Bill Text: FL S1166 | 2016 | Regular Session | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Education

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-04 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 837 (Ch. 2016-137), HB 5003 (Ch. 2016-62), CS/CS/HB 7029 (Ch. 2016-237) [S1166 Detail]

Download: Florida-2016-S1166-Comm_Sub.html
       Florida Senate - 2016                             CS for SB 1166
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Appropriations; and Senator Gaetz
       
       576-04218-16                                          20161166c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to education; amending s. 1001.42,
    3         F.S.; revising the duties of a district school board;
    4         creating s. 1001.67, F.S.; establishing a
    5         collaboration between the state board and the
    6         Legislature to designate certain Florida College
    7         System institutions as distinguished colleges;
    8         specifying standards for the designation; requiring
    9         the state board to award the designation to certain
   10         Florida College System institutions; providing that
   11         the designated institutions are eligible for funding
   12         as specified in the General Appropriations Act;
   13         amending s. 1002.20, F.S.; revising public school
   14         choice options available to students to include CAPE
   15         digital tools, CAPE industry certifications, and
   16         collegiate high school programs; authorizing parents
   17         of public school students to seek private educational
   18         choice options through the Florida Personal Learning
   19         Scholarship Accounts Program under certain
   20         circumstances; revising student eligibility
   21         requirements for participating in high school athletic
   22         competitions; authorizing public schools to provide
   23         transportation to students participating in open
   24         enrollment; amending s. 1002.31, F.S.; requiring each
   25         district school board and charter school governing
   26         board to authorize a parent to have his or her child
   27         participate in controlled open enrollment; requiring
   28         the school district to report the student for purposes
   29         of the school district’s funding; authorizing a school
   30         district to provide transportation to such students;
   31         requiring that each district school board adopt and
   32         publish on its website a controlled open enrollment
   33         process; specifying criteria for the process;
   34         prohibiting a school district from delaying or
   35         preventing a student who participates in controlled
   36         open enrollment from being immediately eligible to
   37         participate in certain activities; amending s.
   38         1002.33, F.S.; making technical changes relating to
   39         requirements for the creation of a virtual charter
   40         school; conforming cross-references; specifying that a
   41         sponsor may not require a charter school to adopt the
   42         sponsor’s reading plan and that charter schools are
   43         eligible for the research-based reading allocation if
   44         certain criteria are met; revising required contents
   45         of charter school applications; conforming provisions
   46         regarding the appeal process for denial of a high
   47         performing charter school application; requiring an
   48         applicant to provide the sponsor with a copy of an
   49         appeal to an application denial; authorizing a charter
   50         school to defer the opening of its operations for up
   51         to a specified time; requiring the charter school to
   52         provide written notice to certain entities by a
   53         specified date; revising provisions relating to long
   54         term charters and charter terminations; specifying
   55         notice requirements for voluntary closure of a charter
   56         school; deleting a requirement that students in a
   57         blended learning course receive certain instruction in
   58         a classroom setting; providing that a student may not
   59         be dismissed from a charter school based on his or her
   60         academic performance; requiring a charter school
   61         applicant to provide monthly financial statements
   62         before opening; requiring a sponsor to review each
   63         financial statement of a charter school to identify
   64         the existence of certain conditions; providing for the
   65         automatic termination of a charter contract if certain
   66         conditions are met; requiring a sponsor to notify
   67         certain parties when a charter contract is terminated
   68         for specific reasons; authorizing governing board
   69         members to hold a certain number of public meetings
   70         and participate in such meetings in person or through
   71         communications media technology; revising charter
   72         school student eligibility requirements; revising
   73         requirements for payments to charter schools; allowing
   74         for the use of certain surpluses and assets by
   75         specific entities for certain educational purposes;
   76         providing for an injunction under certain
   77         circumstances; establishing the administrative fee
   78         that a sponsor may withhold for charter schools
   79         operating in a critical need area; providing an
   80         exemption from certain administrative fees; amending
   81         s. 1002.37, F.S.; revising the calculation of “full
   82         time equivalent student”; conforming a cross
   83         reference; amending s. 1002.45, F.S.; conforming
   84         cross-references; deleting a provision related to
   85         educational funding for students enrolled in certain
   86         virtual education courses; revising conditions for
   87         termination of a virtual instruction provider’s
   88         contract; creating s. 1003.3101, F.S.; requiring each
   89         school district board to establish a classroom teacher
   90         transfer process for parents, to approve or deny a
   91         transfer request within a certain timeframe, to notify
   92         a parent of a denial, and to post an explanation of
   93         the transfer process in the student handbook or a
   94         similar publication; amending s. 1003.4295, F.S.;
   95         revising the purpose of the Credit Acceleration
   96         Program; requiring students to earn passing scores on
   97         specified assessments and examinations to earn course
   98         credit; amending s. 1004.935, F.S.; deleting the
   99         scheduled termination of the Adults with Disabilities
  100         Workforce Education Pilot Program; changing the name
  101         of the program to the “Adults with Disabilities
  102         Workforce Education Program”; amending s. 1006.15,
  103         F.S.; defining the term “eligible to participate”;
  104         conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
  105         prohibiting a school district from delaying or
  106         preventing a student who participates in open
  107         controlled enrollment from being immediately eligible
  108         to participate in certain activities; authorizing a
  109         transfer student to immediately participate in
  110         interscholastic or intrascholastic activities under
  111         certain circumstances; prohibiting a school district
  112         or the Florida High School Athletic Association
  113         (FHSAA) from declaring a transfer student ineligible
  114         under certain circumstances; amending s. 1006.20,
  115         F.S.; requiring the FHSAA to allow a private school to
  116         maintain full membership in the association or to join
  117         by sport; prohibiting the FHSAA from discouraging a
  118         private school from maintaining membership in the
  119         FHSAA and another athletic association; authorizing
  120         the FHSAA to allow a public school to apply for
  121         consideration to join another athletic association;
  122         specifying penalties for recruiting violations;
  123         requiring a school to forfeit a competition in which a
  124         student who was recruited by specified adults
  125         participated; revising circumstances under which a
  126         student may be declared ineligible; requiring student
  127         ineligibility to be established by a preponderance of
  128         the evidence; amending s. 1009.893, F.S.; changing the
  129         name of the “Florida National Merit Scholar Incentive
  130         Program” to the “Benacquisto Scholarship Program”;
  131         providing that a student who receives a scholarship
  132         award under the program will be referred to as a
  133         Benacquisto Scholar; encouraging all eligible Florida
  134         public or independent postsecondary educational
  135         institutions, and requiring all eligible state
  136         universities, to become college sponsors of the
  137         National Merit Scholarship Program; amending s.
  138         1011.61, F.S.; revising the definition of “full-time
  139         equivalent student”; amending s. 1011.62, F.S.;
  140         conforming a cross-reference; revising the calculation
  141         for certain supplemental funds for exceptional student
  142         education programs; requiring the funds to be prorated
  143         under certain circumstances; revising the funding of
  144         full-time equivalent values for students who earn CAPE
  145         industry certifications through dual enrollment;
  146         deleting a provision prohibiting a teacher’s bonus
  147         from exceeding a specified amount; creating a
  148         federally connected student supplement for school
  149         districts; specifying eligibility requirements and
  150         calculations for allocations of the supplement;
  151         amending s. 1011.71, F.S.; conforming a cross
  152         reference; amending s. 1012.42, F.S.; authorizing a
  153         parent of a child whose teacher is teaching outside
  154         the teacher’s field to request that the child be
  155         transferred to another classroom teacher within the
  156         school and grade in which the child is currently
  157         enrolled within a specified timeframe; specifying that
  158         a transfer does not provide a parent the right to
  159         choose a specific teacher; amending s. 1012.56, F.S.;
  160         authorizing a charter school to develop and operate a
  161         professional development certification and education
  162         competency program; creating s. 1012.583, F.S.;
  163         requiring the Department of Education to incorporate
  164         training in youth suicide awareness and prevention
  165         into certain instructional personnel continuing
  166         education or inservice training requirements;
  167         requiring the department, in consultation with the
  168         Statewide Office for Suicide Prevention and suicide
  169         prevention experts, to develop a list of approved
  170         materials for the training; specifying requirements
  171         for training materials; requiring the training to be
  172         included in the existing continuing education or
  173         inservice training requirements; providing that no
  174         cause of action results from the implementation of
  175         this act; providing for rulemaking; amending ss.
  176         1012.795 and 1012.796, F.S.; conforming provisions to
  177         changes made by the act; providing effective dates.
  178          
  179  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
  180  
  181         Section 1. Present subsection (27) of section 1001.42,
  182  Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (28), and a new
  183  subsection (27) is added to that section, to read:
  184         1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board.—The
  185  district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all
  186  powers and perform all duties listed below:
  187         (27) VISITATION OF SCHOOLS.—Visit the schools, observe the
  188  management and instruction, give suggestions for improvement,
  189  and advise citizens with the view of promoting interest in
  190  education and improving the school.
  191         Section 2. Section 1001.67, Florida Statutes, is created to
  192  read:
  193         1001.67Distinguished Florida College System Program.—A
  194  collaborative partnership is established between the State Board
  195  of Education and the Legislature to recognize the excellence of
  196  Florida’s highest-performing Florida College system
  197  institutions.
  198         (1) EXCELLENCE STANDARDS.—The following excellence
  199  standards are established for the program:
  200         (a)A 150 percent-of-normal-time completion rate of 50
  201  percent or higher, as calculated by the Division of Florida
  202  Colleges.
  203         (b)A 150 percent-of-normal-time completion rate for Pell
  204  Grant recipients of 40 percent or higher, as calculated by the
  205  Division of Florida Colleges.
  206         (c)A retention rate of 70 percent or higher, as calculated
  207  by the Division of Florida Colleges.
  208         (d)A continuing education, or transfer, rate of 72 percent
  209  or higher for students graduating with an associate of arts
  210  degree, as reported by the Florida Education and Training
  211  Placement Information Program (FETPIP).
  212         (e)A licensure passage rate on the National Council
  213  Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) of 90
  214  percent or higher for first-time exam takers, as reported by the
  215  Board of Nursing.
  216         (f)A job placement or continuing education rate of 88
  217  percent or higher for workforce programs, as reported by FETPIP.
  218         (g)A time-to-degree for students graduating with an
  219  associate of arts degree of 2.25 years or less for first-time
  220  in-college students with accelerated college credits, as
  221  reported by the Southern Regional Education Board.
  222         (2)DISTINGUISHED COLLEGE DESIGNATION.—The State Board of
  223  Education shall designate each Florida College System
  224  institution that meets five of the seven standards identified in
  225  subsection (1) as a distinguished college.
  226         (3)DISTINGUISHED COLLEGE SUPPORT.—A Florida College System
  227  institution designated as a distinguished college by the State
  228  Board of Education is eligible for funding as specified in the
  229  General Appropriations Act.
  230         Section 3. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (6),
  231  subsection (16), paragraph (a) of subsection (17), and paragraph
  232  (a) of subsection (22) of section 1002.20, Florida Statutes, are
  233  amended to read:
  234         1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public
  235  school students must receive accurate and timely information
  236  regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed
  237  of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12
  238  students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory
  239  rights including, but not limited to, the following:
  240         (6) EDUCATIONAL CHOICE.—
  241         (a) Public educational school choices.—Parents of public
  242  school students may seek any whatever public educational school
  243  choice options that are applicable and available to students
  244  throughout the state in their school districts. These options
  245  may include controlled open enrollment, single-gender programs,
  246  lab schools, virtual instruction programs, charter schools,
  247  charter technical career centers, magnet schools, alternative
  248  schools, special programs, auditory-oral education programs,
  249  advanced placement, dual enrollment, International
  250  Baccalaureate, International General Certificate of Secondary
  251  Education (pre-AICE), CAPE digital tools, CAPE industry
  252  certifications, collegiate high school programs, Advanced
  253  International Certificate of Education, early admissions, credit
  254  by examination or demonstration of competency, the New World
  255  School of the Arts, the Florida School for the Deaf and the
  256  Blind, and the Florida Virtual School. These options may also
  257  include the public educational school choice options of the
  258  Opportunity Scholarship Program and the McKay Scholarships for
  259  Students with Disabilities Program.
  260         (b) Private educational school choices.—Parents of public
  261  school students may seek private educational school choice
  262  options under certain programs.
  263         1. Under the McKay Scholarships for Students with
  264  Disabilities Program, the parent of a public school student with
  265  a disability may request and receive a McKay Scholarship for the
  266  student to attend a private school in accordance with s.
  267  1002.39.
  268         2. Under the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, the
  269  parent of a student who qualifies for free or reduced-price
  270  school lunch or who is currently placed, or during the previous
  271  state fiscal year was placed, in foster care as defined in s.
  272  39.01 may seek a scholarship from an eligible nonprofit
  273  scholarship-funding organization in accordance with s. 1002.395.
  274         3. Under the Florida Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts
  275  Program, the parent of a student with a qualifying disability
  276  may apply for a personal learning scholarship to be used for
  277  individual educational needs in accordance with s. 1002.385.
  278         (16) SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT RATING
  279  REPORTS; FISCAL TRANSPARENCY.—Parents of public school students
  280  have the right are entitled to an easy-to-read report card about
  281  the school’s grade designation or, if applicable under s.
  282  1008.341, the school’s improvement rating, and the school’s
  283  accountability report, including the school financial report as
  284  required under s. 1010.215. The school financial report must be
  285  provided to the parents and indicate the average amount of money
  286  expended per student in the school, which must also be included
  287  in the student handbook or a similar publication.
  288         (17) ATHLETICS; PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL.—
  289         (a) Eligibility.—Eligibility requirements for all students
  290  participating in high school athletic competition must allow a
  291  student to be immediately eligible in the school in which he or
  292  she first enrolls each school year, the school in which the
  293  student makes himself or herself a candidate for an athletic
  294  team by engaging in practice before enrolling, or the school to
  295  which the student has transferred with approval of the district
  296  school board, in accordance with the provisions of s.
  297  1006.20(2)(a).
  298         (22) TRANSPORTATION.—
  299         (a) Transportation to school.—Public school students shall
  300  be provided transportation to school, in accordance with the
  301  provisions of s. 1006.21(3)(a). Public school students may be
  302  provided transportation to school in accordance with the
  303  controlled open enrollment provisions of s. 1002.31(2).
  304         Section 4. Section 1002.31, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  305  read:
  306         1002.31 Controlled open enrollment; Public school parental
  307  choice.—
  308         (1) As used in this section, “controlled open enrollment”
  309  means a public education delivery system that allows school
  310  districts to make student school assignments using parents’
  311  indicated preferential educational school choice as a
  312  significant factor.
  313         (2)(a)Beginning by the 2017-2018 school year, as part of a
  314  school district’s or charter school’s controlled open enrollment
  315  process, and in addition to the existing public school choice
  316  programs provided in s. 1002.20(6)(a), each district school
  317  board or charter school shall allow a parent from any school
  318  district in the state whose child is not subject to a current
  319  expulsion or suspension order to enroll his or her child in and
  320  transport his or her child to any public school, including
  321  charter schools, that has not reached capacity in the district,
  322  subject to the maximum class size pursuant to s. 1003.03 and s.
  323  1, Art. IX of the State Constitution. The school district or
  324  charter school shall accept the student, pursuant to that school
  325  district’s or charter school’s controlled open enrollment
  326  process, and report the student for purposes of the school
  327  district’s or charter school’s funding pursuant to the Florida
  328  Education Finance Program. A school district or charter school
  329  may provide transportation to students described under this
  330  section.
  331         (b) Each school district and charter school capacity
  332  determinations for its schools must be current and must be
  333  identified on the school district and charter school’s websites.
  334  In determining the capacity of each district school, the
  335  district school board shall incorporate the specifications,
  336  plans, elements, and commitments contained in the school
  337  district educational facilities plan and the long-term work
  338  programs required under s. 1013.35. Each charter school
  339  governing board shall determine capacity based upon its charter
  340  school contract.
