Outline of the state of Florida
State
Florida
Required

Category
School-Community and Interagency Partnerships

Category
School-Community and Interagency Partnerships

State law requires districts to establish school-community partnerships to address student needs.

Florida ESSA State Plan

In the ESSA state plan, LEAs are encouraged to develop partnerships with community groups such as libraries, churches, universities, and community colleges to provide education and health services for migrant and out-of-school youth as part of the Florida Migrant Education Program.

Policy Type
Non-codified

Florida Statutes 1001.43. Supplemental powers and duties of district school board.

The district school board may exercise the following supplemental powers and duties as authorized by this code or State Board of Education rule.

(5) School community relations. — The district school board may adopt policies governing public gifts and donations to schools; input from the community concerning instruction resources; advertising in schools; participation in community affairs, including coordination with local governments and planning authorities; protocols for interagency agreements; business community partnerships; community use of school facilities; public solicitations in schools, including the distribution and posting of promotional materials and literature; visitors to the school campus; school advisory councils; and parent volunteers and chaperones.

Policy Type
Statute

Florida Statutes 1003.27 Court procedure and penalties

(4)  Cooperative agreements. -- The circuit manager of the Department of Juvenile Justice or the circuit manager's designee, the district administrator of the Department of Children and Families or the district administrator's designee, and the district school superintendent or the superintendent's designee must develop a cooperative interagency agreement that:

  • (a) Clearly defines each department's role, responsibility, and function in working with habitual truants and their families.

  • (b) Identifies and implements measures to resolve and reduce truant behavior.

  • (c) Addresses issues of streamlining service delivery, the appropriateness of legal intervention, case management, the role and responsibility of the case staffing committee, student and parental intervention and involvement, and community action plans.

  • (d) Delineates timeframes for implementation and identifies a mechanism for reporting results by the circuit juvenile justice manager or the circuit manager's designee and the district school superintendent or the superintendent's designee to the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Education and other governmental entities as needed.

  • (e) Designates which agency is responsible for each of the intervention steps in this section, to yield more effective and efficient intervention services.

Policy Type
Statute

Florida Statutes 1003.53 Dropout prevention and academic intervention.

(d)

    1. “Second chance schools” means district school board programs provided through cooperative agreements between the Department of Juvenile Justice, private providers, state or local law enforcement agencies, or other state agencies for students who have been disruptive or violent or who have committed serious offenses. As partnership programs, second chance schools are eligible for waivers by the Commissioner of Education from State Board of Education rules that prevent the provision of appropriate educational services to violent, severely disruptive, or delinquent students in small nontraditional settings or in court-adjudicated settings.
    1. District school boards seeking to enter into a partnership with a private entity or public entity to operate a second chance school for disruptive students may apply to the Department of Education for startup grants. These grants must be available for 1 year and must be used to offset the startup costs for implementing such programs off public school campuses. General operating funds must be generated through the appropriate programs of the Florida Education Finance Program. Grants approved under this program shall be for the full operation of the school by a private nonprofit or for-profit provider or the public entity. This program must operate under rules adopted by the State Board of Education and be implemented to the extent funded by the Legislature.
Policy Type
Statute

Florida Statutes 1003.64. Community School Grant Program.

It is the intent of the Legislature to improve student success and well-being by engaging and supporting parents and community organizations in their efforts to positively impact student learning and development.

(1) Purpose. The Community School Grant Program is established to fund and support the planning and implementation of community school programs, subject to legislative appropriation.

(2) Definitions.

(a) “Center” means the Center for Community Schools at the University of Central Florida.

(b) “Community organization” means a nonprofit organization that has been in existence for at least 3 years and serves individuals within a county in which a public school implementing the community school model is located. The community organization serves as the lead partner in the community school model and facilitates the use of grant funds under this section.

(c) “Community school model” means a school service model developed by the center which utilizes a long-term partnership among a school district, a community organization, a college or university, and a health care provider to establish, develop, and sustain a system for addressing student, family, and community needs during and outside of the school day. The model must establish a collaborative governance structure among the community partners for providing services and include Standard for effective implementation, reporting, and evaluation at each participating school. The governance structure may include other community leaders such as parent-teacher organizations, community businesses, and faith leaders. The model must also provide for family engagement and expanded learning opportunities and support for students. A community school may include, but is not limited to, a community partnership school.

(3) Grant program. — Contingent upon available funds, the center may facilitate the implementation of its community school model in the state through grants that enable community organizations to establish long-term partnerships and secure resources for planning, staffing, and providing services to students and families through the community school model. The center shall:

(a) Require a participating public school to establish long-term partnerships through a memorandum of understanding. After receiving a grant award under this section, the center shall condition the award of grant funds in the subsequent years upon the matching funds secured through the long-term partnerships.

