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 standards 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 or to school districts expanding a program based on the feeder pattern of an existing community school in the district.
(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 department and participating school districts must annually provide data necessary for the center to conduct a thorough evaluation of the 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 and students participating in services 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. (f) Academic progress data of schools identified by the center as comparison sites for evaluation purposes.