  341         (c)Each district school board and charter school governing
  342  board must provide preferential treatment in its controlled open
  343  enrollment process to all of the following:
  344         1. Dependent children of active duty military personnel
  345  whose move resulted from military orders.
  346         2. Children who have been relocated due to a foster care
  347  placement in a different school zone.
  348         3. Children who move due to a court ordered change in
  349  custody due to separation or divorce, or the serious illness or
  350  death of a custodial parent.
  351         4. Students residing in the school district.
  352         (d)As part of its controlled open enrollment process, a
  353  charter school must provide preferential treatment in its
  354  controlled open enrollment participation process to the
  355  enrollment limitations pursuant to s. 1002.33(10)(e)1., 2., 5.,
  356  6., and 7, if these special purposes are identified in the
  357  charter agreement. Each charter school shall annually by January
  358  1 post on its website the application process required to
  359  participate in controlled open enrollment, consistent with this
  360  section and s. 1002.33.
  361         (e) Students residing in the district, including charter
  362  school students, may not be displaced by a student from another
  363  district seeking enrollment under the controlled open enrollment
  364  process.
  365         (f) For purposes of continuity of educational choice, a
  366  student who transfers pursuant to this section may remain at the
  367  school chosen by the parent until the student completes the
  368  highest grade level at the school may offer controlled open
  369  enrollment within the public schools which is in addition to the
  370  existing choice programs such as virtual instruction programs,
  371  magnet schools, alternative schools, special programs, advanced
  372  placement, and dual enrollment.
  373         (3) Each district school board offering controlled open
  374  enrollment shall adopt by rule and post on its website the
  375  process required to participate in controlled open enrollment.
  376  The process a controlled open enrollment plan which must:
  377         (a) Adhere to federal desegregation requirements.
  378         (b) Allow Include an application process required to
  379  participate in controlled open enrollment that allows parents to
  380  declare school preferences, including placement of siblings
  381  within the same school.
  382         (c) Provide a lottery procedure to determine student
  383  assignment and establish an appeals process for hardship cases.
  384         (d) Afford parents of students in multiple session schools
  385  preferred access to controlled open enrollment.
  386         (e) Maintain socioeconomic, demographic, and racial
  387  balance.
  388         (f) Address the availability of transportation.
  389         (g) Maintain existing academic eligibility criteria for
  390  public school choice programs pursuant to s. 1002.20(6)(a).
  391         (h) Identify schools that have not reached capacity, as
  392  determined by the school district.
  393         (i) Ensure that each district school board adopts a policy
  394  to provide preferential treatment pursuant to paragraph (2)(c).
  395         (4) In accordance with the reporting requirements of s.
  396  1011.62, each district school board shall annually report the
  397  number of students exercising public school choice, by type
  398  attending the various types of public schools of choice in the
  399  district, in accordance with including schools such as virtual
  400  instruction programs, magnet schools, and public charter
  401  schools, according to rules adopted by the State Board of
  402  Education.
  403         (5) For a school or program that is a public school of
  404  choice under this section, the calculation for compliance with
  405  maximum class size pursuant to s. 1003.03 is the average number
  406  of students at the school level.
  407         (6)(a) A school district or charter school may not delay
  408  eligibility or otherwise prevent a student participating in
  409  controlled open enrollment or a choice program from being
  410  immediately eligible to participate in interscholastic and
  411  intrascholastic extracurricular activities.
  412         (b) A student participating in a sport at a school may not
  413  participate in that same sport at another school during that
  414  school year, unless the student meets one of the following
  415  criteria:
  416         1. Dependent children of active duty military personnel
  417  whose move resulted from military orders.
  418         2. Children who have been relocated due to a foster care
  419  placement in a different school zone.
  420         3. Children who move due to a court ordered change in
  421  custody due to separation or divorce, or the serious illness or
  422  death of a custodial parent.
  423         4. Authorized for good cause in district or charter school
  424  policy.
  425         Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2), paragraphs (a)
  426  and (b) of subsection (6), paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection
  427  (7), paragraphs (g), (n), and (p) of subsection (9), paragraph
  428  (d) of subsection (10), paragraph (b) of subsection (17), and
  429  paragraph (a) of subsection (20) of section 1002.33, Florida
  430  Statutes, are amended to read:
  431         1002.33 Charter schools.—
  432         (2) GUIDING PRINCIPLES; PURPOSE.—
  433         (a) Charter schools in Florida shall be guided by the
  434  following principles:
  435         1. Meet high standards of student achievement while
  436  providing parents flexibility to choose among diverse
  437  educational opportunities within the state’s public school
  438  system.
  439         2. Promote enhanced academic success and financial
  440  efficiency by aligning responsibility with accountability.
  441         3. Provide parents with sufficient information on whether
  442  their child is reading at grade level and whether the child
  443  gains at least a year’s worth of learning for every year spent
  444  in the charter school. For a student who exhibits a substantial
  445  deficiency in reading, as determined by the charter school, the
  446  school shall notify the parent of the deficiency, the intensive
  447  interventions and supports used, and the student’s progress in
  448  accordance with s. 1008.25(5).
  449         (6) APPLICATION PROCESS AND REVIEW.—Charter school
  450  applications are subject to the following requirements:
  451         (a) A person or entity seeking wishing to open a charter
  452  school shall prepare and submit an application on a model
  453  application form prepared by the Department of Education which:
  454         1. Demonstrates how the school will use the guiding
  455  principles and meet the statutorily defined purpose of a charter
  456  school.
  457         2. Provides a detailed curriculum plan that illustrates how
  458  students will be provided services to attain the Sunshine State
  459  Standards.
  460         3. Contains goals and objectives for improving student
  461  learning and measuring that improvement. These goals and
  462  objectives must indicate how much academic improvement students
  463  are expected to show each year, how success will be evaluated,
  464  and the specific results to be attained through instruction.
  465         4. Describes the reading curriculum and differentiated
  466  strategies that will be used for students reading at grade level
  467  or higher and a separate curriculum and strategies for students
  468  who are reading below grade level. A sponsor shall deny an
  469  application a charter if the school does not propose a reading
  470  curriculum that is evidence-based and includes explicit,
  471  systematic, and multisensory reading instructional strategies;
  472  however, a sponsor may not require the charter school to
  473  implement the reading plan adopted by the school district
  474  pursuant to s. 1011.62(9) consistent with effective teaching
  475  strategies that are grounded in scientifically based reading
  476  research.
  477         5. Contains an annual financial plan for each year
  478  requested by the charter for operation of the school for up to 5
  479  years. This plan must contain anticipated fund balances based on
  480  revenue projections, a spending plan based on projected revenues
  481  and expenses, and a description of controls that will safeguard
  482  finances and projected enrollment trends.
  483         6.Discloses the name of each applicant, governing board
  484  member, and all proposed education services providers; the name
  485  and sponsor of any charter school operated by each applicant,
  486  each governing board member, and each proposed education
  487  services provider that has closed and the reasons for the
  488  closure; and the academic and financial history of such charter
  489  schools, which the sponsor shall consider in deciding whether to
  490  approve or deny the application.
  491         7.6. Contains additional information a sponsor may require,
  492  which shall be attached as an addendum to the charter school
  493  application described in this paragraph.
  494         8.7. For the establishment of a virtual charter school,
  495  documents that the applicant has contracted with a provider of
  496  virtual instruction services pursuant to s. 1002.45(1)(d).
  497         (b) A sponsor shall receive and review all applications for
  498  a charter school using the an evaluation instrument developed by
  499  the Department of Education. A sponsor shall receive and
  500  consider charter school applications received on or before
  501  August 1 of each calendar year for charter schools to be opened
  502  at the beginning of the school district’s next school year, or
  503  to be opened at a time agreed to by the applicant and the
  504  sponsor. A sponsor may not refuse to receive a charter school
  505  application submitted before August 1 and may receive an
  506  application submitted later than August 1 if it chooses. In
  507  order to facilitate greater collaboration in the application
  508  process, an applicant may submit a draft charter school
  509  application on or before May 1 with an application fee of $500.
  510  If a draft application is timely submitted, the sponsor shall
  511  review and provide feedback as to material deficiencies in the
  512  application by July 1. The applicant shall then have until
  513  August 1 to resubmit a revised and final application. The
  514  sponsor may approve the draft application. Except as provided
  515  for a draft application, a sponsor may not charge an applicant
  516  for a charter any fee for the processing or consideration of an
  517  application, and a sponsor may not base its consideration or
  518  approval of a final application upon the promise of future
  519  payment of any kind. Before approving or denying any final
  520  application, the sponsor shall allow the applicant, upon receipt
  521  of written notification, at least 7 calendar days to make
  522  technical or nonsubstantive corrections and clarifications,
  523  including, but not limited to, corrections of grammatical,
  524  typographical, and like errors or missing signatures, if such
  525  errors are identified by the sponsor as cause to deny the final
  526  application.
  527         1. In order to facilitate an accurate budget projection
  528  process, a sponsor shall be held harmless for FTE students who
  529  are not included in the FTE projection due to approval of
  530  charter school applications after the FTE projection deadline.
  531  In a further effort to facilitate an accurate budget projection,
  532  within 15 calendar days after receipt of a charter school
  533  application, a sponsor shall report to the Department of
  534  Education the name of the applicant entity, the proposed charter
  535  school location, and its projected FTE.
  536         2. In order to ensure fiscal responsibility, an application
  537  for a charter school shall include a full accounting of expected
  538  assets, a projection of expected sources and amounts of income,
  539  including income derived from projected student enrollments and
  540  from community support, and an expense projection that includes
  541  full accounting of the costs of operation, including start-up
  542  costs.
  543         3.a. A sponsor shall by a majority vote approve or deny an
  544  application no later than 60 calendar days after the application
  545  is received, unless the sponsor and the applicant mutually agree
  546  in writing to temporarily postpone the vote to a specific date,
  547  at which time the sponsor shall by a majority vote approve or
  548  deny the application. If the sponsor fails to act on the
  549  application, an applicant may appeal to the State Board of
  550  Education as provided in paragraph (c). If an application is
  551  denied, the sponsor shall, within 10 calendar days after such
  552  denial, articulate in writing the specific reasons, based upon
  553  good cause, supporting its denial of the charter application and
  554  shall provide the letter of denial and supporting documentation
  555  to the applicant and to the Department of Education.
  556         b. An application submitted by a high-performing charter
  557  school identified pursuant to s. 1002.331 may be denied by the
  558  sponsor only if the sponsor demonstrates by clear and convincing
  559  evidence that:
  560         (I) The application does not materially comply with the
  561  requirements in paragraph (a);
  562         (II) The charter school proposed in the application does
  563  not materially comply with the requirements in paragraphs
  564  (9)(a)-(f);
  565         (III) The proposed charter school’s educational program
  566  does not substantially replicate that of the applicant or one of
  567  the applicant’s high-performing charter schools;
  568         (IV) The applicant has made a material misrepresentation or
  569  false statement or concealed an essential or material fact
  570  during the application process; or
  571         (V) The proposed charter school’s educational program and
  572  financial management practices do not materially comply with the
  573  requirements of this section.
  574  
  575  Material noncompliance is a failure to follow requirements or a
  576  violation of prohibitions applicable to charter school
  577  applications, which failure is quantitatively or qualitatively
  578  significant either individually or when aggregated with other
  579  noncompliance. An applicant is considered to be replicating a
  580  high-performing charter school if the proposed school is
  581  substantially similar to at least one of the applicant’s high
  582  performing charter schools and the organization or individuals
  583  involved in the establishment and operation of the proposed
  584  school are significantly involved in the operation of replicated
  585  schools.
  586         c. If the sponsor denies an application submitted by a
  587  high-performing charter school, the sponsor must, within 10
  588  calendar days after such denial, state in writing the specific
  589  reasons, based upon the criteria in sub-subparagraph b.,
  590  supporting its denial of the application and must provide the
  591  letter of denial and supporting documentation to the applicant
  592  and to the Department of Education. The applicant may appeal the
  593  sponsor’s denial of the application directly to the State Board
  594  of Education and, if an appeal is filed, must provide a copy of
  595  the appeal to the sponsor pursuant to paragraph (c) sub
  596  subparagraph (c)3.b.
  597         4. For budget projection purposes, the sponsor shall report
  598  to the Department of Education the approval or denial of an a
  599  charter application within 10 calendar days after such approval
  600  or denial. In the event of approval, the report to the
  601  Department of Education shall include the final projected FTE
  602  for the approved charter school.
  603         5. Upon approval of an a charter application, the initial
  604  startup shall commence with the beginning of the public school
  605  calendar for the district in which the charter is granted unless
  606  the sponsor allows a waiver of this subparagraph for good cause.
  607         (7) CHARTER.—The major issues involving the operation of a
  608  charter school shall be considered in advance and written into
  609  the charter. The charter shall be signed by the governing board
  610  of the charter school and the sponsor, following a public
  611  hearing to ensure community input.
  612         (a) The charter shall address and criteria for approval of
  613  the charter shall be based on:
  614         1. The school’s mission, the students to be served, and the
  615  ages and grades to be included.
  616         2. The focus of the curriculum, the instructional methods
  617  to be used, any distinctive instructional techniques to be
  618  employed, and identification and acquisition of appropriate
  619  technologies needed to improve educational and administrative
  620  performance which include a means for promoting safe, ethical,
  621  and appropriate uses of technology which comply with legal and
  622  professional standards.
  623         a. The charter shall ensure that reading is a primary focus
  624  of the curriculum and that resources are provided to identify
  625  and provide specialized instruction for students who are reading
  626  below grade level. The curriculum and instructional strategies
  627  for reading must be consistent with the Next Generation Sunshine
  628  State Standards and evidence-based grounded in scientifically
  629  based reading research.
  630         b. In order to provide students with access to diverse
  631  instructional delivery models, to facilitate the integration of
  632  technology within traditional classroom instruction, and to
  633  provide students with the skills they need to compete in the
  634  21st century economy, the Legislature encourages instructional
  635  methods for blended learning courses consisting of both
  636  traditional classroom and online instructional techniques.
  637  Charter schools may implement blended learning courses which
  638  combine traditional classroom instruction and virtual
  639  instruction. Students in a blended learning course must be full
  640  time students of the charter school and receive the online
  641  instruction in a classroom setting at the charter school.
  642  Instructional personnel certified pursuant to s. 1012.55 who
  643  provide virtual instruction for blended learning courses may be
  644  employees of the charter school or may be under contract to
  645  provide instructional services to charter school students. At a
  646  minimum, such instructional personnel must hold an active state
  647  or school district adjunct certification under s. 1012.57 for
  648  the subject area of the blended learning course. The funding and
  649  performance accountability requirements for blended learning
  650  courses are the same as those for traditional courses.
  651         3. The current incoming baseline standard of student
  652  academic achievement, the outcomes to be achieved, and the
  653  method of measurement that will be used. The criteria listed in
  654  this subparagraph shall include a detailed description of:
  655         a. How the baseline student academic achievement levels and
  656  prior rates of academic progress will be established.
  657         b. How these baseline rates will be compared to rates of
  658  academic progress achieved by these same students while
  659  attending the charter school.
  660         c. To the extent possible, how these rates of progress will
  661  be evaluated and compared with rates of progress of other
  662  closely comparable student populations.
  663  
  664  The district school board is required to provide academic
  665  student performance data to charter schools for each of their
  666  students coming from the district school system, as well as
  667  rates of academic progress of comparable student populations in
  668  the district school system.
  669         4. The methods used to identify the educational strengths
  670  and needs of students and how well educational goals and
  671  performance standards are met by students attending the charter
  672  school. The methods shall provide a means for the charter school
  673  to ensure accountability to its constituents by analyzing
  674  student performance data and by evaluating the effectiveness and
  675  efficiency of its major educational programs. Students in
  676  charter schools shall, at a minimum, participate in the
  677  statewide assessment program created under s. 1008.22.
  678         5. In secondary charter schools, a method for determining
  679  that a student has satisfied the requirements for graduation in
  680  s. 1002.3105(5), s. 1003.4281, or s. 1003.4282.
