School Board of Broward County: 2010 Florida Legislative Session–Education-Related Bill Summary
May 18, 2010
The Florida Legislature allocated $14 billion for Pre-K through 12th grade education with the passage of House Bill 5001, the 2010-2011 General Appropriations Act (“Budget”).
The 2010-2011 Budget contains a small increase in per-student funding (0.02 percent), which represents an increase in the average per-student funding levels to $6,843.51. Also, the state share of the Florida Education Finance Program (“FEFP”) was increased by $848.9 million (10.51 percent) from last year’s Budget in order to provide some relief for local funding losses. The total FEFP is funded at $8.9 billion.
The 2010 Legislature also passed several other bills related to Pre-K-12 education.
Below is a brief summary of some of these significant proposals:
HB 5101 relating to Pre-K through Grade 12 Education Funding by the House Full Appropriations Council on Education and Economic Development, Pre-K-12 Appropriations Committee and State Representative Anitere Flores passed the Legislature on April 30, 2010 by a vote of 30-7.
An implementing bill to the Budget, HB 5101 also requires the Florida Department of Education to annually calculate class size based upon an annual October student membership survey.
While the bill provides penalties for lack of compliance with Florida’s class size requirements, a District may get relief from the penalties by submitting a school board-certified plan by February 15 that indicates the planned actions necessary to achieve full compliance with class size requirements for the following year.
HB 5101 also clarifies that, in order for school districts to continue the school board-super majority-approved 0.25 critical needs millage after the 2010-2011 fiscal year, voters must approve the millage by referendum during the 2010 general election. If the measure fails, it cannot be put before the voters again for a full year. Approved millage will have to be reauthorized by the voters every two years.
Senate Joint Resolution 2 (“SJR2”)
SJR 2 relating to Class Size Requirements for Public Schools by Senator Don Gaetz passed the Legislature by the required three-fifths vote (77 to 41) on April 8, 2010. This resolution will put a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would freeze class size restrictions at their current levels. Under the provisions of SJR 2, the school-level average number of students per teacher may not exceed the following limits by the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year:
- Pre-K through 3rd Grade, 18 students;
- 4th Grade through 8th Grade, 22 students; and
- 9th Grade through 12th Grade, 25 students.
The bill also provides flexibility to allow some class sizes to increase, as long as the school-wide average remains in compliance with the current restrictions.
SB 4 relating to Education Accountability by the Senate Policy and Steering Committee on Ways and Means; Education Pre-K-12 and Senator Nancy Detert was signed by Florida Governor Charlie Crist on April 20, 2010.
The bill, which is intended to increase graduation standards, will require high school students to take courses such as Geometry, Algebra II, Biology, Chemistry or Physics. It also would phase out the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in math and science and require an end-of-course examination instead.
SB 2126 relating to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program by the Senate Committee on Finance and Tax and Senator Joe Negron was signed by the Governor on April 22, 2010. This bill increases funding for Florida’s school voucher program for low income children from $118 million to $140 million. It also allows the program to expand by 25 percent per year.
SB 6 relating to Education Personnel by Senator John Thrasher was passed in the Legislature by a vote of 64-55 on April 8, 2010. Governor Crist subsequently vetoed this legislation on April 15, 2010 due, in part, to a public outcry from educators throughout the state. The bill would have required school districts to set aside money for a new merit pay system tied to student performance.
Should you have any comments or questions, please contact Trevor Mask (tmask@cftlaw.com) at Colodny Fass.
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