754 identification system pursuant to s. 943.051. 2755 6.(b)The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all 2756 arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the 2757 fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric 2758 identification system under subparagraph 5paragraph (a). Any 2759 arrest record that is identified with the retained fingerprints 2760 of a person subject to the background screening under this 2761 section shall be reported to the employing school with which the 2762 person is affiliated. Each private school participating in a 2763 scholarship program is required to participate in this search 2764 process by informing the Department of Law Enforcement of any 2765 change in the employment or contractual status of its personnel 2766 whose fingerprints are retained under subparagraph 5paragraph2767(a). The Department of Law Enforcement shall adopt a rule 2768 setting the amount of the annual fee to be imposed upon each 2769 private school for performing these searches and establishing 2770 the procedures for the retention of private school employee and 2771 contracted personnel fingerprints and the dissemination of 2772 search results. The fee may be borne by the private school or 2773 the person fingerprinted. 2774 7.(c)Employees and contracted personnel whose fingerprints 2775 are not retained by the Department of Law Enforcement under 2776 subparagraphs 5. and 6.paragraphs (a) and (b)are required to 2777 be refingerprinted and must meet state and national background 2778 screening requirements upon reemployment or reengagement to 2779 provide services in order to comply with the requirements of 2780 this section. 2781 8.(d)Every 5 years following employment or engagement to 2782 provide services with a private school, employees or contracted 2783 personnel required to be screened under this section must meet 2784 screening standards under s. 435.04, at which time the private 2785 school shall request the Department of Law Enforcement to 2786 forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 2787 for national processing. If the fingerprints of employees or 2788 contracted personnel are not retained by the Department of Law 2789 Enforcement under subparagraph 5.paragraph (a), employees and 2790 contracted personnel must electronically file a complete set of 2791 fingerprints with the Department of Law Enforcement. Upon 2792 submission of fingerprints for this purpose, the private school 2793 shall request that the Department of Law Enforcement forward the 2794 fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for national 2795 processing, and the fingerprints shall be retained by the 2796 Department of Law Enforcement under subparagraph 5paragraph2797(a). 2798(4)A private school that accepts scholarship students2799under s. 1002.39 or s. 1002.395 must:2800(a)Disqualify instructional personnel and school2801administrators, as defined in s. 1012.01, from employment in any2802position that requires direct contact with students if the2803personnel or administrators are ineligible for such employment2804under s. 1012.315.2805 (n)(b)Adopt policies establishing standards of ethical 2806 conduct for instructional personnel and school administrators. 2807 The policies must require all instructional personnel and school 2808 administrators, as defined in s. 1012.01, to complete training 2809 on the standards; establish the duty of instructional personnel 2810 and school administrators to report, and procedures for 2811 reporting, alleged misconduct by other instructional personnel 2812 and school administrators which affects the health, safety, or 2813 welfare of a student; and include an explanation of the 2814 liability protections provided under ss. 39.203 and 768.095. A 2815 private school, or any of its employees, may not enter into a 2816 confidentiality agreement regarding terminated or dismissed 2817 instructional personnel or school administrators, or personnel 2818 or administrators who resign in lieu of termination, based in 2819 whole or in part on misconduct that affects the health, safety, 2820 or welfare of a student, and may not provide the instructional 2821 personnel or school administrators with employment references or 2822 discuss the personnel’s or administrators’ performance with 2823 prospective employers in another educational setting, without 2824 disclosing the personnel’s or administrators’ misconduct. Any 2825 part of an agreement or contract that has the purpose or effect 2826 of concealing misconduct by instructional personnel or school 2827 administrators which affects the health, safety, or welfare of a 2828 student is void, is contrary to public policy, and may not be 2829 enforced. 2830 (o)(c)Before employing instructional personnel or school 2831 administrators in any position that requires direct contact with 2832 students, conduct employment history checks of each of the 2833 personnel’s or administrators’ previous employers, screen the 2834 personnel or administrators through use of the educator 2835 screening tools described in s. 1001.10(5), and document the 2836 findings. If unable to contact a previous employer, the private 2837 school must document efforts to contact the employer. 2838 (p) Require each owner or operator of the private school, 2839 prior to employment or engagement to provide services, to 2840 undergo level 2 background screening as provided under chapter 2841 435. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “owner or 2842 operator” means an owner, operator, superintendent, or principal 2843 of, or a person with equivalent decisionmaking authority over, a 2844 private school participating in a scholarship program 2845 established pursuant to this chapter. The fingerprints for the 2846 background screening must be electronically submitted to the 2847 Department of Law Enforcement and may be taken by an authorized 2848 law enforcement agency or a private company who is trained to 2849 take fingerprints. However, the complete set of fingerprints of 2850 an owner or operator may not be taken by the owner or operator. 2851 The owner or operator shall provide a copy of the results of the 2852 state and national criminal history check to the Department of 2853 Education. The cost of the background screening may be borne by 2854 the owner or operator. 2855 1. Every 5 years following employment or engagement to 2856 provide services, each owner or operator must meet level 2 2857 screening standards as described in s. 435.04, at which time the 2858 owner or operator shall request the Department of Law 2859 Enforcement to forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of 2860 Investigation for level 2 screening. If the fingerprints of an 2861 owner or operator are not retained by the Department of Law 2862 Enforcement under subparagraph 2., the owner or operator must 2863 electronically file a complete set of fingerprints with the 2864 Department of Law Enforcement. Upon submission of fingerprints 2865 for this purpose, the owner or operator shall request that the 2866 Department of Law Enforcement forward the fingerprints to the 2867 Federal Bureau of Investigation for level 2 screening, and the 2868 fingerprints shall be retained by the Department of Law 2869 Enforcement under subparagraph 2. 2870 2. Fingerprints submitted to the Department of Law 2871 Enforcement as required by this paragraph must be retained by 2872 the Department of Law Enforcement in a manner approved by rule 2873 and entered in the statewide automated biometric identification 2874 system authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b). The fingerprints must 2875 thereafter be available for all purposes and uses authorized for 2876 arrest fingerprints entered in the statewide automated biometric 2877 identification system pursuant to s. 943.051. 2878 3. The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all 2879 arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the 2880 fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric 2881 identification system under subparagraph 2. Any arrest record 2882 that is identified with an owner’s or operator’s fingerprints 2883 must be reported to the owner or operator, who must report to 2884 the Department of Education. Any costs associated with the 2885 search shall be borne by the owner or operator. 2886 4. An owner or operator who fails the level 2 background 2887 screening is not eligible to participate in a scholarship 2888 program under this chapter. 2889 5. In addition to the offenses listed in s. 435.04, a 2890 person required to undergo background screening pursuant to this 2891 part or authorizing statutes may not have an arrest awaiting 2892 final disposition for, must not have been found guilty of, or 2893 entered a plea of nolo contendere to, regardless of 2894 adjudication, and must not have been adjudicated delinquent for, 2895 and the record must not have been sealed or expunged for, any of 2896 the following offenses or any similar offense of another 2897 jurisdiction: 2898 a. Any authorizing statutes, if the offense was a felony. 2899 b. This chapter, if the offense was a felony. 2900 c. Section 409.920, relating to Medicaid provider fraud. 2901 d. Section 409.9201, relating to Medicaid fraud. 2902 e. Section 741.28, relating to domestic violence. 2903 f. Section 817.034, relating to fraudulent acts through 2904 mail, wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or 2905 photooptical systems. 2906 g. Section 817.234, relating to false and fraudulent 2907 insurance claims. 2908 h. Section 817.505, relating to patient brokering. 2909 i. Section 817.568, relating to criminal use of personal 2910 identification information. 2911 j. Section 817.60, relating to obtaining a credit card 2912 through fraudulent means. 2913 k. Section 817.61, relating to fraudulent use of credit 2914 cards, if the offense was a felony. 2915 l. Section 831.01, relating to forgery. 2916 m. Section 831.02, relating to uttering forged instruments. 2917 n. Section 831.07, relating to forging bank bills, checks, 2918 drafts, or promissory notes. 2919 o. Section 831.09, relating to uttering forged bank bills, 2920 checks, drafts, or promissory notes. 2921 p. Section 831.30, relating to fraud in obtaining medicinal 2922 drugs. 2923 q. Section 831.31, relating to the sale, manufacture, 2924 delivery, or possession with the intent to sell, manufacture, or 2925 deliver any counterfeit controlled substance, if the offense was 2926 a felony. 2927 6. At least 30 calendar days before a transfer of ownership 2928 of a private school, the owner or operator shall notify the 2929 parent of each scholarship student. 2930 7. The owner or operator of a private school that has been 2931 deemed ineligible to participate in a scholarship program 2932 pursuant to this chapter may not transfer ownership or 2933 management authority of the school to a relative in order to 2934 participate in a scholarship program as the same school or a new 2935 school. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “relative” 2936 means father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother, 2937 brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, niece, husband, 2938 wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, 2939 brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, 2940 stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, or half 2941 sister. 2942 (q) Provide a report from an independent certified public 2943 accountant who performs the agreed-upon procedures developed 2944 pursuant to s. 1002.395(6)(o) if the private school receives 2945 more than $250,000 in funds from scholarships awarded under this 2946 chapter in a state fiscal year. A private school subject to this 2947 subsection must annually submit the report by September 15 to 2948 the scholarship-funding organization that awarded the majority 2949 of the school’s scholarship funds. However, a school that 2950 receives more than $250,000 in scholarship funds only through 2951 the John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities 2952 Program pursuant to s. 1002.39 must submit the annual report by 2953 September 15 to the department. The agreed-upon procedures must 2954 be conducted in accordance with attestation standards 2955 established by the American Institute of Certified Public 2956 Accountants. 2957 2958 The department shall suspend the payment of fundsunder ss.29591002.39 and 1002.395to a private school that knowingly fails to 2960 comply with this subsection, and shall prohibit the school from 2961 enrolling new scholarship students, for 1 fiscal year and until 2962 the school complies. 2963(5)IfThe inability ofa private school fails to meet the 2964 requirements of this subsection or has consecutive years of 2965 material exceptions listed in the report required under 2966 paragraph (q), the commissioner may determine that the private 2967 school is ineligiblesection shall constitute a basis for the2968ineligibility of the private schoolto participate in a 2969 scholarship programas determined by the department. 2970 (2) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OBLIGATIONS.— 2971 (a) The Department of Education shall: 2972 1. Annually verify the eligibility of private schools that 2973 meet the requirements of this section, specific requirements 2974 identified within respective scholarship program laws, and other 2975 provisions of state law that apply to private schools. 2976 2. Establish a toll-free hotline that provides parents and 2977 private schools with information on participation in the 2978 scholarship programs. 2979 3. Establish a process by which individuals may notify the 2980 department of any violation by a parent, private school, or 2981 school district of state laws relating to program participation. 2982 If the department has reasonable cause to believe that a 2983 violation of this section or any rule adopted by the State Board 2984 of Education has occurred, it shall conduct an inquiry or make a 2985 referral to the appropriate agency for an investigation. A 2986 department inquiry is not subject to the requirements of chapter 2987 120. 2988 4. Require an annual, notarized, sworn compliance statement 2989 from participating private schools certifying compliance with 2990 state laws, and retain such records. 2991 5. Coordinate with the entities conducting the health 2992 inspection for a private school to obtain copies of the 2993 inspection reports. 2994 6. Conduct site visits to private schools entering a 2995 scholarship program for the first time. Beginning with the 2019 2996 2020 school year, a private school is not eligible to receive 2997 scholarship payments until a satisfactory site visit has been 2998 conducted and the school is in compliance with all other 2999 requirements of this section. 3000 7. Coordinate with the State Fire Marshal to obtain access 3001 to fire inspection reports for private schools. The authority 3002 conducting the fire safety inspection shall certify to the State 3003 Fire Marshal that the annual inspection has been completed and 3004 that the school is in full compliance. The certification shall 3005 be made electronically or by such other means as directed by the 3006 State Fire Marshal. 3007 8. Upon the request of a participating private school 3008 authorized to administer statewide assessments, provide at no 3009 cost to the school the statewide assessments administered under 3010 s. 1008.22 and any related materials for administering the 3011 assessments. Students at a private school may be assessed using 3012 the statewide assessments if the addition of those students and 3013 the school does not cause the state to exceed its contractual 3014 caps for the number of students tested and the number of testing 3015 sites. The state shall provide the same materials and support to 3016 a private school that it provides to a public school. A private 3017 school that chooses to administer statewide assessments under s. 3018 1008.22 shall follow the requirements set forth in ss. 1008.22 3019 and 1008.24, rules adopted by the State Board of Education to 3020 implement those sections, and district-level testing policies 3021 established by the district school board. 3022 (b) The department may conduct site visits to any private 3023 school participating in a scholarship program pursuant to this 3024 chapter that has received a complaint about a violation of state 3025 law or state board rule pursuant to subparagraph (a)3. or has 3026 received a notice of noncompliance or a notice of proposed 3027 action within the previous 2 years. 3028 (c) Annually, by December 15, the department shall report 3029 to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of 3030 the House of Representatives its actions in implementing 3031 accountability in the scholarship programs under this section, 3032 any substantiated allegations or violations of law or rule by an 3033 eligible private school under this section, and the corrective 3034 action taken. 3035 (3) COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION AUTHORITY AND OBLIGATIONS. 3036 The Commissioner of Education: 3037 (a) Shall deny, suspend, or revoke a private school’s 3038 participation in a scholarship program if it is determined that 3039 the private school has failed to comply with this section or 3040 exhibits a previous pattern of failure to comply. However, if 3041 the noncompliance is correctable within a reasonable amount of 3042 time, not to exceed 45 days, and if the health, safety, or 3043 welfare of the students is not threatened, the commissioner may 3044 issue a notice of noncompliance which provides the private 3045 school with a timeframe within which to provide evidence of 3046 compliance before taking action to suspend or revoke the private 3047 school’s participation in the scholarship program. 3048 (b) May deny, suspend, or revoke a private school’s 3049 participation in a scholarship program if the commissioner 3050 determines that an owner or operator of the private school is 3051 operating or has operated an educational institution in this 3052 state or in another state or jurisdiction in a manner contrary 3053 to the health, safety, or welfare of the public or if the owner 3054 or operator has exhibited a previous pattern of failure to 3055 comply with this section or specific requirements identified 3056 within respective scholarship program laws. For purposes of this 3057 subsection, the term “owner or operator” has the same meaning as 3058 provided in paragraph (1)(p). 