Administrative Efficiency in Public Schools

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to administrative efficiency in public 2
schools; amending s. 120.81, F.S.; exempting district 3
school boards from requirements for adopting certain 4
rules; amending s. 1001.23, F.S.; requiring the 5
Department of Education to annually inform district 6
school superintendents by a specified date that they 7
are authorized to petition to receive a specified 8
declaratory statement; requiring the department to 9
annually maintain and provide school districts with a 10
list of certain statutory and rule requirements; 11
specifying requirements for such list; amending s. 12
1001.42, F.S.; deleting a requirement for a district 13
school board to employ an internal auditor in certain 14
circumstances; amending s. 1002.20, F.S.; deleting a 15
requirement that the school financial report be 16
included in the student handbook; requiring the 17
department to produce specified reports relating to 18
school accountability and make them available on the 19
department's website; requiring each school district 20
to provide a link to such reports; amending s. 21
1002.33, F.S.; conforming a provision relating to a 5-22
year facilities plan; amending s. 1002.451, F.S.; 23
requiring innovation schools of technology to comply 24
with specified provisions relating to instructional 25

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multiyear contracts, in addition to annual contracts, 26
for instructional personnel; amending s. 1002.61, 27
F.S.; deleting public schools from a requirement for 28
early learning coalitions to verify compliance with 29
certain law; amending s. 1002.63, F.S.; deleting a 30
requirement for an early learning coalition to verify 31
that certain public schools comply with specified 32
provisions; amending s. 1002.71, F.S.; revising 33
requirements relating to district school board 34
attendance policies for Voluntary Prekindergarten 35
Education Programs; requiring a school district to 36
certify its attendance records for a Voluntary 37
Prekindergarten Education Program; amending s. 38
1006.40, F.S.; revising the timeframe within which 39
certain instructional materials must be purchased; 40
authorizing the State Board of Education to modify the 41
timeframe; amending s. 1008.212, F.S.; providing that 42
certain assessments are not subject to specified 43
requirements; specifying the assessments from which 44
IEP teams are authorized to submit requests for 45
extraordinary exemptions; amending s. 1008.22, F.S.; 46
requiring the Commissioner of Education to notify 47
school districts of the assessment schedule for a 48
specified time interval and to publish such schedule 49
on the department's website; deleting requirements 50

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relating to a uniform calendar that must be published 51
by the commissioner each year; revising an annual 52
timeframe for each school district to establish 53
schedules for the administration of statewide, 54
standardized assessments; requiring each school 55
district to publish certain information regarding such 56
schedules on its website; conforming provisions to 57
changes made by the act; amending s. 1008.25, F.S.; 58
conforming cross-references; amending s. 1008.33, 59
F.S.; prohibiting a school from being required to use 60
a certain parameter as the sole determining factor to 61
recruit instructional personnel; specifying 62
requirements for a rule adopted by the State Board of 63
Education; amending s. 1010.20, F.S.; requiring 64
charter schools to respond to monitoring questions 65
from the department; amending s. 1011.035, F.S.; 66
deleting a requirement that each district school board 67
budget posted on the school board's website include a 68
graphical representation of specified information; 69
revising website requirements; amending s. 1011.14, 70
F.S.; revising the types of facilities for which 71
district school boards may incur certain financial 72
obligations; amending s. 1011.60, F.S.; revising 73
circumstances under which the State Board of Education 74
may alter the length of school terms for certain 75

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school districts; amending s. 1011.6202, F.S.; 76
requiring schools participating in the Principal 77
Autonomy Program Initiative to comply with specified 78
provisions relating to instructional multiyear 79
contracts, in addition to annual contracts, for 80
instructional personnel; amending s. 1011.69, F.S.; 81
deleting a requirement relating to Title I fund 82
allocations to schools; providing a new category of 83
funding school districts are authorized to withhold; 84
revising a category of funding a school district is 85
authorized to withhold; requiring the department to 86
make certain funds available to local education 87
agencies; amending s. 1011.71, F.S.; revising how 88
specified revenue may be expended by a district school 89
board; deleting a penalty for violating specified 90
provisions; amending s. 1012.22, F.S.; specifying 91
requirements for advanced degrees that may be used to 92
set salary schedules for instructional personnel and 93
school administrators hired after a specified date; 94
specifying district school board activities that may 95
not be precluded by collective bargaining; amending s. 96
1012.335, F.S.; defining the term "instructional 97
multiyear contract"; providing requirements for the 98
award of an instructional multiyear contract; 99
requiring that an employee awarded an instructional 100

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multiyear contract be returned to an annual contract 101
under certain conditions; specifying district school 102
superintendent authority; making conforming and 103
technical changes; amending s. 1012.39, F.S.; revising 104
an occupational experience qualification requirement 105
for nondegreed teachers of career programs; deleting a 106
training requirement for full-time nondegreed teachers 107
of career programs; amending s. 1012.555, F.S.; 108
revising eligibility requirements for individuals to 109
participate in the Teacher Apprenticeship Program; 110
amending employment requirements for paraprofessionals 111
to serve as an apprentice teacher; conforming a cross-112
reference; amending s. 1012.56, F.S.; specifying 113
individuals who must demonstrate mastery of general 114
knowledge for educator certification; authorizing 115
school districts and consortia of school districts to 116
issue temporary certificates under certain conditions; 117
specifying Education Practices Commission authority; 118
conforming a cross-reference; amending s. 1012.585, 119
F.S.; revising the validity period for professional 120
certificates; providing eligibility requirements for 121
5-year and 10-year professional certificates; 122
establishing requirements for the renewal of a 10-year 123
professional certificate; amending s. 1013.19, F.S.; 124
requiring that proceeds from certain sales or leases 125

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of property be used for specified purposes by boards 126
of trustees for Florida College System institutions or 127
state universities; amending s. 1013.35, F.S.; 128
deleting definitions; revising requirements for the 129
contents of such plan; deleting provisions relating to 130
district school boards coordinating with local 131
governments to ensure consistency between school 132
district and local government plans; authorizing, 133
rather than requiring, local governments to review 134
tentative district educational facilities plans; 135
requiring a district school board to submit a revised 136
facilities plan to the department; making conforming 137
changes; amending s. 1013.41, F.S.; revising 138
requirements for an educational facilities plan; 139
revising the duties of the Office of Educational 140
Facilities; amending s. 1013.45, F.S.; specifying that 141
Florida College System institution and state 142
university boards of trustees are required to use an 143
architect for the development of certain plans; 144
deleting district school board requirements for 145
certain construction plans; repealing s. 1013.451, 146
F.S., relating to life-cycle costs comparisons; 147
amending s. 1013.64, F.S.; revising district school 148
board requirements relating to educational plant 149
construction; conforming a provision to changes made 150

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by the act; amending ss. 163.3180, 200.065, 1002.68, 151
1003.631, 1004.04, 1004.85, 1012.552, 1012.586, 152
1012.98, and 1013.62, F.S.; conforming cross-153
references and provisions to changes made by the act; 154
providing an effective date. 155
156
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 157
158
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 159
120.81, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 160
120.81 Exceptions and special requirements; general 161
areas.— 162
(1) EDUCATIONAL UNITS.— 163
(a) District school boards are not subject to the 164
requirements for rules in this chapter when making and adopting 165
rules with public input at a public meeting. Notwithstanding s. 166
120.536(1) and the flush left provisions of s. 120.52(8), 167
district school boards may adopt rules to implement their 168
general powers under s. 1001.41. 169
Section 2. Subsections (5) and (6) are added to section 170
1001.23, Florida Statutes, to read: 171
1001.23 Specific powers and duties of the Department of 172
Education.—In addition to all other duties assigned to it by law 173
or by rule of the State Board of Education, the department 174
shall: 175

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(5) Annually by August 1, inform district school 176
superintendents that pursuant to s. 120.565, the superintendents 177
may receive a declaratory statement, within 90 days after 178
submitting a petition to receive such statement, regarding the 179
department's opinion as to the applicability of a statutory or 180
rule provision to a school district as it applies to the 181
district's particular set of circumstances. 182
(6) Annually maintain and make available to school 183
districts a list of all requirements in statute and rule 184
relating to required actions by district school boards or 185
district school superintendents. The list must include, but is 186
not limited to, required parent notifications; information that 187
must be posted on the district website; and reporting, filing, 188
and certification requirements. 189
Section 3. Paragraph (l) of subsection (12) of section 190
1001.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 191
1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board.—The 192
district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all 193
powers and perform all duties listed below: 194
(12) FINANCE.—Take steps to assure students adequate 195
educational facilities through the financial procedure 196
authorized in chapters 1010 and 1011 and as prescribed below: 197
(l) Internal auditor.—May or, in the case of a school 198
district receiving annual federal, state, and local funds in 199
excess of $500 million, shall employ an internal auditor. The 200

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scope of the internal auditor shall not be restricted and shall 201
include every functional and program area of the school system. 202
1. The internal auditor shall perform ongoing financial 203
verification of the financial records of the school district, a 204
comprehensive risk assessment of all areas of the school system 205
every 5 years, and other audits and reviews as the district 206
school board directs for determining: 207
a. The adequacy of internal controls designed to prevent 208
and detect fraud, waste, and abuse as defined in s. 11.45(1). 209
b. Compliance with applicable laws, rules, contracts, 210
grant agreements, district school board-approved policies, and 211
best practices. 212
c. The efficiency of operations. 213
d. The reliability of financial records and reports. 214
e. The safeguarding of assets. 215
f. Financial solvency. 216
g. Projected revenues and expenditures. 217
h. The rate of change in the general fund balance. 218
2. The internal auditor shall prepare audit reports of his 219
or her findings and report directly to the district school board 220
or its designee. 221
3. Any person responsible for furnishing or producing any 222
book, record, paper, document, data, or sufficient information 223
necessary to conduct a proper audit or examination which the 224
internal auditor is by law authorized to perform is subject to 225

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the provisions of s. 11.47(3) and (4). 226
Section 4. Subsection (16) of section 1002.20, Florida 227
Statutes, is amended to read: 228
1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public 229
school students must receive accurate and timely information 230
regarding their child's academic progress and must be informed 231
of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12 232
students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory 233
rights including, but not limited to, the following: 234
(16) SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT RATING 235
REPORTS; FISCAL TRANSPARENCY.—Parents of public school students 236
have the right to an easy-to-read report card about the school's 237
grade designation or, if applicable under s. 1008.341, the 238
school's improvement rating, and the school's accountability 239
report, including the school financial report as required under 240
s. 1010.215. The school financial report must be provided to the 241
parents and indicate the average amount of money expended per 242
student in the school. The department shall produce the reports 243
required under this subsection and make the reports for each 244
school available on the department's website in a prominent 245
location. Each public school district shall provide a link on 246
its website to such reports for parent access, which must also 247
be included in the student handbook or a similar publication. 248
Section 5. Paragraph (g) of subsection (18) of section 249
1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 250

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1002.33 Charter schools.— 251
(18) FACILITIES.— 252
(g) Each school district shall annually provide to the 253
Department of Education as part of its 5-year work plan the 254
number of existing vacant classrooms in each school that the 255
district does not intend to use or does not project will be 256
needed for educational purposes for the following school year. 257
The department may recommend that a district make such space 258
available to an appropriate charter school. 259
Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section 260
1002.451, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 261
1002.451 District innovation school of technology 262
program.— 263
(5) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES.— 264
(a) An innovation school of technology is exempt from 265
chapters 1000-1013. However, an innovation school of technology 266
shall comply with the following provisions of those chapters: 267
1. Laws pertaining to the following: 268
a. Schools of technology, including this section. 269
b. Student assessment program and school grading system. 270
c. Services to students who have disabilities. 271
d. Civil rights, including s. 1000.05, relating to 272
discrimination. 273
e. Student health, safety, and welfare. 274
2. Laws governing the election and compensation of 275

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district school board members and election or appointment and 276
compensation of district school superintendents. 277
3. Section 1003.03, governing maximum class size, except 278
that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s. 1003.03 is 279
the average at the school level. 280
4. Sections 1012.22(1)(c) and 1012.27(2), relating to 281
compensation and salary schedules. 282
5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions, 283
for annual contracts for instructional personnel. This 284
subparagraph does not apply to at-will employees. 285
6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with 286
instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011, for 287
annual or instructional multiyear contracts for instructional 288
personnel. This subparagraph does not apply to at-will 289
employees. 290
7. Section 1012.34, relating to requirements for 291
performance evaluations of instructional personnel and school 292
administrators. 293
Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of section 294
1002.61, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 295
1002.61 Summer prekindergarten program delivered by public 296
schools and private prekindergarten providers.— 297
(10)(a) Each early learning coalition shall verify that 298
each private prekindergarten provider and public school 299
delivering the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program 300

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within the coalition's county or multicounty region complies 301
with this part. 302
Section 8. Subsection (9) of section 1002.63, Florida 303
Statutes, is amended to read: 304
1002.63 School-year prekindergarten program delivered by 305
public schools.— 306
(9)(a) Each early learning coalition shall verify that 307
each public school delivering the Voluntary Prekindergarten 308
Education Program within the coalition's service area complies 309
with this part. 310
(b) If a public school fails or refuses to comply with 311
this part or engages in misconduct, the department must shall 312
require that the school district to remove the school from 313
eligibility to deliver the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education 314
Program and receive state funds under this part for a period of 315
at least 2 years but no more than 5 years. 316
Section 9. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) and subsection 317
(7) of section 1002.71, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 318
1002.71 Funding; financial and attendance reporting.— 319
(6) 320
(b)1. Each private prekindergarten provider's and district 321
school board's attendance policy must require the parent of each 322
student in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program to 323
verify, each month, the student's attendance on the prior 324
month's certified student attendance. 325

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2. The parent must submit the verification of the 326
student's attendance to the private prekindergarten provider or 327
public school on forms prescribed by the department. The forms 328
must include, in addition to the verification of the student's 329
attendance, a certification, in substantially the following 330
form, that the parent continues to choose the private 331
prekindergarten provider or public school in accordance with s. 332
1002.53 and directs that payments for the program be made to the 333
provider or school: 334
335
VERIFICATION OF STUDENT'S ATTENDANCE 336
AND CERTIFICATION OF PARENTAL CHOICE 337
338
I, ...(Name of Parent)..., swear (or affirm) that my child, 339
...(Name of Student)..., attended the Voluntary Prekindergarten 340
Education Program on the days listed above and certify that I 341
continue to choose ...(Name of Provider or School)... to deliver 342
the program for my child and direct that program funds be paid 343
to the provider or school for my child. 344
...(Signature of Parent)... 345
...(Date)... 346
347
3. The private prekindergarten provider or public school 348
must keep each original signed form for at least 2 years. Each 349
private prekindergarten provider must permit the early learning 350

