Bill Text: FL S1100 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Education Fiscal Accountability

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2014-05-02 - Died in Education [S1100 Detail]

Download: Florida-2014-S1100-Introduced.html
       Florida Senate - 2014                                    SB 1100
       
       
        
       By Senator Flores
       
       
       
       
       
       37-00848A-14                                          20141100__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to education fiscal accountability;
    3         amending s. 1008.02, F.S.; defining the terms “core
    4         operating expenditure,” “fiscal peers,” and “return
    5         on-investment rating”; amending s. 1008.34, F.S.;
    6         requiring school report cards to include school and
    7         school district return-on-investment ratings;
    8         requiring the Commissioner of Education to establish a
    9         statewide education return-on-investment rating to
   10         evaluate the extent to which schools and school
   11         districts are using financial resources to improve
   12         student achievement; requiring the commissioner to
   13         assign and publish return-on-investment ratings;
   14         requiring each public school to provide a link to the
   15         department’s posting of the return-on-investment
   16         ratings on the school’s website and to post a copy of
   17         its most recent return-on-investment rating; requiring
   18         the commissioner to provide the ordinal return-on
   19         investment rating of the school and the school
   20         district in each school report card; requiring the
   21         commissioner to make every attempt to use aggregate
   22         student data that is already collected; amending s.
   23         1011.69, F.S.; creating the Schoolhouse Funding Pilot
   24         Program within the Department of Education; defining
   25         terms; providing a procedure for a public school to
   26         participate in the pilot program; requiring the
   27         principal of each pilot school to participate in a
   28         professional development program; providing training
   29         requirements for the program; requiring pilot schools
   30         to participate in the student assessment program;
   31         requiring the Department of Education to conduct a
   32         return on investment measurement on each pilot school;
   33         providing funding for students enrolled in pilot
   34         schools; requiring a school district to provide
   35         certain specified administrative and educational
   36         services to pilot schools; requiring a school district
   37         to provide student performance data to a pilot school
   38         in the same manner as it provides that data to other
   39         public schools; providing for the total administrative
   40         fee for the specified services; providing for employee
   41         selection, collective bargaining, and leave;
   42         authorizing teachers of a pilot school to be part of a
   43         specified professional group; requiring a teacher at a
   44         pilot school to be certified; authorizing a pilot
   45         school to employ or contract with certain personnel to
   46         provide instructional services; prohibiting a pilot
   47         school from employing certain individuals; requiring a
   48         pilot school to employ or contract with employees who
   49         have undergone background screening; requiring a pilot
   50         school to disqualify instructional personnel and
   51         school administrators from employment under certain
   52         circumstances; requiring a pilot school to adopt
   53         policies that establish standards of ethical conduct
   54         for instructional personnel and school administrators;
   55         prohibiting a pilot school, or any of its employees,
   56         from entering into a confidentiality agreement
   57         regarding employees who resigned or who were
   58         terminated or dismissed; requiring a pilot school to
   59         conduct employment history checks, screen certain
   60         employees, and document findings under certain
   61         circumstances; amending ss. 1003.621 and 1011.64,
   62         F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; providing an
   63         effective date.
   64          
   65  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   66  
   67         Section 1. Section 1008.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   68  read:
   69         1008.02 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
   70         (1)“Core operating expenditure” means the expenditure of
   71  general and special revenue funds, in accordance with the
   72  uniform chart of accounts included in the publication “Financial
   73  and Program Cost Accounting and Reporting for Florida Schools,”
   74  in the functional categories of instruction and instructional
   75  support services and in the object categories of salaries,
   76  employee benefits, purchased services, and materials and
   77  supplies. The Commissioner of Education may classify other
   78  expenditures, funds, and functional and object categories as
   79  core operating expenditures.
   80         (2)(1) “Developmental education” means instruction through
   81  which a high school graduate who applies for any college credit
   82  program may attain the communication and computation skills
   83  necessary to successfully complete college credit instruction.