3059 (c)1. In making such a determination, may consider factors 3060 that include, but are not limited to, acts or omissions by an 3061 owner or operator which led to a previous denial, suspension, or 3062 revocation of participation in a state or federal education 3063 scholarship program; an owner’s or operator’s failure to 3064 reimburse the department or scholarship-funding organization for 3065 scholarship funds improperly received or retained by a school; 3066 the imposition of a prior criminal sanction related to an 3067 owner’s or operator’s management or operation of an educational 3068 institution; the imposition of a civil fine or administrative 3069 fine, license revocation or suspension, or program eligibility 3070 suspension, termination, or revocation related to an owner’s or 3071 operator’s management or operation of an educational 3072 institution; or other types of criminal proceedings in which an 3073 owner or operator was found guilty of, regardless of 3074 adjudication, or entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to, 3075 any offense involving fraud, deceit, dishonesty, or moral 3076 turpitude. 3077 2. The commissioner’s determination is subject to the 3078 following: 3079 a. If the commissioner intends to deny, suspend, or revoke 3080 a private school’s participation in the scholarship program, the 3081 department shall notify the private school of such proposed 3082 action in writing by certified mail and regular mail to the 3083 private school’s address of record with the department. The 3084 notification shall include the reasons for the proposed action 3085 and notice of the timelines and procedures set forth in this 3086 paragraph. 3087 b. The private school that is adversely affected by the 3088 proposed action shall have 15 days after receipt of the notice 3089 of proposed action to file with the department’s agency clerk a 3090 request for a proceeding pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 120.57. If 3091 the private school is entitled to a hearing under s. 120.57(1), 3092 the department shall forward the request to the Division of 3093 Administrative Hearings. 3094 c. Upon receipt of a request referred pursuant to this 3095 subparagraph, the director of the Division of Administrative 3096 Hearings shall expedite the hearing and assign an administrative 3097 law judge who shall commence a hearing within 30 days after the 3098 receipt of the formal written request by the division and enter 3099 a recommended order within 30 days after the hearing or within 3100 30 days after receipt of the hearing transcript, whichever is 3101 later. Each party shall be allowed 10 days in which to submit 3102 written exceptions to the recommended order. A final order shall 3103 be entered by the agency within 30 days after the entry of a 3104 recommended order. The provisions of this sub-subparagraph may 3105 be waived upon stipulation by all parties. 3106 (d) May immediately suspend payment of scholarship funds if 3107 it is determined that there is probable cause to believe that 3108 there is: 3109 1. An imminent threat to the health, safety, or welfare of 3110 the students; 3111 2. A previous pattern of failure to comply with this 3112 section; or 3113 3. Fraudulent activity on the part of the private school. 3114 Notwithstanding s. 1002.22, in incidents of alleged fraudulent 3115 activity pursuant to this section, the department’s Office of 3116 Inspector General is authorized to release personally 3117 identifiable records or reports of students to the following 3118 persons or organizations: 3119 a. A court of competent jurisdiction in compliance with an 3120 order of that court or the attorney of record in accordance with 3121 a lawfully issued subpoena, consistent with the Family 3122 Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g. 3123 b. A person or entity authorized by a court of competent 3124 jurisdiction in compliance with an order of that court or the 3125 attorney of record pursuant to a lawfully issued subpoena, 3126 consistent with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 3127 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g. 3128 c. Any person, entity, or authority issuing a subpoena for 3129 law enforcement purposes when the court or other issuing agency 3130 has ordered that the existence or the contents of the subpoena 3131 or the information furnished in response to the subpoena not be 3132 disclosed, consistent with the Family Educational Rights and 3133 Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g, and 34 C.F.R. s. 99.31. 3134 3135 The commissioner’s order suspending payment pursuant to this 3136 paragraph may be appealed pursuant to the same procedures and 3137 timelines as the notice of proposed action set forth in 3138 subparagraph (c)2. 3139 (4)(6)The inclusion of eligible private schools within 3140 options available to Florida public school students does not 3141 expand the regulatory authority of the state, its officers, or 3142 any school district to impose any additional regulation of 3143 private schools beyond those reasonably necessary to enforce 3144 requirements expressly set forth in this section. 3145 (5)(7)The State Board of Education shall adopt rules 3146 pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this 3147 section, including rules to establish a deadline for private 3148 school applications for participation and timelines for the 3149 department to conduct site visits. 3150 Section 21. Subsection (5) of section 1002.55, Florida 3151 Statutes, is amended to read: 3152 1002.55 School-year prekindergarten program delivered by 3153 private prekindergarten providers.— 3154 (5)(a) Notwithstanding paragraph (3)(b), a private 3155 prekindergarten provider may not participate in the Voluntary 3156 Prekindergarten Education Program if the provider has child 3157 disciplinary policies that do not prohibit children from being 3158 subjected to discipline that is severe, humiliating, 3159 frightening, or associated with food, rest, toileting, spanking, 3160 or any other form of physical punishment as provided in s. 3161 402.305(12). 3162 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a 3163 private prekindergarten provider has been cited for a class I 3164 violation, as defined by rule, the coalition may refuse to 3165 contract with the provider. 3166 Section 22. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section 3167 1002.75, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 3168 1002.75 Office of Early Learning; powers and duties.— 3169 (3) The Office of Early Learning shall adopt, in 3170 consultation with and subject to approval by the department, 3171 procedures governing the administration of the Voluntary 3172 Prekindergarten Education Program by the early learning 3173 coalitions and school districts for: 3174 (c) Removing a private prekindergarten provider or public 3175 school from eligibility to deliver the program due to the 3176 provider’s or school’s remaining on probation beyond the time 3177 permitted under s. 1002.67. Notwithstanding any other provision 3178 of law, if a private prekindergarten provider has been cited for 3179 a class I violation, as defined by rule, the coalition may 3180 refuse to contract with the provider or revoke the provider’s 3181 eligibility to deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education 3182 Program. 3183 Section 23. Subsection (2) of section 1002.88, Florida 3184 Statutes, is amended to read: 3185 1002.88 School readiness program provider standards; 3186 eligibility to deliver the school readiness program.— 3187 (2)(a) If a school readiness program provider fails or 3188 refuses to comply with this part or any contractual obligation 3189 of the statewide provider contract under s. 1002.82(2)(m), the 3190 coalition may revoke the provider’s eligibility to deliver the 3191 school readiness program or receive state or federal funds under 3192 this chapter for a period of 5 years. 3193 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a school 3194 readiness program provider has been cited for a class I 3195 violation, as defined by rule, the coalition may refuse to 3196 contract with the provider or revoke the provider’s eligibility 3197 to deliver the school readiness program. 3198 Section 24. Subsection (4) is added to section 1003.44, 3199 Florida Statutes, to read: 3200 1003.44 Patriotic programs; rules.— 3201 (4) Each district school board shall adopt rules to 3202 require, in all of the schools of the district and in each 3203 building used by the district school board, the display of the 3204 state motto, “In God We Trust,” designated under s. 15.0301, in 3205 a conspicuous place. 3206 Section 25. Subsection (3) of section 1003.453, Florida 3207 Statutes, is amended to read: 3208 1003.453 School wellness and physical education policies; 3209 nutrition guidelines.— 3210 (3) School districts are encouraged to provide basic 3211 training in first aid, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 3212 for all students, beginning in grade 6 and every 2 years 3213 thereafter. Instruction in the use of cardiopulmonary 3214 resuscitation must be based on a nationally recognized program 3215 that uses the most current evidence-based emergency 3216 cardiovascular care guidelines. The instruction must allow 3217 students to practice the psychomotor skills associated with 3218 performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use an automated 3219 external defibrillator when a school district has the equipment 3220 necessary to perform the instruction. Private and public 3221 partnerships for providing training or necessary funding are 3222 encouraged. 3223 Section 26. Section 1003.576, Florida Statutes, is amended 3224 to read: 3225 1003.576 Individual education plans for exceptional 3226 students.—The Department of Education must develop and have an 3227 operating electronic IEP system in place forpotentialstatewide 3228 useno later than July 1, 2007. The statewide system shall be 3229 developed collaboratively with school districts and must include 3230 input from school districts currently developing or operating 3231 electronic IEP systems. 3232 Section 27. Section 1006.061, Florida Statutes, is amended 3233 to read: 3234 1006.061 Child abuse, abandonment, and neglect policy.—Each 3235 district school board, charter school, and private school that 3236 accepts scholarship students who participate in a state 3237 scholarship program under chapter 1002under s. 1002.39ors.32381002.395shall: 3239 (1) Post in a prominent place in each school a notice that, 3240 pursuant to chapter 39, all employees and agents of the district 3241 school board, charter school, or private school have an 3242 affirmative duty to report all actual or suspected cases of 3243 child abuse, abandonment, or neglect; have immunity from 3244 liability if they report such cases in good faith; and have a 3245 duty to comply with child protective investigations and all 3246 other provisions of law relating to child abuse, abandonment, 3247 and neglect. The notice shall also include the statewide toll 3248 free telephone number of the central abuse hotline. 3249 (2) Post in a prominent place at each school site and on 3250 each school’s Internet website, if available, the policies and 3251 procedures for reporting alleged misconduct by instructional 3252 personnel or school administrators which affects the health, 3253 safety, or welfare of a student; the contact person to whom the 3254 report is made; and the penalties imposed on instructional 3255 personnel or school administrators who fail to report suspected 3256 or actual child abuse or alleged misconduct by other 3257 instructional personnel or school administrators. 3258 (3) Require the principal of the charter school or private 3259 school, or the district school superintendent, or the 3260 superintendent’s designee, at the request of the Department of 3261 Children and Families, to act as a liaison to the Department of 3262 Children and Families and the child protection team, as defined 3263 in s. 39.01, when in a case of suspected child abuse, 3264 abandonment, or neglect or an unlawful sexual offense involving 3265 a child the case is referred to such a team; except that this 3266 does not relieve or restrict the Department of Children and 3267 Families from discharging its duty and responsibility under the 3268 law to investigate and report every suspected or actual case of 3269 child abuse, abandonment, or neglect or unlawful sexual offense 3270 involving a child. 3271 (4)(a) Post in a prominent place in a clearly visible 3272 location and public area of the school which is readily 3273 accessible to and widely used by students a sign in English and 3274 Spanish that contains: 3275 1. The statewide toll-free telephone number of the central 3276 abuse hotline as provided in chapter 39; 3277 2. Instructions to call 911 for emergencies; and 3278 3. Directions for accessing the Department of Children and 3279 Families Internet website for more information on reporting 3280 abuse, neglect, and exploitation. 3281 (b) The information in paragraph (a) must be put on at 3282 least one poster in each school, on a sheet that measures at 3283 least 11 inches by 17 inches, produced in large print, and 3284 placed at student eye level for easy viewing. 3285 3286 The Department of Education shall develop, and publish on the 3287 department’s Internet website, sample notices suitable for 3288 posting in accordance with subsections (1), (2), and (4). 3289 Section 28. Paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) of subsection (3) 3290 of section 1006.15, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 3291 1006.15 Student standards for participation in 3292 interscholastic and intrascholastic extracurricular student 3293 activities; regulation.— 3294 (3) 3295 (c) An individual home education student is eligible to 3296 participate at the public school to which the student would be 3297 assigned according to district school board attendance area 3298 policies or which the student could choose to attend pursuant to 3299 s. 1002.31, or may develop an agreement to participate at a 3300 private school, in the interscholastic extracurricular 3301 activities of that school, provided the following conditions are 3302 met: 3303 1. The home education student must meet the requirements of 3304 the home education program pursuant to s. 1002.41. 3305 2. During the period of participation at a school, the home 3306 education student must demonstrate educational progress as 3307 required in paragraph (b) in all subjects taken in the home 3308 education program by a method of evaluation agreed upon by the 3309 parent and the school principal which may include: review of the 3310 student’s work by a certified teacher chosen by the parent; 3311 grades earned through correspondence; grades earned in courses 3312 taken at a Florida College System institution, university, or 3313 trade school; standardized test scores above the 35th 3314 percentile; or any other method designated in s. 1002.41. 3315 3. The home education student must meet the same residency 3316 requirements as other students in the school at which he or she 3317 participates. 3318 4. The home education student must meet the same standards 3319 of acceptance, behavior, and performance as required of other 3320 students in extracurricular activities. 3321 5. The student must register with the school his or her 3322 intent to participate in interscholastic extracurricular 3323 activities as a representative of the school before 3324 participationthe beginning date of the season for the activity3325in which he or she wishes to participate. A home education 3326 student must be able to participate in curricular activities if 3327 that is a requirement for an extracurricular activity. 3328 6. A student who transfers from a home education program to 3329 a public school before or during the first grading period of the 3330 school year is academically eligible to participate in 3331 interscholastic extracurricular activities during the first 3332 grading period provided the student has a successful evaluation 3333 from the previous school year, pursuant to subparagraph 2. 3334 7. Any public school or private school student who has been 3335 unable to maintain academic eligibility for participation in 3336 interscholastic extracurricular activities is ineligible to 3337 participate in such activities as a home education student until 3338 the student has successfully completed one grading period in 3339 home education pursuant to subparagraph 2. to become eligible to 3340 participate as a home education student. 3341 (d) An individual charter school student pursuant to s. 3342 1002.33 is eligible to participate at the public school to which 3343 the student would be assigned according to district school board 3344 attendance area policies or which the student could attend in 3345 any interscholastic extracurricular activity of that school, 3346 unless such activity is provided by the student’s charter 3347 school, if the following conditions are met: 3348 1. The charter school student must meet the requirements of 3349 the charter school education program as determined by the 3350 charter school governing board. 3351 2. During the period of participation at a school, the 3352 charter school student must demonstrate educational progress as 3353 required in paragraph (b). 3354 3. The charter school student must meet the same residency 3355 requirements as other students in the school at which he or she 3356 participates. 3357 4. The charter school student must meet the same standards 3358 of acceptance, behavior, and performance that are required of 3359 other students in extracurricular activities. 3360 5. The charter school student must register with the school 3361 his or her intent to participate in interscholastic 3362 extracurricular activities as a representative of the school 3363 before participationthe beginning date of the season for the3364activity in which he or she wishes to participate. A charter 3365 school student must be able to participate in curricular 3366 activities if that is a requirement for an extracurricular 3367 activity. 3368 6. A student who transfers from a charter school program to 3369 a traditional public school before or during the first grading 3370 period of the school year is academically eligible to 3371 participate in interscholastic extracurricular activities during 3372 the first grading period if the student has a successful 3373 evaluation from the previous school year, pursuant to 3374 subparagraph 2. 