  681         6. A method for resolving conflicts between the governing
  682  board of the charter school and the sponsor.
  683         7. The admissions procedures and dismissal procedures,
  684  including the school’s code of student conduct. Admission or
  685  dismissal must not be based on a student’s academic performance.
  686         8. The ways by which the school will achieve a
  687  racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or
  688  within the racial/ethnic range of other public schools in the
  689  same school district.
  690         9. The financial and administrative management of the
  691  school, including a reasonable demonstration of the professional
  692  experience or competence of those individuals or organizations
  693  applying to operate the charter school or those hired or
  694  retained to perform such professional services and the
  695  description of clearly delineated responsibilities and the
  696  policies and practices needed to effectively manage the charter
  697  school. A description of internal audit procedures and
  698  establishment of controls to ensure that financial resources are
  699  properly managed must be included. Both public sector and
  700  private sector professional experience shall be equally valid in
  701  such a consideration.
  702         10. The asset and liability projections required in the
  703  application which are incorporated into the charter and shall be
  704  compared with information provided in the annual report of the
  705  charter school.
  706         11. A description of procedures that identify various risks
  707  and provide for a comprehensive approach to reduce the impact of
  708  losses; plans to ensure the safety and security of students and
  709  staff; plans to identify, minimize, and protect others from
  710  violent or disruptive student behavior; and the manner in which
  711  the school will be insured, including whether or not the school
  712  will be required to have liability insurance, and, if so, the
  713  terms and conditions thereof and the amounts of coverage.
  714         12. The term of the charter which shall provide for
  715  cancellation of the charter if insufficient progress has been
  716  made in attaining the student achievement objectives of the
  717  charter and if it is not likely that such objectives can be
  718  achieved before expiration of the charter. The initial term of a
  719  charter shall be for 4 or 5 years. In order to facilitate access
  720  to long-term financial resources for charter school
  721  construction, charter schools that are operated by a
  722  municipality or other public entity as provided by law are
  723  eligible for up to a 15-year charter, subject to approval by the
  724  district school board. A charter lab school is eligible for a
  725  charter for a term of up to 15 years. In addition, to facilitate
  726  access to long-term financial resources for charter school
  727  construction, charter schools that are operated by a private,
  728  not-for-profit, s. 501(c)(3) status corporation are eligible for
  729  up to a 15-year charter, subject to approval by the district
  730  school board. Such long-term charters remain subject to annual
  731  review and may be terminated during the term of the charter, but
  732  only according to the provisions set forth in subsection (8).
  733         13. The facilities to be used and their location. The
  734  sponsor may not require a charter school to have a certificate
  735  of occupancy or a temporary certificate of occupancy for such a
  736  facility earlier than 15 calendar days before the first day of
  737  school.
  738         14. The qualifications to be required of the teachers and
  739  the potential strategies used to recruit, hire, train, and
  740  retain qualified staff to achieve best value.
  741         15. The governance structure of the school, including the
  742  status of the charter school as a public or private employer as
  743  required in paragraph (12)(i).
  744         16. A timetable for implementing the charter which
  745  addresses the implementation of each element thereof and the
  746  date by which the charter shall be awarded in order to meet this
  747  timetable.
  748         17. In the case of an existing public school that is being
  749  converted to charter status, alternative arrangements for
  750  current students who choose not to attend the charter school and
  751  for current teachers who choose not to teach in the charter
  752  school after conversion in accordance with the existing
  753  collective bargaining agreement or district school board rule in
  754  the absence of a collective bargaining agreement. However,
  755  alternative arrangements shall not be required for current
  756  teachers who choose not to teach in a charter lab school, except
  757  as authorized by the employment policies of the state university
  758  which grants the charter to the lab school.
  759         18. Full disclosure of the identity of all relatives
  760  employed by the charter school who are related to the charter
  761  school owner, president, chairperson of the governing board of
  762  directors, superintendent, governing board member, principal,
  763  assistant principal, or any other person employed by the charter
  764  school who has equivalent decisionmaking authority. For the
  765  purpose of this subparagraph, the term “relative” means father,
  766  mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first
  767  cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in
  768  law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law,
  769  stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother,
  770  stepsister, half brother, or half sister.
  771         19. Implementation of the activities authorized under s.
  772  1002.331 by the charter school when it satisfies the eligibility
  773  requirements for a high-performing charter school. A high
  774  performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in writing by
  775  March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or expand grade
  776  levels the following school year. The written notice shall
  777  specify the amount of the enrollment increase and the grade
  778  levels that will be added, as applicable.
  779         (d)1.A charter may be terminated by a charter school’s
  780  governing board through voluntary closure. The decision to cease
  781  operations must be determined at a public meeting. The governing
  782  board shall notify the parents and sponsor of the public meeting
  783  in writing before the public meeting. The governing board must
  784  notify the sponsor, parents of enrolled students, and the
  785  department in writing within 24 hours after the public meeting
  786  of its determination. The notice shall state the charter
  787  school’s intent to continue operations or the reason for the
  788  closure and acknowledge that the governing board agrees to
  789  follow the procedures for dissolution and reversion of public
  790  funds pursuant to paragraphs (8)(e)-(g) and (9)(o) Each charter
  791  school’s governing board must appoint a representative to
  792  facilitate parental involvement, provide access to information,
  793  assist parents and others with questions and concerns, and
  794  resolve disputes. The representative must reside in the school
  795  district in which the charter school is located and may be a
  796  governing board member, charter school employee, or individual
  797  contracted to represent the governing board. If the governing
  798  board oversees multiple charter schools in the same school
  799  district, the governing board must appoint a separate individual
  800  representative for each charter school in the district. The
  801  representative’s contact information must be provided annually
  802  in writing to parents and posted prominently on the charter
  803  school’s website if a website is maintained by the school. The
  804  sponsor may not require that governing board members reside in
  805  the school district in which the charter school is located if
  806  the charter school complies with this paragraph.
  807         2.Each charter school’s governing board must hold at least
  808  two public meetings per school year in the school district. The
  809  meetings must be noticed, open, and accessible to the public,
  810  and attendees must be provided an opportunity to receive
  811  information and provide input regarding the charter school’s
  812  operations. The appointed representative and charter school
  813  principal or director, or his or her equivalent, must be
  814  physically present at each meeting.
  815         (9) CHARTER SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.—
  816         (g)1. In order to provide financial information that is
  817  comparable to that reported for other public schools, charter
  818  schools are to maintain all financial records that constitute
  819  their accounting system:
  820         a. In accordance with the accounts and codes prescribed in
  821  the most recent issuance of the publication titled “Financial
  822  and Program Cost Accounting and Reporting for Florida Schools”;
  823  or
  824         b. At the discretion of the charter school’s governing
  825  board, a charter school may elect to follow generally accepted
  826  accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations, but must
  827  reformat this information for reporting according to this
  828  paragraph.
  829         2. Charter schools shall provide annual financial report
  830  and program cost report information in the state-required
  831  formats for inclusion in district reporting in compliance with
  832  s. 1011.60(1). Charter schools that are operated by a
  833  municipality or are a component unit of a parent nonprofit
  834  organization may use the accounting system of the municipality
  835  or the parent but must reformat this information for reporting
  836  according to this paragraph.
  837         3. A charter school shall, upon approval of the charter
  838  contract, provide the sponsor with a concise, uniform, monthly
  839  financial statement summary sheet that contains a balance sheet
  840  and a statement of revenue, expenditures, and changes in fund
  841  balance. The balance sheet and the statement of revenue,
  842  expenditures, and changes in fund balance shall be in the
  843  governmental funds format prescribed by the Governmental
  844  Accounting Standards Board. A high-performing charter school
  845  pursuant to s. 1002.331 may provide a quarterly financial
  846  statement in the same format and requirements as the uniform
  847  monthly financial statement summary sheet. The sponsor shall
  848  review each monthly or quarterly financial statement to identify
  849  the existence of any conditions identified in s. 1002.345(1)(a).
  850         4. A charter school shall maintain and provide financial
  851  information as required in this paragraph. The financial
  852  statement required in subparagraph 3. must be in a form
  853  prescribed by the Department of Education.
  854         (n)1. The director and a representative of the governing
  855  board of a charter school that has earned a grade of “D” or “F”
  856  pursuant to s. 1008.34 shall appear before the sponsor to
  857  present information concerning each contract component having
  858  noted deficiencies. The director and a representative of the
  859  governing board shall submit to the sponsor for approval a
  860  school improvement plan to raise student performance. Upon
  861  approval by the sponsor, the charter school shall begin
  862  implementation of the school improvement plan. The department
  863  shall offer technical assistance and training to the charter
  864  school and its governing board and establish guidelines for
  865  developing, submitting, and approving such plans.
  866         2.a. If a charter school earns three consecutive grades of
  867  “D,” two consecutive grades of “D” followed by a grade of “F,”
  868  or two nonconsecutive grades of “F” within a 3-year period, the
  869  charter school governing board shall choose one of the following
  870  corrective actions:
  871         (I) Contract for educational services to be provided
  872  directly to students, instructional personnel, and school
  873  administrators, as prescribed in state board rule;
  874         (II) Contract with an outside entity that has a
  875  demonstrated record of effectiveness to operate the school;
  876         (III) Reorganize the school under a new director or
  877  principal who is authorized to hire new staff; or
  878         (IV) Voluntarily close the charter school.
  879         b. The charter school must implement the corrective action
  880  in the school year following receipt of a third consecutive
  881  grade of “D,” a grade of “F” following two consecutive grades of
  882  “D,” or a second nonconsecutive grade of “F” within a 3-year
  883  period.
  884         c. The sponsor may annually waive a corrective action if it
  885  determines that the charter school is likely to improve a letter
  886  grade if additional time is provided to implement the
  887  intervention and support strategies prescribed by the school
  888  improvement plan. Notwithstanding this sub-subparagraph, a
  889  charter school that earns a second consecutive grade of “F” is
  890  subject to subparagraph 4.
  891         d. A charter school is no longer required to implement a
  892  corrective action if it improves by at least one letter grade.
  893  However, the charter school must continue to implement
  894  strategies identified in the school improvement plan. The
  895  sponsor must annually review implementation of the school
  896  improvement plan to monitor the school’s continued improvement
  897  pursuant to subparagraph 5.
  898         e. A charter school implementing a corrective action that
  899  does not improve by at least one letter grade after 2 full
  900  school years of implementing the corrective action must select a
  901  different corrective action. Implementation of the new
  902  corrective action must begin in the school year following the
  903  implementation period of the existing corrective action, unless
  904  the sponsor determines that the charter school is likely to
  905  improve a letter grade if additional time is provided to
  906  implement the existing corrective action. Notwithstanding this
  907  sub-subparagraph, a charter school that earns a second
  908  consecutive grade of “F” while implementing a corrective action
  909  is subject to subparagraph 4.
  910         3. A charter school with a grade of “D” or “F” that
  911  improves by at least one letter grade must continue to implement
  912  the strategies identified in the school improvement plan. The
  913  sponsor must annually review implementation of the school
  914  improvement plan to monitor the school’s continued improvement
  915  pursuant to subparagraph 5.
  916         4. A charter school’s charter contract is automatically
  917  terminated if the school earns two consecutive grades of “F”
  918  after all school grade appeals are final The sponsor shall
  919  terminate a charter if the charter school earns two consecutive
  920  grades of “F” unless:
  921         a. The charter school is established to turn around the
  922  performance of a district public school pursuant to s.
  923  1008.33(4)(b)3. Such charter schools shall be governed by s.
  924  1008.33;
  925         b. The charter school serves a student population the
  926  majority of which resides in a school zone served by a district
  927  public school that earned a grade of “F” in the year before the
  928  charter school opened and the charter school earns at least a
  929  grade of “D” in its third year of operation. The exception
  930  provided under this sub-subparagraph does not apply to a charter
  931  school in its fourth year of operation and thereafter; or
  932         c. The state board grants the charter school a waiver of
  933  termination. The charter school must request the waiver within
  934  15 days after the department’s official release of school
  935  grades. The state board may waive termination if the charter
  936  school demonstrates that the Learning Gains of its students on
  937  statewide assessments are comparable to or better than the
  938  Learning Gains of similarly situated students enrolled in nearby
  939  district public schools. The waiver is valid for 1 year and may
  940  only be granted once. Charter schools that have been in
  941  operation for more than 5 years are not eligible for a waiver
  942  under this sub-subparagraph.
  943  
  944  The sponsor shall notify the charter school’s governing board,
  945  the charter school principal, and the department in writing when
  946  a charter contract is terminated under this subparagraph. The
  947  letter of termination must meet the requirements of paragraph
  948  (8)(c). A charter terminated under this subparagraph must follow
  949  the procedures for dissolution and reversion of public funds
  950  pursuant to paragraphs (8)(e)-(g) and (9)(o).
  951         5. The director and a representative of the governing board
  952  of a graded charter school that has implemented a school
  953  improvement plan under this paragraph shall appear before the
  954  sponsor at least once a year to present information regarding
  955  the progress of intervention and support strategies implemented
  956  by the school pursuant to the school improvement plan and
  957  corrective actions, if applicable. The sponsor shall communicate
  958  at the meeting, and in writing to the director, the services
  959  provided to the school to help the school address its
  960  deficiencies.
  961         6. Notwithstanding any provision of this paragraph except
  962  sub-subparagraphs 4.a.-c., the sponsor may terminate the charter
  963  at any time pursuant to subsection (8).
  964         (p)1. Each charter school shall maintain a website that
  965  enables the public to obtain information regarding the school;
  966  the school’s academic performance; the names of the governing
  967  board members; the programs at the school; any management
  968  companies, service providers, or education management
  969  corporations associated with the school; the school’s annual
  970  budget and its annual independent fiscal audit; the school’s
  971  grade pursuant to s. 1008.34; and, on a quarterly basis, the
  972  minutes of governing board meetings.
  973         2.Each charter school’s governing board must appoint a
  974  representative to facilitate parental involvement, provide
  975  access to information, assist parents and others with questions
  976  and concerns, and resolve disputes. The representative must
  977  reside in the school district in which the charter school is
  978  located and may be a governing board member, a charter school
  979  employee, or an individual contracted to represent the governing
  980  board. If the governing board oversees multiple charter schools
  981  in the same school district, the governing board must appoint a
  982  separate representative for each charter school in the district.
  983  The representative’s contact information must be provided
  984  annually in writing to parents and posted prominently on the
  985  charter school’s website. The sponsor may not require governing
  986  board members to reside in the school district in which the
  987  charter school is located if the charter school complies with
  988  this subparagraph.
  989         3.Each charter school’s governing board must hold at least
  990  two public meetings per school year in the school district where
  991  the charter school is located. The meetings must be noticed,
  992  open, and accessible to the public, and attendees must be
  993  provided an opportunity to receive information and provide input
  994  regarding the charter school’s operations. The appointed
  995  representative and charter school principal or director, or his
  996  or her designee, must be physically present at each meeting.
  997         (10) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—
  998         (d) A charter school may give enrollment preference to the
  999  following student populations:
 1000         1. Students who are siblings of a student enrolled in the
 1001  charter school.
 1002         2. Students who are the children of a member of the
 1003  governing board of the charter school.
 1004         3. Students who are the children of an employee of the
 1005  charter school.
 1006         4. Students who are the children of:
 1007         a. An employee of the business partner of a charter school
 1008  in-the-workplace established under paragraph (15)(b) or a
 1009  resident of the municipality in which such charter school is
 1010  located; or
 1011         b. A resident of a municipality that operates a charter
 1012  school-in-a-municipality pursuant to paragraph (15)(c).
 1013         5. Students who have successfully completed a voluntary
 1014  prekindergarten education program under ss. 1002.51-1002.79
 1015  provided by the charter school or the charter school’s governing
 1016  board during the previous year.
 1017         6. Students who are the children of an active duty member
 1018  of any branch of the United States Armed Forces.
 1019         7.Students who attended or are assigned to failing schools
 1020  pursuant to s. 1002.38(2).