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coalition, and each public school must permit the school 351
district, to inspect the original signed forms during normal 352
business hours. The department shall adopt procedures for early 353
learning coalitions and school districts to review the original 354
signed forms against the certified student attendance. The 355
review procedures must shall provide for the use of selective 356
inspection techniques, including, but not limited to, random 357
sampling. Each early learning coalition and the school districts 358
must comply with the review procedures. 359
(7) The department shall require that administrative 360
expenditures be kept to the minimum necessary for efficient and 361
effective administration of the Voluntary Prekindergarten 362
Education Program. Administrative policies and procedures must 363
shall be revised, to the maximum extent practicable, be revised 364
to incorporate the use of automation and electronic submission 365
of forms, including those required for child eligibility and 366
enrollment, provider and class registration, and monthly 367
certification of attendance for payment. A school district may 368
use its automated daily attendance reporting system for the 369
purpose of maintaining and transmitting attendance records to 370
the early learning coalition in a mutually agreed-upon format. 371
Each school district shall certify the correctness of attendance 372
data submitted to the single point of entry system described in 373
paragraph (5)(a) as required by the department. In addition, 374
actions must shall be taken to reduce paperwork, eliminate the 375

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duplication of reports, and eliminate other duplicative 376
activities. Each early learning coalition may retain and expend 377
no more than 5.0 percent of the funds paid by the coalition to 378
private prekindergarten providers and public schools under 379
paragraph (5)(b). Funds retained by an early learning coalition 380
under this subsection may be used only for administering the 381
Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program and may not be used 382
for the school readiness program or other programs. 383
Section 10. Subsection (2) of section 1006.40, Florida 384
Statutes, is amended to read: 385
1006.40 Purchase of instructional materials.— 386
(2) Each district school board must purchase current 387
instructional materials to provide each student in kindergarten 388
through grade 12 with a major tool of instruction in core 389
courses of the subject areas of mathematics, language arts, 390
science, social studies, reading, and literature. Such purchase 391
must be made within the first 5 3 years after the effective date 392
of the adoption cycle, subject to state board requirement for an 393
earlier purchase date for a specific subject area, unless a 394
district school board or a consortium of school districts has 395
implemented an instructional materials program pursuant to s. 396
1006.283. 397
Section 11. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 1008.212, 398
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 399
1008.212 Students with disabilities; extraordinary 400

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exemption.— 401
(2) A student with a disability for whom the individual 402
education plan (IEP) team determines is prevented by a 403
circumstance or condition from physically demonstrating the 404
mastery of skills that have been acquired and are measured by 405
the statewide standardized assessment, a statewide standardized 406
end-of-course assessment, or an alternate assessment pursuant to 407
s. 1008.22(3)(d) shall be granted an extraordinary exemption 408
from the administration of the assessment. A learning, 409
emotional, behavioral, or significant cognitive disability, or 410
the receipt of services through the homebound or hospitalized 411
program in accordance with rule 6A-6.03020, Florida 412
Administrative Code, is not, in and of itself, an adequate 413
criterion for the granting of an extraordinary exemption. The 414
first two administrations of the coordinated screening and 415
progress monitoring system under s. 1008.25(9) or any alternate 416
assessments used in lieu of such administrations are not subject 417
to the requirements of this section. 418
(3) The IEP team, which must include the parent, may 419
submit to the district school superintendent a written request 420
for an extraordinary exemption from the end-of-year or end-of-421
course statewide, standardized assessment at any time during the 422
school year, but not later than 60 days before the current 423
year's assessment administration for which the request is made. 424
A request must include all of the following: 425

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(a) A written description of the student's disabilities, 426
including a specific description of the student's impaired 427
sensory, manual, or speaking skills. 428
(b) Written documentation of the most recent evaluation 429
data. 430
(c) Written documentation, if available, of the most 431
recent administration of the statewide standardized assessment, 432
an end-of-course assessment, or an alternate assessment. 433
(d) A written description of the condition's effect on the 434
student's participation in the statewide standardized 435
assessment, an end-of-course assessment, or an alternate 436
assessment. 437
(e) Written evidence that the student has had the 438
opportunity to learn the skills being tested. 439
(f) Written evidence that the student has been provided 440
appropriate instructional accommodations. 441
(g) Written evidence as to whether the student has had the 442
opportunity to be assessed using the instructional 443
accommodations on the student's IEP which are allowable in the 444
administration of the statewide standardized assessment, an end-445
of-course assessment, or an alternate assessment in prior 446
assessments. 447
(h) Written evidence of the circumstance or condition as 448
defined in subsection (1). 449
Section 12. Paragraphs (c) through (i) of section 1008.22, 450

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Florida Statutes, are redesignated as paragraphs (b) through 451
(h), respectively, and paragraph (a) and present paragraphs (b) 452
and (d) of subsection (7) are amended, to read: 453
1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.— 454
(7) ASSESSMENT SCHEDULES AND REPORTING OF RESULTS.— 455
(a) The Commissioner of Education shall establish 456
schedules for the administration of statewide, standardized 457
assessments and the reporting of student assessment results. The 458
commissioner shall consider the observance of religious and 459
school holidays when developing the schedules. By January 1 of 460
each year, the commissioner shall notify each school district in 461
writing and publish on the department's website the assessment 462
schedule for, at a minimum, the next 2 school years. The 463
assessment and reporting schedules must provide the earliest 464
possible reporting of student assessment results to the school 465
districts. Assessment results for the statewide, standardized 466
ELA and Mathematics assessments and all statewide, standardized 467
EOC assessments must be made available no later than June 30, 468
except for results for the grade 3 statewide, standardized ELA 469
assessment, which must be made available no later than May 31. 470
Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, assessment results for 471
the statewide, standardized ELA and Mathematics assessments must 472
be available no later than May 31. School districts shall 473
administer statewide, standardized assessments in accordance 474
with the schedule established by the commissioner. 475

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(b) By January of each year, the commissioner shall 476
publish on the department's website a uniform calendar that 477
includes the assessment and reporting schedules for, at a 478
minimum, the next 2 school years. The uniform calendar must be 479
provided to school districts in an electronic format that allows 480
each school district and public school to populate the calendar 481
with, at minimum, the following information for reporting the 482
district assessment schedules under paragraph (d): 483
1. Whether the assessment is a district-required 484
assessment or a state-required assessment. 485
2. The specific date or dates that each assessment will be 486
administered, including administrations of the coordinated 487
screening and progress monitoring system under s. 1008.25(9)(b). 488
3. The time allotted to administer each assessment. 489
4. Whether the assessment is a computer-based assessment 490
or a paper-based assessment. 491
5. The grade level or subject area associated with the 492
assessment. 493
6. The date that the assessment results are expected to be 494
available to teachers and parents. 495
7. The type of assessment, the purpose of the assessment, 496
and the use of the assessment results. 497
8. A glossary of assessment terminology. 498
9. Estimates of average time for administering state-499
required and district-required assessments, by grade level. 500

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(c)(d) Each school district shall, by November 1 of each 501
year, establish schedules for the administration of any 502
statewide, standardized assessments and district-required 503
assessments and approve the schedules as an agenda item at a 504
district school board meeting. Each school district shall 505
publish the testing schedules on its website which specify 506
whether an assessment is a state-required or district-required 507
assessment and the grade bands or subject areas associated with 508
the assessments using the uniform calendar, including all 509
information required under paragraph (b), and submit the 510
schedules to the Department of Education by October 1 of each 511
year. Each public school shall publish schedules for statewide, 512
standardized assessments and district-required assessments on 513
its website using the uniform calendar, including all 514
information required under paragraph (b). The school board-515
approved assessment uniform calendar must be included in the 516
parent guide required by s. 1002.23(5). 517
Section 13. Paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of subsection (9) 518
of section 1008.25, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 519
1008.25 Public school student progression; student 520
support; coordinated screening and progress monitoring; 521
reporting requirements.— 522
(9) COORDINATED SCREENING AND PROGRESS MONITORING SYSTEM.— 523
(b) Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, private 524
Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program providers and public 525

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schools must participate in the coordinated screening and 526
progress monitoring system pursuant to this paragraph. 527
1. For students in the school-year Voluntary 528
Prekindergarten Education Program through grade 2, the 529
coordinated screening and progress monitoring system must be 530
administered at least three times within a school year, with the 531
first administration occurring no later than the first 30 532
instructional days after a student's enrollment or the start of 533
the school year, the second administration occurring midyear, 534
and the third administration occurring within the last 30 days 535
of the school year pursuant to state board rule. The state board 536
may adopt alternate timeframes to address nontraditional school 537
year calendars to ensure the coordinated screening and progress 538
monitoring program is administered a minimum of three times 539
within a year. 540
2. For students in the summer prekindergarten program, the 541
coordinated screening and progress monitoring system must be 542
administered two times, with the first administration occurring 543
no later than the first 10 instructional days after a student's 544
enrollment or the start of the summer prekindergarten program, 545
and the final administration occurring within the last 10 days 546
of the summer prekindergarten program pursuant to state board 547
rule. 548
3. For grades 3 through 10 English Language Arts and 549
grades 3 through 8 Mathematics, the coordinated screening and 550

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progress monitoring system must be administered at the 551
beginning, middle, and end of the school year pursuant to state 552
board rule. The end-of-year administration of the coordinated 553
screening and progress monitoring system must be a comprehensive 554
progress monitoring assessment administered in accordance with 555
the scheduling requirements under s. 1008.22(7)(b) s. 556
1008.22(7)(c). 557
(c) To facilitate timely interventions and supports 558
pursuant to subsection (4), the system must provide results from 559
the first two administrations of the progress monitoring to a 560
student's teacher or prekindergarten instructor within 1 week 561
and to the student's parent within 2 weeks after the 562
administration of the progress monitoring. Delivery of results 563
from the comprehensive, end-of-year progress monitoring ELA 564
assessment for grades 3 through 10 and Mathematics assessment 565
for grades 3 through 8 must be in accordance with s. 566
1008.22(7)(g) s. 1008.22(7)(h). 567
1. A student's results from the coordinated screening and 568
progress monitoring system must be recorded in a written, easy-569
to-comprehend individual student report. Each school district 570
shall provide a parent secure access to his or her child's 571
individual student reports through a web-based portal as part of 572
its student information system. Each early learning coalition 573
shall provide parents the individual student report in a format 574
determined by state board rule. 575

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2. In addition to the information under subparagraph 576
(a)5., the report must also include parent resources that 577
explain the purpose of progress monitoring, assist the parent in 578
interpreting progress monitoring results, and support informed 579
parent involvement. Parent resources may include personalized 580
video formats. 581
3. The department shall annually update school districts 582
and early learning coalitions on new system features and 583
functionality and collaboratively identify with school districts 584
and early learning coalitions strategies for meaningfully 585
reporting to parents results from the coordinated screening and 586
progress monitoring system. The department shall develop ways to 587
increase the utilization, by instructional staff and parents, of 588
student assessment data and resources. 589
4. An individual student report must be provided in a 590
printed format upon a parent's request. 591
(d) Screening and progress monitoring system results, 592
including the number of students who demonstrate characteristics 593
of dyslexia and dyscalculia, shall be reported to the department 594
pursuant to state board rule and maintained in the department's 595
Education Data Warehouse. Results must be provided to a 596
student's teacher and parent in a timely manner as required in 597
s. 1008.22(7)(f) s. 1008.22(7)(g). 598
Section 14. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) and subsection 599
(5) of section 1008.33, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 600

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1008.33 Authority to enforce public school improvement.— 601
(3) 602
(c) The state board shall adopt by rule a differentiated 603
matrix of intervention and support strategies for assisting 604
traditional public schools identified under this section and 605
rules for implementing s. 1002.33(9)(n), relating to charter 606
schools. The intervention and support strategies must address 607
student performance and may include improvement planning; 608
leadership quality improvement; educator quality improvement; 609
professional learning; curriculum review, pacing, and alignment 610
across grade levels to improve background knowledge in social 611
studies, science, and the arts; and the use of continuous 612
improvement and monitoring plans and processes. In addition, the 613
state board may prescribe reporting requirements to review and 614
monitor the progress of the schools. The rule must define the 615
intervention and support strategies for school improvement for 616
schools earning a grade of "D" or "F" and the roles for the 617
district and department. A school may not be required to use the 618
measure of student learning growth in s. 1012.34(7) as the sole 619
determinant to recruit instructional personnel. The rule must 620
create a timeline for a school district's school improvement 621
plan or district-managed turnaround plan to be approved and for 622
the school improvement funds under Title I to be released to the 623
school district. The timeline established in rule for the 624
release of school improvement funding under Title I may not 625

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exceed 20 calendar days after the approval of the school 626
improvement plan or district-managed turnaround plan. 627
(5) The state board shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 628
120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section. The rules 629
shall include timelines for submission of implementation plans, 630
approval criteria for implementation plans, timelines for 631
releasing Title I funding, timelines for implementing 632
intervention and support strategies, a standard charter school 633
turnaround contract, a standard facility lease, and a mutual 634
management agreement. The state board shall consult with 635
education stakeholders in developing the rules. 636
Section 15. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (2) of 637
section 1010.20, Florida Statutes, to read: 638
1010.20 Cost accounting and reporting for school 639
districts.— 640
(2) COST REPORTING.— 641
(e) Each charter school shall receive and respond to 642
monitoring questions from the department. 643
Section 16. Subsections (2) and (4) of section 1011.035, 644
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 645
1011.035 School district fiscal transparency.— 646
(2) Each district school board shall post on its website: 647
(a) A plain language version of each proposed, tentative, 648
and official budget which describes each budget item in terms 649
that are easily understandable to the public and includes: 650

