HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 551 Solar Energy Systems Located on the Property of an Educational Facility
SPONSOR(S): Hardy and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 188
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee Bailey Potvin
2) Education & Employment Committee
3) Appropriations Committee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Current law prohibits a school district from using certain local and state funds to construct educational facilities
that exceed statutory caps on the total cost per student station. The law specifies what costs are included in
the calculation of the cost per student station and provides limited exceptions. There is no current exception for
costs associated with a solar energy system.
The bill excludes costs associated with a solar energy system from the cost per student station caps on public
school construction. Excluded costs would include equipment, installation, design and engineering, permitting,
and testing for a solar energy system.
The fiscal impact is indeterminate. See FISCAL COMMENTS.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2021.
This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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 FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Present Situation
State Requirements for Educational Facilities (SREF)
The State Requirements for Educational Facilities (SREF) is the uniform statewide building code for the
planning and construction of public educational facilities and ancillary plants. It is enacted as a part of
the Florida Building Code adopted by the Florida Building Commission.1 District school boards must
adhere to the SREF when planning and constructing new facilities. Generally, SREF standards are
premised on providing enhanced safety for occupants and increasing the life span of the extensive,
publicly funded infrastructure of Florida’s public school districts.2 Florida law provides school districts
with the flexibility to adopt, through resolution, a number of exceptions to SREF requirements, including
site lighting and use of wood studs in interior nonload-bearing walls, among others.3
Solar Energy Systems in Schools
Under current law, school districts are encouraged to invest in energy conservation measures including
the use of “renewable energy systems, such as solar, biomass, and wind”.4 Florida law defines “solar
energy system” as “the equipment and requisite hardware that provide and are used for collecting,
transferring, converting, storing, or using incident solar energy for water heating, space heating,
cooling, or other applications that would otherwise require the use of a conventional source of energy
such as petroleum products, natural gas, manufactured gas, or electricity”.5 For hot water systems in
newly-constructed educational facilities, Florida law requires that each school facility with a demand for
hot water exceeding 1,000 gallons a day be constructed with a solar energy system as the primary
energy source so long as it is physically and economically feasible. The solar energy system must also
provide at least 65 percent of the facility’s estimated needs.6 Heated swimming and wading pools must,
when feasible, be heated by a solar energy system or waste heat recovery system.7
Cost Per Student Station
In Florida, construction costs for traditional K-12 public school facilities are reported based on the cost
per student station.8 The statutory cost per student station baseline was initially set in 1997 and was
amended in 2003 and in 2006.9 In 2005, the Department of Education (DOE) conducted a study on
overall inflation of school construction costs, including the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and other
factors. The cost per student station levels adopted in 2006 were based on the DOE’s study
recommendations.10 The statutory cost per student station is adjusted to reflect increases or decreases
in the CPI. The law does not specifically assign this adjustment function; however, the DOE and the
1
Section 1013.37(1), F.S
2
See, e.g., s. 1013.12, F.S. (casualty, safety, sanitation, and fire safety standards and inspection of property) and s. 1013.451, F.S.
(life-cycle cost comparison).
3
See s. 1013.385(2), F.S.
4
Section 1013.23, F.S.
5
Section 212.02(26), F.S.
6
Section 1013.44(2), F.S.
7
Section 1013.44(3), F.S
8
Section 1013.64(6), F.S.
9
Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Special Research Projects, available at http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/special-
research-projects/education/CostPerStudentStation.pdf
10
Section 1013.64(6)(b)1., F.S.