   84  Developmental education may be delivered through a variety of
   85  accelerated and corequisite strategies and includes any of the
   86  following:
   87         (a) Modularized instruction that is customized and targeted
   88  to address specific skills gaps.
   89         (b) Compressed course structures that accelerate student
   90  progression from developmental instruction to college-level
   91  coursework.
   92         (c) Contextualized developmental instruction that is
   93  related to meta-majors.
   94         (d) Corequisite developmental instruction or tutoring that
   95  supplements credit instruction while a student is concurrently
   96  enrolled in a credit-bearing course.
   97         (3) “Fiscal peers” means public schools and school
   98  districts that are of similar size and have similar average
   99  total cost-per-student funding in the Florida Education Finance
  100  Program, as determined by the commissioner. At a minimum, the
  101  commissioner shall take into consideration the following
  102  factors:
  103         (a) The Florida Price Level Index.
  104         (b) School size.
  105         (c) Student program cost factors.
  106         (d) Geography.
  107         (4)(2) “Gateway course” means the first course that
  108  provides transferable, college-level credit allowing a student
  109  to progress in his or her program of study.
  110         (5)(3) “Meta-major” means a collection of programs of study
  111  or academic discipline groupings that share common foundational
  112  skills.
  113         (6) “Return-on-investment rating” or “ROI rating” means a
  114  calculation developed by the commissioner which results in an
  115  annual rating for a public school and a school district that
  116  displays to the public the extent by which core operating
  117  expenditures have been used to positively impact student
  118  achievement. Ratings are assigned based on spending and
  119  achievement relative to a school’s fiscal peers or a school
  120  district’s fiscal peers. Measures of student achievement
  121  include, but are not limited to, student learning gains
  122  identified in s. 1008.34.
  123         Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 1008.34, Florida
  124  Statutes, is amended, present subsections (6) through (8) are
  125  redesignated as subsections (7) through (9), respectively, and a
  126  new subsection (6) is added to that section, to read:
  127         1008.34 School grading system; school report cards;
  128  district grade.—
  129         (5) SCHOOL REPORT CARD.—The Department of Education shall
  130  annually develop, in collaboration with the school districts, a
  131  school report card to be provided by the school district to
  132  parents within the district. The report card must shall include
  133  the school’s grade, information regarding school improvement, an
  134  explanation of school performance as evaluated by the federal
  135  Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), 20 U.S.C. ss.
  136  6301 et seq., and indicators of return on investment as provided
  137  in subsection (6). Each school’s report card shall be published
  138  annually by the department on its website.
  139         (6) RETURN-ON-INVESTMENT (ROI) RATING.—
  140         (a) By January 31, 2015, the commissioner shall establish a
  141  statewide education ROI rating. The ROI rating evaluates the
  142  extent to which public schools, public charter schools, and
  143  school districts are using their financial resources in a cost
  144  effective manner to improve or sustain student achievement. The
  145  ROI rating must place the most weight on matrices that are
  146  designed to measure how dollars are being used to increase
  147  student achievement. Student achievement is, at a minimum,
  148  defined as annual student learning gains pursuant to this
  149  section.
  150         (b) The commissioner shall determine fiscal peers for each
  151  public school and school district. Each ROI rating shall be
  152  calculated relative to the performance of the fiscal peers of
  153  the school or school district.
  154         (c) The commissioner shall assign ROI ratings in a
  155  sortable, easy-to-understand format that allows for comparisons
  156  among school districts, public schools, public charter schools,
  157  and fiscal peers. The commissioner shall publish ratings on the
  158  Department of Education’s website when school report cards are
  159  made publicly available. Each public school shall provide a link
  160  to this information on its website and annually post a copy of
  161  its most recent rating in a visible location.
  162         (d) Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, the
  163  commissioner shall provide the ordinal ROI rating of the public
  164  school and the school district in each school report card.