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(a) Graphical representations, for each public school 651
within the district and for the school district, of the 652
following: 653
1. Summary financial efficiency data. 654
2. Fiscal trend information for the previous 3 years on: 655
a. The ratio of full-time equivalent students to full-time 656
equivalent instructional personnel. 657
b. The ratio of full-time equivalent students to full-time 658
equivalent administrative personnel. 659
c. The total operating expenditures per full-time 660
equivalent student. 661
d. The total instructional expenditures per full-time 662
equivalent student. 663
e. The general administrative expenditures as a percentage 664
of total budget. 665
f. The rate of change in the general fund's ending fund 666
balance not classified as restricted. 667
(b) A link to the web-based fiscal transparency tool 668
developed by the department pursuant to s. 1010.20 to enable 669
taxpayers to evaluate the financial efficiency of the school 670
district and compare the financial efficiency of the school 671
district with other similarly situated school districts. 672
673
This information must be prominently posted on the school 674
district's website in a manner that is readily accessible to the 675

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public. 676
(4) The website should contain links to: 677
(a) Help explain or provide background information on 678
various budget items that are required by state or federal law. 679
(b) Allow users to navigate to related sites to view 680
supporting details. 681
(c) enable taxpayers, parents, and education advocates to 682
send e-mails asking questions about the budget and enable others 683
to view the questions and responses. 684
Section 17. Subsection (1) of section 1011.14, Florida 685
Statutes, is amended to read: 686
1011.14 Obligations for a period of 1 year.—District 687
school boards are authorized only under the following conditions 688
to create obligations by way of anticipation of budgeted 689
revenues accruing on a current basis without pledging the credit 690
of the district or requiring future levy of taxes for certain 691
purposes for a period of 1 year; however, such obligations may 692
be extended from year to year with the consent of the lender for 693
a period not to exceed 4 years, or for a total of 5 years 694
including the initial year of the loan: 695
(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes for which such obligations may 696
be incurred within the intent of this section shall include only 697
the purchase of school buses, land, and equipment for 698
educational purposes; the erection of, alteration to, or 699
addition to educational plants, ancillary plants, and auxiliary 700

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facilities; and the adjustment of insurance on educational 701
property on a 5-year plan, as provided by rules of the State 702
Board of Education. 703
Section 18. Subsection (2) of section 1011.60, Florida 704
Statutes, is amended to read: 705
1011.60 Minimum requirements of the Florida Education 706
Finance Program.—Each district which participates in the state 707
appropriations for the Florida Education Finance Program shall 708
provide evidence of its effort to maintain an adequate school 709
program throughout the district and shall meet at least the 710
following requirements: 711
(2) MINIMUM TERM.—Operate all schools for a term of 180 712
actual teaching days or the equivalent on an hourly basis as 713
specified by rules of the State Board of Education each school 714
year. The State Board of Education may prescribe procedures for 715
altering, and, upon written application, may alter, this 716
requirement during a national, state, or local emergency as it 717
may apply to an individual school or schools in any district or 718
districts if the district school board certifies to the 719
Commissioner of Education that, in the opinion of the board, it 720
is not necessary feasible to make up lost days or hours, and the 721
apportionment may, at the discretion of the Commissioner of 722
Education and if the board determines that the reduction of 723
school days or hours is caused by the existence of a bona fide 724
emergency, be reduced for such district or districts in 725

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proportion to the decrease in the length of term in any such 726
school or schools. A strike, as defined in s. 447.203(6), by 727
employees of the school district may not be considered an 728
emergency. 729
Section 19. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 730
1011.6202, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 731
1011.6202 Principal Autonomy Program Initiative.—The 732
Principal Autonomy Program Initiative is created within the 733
Department of Education. The purpose of the program is to 734
provide a highly effective principal of a participating school 735
with increased autonomy and authority to operate his or her 736
school, as well as other schools, in a way that produces 737
significant improvements in student achievement and school 738
management while complying with constitutional requirements. The 739
State Board of Education may, upon approval of a principal 740
autonomy proposal, enter into a performance contract with the 741
district school board for participation in the program. 742
(3) EXEMPTION FROM LAWS.— 743
(b) A participating school or a school operated by a 744
principal pursuant to subsection (5) shall comply with the 745
provisions of chapters 1000-1013, and rules of the state board 746
that implement those provisions, pertaining to the following: 747
1. Those laws relating to the election and compensation of 748
district school board members, the election or appointment and 749
compensation of district school superintendents, public meetings 750

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and public records requirements, financial disclosure, and 751
conflicts of interest. 752
2. Those laws relating to the student assessment program 753
and school grading system, including chapter 1008. 754
3. Those laws relating to the provision of services to 755
students with disabilities. 756
4. Those laws relating to civil rights, including s. 757
1000.05, relating to discrimination. 758
5. Those laws relating to student health, safety, and 759
welfare. 760
6. Section 1001.42(4)(f), relating to the uniform opening 761
date for public schools. 762
7. Section 1003.03, governing maximum class size, except 763
that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s. 1003.03 is 764
the average at the school level for a participating school. 765
8. Sections 1012.22(1)(c) and 1012.27(2), relating to 766
compensation and salary schedules. 767
9. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions 768
for annual contracts for instructional personnel. This 769
subparagraph does not apply to at-will employees. 770
10. Section 1012.335, relating to annual or instructional 771
multiyear contracts for instructional personnel hired on or 772
after July 1, 2011. This subparagraph does not apply to at-will 773
employees. 774
11. Section 1012.34, relating to personnel evaluation 775

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procedures and criteria. 776
12. Those laws pertaining to educational facilities, 777
including chapter 1013, except that s. 1013.20, relating to 778
covered walkways for relocatables, is eligible for exemption. 779
13. Those laws pertaining to participating school 780
districts, including this section and ss. 1011.69(2) and 781
1012.28(8). 782
Section 20. Subsection (4) of section 1011.69, Florida 783
Statutes, is amended, and subsection (5) is added to that 784
section, to read: 785
1011.69 Equity in School-Level Funding Act.— 786
(4) After providing Title I, Part A, Basic funds to 787
schools above the 75 percent poverty threshold, which may 788
include high schools above the 50 percent threshold as permitted 789
by federal law, school districts shall provide any remaining 790
Title I, Part A, Basic funds directly to all eligible schools as 791
provided in this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, an 792
eligible school is a school that is eligible to receive Title I 793
funds, including a charter school. The threshold for identifying 794
eligible schools may not exceed the threshold established by a 795
school district for the 2016-2017 school year or the statewide 796
percentage of economically disadvantaged students, as determined 797
annually. 798
(a) Prior to the allocation of Title I funds to eligible 799
schools, a school district may withhold funds only as follows: 800

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1. One percent for parent involvement, in addition to the 801
one percent the district must reserve under federal law for 802
allocations to eligible schools for parent involvement; 803
2. A necessary and reasonable amount for administration 804
which includes the district's indirect cost rate, not to exceed 805
a total of 10 percent; 806
3. A reasonable and necessary amount to provide: 807
a. Homeless programs; 808
b. Delinquent and neglected programs; 809
c. Prekindergarten programs and activities; 810
d. Private school equitable services; and 811
e. Transportation for foster care children to their school 812
of origin or choice programs; 813
4. Up to 5 percent to provide financial incentives and 814
rewards to teachers who serve students in eligible schools, 815
including charter schools, identified for comprehensive support 816
and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement 817
activities, for the purpose of attracting and retaining 818
qualified and effective teachers, including teachers of any 819
subject or grade level for whom a measurement under s. 820
1012.34(7) or a state-approved Alternative Student Growth Model 821
is unavailable; and 822
5.4. A necessary and reasonable amount, not to exceed 1 823
percent, for eligible schools, including charter schools, to 824
provide educational services in accordance with the approved 825

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Title I plan. Such educational services may include the 826
provision of STEM curricula, instructional materials, and 827
related learning technologies that support academic achievement 828
in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in Title I 829
schools, including, but not limited to, technologies related to 830
drones, coding, animation, artificial intelligence, 831
cybersecurity, data science, the engineering design process, 832
mobile development, and robotics. Funds may be reserved under 833
this subparagraph only to the extent that all required 834
reservations under federal law have been met and that such 835
reservation does not reduce school-level allocations below the 836
levels required under federal law. 837
(b) All remaining Title I funds shall be distributed to 838
all eligible schools in accordance with federal law and 839
regulation. An eligible school may use funds under this 840
subsection to participate in discretionary educational services 841
provided by the school district. Any funds provided by an 842
eligible school to participate in discretionary educational 843
services provided by the school district are not subject to the 844
requirements of this subsection. 845
(c) Any funds carried forward by the school district are 846
not subject to the requirements of this subsection. 847
(5) The Department of Education shall make funds from 848
Title I, Title II, and Title III programs available to local 849
education agencies for the full period of availability provided 850

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in federal law. 851
Section 21. Subsections (7) through (9) of section 852
1011.71, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (5) 853
through (7), respectively and present subsections (2) through 854
(6) are amended to read: 855
1011.71 District school tax.— 856
(2) In addition to the maximum millage levy as provided in 857
subsection (1), each school board may levy not more than 1.5 858
mills against the taxable value for school purposes for charter 859
schools pursuant to s. 1013.62(1) and (3) and for district 860
schools for operational or capital purposes. to fund: 861
(a) New construction, remodeling projects, sites and site 862
improvement or expansion to new sites, existing sites, auxiliary 863
facilities, athletic facilities, or ancillary facilities. 864
(b) Maintenance, renovation, and repair of existing school 865
plants or of leased facilities to correct deficiencies pursuant 866
to s. 1013.15(2). 867
(c) The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of school 868
buses. 869
(d) The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of new and 870
replacement equipment; computer and device hardware and 871
operating system software necessary for gaining access to or 872
enhancing the use of electronic and digital instructional 873
content and resources; and enterprise resource software 874
applications that are classified as capital assets in accordance 875

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with definitions of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, 876
have a useful life of at least 5 years, and are used to support 877
districtwide administration or state-mandated reporting 878
requirements. Enterprise resource software may be acquired by 879
annual license fees, maintenance fees, or lease agreements. 880
(e) Payments for educational facilities and sites due 881
under a lease-purchase agreement entered into by a district 882
school board pursuant to s. 1003.02(1)(f) or s. 1013.15(2), not 883
exceeding, in the aggregate, an amount equal to three-fourths of 884
the proceeds from the millage levied by a district school board 885
pursuant to this subsection. The three-fourths limit is waived 886
for lease-purchase agreements entered into before June 30, 2009, 887
by a district school board pursuant to this paragraph. If 888
payments under lease-purchase agreements in the aggregate, 889
including lease-purchase agreements entered into before June 30, 890
2009, exceed three-fourths of the proceeds from the millage 891
levied pursuant to this subsection, the district school board 892
may not withhold the administrative fees authorized by s. 893
1002.33(20) from any charter school operating in the school 894
district. 895
(f) Payment of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and 896
1011.15. 897
(g) Payment of costs directly related to complying with 898
state and federal environmental statutes, rules, and regulations 899
governing school facilities. 900

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(h) Payment of costs of leasing relocatable educational 901
facilities, of renting or leasing educational facilities and 902
sites pursuant to s. 1013.15(2), or of renting or leasing 903
buildings or space within existing buildings pursuant to s. 904
1013.15(4). 905
(i) Payment of the cost of school buses when a school 906
district contracts with a private entity to provide student 907
transportation services if the district meets the requirements 908
of this paragraph. 909
1. The district's contract must require that the private 910
entity purchase, lease-purchase, or lease, and operate and 911
maintain, one or more school buses of a specific type and size 912
that meet the requirements of s. 1006.25. 913
2. Each such school bus must be used for the daily 914
transportation of public school students in the manner required 915
by the school district. 916
3. Annual payment for each such school bus may not exceed 917
10 percent of the purchase price of the state pool bid. 918
4. The proposed expenditure of the funds for this purpose 919
must have been included in the district school board's notice of 920
proposed tax for school capital outlay as provided in s. 921
200.065(10). 922
(j) Payment of the cost of the opening day collection for 923
the library media center of a new school. 924
(k) Payment of salaries and benefits for employees whose 925

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job duties support activities funded by this subsection. 926
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), if the revenue from 927
1.5 mills is insufficient to meet the payments due under a 928
lease-purchase agreement entered into before June 30, 2009, by a 929
district school board pursuant to paragraph (2)(e), or to meet 930
other critical district fixed capital outlay needs, the board, 931
in addition to the 1.5 mills, may levy up to 0.25 mills for 932
fixed capital outlay in lieu of levying an equivalent amount of 933
the discretionary mills for operations as provided in the 934
General Appropriations Act. Millage levied pursuant to this 935
subsection is subject to the provisions of s. 200.065 and, 936
combined with the 1.5 mills authorized in subsection (2), may 937
not exceed 1.75 mills. If the district chooses to use up to 0.25 938
mills for fixed capital outlay, the compression adjustment 939
pursuant to s. 1011.62(5) shall be calculated for the standard 940
discretionary millage that is not eligible for transfer to 941
capital outlay. 942
(4) If the revenue from the millage authorized in 943
subsection (2) is insufficient to make payments due under a 944
lease-purchase agreement entered into prior to June 30, 2008, by 945
a district school board pursuant to paragraph (2)(e), an amount 946
up to 0.5 mills of the taxable value for school purposes within 947
the school district shall be legally available for such 948
payments, notwithstanding other restrictions on the use of such 949
revenues imposed by law. 950

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(5) A school district may expend, subject to s. 200.065, 951
up to $200 per unweighted full-time equivalent student from the 952
revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by subsection 953
(2) to fund, in addition to expenditures authorized in 954
paragraphs (2)(a)-(j), expenses for the following: 955
(a) The purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of driver's 956
education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or 957
operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or 958
vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and 959
equipment. 960
(b) Payment of the cost of premiums, as defined in s. 961
627.403, for property and casualty insurance necessary to insure 962
school district educational and ancillary plants. As used in 963
this paragraph, casualty insurance has the same meaning as in s. 964
624.605(1)(b), (d), (f), (g), (h), and (m). Operating revenues 965
that are made available through the payment of property and 966
casualty insurance premiums from revenues generated under this 967
subsection may be expended only for nonrecurring operational 968
expenditures of the school district. 969
(6) Violations of the expenditure provisions in subsection 970
(2) or subsection (5) shall result in an equal dollar reduction 971
in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) funds for the 972
violating district in the fiscal year following the audit 973
citation. 974
Section 22. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) and paragraph 975

