Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       Florida Senate - 2024                                     SB 250
       
       
        
       By Senator Perry
       
       
       
       
       
       9-00576-24                                             2024250__
                      A bill to be entitled                      
       An act relating to the Florida School for Competitive
       Academics; amending s. 1002.351, F.S.; changing the
       name of the Florida School for Competitive Academics
       to the Frazer School for Competitive Academics; making
       a technical change; amending ss. 11.45, 216.251,
       447.203, 1000.04, 1001.20, 1011.58, and 1011.59, F.S.;
       conforming provisions to a change made by the act;
       providing an effective date.
        
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

       Section 1. Section 1002.351, Florida Statutes, is amended
to read:
       1002.351 The Frazer Florida School for Competitive
Academics.—
       (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Frazer Florida
School for Competitive Academics. The school shall be located in
Alachua County and is a state-supported public school for
Florida residents in grades 6-12. The primary purpose of the
school is to provide a rigorous academic curriculum, and the
secondary purpose is to prepare students for regional, state,
and national academic competitions in all areas of study,
including, but not limited to, science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics. The school may admit students in grades 6-12
beginning in the 2024-2025 school year.
       (2) MISSION.—
       (a) The mission of the Frazer Florida School for
Competitive Academics is to provide students who meet selective
admissions requirements an environment that will foster high
academic engagement and advanced understanding of subject areas,
develop productive work habits, build resiliency, connect
students with industry leaders, and promote civic leadership.
       (b) To assist in the recruitment of students, the Frazer
Florida School for Competitive Academics must be included in the
school choice online portal established under s. 1001.10(10).
The portal must include information about the opportunity for
parents to submit their child’s educational records to the
Frazer Florida School for Competitive Academics for
consideration for admission.
       (3) BOARD OF TRUSTEES.—
       (a)1. The Frazer Florida School for Competitive Academics
shall be governed by a board of trustees composed of seven
members appointed by the Governor to 4-year terms and confirmed
by the Senate. For purposes of staggering terms, four members,
including the chair as designated by the Governor, shall be
appointed to 4-year terms beginning July 1, 2023, and three
members shall be appointed to 2-year terms beginning July 1,
2023. After the initial 4-year term, the chair shall be elected
by the board.
       2. No more than one employee of the school may serve on the
board of trustees as a member or as chair.
       (b) Members of the board of trustees shall serve without
compensation, but may be reimbursed for per diem and travel
expenses pursuant to s. 112.061.
       (c) The board of trustees is a public agency entitled to
sovereign immunity pursuant to s. 768.28, and board members are
public officers who bear fiduciary responsibility for the Frazer
Florida School for Competitive Academics.
       (d) The board of trustees is a body corporate with all the
powers of a body corporate and with such authority as is needed
for the proper operation and improvement of the Frazer Florida
School for Competitive Academics. Title to any gift, donation,
or bequest received by the board of trustees must vest in the
board of trustees. Title to all other property and other assets
of the Frazer Florida School for Competitive Academics must vest
in the State Board of Education, but the board of trustees has
complete jurisdiction over the management of the school.
       (e) The board of trustees has the full power and authority
to:
       1. Adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to
implement provisions of law relating to operation of the Frazer
Florida School for Competitive Academics. Such rules must be
submitted to the State Board of Education for approval or
disapproval. After a rule is approved by the State Board of
Education, the rule must be filed immediately with the
Department of State. The board of trustees shall act at all
times in conjunction with the rules of the State Board of
Education.
       2. Appoint a principal, administrators, teachers, and other
employees.
       3. Remove principals, administrators, teachers, and other
employees at the board’s discretion.
       4. Determine eligibility of students and procedures for
admission.
       5. Provide for the proper keeping of accounts and records
and for budgeting of funds.
       6. Receive gifts, donations, and bequests of money or
property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, from any
person, firm, corporation, or other legal entity for the use and
benefit of the school.
       7. Recommend to the Legislature for the school to become a
residential public school.
       8. Do and perform every other matter or thing requisite to
the proper management, maintenance, support, and control of the
school at the highest efficiency economically possible.
       (f) The board of trustees shall:
       1. Prepare and submit legislative budget requests for
operations and fixed capital outlay, in accordance with chapter
216 and ss. 1011.56 and 1013.60, to the Department of Education
for review and approval. The department must analyze the amount
requested for fixed capital outlay to determine if the request
is consistent with the school’s campus master plan, educational
plant survey, and facilities master plan.
       2. Approve and administer an annual operating budget in
accordance with ss. 1011.56 and 1011.57.
       3. Require all purchases to be in accordance with chapter
287 except for purchases made with funds received as gifts,
donations, or bequests or funds raised by or belonging to
student clubs or student organizations.
       4. Administer and maintain personnel programs for all
employees of the board of trustees and the Frazer Florida School
for Competitive Academics, who must shall be school employees,
including the personnel.
       5. Ensure that the Frazer Florida School for Competitive
Academics complies with s. 1013.351 concerning the coordination