 1021         (17) FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a charter school,
 1022  regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded as if they are in
 1023  a basic program or a special program, the same as students
 1024  enrolled in other public schools in the school district. Funding
 1025  for a charter lab school shall be as provided in s. 1002.32.
 1026         (b) The basis for the agreement for funding students
 1027  enrolled in a charter school shall be the sum of the school
 1028  district’s operating funds from the Florida Education Finance
 1029  Program as provided in s. 1011.62 and the General Appropriations
 1030  Act, including gross state and local funds, discretionary
 1031  lottery funds, and funds from the school district’s current
 1032  operating discretionary millage levy; divided by total funded
 1033  weighted full-time equivalent students in the school district;
 1034  multiplied by the weighted full-time equivalent students for the
 1035  charter school. Charter schools whose students or programs meet
 1036  the eligibility criteria in law are entitled to their
 1037  proportionate share of categorical program funds included in the
 1038  total funds available in the Florida Education Finance Program
 1039  by the Legislature, including transportation, the research-based
 1040  reading allocation, and the Florida digital classrooms
 1041  allocation. Total funding for each charter school shall be
 1042  recalculated during the year to reflect the revised calculations
 1043  under the Florida Education Finance Program by the state and the
 1044  actual weighted full-time equivalent students reported by the
 1045  charter school during the full-time equivalent student survey
 1046  periods designated by the Commissioner of Education.
 1047         (20) SERVICES.—
 1048         (a)1. A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and
 1049  educational services to charter schools. These services shall
 1050  include contract management services; full-time equivalent and
 1051  data reporting services; exceptional student education
 1052  administration services; services related to eligibility and
 1053  reporting duties required to ensure that school lunch services
 1054  under the federal lunch program, consistent with the needs of
 1055  the charter school, are provided by the school district at the
 1056  request of the charter school, that any funds due to the charter
 1057  school under the federal lunch program be paid to the charter
 1058  school as soon as the charter school begins serving food under
 1059  the federal lunch program, and that the charter school is paid
 1060  at the same time and in the same manner under the federal lunch
 1061  program as other public schools serviced by the sponsor or the
 1062  school district; test administration services, including payment
 1063  of the costs of state-required or district-required student
 1064  assessments; processing of teacher certificate data services;
 1065  and information services, including equal access to student
 1066  information systems that are used by public schools in the
 1067  district in which the charter school is located. Student
 1068  performance data for each student in a charter school,
 1069  including, but not limited to, FCAT scores, standardized test
 1070  scores, previous public school student report cards, and student
 1071  performance measures, shall be provided by the sponsor to a
 1072  charter school in the same manner provided to other public
 1073  schools in the district.
 1074         2. A total administrative fee for the provision of such
 1075  services shall be calculated based upon up to 5 percent of the
 1076  available funds defined in paragraph (17)(b) for all students,
 1077  except that when 75 percent or more of the students enrolled in
 1078  the charter school are exceptional students as defined in s.
 1079  1003.01(3), the 5 percent of those available funds shall be
 1080  calculated based on unweighted full-time equivalent students.
 1081  However, a sponsor may only withhold up to a 5-percent
 1082  administrative fee for enrollment for up to and including 250
 1083  students. For charter schools with a population of 251 or more
 1084  students, the difference between the total administrative fee
 1085  calculation and the amount of the administrative fee withheld
 1086  may only be used for capital outlay purposes specified in s.
 1087  1013.62(2).
 1088         3. For high-performing charter schools, as defined in s.
 1089  1002.331 ch. 2011-232, a sponsor may withhold a total
 1090  administrative fee of up to 2 percent for enrollment up to and
 1091  including 250 students per school.
 1092         4. In addition, a sponsor may withhold only up to a 5
 1093  percent administrative fee for enrollment for up to and
 1094  including 500 students within a system of charter schools which
 1095  meets all of the following:
 1096         a. Includes both conversion charter schools and
 1097  nonconversion charter schools;
 1098         b. Has all schools located in the same county;
 1099         c. Has a total enrollment exceeding the total enrollment of
 1100  at least one school district in the state;
 1101         d. Has the same governing board; and
 1102         e. Does not contract with a for-profit service provider for
 1103  management of school operations.
 1104         5. The difference between the total administrative fee
 1105  calculation and the amount of the administrative fee withheld
 1106  pursuant to subparagraph 4. may be used for instructional and
 1107  administrative purposes as well as for capital outlay purposes
 1108  specified in s. 1013.62(2).
 1109         6. For a high-performing charter school system that also
 1110  meets the requirements in subparagraph 4., a sponsor may
 1111  withhold a 2-percent administrative fee for enrollments up to
 1112  and including 500 students per system.
 1113         7. Sponsors shall not charge charter schools any additional
 1114  fees or surcharges for administrative and educational services
 1115  in addition to the maximum 5-percent administrative fee withheld
 1116  pursuant to this paragraph.
 1117         8. The sponsor of a virtual charter school may withhold a
 1118  fee of up to 5 percent. The funds shall be used to cover the
 1119  cost of services provided under subparagraph 1. and
 1120  implementation of the school district’s digital classrooms plan
 1121  pursuant to s. 1011.62.
 1122         Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
 1123  1002.37, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 1124         1002.37 The Florida Virtual School.—
 1125         (3) Funding for the Florida Virtual School shall be
 1126  provided as follows:
 1127         (a)1. The calculation of “full-time equivalent student”
 1128  shall be as prescribed in s. 1011.61(1)(c)1.b.(V) and is subject
 1129  to s. 1011.61(4) For a student in grades 9 through 12, a “full
 1130  time equivalent student” is one student who has successfully
 1131  completed six full-credit courses that count toward the minimum
 1132  number of credits required for high school graduation. A student
 1133  who completes fewer than six full-credit courses is a fraction
 1134  of a full-time equivalent student. Half-credit course
 1135  completions shall be included in determining a full-time
 1136  equivalent student.
 1137         2.For a student in kindergarten through grade 8, a “full
 1138  time equivalent student” is one student who has successfully
 1139  completed six courses or the prescribed level of content that
 1140  counts toward promotion to the next grade. A student who
 1141  completes fewer than six courses or the prescribed level of
 1142  content shall be a fraction of a full-time equivalent student.
 1143         2.3. For a student in a home education program, funding
 1144  shall be provided in accordance with this subsection upon course
 1145  completion if the parent verifies, upon enrollment for each
 1146  course, that the student is registered with the school district
 1147  as a home education student pursuant to s. 1002.41(1)(a).
 1148  Beginning in the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the reported full-time
 1149  equivalent students and associated funding of students enrolled
 1150  in courses requiring passage of an end-of-course assessment
 1151  under s. 1003.4282 to earn a standard high school diploma shall
 1152  be adjusted if the student does not pass the end-of-course
 1153  assessment. However, no adjustment shall be made for home
 1154  education program students who choose not to take an end-of
 1155  course assessment or for a student who enrolls in a segmented
 1156  remedial course delivered online.
 1157  
 1158  For purposes of this paragraph, the calculation of “full-time
 1159  equivalent student” shall be as prescribed in s.
 1160  1011.61(1)(c)1.b.(V) and is subject to the requirements in s.
 1161  1011.61(4).
 1162         Section 7. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1),
 1163  paragraph (e) of subsection (7), and paragraphs (c) and (d) of
 1164  subsection (8) of section 1002.45, Florida Statutes, are amended
 1165  to read:
 1166         1002.45 Virtual instruction programs.—
 1167         (1) PROGRAM.—
 1168         (c) To provide students with the option of participating in
 1169  virtual instruction programs as required by paragraph (b), a
 1170  school district may:
 1171         1. Contract with the Florida Virtual School or establish a
 1172  franchise of the Florida Virtual School for the provision of a
 1173  program under paragraph (b). Using this option is subject to the
 1174  requirements of this section and s. 1011.61(1)(c)1.b.(III) and
 1175  (IV) and (4). A district may report full-time equivalent student
 1176  membership for credit earned by a student who is enrolled in a
 1177  virtual education course provided by the district which was
 1178  completed after the end of the regular school year if the FTE is
 1179  reported no later than the deadline for amending the final
 1180  student membership report for that year.
 1181         2. Contract with an approved provider under subsection (2)
 1182  for the provision of a full-time or part-time program under
 1183  paragraph (b).
 1184         3. Enter into an agreement with other school districts to
 1185  allow the participation of its students in an approved virtual
 1186  instruction program provided by the other school district. The
 1187  agreement must indicate a process for the transfer of funds
 1188  required by paragraph (7)(e) (7)(f).
 1189         4. Establish school district operated part-time or full
 1190  time kindergarten through grade 12 virtual instruction programs
 1191  under paragraph (b) for students enrolled in the school
 1192  district. A full-time program shall operate under its own Master
 1193  School Identification Number.
 1194         5. Enter into an agreement with a virtual charter school
 1195  authorized by the school district under s. 1002.33.
 1196  
 1197  Contracts under subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2. may include
 1198  multidistrict contractual arrangements that may be executed by a
 1199  regional consortium for its member districts. A multidistrict
 1200  contractual arrangement or an agreement under subparagraph 3. is
 1201  not subject to s. 1001.42(4)(d) and does not require the
 1202  participating school districts to be contiguous. These
 1203  arrangements may be used to fulfill the requirements of
 1204  paragraph (b).
 1205         (d) A virtual charter school may provide full-time virtual
 1206  instruction for students in kindergarten through grade 12 if the
 1207  virtual charter school has a charter approved pursuant to s.
 1208  1002.33 authorizing full-time virtual instruction. A virtual
 1209  charter school may:
 1210         1. Contract with the Florida Virtual School.
 1211         2. Contract with an approved provider under subsection (2).
 1212         3. Enter into an agreement with a school district to allow
 1213  the participation of the virtual charter school’s students in
 1214  the school district’s virtual instruction program. The agreement
 1215  must indicate a process for reporting of student enrollment and
 1216  the transfer of funds required by paragraph (7)(e) (7)(f).
 1217         (7) VIRTUAL INSTRUCTION PROGRAM AND VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOL
 1218  FUNDING.—
 1219         (e) Beginning in the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the reported
 1220  full-time equivalent students and associated funding of students
 1221  enrolled in courses requiring passage of an end-of-course
 1222  assessment under s. 1003.4282 to earn a standard high school
 1223  diploma shall be adjusted if the student does not pass the end
 1224  of-course assessment. However, no adjustment shall be made for a
 1225  student who enrolls in a segmented remedial course delivered
 1226  online.
 1227         (8) ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY.—
 1228         (c) An approved provider that receives a school grade of
 1229  “D” or “F” under s. 1008.34 or a school improvement rating of
 1230  “Unsatisfactory” “Declining” under s. 1008.341 must file a
 1231  school improvement plan with the department for consultation to
 1232  determine the causes for low performance and to develop a plan
 1233  for correction and improvement.
 1234         (d) An approved provider’s contract must be terminated if
 1235  the provider receives a school grade of “D” or “F” under s.
 1236  1008.34 or a school improvement rating of “Unsatisfactory”
 1237  “Declining” under s. 1008.341 for 2 years during any consecutive
 1238  4-year period or has violated any qualification requirement
 1239  pursuant to subsection (2). A provider that has a contract
 1240  terminated under this paragraph may not be an approved provider
 1241  for a period of at least 1 year after the date upon which the
 1242  contract was terminated and until the department determines that
 1243  the provider is in compliance with subsection (2) and has
 1244  corrected each cause of the provider’s low performance.
 1245         Section 8. Section 1003.3101, Florida Statutes, is created
 1246  to read:
 1247         1003.3101Additional educational choice options.—Each
 1248  school district board shall establish a transfer process for a
 1249  parent to request his or her child be transferred to another
 1250  classroom teacher. This section does not give a parent the right
 1251  to choose a specific classroom teacher. A school must approve or
 1252  deny the transfer within 2 weeks after receiving a request. If a
 1253  request for transfer is denied, the school must notify the
 1254  parent and specify the reasons for the denial. An explanation of
 1255  the transfer process must be made available in the student
 1256  handbook or a similar publication.
 1257         Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 1003.4295, Florida
 1258  Statutes, is amended to read:
 1259         1003.4295 Acceleration options.—
 1260         (3) The Credit Acceleration Program (CAP) is created for
 1261  the purpose of allowing a student to earn high school credit in
 1262  courses required for high school graduation through passage of
 1263  an end–of-course assessment Algebra I, Algebra II, geometry,
 1264  United States history, or biology if the student passes the
 1265  statewide, standardized assessment administered under s.
 1266  1008.22, an Advanced Placement Examination, or a College Level
 1267  Examination Program (CLEP). Notwithstanding s. 1003.436, a
 1268  school district shall award course credit to a student who is
 1269  not enrolled in the course, or who has not completed the course,
 1270  if the student attains a passing score on the corresponding end
 1271  of-course assessment, Advanced Placement Examination, or CLEP
 1272  statewide, standardized assessment. The school district shall
 1273  permit a public school or home education student who is not
 1274  enrolled in the course, or who has not completed the course, to
 1275  take the assessment or examination during the regular
 1276  administration of the assessment or examination.
 1277         Section 10. Effective June 29, 2016, section 1004.935,
 1278  Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 1279         1004.935 Adults with Disabilities Workforce Education Pilot
 1280  Program.—
 1281         (1) The Adults with Disabilities Workforce Education Pilot
 1282  Program is established in the Department of Education through
 1283  June 30, 2016, in Hardee, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties
 1284  to provide the option of receiving a scholarship for instruction
 1285  at private schools for up to 30 students who:
 1286         (a) Have a disability;
 1287         (b) Are 22 years of age;
 1288         (c) Are receiving instruction from an instructor in a
 1289  private school to meet the high school graduation requirements
 1290  in s. 1002.3105(5) or s. 1003.4282;
 1291         (d) Do not have a standard high school diploma or a special
 1292  high school diploma; and
 1293         (e) Receive “supported employment services,” which means
 1294  employment that is located or provided in an integrated work
 1295  setting with earnings paid on a commensurate wage basis and for
 1296  which continued support is needed for job maintenance.
 1297  
 1298  As used in this section, the term “student with a disability”
 1299  includes a student who is documented as having an intellectual
 1300  disability; a speech impairment; a language impairment; a
 1301  hearing impairment, including deafness; a visual impairment,
 1302  including blindness; a dual sensory impairment; an orthopedic
 1303  impairment; another health impairment; an emotional or
 1304  behavioral disability; a specific learning disability,
 1305  including, but not limited to, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or
 1306  developmental aphasia; a traumatic brain injury; a developmental
 1307  delay; or autism spectrum disorder.
 1308         (2) A student participating in the pilot program may
 1309  continue to participate in the program until the student
 1310  graduates from high school or reaches the age of 40 years,
 1311  whichever occurs first.
 1312         (3) Supported employment services may be provided at more
 1313  than one site.
 1314         (4) The provider of supported employment services must be a
 1315  nonprofit corporation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
 1316  Code which serves Hardee County, DeSoto County, Manatee County,
 1317  or Sarasota County and must contract with a private school in
 1318  this state which meets the requirements in subsection (5).
 1319         (5) A private school that participates in the pilot program
 1320  may be sectarian or nonsectarian and must:
 1321         (a) Be academically accountable for meeting the educational
 1322  needs of the student by annually providing to the provider of
 1323  supported employment services a written explanation of the
 1324  student’s progress.
 1325         (b) Comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42
 1326  U.S.C. s. 2000d.
 1327         (c) Meet state and local health and safety laws and codes.
 1328         (d) Provide to the provider of supported employment
 1329  services all documentation required for a student’s
 1330  participation, including the private school’s and student’s fee
 1331  schedules, at least 30 days before any quarterly scholarship
 1332  payment is made for the student. A student is not eligible to
 1333  receive a quarterly scholarship payment if the private school
 1334  fails to meet this deadline.
 1335  
 1336  The inability of a private school to meet the requirements of
 1337  this subsection constitutes a basis for the ineligibility of the
 1338  private school to participate in the pilot program.