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(a) of subsection (3) of section 1012.22, Florida Statutes, are 976
amended to read: 977
1012.22 Public school personnel; powers and duties of the 978
district school board.—The district school board shall: 979
(1) Designate positions to be filled, prescribe 980
qualifications for those positions, and provide for the 981
appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and dismissal 982
of employees as follows, subject to the requirements of this 983
chapter: 984
(c) Compensation and salary schedules.— 985
1. Definitions.—As used in this paragraph: 986
a. "Adjustment" means an addition to the base salary 987
schedule that is not a bonus and becomes part of the employee's 988
permanent base salary and shall be considered compensation under 989
s. 121.021(22). 990
b. "Grandfathered salary schedule" means the salary 991
schedule or schedules adopted by a district school board before 992
July 1, 2014, pursuant to subparagraph 4. 993
c. "Instructional personnel" means instructional personnel 994
as defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a)-(d), excluding substitute 995
teachers. 996
d. "Performance salary schedule" means the salary schedule 997
or schedules adopted by a district school board pursuant to 998
subparagraph 5. 999
e. "Salary schedule" means the schedule or schedules used 1000

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to provide the base salary for district school board personnel. 1001
f. "School administrator" means a school administrator as 1002
defined in s. 1012.01(3)(c). 1003
g. "Supplement" means an annual addition to the base 1004
salary for the term of the negotiated supplement as long as the 1005
employee continues his or her employment for the purpose of the 1006
supplement. A supplement does not become part of the employee's 1007
continuing base salary but shall be considered compensation 1008
under s. 121.021(22). 1009
2. Cost-of-living adjustment.—A district school board may 1010
provide a cost-of-living salary adjustment if the adjustment: 1011
a. Does not discriminate among comparable classes of 1012
employees based upon the salary schedule under which they are 1013
compensated. 1014
b. Does not exceed 50 percent of the annual adjustment 1015
provided to instructional personnel rated as effective. 1016
3. Advanced degrees.—A district school board may use 1017
advanced degrees in setting a salary schedule for instructional 1018
personnel or school administrators if the advanced degree is 1019
held in the individual's area of certification, a field related 1020
to his or her teaching assignment, or a related field of study. 1021
For the purposes of the salary schedule, an advanced degree may 1022
include a master's degree or higher in the area of certification 1023
or teaching assignment, or an advanced degree in another field 1024
with a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours related to the area 1025

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of certification or teaching assignment. 1026
4. Grandfathered salary schedule.— 1027
a. The district school board shall adopt a salary schedule 1028
or salary schedules to be used as the basis for paying all 1029
school employees hired before July 1, 2014. Instructional 1030
personnel on annual contract as of July 1, 2014, shall be placed 1031
on the performance salary schedule adopted under subparagraph 4. 1032
5. Instructional personnel on continuing contract or 1033
professional service contract may opt into the performance 1034
salary schedule if the employee relinquishes such contract and 1035
agrees to be employed on an annual contract under s. 1012.335. 1036
Such an employee shall be placed on the performance salary 1037
schedule and may not return to continuing contract or 1038
professional service contract status. Any employee who opts into 1039
the performance salary schedule may not return to the 1040
grandfathered salary schedule. 1041
b. In determining the grandfathered salary schedule for 1042
instructional personnel, a district school board must base a 1043
portion of each employee's compensation upon performance 1044
demonstrated under s. 1012.34 and shall provide differentiated 1045
pay for both instructional personnel and school administrators 1046
based upon district-determined factors, including, but not 1047
limited to, additional responsibilities, school demographics, 1048
high-demand teacher needs areas, and level of job performance 1049
difficulties. 1050

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5. Performance salary schedule.—By July 1, 2014, the 1051
district school board shall adopt a performance salary schedule 1052
that provides annual salary adjustments for instructional 1053
personnel and school administrators based upon performance 1054
determined under s. 1012.34. Employees hired on or after July 1, 1055
2014, or employees who choose to move from the grandfathered 1056
salary schedule to the performance salary schedule shall be 1057
compensated pursuant to the performance salary schedule once 1058
they have received the appropriate performance evaluation for 1059
this purpose. 1060
a. Base salary.—The base salary shall be established as 1061
follows: 1062
(I) The base salary for instructional personnel or school 1063
administrators who opt into the performance salary schedule 1064
shall be the salary paid in the prior year, including 1065
adjustments only. 1066
(II) Instructional personnel or school administrators new 1067
to the district, returning to the district after a break in 1068
service without an authorized leave of absence, or appointed for 1069
the first time to a position in the district in the capacity of 1070
instructional personnel or school administrator shall be placed 1071
on the performance salary schedule. 1072
b. Salary adjustments.—Salary adjustments for highly 1073
effective or effective performance shall be established as 1074
follows: 1075

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(I) The annual salary adjustment under the performance 1076
salary schedule for an employee rated as highly effective must 1077
be at least 25 percent greater than the highest annual salary 1078
adjustment available to an employee of the same classification 1079
through any other salary schedule adopted by the district. 1080
(II) The annual salary adjustment under the performance 1081
salary schedule for an employee rated as effective must be equal 1082
to at least 50 percent and no more than 75 percent of the annual 1083
adjustment provided for a highly effective employee of the same 1084
classification. 1085
(III) A salary schedule may shall not provide an annual 1086
salary adjustment for an employee who receives a rating other 1087
than highly effective or effective for the year. 1088
c. Salary supplements.—In addition to the salary 1089
adjustments, each district school board shall provide for salary 1090
supplements for activities that must include, but are not 1091
limited to: 1092
(I) Assignment to a Title I eligible school. 1093
(II) Assignment to a school that earned a grade of "F" or 1094
three consecutive grades of "D" pursuant to s. 1008.34 such that 1095
the supplement remains in force for at least 1 year following 1096
improved performance in that school. 1097
(III) Certification and teaching in high-demand teacher 1098
needs areas. Statewide high-demand teacher needs areas shall be 1099
identified by the State Board of Education under s. 1012.07. 1100

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However, the district school board may identify other areas of 1101
high-demand needs within the school district for purposes of 1102
this sub-sub-subparagraph and may remove areas identified by the 1103
state board which do not apply within the school district. 1104
(IV) Assignment of additional academic responsibilities. 1105
1106
If budget constraints in any given year limit a district school 1107
board's ability to fully fund all adopted salary schedules, the 1108
performance salary schedule may shall not be reduced on the 1109
basis of total cost or the value of individual awards in a 1110
manner that is proportionally greater than reductions to any 1111
other salary schedules adopted by the district. Any compensation 1112
for longevity of service awarded to instructional personnel who 1113
are on any other salary schedule must be included in calculating 1114
the salary adjustments required by sub-subparagraph b. 1115
(3)(a) Collective bargaining.—Notwithstanding provisions 1116
of chapter 447 related to district school board collective 1117
bargaining, collective bargaining may not preclude a district 1118
school board from carrying out its constitutional and statutory 1119
duties related to the following: 1120
1. Providing incentives to effective and highly effective 1121
teachers. 1122
2. Implementing intervention and support strategies under 1123
s. 1008.33 to address the causes of low student performance and 1124
improve student academic performance and attendance. 1125

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3. Implementing student discipline provisions required by 1126
law, including a review of a student's abilities, past 1127
performance, behavior, and needs. 1128
4. Implementing school safety plans and requirements. 1129
5. Implementing staff and student recognition programs. 1130
6. Distributing correspondence to parents, teachers, and 1131
community members related to the daily operation of schools and 1132
the district. 1133
7. Providing any required notice or copies of information 1134
related to the district school board or district operations 1135
which is readily available on the school district's website. 1136
8. The school district's calendar. 1137
9. Providing salary supplements pursuant to sub-sub-1138
subparagraph (1)(c)5.c.(III). 1139
Section 23. Present paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection 1140
(1) of section 1012.335, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 1141
paragraphs (c) and (d), respectively, a new paragraph (b) is 1142
added to that subsection, paragraphs (d), (e), and (f) are added 1143
to subsection (2) of that section, and subsections (3) and (4) 1144
of that section are amended, to read: 1145
1012.335 Contracts with instructional personnel hired on 1146
or after July 1, 2011.— 1147
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 1148
(b) "Instructional multiyear contract," beginning July 1, 1149
2026, means an employment contract for a period not to exceed 3 1150

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years which the district school board may choose to award to 1151
instructional personnel upon completion of a probationary 1152
contract and at least one annual contract. 1153
(2) EMPLOYMENT.— 1154
(d) An instructional multiyear contract may be awarded, 1155
beginning July 1, 2026, only if the employee: 1156
1. Holds an active professional certificate issued 1157
pursuant to s. 1012.56 and rules of the State Board of 1158
Education; 1159
2. Has been recommended by the district school 1160
superintendent for the instructional multiyear contract based 1161
upon the individual's evaluation under s. 1012.34 and approved 1162
by the district school board; and 1163
3. Has not received an annual performance evaluation 1164
rating of unsatisfactory or needs improvement in the past 3 1165
years under s. 1012.34. 1166
(e) An employee awarded an instructional multiyear 1167
contract who receives an annual performance evaluation rating of 1168
unsatisfactory or needs improvement under s. 1012.34 must be 1169
returned to an annual contract in the following school year. 1170
Such evaluation rating must be included with the evaluation 1171
ratings under subsequent annual contracts for determinations of 1172
just cause under s. 1012.33. 1173
(f) The award of an instructional multiyear contract does 1174
not remove the authority of the district school superintendent 1175

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to reassign a teacher during the term of the contract. 1176
(3) VIOLATION OF ANNUAL OR INSTRUCTIONAL MULTIYEAR 1177
CONTRACT.—Instructional personnel who accept a written offer 1178
from the district school board and who leave their positions 1179
without prior release from the district school board are subject 1180
to the jurisdiction of the Education Practices Commission. 1181
(4) SUSPENSION OR DISMISSAL OF INSTRUCTIONAL PERSONNEL ON 1182
ANNUAL OR INSTRUCTIONAL MULTIYEAR CONTRACT.—Any instructional 1183
personnel with an annual or instructional multiyear contract may 1184
be suspended or dismissed at any time during the term of the 1185
contract for just cause as provided in subsection (5). The 1186
district school board shall notify the employee in writing 1187
whenever charges are made and may suspend such person without 1188
pay. However, if the charges are not sustained, the employee 1189
must shall be immediately reinstated and his or her back pay 1190
must shall be paid. If the employee wishes to contest the 1191
charges, he or she must, within 15 days after receipt of the 1192
written notice, submit a written request for a hearing to the 1193
district school board. A direct hearing must shall be conducted 1194
by the district school board or a subcommittee thereof within 60 1195
days after receipt of the written appeal. The hearing must shall 1196
be conducted in accordance with ss. 120.569 and 120.57. A 1197
majority vote of the membership of the district school board 1198
shall be required to sustain the district school 1199
superintendent's recommendation. The district school board's 1200

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determination is final as to the sufficiency or insufficiency of 1201
the grounds for suspension without pay or dismissal. Any such 1202
decision adverse to the employee may be appealed by the employee 1203
pursuant to s. 120.68. 1204
Section 24. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 1205
1012.39, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1206
1012.39 Employment of substitute teachers, teachers of 1207
adult education, nondegreed teachers of career education, and 1208
career specialists and nondegreed teachers of fine and 1209
performing arts; students performing clinical field experience.— 1210
(1) Notwithstanding ss. 1012.32, 1012.55, 1012.56, and 1211
1012.57, or any other provision of law or rule to the contrary, 1212
each district school board shall establish the minimal 1213
qualifications for: 1214
(c) Part-time and full-time nondegreed teachers of career 1215
programs. Qualifications must be established for nondegreed 1216
teachers of career and technical education courses for program 1217
clusters that are recognized in the state and are based 1218
primarily on successful occupational experience rather than 1219
academic training. The qualifications for such teachers must 1220
require: 1221
1. The filing of a complete set of fingerprints in the 1222
same manner as required by s. 1012.32. Faculty employed solely 1223
to conduct postsecondary instruction may be exempted from this 1224
requirement. 1225

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2. Documentation of education and successful occupational 1226
experience, including documentation of: 1227
a. A high school diploma or the equivalent. 1228
b. Completion of a minimum level, established by the 1229
district school board, 3 years of full-time successful 1230
occupational experience or the equivalent of part-time 1231
experience in the teaching specialization area. The district 1232
school board may establish alternative qualifications for 1233
teachers with an industry certification in the career area in 1234
which they teach. 1235
c. For full-time teachers, completion of professional 1236
education training in teaching methods, course construction, 1237
lesson planning and evaluation, and teaching special needs 1238
students. This training may be completed through coursework from 1239
an accredited or approved institution or an approved district 1240
teacher education program, or the local school district 1241
inservice master plan. 1242
d. Documentation of industry certification when state or 1243
national industry certifications are available and applicable. 1244
Section 25. Paragraphs (a), (b), (d), and (e) of 1245
subsection (2) of section 1012.555, Florida Statutes, are 1246
amended to read: 1247
1012.555 Teacher Apprenticeship Program.— 1248
(2)(a) An individual must meet the following minimum 1249
eligibility requirements to participate in the apprenticeship 1250

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program: 1251
1. Be enrolled in or have completed Have received an 1252
associate degree program at from an accredited postsecondary 1253
institution. 1254
2. Have earned a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 in 1255
that degree program. 1256
3. Have successfully passed a background screening as 1257
provided in s. 1012.32. 1258
4. Have received a temporary apprenticeship certificate as 1259
provided in s. 1012.56(7)(d). 1260
(b) As a condition of participating in the program, an 1261
apprentice teacher must commit to spending at least the first 2 1262
years in the classroom of a mentor teacher using team teaching 1263
strategies identified in s. 1003.03(4)(b) s. 1003.03(5)(b) and 1264
fulfilling the on-the-job training component of the registered 1265
apprenticeship and its associated standards. 1266
(d) An apprentice teacher must be appointed by the 1267
district school board or work in the district as an education 1268
paraprofessional and must be paid in accordance with s. 446.032 1269
and rules adopted by the State Board of Education. 1270
(e) An apprentice teacher may change schools or districts 1271
after the first year of his or her apprenticeship if the 1272
receiving hiring school or district has agreed to fund the 1273
remaining year of the apprenticeship. 1274
Section 26. Paragraph (g) of subsection (2), subsection 1275

