TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – The Florida Senate unanimously approved a bill Thursday that would streamline administrative processes for school districts by reducing regulations in several areas.
Senate Bill 320 is sponsored by Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, and removes some requirements relating to the uniform assessment calendar, eliminates school facility work mandates and expands district school board discretion in allocating Title I funding.
“It’s an effort to really get that efficiency back into our education system,” Simon said. “At the end of the day, we want our teachers to be able to teach, our students to be able to learn and get rid of a lot of the distractions. Our education code has grown immensely over the years, and it’s time we start to pare back some of those requirements.”
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Teacher recruitment and evaluation changes
The legislation streamlines how school districts may recruit, hire, manage, pay and evaluate teachers. It expands eligibility requirements for the Teacher Apprenticeship Program and creates a three-year instructional multi-year contract.
The bill establishes a 10-year renewable professional certificate and authorizes school districts to issue temporary educator certificates. It limits the requirement for demonstration of general knowledge to classroom teachers, removing the requirement from instructional personnel such as librarians, school counselors and social workers.
Budget and facility management flexibility
The measure provides school boards with increased authority over district finances and budgets. It removes the requirement for graphical representation of a district budget and authorizes district school boards to use proceeds from the 1.5 mill discretionary capital levy for operational and capital purposes.
For facility management, the bill removes the prescribed five-year, 10-year, and 20-year school facility work program mandates while maintaining requirements for district long-term facility planning. It also repeals life-cycle cost analysis requirements for school construction projects.
Administrative process changes
The legislation eliminates certain school district requirements relating to the uniform assessment calendar, but requires the calendar to be posted online and in the parent portal. It maintains the requirement that no more than 5% of total school hours may be spent on statewide assessments, progress monitoring, and district-required tests.
The Senate passed a similar bill last year, but the House never took it up. The bill now goes to the Florida House for consideration.
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