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 Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR)11 work together to calculate and disseminate
the new statutory caps.12
The table below summarizes the March 2021 forecast by EDR for the April 2021 cost per student
station caps:13
Cost Per
Type of School Student Station
Elementary School $23,699
Middle School $25,592
High School $33,242
The law states that cost per student station includes contract costs, fees of architects and engineers,
and the cost of furniture and equipment.14 Contract costs include costs for construction within five feet
of the building, including materials and supplies, as well as any furniture or equipment permanently
attached to the building.15 Cost per student station does not include the cost of purchasing or leasing
the site for the construction, legal and administrative costs, or the cost of related site or offsite
improvements.16 Site improvement costs include work performed on a site from five feet away from the
building to the site boundary, including costs for utility siting and interconnection.17 Further excluded
from the cost per student station are costs for school safety and hardening items and other capital
construction items approved by the school safety specialist to ensure building security for new
educational, auxiliary, or ancillary facilities.18
Under current law, a solar energy system that is within five feet of the building or permanently attached
to the building is considered a contract cost and counts toward the cost per student station. However, a
solar energy system that is located five feet or more away from the building is considered a site
improvement cost and not counted in the cost per student station.19
District school boards are prohibited from using funds from specified sources, including the nonvoted
1.5 mill levy of ad valorem property taxes, for any new construction of education plant space with a total
cost per student station that exceeds the caps in the table above.20 An exception is provided for a
contract for architectural and design services or for construction management services executed before
July 1, 2017.21
While Florida law provides caps on cost per student station spending, there is no corresponding penalty
for exceeding the caps. Repealed in 2019, a school district was previously subject to sanctions that
included deeming a school district ineligible for PECO funds and Debt Services Trust Fund funds for
three years.22 Additionally, an offending school district would have been subject to supervision of a
district capital outlay oversight committee, and would need approval from the committee for all capital
outlay expenditures for new construction, renovations, and remodeling for three fiscal years.23
11 The Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) is a research arm of the Legislature principally concerned with
forecasting economic and social trends that affect policy making, revenues, and appropriations. Office of Economic and Demographic
Research, Welcome, http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/ (last visited March 26, 2021).
12
Office of Economic and Demographic Research, supra note 9.
13
Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Student Station Cost Factors (March, 2021), available at
http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/conferences/peco/studentstation.pdf
14
Section 1013.64(6)(d), F.S.
15
Florida Department of Education, Review and Adjustment for Florida’s Cost per Student Station (January 1, 2020), available at
http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7738/urlt/2020AnnCSSR.pdf [hereinafter referred to as Florida’s Cost per Student Station].
16
Section 1013.64(6)(d), F.S.
17
See Florida’s Cost per Student Station. supra, note 15.
18
Section 1013.64(6)(d), F.S.
19
See Florida’s Cost per Student Station. supra, note 15.
20
Section 1013.64(6)(b)1., F.S.
21
Section 1013.64(6)(b)3., F.S.
22
Section 1013.64(6)(c), F.S. (2018).
23
Id.
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 Effects of Proposed Changes
The bill excludes from cost per student station caps any costs associated with a solar energy system
located on the property of a school facility. Excluded costs would include equipment, installation, design
and engineering, permitting, and testing for a solar energy system.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1. Amends s. 1013.44, F.S.; prohibiting costs associated with certain solar energy systems
from being included in certain cost per student station limitations.
Section 2. Providing an effective date of July 1, 2021.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
None.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
The fiscal impact is indeterminate. School districts would be able to install a solar energy system
without exceeding the cost per student station cap. While the up-front costs to construct a facility with a
solar energy system may be higher than a comparable facility with conventional power sources, future
utility savings could recoup some or all of the initial costs. The cost/benefit for installing a solar energy
system will vary based on the type of system, the size of the school facility, and the amount of energy
consumed by the school facility.
Most school district facilities are funded from local school district revenue sources including the district
local capital improvement tax, county local sales surtax, and school district local sales surtax.24 Any
additional costs associated with installing solar energy systems would be borne by the school district,
and the district would also realize any future utility cost savings. The state’s cost for constructing school
facilities could potentially increase for Special Facilities Construction Account projects that include a
solar energy system. These projects are largely funded through the PECO Trust Fund. Future utility
cost savings would be realized by the school district.
24
See Florida Department of Education, Finance, Funding & Financial Reporting, School District Annual Financial Reports (AFR),
available at https://www.fldoe.org/finance/fl-edu-finance-program-fefp/school-dis-annual-financial-reports-af.stml (last visited March
26, 2021).
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 III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
None.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
None.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/ COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
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