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(7), and paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of section 1012.56, 1276
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1277
1012.56 Educator certification requirements.— 1278
(2) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—To be eligible to seek 1279
certification, a person must: 1280
(g) Demonstrate mastery of general knowledge pursuant to 1281
subsection (3), if the person serves as a classroom teacher as 1282
defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a). 1283
(7) TYPES AND TERMS OF CERTIFICATION.— 1284
(a) The Department of Education shall issue a professional 1285
certificate for a period not to exceed 5 years to any applicant 1286
who fulfills one of the following: 1287
1. Meets all the applicable requirements outlined in 1288
subsection (2). 1289
2. For a professional certificate covering grades 6 1290
through 12: 1291
a. Meets the applicable requirements of paragraphs (2)(a)-1292
(h). 1293
b. Holds a master's or higher degree in the area of 1294
science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. 1295
c. Teaches a high school course in the subject of the 1296
advanced degree. 1297
d. Is rated highly effective as determined by the 1298
teacher's performance evaluation under s. 1012.34, based in part 1299
on student performance as measured by a statewide, standardized 1300

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assessment or an Advanced Placement, Advanced International 1301
Certificate of Education, or International Baccalaureate 1302
examination. 1303
e. Achieves a passing score on the Florida professional 1304
education competency examination required by state board rule. 1305
3. Meets the applicable requirements of paragraphs (2)(a)-1306
(h) and completes a professional learning certification program 1307
approved by the department pursuant to paragraph (8)(c) or an 1308
educator preparation institute approved by the department 1309
pursuant to s. 1004.85. An applicant who completes one of these 1310
programs and is rated highly effective as determined by his or 1311
her performance evaluation under s. 1012.34 is not required to 1312
take or achieve a passing score on the professional education 1313
competency examination in order to be awarded a professional 1314
certificate. 1315
(b) The department shall issue a temporary certificate to 1316
any applicant who: 1317
1. Completes the requirements outlined in paragraphs 1318
(2)(a)-(f) and completes the subject area content requirements 1319
specified in state board rule or demonstrates mastery of subject 1320
area knowledge pursuant to subsection (5) and holds an 1321
accredited degree or a degree approved by the Department of 1322
Education at the level required for the subject area 1323
specialization in state board rule; 1324
2. For a subject area specialization for which the state 1325

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board otherwise requires a bachelor's degree, documents 48 1326
months of active-duty military service with an honorable 1327
discharge or a medical separation; completes the requirements 1328
outlined in paragraphs (2)(a), (b), and (d)-(f); completes the 1329
subject area content requirements specified in state board rule 1330
or demonstrates mastery of subject area knowledge pursuant to 1331
subsection (5); and documents completion of 60 college credits 1332
with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 1333
scale, as provided by one or more accredited institutions of 1334
higher learning or a nonaccredited institution of higher 1335
learning identified by the Department of Education as having a 1336
quality program resulting in a bachelor's degree or higher; or 1337
3. Is enrolled in a state-approved teacher preparation 1338
program under s. 1004.04; is actively completing the required 1339
program field experience or internship at a public school; 1340
completes the requirements outlined in paragraphs (2)(a), (b), 1341
and (d)-(f); completes the subject area content requirements 1342
specified in state board rule or demonstrates mastery of subject 1343
area knowledge pursuant to subsection (5); and documents 1344
completion of 60 college credits with a minimum cumulative grade 1345
point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, as provided by one or more 1346
accredited institutions of higher learning or a nonaccredited 1347
institution of higher learning identified by the Department of 1348
Education as having a quality program resulting in a bachelor's 1349
degree or higher. 1350

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(c) The department shall issue one nonrenewable 2-year 1351
temporary certificate and one nonrenewable 5-year professional 1352
certificate to a qualified applicant who holds a bachelor's 1353
degree in the area of speech-language impairment to allow for 1354
completion of a master's degree program in speech-language 1355
impairment. 1356
(d) The department shall issue a temporary apprenticeship 1357
certificate to any applicant who meets the requirements of 1358
paragraphs (2)(a), (b), and (d)-(f). 1359
(e) A person who is issued a temporary certificate under 1360
paragraph (b) must be assigned a teacher mentor for a minimum of 1361
2 school years after commencing employment. Each teacher mentor 1362
selected by the school district, charter school, or charter 1363
management organization must: 1364
1. Hold a valid professional certificate issued pursuant 1365
to this section; 1366
2. Have earned at least 3 years of teaching experience in 1367
prekindergarten through grade 12; and 1368
3. Have earned an effective or highly effective rating on 1369
the prior year's performance evaluation under s. 1012.34. 1370
(f)1. A temporary certificate is valid for 5 school fiscal 1371
years, is limited to a one-time issuance, and is nonrenewable. 1372
2. A temporary apprenticeship certificate issued under 1373
paragraph (d) is valid for 5 school years, may be issued only 1374
once, and is nonrenewable. 1375

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(g) A certificateholder may request that her or his 1376
certificate be placed in an inactive status. A certificate that 1377
has been inactive may be reactivated upon application to the 1378
department. The department shall prescribe, by rule, 1379
professional learning requirements as a condition of 1380
reactivating a certificate that has been inactive for more than 1381
1 year. 1382
(h) A school district or a regional education consortium 1383
may issue temporary certificates, based on the requirements in 1384
paragraph (b). School districts and regional education consortia 1385
shall report the number of such certificates issued, and any 1386
additional information, to the department, based on reporting 1387
requirements adopted by the State Board of Education. Such 1388
certificates are subject to the authority of the Education 1389
Practices Commission under s. 1012.795. 1390
1391
At least 1 year before an individual's department-issued 1392
temporary certificate is set to expire, the department shall 1393
electronically notify the individual of the date on which his or 1394
her certificate will expire and provide a list of each method by 1395
which the qualifications for a professional certificate can be 1396
completed. 1397
(8) PROFESSIONAL LEARNING CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.— 1398
(a) The Department of Education shall develop and each 1399
school district, charter school, and charter management 1400

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organization may provide a cohesive competency-based 1401
professional learning certification program by which 1402
instructional staff may satisfy the mastery of professional 1403
preparation and education competence requirements specified in 1404
subsection (6) and rules of the State Board of Education. 1405
Participants must hold a state-issued temporary certificate. A 1406
school district, charter school, or charter management 1407
organization that implements the program shall provide a 1408
competency-based certification program developed by the 1409
Department of Education or developed by the district, charter 1410
school, or charter management organization and approved by the 1411
Department of Education. These entities may collaborate with 1412
other supporting agencies or educational entities for 1413
implementation. The program shall include the following: 1414
1. A teacher mentorship and induction component. 1415
a. Each individual selected by the district, charter 1416
school, or charter management organization as a mentor: 1417
(I) Must hold a valid professional certificate issued 1418
pursuant to this section; 1419
(II) Must have earned at least 3 years of teaching 1420
experience in prekindergarten through grade 12; 1421
(III) Must have completed training in clinical supervision 1422
and participate in ongoing mentor training provided through the 1423
coordinated system of professional learning under s. 1012.98(4); 1424
(IV) Must have earned an effective or highly effective 1425

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rating on the prior year's performance evaluation; and 1426
(V) May be a peer evaluator under the district's 1427
evaluation system approved under s. 1012.34. 1428
b. The teacher mentorship and induction component must, at 1429
a minimum, provide routine opportunities for mentoring and 1430
induction activities, including ongoing professional learning as 1431
described in s. 1012.98 targeted to a teacher's needs, 1432
opportunities for a teacher to observe other teachers, co-1433
teaching experiences, and reflection and follow-up followup 1434
discussions. Professional learning must meet the criteria 1435
established in s. 1012.98(3). Mentorship and induction 1436
activities must be provided for an applicant's first year in the 1437
program and may be provided until the applicant attains his or 1438
her professional certificate in accordance with this section. 1439
2. An assessment of teaching performance aligned to the 1440
district's, charter school's, or charter management 1441
organization's system for personnel evaluation under s. 1012.34 1442
which provides for: 1443
a. An initial evaluation of each educator's competencies 1444
to determine an appropriate individualized professional learning 1445
plan. 1446
b. A summative evaluation to assure successful completion 1447
of the program. 1448
3. Professional education preparation content knowledge, 1449
which must be included in the mentoring and induction activities 1450

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under subparagraph 1., that includes, but is not limited to, the 1451
following: 1452
a. The state academic standards provided under s. 1003.41, 1453
including scientifically researched and evidence-based reading 1454
instructional strategies grounded in the science of reading, 1455
content literacy, and mathematical practices, for each subject 1456
identified on the temporary certificate. Reading instructional 1457
strategies for foundational skills shall include phonics 1458
instruction for decoding and encoding as the primary 1459
instructional strategy for word reading. Instructional 1460
strategies may not employ the three-cueing system model of 1461
reading or visual memory as a basis for teaching word reading. 1462
Instructional strategies may include visual information and 1463
strategies which improve background and experiential knowledge, 1464
add context, and increase oral language and vocabulary to 1465
support comprehension, but may not be used to teach word 1466
reading. 1467
b. The educator-accomplished practices approved by the 1468
state board. 1469
4. Required achievement of passing scores on the subject 1470
area and professional education competency examination required 1471
by State Board of Education rule. Mastery of general knowledge 1472
must be demonstrated as described in subsection (3). 1473
5. Beginning with candidates entering a program in the 1474
2022-2023 school year, a candidate for certification in a 1475

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coverage area identified pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(g) s. 1476
1012.585(3)(f) must successfully complete all competencies for a 1477
reading endorsement, including completion of the endorsement 1478
practicum. 1479
Section 27. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2), subsection 1480
(3), and paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 1012.585, 1481
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1482
1012.585 Process for renewal of professional 1483
certificates.— 1484
(2)(a) All professional certificates, except a 1485
nonrenewable professional certificate, are shall be renewable 1486
for successive periods not to exceed 10 5 years after the date 1487
of submission of documentation of completion of the requirements 1488
for renewal provided in subsection (3). Only one renewal may be 1489
granted during each 5-year or 10-year validity period of a 1490
professional certificate. 1491
1. An applicant who is rated highly effective, pursuant to 1492
s. 1012.34, in the first 4 years of the 5-year validity period 1493
of his or her professional certificate is eligible for a 1494
professional certificate valid for 10 years. An applicant must 1495
be issued at least one 5-year professional certificate to be 1496
eligible for a 10-year professional certificate. An applicant 1497
who does not meet the requirement of this subparagraph is 1498
eligible only to renew his or her 5-year professional 1499
certificate. 1500

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2. An applicant who is rated effective or highly 1501
effective, pursuant to s. 1012.34, for the first 9 years of the 1502
10-year validity period of his or her professional certificate 1503
is eligible to renew a professional certificate valid for 10 1504
years. An applicant issued a 10-year professional certificate 1505
who does not meet the requirement of this subparagraph is 1506
eligible only for renewal of a professional certificate valid 1507
for 5 years. 1508
(3) For the renewal of a professional certificate, the 1509
following requirements must be met: 1510
(a) The applicant must: 1511
1. Earn a minimum of 6 college credits or 120 inservice 1512
points or a combination thereof for a certificate valid for 5 1513
years. 1514
2. Earn a minimum of 12 college credits or 240 inservice 1515
points or a combination thereof for a professional certificate 1516
valid for 10 years. A minimum of 5 college credits or 100 1517
inservice points or a combination thereof must be earned within 1518
the first 5 years of a professional certificate valid for 10 1519
years. 1520
(b) For each area of specialization to be retained on a 1521
certificate, the applicant must earn at least 3 of the required 1522
credit hours or equivalent inservice points in the 1523
specialization area. Education in "clinical educator" training 1524
pursuant to s. 1004.04(5)(b); participation in mentorship and 1525

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induction activities, including as a mentor, pursuant to s. 1526
1012.56(8)(a); credits or points that provide training in the 1527
knowledge and skills required to support students with autism; 1528
and credits or points that provide training in the area of 1529
scientifically researched, knowledge-based reading literacy 1530
grounded in the science of reading, including explicit, 1531
systematic, and sequential approaches to reading instruction, 1532
developing phonemic awareness, and implementing multisensory 1533
intervention strategies, and computational skills acquisition, 1534
exceptional student education, normal child development, and the 1535
disorders of development may be applied toward any 1536
specialization area. Credits or points that provide training in 1537
the areas of drug abuse, child abuse and neglect, strategies in 1538
teaching students having limited proficiency in English, or 1539
dropout prevention, or training in areas identified in the 1540
educational goals and performance standards adopted pursuant to 1541
ss. 1000.03(5) and 1008.345 may be applied toward any 1542
specialization area, except specialization areas identified by 1543
State Board of Education rule that include reading instruction 1544
or intervention for any students in kindergarten through grade 1545
6. Each district school board shall include in its inservice 1546
master plan the ability for teachers to receive inservice points 1547
for supporting students in extracurricular career and technical 1548
education activities, such as career and technical student 1549
organization activities outside of regular school hours and 1550

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training related to supervising students participating in a 1551
career and technical student organization. Credits or points 1552
earned through approved summer institutes may be applied toward 1553
the fulfillment of these requirements. Inservice points may also 1554
be earned by participation in professional growth components 1555
approved by the State Board of Education and specified pursuant 1556
to s. 1012.98 in the district's approved master plan for 1557
inservice educational training; however, such points may not be 1558
used to satisfy the specialization requirements of this 1559
paragraph. 1560
(c)(b) In lieu of college course credit or inservice 1561
points, the applicant may renew a subject area specialization by 1562
passage of a state board approved Florida-developed subject area 1563
examination or, if a Florida subject area examination has not 1564
been developed, a standardized examination specified in state 1565
board rule. 1566
(d)(c) If an applicant wishes to retain more than two 1567
specialization areas on the certificate, the applicant must 1568
shall be permitted two successive validity periods for renewal 1569
of all specialization areas, but must earn no fewer than 6 1570
college course credit hours or the equivalent inservice points 1571
in any one validity period. 1572
(e)(d) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for 1573
the expanded use of training for renewal of the professional 1574
certificate for educators who are required to complete training 1575

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in teaching students of limited English proficiency or students 1576
with disabilities and training in the teaching of reading as 1577
follows: 1578
1. A teacher who holds a professional certificate may use 1579
college credits or inservice points earned through training in 1580
teaching students of limited English proficiency or students 1581
with disabilities and training in the teaching of reading in 1582
excess of 6 semester hours during one certificate-validity 1583
period toward renewal of the professional certificate during the 1584
subsequent validity periods. 1585
2. A teacher who holds a temporary certificate may use 1586
college credits or inservice points earned through training in 1587
teaching students of limited English proficiency or students 1588
with disabilities and training in the teaching of reading toward 1589
renewal of the teacher's first professional certificate. Such 1590
training must not have been included within the degree program, 1591
and the teacher's temporary and professional certificates must 1592
be issued for consecutive school years. 1593
(f)(e) Beginning July 1, 2014, an applicant for renewal of 1594
a professional certificate must earn a minimum of one college 1595
credit or the equivalent inservice points in the area of 1596
instruction for teaching students with disabilities. The 1597
requirement in this paragraph may not add to the total hours 1598
required by the department for continuing education or inservice 1599
training. 1600