 1339         (6)(a) If the student chooses to participate in the pilot
 1340  program and is accepted by the provider of supported employment
 1341  services, the student must notify the Department of Education of
 1342  his or her acceptance into the program 60 days before the first
 1343  scholarship payment and before participating in the pilot
 1344  program in order to be eligible for the scholarship.
 1345         (b) Upon receipt of a scholarship warrant, the student or
 1346  parent to whom the warrant is made must restrictively endorse
 1347  the warrant to the provider of supported employment services for
 1348  deposit into the account of the provider. The student or parent
 1349  may not designate any entity or individual associated with the
 1350  participating provider of supported employment services as the
 1351  student’s or parent’s attorney in fact to endorse a scholarship
 1352  warrant. A participant who fails to comply with this paragraph
 1353  forfeits the scholarship.
 1354         (7) Funds for the scholarship shall be provided from the
 1355  appropriation from the school district’s Workforce Development
 1356  Fund in the General Appropriations Act for students who reside
 1357  in the Hardee County School District, the DeSoto County School
 1358  District, the Manatee County School District, or the Sarasota
 1359  County School District. During the pilot program, The
 1360  scholarship amount granted for an eligible student with a
 1361  disability shall be equal to the cost per unit of a full-time
 1362  equivalent adult general education student, multiplied by the
 1363  adult general education funding factor, and multiplied by the
 1364  district cost differential pursuant to the formula required by
 1365  s. 1011.80(6)(a) for the district in which the student resides.
 1366         (8) Upon notification by the Department of Education that
 1367  it has received the required documentation, the Chief Financial
 1368  Officer shall make scholarship payments in four equal amounts no
 1369  later than September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1 of
 1370  each academic year in which the scholarship is in force. The
 1371  initial payment shall be made after the Department of Education
 1372  verifies that the student was accepted into the pilot program,
 1373  and subsequent payments shall be made upon verification of
 1374  continued participation in the pilot program. Payment must be by
 1375  individual warrant made payable to the student or parent and
 1376  mailed by the Department of Education to the provider of
 1377  supported employment services, and the student or parent shall
 1378  restrictively endorse the warrant to the provider of supported
 1379  employment services for deposit into the account of that
 1380  provider.
 1381         (9) Subsequent to each scholarship payment, the Department
 1382  of Education shall request from the Department of Financial
 1383  Services a sample of endorsed warrants to review and confirm
 1384  compliance with endorsement requirements.
 1385         Section 11. Subsection (3) and paragraph (a) of subsection
 1386  (8) of section 1006.15, Florida Statutes, are amended, and
 1387  subsection (9) is added to that section, to read:
 1388         1006.15 Student standards for participation in
 1389  interscholastic and intrascholastic extracurricular student
 1390  activities; regulation.—
 1391         (3)(a) As used in this section and s. 1006.20, the term
 1392  “eligible to participate” includes, but is not limited to, a
 1393  student participating in tryouts, off-season conditioning,
 1394  summer workouts, preseason conditioning, in-season practice, or
 1395  contests. The term does not mean that a student must be placed
 1396  on any specific team for interscholastic or intrascholastic
 1397  extracurricular activities. To be eligible to participate in
 1398  interscholastic extracurricular student activities, a student
 1399  must:
 1400         1. Maintain a grade point average of 2.0 or above on a 4.0
 1401  scale, or its equivalent, in the previous semester or a
 1402  cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above on a 4.0 scale,
 1403  or its equivalent, in the courses required by s. 1002.3105(5) or
 1404  s. 1003.4282.
 1405         2. Execute and fulfill the requirements of an academic
 1406  performance contract between the student, the district school
 1407  board, the appropriate governing association, and the student’s
 1408  parents, if the student’s cumulative grade point average falls
 1409  below 2.0, or its equivalent, on a 4.0 scale in the courses
 1410  required by s. 1002.3105(5) or s. 1003.4282. At a minimum, the
 1411  contract must require that the student attend summer school, or
 1412  its graded equivalent, between grades 9 and 10 or grades 10 and
 1413  11, as necessary.
 1414         3. Have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above on
 1415  a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent, in the courses required by s.
 1416  1002.3105(5) or s. 1003.4282 during his or her junior or senior
 1417  year.
 1418         4. Maintain satisfactory conduct, including adherence to
 1419  appropriate dress and other codes of student conduct policies
 1420  described in s. 1006.07(2). If a student is convicted of, or is
 1421  found to have committed, a felony or a delinquent act that would
 1422  have been a felony if committed by an adult, regardless of
 1423  whether adjudication is withheld, the student’s participation in
 1424  interscholastic extracurricular activities is contingent upon
 1425  established and published district school board policy.
 1426         (b) Any student who is exempt from attending a full school
 1427  day based on rules adopted by the district school board for
 1428  double session schools or programs, experimental schools, or
 1429  schools operating under emergency conditions must maintain the
 1430  grade point average required by this section and pass each class
 1431  for which he or she is enrolled.
 1432         (c) An individual home education student is eligible to
 1433  participate at the public school to which the student would be
 1434  assigned according to district school board attendance area
 1435  policies or which the student could choose to attend pursuant to
 1436  district or interdistrict controlled open enrollment provisions,
 1437  or may develop an agreement to participate at a private school,
 1438  in the interscholastic extracurricular activities of that
 1439  school, provided the following conditions are met:
 1440         1. The home education student must meet the requirements of
 1441  the home education program pursuant to s. 1002.41.
 1442         2. During the period of participation at a school, the home
 1443  education student must demonstrate educational progress as
 1444  required in paragraph (b) in all subjects taken in the home
 1445  education program by a method of evaluation agreed upon by the
 1446  parent and the school principal which may include: review of the
 1447  student’s work by a certified teacher chosen by the parent;
 1448  grades earned through correspondence; grades earned in courses
 1449  taken at a Florida College System institution, university, or
 1450  trade school; standardized test scores above the 35th
 1451  percentile; or any other method designated in s. 1002.41.
 1452         3. The home education student must meet the same residency
 1453  requirements as other students in the school at which he or she
 1454  participates.
 1455         4. The home education student must meet the same standards
 1456  of acceptance, behavior, and performance as required of other
 1457  students in extracurricular activities.
 1458         5. The student must register with the school his or her
 1459  intent to participate in interscholastic extracurricular
 1460  activities as a representative of the school before the
 1461  beginning date of the season for the activity in which he or she
 1462  wishes to participate. A home education student must be able to
 1463  participate in curricular activities if that is a requirement
 1464  for an extracurricular activity.
 1465         6. A student who transfers from a home education program to
 1466  a public school before or during the first grading period of the
 1467  school year is academically eligible to participate in
 1468  interscholastic extracurricular activities during the first
 1469  grading period provided the student has a successful evaluation
 1470  from the previous school year, pursuant to subparagraph 2.
 1471         7. Any public school or private school student who has been
 1472  unable to maintain academic eligibility for participation in
 1473  interscholastic extracurricular activities is ineligible to
 1474  participate in such activities as a home education student until
 1475  the student has successfully completed one grading period in
 1476  home education pursuant to subparagraph 2. to become eligible to
 1477  participate as a home education student.
 1478         (d) An individual charter school student pursuant to s.
 1479  1002.33 is eligible to participate at the public school to which
 1480  the student would be assigned according to district school board
 1481  attendance area policies or which the student could choose to
 1482  attend, pursuant to district or interdistrict controlled open
 1483  enrollment provisions, in any interscholastic extracurricular
 1484  activity of that school, unless such activity is provided by the
 1485  student’s charter school, if the following conditions are met:
 1486         1. The charter school student must meet the requirements of
 1487  the charter school education program as determined by the
 1488  charter school governing board.
 1489         2. During the period of participation at a school, the
 1490  charter school student must demonstrate educational progress as
 1491  required in paragraph (b).
 1492         3. The charter school student must meet the same residency
 1493  requirements as other students in the school at which he or she
 1494  participates.
 1495         4. The charter school student must meet the same standards
 1496  of acceptance, behavior, and performance that are required of
 1497  other students in extracurricular activities.
 1498         5. The charter school student must register with the school
 1499  his or her intent to participate in interscholastic
 1500  extracurricular activities as a representative of the school
 1501  before the beginning date of the season for the activity in
 1502  which he or she wishes to participate. A charter school student
 1503  must be able to participate in curricular activities if that is
 1504  a requirement for an extracurricular activity.
 1505         6. A student who transfers from a charter school program to
 1506  a traditional public school before or during the first grading
 1507  period of the school year is academically eligible to
 1508  participate in interscholastic extracurricular activities during
 1509  the first grading period if the student has a successful
 1510  evaluation from the previous school year, pursuant to
 1511  subparagraph 2.
 1512         7. Any public school or private school student who has been
 1513  unable to maintain academic eligibility for participation in
 1514  interscholastic extracurricular activities is ineligible to
 1515  participate in such activities as a charter school student until
 1516  the student has successfully completed one grading period in a
 1517  charter school pursuant to subparagraph 2. to become eligible to
 1518  participate as a charter school student.
 1519         (e) A student of the Florida Virtual School full-time
 1520  program may participate in any interscholastic extracurricular
 1521  activity at the public school to which the student would be
 1522  assigned according to district school board attendance area
 1523  policies or which the student could choose to attend, pursuant
 1524  to district or interdistrict controlled open enrollment
 1525  policies, if the student:
 1526         1. During the period of participation in the
 1527  interscholastic extracurricular activity, meets the requirements
 1528  in paragraph (a).
 1529         2. Meets any additional requirements as determined by the
 1530  board of trustees of the Florida Virtual School.
 1531         3. Meets the same residency requirements as other students
 1532  in the school at which he or she participates.
 1533         4. Meets the same standards of acceptance, behavior, and
 1534  performance that are required of other students in
 1535  extracurricular activities.
 1536         5. Registers his or her intent to participate in
 1537  interscholastic extracurricular activities with the school
 1538  before the beginning date of the season for the activity in
 1539  which he or she wishes to participate. A Florida Virtual School
 1540  student must be able to participate in curricular activities if
 1541  that is a requirement for an extracurricular activity.
 1542         (f) A student who transfers from the Florida Virtual School
 1543  full-time program to a traditional public school before or
 1544  during the first grading period of the school year is
 1545  academically eligible to participate in interscholastic
 1546  extracurricular activities during the first grading period if
 1547  the student has a successful evaluation from the previous school
 1548  year pursuant to paragraph (a).
 1549         (g) A public school or private school student who has been
 1550  unable to maintain academic eligibility for participation in
 1551  interscholastic extracurricular activities is ineligible to
 1552  participate in such activities as a Florida Virtual School
 1553  student until the student successfully completes one grading
 1554  period in the Florida Virtual School pursuant to paragraph (a).
 1555         (h)1. A school district or charter school may not delay
 1556  eligibility or otherwise prevent a student participating in
 1557  controlled open enrollment, or a choice program, from being
 1558  immediately eligible to participate in interscholastic and
 1559  intrascholastic extracurricular activities.
 1560         2. A student participating in a sport at a school may not
 1561  participate in that same sport at another school during that
 1562  school year, unless the student meets one of the following
 1563  criteria:
 1564         a. Dependent children of active duty military personnel
 1565  whose move resulted from military orders.
 1566         b. Children who have been relocated due to a foster care
 1567  placement in a different school zone.
 1568         c. Children who move due to a court ordered change in
 1569  custody due to separation or divorce, or the serious illness or
 1570  death of a custodial parent.
 1571         d. Authorized for good cause in district or charter school
 1572  policy.
 1573         (8)(a) The Florida High School Athletic Association
 1574  (FHSAA), in cooperation with each district school board, shall
 1575  facilitate a program in which a middle school or high school
 1576  student who attends a private school shall be eligible to
 1577  participate in an interscholastic or intrascholastic sport at a
 1578  public high school, a public middle school, or a 6-12 public
 1579  school that is zoned for the physical address at which the
 1580  student resides if:
 1581         1. The private school in which the student is enrolled is
 1582  not a member of the FHSAA and does not offer an interscholastic
 1583  or intrascholastic athletic program.
 1584         2. The private school student meets the guidelines for the
 1585  conduct of the program established by the FHSAA’s board of
 1586  directors and the district school board. At a minimum, such
 1587  guidelines shall provide:
 1588         a. A deadline for each sport by which the private school
 1589  student’s parents must register with the public school in
 1590  writing their intent for their child to participate at that
 1591  school in the sport.
 1592         b. Requirements for a private school student to
 1593  participate, including, but not limited to, meeting the same
 1594  standards of eligibility, acceptance, behavior, educational
 1595  progress, and performance which apply to other students
 1596  participating in interscholastic or intrascholastic sports at a
 1597  public school or FHSAA member private school.
 1598         (9)(a) A student who transfers to a school during the
 1599  school year may seek to immediately join an existing team if the
 1600  roster for the specific interscholastic or intrascholastic
 1601  extracurricular activity has not reached the activity’s
 1602  identified maximum size and if the coach for the activity
 1603  determines that the student has the requisite skill and ability
 1604  to participate. The FHSAA and school district or charter school
 1605  may not declare such a student ineligible because the student
 1606  did not have the opportunity to comply with qualifying
 1607  requirements.
 1608         (b) A student participating in a sport at a school may not
 1609  participate in that same sport at another school during that
 1610  school year, unless the student meets one of the following
 1611  criteria:
 1612         1. Dependent children of active duty military personnel
 1613  whose move resulted from military orders.
 1614         2. Children who have been relocated due to a foster care
 1615  placement in a different school zone.
 1616         3. Children who move due to a court ordered change in
 1617  custody due to separation or divorce, or the serious illness or
 1618  death of a custodial parent.
 1619         4. Authorized for good cause in district or charter school
 1620  policy.
 1621         Section 12. Subsection (1) and paragraphs (a), (b), (c),
 1622  and (g) of subsection (2) of section 1006.20, Florida Statutes,
 1623  are amended to read:
 1624         1006.20 Athletics in public K-12 schools.—
 1625         (1) GOVERNING NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The Florida High
 1626  School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is designated as the
 1627  governing nonprofit organization of athletics in Florida public
 1628  schools. If the FHSAA fails to meet the provisions of this
 1629  section, the commissioner shall designate a nonprofit
 1630  organization to govern athletics with the approval of the State
 1631  Board of Education. The FHSAA is not a state agency as defined
 1632  in s. 120.52. The FHSAA shall be subject to the provisions of s.
 1633  1006.19. A private school that wishes to engage in high school
 1634  athletic competition with a public high school may become a
 1635  member of the FHSAA. Any high school in the state, including
 1636  charter schools, virtual schools, and home education
 1637  cooperatives, may become a member of the FHSAA and participate
 1638  in the activities of the FHSAA. However, membership in the FHSAA
 1639  is not mandatory for any school. The FHSAA must allow a private
 1640  school the option of maintaining full membership in the
 1641  association or joining by sport and may not discourage a private
 1642  school from simultaneously maintaining membership in another
 1643  athletic association. The FHSAA may allow a public school the
 1644  option to apply for consideration to join another athletic
 1645  association. The FHSAA may not deny or discourage
 1646  interscholastic competition between its member schools and non
 1647  FHSAA member Florida schools, including members of another
 1648  athletic governing organization, and may not take any
 1649  retributory or discriminatory action against any of its member
 1650  schools that participate in interscholastic competition with
 1651  non-FHSAA member Florida schools. The FHSAA may not unreasonably
 1652  withhold its approval of an application to become an affiliate
 1653  member of the National Federation of State High School
 1654  Associations submitted by any other organization that governs
 1655  interscholastic athletic competition in this state. The bylaws
 1656  of the FHSAA are the rules by which high school athletic
 1657  programs in its member schools, and the students who participate
 1658  in them, are governed, unless otherwise specifically provided by
 1659  statute. For the purposes of this section, “high school”
 1660  includes grades 6 through 12.
