HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 195 Upgrades to Education Facilities as Emergency Shelters
SPONSOR(S): Casello, Cross and others
TIED BILLS: None. IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 178
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee 15 Y, 0 N Bailey Potvin
2) Education & Employment Committee 17 Y, 0 N Wolff Hassell
3) Appropriations Committee 27 Y, 0 N Trexler Pridgeon
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 upgrades to an education facility which are designed to improve the capabilities of the
facility to provide enhanced hurricane protection areas.
The bill excludes from the cost per student station caps on public school construction any costs less than $2
million associated with upgrades to an education facility which are designed to improve the capabilities of
facilities to provide enhanced hurricane protection areas. Eligible upgrades are those necessary for an area to
be designated as an enhanced hurricane protection area; electrical and standby emergency power systems;
renewable energy source devices; and energy storage devices. All costs associated with such upgrades must
be consistent with prevailing market costs in the area where the education facility is located.
The fiscal impact is indeterminate. See FISCAL COMMENTS.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2023.
This docum ent 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
Education Facilities as Emergency Shelters
Under current law, the Department of Education (DOE), in consultation with boards and county and
state emergency management offices, must develop public shelter design criteria that must be
incorporated as standards into the Florida Building Code. These criteria must be designed to ensure
that appropriate new educational facilities can serve as public shelters for emergency management
purposes.4
If a regional planning council in which the county is located does not have a hurricane evacuation
shelter deficit as determined by the Division of Emergency Management, educational facilities within
the planning council region are not required to incorporate the public shelter criteria. 5
By January 31 of each even-numbered year, the Division of Emergency Management must prepare
and submit a statewide emergency shelter plan to the Governor and Cabinet for approval. 6
Cost Per Student Station
In Florida, construction costs for traditional K-12 public school facilities are reported based on the cost
per student station.7 The statutory cost per student station baseline was initially set in 1997 and was
amended in 2003 and in 2006.8 In 2005, the 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. 9 The statutory cost
per student station is adjusted to reflect increases or decreases in the CPI. The law does not
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 1013.372(1), F.S.
5 Id.
6 Section 1013.372(2), F.S.
7 Section 1013.64(6), F.S.
8 Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Special Research Projects, available at
http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/special-research-projects/education/CostPerStudentStation.pdf.
9 Section 1013.64(6)(b)1., F.S.
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 specifically assign this adjustment function; however, the DOE and the Office of Economic and
Demographic Research (EDR)10 work together to calculate and disseminate the new statutory caps. 11
The table below summarizes the February 2023 forecast by EDR for the July 2023 cost per student
station caps:12
Cost Per
Type of School Student Station
Elementary School $27,446
Middle School $29,638
High School $38,498
The law states that cost per student station includes contract costs, fees of architects and engineers,
and the cost of furniture and equipment.13 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.14 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.15 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. 16
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. 17 An exception is provided for a
contract for architectural and design services or for construction management services executed before
July 1, 2017.18
Effects of Proposed Changes
The bill excludes from the cost per student station caps on public school construction any costs less
than $2 million associated with upgrades to an education facility which are designed to improve the
capabilities of facilities to provide enhanced hurricane protection areas. Eligible upgrades are those
necessary for an area to be designated as an enhanced hurricane protection area; electrical and
standby emergency power systems; renewable energy source devices; and energy storage devices. All
costs associated with upgrades made must be consistent with prevailing market costs in the area
where the education facility is located.
10 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, available at http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/ (last visited Mar. 21, 2023).
11 Office of Economic and Demographic Research, supra note 8.
12 Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Student Station Cost Factors (February 2023), available at
http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/conferences/peco/studentstation.pdf
13 Section 1013.64(6)(d), F.S.
14 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/2020AnnCSS R.pdf [hereinafter referred to as Florida’s Cost
per Student Station].
15 Section 1013.64(6)(d), F.S.
16 Section 1013.64(6)(d), F.S.
17 Section 1013.64(6)(b)1., F.S.
18 Section 1013.64(6)(b)3., F.S.
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 B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1: Amends s. 1013.372, F.S.; excluding any costs less than $2 million associated with
upgrades to education facilities which are designed to improve the capabilities of
facilities to provide enhanced hurricane protection areas from the cost per student
station caps.
Section 2: Provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
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 to school districts is indeterminate. Most school district facilities are funded with local
school district revenues derived from the collection of the local capital improvement tax, local sales
surtax, and discretionary tax levies.19 Any additional costs associated with complying with the public
shelter design criteria would be borne by the school district.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
None.
2. Other:
None.
19 See Florida Department of Education, 2022-23 Funding for Florida School Districts, available at
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7507/urlt/Fefpdist.pdf.
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 B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
None.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
None.
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