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(g)(f) An applicant for renewal of a professional 1601
certificate in any area of certification identified by State 1602
Board of Education rule that includes reading instruction or 1603
intervention for any students in kindergarten through grade 6, 1604
with a beginning validity date of July 1, 2020, or thereafter, 1605
must earn a minimum of 2 college credits or the equivalent 1606
inservice points in evidence-based instruction and interventions 1607
grounded in the science of reading specifically designed for 1608
students with characteristics of dyslexia, including the use of 1609
explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to reading 1610
instruction, developing phonological and phonemic awareness, 1611
decoding, and implementing multisensory intervention strategies. 1612
Such training must be provided by teacher preparation programs 1613
under s. 1004.04 or s. 1004.85 or approved school district 1614
professional learning systems under s. 1012.98. The requirements 1615
in this paragraph may not add to the total hours required by the 1616
department for continuing education or inservice training. 1617
(h)(g) An applicant for renewal of a professional 1618
certificate in educational leadership from a Level I program 1619
under s. 1012.562(2) or Level II program under s. 1012.562(3), 1620
with a beginning validity date of July 1, 2025, or thereafter, 1621
must earn a minimum of 1 college credit or 20 inservice points 1622
in Florida's educational leadership standards, as established in 1623
rule by the State Board of Education. The requirement in this 1624
paragraph may not add to the total hours required by the 1625

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department for continuing education or inservice training. 1626
(i)(h) A teacher may earn inservice points only once 1627
during each 5-year validity period for any mandatory training 1628
topic that is not linked to student learning or professional 1629
growth. 1630
(5) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to 1631
allow the reinstatement of expired professional certificates. 1632
The department may reinstate an expired professional certificate 1633
if the certificateholder: 1634
(b) Documents completion of 6 college credits during the 5 1635
years immediately preceding reinstatement of the expired 1636
certificate, completion of 120 inservice points, or a 1637
combination thereof, in an area specified in paragraph (3)(b) 1638
(3)(a) to include the credit required under paragraph (3)(f) 1639
(3)(e). 1640
1641
The requirements of this subsection may not be satisfied by 1642
subject area examinations or college credits completed for 1643
issuance of the certificate that has expired. 1644
Section 28. Section 1013.19, Florida Statutes, is amended 1645
to read: 1646
1013.19 Purchase, conveyance, or encumbrance of property 1647
interests above surface of land; joint-occupancy structures.—For 1648
the purpose of implementing jointly financed construction 1649
project agreements, or for the construction of combined 1650

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occupancy structures, any board may purchase, own, convey, sell, 1651
lease, or encumber airspace or any other interests in property 1652
above the surface of the land, provided the lease of airspace 1653
for nonpublic use is for such reasonable rent, length of term, 1654
and conditions as the board in its discretion may determine. All 1655
proceeds from such sale or lease shall be used by a the board of 1656
trustees for a Florida College System institution or state 1657
university or boards receiving the proceeds solely for fixed 1658
capital outlay purposes. These purposes may include the 1659
renovation or remodeling of existing facilities owned by the 1660
board or the construction of new facilities; however, for a 1661
Florida College System institution board or university board, 1662
such new facility must be authorized by the Legislature. It is 1663
declared that the use of such rental by the board for public 1664
purposes in accordance with its statutory authority is a public 1665
use. Airspace or any other interest in property held by the 1666
Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund or the 1667
State Board of Education may not be divested or conveyed without 1668
approval of the respective board. Any building, including any 1669
building or facility component that is common to both nonpublic 1670
and educational portions thereof, constructed in airspace that 1671
is sold or leased for nonpublic use pursuant to this section is 1672
subject to all applicable state, county, and municipal 1673
regulations pertaining to land use, zoning, construction of 1674
buildings, fire protection, health, and safety to the same 1675

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extent and in the same manner as such regulations would be 1676
applicable to the construction of a building for nonpublic use 1677
on the appurtenant land beneath the subject airspace. Any 1678
educational facility constructed or leased as a part of a joint-1679
occupancy facility is subject to all rules and requirements of 1680
the respective boards or departments having jurisdiction over 1681
educational facilities. Any contract executed by a university 1682
board of trustees pursuant to this section is subject to the 1683
provisions of s. 1010.62. 1684
Section 29. Section 1013.35, Florida Statutes, is amended 1685
to read: 1686
1013.35 School district educational facilities plan; 1687
definitions; preparation, adoption, and amendment; long-term 1688
work programs.— 1689
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 1690
(a) "Adopted educational facilities plan" means the 1691
comprehensive planning document that is adopted annually by the 1692
district school board as provided in subsection (2) and that 1693
contains the educational plant survey. 1694
(b) "District facilities work program" means the 5-year 1695
listing of capital outlay projects adopted by the district 1696
school board as provided in subparagraph (2)(a)2. and paragraph 1697
(2)(b) as part of the district educational facilities plan, 1698
which is required in order to: 1699
1. Properly maintain the educational plant and ancillary 1700

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facilities of the district. 1701
2. Provide an adequate number of satisfactory student 1702
stations for the projected student enrollment of the district in 1703
K-12 programs. 1704
(c) "Tentative educational facilities plan" means the 1705
comprehensive planning document prepared annually by the 1706
district school board and submitted to the Office of Educational 1707
Facilities and the affected general-purpose local governments. 1708
(2) PREPARATION OF TENTATIVE DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL 1709
FACILITIES PLAN.— 1710
(a) Annually, before prior to the adoption of the district 1711
school budget, each district school board shall prepare a 1712
tentative district educational facilities plan that includes 1713
long-range planning for facilities needs. The district school 1714
board shall submit the tentative facilities plan to the 1715
department over 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year periods. The plan 1716
must be developed in coordination with the general-purpose local 1717
governments and be consistent with the local government 1718
comprehensive plans. The school board's plan for provision of 1719
new schools must meet the needs of all growing communities in 1720
the district, ranging from small rural communities to large 1721
urban cities. The plan must include: 1722
1. Projected student populations apportioned 1723
geographically at the local level. The projections must be based 1724
on information produced by the demographic, revenue, and 1725

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education estimating conferences pursuant to s. 216.136, where 1726
available, as modified by the district based on development data 1727
and agreement with the local governments and the Office of 1728
Educational Facilities. The projections must be apportioned 1729
geographically with assistance from the local governments using 1730
local development trend data and the school district student 1731
enrollment data. 1732
2. An inventory of existing school facilities. Any 1733
anticipated expansions or closures of existing school sites over 1734
the 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year periods must be identified. The 1735
inventory must include an assessment of areas proximate to 1736
existing schools and identification of the need for improvements 1737
to infrastructure, safety, including safe access routes, and 1738
conditions in the community. The plan must also provide a 1739
listing of major repairs and renovation projects anticipated 1740
over the period of the plan. 1741
3. Projections of facilities space needs, which may not 1742
exceed the norm space and occupant design criteria established 1743
in the State Requirements for Educational Facilities. 1744
4. Information on leased, loaned, and donated space and 1745
relocatables used for conducting the district's instructional 1746
programs. 1747
5. The general location of public schools proposed to be 1748
constructed over the 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year time periods, 1749
including a listing of the proposed schools' site acreage needs 1750

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and anticipated capacity and maps showing the general locations. 1751
The school board's identification of general locations of future 1752
school sites must be based on the school siting requirements of 1753
s. 163.3177(6)(a) and policies in the comprehensive plan which 1754
provide guidance for appropriate locations for school sites. 1755
6. The identification of options deemed reasonable and 1756
approved by the school board which reduce the need for 1757
additional permanent student stations. Such options may include, 1758
but need not be limited to: 1759
a. Acceptable capacity; 1760
b. Redistricting; 1761
c. Busing; 1762
d. Year-round schools; 1763
e. Charter schools; 1764
f. Magnet schools; and 1765
g. Public-private partnerships. 1766
7. The criteria and method, jointly determined by the 1767
local government and the school board, for determining the 1768
impact of proposed development to public school capacity. 1769
(b) The plan must also include a financially feasible 1770
district facilities work program for a 5-year period. The work 1771
program must include: 1772
1. A schedule of major repair and renovation projects 1773
necessary to maintain the educational facilities and ancillary 1774
facilities of the district. 1775

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2. A schedule of capital outlay projects necessary to 1776
ensure the availability of satisfactory student stations for the 1777
projected student enrollment in K-12 programs. This schedule 1778
shall consider: 1779
a. The locations, capacities, and planned utilization 1780
rates of current educational facilities of the district. The 1781
capacity of existing satisfactory facilities, as reported in the 1782
Florida Inventory of School Houses must be compared to the 1783
capital outlay full-time-equivalent student enrollment as 1784
determined by the department, including all enrollment used in 1785
the calculation of the distribution formula in s. 1013.64. 1786
b. The proposed locations of planned facilities, whether 1787
those locations are consistent with the comprehensive plans of 1788
all affected local governments, and recommendations for 1789
infrastructure and other improvements to land adjacent to 1790
existing facilities. The provisions of ss. 1013.33(6), (7), and 1791
(8) and 1013.36 must be addressed for new facilities planned 1792
within the first 3 years of the work plan, as appropriate. 1793
c. Plans for the use and location of relocatable 1794
facilities, leased facilities, and charter school facilities. 1795
d. Plans for multitrack scheduling, grade level 1796
organization, block scheduling, or other alternatives that 1797
reduce the need for additional permanent student stations. 1798
e. Information concerning average class size and 1799
utilization rate by grade level within the district which will 1800

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result if the tentative district facilities work program is 1801
fully implemented. 1802
f. The number and percentage of district students planned 1803
to be educated in relocatable facilities during each year of the 1804
tentative district facilities work program. For determining 1805
future needs, student capacity may not be assigned to any 1806
relocatable classroom that is scheduled for elimination or 1807
replacement with a permanent educational facility in the current 1808
year of the adopted district educational facilities plan and in 1809
the district facilities work program adopted under this section. 1810
Those relocatable classrooms clearly identified and scheduled 1811
for replacement in a school-board-adopted, financially feasible, 1812
5-year district facilities work program shall be counted at zero 1813
capacity at the time the work program is adopted and approved by 1814
the school board. However, if the district facilities work 1815
program is changed and the relocatable classrooms are not 1816
replaced as scheduled in the work program, the classrooms must 1817
be reentered into the system and be counted at actual capacity. 1818
Relocatable classrooms may not be perpetually added to the work 1819
program or continually extended for purposes of circumventing 1820
this section. All relocatable classrooms not identified and 1821
scheduled for replacement, including those owned, lease-1822
purchased, or leased by the school district, must be counted at 1823
actual student capacity. The district educational facilities 1824
plan must identify the number of relocatable student stations 1825

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scheduled for replacement during the 5-year survey period and 1826
the total dollar amount needed for that replacement. 1827
g. Plans for the closure of any school, including plans 1828
for disposition of the facility or usage of facility space, and 1829
anticipated revenues. 1830
h. Projects for which capital outlay and debt service 1831
funds accruing under s. 9(d), Art. XII of the State Constitution 1832
are to be used shall be identified separately in priority order 1833
on a project priority list within the district facilities work 1834
program. 1835
3. The projected cost for each project identified in the 1836
district facilities work program. For proposed projects for new 1837
student stations, a schedule shall be prepared comparing the 1838
planned cost and square footage for each new student station, by 1839
elementary, middle, and high school levels, to the low, average, 1840
and high cost of facilities constructed throughout the state 1841
during the most recent fiscal year for which data is available 1842
from the Department of Education. 1843
4. A schedule of estimated capital outlay revenues from 1844
each currently approved source which is estimated to be 1845
available for expenditure on the projects included in the 1846
district facilities work program. 1847
5. A schedule indicating which projects included in the 1848
district facilities work program will be funded from current 1849
revenues projected in subparagraph 4. 1850

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6. A schedule of options for the generation of additional 1851
revenues by the district for expenditure on projects identified 1852
in the district facilities work program which are not funded 1853
under subparagraph 5. Additional anticipated revenues may 1854
include Classrooms First funds. 1855
(c) To the extent available, the tentative district 1856
educational facilities plan shall be based on information 1857
produced by the demographic, revenue, and education estimating 1858
conferences pursuant to s. 216.136. 1859
(2)(d) Provision must shall be made for public comment 1860
concerning the tentative district educational facilities plan. 1861
(e) The district school board shall coordinate with each 1862
affected local government to ensure consistency between the 1863
tentative district educational facilities plan and the local 1864
government comprehensive plans of the affected local governments 1865
during the development of the tentative district educational 1866
facilities plan. 1867
(3)(f) Not less than once every 5 years, the district 1868
school board shall have an audit conducted of the district's 1869
educational planning and construction activities. An operational 1870
audit conducted by the Auditor General pursuant to s. 11.45 1871
satisfies this requirement. 1872
(4)(3) SUBMITTAL OF TENTATIVE DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL 1873
FACILITIES PLAN TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The district school board 1874
shall submit a copy of its tentative district educational 1875

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facilities plan to all affected local governments before prior 1876
to adoption by the board. The affected local governments may 1877
shall review the tentative district educational facilities plan 1878
and comment to the district school board on the consistency of 1879
the plan with the local comprehensive plan, whether a 1880
comprehensive plan amendment will be necessary for any proposed 1881
educational facility, and whether the local government supports 1882
a necessary comprehensive plan amendment. If the local 1883
government does not support a comprehensive plan amendment for a 1884
proposed educational facility, the matter must shall be resolved 1885
pursuant to the interlocal agreement when required by ss. 1886
163.3177(6)(h), 163.31777, and 1013.33(2). The process for the 1887
submittal and review must shall be detailed in the interlocal 1888
agreement when required pursuant to ss. 163.3177(6)(h), 1889
163.31777, and 1013.33(2). 1890
(5)(4) ADOPTED DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES PLAN.—1891
Annually, the district school board shall consider and adopt the 1892
tentative district educational facilities plan completed 1893
pursuant to subsection (2). Upon giving proper notice to the 1894
public and local governments and opportunity for public comment, 1895
the district school board may amend the plan to revise the 1896
priority of projects, to add or delete projects, to reflect the 1897
impact of change orders, or to reflect the approval of new 1898
revenue sources which may become available. The district school 1899
board shall submit the revised plan to the department. The 1900