 1661         (2) ADOPTION OF BYLAWS, POLICIES, OR GUIDELINES.—
 1662         (a) The FHSAA shall adopt bylaws that, unless specifically
 1663  provided by statute, establish eligibility requirements for all
 1664  students who participate in high school athletic competition in
 1665  its member schools. The bylaws governing residence and transfer
 1666  shall allow the student to be immediately eligible in the school
 1667  in which he or she first enrolls each school year or the school
 1668  in which the student makes himself or herself a candidate for an
 1669  athletic team by engaging in a practice prior to enrolling in
 1670  the school. The bylaws shall also allow the student to be
 1671  immediately eligible in the school to which the student has
 1672  transferred during the school year if the transfer is made by a
 1673  deadline established by the FHSAA, which may not be prior to the
 1674  date authorized for the beginning of practice for the sport.
 1675  These transfers shall be allowed pursuant to the district school
 1676  board policies in the case of transfer to a public school or
 1677  pursuant to the private school policies in the case of transfer
 1678  to a private school. The student shall be eligible in that
 1679  school so long as he or she remains enrolled in that school.
 1680  Subsequent eligibility shall be determined and enforced through
 1681  the FHSAA’s bylaws. Requirements governing eligibility and
 1682  transfer between member schools shall be applied similarly to
 1683  public school students and private school students.
 1684         (b) The FHSAA shall adopt bylaws that specifically prohibit
 1685  the recruiting of students for athletic purposes. The bylaws
 1686  shall prescribe penalties and an appeals process for athletic
 1687  recruiting violations.
 1688         1. If it is determined that a school has recruited a
 1689  student in violation of FHSAA bylaws, the FHSAA may require the
 1690  school to participate in a higher classification for the sport
 1691  in which the recruited student competes for a minimum of one
 1692  classification cycle, in addition to the penalties in
 1693  subparagraphs 2. and 3., and any other appropriate fine or and
 1694  sanction imposed on the school, its coaches, or adult
 1695  representatives who violate recruiting rules.
 1696         2. Any recruitment by a school district employee or
 1697  contractor in violation of FHSAA bylaws results in escalating
 1698  punishments as follows:
 1699         a. For a first offense, a $5,000 forfeiture of pay for the
 1700  school district employee or contractor who committed the
 1701  violation.
 1702         b. For a second offense, suspension without pay for 12
 1703  months from coaching, directing, or advertising an
 1704  extracurricular activity and a $5,000 forfeiture of pay for the
 1705  school district employee or contractor who committed the
 1706  violation.
 1707         c. For a third offense, a $5,000 forfeiture of pay for the
 1708  school district employee or contractor who committed the
 1709  violation. If the individual who committed the violation holds
 1710  an educator certificate, the FHSAA shall also refer the
 1711  violation to the department for review pursuant to s. 1012.796
 1712  to determine whether probable cause exists, and, if there is a
 1713  finding of probable cause, the commissioner shall file a formal
 1714  complaint against the individual. If the complaint is upheld,
 1715  the individual’s educator certificate shall be revoked for 3
 1716  years, in addition to any penalties available under s. 1012.796.
 1717  Additionally, the department shall revoke any adjunct teaching
 1718  certificates issued pursuant to s. 1012.57 and all permissions
 1719  under ss. 1012.39 and 1012.43, and the educator is ineligible
 1720  for such certificates or permissions for a period of time equal
 1721  to the period of revocation of his or her state-issued
 1722  certificate.
 1723         3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school
 1724  shall forfeit every competition in which a student participated
 1725  who was recruited by an adult who is not a school district
 1726  employee or contractor in violation of FHSAA bylaws.
 1727         4. A student may not be declared ineligible based on
 1728  violation of recruiting rules unless the student or parent has
 1729  falsified any enrollment or eligibility document or accepted any
 1730  benefit or any promise of benefit if such benefit is not
 1731  generally available to the school’s students or family members
 1732  or is based in any way on athletic interest, potential, or
 1733  performance.
 1734         (c) The FHSAA shall adopt bylaws that require all students
 1735  participating in interscholastic athletic competition or who are
 1736  candidates for an interscholastic athletic team to
 1737  satisfactorily pass a medical evaluation each year prior to
 1738  participating in interscholastic athletic competition or
 1739  engaging in any practice, tryout, workout, or other physical
 1740  activity associated with the student’s candidacy for an
 1741  interscholastic athletic team. Such medical evaluation may be
 1742  administered only by a practitioner licensed under chapter 458,
 1743  chapter 459, chapter 460, or s. 464.012, and in good standing
 1744  with the practitioner’s regulatory board. The bylaws shall
 1745  establish requirements for eliciting a student’s medical history
 1746  and performing the medical evaluation required under this
 1747  paragraph, which shall include a physical assessment of the
 1748  student’s physical capabilities to participate in
 1749  interscholastic athletic competition as contained in a uniform
 1750  preparticipation physical evaluation and history form. The
 1751  evaluation form shall incorporate the recommendations of the
 1752  American Heart Association for participation cardiovascular
 1753  screening and shall provide a place for the signature of the
 1754  practitioner performing the evaluation with an attestation that
 1755  each examination procedure listed on the form was performed by
 1756  the practitioner or by someone under the direct supervision of
 1757  the practitioner. The form shall also contain a place for the
 1758  practitioner to indicate if a referral to another practitioner
 1759  was made in lieu of completion of a certain examination
 1760  procedure. The form shall provide a place for the practitioner
 1761  to whom the student was referred to complete the remaining
 1762  sections and attest to that portion of the examination. The
 1763  preparticipation physical evaluation form shall advise students
 1764  to complete a cardiovascular assessment and shall include
 1765  information concerning alternative cardiovascular evaluation and
 1766  diagnostic tests. Results of such medical evaluation must be
 1767  provided to the school. A student is not No student shall be
 1768  eligible to participate, as provided in s. 1006.15(3), in any
 1769  interscholastic athletic competition or engage in any practice,
 1770  tryout, workout, or other physical activity associated with the
 1771  student’s candidacy for an interscholastic athletic team until
 1772  the results of the medical evaluation have been received and
 1773  approved by the school.
 1774         (g) The FHSAA shall adopt bylaws establishing the process
 1775  and standards by which FHSAA determinations of eligibility are
 1776  made. Such bylaws shall provide that:
 1777         1. Ineligibility must be established by a preponderance of
 1778  the clear and convincing evidence;
 1779         2. Student athletes, parents, and schools must have notice
 1780  of the initiation of any investigation or other inquiry into
 1781  eligibility and may present, to the investigator and to the
 1782  individual making the eligibility determination, any information
 1783  or evidence that is credible, persuasive, and of a kind
 1784  reasonably prudent persons rely upon in the conduct of serious
 1785  affairs;
 1786         3. An investigator may not determine matters of eligibility
 1787  but must submit information and evidence to the executive
 1788  director or a person designated by the executive director or by
 1789  the board of directors for an unbiased and objective
 1790  determination of eligibility; and
 1791         4. A determination of ineligibility must be made in
 1792  writing, setting forth the findings of fact and specific
 1793  violation upon which the decision is based.
 1794         Section 13. Section 1009.893, Florida Statutes, is amended
 1795  to read:
 1796         1009.893 Benacquisto Scholarship Florida National Merit
 1797  Scholar Incentive Program.—
 1798         (1) As used in this section, the term:
 1799         (a) “Department” means the Department of Education.
 1800         (b) “Scholarship Incentive program” means the Benacquisto
 1801  Scholarship Florida National Merit Scholar Incentive Program.
 1802         (2) The Benacquisto Scholarship Florida National Merit
 1803  Scholar Incentive Program is created to reward any Florida high
 1804  school graduate who receives recognition as a National Merit
 1805  Scholar or National Achievement Scholar and who initially
 1806  enrolls in the 2014-2015 academic year or, later, in a
 1807  baccalaureate degree program at an eligible Florida public or
 1808  independent postsecondary educational institution.
 1809         (3) The department shall administer the scholarship
 1810  incentive program according to rules and procedures established
 1811  by the State Board of Education. The department shall advertise
 1812  the availability of the scholarship incentive program and notify
 1813  students, teachers, parents, certified school counselors, and
 1814  principals or other relevant school administrators of the
 1815  criteria.
 1816         (4) In order to be eligible for an award under the
 1817  scholarship incentive program, a student must:
 1818         (a) Be a state resident as determined in s. 1009.40 and
 1819  rules of the State Board of Education;
 1820         (b) Earn a standard Florida high school diploma or its
 1821  equivalent pursuant to s. 1002.3105, s. 1003.4281, s. 1003.4282,
 1822  or s. 1003.435 unless:
 1823         1. The student completes a home education program according
 1824  to s. 1002.41; or
 1825         2. The student earns a high school diploma from a non
 1826  Florida school while living with a parent who is on military or
 1827  public service assignment out of this state;
 1828         (c) Be accepted by and enroll in a Florida public or
 1829  independent postsecondary educational institution that is
 1830  regionally accredited; and
 1831         (d) Be enrolled full-time in a baccalaureate degree program
 1832  at an eligible regionally accredited Florida public or
 1833  independent postsecondary educational institution during the
 1834  fall academic term following high school graduation.
 1835         (5)(a) An eligible student who is a National Merit Scholar
 1836  or National Achievement Scholar and who attends a Florida public
 1837  postsecondary educational institution shall receive a
 1838  scholarship an incentive award equal to the institutional cost
 1839  of attendance minus the sum of the student’s Florida Bright
 1840  Futures Scholarship and National Merit Scholarship or National
 1841  Achievement Scholarship.
 1842         (b) An eligible student who is a National Merit Scholar or
 1843  National Achievement Scholar and who attends a Florida
 1844  independent postsecondary educational institution shall receive
 1845  a scholarship an incentive award equal to the highest cost of
 1846  attendance at a Florida public university, as reported by the
 1847  Board of Governors of the State University System, minus the sum
 1848  of the student’s Florida Bright Futures Scholarship and National
 1849  Merit Scholarship or National Achievement Scholarship.
 1850         (6)(a) To be eligible for a renewal award, a student must
 1851  earn all credits for which he or she was enrolled and maintain a
 1852  3.0 or higher grade point average.
 1853         (b) A student may receive the scholarship incentive award
 1854  for a maximum of 100 percent of the number of credit hours
 1855  required to complete a baccalaureate degree program, or until
 1856  completion of a baccalaureate degree program, whichever comes
 1857  first.
 1858         (7) The department shall annually issue awards from the
 1859  scholarship incentive program. Before the registration period
 1860  each semester, the department shall transmit payment for each
 1861  award to the president or director of the postsecondary
 1862  educational institution, or his or her representative, except
 1863  that the department may withhold payment if the receiving
 1864  institution fails to report or to make refunds to the department
 1865  as required in this section.
 1866         (a) Each institution shall certify to the department the
 1867  eligibility status of each student to receive a disbursement
 1868  within 30 days before the end of its regular registration
 1869  period, inclusive of a drop and add period. An institution is
 1870  not required to reevaluate the student eligibility after the end
 1871  of the drop and add period.
 1872         (b) An institution that receives funds from the scholarship
 1873  incentive program must certify to the department the amount of
 1874  funds disbursed to each student and remit to the department any
 1875  undisbursed advances within 60 days after the end of regular
 1876  registration.
 1877         (c) If funds appropriated are not adequate to provide the
 1878  maximum allowable award to each eligible student, awards must be
 1879  prorated using the same percentage reduction.
 1880         (8) Funds from any award within the scholarship incentive
 1881  program may not be used to pay for remedial coursework or
 1882  developmental education.
 1883         (9) A student may use an award for a summer term if funds
 1884  are available and appropriated by the Legislature.
 1885         (10) The department shall allocate funds to the appropriate
 1886  institutions and collect and maintain data regarding the
 1887  scholarship incentive program within the student financial
 1888  assistance database as specified in s. 1009.94.
 1889         (11) Section 1009.40(4) does not apply to awards issued
 1890  under this section.
 1891         (12) A student who receives an award under the scholarship
 1892  program shall be known as a Benacquisto Scholar.
 1893         (13) All eligible Florida public or independent
 1894  postsecondary educational institutions are encouraged to become,
 1895  and all eligible state universities shall become, college
 1896  sponsors of the National Merit Scholarship Program.
 1897         (14)(12) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
 1898  necessary to administer this section.
 1899         Section 14. Subsection (1) of section 1011.61, Florida
 1900  Statutes, is amended to read:
 1901         1011.61 Definitions.—Notwithstanding the provisions of s.
 1902  1000.21, the following terms are defined as follows for the
 1903  purposes of the Florida Education Finance Program:
 1904         (1) A “full-time equivalent student” in each program of the
 1905  district is defined in terms of full-time students and part-time
 1906  students as follows:
 1907         (a) A “full-time student” is one student on the membership
 1908  roll of one school program or a combination of school programs
 1909  listed in s. 1011.62(1)(c) for the school year or the equivalent
 1910  for:
 1911         1. Instruction in a standard school, comprising not less
 1912  than 900 net hours for a student in or at the grade level of 4
 1913  through 12, or not less than 720 net hours for a student in or
 1914  at the grade level of kindergarten through grade 3 or in an
 1915  authorized prekindergarten exceptional program; or
 1916         2.Instruction in a double-session school or a school
 1917  utilizing an experimental school calendar approved by the
 1918  Department of Education, comprising not less than the equivalent
 1919  of 810 net hours in grades 4 through 12 or not less than 630 net
 1920  hours in kindergarten through grade 3; or
 1921         2.3. Instruction comprising the appropriate number of net
 1922  hours set forth in subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2. for
 1923  students who, within the past year, have moved with their
 1924  parents for the purpose of engaging in the farm labor or fish
 1925  industries, if a plan furnishing such an extended school day or
 1926  week, or a combination thereof, has been approved by the
 1927  commissioner. Such plan may be approved to accommodate the needs
 1928  of migrant students only or may serve all students in schools
 1929  having a high percentage of migrant students. The plan described
 1930  in this subparagraph is optional for any school district and is
 1931  not mandated by the state.
 1932         (b) A “part-time student” is a student on the active
 1933  membership roll of a school program or combination of school
 1934  programs listed in s. 1011.62(1)(c) who is less than a full-time
 1935  student. A student who receives instruction in a school that
 1936  operates for less than the minimum term shall generate full-time
 1937  equivalent student membership proportional to the amount of
 1938  instructional hours provided by the school divided by the
 1939  minimum term requirement as provided in s. 1011.60(2).
 1940         (c)1. A “full-time equivalent student” is:
 1941         a. A full-time student in any one of the programs listed in
 1942  s. 1011.62(1)(c); or
 1943         b. A combination of full-time or part-time students in any
 1944  one of the programs listed in s. 1011.62(1)(c) which is the
 1945  equivalent of one full-time student based on the following
 1946  calculations:
 1947         (I) A full-time student in a combination of programs listed
 1948  in s. 1011.62(1)(c) shall be a fraction of a full-time
 1949  equivalent membership in each special program equal to the
 1950  number of net hours per school year for which he or she is a
 1951  member, divided by the appropriate number of hours set forth in
 1952  subparagraph (a)1. or subparagraph (a)2. The difference between
 1953  that fraction or sum of fractions and the maximum value as set
 1954  forth in subsection (4) for each full-time student is presumed
 1955  to be the balance of the student’s time not spent in a special
 1956  program and shall be recorded as time in the appropriate basic
 1957  program.
 1958         (II) A prekindergarten student with a disability shall meet
 1959  the requirements specified for kindergarten students.
 1960         (III) A full-time equivalent student for students in
 1961  kindergarten through grade 12 in a full-time virtual instruction
 1962  program under s. 1002.45 or a virtual charter school under s.
 1963  1002.33 shall consist of six full-credit completions or the
 1964  prescribed level of content that counts toward promotion to the
 1965  next grade in programs listed in s. 1011.62(1)(c). Credit
 1966  completions may be a combination of full-credit courses or half
 1967  credit courses. Beginning in the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the
 1968  reported full-time equivalent students and associated funding of
 1969  students enrolled in courses requiring passage of an end-of
 1970  course assessment under s. 1003.4282 to earn a standard high
 1971  school diploma shall be adjusted if the student does not pass
 1972  the end-of-course assessment. However, no adjustment shall be
 1973  made for a student who enrolls in a segmented remedial course
 1974  delivered online.