  165         (e) The commissioner shall make every attempt to use
  166  aggregated student data that is already being collected from
  167  public schools to develop the ROI rating, including, but not
  168  limited to, data from:
  169         1. School report cards issued under this section.
  170         2. Accountability measures, including the annual school
  171  public accountability report required by ss. 1001.42(18) and
  172  1008.345.
  173         3. Profiles of school districts pursuant to ss. 1010.20 and
  174  1011.60.
  175         4. The state’s program cost reporting system.
  176         Section 3. Subsection (5) is added to section 1011.69,
  177  Florida Statutes, to read:
  178         1011.69 Equity in School-Level Funding Act.—
  179         (5) Subject to annual appropriation in the General
  180  Appropriations Act, the Schoolhouse Funding Pilot Program is
  181  created within the Department of Education for the purpose of
  182  evaluating the increased authority of principals over school
  183  budgets and human capital decisions in providing an increased
  184  return on investment based on student achievement.
  185         (a) Definitions.—As used in this subsection, the term:
  186         1. “Pilot program” means the Schoolhouse Funding Pilot
  187  Program.
  188         2. “Pilot school” means a public school that is accepted
  189  and participates in the pilot program.
  190         (b) Participating pilot schools.—Beginning in the 2014-2015
  191  fiscal year, unless otherwise specified in the General
  192  Appropriations Act, a public school may notify the Commissioner
  193  of Education in writing of its intent to participate in the
  194  pilot program as a pilot school. The school’s letter must
  195  include documentation of support from the superintendent of the
  196  school district that the school is located in. The commissioner
  197  shall accept on a first-come, first-served basis, in the order
  198  in which the school’s letter of intent is received, up to 13
  199  schools, as follows:
  200         1. Four high schools, at least one of which must be located
  201  in a small or rural district.
  202         2. Four middle schools, at least one of which must be
  203  located in a small or rural district.
  204         3. Five elementary schools, at least two of which must be
  205  located in small or rural districts.
  206         (c) Principal professional development.—The principal of a
  207  pilot school shall participate in a professional development
  208  program for principals, as provided in the General
  209  Appropriations Act. The professional development program must
  210  include leadership training that focuses on all of the
  211  following:
  212         1. Improving student achievement.
  213         2. Aligning standards, assessment, curriculum, and
  214  instruction.
  215         3. Using data to drive instruction.
  216         4. Using best financial management practices to drive
  217  student achievement.
  218         (d) Assessment and accountability.
  219         1. A pilot school shall participate in the student
  220  assessment program for public schools under s. 1008.22 and is
  221  subject to the school grading system under s. 1008.34.
  222         2. The department shall measure the return on investment of
  223  each school upon its acceptance into the pilot program and
  224  annually thereafter by January 31 in accordance with s.
  225  1008.34(6).
  226         (e) Funding.—A student enrolled in a pilot school shall be
  227  funded as if the student were in a basic program or a special
  228  program at any other public school within the school district.
  229         1. A pilot school shall report its student enrollment to
  230  the district as required in s. 1011.62. The district shall
  231  include each pilot school’s enrollment in the district’s report
  232  of student enrollment. In submitting student record information
  233  required by the Department of Education, a pilot school shall
  234  comply with the department’s guidelines for electronic data
  235  formats. Each district shall accept electronic data that
  236  complies with the department’s electronic format.
  237         2. The amount of funding for students enrolled in a pilot
  238  school shall be the sum of the school district’s operating funds
  239  from the Florida Education Finance Program as provided in s.
  240  1011.62 and the General Appropriations Act, including gross
  241  state and local funds, discretionary lottery funds, and funds
  242  from the school district’s current operating discretionary
  243  millage levy; divided by total funded weighted full-time
  244  equivalent students in the school district; multiplied by the
  245  weighted full-time equivalent students for the pilot school.