3375 7. Any public school or private school student who has been 3376 unable to maintain academic eligibility for participation in 3377 interscholastic extracurricular activities is ineligible to 3378 participate in such activities as a charter school student until 3379 the student has successfully completed one grading period in a 3380 charter school pursuant to subparagraph 2. to become eligible to 3381 participate as a charter school student. 3382 (e) A student of the Florida Virtual School full-time 3383 program may participate in any interscholastic extracurricular 3384 activity at the public school to which the student would be 3385 assigned according to district school board attendance area 3386 policies or which the student could choose to attend pursuant to 3387 s. 1002.31 if the student: 3388 1. During the period of participation in the 3389 interscholastic extracurricular activity, meets the requirements 3390 in paragraph (a). 3391 2. Meets any additional requirements as determined by the 3392 board of trustees of the Florida Virtual School. 3393 3. Meets the same residency requirements as other students 3394 in the school at which he or she participates. 3395 4. Meets the same standards of acceptance, behavior, and 3396 performance that are required of other students in 3397 extracurricular activities. 3398 5. Registers his or her intent to participate in 3399 interscholastic extracurricular activities with the school 3400 before participationthe beginning date of the season for the3401activity in which he or she wishes to participate. A Florida 3402 Virtual school student must be able to participate in curricular 3403 activities if that is a requirement for an extracurricular 3404 activity. 3405 Section 29. Subsections (3) and (13) and paragraph (b) of 3406 subsection (24) of section 1007.271, Florida Statutes, are 3407 amended to read: 3408 1007.271 Dual enrollment programs.— 3409 (3) Student eligibility requirements for initial enrollment 3410 in college credit dual enrollment courses must include a 3.0 3411 unweighted high school grade point average and the minimum score 3412 on a common placement test adopted by the State Board of 3413 Education which indicates that the student is ready for college 3414 level coursework. Student eligibility requirements for continued 3415 enrollment in college credit dual enrollment courses must 3416 include the maintenance of a 3.0 unweighted high school grade 3417 point average and the minimum postsecondary grade point average 3418 established by the postsecondary institution. Regardless of 3419 meeting student eligibility requirements for continued 3420 enrollment, a student may lose the opportunity to participate in 3421 a dual enrollment course if the student is disruptive to the 3422 learning process such that the progress of other students or the 3423 efficient administration of the course is hindered. Student 3424 eligibility requirements for initial and continued enrollment in 3425 career certificate dual enrollment courses must include a 2.0 3426 unweighted high school grade point average. Exceptions to the 3427 required grade point averages may be granted on an individual 3428 student basis if the educational entities agree and the terms of 3429 the agreement are contained within the dual enrollment 3430 articulation agreement established pursuant to subsection (21). 3431 Florida College System institution boards of trustees may 3432 establish additional initial student eligibility requirements, 3433 which shall be included in the dual enrollment articulation 3434 agreement, to ensure student readiness for postsecondary 3435 instruction. Additional requirements included in the agreement 3436 may not arbitrarily prohibit students who have demonstrated the 3437 ability to master advanced courses from participating in dual 3438 enrollment courses or limit the number of dual enrollment 3439 courses in which a student may enroll based solely upon 3440 enrollment by the student at an independent postsecondary 3441 institution. 3442 (13)(a) The dual enrollment program for a home education 3443 student, including, but not limited to, students with 3444 disabilities, consists of the enrollment of an eligible home 3445 education secondary student in a postsecondary course creditable 3446 toward an associate degree, a career certificate, or a 3447 baccalaureate degree. To participate in the dual enrollment 3448 program, an eligible home education secondary student must: 3449 1. Provide proof of enrollment in a home education program 3450 pursuant to s. 1002.41. 3451 2. Be responsible for his or her owninstructional3452materials andtransportation unless provided for in the 3453 articulation agreement. 3454 3. Sign a home education articulation agreement pursuant to 3455 paragraph (b). 3456 (b) Each public postsecondary institution eligible to 3457 participate in the dual enrollment program pursuant to s. 3458 1011.62(1)(i) must enter into a home education articulation 3459 agreement with each home education student seeking enrollment in 3460 a dual enrollment course and the student’s parent. By August 1 3461 of each year, the eligible postsecondary institution shall 3462 complete and submit the home education articulation agreement to 3463 the Department of Education. The home education articulation 3464 agreement must include, at a minimum: 3465 1. A delineation of courses and programs available to 3466 dually enrolled home education students. Courses and programs 3467 may be added, revised, or deleted at any time by the 3468 postsecondary institution. Any course or program limitations may 3469 not exceed the limitations for other dually enrolled students. 3470 2. The initial and continued eligibility requirements for 3471 home education student participation, not to exceed those 3472 required of other dually enrolled students. A high school grade 3473 point average may not be required for home education students 3474 who meet the minimum score on a common placement test adopted by 3475 the State Board of Education which indicates that the student is 3476 ready for college-level coursework; however, home education 3477 student eligibility requirements for continued enrollment in 3478 dual enrollment courses must include the maintenance of the 3479 minimum postsecondary grade point average established by the 3480 postsecondary institution. 3481 3. The student’s responsibilities for providing his or her 3482 owninstructional materials andtransportation. 3483 4. A copy of the statement on transfer guarantees developed 3484 by the Department of Education under subsection (15). 3485 (24) 3486 (b) Each public postsecondary institution eligible to 3487 participate in the dual enrollment program pursuant to s. 3488 1011.62(1)(i) must enter into a private school articulation 3489 agreement with each eligible private school in its geographic 3490 service area seeking to offer dual enrollment courses to its 3491 students, including, but not limited to, students with 3492 disabilities. By August 1 of each year, the eligible 3493 postsecondary institution shall complete and submit the private 3494 school articulation agreement to the Department of Education. 3495 The private school articulation agreement must include, at a 3496 minimum: 3497 1. A delineation of courses and programs available to the 3498 private school student. The postsecondary institution may add, 3499 revise, or delete courses and programs at any time. 3500 2. The initial and continued eligibility requirements for 3501 private school student participation, not to exceed those 3502 required of other dual enrollment students. 3503 3. The student’s responsibilities for providing his or her 3504 own instructional materials and transportation. 3505 4. A provision clarifying that the private school will 3506 award appropriate credit toward high school completion for the 3507 postsecondary course under the dual enrollment program. 3508 5. A provision expressing that costs associated with 3509 tuition and fees, including registration, and laboratory fees, 3510 will not be passed along to the student. 35116.A provision stating whether the private school will3512compensate the postsecondary institution for the standard3513tuition rate per credit hour for each dual enrollment course3514taken by its students.3515 Section 30. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) and paragraph 3516 (a) of subsection (8) of section 1008.22, Florida Statutes, are 3517 amended to read: 3518 1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.— 3519 (3) STATEWIDE, STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.—The 3520 Commissioner of Education shall design and implement a 3521 statewide, standardized assessment program aligned to the core 3522 curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine 3523 State Standards. The commissioner also must develop or select 3524 and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be 3525 used in all juvenile justice education programs in the state. 3526 These tools must accurately measure the core curricular content 3527 established in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. 3528 Participation in the assessment program is mandatory for all 3529 school districts and all students attending public schools, 3530 including adult students seeking a standard high school diploma 3531 under s. 1003.4282 and students in Department of Juvenile 3532 Justice education programs, except as otherwise provided by law. 3533 If a student does not participate in the assessment program, the 3534 school district must notify the student’s parent and provide the 3535 parent with information regarding the implications of such 3536 nonparticipation. The statewide, standardized assessment program 3537 shall be designed and implemented as follows: 3538 (a) Statewide, standardized comprehensive assessments.—The 3539 statewide, standardized Reading assessment shall be administered 3540 annually in grades 3 through 10. The statewide, standardized 3541 Writing assessment shall be administered annually at least once 3542 at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. When the 3543 Reading and Writing assessments are replaced by English Language 3544 Arts (ELA) assessments, ELA assessments shall be administered to 3545 students in grades 3 through 10. Retake opportunities for the 3546 grade 10 Reading assessment or, upon implementation, the grade 3547 10 ELA assessment must be provided. Students taking the ELA 3548 assessments shall not take the statewide, standardized 3549 assessments in Reading or Writing. Reading passages and writing 3550 prompts for ELA assessments shall incorporate grade-level core 3551 curricula content from social studiesbe administered online. 3552 The statewide, standardized Mathematics assessments shall be 3553 administered annually in grades 3 through 8. Students taking a 3554 revised Mathematics assessment shall not take the discontinued 3555 assessment. The statewide, standardized Science assessment shall 3556 be administered annually at least once at the elementary and 3557 middle grades levels. In order to earn a standard high school 3558 diploma, a student who has not earned a passing score on the 3559 grade 10 Reading assessment or, upon implementation, the grade 3560 10 ELA assessment must earn a passing score on the assessment 3561 retake or earn a concordant score as authorized under subsection 3562 (9). 3563 (8) PUBLICATION OF ASSESSMENTS.—To promote transparency in 3564 the statewide assessment program, in any procurement for the ELA 3565 assessment in grades 3 through 10 and the mathematics assessment 3566 in grades 3 through 8, the Department of Education shall solicit 3567 cost proposals for publication of the state assessments on its 3568 website in accordance with this subsection. 3569 (a) The department shall publish each assessment 3570 administered under paragraph (3)(a) and subparagraph (3)(b)1., 3571 excluding assessment retakes, at least once on a triennial basis 3572 pursuant to a schedule determined by the Commissioner of 3573 Education. Each assessment, when published, must have been 3574 administered during the most recent school year and be in a 3575 format that facilitates the sharing of assessment items. 3576 Section 31. Paragraphs (f), (o), and (t) of subsection (1), 3577 paragraph (b) of subsection (6), and paragraphs (a), (c), and 3578 (d) of subsection (9) of section 1011.62, Florida Statutes, are 3579 amended to read: 3580 1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual 3581 allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each 3582 district for operation of schools is not determined in the 3583 annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing 3584 the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as 3585 follows: 3586 (1) COMPUTATION OF THE BASIC AMOUNT TO BE INCLUDED FOR 3587 OPERATION.—The following procedure shall be followed in 3588 determining the annual allocation to each district for 3589 operation: 3590 (f) Supplemental academic instruction allocation; 3591categorical fund.— 3592 1. There is created the supplemental academic instruction 3593 allocationa categorical fundto provide supplemental academic 3594 instruction to students in kindergarten through grade 12.This3595paragraph may be cited as the “Supplemental Academic Instruction3596Categorical Fund.”3597 2. The supplemental academic instruction allocation shall 3598 be provided annually in the Florida Education Finance Program as 3599 specified in the General Appropriations Act. These funds are 3600categorical fund isin addition to the funds appropriated on the 3601 basis of FTE student membership in the Florida Education Finance 3602 Program and shall be included in the total potential funds of 3603 each district. Beginning with the 2018-2019 fiscal year,These3604funds shall be used to provide supplemental academic instruction3605to students enrolled in the K-12 program.each school district 3606 that has a school earning a grade of “D” or “F” pursuant to s. 3607 1008.34 must use that school’s portion of the supplemental 3608 academic instruction allocation to implement intervention and 3609 support strategies for school improvement pursuant to s. 1008.33 3610 and for salary incentives pursuant to s. 1012.2315(3) or salary 3611 supplements pursuant to s. 1012.22(1)(c)5.c. that are provided 3612 through a memorandum of understanding between the collective 3613 bargaining agent and the school board that addresses the 3614 selection, placement, and expectations of instructional 3615 personnel and school administrators. For all other schools, the 3616 school district’s use of the supplemental academic instruction 3617 allocationone or more of the 300 lowest-performing elementary3618schools based on the state reading assessment for the prior year3619shall use these funds, together with the funds provided in the3620district’s research-based reading instruction allocation and3621other available funds, to provide an additional hour of3622instruction beyond the normal school day for each day of the3623entire school year for intensive reading instruction for the3624students in each of these schools. This additional hour of3625instruction must be provided by teachers or reading specialists3626who have demonstrated effectiveness in teaching reading or by a3627K-5 mentoring reading program that is supervised by a teacher3628who is effective at teaching reading. Students enrolled in these3629schools who have level 5 assessment scores may participate in3630the additional hour of instruction on an optional basis.3631Exceptional student education centers shall not be included in3632the 300 schools. The designation of the 300 lowest-performing3633elementary schools must be based on the state reading assessment3634for the prior year. After this requirement has been met,3635supplemental instruction strategiesmay include, but isarenot 3636 limited to, the:use of a modified curriculum, reading 3637 instruction, after-school instruction, tutoring, mentoring, a 3638 reduction in class size, extended school year, intensive skills 3639 development in summer school, dropout prevention programs as 3640 defined in ss. 1003.52 and 1003.53(1)(a), (b), and (c), and 3641 other methods of improving student achievement. Each school 3642 district that has one or more of the 300 lowest-performing 3643 elementary schools based on a 3-year average of the state 3644 reading assessment data must use the school’s portion of the 3645 allocation to provide an additional hour per day of intensive 3646 reading for the students in each school. The additional hour may 3647 be provided within the school day. Students enrolled in these 3648 schools who earned a level 4 or level 5 score on the statewide, 3649 standardized English Language Arts assessment for the previous 3650 school year may participate in the extra hour of instruction. 3651 Supplemental academic instruction may be provided to a student 3652 in any manner and at any time during or beyond the regular 180 3653 day term identified by the school as being the most effective 3654 and efficient way to best help that student progress from grade 3655 to grade and to graduate. 3656 3.Categorical funds for supplemental academic instruction3657shall be provided annually in the Florida Education Finance3658Program as specified in the General Appropriations Act. These3659funds shall be provided as a supplement to the funds3660appropriated for the basic funding level and shall be included3661in the total funds of each district.The supplemental academic 3662 instruction allocation shall consist of a base amount that has a 3663 workload adjustment based on changes in unweighted FTE.In3664addition, districts that have elementary schools included in the3665300 lowest-performing schools designation shall be allocated3666additional funds to assist those districts in providing3667intensive reading instruction to students in those schools. The3668amount provided shall be based on each district’s level of per3669student funding in the reading instruction allocation and the3670supplemental academic instruction categorical fund and on the3671total FTE for each of the schools.The supplemental academic 3672 instruction allocationcategorical fundingshall be recalculated 3673 during the fiscal yearfollowing an updated designation of the3674300 lowest-performing elementary schools and shall be based on3675actual student membership from the FTE surveys. Upon 3676 recalculation of funding for the supplemental academic 3677 instruction allocationcategorical fund, if the total allocation 3678 is greater than the amount provided in the General 3679 Appropriations Act, the allocation shall be prorated to the 3680 level provided to support the appropriation, based on each 3681 district’s share of the total. 