 1975         (IV) A full-time equivalent student for students in
 1976  kindergarten through grade 12 in a part-time virtual instruction
 1977  program under s. 1002.45 shall consist of six full-credit
 1978  completions in programs listed in s. 1011.62(1)(c)1. and 3.
 1979  Credit completions may be a combination of full-credit courses
 1980  or half-credit courses. Beginning in the 2016-2017 fiscal year,
 1981  the reported full-time equivalent students and associated
 1982  funding of students enrolled in courses requiring passage of an
 1983  end-of-course assessment under s. 1003.4282 to earn a standard
 1984  high school diploma shall be adjusted if the student does not
 1985  pass the end-of-course assessment. However, no adjustment shall
 1986  be made for a student who enrolls in a segmented remedial course
 1987  delivered online.
 1988         (V) A Florida Virtual School full-time equivalent student
 1989  shall consist of six full-credit completions or the prescribed
 1990  level of content that counts toward promotion to the next grade
 1991  in the programs listed in s. 1011.62(1)(c)1. and 3. for students
 1992  participating in kindergarten through grade 12 part-time virtual
 1993  instruction and the programs listed in s. 1011.62(1)(c) for
 1994  students participating in kindergarten through grade 12 full
 1995  time virtual instruction. Credit completions may be a
 1996  combination of full-credit courses or half-credit courses.
 1997  Beginning in the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the reported full-time
 1998  equivalent students and associated funding of students enrolled
 1999  in courses requiring passage of an end-of-course assessment
 2000  under s. 1003.4282 to earn a standard high school diploma shall
 2001  be adjusted if the student does not pass the end-of-course
 2002  assessment. However, no adjustment shall be made for a student
 2003  who enrolls in a segmented remedial course delivered online.
 2004         (VI) Each successfully completed full-credit course earned
 2005  through an online course delivered by a district other than the
 2006  one in which the student resides shall be calculated as 1/6 FTE.
 2007         (VII) A full-time equivalent student for courses requiring
 2008  passage of a statewide, standardized end-of-course assessment
 2009  under s. 1003.4282 to earn a standard high school diploma shall
 2010  be defined and reported based on the number of instructional
 2011  hours as provided in this subsection until the 2016-2017 fiscal
 2012  year. Beginning in the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the FTE for the
 2013  course shall be assessment-based and shall be equal to 1/6 FTE.
 2014  The reported FTE shall be adjusted if the student does not pass
 2015  the end-of-course assessment. However, no adjustment shall be
 2016  made for a student who enrolls in a segmented remedial course
 2017  delivered online.
 2018         (VIII) For students enrolled in a school district as a
 2019  full-time student, the district may report 1/6 FTE for each
 2020  student who passes a statewide, standardized end-of-course
 2021  assessment without being enrolled in the corresponding course.
 2022         2. A student in membership in a program scheduled for more
 2023  or less than 180 school days or the equivalent on an hourly
 2024  basis as specified by rules of the State Board of Education is a
 2025  fraction of a full-time equivalent membership equal to the
 2026  number of instructional hours in membership divided by the
 2027  appropriate number of hours set forth in subparagraph (a)1.;
 2028  however, for the purposes of this subparagraph, membership in
 2029  programs scheduled for more than 180 days is limited to students
 2030  enrolled in:
 2031         a. Juvenile justice education programs.
 2032         b. The Florida Virtual School.
 2033         c. Virtual instruction programs and virtual charter schools
 2034  for the purpose of course completion and credit recovery
 2035  pursuant to ss. 1002.45 and 1003.498. Course completion applies
 2036  only to a student who is reported during the second or third
 2037  membership surveys and who does not complete a virtual education
 2038  course by the end of the regular school year. The course must be
 2039  completed no later than the deadline for amending the final
 2040  student enrollment survey for that year. Credit recovery applies
 2041  only to a student who has unsuccessfully completed a traditional
 2042  or virtual education course during the regular school year and
 2043  must re-take the course in order to be eligible to graduate with
 2044  the student’s class.
 2045  
 2046  The full-time equivalent student enrollment calculated under
 2047  this subsection is subject to the requirements in subsection
 2048  (4).
 2049  
 2050  The department shall determine and implement an equitable method
 2051  of equivalent funding for experimental schools and for schools
 2052  operating under emergency conditions, which schools have been
 2053  approved by the department to operate for less than the minimum
 2054  term as provided in s. 1011.60(2) school day.
 2055         Section 15. Effective July 1, 2016, and upon the expiration
 2056  of the amendment to section 1011.62, Florida Statutes, made by
 2057  chapter 2015-222, Laws of Florida, paragraphs (e) and (o) of
 2058  subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection (4), and present
 2059  subsection (13) of that section are amended, present subsections
 2060  (13), (14), and (15) of that section are redesignated as
 2061  subsections (14), (15), and (16), respectively, and a new
 2062  subsection (13) is added to that section, to read:
 2063         1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual
 2064  allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
 2065  district for operation of schools is not determined in the
 2066  annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
 2067  the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
 2068  follows:
 2069         (1) COMPUTATION OF THE BASIC AMOUNT TO BE INCLUDED FOR
 2070  OPERATION.—The following procedure shall be followed in
 2071  determining the annual allocation to each district for
 2072  operation:
 2073         (e) Funding model for exceptional student education
 2074  programs.—
 2075         1.a. The funding model uses basic, at-risk, support levels
 2076  IV and V for exceptional students and career Florida Education
 2077  Finance Program cost factors, and a guaranteed allocation for
 2078  exceptional student education programs. Exceptional education
 2079  cost factors are determined by using a matrix of services to
 2080  document the services that each exceptional student will
 2081  receive. The nature and intensity of the services indicated on
 2082  the matrix shall be consistent with the services described in
 2083  each exceptional student’s individual educational plan. The
 2084  Department of Education shall review and revise the descriptions
 2085  of the services and supports included in the matrix of services
 2086  for exceptional students and shall implement those revisions
 2087  before the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year.
 2088         b. In order to generate funds using one of the two weighted
 2089  cost factors, a matrix of services must be completed at the time
 2090  of the student’s initial placement into an exceptional student
 2091  education program and at least once every 3 years by personnel
 2092  who have received approved training. Nothing listed in the
 2093  matrix shall be construed as limiting the services a school
 2094  district must provide in order to ensure that exceptional
 2095  students are provided a free, appropriate public education.
 2096         c. Students identified as exceptional, in accordance with
 2097  chapter 6A-6, Florida Administrative Code, who do not have a
 2098  matrix of services as specified in sub-subparagraph b. shall
 2099  generate funds on the basis of full-time-equivalent student
 2100  membership in the Florida Education Finance Program at the same
 2101  funding level per student as provided for basic students.
 2102  Additional funds for these exceptional students will be provided
 2103  through the guaranteed allocation designated in subparagraph 2.
 2104         2. For students identified as exceptional who do not have a
 2105  matrix of services and students who are gifted in grades K
 2106  through 8, there is created a guaranteed allocation to provide
 2107  these students with a free appropriate public education, in
 2108  accordance with s. 1001.42(4)(l) and rules of the State Board of
 2109  Education, which shall be allocated initially annually to each
 2110  school district in the amount provided in the General
 2111  Appropriations Act. These funds shall be supplemental in
 2112  addition to the funds appropriated for the basic funding level
 2113  on the basis of FTE student membership in the Florida Education
 2114  Finance Program, and the amount allocated for each school
 2115  district shall not be recalculated once during the year, based
 2116  on actual student membership from the October FTE survey. Upon
 2117  recalculation, if the generated allocation is greater than the
 2118  amount provided in the General Appropriations Act, the total
 2119  shall be prorated to the level of the appropriation based on
 2120  each district’s share of the total recalculated amount. These
 2121  funds shall be used to provide special education and related
 2122  services for exceptional students and students who are gifted in
 2123  grades K through 8. Beginning with the 2007-2008 fiscal year, A
 2124  district’s expenditure of funds from the guaranteed allocation
 2125  for students in grades 9 through 12 who are gifted may not be
 2126  greater than the amount expended during the 2006-2007 fiscal
 2127  year for gifted students in grades 9 through 12.
 2128         (o) Calculation of additional full-time equivalent
 2129  membership based on successful completion of a career-themed
 2130  course pursuant to ss. 1003.491, 1003.492, and 1003.493, or
 2131  courses with embedded CAPE industry certifications or CAPE
 2132  Digital Tool certificates, and issuance of industry
 2133  certification identified on the CAPE Industry Certification
 2134  Funding List pursuant to rules adopted by the State Board of
 2135  Education or CAPE Digital Tool certificates pursuant to s.
 2136  1003.4203.
 2137         1.a. A value of 0.025 full-time equivalent student
 2138  membership shall be calculated for CAPE Digital Tool
 2139  certificates earned by students in elementary and middle school
 2140  grades.
 2141         b. A value of 0.1 or 0.2 full-time equivalent student
 2142  membership shall be calculated for each student who completes a
 2143  course as defined in s. 1003.493(1)(b) or courses with embedded
 2144  CAPE industry certifications and who is issued an industry
 2145  certification identified annually on the CAPE Industry
 2146  Certification Funding List approved under rules adopted by the
 2147  State Board of Education. A value of 0.2 full-time equivalent
 2148  membership shall be calculated for each student who is issued a
 2149  CAPE industry certification that has a statewide articulation
 2150  agreement for college credit approved by the State Board of
 2151  Education. For CAPE industry certifications that do not
 2152  articulate for college credit, the Department of Education shall
 2153  assign a full-time equivalent value of 0.1 for each
 2154  certification. Middle grades students who earn additional FTE
 2155  membership for a CAPE Digital Tool certificate pursuant to sub
 2156  subparagraph a. may not use the previously funded examination to
 2157  satisfy the requirements for earning an industry certification
 2158  under this sub-subparagraph. Additional FTE membership for an
 2159  elementary or middle grades student may shall not exceed 0.1 for
 2160  certificates or certifications earned within the same fiscal
 2161  year. The State Board of Education shall include the assigned
 2162  values on the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List under
 2163  rules adopted by the state board. Such value shall be added to
 2164  the total full-time equivalent student membership for grades 6
 2165  through 12 in the subsequent year for courses that were not
 2166  provided through dual enrollment. CAPE industry certifications
 2167  earned through dual enrollment must be reported and funded
 2168  pursuant to s. 1011.80. However, if a student earns a
 2169  certification through a dual enrollment course and the
 2170  certification is not a fundable certification on the
 2171  postsecondary certification funding list, or the dual enrollment
 2172  certification is earned as a result of an agreement between a
 2173  school district and a nonpublic postsecondary institution, the
 2174  bonus value shall be funded in the same manner as other nondual
 2175  enrollment course industry certifications. In such cases, the
 2176  school district may provide for an agreement between the high
 2177  school and the technical center, or the school district and the
 2178  postsecondary institution may enter into an agreement for
 2179  equitable distribution of the bonus funds.
 2180         c. A value of 0.3 full-time equivalent student membership
 2181  shall be calculated for student completion of the courses and
 2182  the embedded certifications identified on the CAPE Industry
 2183  Certification Funding List and approved by the commissioner
 2184  pursuant to ss. 1003.4203(5)(a) and 1008.44.
 2185         d. A value of 0.5 full-time equivalent student membership
 2186  shall be calculated for CAPE Acceleration Industry
 2187  Certifications that articulate for 15 to 29 college credit
 2188  hours, and 1.0 full-time equivalent student membership shall be
 2189  calculated for CAPE Acceleration Industry Certifications that
 2190  articulate for 30 or more college credit hours pursuant to CAPE
 2191  Acceleration Industry Certifications approved by the
 2192  commissioner pursuant to ss. 1003.4203(5)(b) and 1008.44.
 2193         2. Each district must allocate at least 80 percent of the
 2194  funds provided for CAPE industry certification, in accordance
 2195  with this paragraph, to the program that generated the funds.
 2196  This allocation may not be used to supplant funds provided for
 2197  basic operation of the program.
 2198         3. For CAPE industry certifications earned in the 2013-2014
 2199  school year and in subsequent years, the school district shall
 2200  distribute to each classroom teacher who provided direct
 2201  instruction toward the attainment of a CAPE industry
 2202  certification that qualified for additional full-time equivalent
 2203  membership under subparagraph 1.:
 2204         a. A bonus in the amount of $25 for each student taught by
 2205  a teacher who provided instruction in a course that led to the
 2206  attainment of a CAPE industry certification on the CAPE Industry
 2207  Certification Funding List with a weight of 0.1.
 2208         b. A bonus in the amount of $50 for each student taught by
 2209  a teacher who provided instruction in a course that led to the
 2210  attainment of a CAPE industry certification on the CAPE Industry
 2211  Certification Funding List with a weight of 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, and
 2212  1.0.
 2213         c. A bonus of $75 for each student taught by a teacher who
 2214  provided instruction in a course that led to the attainment of a
 2215  CAPE industry certification on the CAPE Industry Certification
 2216  Funding List with a weight of 0.3.
 2217         d. A bonus of $100 for each student taught by a teacher who
 2218  provided instruction in a course that led to the attainment of a
 2219  CAPE industry certification on the CAPE Industry Certification
 2220  Funding List with a weight of 0.5 or 1.0.
 2221  
 2222  Bonuses awarded pursuant to this paragraph shall be provided to
 2223  teachers who are employed by the district in the year in which
 2224  the additional FTE membership calculation is included in the
 2225  calculation. Bonuses shall be calculated based upon the
 2226  associated weight of a CAPE industry certification on the CAPE
 2227  Industry Certification Funding List for the year in which the
 2228  certification is earned by the student. Any bonus awarded to a
 2229  teacher under this paragraph may not exceed $2,000 in any given
 2230  school year and is in addition to any regular wage or other
 2231  bonus the teacher received or is scheduled to receive.
 2232         (4) COMPUTATION OF DISTRICT REQUIRED LOCAL EFFORT.—The
 2233  Legislature shall prescribe the aggregate required local effort
 2234  for all school districts collectively as an item in the General
 2235  Appropriations Act for each fiscal year. The amount that each
 2236  district shall provide annually toward the cost of the Florida
 2237  Education Finance Program for kindergarten through grade 12
 2238  programs shall be calculated as follows:
 2239         (a) Estimated taxable value calculations.—
 2240         1.a. Not later than 2 working days before prior to July 19,
 2241  the Department of Revenue shall certify to the Commissioner of
 2242  Education its most recent estimate of the taxable value for
 2243  school purposes in each school district and the total for all
 2244  school districts in the state for the current calendar year
 2245  based on the latest available data obtained from the local
 2246  property appraisers. The value certified shall be the taxable
 2247  value for school purposes for that year, and no further
 2248  adjustments shall be made, except those made pursuant to
 2249  paragraphs (c) and (d), or an assessment roll change required by
 2250  final judicial decisions as specified in paragraph (15)(b)
 2251  (14)(b). Not later than July 19, the Commissioner of Education
 2252  shall compute a millage rate, rounded to the next highest one
 2253  one-thousandth of a mill, which, when applied to 96 percent of
 2254  the estimated state total taxable value for school purposes,
 2255  would generate the prescribed aggregate required local effort
 2256  for that year for all districts. The Commissioner of Education
 2257  shall certify to each district school board the millage rate,
 2258  computed as prescribed in this subparagraph, as the minimum
 2259  millage rate necessary to provide the district required local
 2260  effort for that year.