  246  Pilot schools whose students or programs meet the eligibility
  247  criteria in law shall be entitled to their proportionate share
  248  of categorical program funds included in the total funds
  249  available in the Florida Education Finance Program made
  250  available by the Legislature, including transportation if
  251  applicable. Total funding for each pilot school shall be
  252  recalculated during the year to reflect the revised calculations
  253  under the Florida Education Finance Program by the state and the
  254  actual weighted full-time equivalent students reported by the
  255  pilot school during the full-time equivalent student survey
  256  periods designated by the Commissioner of Education.
  257         3. If the district school board is providing programs or
  258  services to students funded by federal funds, any eligible
  259  student enrolled in a pilot school in the school district shall
  260  be provided federal funds at the same level as is provided to
  261  students in the schools operated by the district school board.
  262  Pursuant to the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act
  263  (ESEA), 20 U.S.C. ss. 7221-7225g, each pilot school shall
  264  receive all federal funding for which the school is otherwise
  265  eligible, including Title I funding, no later than 5 months
  266  after the pilot school begins the pilot program and within 5
  267  months after any subsequent expansion of enrollment. Unless
  268  otherwise mutually agreed to by the pilot school and the
  269  district, and consistent with state and federal rules and
  270  regulations governing the use and disbursement of federal funds,
  271  the district shall reimburse the pilot school on a monthly basis
  272  for all invoices submitted by the pilot school using federal
  273  funds available to the district for the benefit of the pilot
  274  school, the pilot school’s students, and the pilot school’s
  275  students as public school students in the school district. Such
  276  federal funds include, but are not limited to, Title I, Title
  277  II, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
  278  funds. To receive timely reimbursement for an invoice, the pilot
  279  school must submit the invoice to the district at least 30 days
  280  before the monthly date of reimbursement set by the district. In
  281  order to be reimbursed, any expenditures made by the pilot
  282  school must comply with all applicable state rules and federal
  283  regulations, including, but not limited to, the applicable
  284  federal Office of Management and Budget circulars; the
  285  regulations of the United States Department of Education; and
  286  program-specific statutes, rules, and regulations. Such funds
  287  may not be made available to the pilot school until a plan is
  288  submitted to the district for approval of the use of the funds
  289  in accordance with applicable federal requirements. The district
  290  has 30 days to review and approve any plan submitted pursuant to
  291  this subparagraph.
  292         4. Each district school board shall make timely and
  293  efficient payment and reimbursement to pilot schools and shall
  294  process paperwork required to access special state and federal
  295  funding for which they may be eligible. The district school
  296  board may distribute funds to a pilot school for up to 3 months
  297  based on the projected full-time equivalent student membership
  298  of the pilot school. Thereafter, the results of full-time
  299  equivalent student membership surveys shall be used in adjusting
  300  the amount of funds distributed monthly to the pilot school for
  301  the remainder of the fiscal year. The payment shall be issued no
  302  later than 10 working days after the district school board
  303  receives a distribution of state or federal funds. If a warrant
  304  for payment is not issued within 10 working days after receipt
  305  of funding by the district school board, the school district
  306  shall pay to the pilot school, in addition to the amount of the
  307  scheduled disbursement, interest at a rate of 1 percent per
  308  month calculated on a daily basis on the unpaid balance from the
  309  expiration of the 10 working days until such time as the warrant
  310  is issued.
  311         (f) Services.