3682 4.Effective with the 1999-2000 fiscal year,Funding on the 3683 basis of FTE membership beyond the 180-day regular term shall be 3684 provided in the FEFP only for students enrolled in juvenile 3685 justice education programs or in education programs for 3686 juveniles placed in secure facilities or programs under s. 3687 985.19. Funding for instruction beyond the regular 180-day 3688 school year for all other K-12 students shall be provided 3689 through the supplemental academic instruction allocation and 3690 other state, federal, and local fund sources with ample 3691 flexibility for schools to provide supplemental instruction to 3692 assist students in progressing from grade to grade and 3693 graduating. 36945.The Florida State University School, as a lab school, is3695authorized to expend from its FEFP or Lottery Enhancement Trust3696Fund allocation the cost to the student of remediation in3697reading, writing, or mathematics for any graduate who requires3698remediation at a postsecondary educational institution.36996.Beginning in the 1999-2000 school year, dropout3700prevention programs as defined in ss. 1003.52, 1003.53(1)(a),3701(b), and (c), and 1003.54 shall be included in group 1 programs3702under subparagraph (d)3.3703 (o) Calculation of additional full-time equivalent 3704 membership based on successful completion of a career-themed 3705 course pursuant to ss. 1003.491, 1003.492, and 1003.493, or 3706 courses with embedded CAPE industry certifications or CAPE 3707 Digital Tool certificates, and issuance of industry 3708 certification identified on the CAPE Industry Certification 3709 Funding List pursuant to rules adopted by the State Board of 3710 Education or CAPE Digital Tool certificates pursuant to s. 3711 1003.4203.— 3712 1.a. A value of 0.025 full-time equivalent student 3713 membership shall be calculated for CAPE Digital Tool 3714 certificates earned by students in elementary and middle school 3715 grades. 3716 b. A value of 0.1 or 0.2 full-time equivalent student 3717 membership shall be calculated for each student who completes a 3718 course as defined in s. 1003.493(1)(b) or courses with embedded 3719 CAPE industry certifications and who is issued an industry 3720 certification identified annually on the CAPE Industry 3721 Certification Funding List approved under rules adopted by the 3722 State Board of Education. A value of 0.2 full-time equivalent 3723 membership shall be calculated for each student who is issued a 3724 CAPE industry certification that has a statewide articulation 3725 agreement for college credit approved by the State Board of 3726 Education. For CAPE industry certifications that do not 3727 articulate for college credit, the Department of Education shall 3728 assign a full-time equivalent value of 0.1 for each 3729 certification. Middle grades students who earn additional FTE 3730 membership for a CAPE Digital Tool certificate pursuant to sub 3731 subparagraph a. may not use the previously funded examination to 3732 satisfy the requirements for earning an industry certification 3733 under this sub-subparagraph. Additional FTE membership for an 3734 elementary or middle grades student may not exceed 0.1 for 3735 certificates or certifications earned within the same fiscal 3736 year. The State Board of Education shall include the assigned 3737 values on the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List under 3738 rules adopted by the state board. Such value shall be added to 3739 the total full-time equivalent student membership for grades 6 3740 through 12 in the subsequent year. CAPE industry certifications 3741 earned through dual enrollment must be reported and funded 3742 pursuant to s. 1011.80. However, if a student earns a 3743 certification through a dual enrollment course and the 3744 certification is not a fundable certification on the 3745 postsecondary certification funding list, or the dual enrollment 3746 certification is earned as a result of an agreement between a 3747 school district and a nonpublic postsecondary institution, the 3748 bonus value shall be funded in the same manner as other nondual 3749 enrollment course industry certifications. In such cases, the 3750 school district may provide for an agreement between the high 3751 school and the technical center, or the school district and the 3752 postsecondary institution may enter into an agreement for 3753 equitable distribution of the bonus funds. 3754 c. A value of 0.3 full-time equivalent student membership 3755 shall be calculated for student completion of the courses and 3756 the embedded certifications identified on the CAPE Industry 3757 Certification Funding List and approved by the commissioner 3758 pursuant to ss. 1003.4203(5)(a) and 1008.44. 3759 d. A value of 0.5 full-time equivalent student membership 3760 shall be calculated for CAPE Acceleration Industry 3761 Certifications that articulate for 15 to 29 college credit 3762 hours, and 1.0 full-time equivalent student membership shall be 3763 calculated for CAPE Acceleration Industry Certifications that 3764 articulate for 30 or more college credit hours pursuant to CAPE 3765 Acceleration Industry Certifications approved by the 3766 commissioner pursuant to ss. 1003.4203(5)(b) and 1008.44. 3767 2. Each district must allocate at least 80 percent of the 3768 funds provided for CAPE industry certification, in accordance 3769 with this paragraph, to the program that generated the funds. 3770 This allocation may not be used to supplant funds provided for 3771 basic operation of the program. 3772 3. For CAPE industry certifications earned in the 2013-2014 3773 school year and in subsequent years, the school district shall 3774 distribute to each classroom teacher who provided direct 3775 instruction toward the attainment of a CAPE industry 3776 certification that qualified for additional full-time equivalent 3777 membership under subparagraph 1.: 3778 a. A bonus of $25 for each student taught by a teacher who 3779 provided instruction in a course that led to the attainment of a 3780 CAPE industry certification on the CAPE Industry Certification 3781 Funding List with a weight of 0.1. 3782 b. A bonus of $50 for each student taught by a teacher who 3783 provided instruction in a course that led to the attainment of a 3784 CAPE industry certification on the CAPE Industry Certification 3785 Funding List with a weight of 0.2. 3786 c. A bonus of $75 for each student taught by a teacher who 3787 provided instruction in a course that led to the attainment of a 3788 CAPE industry certification on the CAPE Industry Certification 3789 Funding List with a weight of 0.3. 3790 d. A bonus of $100 for each student taught by a teacher who 3791 provided instruction in a course that led to the attainment of a 3792 CAPE industry certification on the CAPE Industry Certification 3793 Funding List with a weight of 0.5 or 1.0. 3794 3795 Bonuses awarded pursuant to this paragraph shall be provided to 3796 teachers who are employed by the district in the year in which 3797 the additional FTE membership calculation is included in the 3798 calculation. Bonuses shall be calculated based upon the 3799 associated weight of a CAPE industry certification on the CAPE 3800 Industry Certification Funding List for the year in which the 3801 certification is earned by the student. Any bonus awarded to a 3802 teacher pursuant tounderthis paragraph is in addition to any 3803 regular wage or other bonus the teacher received or is scheduled 3804 to receive. A bonus may not be awarded to a teacher who fails to 3805 maintain the security of any CAPE industry certification 3806 examination or who otherwise violates the security or 3807 administration protocol of any assessment instrument that may 3808 result in a bonus being awarded to the teacher under this 3809 paragraph. 3810 (t) Computation for funding through the Florida Education 3811 Finance Program.—The State Board of Education may adopt rules 3812 establishing programs, industry certifications, and courses for 3813 which the student may earn credit toward high school graduation 3814 and the criteria under which a student’s industry certification 3815 or grade may be rescinded. 3816 (6) CATEGORICAL FUNDS.— 3817 (b) If a district school board finds and declares in a 3818 resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the school board that 3819 the funds received for any of the following categorical 3820 appropriations are urgently needed to maintain school board 3821 specified academic classroom instruction or improve school 3822 safety, the school board may consider and approve an amendment 3823 to the school district operating budget transferring the 3824 identified amount of the categorical funds to the appropriate 3825 account for expenditure: 3826 1. Funds for student transportation. 38272.Funds for safe schools.38283.Funds for supplemental academic instruction if the3829required additional hour of instruction beyond the normal school3830day for each day of the entire school year has been provided for3831the students in each low-performing elementary school in the3832district pursuant to paragraph (1)(f).3833 2.4.Funds for research-based reading instruction if the 3834 required additional hour of instruction beyond the normal school 3835 day for each day of the entire school year has been provided for 3836 the students in each low-performing elementary school in the 3837 district pursuant to paragraph (9)(a). 3838 3.5.Funds for instructional materials if all instructional 3839 material purchases necessary to provide updated materials that 3840 are aligned with applicable state standards and course 3841 descriptions and that meet statutory requirements of content and 3842 learning have been completed for that fiscal year, but no sooner 3843 than March 1. Funds available after March 1 may be used to 3844 purchase hardware for student instruction. 3845 (9) RESEARCH-BASED READING INSTRUCTION ALLOCATION.— 3846 (a) The research-based reading instruction allocation is 3847 created to provide comprehensive reading instruction to students 3848 in kindergarten through grade 12. Each school district that has 3849 one or more of the 300 lowest-performing elementary schools 3850 based on a 3-year average of the state reading assessment data 3851 must use the school’s portion of the allocation to provideshall3852give priority to providingan additional hour per day of 3853 intensive reading instructionbeyond the normal school day for3854each day of the entire school yearfor the students in each 3855 school. The additional hour may be provided within the school 3856 day.The designation of the 300 lowest-performing elementary3857schools must be based on the state reading assessment for the3858prior year.Students enrolled in these schools who earned ahave3859 level 4 or level 5 score on the statewide, standardized English 3860 Language Arts assessment for the previous school yearscoresmay 3861 participate in the additional hour of instructionon an optional3862basis. Exceptional student education centers may not be included 3863 in the 300 schools. The intensive reading instruction delivered 3864 in this additional hourand for other studentsshall include: 3865 research-based reading instruction that has been proven to 3866 accelerate progress of students exhibiting a reading deficiency; 3867 differentiated instruction based on screening, diagnostic, 3868 progress monitoring, or student assessment data to meet 3869 students’ specific reading needs; explicit and systematic 3870 reading strategies to develop phonemic awareness, phonics, 3871 fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, with more extensive 3872 opportunities for guided practice, error correction, and 3873 feedback; and the integration of social studies, science, and 3874 mathematics-text reading, text discussion, and writing in 3875 response to reading. 3876 (c) Funds allocated under this subsection must be used to 3877 provide a system of comprehensive reading instruction to 3878 students enrolled in the K-12 programs, which may include the 3879 following: 3880 1.The provision ofAn additional hour per day of intensive 3881 reading instruction to students in the 300 lowest-performing 3882 elementary schools by teachers and reading specialists who have 3883 demonstrated effectiveness in teaching reading as required in 3884 paragraph (a). 3885 2. Kindergarten through grade 5 reading intervention 3886 teachers to provide intensive intervention during the school day 3887 and in the required extra hour for students identified as having 3888 a reading deficiency. 3889 3.The provision ofHighly qualified reading coaches to 3890 specifically support teachers in making instructional decisions 3891 based on student data, and improve teacher delivery of effective 3892 reading instruction, intervention, and reading in the content 3893 areas based on student need. 3894 4. Professional development for school district teachers in 3895 scientifically based reading instruction, including strategies 3896 to teach reading in content areas and with an emphasis on 3897 technical and informational text, to help school district 3898 teachers earn a certification or an endorsement in reading. 3899 5.The provision ofSummer reading camps, using only 3900 teachers or other district personnel who are certified or 3901 endorsed in reading consistent with s. 1008.25(7)(b)3., for all 3902 students in kindergarten through grade 2 who demonstrate a 3903 reading deficiency as determined by district and state 3904 assessments, and students in grades 3 through 5 who score at 3905 Level 1 on the statewide, standardizedreading assessment or,3906upon implementation, theEnglish Language Arts assessment. 3907 6.The provision ofSupplemental instructional materials 3908 that are grounded in scientifically based reading research as 3909 identified by the Just Read, Florida! Office pursuant to s. 3910 1001.215(8). 3911 7.The provision ofIntensive interventions for students in 3912 kindergarten through grade 12 who have been identified as having 3913 a reading deficiency or who are reading below grade level as 3914 determined by the statewide, standardized English Language Arts 3915 assessment. 3916 (d)1. Annually, by a date determined by the Department of 3917 Education but before May 1, school districts shall submit a K-12 3918 comprehensive reading plan for the specific use of the research 3919 based reading instruction allocation in the format prescribed by 3920 the department for review and approval by the Just Read, 3921 Florida! Office created pursuant to s. 1001.215. The plan 3922 annually submitted by school districts shall be deemed approved 3923 unless the department rejects the plan on or before June 1. If a 3924 school district and the Just Read, Florida! Office cannot reach 3925 agreement on the contents of the plan, the school district may 3926 appeal to the State Board of Education for resolution. School 3927 districts shall be allowed reasonable flexibility in designing 3928 their plans and shall be encouraged to offer reading 3929 intervention through innovative methods, including career 3930 academies. The plan format shall be developed with input from 3931 school district personnel, including teachers and principals, 3932 and shall provide forallow courses in core, career, and3933alternative programs that deliverintensive reading 3934 interventionsremediationthrough integrated curricula, provided 3935 that, beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, the 3936 interventions are delivered by a teacher who is certified or 3937 endorsed in reading. Such interventions must incorporate 3938 strategies identified by the Just Read, Florida! Office pursuant 3939 to s. 1001.215(8)deemed highly qualified to teach reading or3940working toward that status. No later than July 1 annually, the 3941 department shall release the school district’s allocation of 3942 appropriated funds to those districts having approved plans. A 3943 school district that spends 100 percent of this allocation on 3944 its approved plan shall be deemed to have been in compliance 3945 with the plan. The department may withhold funds upon a 3946 determination that reading instruction allocation funds are not 3947 being used to implement the approved plan. The department shall 3948 monitor and track the implementation of each district plan, 3949 including conducting site visits and collecting specific data on 3950 expenditures and reading improvement results. By February 1 of 3951 each year, the department shall report its findings to the 3952 Legislature. 3953 2. Each school district that has a school designated as one 3954 of the 300 lowest-performing elementary schools as specified in 3955 paragraph (a) shall specifically delineate in the comprehensive 3956 reading plan, or in an addendum to the comprehensive reading 3957 plan, the implementation design and reading intervention 3958 strategies that will be used for the required additional hour of 3959 reading instruction. The term “reading intervention” includes 3960 evidence-based strategies frequently used to remediate reading 3961 deficiencies and also includes individual instruction, tutoring, 3962 mentoring, or the use of technology that targets specific 3963 reading skills and abilities. 3964 Section 32. Section 1011.6202, Florida Statutes, is amended 3965 to read: 3966 1011.6202 Principal AutonomyPilotProgram Initiative.—The 3967 Principal AutonomyPilotProgram Initiative is created within 3968 the Department of Education. The purpose of thepilotprogram is 3969 to provide athehighly effective principal of a participating 3970 school with increased autonomy and authority to operate his or 3971 her school, as well as other schools, in a way that produces 3972 significant improvements in student achievement and school 3973 management while complying with constitutional requirements. The 3974 State Board of Education may, upon approval of a principal 3975 autonomy proposal, enter into a performance contract with theup3976to sevendistrict school boardboardsfor participation in the 3977pilotprogram. 3978 (1) PARTICIPATING SCHOOL DISTRICTS.