 2261         b. The General Appropriations Act shall direct the
 2262  computation of the statewide adjusted aggregate amount for
 2263  required local effort for all school districts collectively from
 2264  ad valorem taxes to ensure that no school district’s revenue
 2265  from required local effort millage will produce more than 90
 2266  percent of the district’s total Florida Education Finance
 2267  Program calculation as calculated and adopted by the
 2268  Legislature, and the adjustment of the required local effort
 2269  millage rate of each district that produces more than 90 percent
 2270  of its total Florida Education Finance Program entitlement to a
 2271  level that will produce only 90 percent of its total Florida
 2272  Education Finance Program entitlement in the July calculation.
 2273         2. On the same date as the certification in sub
 2274  subparagraph 1.a., the Department of Revenue shall certify to
 2275  the Commissioner of Education for each district:
 2276         a. Each year for which the property appraiser has certified
 2277  the taxable value pursuant to s. 193.122(2) or (3), if
 2278  applicable, since the prior certification under sub-subparagraph
 2279  1.a.
 2280         b. For each year identified in sub-subparagraph a., the
 2281  taxable value certified by the appraiser pursuant to s.
 2282  193.122(2) or (3), if applicable, since the prior certification
 2283  under sub-subparagraph 1.a. This is the certification that
 2284  reflects all final administrative actions of the value
 2285  adjustment board.
 2286         (13)FEDERALLY CONNECTED STUDENT SUPPLEMENT.—The federally
 2287  connected student supplement is created to provide supplemental
 2288  funding for school districts to support the education of
 2289  students connected with federally owned military installations,
 2290  National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) real
 2291  property, and Indian lands. To be eligible for this supplement,
 2292  the district must be eligible for federal Impact Aid Program
 2293  funds under s. 8003 of Title VIII of the Elementary and
 2294  Secondary Education Act of 1965. The supplement shall be
 2295  allocated annually to each eligible school district in the
 2296  amount provided in the General Appropriations Act. The
 2297  supplement shall be the sum of the student allocation and an
 2298  exempt property allocation.
 2299         (a)The student allocation shall be calculated based on the
 2300  number of students reported for federal Impact Aid Program
 2301  funds, including students with disabilities, who meet one of the
 2302  following criteria:
 2303         1.The student has a parent who is on active duty in the
 2304  uniformed services or is an accredited foreign government
 2305  official and military officer. Students with disabilities shall
 2306  also be reported separately for this category.
 2307         2.The student resides on eligible federally owned Indian
 2308  land. Students with disabilities shall also be reported
 2309  separately for this category.
 2310         3.The student resides with a civilian parent who lives or
 2311  works on eligible federal property connected with a military
 2312  installation or NASA. The number of these students shall be
 2313  multiplied by a factor of 0.5.
 2314         (b)The total number of federally connected students
 2315  calculated under paragraph (a) shall be multiplied by a
 2316  percentage of the base student allocation as provided in the
 2317  General Appropriations Act. The total of the number of students
 2318  with disabilities as reported separately under subparagraphs
 2319  (a)1. and (a)2. shall be multiplied by an additional percentage
 2320  of the base student allocation as provided in the General
 2321  Appropriations Act. The base amount and the amount for students
 2322  with disabilities shall be summed to provide the student
 2323  allocation.
 2324         (c)The exempt property allocation shall be equal to the
 2325  tax-exempt value of federal impact aid lands reserved as
 2326  military installations, real property owned by NASA, or eligible
 2327  federally owned Indian lands located in the district, as of
 2328  January 1 of the previous year, multiplied by the millage
 2329  authorized and levied under s. 1011.71(2).
 2330         (14)(13) QUALITY ASSURANCE GUARANTEE.—The Legislature may
 2331  annually in the General Appropriations Act determine a
 2332  percentage increase in funds per K-12 unweighted FTE as a
 2333  minimum guarantee to each school district. The guarantee shall
 2334  be calculated from prior year base funding per unweighted FTE
 2335  student which shall include the adjusted FTE dollars as provided
 2336  in subsection (15) (14), quality guarantee funds, and actual
 2337  nonvoted discretionary local effort from taxes. From the base
 2338  funding per unweighted FTE, the increase shall be calculated for
 2339  the current year. The current year funds from which the
 2340  guarantee shall be determined shall include the adjusted FTE
 2341  dollars as provided in subsection (15) (14) and potential
 2342  nonvoted discretionary local effort from taxes. A comparison of
 2343  current year funds per unweighted FTE to prior year funds per
 2344  unweighted FTE shall be computed. For those school districts
 2345  which have less than the legislatively assigned percentage
 2346  increase, funds shall be provided to guarantee the assigned
 2347  percentage increase in funds per unweighted FTE student. Should
 2348  appropriated funds be less than the sum of this calculated
 2349  amount for all districts, the commissioner shall prorate each
 2350  district’s allocation. This provision shall be implemented to
 2351  the extent specifically funded.
 2352         Section 16. Effective July 1, 2016, and upon the expiration
 2353  of the amendment to section 1011.71, Florida Statutes, made by
 2354  chapter 2015-222, Laws of Florida, subsection (1) of that
 2355  section is amended to read:
 2356         1011.71 District school tax.—
 2357         (1) If the district school tax is not provided in the
 2358  General Appropriations Act or the substantive bill implementing
 2359  the General Appropriations Act, each district school board
 2360  desiring to participate in the state allocation of funds for
 2361  current operation as prescribed by s. 1011.62(15) s. 1011.62(14)
 2362  shall levy on the taxable value for school purposes of the
 2363  district, exclusive of millage voted under the provisions of s.
 2364  9(b) or s. 12, Art. VII of the State Constitution, a millage
 2365  rate not to exceed the amount certified by the commissioner as
 2366  the minimum millage rate necessary to provide the district
 2367  required local effort for the current year, pursuant to s.
 2368  1011.62(4)(a)1. In addition to the required local effort millage
 2369  levy, each district school board may levy a nonvoted current
 2370  operating discretionary millage. The Legislature shall prescribe
 2371  annually in the appropriations act the maximum amount of millage
 2372  a district may levy.
 2373         Section 17. Subsection (2) of section 1012.42, Florida
 2374  Statutes, is amended to read:
 2375         1012.42 Teacher teaching out-of-field.—
 2376         (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—When a teacher in a district
 2377  school system is assigned teaching duties in a class dealing
 2378  with subject matter that is outside the field in which the
 2379  teacher is certified, outside the field that was the applicant’s
 2380  minor field of study, or outside the field in which the
 2381  applicant has demonstrated sufficient subject area expertise, as
 2382  determined by district school board policy in the subject area
 2383  to be taught, the parents of all students in the class shall be
 2384  notified in writing of such assignment, and each school district
 2385  shall report out-of-field teachers on the district’s website
 2386  within 30 days before the beginning of each semester. A parent
 2387  whose student is assigned an out-of-field teacher may request
 2388  that his or her child be transferred to an in-field classroom
 2389  teacher within the school and grade in which the student is
 2390  currently enrolled. The school district must approve or deny the
 2391  parent’s request and transfer the student to a different
 2392  classroom teacher within a reasonable period of time, not to
 2393  exceed 2 weeks, if an in-field teacher for that course or grade
 2394  level is employed by the school and the transfer does not
 2395  violate maximum class size pursuant to s. 1003.03 and s. 1, Art.
 2396  IX of the State Constitution. If a request for transfer is
 2397  denied, the school must notify the parent and specify the
 2398  reasons for the denial. An explanation of the transfer process
 2399  must be made available in the student handbook or a similar
 2400  publication. This subsection does not provide a parent the right
 2401  to choose a specific teacher.
 2402         Section 18. Paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of section
 2403  1012.56, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
 2404         1012.56 Educator certification requirements.—
 2405         (8) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CERTIFICATION AND EDUCATION
 2406  COMPETENCY PROGRAM.—
 2407         (b)1. Each school district must and a private school or
 2408  state-supported state supported public school, including a
 2409  charter school, or a private school may develop and maintain a
 2410  system by which members of the instructional staff may
 2411  demonstrate mastery of professional preparation and education
 2412  competence as required by law. Each program must be based on
 2413  classroom application of the Florida Educator Accomplished
 2414  Practices and instructional performance and, for public schools,
 2415  must be aligned with the district’s or state-supported public
 2416  school’s evaluation system established approved under s.
 2417  1012.34, as applicable.
 2418         2. The Commissioner of Education shall determine the
 2419  continued approval of programs implemented under this paragraph,
 2420  based upon the department’s review of performance data. The
 2421  department shall review the performance data as a part of the
 2422  periodic review of each school district’s professional
 2423  development system required under s. 1012.98.
 2424         Section 19. Section 1012.583, Florida Statutes, is created
 2425  to read:
 2426         1012.583 Continuing education and inservice training for
 2427  youth suicide awareness and prevention.—
 2428         (1) Beginning with the 2016-2017 school year, the
 2429  Department of Education shall incorporate 2 hours of training in
 2430  youth suicide awareness and prevention into existing
 2431  requirements for continuing education or inservice training for
 2432  instructional personnel in elementary school, middle school, and
 2433  high school.
 2434         (2) The department, in consultation with the Statewide
 2435  Office for Suicide Prevention and suicide prevention experts,
 2436  shall develop a list of approved youth suicide awareness and
 2437  prevention training materials. The materials:
 2438         (a) Must include training on how to identify appropriate
 2439  mental health services and how to refer youth and their families
 2440  to those services.
 2441         (b) May include materials currently being used by a school
 2442  district if such materials meet any criteria established by the
 2443  department.
 2444         (c) May include programs that instructional personnel can
 2445  complete through a self-review of approved youth suicide
 2446  awareness and prevention materials.
 2447         (3) The training required by this section must be included
 2448  in the existing continuing education or inservice training
 2449  requirements for instructional personnel and may not add to the
 2450  total hours currently required by the department.
 2451         (4) A person has no cause of action for any loss or damage
 2452  caused by an act or omission resulting from the implementation
 2453  of this section or resulting from any training required by this
 2454  section unless the loss or damage was caused by willful or
 2455  wanton misconduct. This section does not create any new duty of
 2456  care or basis of liability.
 2457         (5) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to
 2458  implement this section.
 2459         Section 20. Paragraph (o) is added to subsection (1) of
 2460  section 1012.795, Florida Statutes, and subsection (5) of that
 2461  section is amended, to read:
 2462         1012.795 Education Practices Commission; authority to
 2463  discipline.—
 2464         (1) The Education Practices Commission may suspend the
 2465  educator certificate of any person as defined in s. 1012.01(2)
 2466  or (3) for up to 5 years, thereby denying that person the right
 2467  to teach or otherwise be employed by a district school board or
 2468  public school in any capacity requiring direct contact with
 2469  students for that period of time, after which the holder may
 2470  return to teaching as provided in subsection (4); may revoke the
 2471  educator certificate of any person, thereby denying that person
 2472  the right to teach or otherwise be employed by a district school
 2473  board or public school in any capacity requiring direct contact
 2474  with students for up to 10 years, with reinstatement subject to
 2475  the provisions of subsection (4); may revoke permanently the
 2476  educator certificate of any person thereby denying that person
 2477  the right to teach or otherwise be employed by a district school
 2478  board or public school in any capacity requiring direct contact
 2479  with students; may suspend the educator certificate, upon an
 2480  order of the court or notice by the Department of Revenue
 2481  relating to the payment of child support; or may impose any
 2482  other penalty provided by law, if the person:
 2483         (o) Has committed a third recruiting offense as determined
 2484  by the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) pursuant
 2485  to s. 1006.20(2)(b).
 2486         (5) Each district school superintendent and the governing
 2487  authority of each university lab school, state-supported school,
 2488  or private school, and the FHSAA shall report to the department
 2489  the name of any person certified pursuant to this chapter or
 2490  employed and qualified pursuant to s. 1012.39:
 2491         (a) Who has been convicted of, or who has pled nolo
 2492  contendere to, a misdemeanor, felony, or any other criminal
 2493  charge, other than a minor traffic infraction;
 2494         (b) Who that official has reason to believe has committed
 2495  or is found to have committed any act which would be a ground
 2496  for revocation or suspension under subsection (1); or
 2497         (c) Who has been dismissed or severed from employment
 2498  because of conduct involving any immoral, unnatural, or
 2499  lascivious act.
 2500         Section 21. Subsections (3) and (7) of section 1012.796,
 2501  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
 2502         1012.796 Complaints against teachers and administrators;
 2503  procedure; penalties.—
 2504         (3) The department staff shall advise the commissioner
 2505  concerning the findings of the investigation and of all
 2506  referrals by the Florida High School Athletic Association
 2507  (FHSAA) pursuant to ss. 1006.20(2)(b) and 1012.795. The
 2508  department general counsel or members of that staff shall review
 2509  the investigation or the referral and advise the commissioner
 2510  concerning probable cause or lack thereof. The determination of
 2511  probable cause shall be made by the commissioner. The
 2512  commissioner shall provide an opportunity for a conference, if
 2513  requested, prior to determining probable cause. The commissioner
 2514  may enter into deferred prosecution agreements in lieu of
 2515  finding probable cause if, in his or her judgment, such
 2516  agreements are in the best interests of the department, the
 2517  certificateholder, and the public. Such deferred prosecution
 2518  agreements shall become effective when filed with the clerk of
 2519  the Education Practices Commission. However, a deferred
 2520  prosecution agreement shall not be entered into if there is
 2521  probable cause to believe that a felony or an act of moral
 2522  turpitude, as defined by rule of the State Board of Education,
 2523  has occurred, or for referrals by the FHSAA. Upon finding no
 2524  probable cause, the commissioner shall dismiss the complaint.
 2525         (7) A panel of the commission shall enter a final order
 2526  either dismissing the complaint or imposing one or more of the
 2527  following penalties:
 2528         (a) Denial of an application for a teaching certificate or
 2529  for an administrative or supervisory endorsement on a teaching
 2530  certificate. The denial may provide that the applicant may not
 2531  reapply for certification, and that the department may refuse to
 2532  consider that applicant’s application, for a specified period of
 2533  time or permanently.
 2534         (b) Revocation or suspension of a certificate.
 2535         (c) Imposition of an administrative fine not to exceed
 2536  $2,000 for each count or separate offense.
 2537         (d) Placement of the teacher, administrator, or supervisor
 2538  on probation for a period of time and subject to such conditions
 2539  as the commission may specify, including requiring the certified
 2540  teacher, administrator, or supervisor to complete additional
 2541  appropriate college courses or work with another certified
 2542  educator, with the administrative costs of monitoring the
 2543  probation assessed to the educator placed on probation. An
 2544  educator who has been placed on probation shall, at a minimum:
 2545         1. Immediately notify the investigative office in the
 2546  Department of Education upon employment or termination of
 2547  employment in the state in any public or private position
 2548  requiring a Florida educator’s certificate.
 2549         2. Have his or her immediate supervisor submit annual
 2550  performance reports to the investigative office in the
 2551  Department of Education.
 2552         3. Pay to the commission within the first 6 months of each
 2553  probation year the administrative costs of monitoring probation
 2554  assessed to the educator.
 2555         4. Violate no law and shall fully comply with all district
 2556  school board policies, school rules, and State Board of
 2557  Education rules.
 2558         5. Satisfactorily perform his or her assigned duties in a
 2559  competent, professional manner.
 2560         6. Bear all costs of complying with the terms of a final
 2561  order entered by the commission.
 2562         (e) Restriction of the authorized scope of practice of the
 2563  teacher, administrator, or supervisor.
 2564         (f) Reprimand of the teacher, administrator, or supervisor
 2565  in writing, with a copy to be placed in the certification file
 2566  of such person.
 2567         (g) Imposition of an administrative sanction, upon a person
 2568  whose teaching certificate has expired, for an act or acts
 2569  committed while that person possessed a teaching certificate or
 2570  an expired certificate subject to late renewal, which sanction
 2571  bars that person from applying for a new certificate for a
 2572  period of 10 years or less, or permanently.
 2573         (h) Refer the teacher, administrator, or supervisor to the
 2574  recovery network program provided in s. 1012.798 under such
 2575  terms and conditions as the commission may specify.
 2576  
 2577  The penalties imposed under this subsection are in addition to,
 2578  and not in lieu of, the penalties required for a third
 2579  recruiting offense pursuant to s. 1006.20(2)(b).
 2580         Section 22. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
 2581  act and except for this section, which shall take effect June
 2582  29, 2016, this act shall take effect July 1, 2016.

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