2017 Legislative Update June 22, 2017
General Budget Information (State) Public Schools / FEFP • 23,918.9 (0.85%) increase in Unweighted FTE (Students) • $455.03M (2.25%) increase to the FEFP Statewide o $364.193M (3.22%) in new state funds o $90.84M (1.02%) in local funds • Safe Schools – No increase • Reading Instruction – No increase Per Student Funding • $7,296 average per student funding • $100.00 (1.39%) average increase in per student funding 2
General Budget Information (OCPS) FEFP • 2,435 (1.22%) increase in Unweighted FTE (Students) • $38.86M (2.74%) increase in K-12 total funds Per Student Funding • $7,230.25 average per student funding • $106.86 (1.5%) increase in per student funding $165.89 (2015-16) below 2007 FEFP Final Conference Report ($7,303.14 - FY 2007) o $72.89 (2017-18) below 2007 FEFP Final Conference Report ($7,303.14 - FY 2007) o 3
General Budget Information (OCPS) FISCAL YEAR 2017-18 BUDGET IMPACT Increase in Total K-12 Funds: $38,860,366 Cost of New Student (2,436 X $7,230.25) ($17,612,889) Required for FRS Rate Increase ($ 3,571,053) Remaining FY 2017-2018 Funds Available $ 17,676,424 Source: The Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) Fiscal Year 2017-2018 4
SB 2500 - General Appropriations Act (as supplemented by HB 3A) • Fixed Capital Outlay $50M for public school maintenance o $50M for charter schools o • Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) Base Student Allocation for the school year is $2,437 and the summer is $2,080 o • Digital Classrooms Allocation $80M to provide digital devices and computerized testing (No change from 16/17 SY) o 5
SB 7022 - Florida Retirement System Rates Bill • The FRS employer rate for Regular Class employees increases from 7.52% to 7.92%, an increase of .40% • The FRS employer rate for Senior Class employees increases from 21.77% to 22.71%, an increase of .94% • These are the two classes that make up almost all of the FRS employees in school districts (Increase will cost OCPS $3,430,886) 6
Substantive Bills 7
HB 15 Relates to Educational Options • Expands access to the Gardiner Scholarship Program by: expanding the pool of eligible applicants by including additional disabilities; and o expanding the authorized use of scholarship funds for equine, art or music therapy and o services. • Revises the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program by: increasing the base annual scholarship amounts; o increasing the amount of a transportation scholarship for a student who chooses a public o school outside their district from $500 to $750; and allowing a dependent child of a parent who is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces to apply for o a scholarship at any time. Bill Status: Signed by Officers and presented to Governor (Governor must act on this bill by 6/29/17) Effective Date: 7/1/17 8
HB 39 Relates to Autism Awareness Training for Law Enforcement Officers • Requires the FDLE to establish a continued employment training (CET) on the recognition of the symptoms and characteristics of an individual on the autism disorder spectrum and appropriate responses to such individuals. • Completion of the training component may count toward a law enforcement officer’s required 40 hours of instruction for CET under s. 943.135, F.S. Bill Status: Approved by Governor Effective Date: 10/1/17 9
SB 80 Relates to Public Records • Requires a court to assess and award the reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney fees, against the agency if the court determines that: the agency unlawfully refused to permit a public record to be inspected or copied; o the complainant provided written notice identifying the public record request to the agency’s o custodian of public records at least five (5) days before filing the civil action; and the complainant is not required to provide written notice of the public record request if the o agency does not prominently post the contact information for the agency’s custodian of public records in the agency’s primary administrative building in which public records are routinely created, sent, received, maintained, and requested and on the agency’s website, if the agency has a website. 10
SB 80 Relates to Public Records (cont) • Requires a court to determine whether a complainant made a public records request or participated in the civil action for an improper purpose. • If the court determines there was an improper purpose, the bill prohibits the court from awarding the reasonable costs of enforcement, including attorney fees, to the complainant, and instead requires the court to award against the complainant and to the agency such reasonable costs incurred by the agency in responding to the civil action. Bill Status: Approved by Governor Effective Date: 5/24/17 11
HB 293 Relating to Middle Grades • Requires FDOE to conduct a comprehensive study of states with high-performing students in grades 6 through 8 in reading and mathematics, based on the states’ performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress and report those findings to the Governor, SBOE, Senate President and Speaker of the House by December 2017. • Deletes the requirement for students in grades 6, 7, or 8 to complete a career and education planning course as part of the requirements for middle grade promotion to high school. Bill Status: Approved by Governor Effective Date: 6/02/17 12
HB 371 Relating to Assistive Technology Devices • Revises provisions related to the use and transfer of an assistive technology device by students with disabilities by: Expanding the transitions considered for persons utilizing assistive technology devices o (ATD) to include from school to home and community; and Expanding the types of plans where ATDs may be included to ensure the devices o remain with the students through transitions to include individualized plan for employment. Bill Status: Approved by Governor Effective Date: 6/14/17 13
SB 436 Relating to Religious Expression in Public Schools • Creates the “Florida Student and School Personnel Religious Liberties Act” and prohibits a school district from discriminating against K-12 public school students, their parents, and school personnel based on their religious belief and expression. • Authorizes a student to: express religious beliefs in written and oral assignments free from discrimination; o wear clothing, accessories, and jewelry that display a religious message or symbol to o the same extent as secular types of clothing, accessories, or jewelry that display messages or symbols are permitted; and engage in and organize religious activities or groups before, during, and after the o school day in the same manner and extent that secular student organizations and groups are permitted. 14
SB 436 Relating to Religious Expression in Public Schools (cont) • A school district is required to treat a student’s voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject in the same way that it would treat the expression of a secular viewpoint. • Additionally, requires a school district to: allow a religious group the same access to school facilities for assembling as given to o a secular group and allow a religious or secular group to advertise or announce its meetings; permit school personnel to participate in religious activities on school grounds that are o student initiated and at reasonable times before or after the school day as long as the activities are voluntary and do not conflict with the duties and responsibilities of such school personnel; and 15
SB 436 Relating to Religious Expression in Public Schools (cont) allow groups that meet for prayer or religious speech to advertise or announce their o meetings to the same extent as a secular group. • School districts must adopt a limited public forum policy to be followed when students are speaking publicly at a school event. • The policy requires the school district to: provide the forum in a manner that does not discriminate against a student’s voluntary o expression of a religious viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject; provide a method based on neutral criteria for the selection of student speakers at o school events, activities, and graduation ceremonies; 16
SB 436 Relating to Religious Expression in Public Schools (cont) ensure that a student speaker does not engage in obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, o or indecent speech; and state in written or oral form that the student’s speech does not reflect the o endorsement, sponsorship, position, or expression of the school district. The school district must deliver this disclaimer at all graduation events and any other event at which a student speaks publicly. Bill Status: Approved by Governor Effective Date: 6/9/17 17
HB 493 by Relating Enhanced Safety for School Crossing • Requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to evaluate the viability and cost of establishing a uniform system for the designation of safe school crossing locations within a one-mile radius of all schools and requires DOT to report its findings to the Governor and Legislature. Bill Status: Approved by Governor Effective Date: 6/14/17 18
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