of planning between the Frazer Florida School for Competitive
Academics and local governing bodies.
       6. Ensure that the Frazer Florida School for Competitive
Academics complies with s. 112.061 concerning per diem and
travel expenses.
       7. Adopt a master plan that specifies the objectives of the
Frazer Florida School for Competitive Academics. The plan must
be for a period of 5 years and must be reviewed for needed
modifications every 2 years. The board of trustees shall submit
the initial plan and subsequent modifications to the President
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
       (4) STUDENT AND EMPLOYEE RECORDS.—The board of trustees
shall provide for the content and custody of student and
employee personnel records. Student records are subject to s.
1002.22. Employee records are subject to s. 1012.31.
       (5) PERSONNEL.—
       (a) The Frazer Florida School for Competitive Academics
Board of Trustees shall require all employees and applicants for
employment to undergo background screening as provided in s.
1012.32 as a condition of employment and continued employment.
Members of the board of trustees must also undergo background
screening in accordance with the relevant provisions of s.
1012.32. An individual may not be employed as an employee or
contract personnel of the school or serve as a member of the
board of trustees if the individual is on the disqualification
list maintained by the department pursuant to s. 1001.10(4)(b).
       (b) In accordance with law and rules of the State Board of
Education, the board of trustees shall administer and maintain
personnel programs for all employees of the board of trustees
and the Frazer Florida School for Competitive Academics. The
board of trustees may adopt rules, policies, and procedures
related to the appointment, employment, and removal of
personnel.
       1. The board of trustees shall determine the compensation,
including salaries and fringe benefits, and other conditions of
employment for such personnel.
       2. Classroom teachers employed by the school must be
certified pursuant to chapter 1012.
       3. Each person employed by the board of trustees in an
academic, administrative, or instructional capacity with the
Frazer Florida School for Competitive Academics is entitled to a
contract as provided by rules of the board of trustees.
       4. All employees, except temporary, seasonal, and student
employees, may be provided Florida Retirement System benefits
from the school through operational costs.
       (6) FUNDING.—
       (a) The Frazer Florida School for Competitive Academics
shall receive state funds for operating purposes as provided in
the General Appropriations Act.
       (b) In addition to the funds provided in the General
Appropriations Act, the Frazer Florida School for Competitive
Academics may receive other funds from grants and donations.
       (7) AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS.—The Auditor General shall
conduct audits of the accounts and records of the Frazer Florida
School for Competitive Academics as provided in s. 11.45. The
Department of Education’s Inspector General is authorized to
conduct investigations at the school as provided in s.
1001.20(4)(e).
       (8) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES.—
       (a) The Frazer Florida School for Competitive Academics is
exempt from all statutes in chapters 1000-1013. However, the
Frazer Florida School for Competitive Academics shall be in
compliance with the following statutes in chapters 1000-1013:
       1. This section.
       2. Those statutes pertaining to the student assessment
program and school grading system.
       3. Those statutes pertaining to the provision of services
to students with disabilities.
       4. Those statutes pertaining to civil rights, including,
but not limited to, s. 1000.05, relating to discrimination.
       5. Those statutes pertaining to student health, safety, and
welfare.
       (b) Additionally, the Frazer Florida School for Competitive
Academics shall be in compliance with the following statutes:
       1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and
records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties.
       2. Chapter 119, relating to public records.
       3. Section 1006.12, relating to safe-school officers.
       4. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat management teams.
       5. Section 1006.07(9), relating to school environmental
safety incident reporting.
       6. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of
involuntary examinations.
       7. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe Schools
Assessment Tool.
       8. Section 1006.07(6)(d), relating to adopting active
assailant response plans.
       9. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile suspicious
activity reporting tool.
       10. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health
awareness and assistance training.
       11. Section 1003.4282, relating to requirements for a
standard high school diploma.
       12. Section 1003.03(1), relating to class size maximums.
       13.a. Section 1011.61, relating to instructional hours
requirements.
       b. Notwithstanding sub-subparagraph a., the school may
provide instruction that exceeds the minimum time requirements
for the purposes of offering a summer program.
       (c) For purposes of this subsection:
       1. The duties assigned to a district school superintendent
apply to the director of the Frazer Florida School for
Competitive Academics.
       2. The duties assigned to a district school board apply to
the board of trustees.
       Section 2. Paragraphs (d) and (f) of subsection (2) of
section 11.45, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
       11.45 Definitions; duties; authorities; reports; rules.—
       (2) DUTIES.—The Auditor General shall:
       (d) Annually conduct financial audits of the accounts and
records of all district school boards in counties with
populations of fewer than 150,000, according to the most recent
federal decennial statewide census; the Florida School for the
Deaf and the Blind; and the Frazer Florida School for
Competitive Academics.
       (f) At least every 3 years, conduct operational audits of
the accounts and records of state agencies, state universities,
state colleges, district school boards, the Florida Clerks of
Court Operations Corporation, water management districts, the
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, and the Frazer
Florida School for Competitive Academics.

