Florida Statutes
Part II - Accountability, Early Learning-20 (Ss. 1008.31-1008.47)
1008.36 - Florida School Recognition Program.

1(1) The Legislature finds that there is a need for a program to reward school districts and charter schools for putting parents first and complying with the provisions of emergency rules promulgated by the Department of Health related to face covering mandates during the 2020-2021 or 2021-2022 school year.
1(2) The Florida School Recognition Program is created to recognize the efforts of outstanding faculty and staff from school districts and charter schools that overcame pandemic-related learning disruptions to maintain highly productive schools by providing financial awards to public schools that for the 2021-2022 school year:
(a) Sustained high performance by receiving a school grade of “A,” making excellent progress; or
(b) Demonstrated exemplary improvement due to innovation and effort by improving at least one letter grade compared to the 2018-2019 school year.

1(3) All public schools, including charter schools, that received a school grade pursuant to s. 1008.34 and were not found in violation of emergency rules promulgated by the Department of Health related to face covering mandates during the 2020-2021 or 2021-2022 school year are eligible to participate in the program.

1(4)(a) The Department of Education may distribute the funds appropriated in Specific Appropriation 88A when the official school grades for the 2021-2022 school year are available. The results of these school grades shall be used to calculate the distribution of the appropriated funds. The amount for each eligible school district and charter school shall be based on the school district’s and charter school’s proportionate share of the total eligible full-time equivalent students.
(b) Funds must be distributed to the school’s fiscal agent and placed in the school’s account and must be used for purposes listed in subsection (5) as determined jointly by the school’s staff and school advisory council. If school staff and the school advisory council cannot reach agreement by February 1, the awards must be equally distributed to all classroom teachers currently teaching in the school. If a school selected to receive a school recognition award is no longer in existence at the time the award is paid, the district school superintendent shall distribute the funds to teachers who taught at the school in the previous year in the form of a bonus.

(5) School recognition awards must be used for the following:
(a) Nonrecurring bonuses to the faculty and staff;
(b) Nonrecurring expenditures for educational equipment or materials to assist in maintaining and improving student performance; or
(c) Temporary personnel for the school to assist in maintaining and improving student performance.

Notwithstanding statutory provisions to the contrary, incentive awards are not subject to collective bargaining.

History.—s. 381, ch. 2002-387; s. 24, ch. 2008-235; s. 13, ch. 2010-22; ss. 11, 12, ch. 2022-157.
1Note.—
A. Section 11, ch. 2022-157, amended subsections (1), (2), (3), and (4) “[i]n order to implement Specific Appropriation 87A of the 2022-2023 General Appropriations Act.”
B. Section 12, ch. 2022-157, provides that “[t]he amendments to s. 1008.36(1), (2), (3), and (4), Florida Statutes, made by this act expire July 1, 2023, and the text of those subsections shall revert to those in existence on June 30, 2022, except that any amendment enacted other than by this act shall be preserved and continue to operate to the extent that such amendments are not dependent upon the portions of text which expire pursuant to this section.” Effective July 1, 2023, subsections (1)-(4), as amended by s. 12, ch. 2022-157, will read:
(1) The Legislature finds that there is a need for a performance incentive program for outstanding faculty and staff in highly productive schools. The Legislature further finds that performance-based incentives are commonplace in the private sector and should be infused into the public sector as a reward for productivity.
(2) The Florida School Recognition Program is created to provide financial awards to public schools that:
(a) Sustain high performance by receiving a school grade of “A,” making excellent progress; or
(b) Demonstrate exemplary improvement due to innovation and effort by improving at least one letter grade or by improving more than one letter grade and sustaining the improvement the following school year.
(3) All public schools, including charter schools, that receive a school grade pursuant to s. 1008.34 are eligible to participate in the program.
(4) All selected schools shall receive financial awards depending on the availability of funds appropriated and the number and size of schools selected to receive an award. Funds must be distributed to the school’s fiscal agent and placed in the school’s account and must be used for purposes listed in subsection (5) as determined jointly by the school’s staff and school advisory council. If school staff and the school advisory council cannot reach agreement by February 1, the awards must be equally distributed to all classroom teachers currently teaching in the school. If a school selected to receive a school recognition award is no longer in existence at the time the award is paid, the district school superintendent shall distribute the funds to teachers who taught at the school in the previous year in the form of a bonus.