(b) Prioritize awards based on demonstration of the technical and financial ability to sustain the community school model beyond an initial grant award. For planning grant awards, priority must be given to school districts in which the community school model has not been established and which demonstrate the technical and financial ability to sustain the community school model.

(4) Reporting. — Beginning with September 1, 2020, and annually thereafter, the center shall publish on its website information on each community organization receiving a grant from the center to implement the community school model. The information must include:

(a) The amount of grant funds provided through the center for each participating school and the amount of matching funds provided by the community organization for each year the community organization has received a grant for that school.

(b) The long-term partners who have entered into a memorandum of understanding for implementing the community school model pursuant to paragraph (2)(c).

(c) A description of the services and community engagement activities provided through the community school model.

(d) The number of students, families, and community members served through the community school model.

(e) The academic progress of students enrolled at the public school, including student progression data, attendance, behavior, and student achievement and learning gains on statewide, standardized assessments as determined pursuant to s. 1008.34.

Policy Type
Statute

Florida Statutes 1006.04 Educational multiagency services for students with severe emotional disturbance.

(1)(a) An intensive, integrated educational program; a continuum of mental health treatment services; and, when needed, residential services are necessary to enable students with severe emotional disturbance to develop appropriate behaviors and demonstrate academic and career education skills. The small incidence of severe emotional disturbance in the total school population requires multiagency programs to provide access to appropriate services for all students with severe emotional disturbance. District school boards should provide educational programs, and state departments and agencies administering children's mental health funds should provide mental health treatment and residential services when needed, forming a multiagency network to provide support for students with severe emotional disturbance. (b) The program goals for each component of the multiagency network are to enable students with severe emotional disturbance to learn appropriate behaviors, reduce dependency, and fully participate in all aspects of school and community living; to develop individual programs for students with severe emotional disturbance, including necessary educational, residential, and mental health treatment services; to provide programs and services as close as possible to the student's home in the least restrictive manner consistent with the student's needs; and to integrate a wide range of services necessary to support students with severe emotional disturbance and their families. (2) The department may award grants to district school boards for statewide planning and development of the multiagency network for students with severe emotional disturbance. The educational services shall be provided in a manner consistent with the requirements of ss. 402.22 and 1003.57. (3) State departments and agencies may use appropriate funds for the multiagency network for students with severe emotional disturbance.

Policy Type
Statute

Florida Statutes 1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.

  1. Contracts or interagency agreements with one or more local community behavioral health providers or providers of Community Action Team services to provide a behavioral health staff presence and services at district schools. Services may include, but are not limited to, mental health screenings and assessments, individual counseling, family counseling, group counseling, psychiatric or psychological services, trauma informed care, mobile crisis services, and behavior modification. These behavioral health services may be provided on or off the school campus and may be supplemented by telehealth.
Policy Type
Statute

Florida Statutes 381.0057 Funding for school health services

(3) ...Funding shall be available specifically for implementation of one of the following programs:

  • (c) Full service schools. — The full-service schools shall integrate the services of the Department of Health that are critical to the continuity-of-care process. The department shall provide services to students on the school grounds. Department personnel shall provide their specialized services as an extension of the educational environment. Such services may include nutritional services, medical services, aid to dependent children, parenting skills, counseling for abused children, and education for the students’ parents or guardians. Funding may also be available for any other program that is comparable to a program described in this subsection but is designed to meet the particular needs of the community.

(4) In addition to the merits of a proposal, selection shall be based on those school districts or schools that most closely meet the following criteria:

  • (a) Have evidence of a comprehensive inservice staff development plan to ensure delivery of appropriate curriculum.
  • (b) Have evidence of a cooperative working relationship between the county health department and the school district or school and have community as well as parental support.
  • (c) Have a high percentage of subsidized school lunches.
  • (d) Have a high incidence of medically underserved high-risk children, low birthweight babies, infant mortality, or teenage pregnancy.

(5) Each school district or school program that is funded through the provisions of this section shall provide a mechanism through which a parent may, by written request, exempt a child from all or certain services provided by a school health services program described in subsection (3).

(6) The services provided by a comprehensive school health program must focus attention on promoting the health of students, reducing risk-taking behavior, and reducing teen pregnancy. Services provided under this section are in addition to the services provided under s. 381.0056 and are intended to supplement, rather than supplant, those services.

Policy Type
Statute

Promoting Health and Academic Success Through Collaboration and Partnerships: A Guide for Florida's School Health Advisory Committees

This manual provides guidance and worksheet materials to support school districts and counties in their development and implementation of School Health Advisory Commitees, including building community partnerships.

Policy Type
Non-codified