—Beginning with the 3979 2018-2019 school year, contingent upon available funds, and on a 3980 first-come, first-served basis, aThedistrict school board 3981boards in Broward, Duval, Jefferson, Madison, Palm Beach,3982Pinellas, and Seminole Countiesmay submit, no later than 3983 December 1, to the state board for approval a principal autonomy 3984 proposal that exchanges statutory and rule exemptions for an 3985 agreement to meet performance goals established in the proposal. 3986 If approved by the state board, theeach of theseschool 3987 district isdistrictsshall beeligible to participate in the 3988pilotprogram for 3 years.At the end of the 3 years, the3989performance of all participating schools in the school district3990shall be evaluated.3991 (2) PRINCIPAL AUTONOMY PROPOSAL.— 3992 (a) To participate in thepilotprogram, a school district 3993 must: 3994 1. Identify three schools that received at least two school 3995 grades of “D” or “F” pursuant to s. 1008.34 during the previous 3996 3 school years. 3997 2. Identify three principals who have earned a highly 3998 effective rating on the prior year’s performance evaluation 3999 pursuant to s. 1012.34, one of whom shall be assigned to each of 4000 the participating schools. 4001 3. Describe the current financial and administrative 4002 management of each participating school; identify the areas in 4003 which each school principal will have increased fiscal and 4004 administrative autonomy, including the authority and 4005 responsibilities provided in s. 1012.28(8); and identify the 4006 areas in which each participating school will continue to follow 4007 district school board fiscal and administrative policies. 4008 4. Explain the methods used to identify the educational 4009 strengths and needs of the participating school’s students and 4010 identify how student achievement can be improved. 4011 5. Establish performance goals for student achievement, as 4012 defined in s. 1008.34(1), and explain how the increased autonomy 4013 of principals will help participating schools improve student 4014 achievement and school management. 4015 6. Provide each participating school’s mission and a 4016 description of its student population. 4017 (b) The state board shall establish criteria, which must 4018 include the criteria listed in paragraph (a), for the approval 4019 of a principal autonomy proposal. 4020 (c) A district school board must submit its principal 4021 autonomy proposal to the state board for approval by December 1 4022 in order to begin participation in the subsequent school year. 4023 By February 28 of the school year in which the proposal is 4024 submitted, the state board shall notify the district school 4025 board in writing whether the proposal is approved. 4026 (3) EXEMPTION FROM LAWS.— 4027 (a) With the exception of those laws listed in paragraph 4028 (b), a participating school or a school operated by a principal 4029 pursuant to subsection (5) is exempt from the provisions of 4030 chapters 1000-1013 and rules of the state board that implement 4031 those exempt provisions. 4032 (b) A participating school or a school operated by a 4033 principal pursuant to subsection (5) shall comply with the 4034 provisions of chapters 1000-1013, and rules of the state board 4035 that implement those provisions, pertaining to the following: 4036 1. Those laws relating to the election and compensation of 4037 district school board members, the election or appointment and 4038 compensation of district school superintendents, public meetings 4039 and public records requirements, financial disclosure, and 4040 conflicts of interest. 4041 2. Those laws relating to the student assessment program 4042 and school grading system, including chapter 1008. 4043 3. Those laws relating to the provision of services to 4044 students with disabilities. 4045 4. Those laws relating to civil rights, including s. 4046 1000.05, relating to discrimination. 4047 5. Those laws relating to student health, safety, and 4048 welfare. 4049 6. Section 1001.42(4)(f), relating to the uniform opening 4050 date for public schools. 4051 7. Section 1003.03, governing maximum class size, except 4052 that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s. 1003.03 is 4053 the average at the school level for a participating school. 4054 8. Sections 1012.22(1)(c) and 1012.27(2), relating to 4055 compensation and salary schedules. 4056 9. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions for 4057 annual contracts for instructional personnel. This subparagraph 4058 does not apply to at-will employees. 4059 10. Section 1012.335, relating to annual contracts for 4060 instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011. This 4061 subparagraph does not apply to at-will employees. 4062 11. Section 1012.34, relating to personnel evaluation 4063 procedures and criteria. 4064 12. Those laws pertaining to educational facilities, 4065 including chapter 1013, except that s. 1013.20, relating to 4066 covered walkways for relocatables, and s. 1013.21, relating to 4067 the use of relocatable facilities exceeding 20 years of age, are 4068 eligible for exemption. 4069 13. Those laws pertaining to participating school 4070 districts, including this section and ss. 1011.69(2) and 4071 1012.28(8). 4072 (c) A school shall remain exempt, as provided in this 4073 subsection, beyond the term of the program so long as the school 4074 receives no grade lower than a “B.” 4075 (4) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—Each participating school 4076 district shall require that the principal of each participating 4077 school and a designated leadership team selected by the 4078 principal of the participating school, a three-member leadership4079team from each participating school, and district personnel4080working with each participating schoolcomplete a nationally 4081 recognized school turnaround program which focuses on improving 4082 leadership, instructional infrastructure, talent management, and 4083 differentiated support and accountability. The required 4084 personnel must enroll in the nationally recognized school 4085 turnaround program upon acceptance into thepilotprogram.Each4086participating school district shall receive $100,000 from the4087department for participation in the nationally recognized school4088turnaround program.4089 (5) DISTRICT INNOVATION ACADEMIES AND ZONES.—To encourage 4090 further innovation and expand the reach of highly effective 4091 principals trained pursuant to subsection (4) district school 4092 boards may authorize these principals to manage multiple schools 4093 within a zone. A zone may include the school at which the 4094 principal is assigned, persistently low-performing schools, 4095 feeder pattern schools, or a group of schools identified by the 4096 school district. The principal may allocate resources and 4097 personnel between the schools under his or her administration. 4098 (6)(5)TERM OF PARTICIPATION.—The state board shall 4099 authorize a school district to participate in thepilotprogram 4100 for a period of 3 years commencing with approval of the 4101 principal autonomy proposal.Authorization to participate in the4102pilot program may be renewed upon action of the state board.The 4103 state board may revoke authorization to participate in thepilot4104 program if the school district fails to meet the requirements of 4105 this section during the 3-year period. 4106(6)REPORTING.—Each participating school district shall4107submit an annual report to the state board. The state board4108shall annually report on the implementation of the Principal4109Autonomy Pilot Program Initiative. Upon completion of the pilot4110program’s first 3-year term, the Commissioner of Education shall4111submit to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the4112House of Representatives by December 1 a full evaluation of the4113effectiveness of the pilot program.4114 (7) FUNDING.—Subject to an annual appropriation,The4115Legislature shall provide an appropriation tothe department 4116 shall fundforthe costs of thepilotprogram to include the,4117includingadministrativecostsand enrollment costs for the 4118 nationally recognized school turnaround program required in 4119 subsection (4),and anadditionalamount not to exceedof4120 $10,000 for each participating principal in each participating 4121 district as an annual salary supplement for 3 years, a fund for4122the principal’s school to be used at the principal’s discretion,4123orboth, as determined by the district. To be eligible for a 4124 salary supplement under this subsection, a participating 4125 principal must: 4126 (a) Be rated “highly effective” as determined by the 4127 principal’s performance evaluation under s. 1012.34; 4128 (b) Be transferred to a school that earned a grade of “F” 4129 or twothreeconsecutive grades of “D” pursuant to s. 1008.34, 4130 or manage, pursuant to subsection (5), a persistently low 4131 performing school and provided additional authority and 4132 responsibilities pursuant to s. 1012.28(8); and 4133 (c) Have implemented a turnaround option under s. 1008.33 4134s. 1008.33(4)at a school as the school’s principal. The 4135 turnaround option must have resulted in the school improving by 4136 at least one letter grade while he or she was serving as the 4137 school’s principal. 4138 (8) RULEMAKING.—The State Board of Education shall adopt 4139 rules to administer this section. 4140 Section 33. Subsection (5) of section 1011.69, Florida 4141 Statutes, is amended to read: 4142 1011.69 Equity in School-Level Funding Act.— 4143 (5) After providing Title I, Part A, Basic funds to schools 4144 above the 75 percent poverty threshold, which may include high 4145 schools above the 50 percent threshold as permitted by federal 4146 law, school districts shall provide any remaining Title I, Part 4147 A, Basic funds directly to all eligible schools as provided in 4148 this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, an eligible 4149 school is a school that is eligible to receive Title I funds, 4150 including a charter school. The threshold for identifying 4151 eligible schools may not exceed the threshold established by a 4152 school district for the 2016-2017 school year or the statewide 4153 percentage of economically disadvantaged students, as determined 4154 annually. 4155 (a) Prior to the allocation of Title I funds to eligible 4156 schools, a school district may withhold funds only as follows: 4157 1. One percent for parent involvement, in addition to the 4158 one percent the district must reserve under federal law for 4159 allocations to eligible schools for parent involvement; 4160 2. A necessary and reasonable amount for administration,4161 which includes the district’s indirect cost rate, not to exceed 4162 a total of 108percent;and4163 3. A reasonable and necessary amount to provide: 4164 a. Homeless programs; 4165 b. Delinquent and neglected programs; 4166 c. Prekindergarten programs and activities; 4167 d. Private school equitable services;and4168 e. Transportation for foster care children to their school 4169 of origin or choice programs; and.4170 4. A necessary and reasonable amount, not to exceed 1 4171 percent, for eligible schools to provide educational services in 4172 accordance with the approved Title I plan. 4173 (b) All remaining Title I funds shall be distributed to all 4174 eligible schools in accordance with federal law and regulation. 4175 An eligible school may use funds under this subsection to 4176 participate in discretionary educational services provided by 4177 the school district. Any funds provided by an eligible school to 4178 participate in discretionary educational services provided by 4179 the school district are not subject to the requirements of this 4180 subsection. 4181 (c) Any funds carried forward by the school district are 4182 not subject to the requirements of this subsection. 4183 Section 34. Subsection (2) of section 1011.71, Florida 4184 Statutes, is amended to read: 4185 1011.71 District school tax.— 4186 (2) In addition to the maximum millage levy as provided in 4187 subsection (1), each school board may levy not more than 1.5 4188 mills against the taxable value for school purposes for charter 4189 schools pursuant to s. 1013.62(1) and (3)s. 1013.62(3)and for 4190 district schools to fund: 4191 (a) New construction and remodeling projects, as set forth 4192 in s. 1013.64(6)(b)s. 1013.64(3)(d) and (6)(b)and included in 4193 the district’s educational plant survey pursuant to s. 1013.31, 4194 without regard to prioritization, sites and site improvement or 4195 expansion to new sites, existing sites, auxiliary facilities, 4196 athletic facilities, or ancillary facilities. 4197 (b) Maintenance, renovation, and repair of existing school 4198 plants or of leased facilities to correct deficiencies pursuant 4199 to s. 1013.15(2). 4200 (c) The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of school buses. 4201 (d) The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of new and 4202 replacement equipment; computer and device hardware and 4203 operating system software necessary for gaining access to or 4204 enhancing the use of electronic and digital instructional 4205 content and resources; and enterprise resource software 4206 applications that are classified as capital assets in accordance 4207 with definitions of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, 4208 have a useful life of at least 5 years, and are used to support 4209 districtwide administration or state-mandated reporting 4210 requirements. Enterprise resource software may be acquired by 4211 annual license fees, maintenance fees, or lease agreements. 4212 (e) Payments for educational facilities and sites due under 4213 a lease-purchase agreement entered into by a district school 4214 board pursuant to s. 1003.02(1)(f) or s. 1013.15(2), not 4215 exceeding, in the aggregate, an amount equal to three-fourths of 4216 the proceeds from the millage levied by a district school board 4217 pursuant to this subsection. The three-fourths limit is waived 4218 for lease-purchase agreements entered into before June 30, 2009, 4219 by a district school board pursuant to this paragraph. If 4220 payments under lease-purchase agreements in the aggregate, 4221 including lease-purchase agreements entered into before June 30, 4222 2009, exceed three-fourths of the proceeds from the millage 4223 levied pursuant to this subsection, the district school board 4224 may not withhold the administrative fees authorized by s. 4225 1002.33(20) from any charter school operating in the school 4226 district. 4227 (f) Payment of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and 4228 1011.15. 4229 (g) Payment of costs directly related to complying with 4230 state and federal environmental statutes, rules, and regulations 4231 governing school facilities. 4232 (h) Payment of costs of leasing relocatable educational 4233 facilities, of renting or leasing educational facilities and 4234 sites pursuant to s. 1013.15(2), or of renting or leasing 4235 buildings or space within existing buildings pursuant to s. 4236 1013.15(4). 4237 (i) Payment of the cost of school buses when a school 4238 district contracts with a private entity to provide student 4239 transportation services if the district meets the requirements 4240 of this paragraph. 4241 1. The district’s contract must require that the private 4242 entity purchase, lease-purchase, or lease, and operate and 4243 maintain, one or more school buses of a specific type and size 4244 that meet the requirements of s. 1006.25. 4245 2. Each such school bus must be used for the daily 4246 transportation of public school students in the manner required 4247 by the school district. 4248 3. Annual payment for each such school bus may not exceed 4249 10 percent of the purchase price of the state pool bid. 4250 4. The proposed expenditure of the funds for this purpose 4251 must have been included in the district school board’s notice of 4252 proposed tax for school capital outlay as provided in s. 4253 200.065(10). 4254 (j) Payment of the cost of the opening day collection for 4255 the library media center of a new school. 4256 (k) Payout of sick leave and annual leave accrued as of 4257 June 30, 2017, by individuals who are no longer employed by a 4258 school district that transfers to a charter school operator all 4259 day-to-day classroom instruction responsibility for all full 4260 time equivalent students funded under s. 1011.62. This paragraph 4261 expires July 1, 2018. 4262 Section 35. Subsection (4) of section 1012.2315, Florida 4263 Statutes, is amended to read: 4264 1012.2315 Assignment of teachers.— 4265 (4) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.— 4266 (a) Notwithstanding provisions of chapter 447 relating to 4267 district school board collective bargaining, collective 4268 bargaining provisions may not preclude a school district from 4269 providing incentives to high-quality teachers and assigning such 4270 teachers to low-performing schools. 4271 (b) Before the start of the 2019-2020 school year, each 4272 school district and the certified collective bargaining unit for 4273 instructional personnel shall negotiate a memorandum of 4274 understanding that addresses the selection, placement, and 4275 expectations of instructional personnel and provides school 4276 principals with the autonomy described in s. 1012.28(8). 4277 (c)1. In addition to the provisions under s. 447.305(2), an 4278 employee organization that has been certified as the bargaining 4279 agent for a unit of instructional personnel as defined in s. 4280 1012.01(2) must include for each such certified bargaining unit 4281 the following information in its application for renewal of 4282 registration: 4283 a. The number of employees in the bargaining unit who are 4284 eligible for representation by the employee organization. 4285 b. The number of employees who are represented by the 4286 employee organization, specifying the number of members who pay 4287 dues and the number of members who do not pay dues. 4288 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 447 relating 4289 to collective bargaining, an employee organization whose dues 4290 paying membership is less than 50 percent of the employees 4291 eligible for representation in the unit, as identified in 4292 subparagraph 1., must petition the Public Employees Relations 4293 Commission pursuant to s. 447.307(2) and (3) for recertification 4294 as the exclusive representative of all employees in the unit 4295 within 1 month after the date on which the organization applies 4296 for renewal of registration pursuant to s. 447.305(2). The 4297 certification of an employee organization that does not comply 4298 with this paragraph is revoked. 