  312         1. A district shall provide certain administrative and
  313  educational services to pilot schools. These services must
  314  include contract management services; full-time equivalent and
  315  data reporting services; exceptional student education
  316  administrative services; services related to eligibility and
  317  reporting duties required to ensure that school lunch services
  318  under the federal lunch program, consistent with the needs of
  319  the pilot school, are provided by the school district at the
  320  request of the pilot school, that any funds due to the pilot
  321  school under the federal lunch program be paid to the pilot
  322  school if the pilot school begins serving food under the federal
  323  lunch program, and that the pilot school is paid at the same
  324  time and in the same manner under the federal lunch program as
  325  other public schools serviced by the district or the school
  326  district; test administration services, including payment of the
  327  costs of state-required or district-required student
  328  assessments; processing of teacher certificate data services;
  329  and information services, including equal access to student
  330  information systems that are used by public schools in the
  331  district in which the pilot school is located. Student
  332  performance data for each student in a pilot school, including,
  333  but not limited to, statewide test scores, standardized test
  334  scores, previous public school student report cards, and student
  335  performance measures, shall be provided by the district to a
  336  pilot school in the same manner as they are provided to other
  337  public schools in the district.
  338         2. A total administrative fee for the provision of such
  339  services shall be calculated based upon up to 5 percent of the
  340  available funds defined in paragraph (e) for all students,
  341  except that if 75 percent or more of the students enrolled in
  342  the pilot school are exceptional students as defined in s.
  343  1003.01(3), the 5 percent of those available funds shall be
  344  calculated based on unweighted full-time equivalent students.
  345  However, a district may only withhold up to a 5-percent
  346  administrative fee for enrollment for 250 students or less.
  347         (g) Employees of pilot schools.
  348         1. A pilot school shall select its own employees. A pilot
  349  school may contract with its district for the services of
  350  personnel who are employed by the district.
  351         2. A pilot school employee has the option to bargain
  352  collectively. Such employee may collectively bargain as a
  353  separate unit or as part of the existing district collective
  354  bargaining unit.
  355         3. An employee of a pilot school shall remain a public
  356  employee for all purposes unless he or she chooses not to do so.
  357         4. Teachers at a pilot school may choose to be part of a
  358  professional group that subcontracts with the pilot school to
  359  operate an instructional program under the auspices of a
  360  partnership or cooperative that the teachers collectively own.
  361  Under this arrangement, the teachers would not be public
  362  employees.
  363         5. An employee of a school district may take leave to
  364  accept employment in a pilot school upon the approval of the
  365  district school board. While employed by the pilot school and on
  366  leave that is approved by the district school board, the
  367  employee may retain seniority accrued in that school district
  368  and may continue to be covered by the benefit programs of that
  369  school district if the pilot school and the district school
  370  board agree to this arrangement and its financing. A school
  371  district may not require the resignation of a teacher who
  372  desires to teach in a pilot school. This subparagraph does not
  373  prohibit a district school board from approving alternative
  374  leave arrangements consistent with chapter 1012.
  375         6. A teacher who is employed by or under contract to a
  376  pilot school must be certified as required under chapter 1012. A
  377  pilot school may employ or contract with skilled selected
  378  noncertified personnel to provide instructional services or to
  379  assist instructional staff members as education
  380  paraprofessionals in the same manner as defined in chapter 1012
  381  and as provided by State Board of Education rule. A pilot school
  382  may not knowingly employ an individual to provide instructional
  383  services or to serve as an education paraprofessional if the
  384  individual’s certification or licensure as an educator is
  385  suspended or revoked by this state or any other state. A pilot
  386  school may not knowingly employ an individual who has resigned
  387  from a school district in lieu of disciplinary action with
  388  respect to child welfare or safety or who has been dismissed for
  389  just cause by any school district with respect to child welfare
  390  or safety. The qualifications of teachers shall be disclosed to
  391  parents.
  392         7.a. A pilot school shall employ or contract with employees
  393  who have undergone background screening as provided in s.
  394  1012.32.
  395         b. A pilot school shall disqualify instructional personnel
  396  and school administrators, as defined in s. 1012.01, from
  397  employment in any position that requires direct contact with
  398  students if the personnel or administrators are ineligible for
  399  such employment under s. 1012.315.
