SB 934 — Education

Florida Senate - 2021 CS for CS for SB 934 By the CommitteesCommittee on Appropriations;Education;

and Education;Senator Wright 581-02356-21 2021934c1 A bill to be entitled An act relating to education;

and Senator Wright 576-04662-21 2021934c2 A bill to be entitled An act relating to education;

1001.43, F.S.;

authorizing members of certain committees of a district school board to attend meetings and establish quorums in person or through the use of telecommunications networks;

prohibiting any official action of a district school board from being taken at any meeting of such committees;

amending s.

1003.621, F.S.;

authorizing academically high-performing school districts to provide up to 2 days of virtual instruction;

specifying requirements for such virtual instruction for such virtual instruction to comply with a specified provision;

amending s.

requiring the department to also offer program components through university or educational leadership academies and through educational leadership coaching and mentoring;

5645 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

5847 Section 1. Subsection1. Paragraph (10)(b) of subsection (2) and paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 1001.43,1004.04, Florida Statutes, isare amended to read:

1001.43 Supplemental powers and duties of district school board.—The district school board may exercise the following supplemental powers and duties as authorized by this code or State Board of Education rule.

(10) DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD GOVERNANCE AND OPERATIONS.—The district school board may adopt policies and procedures necessary for the daily business operation of the district school board, including, but not limited to, the provision of legal services for the district school board;

conducting a district legislative program;

district school board member participation at conferences, conventions, and workshops, including member compensation and reimbursement for expenses;

district school board policy development, adoption, and repeal;

district school board meeting procedures, including participation via telecommunications networks, use of technology at meetings, and presentations by nondistrict personnel;

citizen communications with the district school board and with individual district school board members;

collaboration with local government and other entities as required by law;

and organization of the district school board, including special committees and advisory committees.

Members of special committees and advisory committees may attend meetings and establish quorums in person or through the use of telecommunications networks such as telephonic and video conferencing.

No official action of the school board may be taken at any meeting of a special committee or an advisory committee.

Section 2. Paragraph (g) of subsection (2) of section 1003.621, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

1003.621 Academically high-performing school districts.—It is the intent of the Legislature to recognize and reward school districts that demonstrate the ability to consistently maintain or improve their high-performing status.

The purpose of this section is to provide high-performing school districts with flexibility in meeting the specific requirements in statute and rules of the State Board of Education.

(2) COMPLIANCE WITH STATUTES AND RULES.—Each academically high-performing school district shall comply with all of the provisions in chapters 1000-1013, and rules of the State Board of Education which implement these provisions, pertaining to the following:

(g) Those statutes pertaining to planning and budgeting, including chapter 1011, except s.

1011.62(9)(d), relating to the requirement for a comprehensive reading plan.

A district that is exempt from submitting a comprehensive reading this plan shall be deemed approved to receive the research-based reading instruction allocation.

Each academically high-performing school district may provide up to 2 days of virtual instruction as part of the required 180 actual teaching days or the equivalent on an hourly basis each school year, as specified by rules of the State Board of Education.

Virtual instruction that is conducted in accordance with the plan approved by the department, is teacher-developed, and is aligned with the standards for enrolled courses complies with s.

1011.60(2).

The day or days must be indicated on the calendar approved by the school board.

The district shall submit a plan for each day of virtual instruction to the department for approval, in a format prescribed by the department, with assurances of alignment to statewide student standards as described in s.

1003.41 before the start of each school year.

Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) and paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 1004.04, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

9. Strategies appropriate for the early identification of students in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge and the referral of such studentsstudent to a mental health professional for support.