4299 Section 36. Subsection (8) of section 1012.28, Florida 4300 Statutes, is amended to read: 4301 1012.28 Public school personnel; duties of school 4302 principals.— 4303 (8) The principal of a school participating in the 4304 Principal AutonomyPilotProgram Initiative under s. 1011.6202 4305 has the following additional authority and responsibilities: 4306 (a) In addition to the authority provided in subsection 4307 (6), the authority to select qualified instructional personnel 4308 for placement or to refuse to accept the placement or transfer 4309 of instructional personnel by the district school 4310 superintendent. Placement of instructional personnel at a 4311 participating school in a participating school district does not 4312 affect the employee’s status as a school district employee. 4313 (b) The authority to deploy financial resources to school 4314 programs at the principal’s discretion to help improve student 4315 achievement, as defined in s. 1008.34(1), and meet performance 4316 goals identified in the principal autonomy proposal submitted 4317 pursuant to s. 1011.6202. 4318 (c) To annually provide to the district school 4319 superintendent and the district school board a budget for the 4320 operation of the participating school that identifies how funds 4321 provided pursuant to s. 1011.69(2) are allocated.The school4322district shall include the budget in the annual report provided4323to the State Board of Education pursuant to s. 1011.6202(6).4324 Section 37. Section 1012.315, Florida Statutes, is amended 4325 to read: 4326 1012.315 Disqualification from employment.—A person is 4327 ineligible for educator certification, and instructional 4328 personnel and school administrators, as defined in s. 1012.01, 4329 are ineligible for employment in any position that requires 4330 direct contact with students in a district school system, 4331 charter school, or private school that accepts scholarship 4332 students who participate in a state scholarship program under 4333 chapter 1002under s. 1002.39ors. 1002.395, if the person, 4334 instructional personnel, or school administrator has been 4335 convicted of: 4336 (1) Any felony offense prohibited under any of the 4337 following statutes: 4338 (a) Section 393.135, relating to sexual misconduct with 4339 certain developmentally disabled clients and reporting of such 4340 sexual misconduct. 4341 (b) Section 394.4593, relating to sexual misconduct with 4342 certain mental health patients and reporting of such sexual 4343 misconduct. 4344 (c) Section 415.111, relating to adult abuse, neglect, or 4345 exploitation of aged persons or disabled adults. 4346 (d) Section 782.04, relating to murder. 4347 (e) Section 782.07, relating to manslaughter, aggravated 4348 manslaughter of an elderly person or disabled adult, aggravated 4349 manslaughter of a child, or aggravated manslaughter of an 4350 officer, a firefighter, an emergency medical technician, or a 4351 paramedic. 4352 (f) Section 784.021, relating to aggravated assault. 4353 (g) Section 784.045, relating to aggravated battery. 4354 (h) Section 784.075, relating to battery on a detention or 4355 commitment facility staff member or a juvenile probation 4356 officer. 4357 (i) Section 787.01, relating to kidnapping. 4358 (j) Section 787.02, relating to false imprisonment. 4359 (k) Section 787.025, relating to luring or enticing a 4360 child. 4361 (l) Section 787.04(2), relating to leading, taking, 4362 enticing, or removing a minor beyond the state limits, or 4363 concealing the location of a minor, with criminal intent pending 4364 custody proceedings. 4365 (m) Section 787.04(3), relating to leading, taking, 4366 enticing, or removing a minor beyond the state limits, or 4367 concealing the location of a minor, with criminal intent pending 4368 dependency proceedings or proceedings concerning alleged abuse 4369 or neglect of a minor. 4370 (n) Section 790.115(1), relating to exhibiting firearms or 4371 weapons at a school-sponsored event, on school property, or 4372 within 1,000 feet of a school. 4373 (o) Section 790.115(2)(b), relating to possessing an 4374 electric weapon or device, destructive device, or other weapon 4375 at a school-sponsored event or on school property. 4376 (p) Section 794.011, relating to sexual battery. 4377 (q) Former s. 794.041, relating to sexual activity with or 4378 solicitation of a child by a person in familial or custodial 4379 authority. 4380 (r) Section 794.05, relating to unlawful sexual activity 4381 with certain minors. 4382 (s) Section 794.08, relating to female genital mutilation. 4383 (t) Chapter 796, relating to prostitution. 4384 (u) Chapter 800, relating to lewdness and indecent 4385 exposure. 4386 (v) Section 806.01, relating to arson. 4387 (w) Section 810.14, relating to voyeurism. 4388 (x) Section 810.145, relating to video voyeurism. 4389 (y) Section 812.014(6), relating to coordinating the 4390 commission of theft in excess of $3,000. 4391 (z) Section 812.0145, relating to theft from persons 65 4392 years of age or older. 4393 (aa) Section 812.019, relating to dealing in stolen 4394 property. 4395 (bb) Section 812.13, relating to robbery. 4396 (cc) Section 812.131, relating to robbery by sudden 4397 snatching. 4398 (dd) Section 812.133, relating to carjacking. 4399 (ee) Section 812.135, relating to home-invasion robbery. 4400 (ff) Section 817.563, relating to fraudulent sale of 4401 controlled substances. 4402 (gg) Section 825.102, relating to abuse, aggravated abuse, 4403 or neglect of an elderly person or disabled adult. 4404 (hh) Section 825.103, relating to exploitation of an 4405 elderly person or disabled adult. 4406 (ii) Section 825.1025, relating to lewd or lascivious 4407 offenses committed upon or in the presence of an elderly person 4408 or disabled person. 4409 (jj) Section 826.04, relating to incest. 4410 (kk) Section 827.03, relating to child abuse, aggravated 4411 child abuse, or neglect of a child. 4412 (ll) Section 827.04, relating to contributing to the 4413 delinquency or dependency of a child. 4414 (mm) Section 827.071, relating to sexual performance by a 4415 child. 4416 (nn) Section 843.01, relating to resisting arrest with 4417 violence. 4418 (oo) Chapter 847, relating to obscenity. 4419 (pp) Section 874.05, relating to causing, encouraging, 4420 soliciting, or recruiting another to join a criminal street 4421 gang. 4422 (qq) Chapter 893, relating to drug abuse prevention and 4423 control, if the offense was a felony of the second degree or 4424 greater severity. 4425 (rr) Section 916.1075, relating to sexual misconduct with 4426 certain forensic clients and reporting of such sexual 4427 misconduct. 4428 (ss) Section 944.47, relating to introduction, removal, or 4429 possession of contraband at a correctional facility. 4430 (tt) Section 985.701, relating to sexual misconduct in 4431 juvenile justice programs. 4432 (uu) Section 985.711, relating to introduction, removal, or 4433 possession of contraband at a juvenile detention facility or 4434 commitment program. 4435 (2) Any misdemeanor offense prohibited under any of the 4436 following statutes: 4437 (a) Section 784.03, relating to battery, if the victim of 4438 the offense was a minor. 4439 (b) Section 787.025, relating to luring or enticing a 4440 child. 4441 (3) Any criminal act committed in another state or under 4442 federal law which, if committed in this state, constitutes an 4443 offense prohibited under any statute listed in subsection (1) or 4444 subsection (2). 4445 (4) Any delinquent act committed in this state or any 4446 delinquent or criminal act committed in another state or under 4447 federal law which, if committed in this state, qualifies an 4448 individual for inclusion on the Registered Juvenile Sex Offender 4449 List under s. 943.0435(1)(h)1.d. 4450 Section 38. Subsection (2) of section 1012.32, Florida 4451 Statutes, is amended to read: 4452 1012.32 Qualifications of personnel.— 4453 (2)(a) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 4454 hired or contracted to fill positions that require direct 4455 contact with students in any district school system or 4456 university lab school must, upon employment or engagement to 4457 provide services, undergo background screening as required under 4458 s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicable. 4459 (b) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 4460 hired or contracted to fill positions in any charter school and 4461 members of the governing board of any charter school, in 4462 compliance with s. 1002.33(12)(g), must, upon employment, 4463 engagement of services, or appointment, undergo background 4464 screening as required under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever 4465 is applicable, by filing with the district school board for the 4466 school district in which the charter school is located a 4467 complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law 4468 enforcement agency or an employee of the school or school 4469 district who is trained to take fingerprints. 4470 (c) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 4471 hired or contracted to fill positions that require direct 4472 contact with students in an alternative school that operates 4473 under contract with a district school system must, upon 4474 employment or engagement to provide services, undergo background 4475 screening as required under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever 4476 is applicable, by filing with the district school board for the 4477 school district to which the alternative school is under 4478 contract a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized 4479 law enforcement agency or an employee of the school or school 4480 district who is trained to take fingerprints. 4481 (d) Student teachers and persons participating in a field 4482 experience pursuant to s. 1004.04(5) or s. 1004.85 in any 4483 district school system, lab school, or charter school must, upon 4484 engagement to provide services, undergo background screening as 4485 required under s. 1012.56. 4486 4487 Fingerprints shall be submitted to the Department of Law 4488 Enforcement for statewide criminal and juvenile records checks 4489 and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal criminal 4490 records checks. A person subject to this subsection who is found 4491 ineligible for employment under s. 1012.315, or otherwise found 4492 through background screening to have been convicted of any crime 4493 involving moral turpitude as defined by rule of the State Board 4494 of Education, shall not be employed, engaged to provide 4495 services, or serve in any position that requires direct contact 4496 with students. Probationary persons subject to this subsection 4497 terminated because of their criminal record have the right to 4498 appeal such decisions. The cost of the background screening may 4499 be borne by the district school board, the charter school, the 4500 employee, the contractor, or a person subject to this 4501 subsection. A district school board shall reimburse a charter 4502 school the cost of background screening if it does not notify 4503 the charter school of the eligibility of a governing board 4504 members or instructional or noninstructional personnel within 4505 the earlier of 14 days after receipt of the background screening 4506 results from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement or 30 4507 days of submission of fingerprints by the governing board member 4508 or instructional or noninstructional personnel. 4509 Section 39. Section 1012.562, Florida Statutes, is amended 4510 to read: 4511 1012.562 Public accountability and state approval of school 4512 leader preparation programs.—The Department of Education shall 4513 establish a process for the approval of Level I and Level II 4514 school leader preparation programs that will enable aspiring 4515 school leaders to obtain their certificate in educational 4516 leadership under s. 1012.56. School leader preparation programs 4517 must be competency-based, aligned to the principal leadership 4518 standards adopted by the state board, and open to individuals 4519 employed by public schools, including charter schools and 4520 virtual schools. Level I programsmay be offered by school4521districts or postsecondary institutions andlead to initial 4522 certification in educational leadership for the purpose of 4523 preparing individuals to serve as school administrators. Level 4524 II programsmay be offered by school districts,build upon Level 4525 I training,and lead to renewal certification as a school 4526 principal. 4527 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of school leader preparation 4528 programs are to: 4529 (a) Increase the supply of effective school leaders in the 4530 public schools of this state. 4531 (b) Produce school leaders who are prepared to lead the 4532 state’s diverse student population in meeting high standards for 4533 academic achievement. 4534 (c) Enable school leaders to facilitate the development and 4535 retention of effective and highly effective classroom teachers. 4536 (d) Produce leaders with the competencies and skills 4537 necessary to achieve the state’s education goals. 4538 (e) Sustain the state system of school improvement and 4539 education accountability. 4540 (2) LEVEL I PROGRAMS.— 4541 (a) Initial approval of a Level I program shall be for a 4542 period of 5 years. A postsecondary institution,orschool 4543 district, charter school, or charter management organization may 4544 submit to the department in a format prescribed by the 4545 department an application to establish a Level I school leader 4546 preparation program. To be approved, a Level I program must: 4547 1. Provide competency-based training aligned to the 4548 principal leadership standards adopted by the State Board of 4549 Education. 4550 2. If the program is provided by a postsecondary 4551 institution, partner with at least one school district. 4552 3. Describe the qualifications that will be used to 4553 determine program admission standards, including a candidate’s 4554 instructional expertise and leadership potential. 4555 4. Describe how the training provided through the program 4556 will be aligned to the personnel evaluation criteria under s. 4557 1012.34. 4558 (b) Renewal of a Level I program’s approval shall be for a 4559 period of 5 years and shall be based upon evidence of the 4560 program’s continued ability to meet the requirements of 4561 paragraph (a). A postsecondary institution or school district 4562 must submit an institutional program evaluation plan in a format 4563 prescribed by the department for a Level I program to be 4564 considered for renewal. The plan must include: 4565 1. The percentage of personnel who complete the program and 4566 are placed in school leadership positions in public schools 4567 within the state. 4568 2. Results from the personnel evaluations required under s. 4569 1012.34 for personnel who complete the program. 4570 3. The passage rate of personnel who complete the program 4571 on the Florida Education Leadership Examination. 4572 4. The impact personnel who complete the program have on 4573 student learning as measured by the formulas developed by the 4574 commissioner pursuant to s. 1012.34(7). 4575 5. Strategies for continuous improvement of the program. 4576 6. Strategies for involving personnel who complete the 4577 program, other school personnel, community agencies, business 4578 representatives, and other stakeholders in the program 4579 evaluation process. 4580 7. Additional data included at the discretion of the 4581 postsecondary institution or school district. 4582 (c) A Level I program must guarantee the high quality of 4583 personnel who complete the program for the first 2 years after 4584 program completion or the person’s initial certification as a 4585 school leader, whichever occurs first. If a person who completed 4586 the program is evaluated at less than highly effective or 4587 effective under s. 1012.34 and the person’s employer requests 4588 additional training, the Level I program must provide additional 4589 training at no cost to the person or his or her employer. The 4590 training must include the creation of an individualized plan 4591 agreed to by the employer that includes specific learning 4592 outcomes. The Level I program is not responsible for the 4593 person’s employment contract with his or her employer. 4594 (3) LEVEL II PROGRAMS.—Initial approval and subsequent 4595 renewal of a Level II program shall be for a period of 5 years. 4596 A school district, charter school, or charter management 4597 organization may submit to the department in a format prescribed 4598 by the department an application to establish a Level II school 4599 leader preparation program or for program renewal. To be 4600 approved or renewed, a Level II program must: 4601 (a) Demonstrate that personnel accepted into the Level II 4602 program have: 4603 1. Obtained their certificate in educational leadership 4604 under s. 1012.56. 4605 2. Earned a highly effective or effective designation under 4606 s. 1012.34. 4607 3. Satisfactorily performed instructional leadership 4608 responsibilities as measured by the evaluation system in s. 4609 1012.34. 4610 (b) Demonstrate that the Level II program: 4611 1. Provides competency-based training aligned to the 4612 principal leadership standards adopted by the State Board of 4613 Education. 4614 2. Provides training aligned to the personnel evaluation 4615 criteria under s. 1012.34 and professional development program 4616 in s. 1012.986. 4617 3. Provides individualized instruction using a customized 4618 learning plan for each person enrolled in the program that is 4619 based on data from self-assessment, selection, and appraisal 4620 instruments. 4621 4. Conducts program evaluations and implements program 4622 improvements using input from personnel who completed the 4623 program and employers and data gathered pursuant to paragraph 4624 (2)(b). 4625 (c) Gather and monitor the data specified in paragraph 4626 (2)(b). 4627 (4) RULES.—The State Board of Education shall adopt rules 4628 to administer this section. 4629 Section 40. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 4630 1012.586, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 4631 1012.586 Additions or changes to certificates; duplicate 4632 certificates.—A school district may process via a Department of 4633 Education website certificates for the following applications of 4634 public school employees: 4635 (1) Addition of a subject coverage or endorsement to a 4636 valid Florida certificate on the basis of the completion of the 4637 appropriate subject area testing requirements of s. 4638 1012.56(5)(a) or the completion of the requirements of an 4639 approved school district program or the inservice components for 4640 an endorsement. 