  400         c. The pilot school shall adopt policies establishing
  401  standards of ethical conduct for instructional personnel and
  402  school administrators. The policies must require all
  403  instructional personnel and school administrators, as defined in
  404  s. 1012.01, to complete training on the standards; establish the
  405  duty of instructional personnel and school administrators to
  406  report alleged misconduct by other instructional personnel and
  407  school administrators which affects the health, safety, or
  408  welfare of a student, and establish procedures for such
  409  reporting; and include an explanation of the liability
  410  protections provided under ss. 39.203 and 768.095.
  411         d. A pilot school, or any of its employees, may not enter
  412  into a confidentiality agreement regarding terminated or
  413  dismissed instructional personnel or school administrators, or
  414  personnel or administrators who resign in lieu of termination,
  415  based in whole or in part on misconduct that affects the health,
  416  safety, or welfare of a student, and may not provide
  417  instructional personnel or school administrators with employment
  418  references or discuss such persons’ performance with prospective
  419  employers in another educational setting without disclosing such
  420  misconduct. Any part of an agreement or contract that has the
  421  purpose or effect of concealing misconduct by instructional
  422  personnel or school administrators which affects the health,
  423  safety, or welfare of a student is void, is contrary to public
  424  policy, and may not be enforced.
  425         e. Before employing instructional personnel or school
  426  administrators in any position that requires direct contact with
  427  students, a pilot school must conduct employment history checks
  428  of each such person’s previous employers, screen them using the
  429  educator screening tools described in s. 1001.10(5), and
  430  document the findings. If unable to contact such person’s
  431  previous employer, the pilot school must document efforts to
  432  contact the employer.
  433         Section 4. Paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (1) of
  434  section 1003.621, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  435         1003.621 Academically high-performing school districts.—It
  436  is the intent of the Legislature to recognize and reward school
  437  districts that demonstrate the ability to consistently maintain
  438  or improve their high-performing status. The purpose of this
  439  section is to provide high-performing school districts with
  440  flexibility in meeting the specific requirements in statute and
  441  rules of the State Board of Education.
  442         (1) ACADEMICALLY HIGH-PERFORMING SCHOOL DISTRICT.—
  443         (a) A school district is an academically high-performing
  444  school district if it meets the following criteria:
  445         1.a. Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, earns a
  446  grade of “A” under s. 1008.34(8) s. 1008.34(7) for 2 consecutive
  447  years; and
  448         b. Has no district-operated school that earns a grade of
  449  “F” under s. 1008.34;
  450         2. Complies with all class size requirements in s. 1, Art.
  451  IX of the State Constitution and s. 1003.03; and
  452         3. Has no material weaknesses or instances of material
  453  noncompliance noted in the annual financial audit conducted
  454  pursuant to s. 218.39.
  455         (d) In order to maintain the designation as an academically
  456  high-performing school district pursuant to this section, a
  457  school district must meet the following requirements:
  458         1. Comply with the provisions of subparagraphs (a)2. and
  459  3.; and
  460         2. Earn a grade of “A” under s. 1008.34(8) s. 1008.34(7)
  461  for 2 years within a 3-year period.
  462  
  463  However, a district in which a district-operated school earns a
  464  grade of “F” under s. 1008.34 during the 3-year period may not
  465  continue to be designated as an academically high-performing
  466  school district during the remainder of that 3-year period. The
  467  district must meet the criteria in paragraph (a) in order to be
  468  redesignated as an academically high-performing school district.
  469         Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
  470  1011.64, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  471         1011.64 School district minimum classroom expenditure
  472  requirements.—
  473         (2) For the purpose of implementing the provisions of this
  474  section, the Legislature shall prescribe minimum academic
  475  performance standards and minimum classroom expenditure
  476  requirements for districts not meeting such minimum academic
  477  performance standards in the General Appropriations Act.
  478         (a) Minimum academic performance standards may be based on,
  479  but are not limited to, district grades determined pursuant to
  480  s. 1008.34(8) s. 1008.34(7).
  481         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.

feedback