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adopted district educational facilities plan must shall: 1901
(a) Be a complete, balanced, and financially feasible 1902
capital outlay financial plan for the district. 1903
(b) Set forth the proposed commitments and planned 1904
expenditures of the district to address the educational 1905
facilities needs of its students and to adequately provide for 1906
the maintenance of the educational plant and ancillary 1907
facilities, including safe access ways from neighborhoods to 1908
schools. 1909
(6)(5) EXECUTION OF ADOPTED DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL 1910
FACILITIES PLAN.—The first year of the adopted district 1911
educational facilities plan constitutes shall constitute the 1912
capital outlay budget required in s. 1013.61. The adopted 1913
district educational facilities plan shall include the 1914
information required in subparagraphs (2)(b)1., 2., and 3., 1915
based upon projects actually funded in the plan. 1916
Section 30. Subsections (3) and (4) of section 1013.41, 1917
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1918
1013.41 SMART schools; Classrooms First; legislative 1919
purpose.— 1920
(3) SCHOOL DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES PLAN.—It is the 1921
purpose of the Legislature to create s. 1013.35, requiring each 1922
school district annually to adopt an educational facilities plan 1923
that provides an integrated long-range facilities plan, 1924
including the survey of projected needs and the 5-year work 1925

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program. The purpose of the educational facilities plan is to 1926
keep the district school board, local governments, and the 1927
public fully informed as to whether the district is using sound 1928
policies and practices that meet the essential needs of students 1929
and that warrant public confidence in district operations. The 1930
educational facilities plan will be monitored by the Office of 1931
Educational Facilities, which will also apply performance 1932
standards pursuant to s. 1013.04. 1933
(4) OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES.—It is the purpose of 1934
the Legislature to require the Office of Educational Facilities 1935
to assist school districts in building SMART schools utilizing 1936
functional and frugal practices. The Office of Educational 1937
Facilities shall must review district facilities work programs 1938
and projects and identify opportunities to maximize design and 1939
construction savings; develop school district facilities work 1940
program performance standards; and provide for review and 1941
recommendations to the Governor, the Legislature, and the State 1942
Board of Education. 1943
Section 31. Subsection (4) of section 1013.45, Florida 1944
Statutes, is amended to read: 1945
1013.45 Educational facilities contracting and 1946
construction techniques for school districts and Florida College 1947
System institutions.— 1948
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this section and s. 1949
481.229, the services of a registered architect must be used by 1950

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Florida College System institution and state university boards 1951
of trustees for the development of plans for the erection, 1952
enlargement, or alteration of any educational facility. The 1953
services of a registered architect are not required for a minor 1954
renovation project for which the construction cost is less than 1955
$50,000 or for the placement or hookup of relocatable 1956
educational facilities that conform to standards adopted under 1957
s. 1013.37. However, boards must provide compliance with 1958
building code requirements and ensure that these structures are 1959
adequately anchored for wind resistance as required by law. A 1960
district school board shall reuse existing construction 1961
documents or design criteria packages if such reuse is feasible 1962
and practical. If a school district's 5-year educational 1963
facilities work plan includes the construction of two or more 1964
new schools for students in the same grade group and program, 1965
such as elementary, middle, or high school, the district school 1966
board must require that prototype design and construction be 1967
used for the construction of these schools. Notwithstanding s. 1968
287.055, a board may purchase the architectural services for the 1969
design of educational or ancillary facilities under an existing 1970
contract agreement for professional services held by a district 1971
school board in the State of Florida, provided that the purchase 1972
is to the economic advantage of the purchasing board, the 1973
services conform to the standards prescribed by rules of the 1974
State Board of Education, and such reuse is not without notice 1975

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to, and permission from, the architect of record whose plans or 1976
design criteria are being reused. Plans must be reviewed for 1977
compliance with the State Requirements for Educational 1978
Facilities. Rules adopted under this section must establish 1979
uniform prequalification, selection, bidding, and negotiation 1980
procedures applicable to construction management contracts and 1981
the design-build process. This section does not supersede any 1982
small, woman-owned, or minority-owned business enterprise 1983
preference program adopted by a board. Except as otherwise 1984
provided in this section, the negotiation procedures applicable 1985
to construction management contracts and the design-build 1986
process must conform to the requirements of s. 287.055. A board 1987
may not modify any rules regarding construction management 1988
contracts or the design-build process. 1989
Section 32. Section 1013.451, Florida Statutes, is 1990
repealed. 1991
Section 33. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) and paragraph 1992
(b) of subsection (6) of section 1013.64, Florida Statutes, are 1993
amended to read: 1994
1013.64 Funds for comprehensive educational plant needs; 1995
construction cost maximums for school district capital 1996
projects.—Allocations from the Public Education Capital Outlay 1997
and Debt Service Trust Fund to the various boards for capital 1998
outlay projects shall be determined as follows: 1999
(1) 2000

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(e) Remodeling projects must shall be based on the 2001
recommendations of a survey pursuant to s. 1013.31, or, for 2002
district school boards, as indicated by the relative need as 2003
determined by the Florida Inventory of School Houses and the 2004
capital outlay full-time equivalent enrollment in the district. 2005
(6) 2006
(b)1. A district school board may not use funds from the 2007
following sources: Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt 2008
Service Trust Fund; School District and Community College 2009
District Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund; Classrooms 2010
First Program funds provided in s. 1013.68; nonvoted 1.5-mill 2011
levy of ad valorem property taxes provided in s. 1011.71(2); 2012
Classrooms for Kids Program funds provided in s. 1013.735; 2013
District Effort Recognition Program funds provided in s. 2014
1013.736; or High Growth District Capital Outlay Assistance 2015
Grant Program funds provided in s. 1013.738 to pay for any 2016
portion of the cost of any new construction of educational plant 2017
space with a total cost per student station, including change 2018
orders, which exceeds: 2019
a. $17,952 for an elementary school; 2020
b. $19,386 for a middle school; or 2021
c. $25,181 for a high school, 2022
2023
(January 2006) as adjusted annually to reflect increases or 2024
decreases in the Consumer Price Index. The department, in 2025

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conjunction with the Office of Economic and Demographic 2026
Research, shall review and adjust the cost per student station 2027
limits to reflect actual construction costs by January 1, 2020, 2028
and annually thereafter. The adjusted cost per student station 2029
shall be used by the department for computation of the statewide 2030
average costs per student station for each instructional level 2031
pursuant to paragraph (d). The department shall also collaborate 2032
with the Office of Economic and Demographic Research to select 2033
an industry-recognized construction index to replace the 2034
Consumer Price Index by January 1, 2020, adjusted annually to 2035
reflect changes in the construction index. 2036
2. School districts shall maintain accurate documentation 2037
related to the costs of all new construction of educational 2038
plant space reported to the Department of Education pursuant to 2039
paragraph (d). The Auditor General shall review the 2040
documentation maintained by the school districts and verify 2041
compliance with the limits under this paragraph during its 2042
scheduled operational audits of the school district. 2043
3. Except for educational facilities and sites subject to 2044
a lease-purchase agreement entered pursuant to s. 1011.71(2)(e) 2045
or funded solely through local impact fees, in addition to the 2046
funding sources listed in subparagraph 1., a district school 2047
board may not use funds from any sources for new construction of 2048
educational plant space with a total cost per student station, 2049
including change orders, which equals more than the current 2050

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adjusted amounts provided in sub-subparagraphs 1.a.-c. However, 2051
if a contract has been executed for architectural and design 2052
services or for construction management services before July 1, 2053
2017, a district school board may use funds from any source for 2054
the new construction of educational plant space and such funds 2055
are exempt from the total cost per student station requirements. 2056
4. A district school board must not use funds from the 2057
Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund or 2058
the School District and Community College District Capital 2059
Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund for any new construction of 2060
an ancillary plant that exceeds 70 percent of the average cost 2061
per square foot of new construction for all schools. 2062
Section 34. Paragraph (e) of subsection (6) of section 2063
163.3180, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2064
163.3180 Concurrency.— 2065
(6) 2066
(e) A school district that includes relocatable facilities 2067
in its inventory of student stations shall include the capacity 2068
of such relocatable facilities as provided in s. 2069
1013.35(2)(b)2.f., provided the relocatable facilities were 2070
purchased after 1998 and the relocatable facilities meet the 2071
standards for long-term use pursuant to s. 1013.20. 2072
Section 35. Paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of section 2073
200.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2074
200.065 Method of fixing millage.— 2075

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(10)(a) In addition to the notice required in subsection 2076
(3), a district school board shall publish a second notice of 2077
intent to levy additional taxes under s. 1011.71(2) or (3). The 2078
notice shall specify the projects or number of school buses 2079
anticipated to be funded by the additional taxes and shall be 2080
published in the size, within the time periods, adjacent to, and 2081
in substantial conformity with the advertisement required under 2082
subsection (3). The projects shall be listed in priority within 2083
each category as follows: construction and remodeling; 2084
maintenance, renovation, and repair; motor vehicle purchases; 2085
new and replacement equipment; payments for educational 2086
facilities and sites due under a lease-purchase agreement; 2087
payments for renting and leasing educational facilities and 2088
sites; payments of loans approved pursuant to ss. 1011.14 and 2089
1011.15; payment of costs of compliance with environmental 2090
statutes and regulations; payment of premiums for property and 2091
casualty insurance necessary to insure the educational and 2092
ancillary plants of the school district; payment of costs of 2093
leasing relocatable educational facilities; and payments to 2094
private entities to offset the cost of school buses pursuant to 2095
s. 1011.71(2)(i). The additional notice shall be in the 2096
following form, except that if the district school board is 2097
proposing to levy the same millage under s. 1011.71(2) or (3) 2098
which it levied in the prior year, the words "continue to" shall 2099
be inserted before the word "impose" in the first sentence, and 2100

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except that the second sentence of the second paragraph shall be 2101
deleted if the district is advertising pursuant to paragraph 2102
(3)(e): 2103
2104
NOTICE OF TAX FOR SCHOOL 2105
CAPITAL OUTLAY 2106
2107
The ...(name of school district)... will soon consider a 2108
measure to impose a ...(number)... mill property tax for the 2109
capital outlay projects listed herein. 2110
This tax is in addition to the school board's proposed tax 2111
of ...(number)... mills for operating expenses and is proposed 2112
solely at the discretion of the school board. THE PROPOSED 2113
COMBINED SCHOOL BOARD TAX INCREASE FOR BOTH OPERATING EXPENSES 2114
AND CAPITAL OUTLAY IS SHOWN IN THE ADJACENT NOTICE. 2115
The capital outlay tax will generate approximately 2116
$...(amount)..., to be used for the following projects: 2117
2118
...(list of capital outlay projects)... 2119
2120
All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing to 2121
be held on ...(date and time)... at ...(meeting place).... 2122
A DECISION on the proposed CAPITAL OUTLAY TAXES will be 2123
made at this hearing. 2124
2125

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Section 36. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section 2126
1002.68, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2127
1002.68 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program 2128
accountability.— 2129
(5)(a) If a public school's or private prekindergarten 2130
provider's program assessment composite score for its 2131
prekindergarten classrooms fails to meet the minimum program 2132
assessment composite score for contracting adopted in rule by 2133
the department, the private prekindergarten provider or public 2134
school may not participate in the Voluntary Prekindergarten 2135
Education Program beginning in the consecutive program year and 2136
thereafter until the public school or private prekindergarten 2137
provider meets the minimum composite score for contracting. A 2138
public school or private prekindergarten provider may request 2139
one program assessment per program year in order to requalify 2140
for participation in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education 2141
Program, provided that the public school or private 2142
prekindergarten provider is not excluded from participation 2143
under s. 1002.55(6), s. 1002.61(10)(b), s. 1002.63(9) ss. 2144
1002.55(6), 1002.61(10)(b), 1002.63(9)(b), or paragraph (5)(b) 2145
of this section. If a public school or private prekindergarten 2146
provider would like an additional program assessment completed 2147
within the same program year, the public school or private 2148
prekindergarten provider is shall be responsible for the cost of 2149
the program assessment. 2150

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Section 37. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 2151
1003.631, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2152
1003.631 Schools of Excellence.—The Schools of Excellence 2153
Program is established to provide administrative flexibility to 2154
the state's top schools so that the instructional personnel and 2155
administrative staff at such schools can continue to serve their 2156
communities and increase student learning to the best of their 2157
professional ability. 2158
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE FLEXIBILITIES.—A School of Excellence 2159
must be provided the following administrative flexibilities: 2160
(c) For instructional personnel, the substitution of 1 2161
school year of employment at a School of Excellence for 20 2162
inservice points toward the renewal of a professional 2163
certificate, up to 60 inservice points in a 5-year cycle, 2164
pursuant to s. 1012.585(3). 2165
Section 38. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) and paragraph 2166
(b) of subsection (5) of section 1004.04, Florida Statutes, are 2167
amended to read: 2168
1004.04 Public accountability and state approval for 2169
teacher preparation programs.— 2170
(2) UNIFORM CORE CURRICULA AND CANDIDATE ASSESSMENT.— 2171
(c) Each candidate must receive instruction and be 2172
assessed on the uniform core curricula in the candidate's area 2173
or areas of program concentration during course work and field 2174
experiences. Beginning with candidates entering a teacher 2175

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preparation program in the 2022-2023 school year, a candidate 2176
for certification in a coverage area identified pursuant to s. 2177
1012.585(3)(g) s. 1012.585(3)(f) must successfully complete all 2178
competencies for a reading endorsement, including completion of 2179
the endorsement practicum through the candidate's field 2180
experience under subsection (5), in order to graduate from the 2181
program. 2182
(5) PRESERVICE FIELD EXPERIENCE.—All postsecondary 2183
instructors, school district personnel and instructional 2184
personnel, and school sites preparing instructional personnel 2185
through preservice field experience courses and internships 2186
shall meet special requirements. District school boards may pay 2187
student teachers during their internships. 2188
(b)1. All school district personnel and instructional 2189
personnel who supervise or direct teacher preparation students 2190
during field experience courses or internships taking place in 2191
this state in which candidates demonstrate an impact on student 2192
learning growth must have: 2193
a. Evidence of "clinical educator" training; 2194
b. A valid professional certificate issued pursuant to s. 2195
1012.56; 2196
c. At least 3 years of teaching experience in 2197
prekindergarten through grade 12; 2198
d. Earned an effective or highly effective rating on the 2199
prior year's performance evaluation under s. 1012.34 or be a 2200