4641 (b) By July 1, 2018, and at least once every 5 years 4642 thereafter, the department shall conduct a review of existing 4643 subject coverage or endorsement requirements in the elementary, 4644 reading, and exceptional student educational areas. The review 4645 must include reciprocity requirements for out-of-state 4646 certificates and requirements for demonstrating competency in 4647 the reading instruction professional development topics listed 4648 in s. 1012.98(4)(b)11. The review must also consider the award 4649 of an endorsement to an individual who holds a certificate 4650 issued by an internationally recognized organization that 4651 establishes standards for providing evidence-based interventions 4652 to struggling readers or who completes a postsecondary program 4653 that is accredited by such organization. Any such certificate or 4654 program must require an individual who completes the certificate 4655 or program to demonstrate competence in reading intervention 4656 strategies through clinical experience. At the conclusion of 4657 each review, the department shall recommend to the state board 4658 changes to the subject coverage or endorsement requirements 4659 based upon any identified instruction or intervention strategies 4660 proven to improve student reading performance. This paragraph 4661 does not authorize the state board to establish any new 4662 certification subject coverage. 4663 4664 The employing school district shall charge the employee a fee 4665 not to exceed the amount charged by the Department of Education 4666 for such services. Each district school board shall retain a 4667 portion of the fee as defined in the rules of the State Board of 4668 Education. The portion sent to the department shall be used for 4669 maintenance of the technology system, the web application, and 4670 posting and mailing of the certificate. 4671 Section 41. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 4672 1012.731, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 4673 1012.731 The Florida Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarship 4674 Program.— 4675 (3) 4676 (b)1. In order to demonstrate eligibility for an award, an 4677 eligible classroom teacher must submit to the school district, 4678 no later than November 1, an official record of his or her 4679 qualifying assessment score and, beginning with the 2020-2021 4680 school year, an official transcript demonstrating that he or she 4681 graduated cum laude or higher with a baccalaureate degree, if 4682 applicable. Once a classroom teacher is deemed eligible by the 4683 school district, the teacher shall remain eligible as long as he 4684 or she remains employed by the school district as a classroom 4685 teacher at the time of the award and receives an annual 4686 performance evaluation rating of highly effective pursuant to s. 4687 1012.34 or is evaluated as highly effective based on a 4688 commissioner-approved student learning growth formula pursuant 4689 to s. 1012.34(8) for the 2019-2020 school year or thereafter. 4690 2. A school district employee who is no longer a classroom 4691 teacher may receive an award if the employee was a classroom 4692 teacher in the prior school year, was rated highly effective, 4693 and met the requirements of this section as a classroom teacher. 4694 Section 42. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section 4695 1012.796, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 4696 1012.796 Complaints against teachers and administrators; 4697 procedure; penalties.— 4698 (1) 4699 (e) If allegations arise against an employee who is 4700 certified under s. 1012.56 and employed in an educator 4701 certificated position in any public school, charter school or 4702 governing board thereof, or private school that accepts 4703 scholarship students who participate in a state scholarship 4704 program under chapter 1002under s. 1002.39ors. 1002.395, the 4705 school shall file in writing with the department a legally 4706 sufficient complaint within 30 days after the date on which the 4707 subject matter of the complaint came to the attention of the 4708 school. A complaint is legally sufficient if it contains 4709 ultimate facts that show a violation has occurred as provided in 4710 s. 1012.795 and defined by rule of the State Board of Education. 4711 The school shall include all known information relating to the 4712 complaint with the filing of the complaint. This paragraph does 4713 not limit or restrict the power and duty of the department to 4714 investigate complaints, regardless of the school’s untimely 4715 filing, or failure to file, complaints and followup reports. 4716 Section 43. Subsection (11) of section 1012.98, Florida 4717 Statutes, is amended to read: 4718 1012.98 School Community Professional Development Act.— 4719 (11) The department shall disseminate to the school 4720 community proven model professional development programs that 4721 have demonstrated success in increasing rigorous and relevant 4722 content, increasing student achievement and engagement, meeting 4723 identified student needs, and providing effective mentorship 4724 activities to new teachers and training to teacher mentors. The 4725 methods of dissemination must include a web-based statewide 4726 performance-support system including a database of exemplary 4727 professional development activities, a listing of available 4728 professional development resources, training programs, and 4729 available technical assistance. Professional development 4730 resources must include sample course-at-a-glance and unit 4731 overview templates that school districts may use when developing 4732 curriculum. The templates must provide an organized structure 4733 for addressing the Florida Standards, grade-level expectations, 4734 evidence outcomes, and 21st century skills that build to 4735 students’ mastery of the standards at each grade level. Each 4736 template must support teaching to greater intellectual depth and 4737 emphasize transfer and application of concepts, content, and 4738 skills. At a minimum, each template must: 4739 (a) Provide course or year-long sequencing of concept-based 4740 unit overviews based on the Florida Standards. 4741 (b) Describe the knowledge and vocabulary necessary for 4742 comprehension. 4743 (c) Promote the instructional shifts required within the 4744 Florida Standards. 4745 (d) Illustrate the interdependence of grade level 4746 expectations within and across content areas within a grade. 4747 Section 44. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 4748 1013.28, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 4749 1013.28 Disposal of property.— 4750 (2) TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY.— 4751 (a) Tangible personal property that has been properly 4752 classified as surplus by a district school board or Florida 4753 College System institution board of trustees shall be disposed 4754 of in accordance with the procedure established by chapter 274. 4755 However, the provisions of chapter 274 shall not be applicable 4756 to a motor vehicle used in driver education to which title is 4757 obtained for a token amount from an automobile dealer or 4758 manufacturer. In such cases, the disposal of the vehicle shall 4759 be as prescribed in the contractual agreement between the 4760 automotive agency or manufacturer and the board. Tangible 4761 personal property that has been properly classified as surplus, 4762 marked for disposal, or otherwise unused by a district school 4763 board shall be provided for a charter school’s use on the same 4764 basis as it is made available to other public schools in the 4765 district. A charter school receiving property from the school 4766 district may not sell or dispose of such property without the 4767 written permission of the school district. 4768 Section 45. Present paragraphs (a) through (d) of 4769 subsection (1) of section 1013.31, Florida Statutes, are 4770 redesignated as paragraphs (b) through (e), respectively, and a 4771 new paragraph (a) is added to that subsection, to read: 4772 1013.31 Educational plant survey; localized need 4773 assessment; PECO project funding.— 4774 (1) At least every 5 years, each board shall arrange for an 4775 educational plant survey, to aid in formulating plans for 4776 housing the educational program and student population, faculty, 4777 administrators, staff, and auxiliary and ancillary services of 4778 the district or campus, including consideration of the local 4779 comprehensive plan. The Department of Education shall document 4780 the need for additional career and adult education programs and 4781 the continuation of existing programs before facility 4782 construction or renovation related to career or adult education 4783 may be included in the educational plant survey of a school 4784 district or Florida College System institution that delivers 4785 career or adult education programs. Information used by the 4786 Department of Education to establish facility needs must 4787 include, but need not be limited to, labor market data, needs 4788 analysis, and information submitted by the school district or 4789 Florida College System institution. 4790 (a) Educational plant survey and localized need assessment 4791 for capital outlay purposes.—A district may only use funds from 4792 the following sources for educational, auxiliary, and ancillary 4793 plant capital outlay purposes without needing a survey 4794 recommendation: 4795 1. The local capital outlay improvement fund, consisting of 4796 funds that come from and are a part of the district’s basic 4797 operating budget; 4798 2. If a board decides to build an educational, auxiliary, 4799 or ancillary facility without a survey recommendation and the 4800 taxpayers approve a bond referendum, the voted bond referendum; 4801 3. One-half cent sales surtax revenue; 4802 4. One cent local governmental surtax revenue; 4803 5. Impact fees; and 4804 6. Private gifts or donations. 4805 Section 46. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (2) of 4806 section 1013.385, Florida Statutes, to read: 4807 1013.385 School district construction flexibility.— 4808 (2) A resolution adopted under this section may propose 4809 implementation of exceptions to requirements of the uniform 4810 statewide building code for the planning and construction of 4811 public educational and ancillary plants adopted pursuant to ss. 4812 553.73 and 1013.37 relating to: 4813 (e) Any other provisions that limit the ability of a school 4814 to operate in a facility on the same basis as a charter school 4815 pursuant to s. 1002.33(18) so long as the regional planning 4816 council determines that there is sufficient shelter capacity 4817 within the school district as documented in the Statewide 4818 Emergency Shelter Plan. 4819 Section 47. Subsections (1), (3), and (5) of section 4820 1013.62, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 4821 1013.62 Charter schools capital outlay funding.— 4822 (1) For the 2018-2019 fiscal year, charter school capital 4823 outlay funding shall consist ofrevenue resulting from the4824discretionary millage authorized in s. 1011.71(2) andstate 4825 fundswhen such funds areappropriated in the 2018-2019 General 4826 Appropriations Act. Beginning in fiscal year 2019-2020, charter 4827 school capital outlay funding shall consist of state funds when 4828 such funds are appropriated in the General Appropriations Act 4829 and revenue resulting from the discretionary millage authorized 4830 in s. 1011.71(2) if the amount of state funds appropriated for 4831 charter school capital outlay in any fiscal year is less than 4832 the average charter school capital outlay funds per unweighted 4833 full-time equivalent student for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, 4834 multiplied by the estimated number of charter school students 4835 for the applicable fiscal year, and adjusted by changes in the 4836 Consumer Price Index issued by the United States Department of 4837 Labor from the previous fiscal year. Nothing is this subsection 4838 prohibits a school district from distributing to charter schools 4839 funds resulting from the discretionary millage authorized in s. 4840 1011.71(2). 4841 (a) To be eligible to receive capital outlay funds, a 4842 charter school must: 4843 1.a. Have been in operation for 2 or more years; 4844 b. Be governed by a governing board established in the 4845 state for 2 or more years which operates both charter schools 4846 and conversion charter schools within the state; 4847 c. Be an expanded feeder chain of a charter school within 4848 the same school district that is currently receiving charter 4849 school capital outlay funds; 4850 d. Have been accredited by a regional accrediting 4851 association as defined by State Board of Education rule; or 4852 e. Serve students in facilities that are provided by a 4853 business partner for a charter school-in-the-workplace pursuant 4854 to s. 1002.33(15)(b). 4855 2. Have an annual audit that does not reveal any of the 4856 financial emergency conditions provided in s. 218.503(1) for the 4857 most recent fiscal year for which such audit results are 4858 available. 4859 3. Have satisfactory student achievement based on state 4860 accountability standards applicable to the charter school. 4861 4. Have received final approval from its sponsor pursuant 4862 to s. 1002.33 for operation during that fiscal year. 4863 5. Serve students in facilities that are not provided by 4864 the charter school’s sponsor. 4865 (b) A charter school is not eligible to receive capital 4866 outlay funds if it was created by the conversion of a public 4867 school and operates in facilities provided by the charter 4868 school’s sponsor for a nominal fee, or at no charge, or if it is 4869 directly or indirectly operated by the school district. 4870 (3) If the school board levies the discretionary millage 4871 authorized in s. 1011.71(2), and the state funds appropriated 4872 for charter school capital outlay in any fiscal year are less 4873 than the average charter school capital outlay funds per 4874 unweighted full-time equivalent student for the 2018-2019 fiscal 4875 year, multiplied by the estimated number of charter school 4876 students for the applicable fiscal year, and adjusted by changes 4877 in the Consumer Price Index issued by the United States 4878 Department of Labor from the previous fiscal year, the 4879 department shall use the following calculation methodology to 4880 determine the amount of revenue that a school district must 4881 distribute to each eligible charter school: 4882 (a) Reduce the total discretionary millage revenue by the 4883 school district’s annual debt service obligation incurred as of 4884 March 1, 2017, which has not been subsequently retired, and any 4885 amount of participation requirement pursuant to s. 4886 1013.64(2)(a)8. that is being satisfied by revenues raised by 4887 the discretionary millage. 4888 (b) Divide the school district’s adjusted discretionary 4889 millage revenue by the district’s total capital outlay full-time 4890 equivalent membership and the total number of unweighted full 4891 time equivalent students of each eligible charter school to 4892 determine a capital outlay allocation per full-time equivalent 4893 student. 4894 (c) Multiply the capital outlay allocation per full-time 4895 equivalent student by the total number of full-time equivalent 4896 students of each eligible charter school to determine the 4897 capital outlay allocation for each charter school. 4898 (d) If applicable, reduce the capital outlay allocation 4899 identified in paragraph (c) by the total amount of state funds 4900 allocated to each eligible charter school in subsection (2) to 4901 determine the maximum calculated capital outlay allocation. 4902 (e) School districts shall distribute capital outlay funds 4903 to charter schools no later than February 1 of each year, as 4904 required by this subsection, based on the amount of funds 4905 received by the district school board, beginning on February 1,49062018, for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. School districts shall 4907 distribute any remaining capital outlay funds, as required by 4908 this subsection, upon the receipt of such funds until the total 4909 amount calculated pursuant to this subsection is distributed. 4910 4911 By October 1 of each year, each school district shall certify to 4912 the department the amount of debt service and participation 4913 requirement that complies with the requirement of paragraph (a) 4914 and can be reduced from the total discretionary millage revenue. 4915 The Auditor General shall verify compliance with the 4916 requirements of paragraph (a) and s. 1011.71(2)(e) during 4917 scheduled operational audits of school districts. 4918 (5) If a charter school is nonrenewed or terminated, any 4919 unencumbered funds and all equipment and property purchased with 4920 district public funds shall revert to the ownership of the 4921 district school board, as provided for in s. 1002.33(8)(d) and 4922 (e)s. 1002.33(8)(e) and (f). In the case of a charter lab 4923 school, any unencumbered funds and all equipment and property 4924 purchased with university public funds shall revert to the 4925 ownership of the state university that issued the charter. The 4926 reversion of such equipment, property, and furnishings shall 4927 focus on recoverable assets, but not on intangible or 4928 irrecoverable costs such as rental or leasing fees, normal 4929 maintenance, and limited renovations. The reversion of all 4930 property secured with public funds is subject to the complete 4931 satisfaction of all lawful liens or encumbrances. If there are 4932 additional local issues such as the shared use of facilities or 4933 partial ownership of facilities or property, these issues shall 4934 be agreed to in the charter contract prior to the expenditure of 4935 funds. 