The Auditor General shall perform his or her duties
independently but under the general policies established by the
Legislative Auditing Committee. This subsection does not limit
the Auditor General’s discretionary authority to conduct other
audits or engagements of governmental entities as authorized in
subsection (3).
       Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
216.251, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
       216.251 Salary appropriations; limitations.—
       (2)(a) The salary for each position not specifically
indicated in the appropriations acts shall be as provided in one
of the following subparagraphs:
       1. Within the classification and pay plans provided for in
chapter 110.
       2. Within the classification and pay plans established by
the Board of Trustees for the Florida School for the Deaf and
the Blind of the Department of Education and approved by the
State Board of Education for academic and academic
administrative personnel.
       3. Within the classification and pay plan approved and
administered by the Board of Governors or the designee of the
board for those positions in the State University System.
       4. Within the classification and pay plan approved by the
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, as the case may be, for employees of the
Legislature.
       5. Within the approved classification and pay plan for the
judicial branch.
       6. Within the classification and pay plans established by
the Board of Trustees for the Frazer Florida School for
Competitive Academics of the Department of Education and
approved by the State Board of Education for academic and
academic administrative personnel.
       Section 4. Subsection (2) of section 447.203, Florida
Statutes, is amended to read:
       447.203 Definitions.—As used in this part:
       (2) “Public employer” or “employer” means the state or any
county, municipality, or special district or any subdivision or
agency thereof which the commission determines has sufficient
legal distinctiveness properly to carry out the functions of a
public employer. With respect to all public employees determined
by the commission as properly belonging to a statewide
bargaining unit composed of State Career Service System
employees or Selected Professional Service employees, the
Governor is deemed to be the public employer; and the Board of
Governors of the State University System, or the board’s
designee, is deemed to be the public employer with respect to
all public employees of each constituent state university. The
board of trustees of a community college is deemed to be the
public employer with respect to all employees of the community
college. The district school board is deemed to be the public
employer with respect to all employees of the school district.
The Board of Trustees of the Florida School for the Deaf and the
Blind is deemed to be the public employer with respect to the
academic and academic administrative personnel of the Florida
School for the Deaf and the Blind. The Board of Trustees of the
Frazer Florida School for Competitive Academics is