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peer evaluator under the district's evaluation system approved 2201
under s. 1012.34; and 2202
e. Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, for all such 2203
personnel who supervise or direct teacher preparation students 2204
during internships in kindergarten through grade 3 or who are 2205
enrolled in a teacher preparation program for a certificate area 2206
identified pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(g) s. 1012.585(3)(f), a 2207
certificate or endorsement in reading. 2208
2209
The State Board of Education shall approve the training 2210
requirements. 2211
2. All instructional personnel who supervise or direct 2212
teacher preparation students during field experience courses or 2213
internships in another state, in which a candidate demonstrates 2214
his or her impact on student learning growth, through a Florida 2215
online or distance program must have received "clinical 2216
educator" training or its equivalent in that state, hold a valid 2217
professional certificate issued by the state in which the field 2218
experience takes place, and have at least 3 years of teaching 2219
experience in prekindergarten through grade 12. 2220
3. All instructional personnel who supervise or direct 2221
teacher preparation students during field experience courses or 2222
internships, in which a candidate demonstrates his or her impact 2223
on student learning growth, on a United States military base in 2224
another country through a Florida online or distance program 2225

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must have received "clinical educator" training or its 2226
equivalent, hold a valid professional certificate issued by the 2227
United States Department of Defense or a state or territory of 2228
the United States, and have at least 3 years teaching experience 2229
in prekindergarten through grade 12. 2230
Section 39. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 2231
1004.85, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2232
1004.85 Postsecondary educator preparation institutes.— 2233
(3) Educator preparation institutes approved pursuant to 2234
this section may offer competency-based certification programs 2235
specifically designed for noneducation major baccalaureate 2236
degree holders to enable program participants to meet the 2237
educator certification requirements of s. 1012.56. An educator 2238
preparation institute choosing to offer a competency-based 2239
certification program pursuant to the provisions of this section 2240
must implement a program developed by the institute and approved 2241
by the department for this purpose. Approved programs shall be 2242
available for use by other approved educator preparation 2243
institutes. 2244
(b) Each program participant must: 2245
1. Meet certification requirements pursuant to s. 2246
1012.56(1) by obtaining a statement of status of eligibility in 2247
the certification subject area of the educational plan and meet 2248
the requirements of s. 1012.56(2)(a)-(f) before participating in 2249
field experiences. 2250

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2. Demonstrate competency and participate in field 2251
experiences that are appropriate to his or her educational plan 2252
prepared under paragraph (a). Beginning with candidates entering 2253
an educator preparation institute in the 2022-2023 school year, 2254
a candidate for certification in a coverage area identified 2255
pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(g) s. 1012.585(3)(f) must 2256
successfully complete all competencies for a reading 2257
endorsement, including completion of the endorsement practicum 2258
through the candidate's field experience, in order to graduate 2259
from the program. 2260
3. Before completion of the program, fully demonstrate his 2261
or her ability to teach the subject area for which he or she is 2262
seeking certification by documenting a positive impact on 2263
student learning growth in a prekindergarten through grade 12 2264
setting and, except as provided in s. 1012.56(7)(a)3., achieving 2265
a passing score on the professional education competency 2266
examination, the basic skills examination, and the subject area 2267
examination for the subject area certification which is required 2268
by state board rule. 2269
Section 40. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section 2270
1012.552, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2271
1012.552 The Coaching for Educator Readiness and Teaching 2272
(CERT) Certification Program.— 2273
(2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A CERT program must include all 2274
of the following: 2275

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(e) Required successful completion of all competencies for 2276
a reading endorsement, including completion of the endorsement 2277
practicum, for a candidate certification in a coverage area 2278
identified pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(g) s. 1012.585(3)(f). 2279
Section 41. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 2280
1012.586, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2281
1012.586 Additions or changes to certificates; duplicate 2282
certificates; reading endorsement pathways.— 2283
(2) 2284
(b) As part of adopting a pathway pursuant to paragraph 2285
(a), the department shall review the competencies for the 2286
reading endorsement and subject area examinations for educator 2287
certificates identified pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(g) s. 2288
1012.585(3)(f) for alignment with evidence-based instructional 2289
and intervention strategies rooted in the science of reading and 2290
identified pursuant to s. 1001.215(7) and recommend changes to 2291
the State Board of Education. Recommended changes must address 2292
identification of the characteristics of conditions such as 2293
dyslexia, implementation of evidence-based classroom instruction 2294
and interventions, including evidence-based reading instruction 2295
and interventions specifically for students with characteristics 2296
of dyslexia, and effective progress monitoring. By July 1, 2023, 2297
each school district reading endorsement add-on program must be 2298
resubmitted for approval by the department consistent with this 2299
paragraph. 2300

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Section 42. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 2301
1012.98, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2302
1012.98 School Community Professional Learning Act.— 2303
(5) The Department of Education, school districts, 2304
schools, Florida College System institutions, and state 2305
universities share the responsibilities described in this 2306
section. These responsibilities include the following: 2307
(b) Each school district shall develop a professional 2308
learning system as specified in subsection (4). The system shall 2309
be developed in consultation with teachers, teacher-educators of 2310
Florida College System institutions and state universities, 2311
business and community representatives, and local education 2312
foundations, consortia, and professional organizations. The 2313
professional learning system must: 2314
1. Be reviewed and approved by the department for 2315
compliance with s. 1003.42(3) and this section. Effective March 2316
1, 2024, the department shall establish a calendar for the 2317
review and approval of all professional learning systems. A 2318
professional learning system must be reviewed and approved every 2319
5 years. Any substantial revisions to the system must be 2320
submitted to the department for review and approval. The 2321
department shall establish a format for the review and approval 2322
of a professional learning system. 2323
2. Be based on analyses of student achievement data and 2324
instructional strategies and methods that support rigorous, 2325

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relevant, and challenging curricula for all students. Schools 2326
and districts, in developing and refining the professional 2327
learning system, shall also review and monitor school discipline 2328
data; school environment surveys; assessments of parental 2329
satisfaction; performance appraisal data of teachers, managers, 2330
and administrative personnel; and other performance indicators 2331
to identify school and student needs that can be met by improved 2332
professional performance. 2333
3. Provide inservice activities coupled with follow-up 2334
followup support appropriate to accomplish district-level and 2335
school-level improvement goals and standards. The inservice 2336
activities for instructional and school administrative personnel 2337
shall focus on analysis of student achievement data; ongoing 2338
formal and informal assessments of student achievement; 2339
identification and use of enhanced and differentiated 2340
instructional strategies that emphasize rigor, relevance, and 2341
reading in the content areas; enhancement of subject content 2342
expertise; integrated use of classroom technology that enhances 2343
teaching and learning; classroom management; parent involvement; 2344
and school safety. 2345
4. Provide inservice activities and support targeted to 2346
the individual needs of new teachers participating in the 2347
professional learning certification and education competency 2348
program under s. 1012.56(8)(a). 2349
5. Include a professional learning catalog for inservice 2350

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activities, pursuant to rules of the State Board of Education, 2351
for all district employees from all fund sources. The catalog 2352
must be updated annually by September 1, must be based on input 2353
from teachers and district and school instructional leaders, and 2354
must use the latest available student achievement data and 2355
research to enhance rigor and relevance in the classroom. Each 2356
district inservice catalog must be aligned to and support the 2357
school-based inservice catalog and school improvement plans 2358
pursuant to s. 1001.42(18). Each district inservice catalog must 2359
provide a description of the training that middle grades 2360
instructional personnel and school administrators receive on the 2361
district's code of student conduct adopted pursuant to s. 2362
1006.07; integrated digital instruction and competency-based 2363
instruction and CAPE Digital Tool certificates and CAPE industry 2364
certifications; classroom management; student behavior and 2365
interaction; extended learning opportunities for students; and 2366
instructional leadership. District plans must be approved by the 2367
district school board annually in order to ensure compliance 2368
with subsection (1) and to allow for dissemination of research-2369
based best practices to other districts. District school boards 2370
shall submit verification of their approval to the Commissioner 2371
of Education no later than October 1, annually. Each school 2372
principal may establish and maintain an individual professional 2373
learning plan for each instructional employee assigned to the 2374
school as a seamless component to the school improvement plans 2375

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developed pursuant to s. 1001.42(18). An individual professional 2376
learning plan must be related to specific performance data for 2377
the students to whom the teacher is assigned, define the 2378
inservice objectives and specific measurable improvements 2379
expected in student performance as a result of the inservice 2380
activity, and include an evaluation component that determines 2381
the effectiveness of the professional learning plan. 2382
6. Include inservice activities for school administrative 2383
personnel, aligned to the state's educational leadership 2384
standards, which address updated skills necessary for 2385
instructional leadership and effective school management 2386
pursuant to s. 1012.986. 2387
7. Provide for systematic consultation with regional and 2388
state personnel designated to provide technical assistance and 2389
evaluation of local professional learning programs. 2390
8. Provide for delivery of professional learning by 2391
distance learning and other technology-based delivery systems to 2392
reach more educators at lower costs. 2393
9. Provide for the continuous evaluation of the quality 2394
and effectiveness of professional learning programs in order to 2395
eliminate ineffective programs and strategies and to expand 2396
effective ones. Evaluations must consider the impact of such 2397
activities on the performance of participating educators and 2398
their students' achievement and behavior. 2399
10. For all grades, emphasize: 2400

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a. Interdisciplinary planning, collaboration, and 2401
instruction. 2402
b. Alignment of curriculum and instructional materials to 2403
the state academic standards adopted pursuant to s. 1003.41. 2404
c. Use of small learning communities; problem-solving, 2405
inquiry-driven research and analytical approaches for students; 2406
strategies and tools based on student needs; competency-based 2407
instruction; integrated digital instruction; and project-based 2408
instruction. 2409
2410
Each school that includes any of grades 6, 7, or 8 shall include 2411
in its school improvement plan, required under s. 1001.42(18), a 2412
description of the specific strategies used by the school to 2413
implement each item listed in this subparagraph. 2414
11. Provide training to reading coaches, classroom 2415
teachers, and school administrators in effective methods of 2416
identifying characteristics of conditions such as dyslexia and 2417
other causes of diminished phonological processing skills; 2418
incorporating instructional techniques into the general 2419
education setting which are proven to improve reading 2420
performance for all students; and using predictive and other 2421
data to make instructional decisions based on individual student 2422
needs. The training must help teachers integrate phonemic 2423
awareness; phonics, word study, and spelling; reading fluency; 2424
vocabulary, including academic vocabulary; and text 2425

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comprehension strategies into an explicit, systematic, and 2426
sequential approach to reading instruction, including 2427
multisensory intervention strategies. Such training for teaching 2428
foundational skills must be based on the science of reading and 2429
include phonics instruction for decoding and encoding as the 2430
primary instructional strategy for word reading. Instructional 2431
strategies included in the training may not employ the three-2432
cueing system model of reading or visual memory as a basis for 2433
teaching word reading. Such instructional strategies may include 2434
visual information and strategies which improve background and 2435
experiential knowledge, add context, and increase oral language 2436
and vocabulary to support comprehension, but may not be used to 2437
teach word reading. Each district shall must provide all 2438
elementary grades instructional personnel access to training 2439
sufficient to meet the requirements of s. 1012.585(3)(g) s. 2440
1012.585(3)(f). 2441
Section 43. Subsection (3) of section 1013.62, Florida 2442
Statutes, is amended to read: 2443
1013.62 Charter schools capital outlay funding.— 2444
(3) If the school board levies the discretionary millage 2445
authorized in s. 1011.71(2), the department must shall use the 2446
following calculation methodology to determine the amount of 2447
revenue that a school district must distribute to each eligible 2448
charter school: 2449
(a) Reduce the total discretionary millage revenue by the 2450

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school district's annual debt service obligation incurred as of 2451
March 1, 2017, which has not been subsequently retired, and any 2452
amount of participation requirement pursuant to s. 2453
1013.64(2)(a)8. that is being satisfied by revenues raised by 2454
the discretionary millage. 2455
(b) Divide the school district's adjusted discretionary 2456
millage revenue by the district's total capital outlay full-time 2457
equivalent membership and the total number of full-time 2458
equivalent students of each eligible charter school to determine 2459
a capital outlay allocation per full-time equivalent student. 2460
(c) Multiply the capital outlay allocation per full-time 2461
equivalent student by the total number of full-time equivalent 2462
students of each eligible charter school to determine the 2463
capital outlay allocation for each charter school. 2464
(d) If applicable, reduce the capital outlay allocation 2465
identified in paragraph (c) by the total amount of state funds 2466
allocated to each eligible charter school in subsection (2) to 2467
determine the maximum calculated capital outlay allocation. The 2468
amount of funds a school district must distribute to charter 2469
schools shall be as follows: 2470
1. For fiscal year 2023-2024, the amount is 20 percent of 2471
the amount calculated under this paragraph. 2472
2. For fiscal year 2024-2025, the amount is 40 percent of 2473
the amount calculated under this paragraph. 2474
3. For fiscal year 2025-2026, the amount is 60 percent of 2475

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the amount calculated under this paragraph. 2476
4. For fiscal year 2026-2027, the amount is 80 percent of 2477
the amount calculated under this paragraph. 2478
5. For fiscal year 2027-2028, and each fiscal year 2479
thereafter, the amount is 100 percent of the amount calculated 2480
under this paragraph. 2481
(e) School districts shall distribute capital outlay funds 2482
to eligible charter schools no later than February 1 of each 2483
year, as required by this subsection, based on the amount of 2484
funds received by the district school board. School districts 2485
shall distribute any remaining capital outlay funds, as required 2486
by this subsection, upon the receipt of such funds until the 2487
total amount calculated pursuant to this subsection is 2488
distributed. 2489
2490
By October 1 of each year, each school district shall certify to 2491
the department the amount of debt service and participation 2492
requirement that complies with the requirement of paragraph (a) 2493
and can be reduced from the total discretionary millage revenue. 2494
The Auditor General shall verify compliance with the 2495
requirements of paragraph (a) and s. 1011.71(2)(e) during 2496
scheduled operational audits of school districts. 2497
Section 44. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 2498