4936 Section 48. For the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the sum of 4937 $13,750,000 in recurring funds from the General Revenue Fund and 4938 the sum of $850,000 in nonrecurring funds from the General 4939 Revenue Fund are appropriated to the Department of Education to 4940 implement this act, except as provided in this section. Of the 4941 recurring funds, $9,700,000 shall be used to fund reading 4942 scholarship accounts pursuant to s. 1002.411, Florida Statutes, 4943 $300,000 shall be provided as an administrative fee pursuant to 4944 s. 1002.411(7)(g), Florida Statutes, $2,000,000 shall be used to 4945 implement the provisions of s. 1002.40(8), Florida Statutes, 4946 $950,000 shall be used to implement the additional oversight 4947 requirements pursuant to s. 1002.421, Florida Statutes, $250,000 4948 shall be used to issue a competitive grant award pursuant to s. 4949 1002.395(9), Florida Statutes, and $550,000 shall be used for 4950 instructional materials pursuant to s. 1007.271(13), Florida 4951 Statutes. Of the nonrecurring funds, and contingent upon HB 1279 4952 or similar legislation in the 2018 regular session or an 4953 extension thereof becoming law,, $750,000 shall be used to fund 4954 the web-based fiscal transparency tool required pursuant to s. 4955 1010.20(2)(c), Florida Statutes, and $100,000 shall be used to 4956 implement the provisions of s. 1011.051(2)(b), Florida Statutes, 4957 as provided in HB 1279. 4958 Section 49. For the 2017-2018 fiscal year, the sum of 4959 $150,000 in nonrecurring funds from the General Revenue Fund are 4960 appropriated to the Department of Revenue to implement the 4961 creation of s. 212.099, Florida Statutes, by this act. 4962 Section 50. The amendments made by this act to ss. 220.13, 4963 220.1875, and 1002.395, Florida Statutes, apply to taxable years 4964 beginning on or after January 1, 2018. 4965 Section 51. (1) The Department of Revenue is authorized, 4966 and all conditions are deemed to be met, to adopt emergency 4967 rules pursuant to s. 120.54(4), Florida Statutes, for the 4968 purpose of administering the provisions of this act. 4969 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, emergency 4970 rules adopted pursuant to subsection (1) are effective for 6 4971 months after adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of 4972 procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of 4973 the emergency rules. 4974 (3) This section shall take effect upon this act becoming a 4975 law and shall expire January 1, 2022. 4976 Section 52. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 4977 act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon 4978 this act becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1, 4979 2018. 4980 4981 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 4982 And the title is amended as follows: 4983 Delete everything before the enacting clause 4984 and insert: 4985 A bill to be entitled 4986 An act relating to education; amending s. 121.091, 4987 F.S.; revising limitations on the maximum length of 4988 participation in the Deferred Retirement Option 4989 Program for certain instructional personnel and 4990 administrative personnel; requiring an employer to 4991 notify the Division of Retirement of the Department of 4992 Management Services regarding any change in 4993 termination date and program participation for each 4994 affected member; providing a statement of important 4995 state interest; creating s. 212.099, F.S.; defining 4996 terms; authorizing eligible businesses to receive a 4997 tax credit against specified taxes; requiring eligible 4998 businesses to apply to the Department of Revenue for 4999 an allocation; specifying uses for eligible 5000 contributions; requiring the department to adopt 5001 rules; amending s. 212.1831, F.S.; modifying the 5002 calculation of the dealer’s collection allowance under 5003 s. 212.12 to include certain contributions to eligible 5004 nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations; creating 5005 s. 212.1832, F.S.; authorizing certain persons to 5006 receive a tax credit for certain contributions to 5007 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations 5008 for the Hope Scholarship Program; providing 5009 requirements for motor vehicle dealers; requiring the 5010 Department of Revenue to disregard certain tax credits 5011 for specified purposes; providing that specified 5012 provisions apply to certain provisions; amending s. 5013 213.053, F.S.; providing definitions; authorizing the 5014 Department of Revenue to provide a list of certain 5015 taxpayers to certain nonprofit scholarship-funding 5016 organizations; amending s. 220.13, F.S.; providing an 5017 exception to the additions to the calculation of 5018 adjusted taxable income for corporate income tax 5019 purposes; amending s. 220.1875, F.S.; providing a 5020 deadline for an eligible contribution to be made to an 5021 eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization; 5022 determining compliance with the requirement to pay 5023 tentative taxes under ss. 220.222 and 220.32 for tax 5024 credits under s. 1002.395; amending s. 1001.10, F.S.; 5025 revising the private schools to which the Department 5026 of Education is required to provide technical 5027 assistance and authorized staff; amending s. 1002.33, 5028 F.S.; revising the charter school application and 5029 review process relating to the opening of a school; 5030 revising the criteria for denying high-performing 5031 charter school system applications; revising the 5032 requirements for the term of a charter; revising 5033 provisions for the modification of and the nonrenewal 5034 or termination of a charter; revising the process for 5035 resolving contractual disputes; requiring a sponsor to 5036 provide specified information to the department 5037 annually; requiring the department to include the 5038 information in a specified report; amending s. 5039 1002.331, F.S.; revising the criteria for designation 5040 as a high-performing charter school; revising the 5041 calculation used to determine facility capacity for 5042 such charter schools; revising the number of schools 5043 that can be established by a high-performing charter 5044 school; amending s. 1002.333, F.S.; providing for 5045 certain funds for the Schools of Hope Program to be 5046 carried forward for a specified number of years; 5047 amending s. 1002.37, F.S.; providing that certain 5048 students shall be given priority; requiring school 5049 districts to provide Florida Virtual School students 5050 access to certain examinations and assessments and 5051 certain information; amending s. 1002.385, F.S.; 5052 revising eligible expenditures for the Gardiner 5053 Scholarship Program; conforming provisions to changes 5054 made by the act; amending s. 1002.39, F.S.; conforming 5055 provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 5056 1002.395, F.S.; revising the requirements for an 5057 annual report of certain student data for the Florida 5058 Tax Credit Scholarship Program; providing an 5059 application deadline for certain tax credits related 5060 to nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations; 5061 extending the carry forward period for unused tax 5062 credits from 5 years to 10 years; providing 5063 applicability of the carried forward tax credit for 5064 purposes of certain taxes; removing the requirement 5065 for a taxpayer to apply to the department for approval 5066 of a carry forward tax credit; conforming provisions 5067 to changes made by the act; creating s. 1002.40, F.S.; 5068 establishing the Hope Scholarship Program; providing 5069 the purpose of the program; providing definitions; 5070 providing eligibility requirements; prohibiting the 5071 payment of a scholarship under certain circumstances; 5072 requiring a school principal to investigate a report 5073 of physical violence or emotional abuse; requiring a 5074 school district to notify an eligible student’s parent 5075 of the program; requiring a school district to provide 5076 certain information relating to the statewide 5077 assessment program; providing requirements and 5078 obligations for eligible private schools; providing 5079 department obligations relating to participating 5080 students and private schools and program requirements; 5081 providing parent and student responsibilities for 5082 initial and continued participation in the program; 5083 providing eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 5084 organization obligations; providing for the 5085 calculation of the scholarship amount; providing the 5086 scholarship amount for students transferred to certain 5087 public schools; requiring verification of specified 5088 information before a scholarship may be disbursed; 5089 providing requirements for the scholarship payments; 5090 providing funds for administrative expenses for 5091 certain nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations; 5092 providing requirements for administrative expenses; 5093 prohibiting an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding 5094 organization from charging an application fee; 5095 providing Auditor General obligations; providing 5096 requirements for taxpayer elections to contribute to 5097 the program; requiring the Department of Revenue to 5098 adopt forms to administer the program; providing 5099 reporting requirements for eligible nonprofit 5100 scholarship-funding organizations relating to taxpayer 5101 contributions; providing requirements for certain 5102 agents of the Department of Revenue and motor vehicle 5103 dealers; providing penalties; providing for the 5104 restitution of specified funds under certain 5105 circumstances; providing that the state is not liable 5106 for the award or use of program funds; prohibiting 5107 additional regulations for private schools 5108 participating in the program beyond those necessary to 5109 enforce program requirements; requiring the State 5110 Board of Education and the Department of Revenue to 5111 adopt rules to administer the program; creating s. 5112 1002.411, F.S.; establishing reading scholarship 5113 accounts for specified purposes; providing for 5114 eligibility for scholarships; providing for 5115 administration; providing duties of the Department of 5116 Education; providing school district obligations; 5117 specifying options for parents; providing that maximum 5118 funding shall be specified in the General 5119 Appropriations Act; providing for payment of funds; 5120 specifying that no state liability arises from the 5121 award or use of such an account; amending s. 1002.421, 5122 F.S.; providing private school requirements for 5123 participation in educational scholarship programs; 5124 providing background screening requirements and 5125 procedures for owners of private schools; providing 5126 that a private school is ineligible to participate in 5127 an educational scholarship program under certain 5128 circumstances; providing department obligations 5129 relating to educational scholarship programs; 5130 providing commissioner authority and responsibilities 5131 for educational scholarship programs; authorizing the 5132 commissioner to deny, suspend, or revoke a private 5133 school’s participation in an educational scholarship 5134 program; amending s. 1002.55, F.S.; authorizing an 5135 early learning coalition to refuse to contract with 5136 certain private prekindergarten providers; amending s. 5137 1002.75, F.S.; authorizing an early learning coalition 5138 to refuse to contract with or revoke the eligibility 5139 of certain Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program 5140 providers; amending s. 1002.88, F.S.; authorizing an 5141 early learning coalition to refuse to contract with or 5142 revoke the eligibility of certain school readiness 5143 program providers; amending s. 1003.44, F.S.; 5144 requiring each district school board to adopt rules 5145 for the display of the official state motto in 5146 specified places; amending s. 1003.453, F.S.; revising 5147 school wellness policies; providing requirements for 5148 instruction in the use of cardiopulmonary 5149 resuscitation; amending s. 1003.576, F.S.; requiring a 5150 specified IEP system to be used statewide; deleting an 5151 obsolete date; amending s. 1006.061, F.S.; revising 5152 the applicability of certain child abuse, abandonment, 5153 and neglect provisions; amending s. 1006.15, F.S.; 5154 revising requirements for participation in 5155 extracurricular student activities for certain 5156 students; amending s. 1007.271, F.S.; deleting a 5157 requirement for a home education student to provide 5158 his or her own instructional materials; revising the 5159 requirements for home education and private school 5160 articulation agreements; amending s. 1008.22, F.S.; 5161 requiring certain portions of the English Language 5162 Arts assessments to include social studies content; 5163 revising the format requirements for certain statewide 5164 assessments; requiring published assessment items to 5165 be in a format that meets certain criteria; amending 5166 s. 1011.62, F.S.; renaming the “supplemental academic 5167 instruction categorical fund” as the “supplemental 5168 academic instruction allocation”; requiring certain 5169 school districts to use the allocation for specified 5170 purposes; deleting an obsolete date; deleting a 5171 provision authorizing the Florida State University 5172 School to expend specified funds for certain purposes; 5173 prohibiting the award of certain bonuses to teachers 5174 who fail to maintain the security of certain 5175 examinations or violate certain protocols; authorizing 5176 the state board to adopt rules for specified purposes; 5177 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 5178 revising the research-based reading instruction 5179 allocation; revising the criteria for establishing the 5180 300 lowest-performing elementary schools; providing 5181 requirements for staffing summer reading camps funded 5182 through the allocation; requiring school districts 5183 that meet specified criteria, rather than all school 5184 districts, to submit a comprehensive reading plan for 5185 specified purposes; deleting provisions for the 5186 release or withholding of funds based on a school 5187 district’s comprehensive reading plan; revising a 5188 definition; requiring K-12 comprehensive reading plans 5189 to provide for intensive reading interventions that 5190 are delivered by teachers who meet certain criteria 5191 beginning with a specified school year; providing 5192 requirements for such interventions; amending s. 5193 1011.6202, F.S.; renaming the “Principal Autonomy 5194 Pilot Program” as the “Principal Autonomy Program”; 5195 providing that any school district may apply to 5196 participate in the program; providing that a school 5197 shall retain its exemption from specified laws under 5198 specified circumstances; requiring a designated 5199 leadership team at a participating school to complete 5200 a certain turnaround program; deleting a provision 5201 providing a specified amount of funds to a 5202 participating school district that completes the 5203 turnaround program; providing requirements for such 5204 schools; providing for such schools to participate in 5205 the program; providing requirements for such 5206 participation; specifying that no school district 5207 liability arises from the management of such schools; 5208 deleting a school’s authority to renew participation 5209 in the program; deleting reporting requirements; 5210 providing for funding; revising the principal 5211 eligibility criteria for a salary supplement through 5212 the program; amending s. 1011.69, F.S.; authorizing 5213 certain high schools to receive Title I funds; 5214 providing that a school district may withhold Title I 5215 funds for specified purposes; authorizing certain 5216 schools to use Title I funds for specified purposes; 5217 providing an exception for specified funds; amending 5218 s. 1011.71, F.S.; prohibiting a school district from 5219 withholding charter school administrative fees under 5220 certain circumstances; amending s. 1012.2315, F.S.; 5221 requiring certain employee organizations to include 5222 specified information in a specified application and 5223 to petition for recertification for specified 5224 purposes; amending s. 1012.28, F.S.; conforming 5225 provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 5226 1012.315, F.S.; revising the applicability of certain 5227 provisions related to disqualification from employment 5228 for the conviction of specified offenses; amending s. 5229 1012.32, F.S.; requiring a district school board to 5230 reimburse certain costs if it fails to notify a 5231 charter school of the eligibility status of certain 5232 persons; amending s. 1012.562, F.S.; authorizing 5233 charter schools and charter management organizations 5234 to offer school leader preparation programs; amending 5235 s. 1012.586, F.S.; requiring the Department of 5236 Education to consider the award of endorsements for a 5237 teaching certificate to individuals who hold specified 5238 certifications or who complete specified programs that 5239 meet certain criteria in a specified review; amending 5240 s. 1012.731, F.S.; extending eligibility for the 5241 Florida Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarship Program 5242 to school district employees who, in the prior school 5243 year, were classroom teachers and met certain 5244 eligibility requirements; amending s. 1012.796, F.S.; 5245 revising the applicability of a requirement that 5246 certain private schools file specified reports with 5247 the department for certain allegations against its 5248 employees; amending s. 1012.98, F.S.; requiring 5249 professional development resources to include sample 5250 course-at-a-glance and unit overview templates; 5251 providing requirements for such templates; amending s. 5252 1013.28, F.S.; requiring school districts to provide 5253 charter schools access to certain property on the same 5254 basis as public schools; prohibiting certain actions 5255 by a charter school without the written permission of 5256 the school district; amending s. 1013.31, F.S.; 5257 authorizing a district to use certain sources of funds 5258 for educational, auxiliary, and ancillary plant 5259 capital outlay purposes without needing a survey 5260 recommendation; amending s. 1013.385, F.S.; providing 5261 additional exceptions to certain building code 5262 regulations for school districts; amending s. 1013.62, 5263 F.S.; revising requirements for charter school capital 5264 outlay funding; requiring each district to certify 5265 certain information to the department by October 1 5266 each year; conforming provisions to changes made by 5267 the act; providing appropriations; providing 5268 retroactive applicability; authorizing the Department 5269 of Revenue to adopt emergency rules for specified 5270 purposes; providing an effective date.