1012.71 The Florida Teachers Lead Program.
1012.71 The Florida Teachers Lead Program.
(1) For purposes of the Florida Teachers Lead Program, the term “classroom teacher” means a certified teacher employed by a public school district or a public charter school in that district on or before September 1 of each year whose full-time or job-share responsibility is the classroom instruction of students in prekindergarten through grade 12, including full-time media specialists and guidance counselors serving students in prekindergarten through grade 12, who are funded through the Florida Education Finance Program. A “job-share” classroom teacher is one of two teachers whose combined full-time equivalent employment for the same teaching assignment equals one full-time classroom teacher.
(2) The Legislature, in the General Appropriations Act, shall determine funding for the Florida Teachers Lead Program. The funds appropriated are for classroom teachers to purchase, on behalf of the school district or charter school, classroom materials and supplies for the public school students assigned to them and may not be used to purchase equipment. The funds appropriated shall be used to supplement the materials and supplies otherwise available to classroom teachers. From the funds appropriated for the Florida Teachers Lead Program, the Commissioner of Education shall calculate an amount for each school district based upon each school district’s proportionate share of the state’s total unweighted FTE student enrollment and shall disburse the funds to the school districts by July 15.
(3) From the funds allocated to each school district for the Florida Teachers Lead Program, the district school board shall calculate an identical amount for each classroom teacher, which is that teacher’s proportionate share of the total amount allocated to the district. A job-share classroom teacher may receive a prorated share of the amount provided to a full-time classroom teacher. The district school board and each charter school board shall provide each classroom teacher with his or her total proportionate share by September 30 of each year by any means determined appropriate by the district school board or charter school board, including, but not limited to, direct deposit, check, debit card, or purchasing card, notwithstanding any law to the contrary. Expenditures under the program are not subject to state or local competitive bidding requirements. Funds received by a classroom teacher do not affect wages, hours, or terms and conditions of employment and, therefore, are not subject to collective bargaining. Any classroom teacher may decline receipt of or return the funds without explanation or cause. This subsection shall apply retroactively to July 1, 2007.
(4) Each classroom teacher must sign a statement acknowledging receipt of the funds, keep receipts for no less than 4 years to show that funds expended meet the requirements of this section, and return any unused funds to the district school board at the end of the regular school year. Any unused funds that are returned to the district school board shall be deposited into the school advisory council account of the school at which the classroom teacher returning the funds was employed when that teacher received the funds or deposited into the Florida Teachers Lead Program account of the school district in which a charter school is sponsored, as applicable.
(5) The statement must be signed and dated by each classroom teacher before receipt of the Florida Teachers Lead Program funds and shall include the wording: “I, (name of teacher) , am employed by the County District School Board or by the Charter School as a full-time classroom teacher. I acknowledge that Florida Teachers Lead Program funds are appropriated by the Legislature for the sole purpose of purchasing classroom materials and supplies to be used in the instruction of students assigned to me. In accepting custody of these funds, I agree to keep the receipts for all expenditures for no less than 4 years. I understand that if I do not keep the receipts, it will be my personal responsibility to pay any federal taxes due on these funds. I also agree to return any unexpended funds to the district school board at the end of the regular school year for deposit into the school advisory council account of the school where I was employed at the time I received the funds or for deposit into the Florida Teachers Lead Program account of the school district in which the charter school is sponsored, as applicable.”
(6) For the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the Department of Education is authorized to conduct a pilot program to determine the feasibility of managing the Florida Teachers Lead Program through a centralized electronic system. The pilot program must:
(a) Be established through a competitive procurement process;
(b) Provide the capability for participating teachers to purchase from online sources;
(c) Provide the capability for participating teachers to purchase from local vendors by means other than online purchasing;
(d) Generally comply with the provisions of this section;
(e) Be subject to annual auditing requirements to ensure accountability for funds received and disbursed; and
(f) Provide for all unused funds to be returned to the state at the close of each fiscal year.
Any participation in this pilot program by school districts and individual teachers must be on a voluntary basis. The department may limit the number of participating districts to the number it deems feasible to adequately measure the viability of the pilot program. The department is not required to implement this pilot program if it determines that the number of school districts willing to participate is insufficient to adequately measure the viability of the pilot program.
History. s. 749, ch. 2002-387; s. 1, ch. 2007-58; s. 28, ch. 2008-235; s. 37, ch. 2009-59.