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Florida Administrative Code (Last Updated: November 11, 2024) |
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6. Department of Education |
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6A. State Board of Education |
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6A-2. Educational Facilities |
1(1) 2Qualified 3School Construction 5Bonds (Q7SC8Bs). 9The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorized 18the issuance of 21Qualified 22School 23Construction Bonds (QSCBs) to finance school 29construction and other eligible projects for public schools37. 38The amount of QSCBs issued in each state is limited under federal law. 51This rule is created pursuant to Section58s 59159.841, 60159.842, 61159.843, 62159.844, 63and 64159.845, 65F.S., 66which authorizes the Depart70ment of Education (74Department) to establish a program for allocating the available allocation authority in Florida87. 88Under this program, qualified school districts, 94charter schools or 97state 98education agencies 100can borrow 102funds 103with no interest cost. A Qualified School Construction Bond is an interest-free bond issued by a state or local government123al entity, 125the proceeds of which are used to construct or improve certain eligible public schools, or for 141certain 142land or equipment purchases. Instead of receiving periodic interest payments from the issuer, the QSCB bondholder (potential bondholders include banks, insurance companies, and corporations actively involved in the business of lending money) receives a federal income tax credit while the bond is outstanding, in an amount equal to a percentage of the face amount of the bond. The 200education agency’202s debt service obligation is only for 209the principal amount 212of the bonds215. The full faith and credit of the State of 225Florida 226is not pledged to 230QSCB bonds issued by agencies other than the Florida Department of Education242.
243(a) 244Eligibility Criteria.
2461. 247All 248school districts, charter schools or state education agencies 256a257re eligible to apply.
2612. 262Eligible Q264SC265B projects include 268all projects permitted to be financed with QSCBs under federal law, including280:
281a. 282New construction 284of a public school 288owned 289facility,
290b. 291Rehabilitation or repair of a296n existing 298public school 300owned 301facility,
302c. 303Land acquisition 305for the facility to be constructed with the QSCB proceeds, 315and
316d. 317Equipment 318to be used in the facility that is being constr328ucted, rehabilitated, or repaired with the proceeds of QSCBs.
337NOTE: 338Lease payments may not be made with QSCB proceeds.
347(b) 348Application Process.
3501. 351Application shall be made through submission of Form OEF 413611, 362Qualified 363School Construction 365Bond (QSCB) 367Program 368Notice of Intent to Issue Bonds and Request for Written Confirmation, 379which is hereby incorporated by reference 385to become effective with th390e effective date of this rule. 396Form OEF 411 399may be obtained from the Department’s website at 407http://www.fldoe.org/edfacil/ oef/federalbond.asp409.
4102. 411Applications 412must be received from the districts 418or charter schools 421on or before 424October 1, or such other 429date 430as 431established by the Department435.
4363. 437Districts 438or charter schools 441should not request more bonding authority than can be reasonably expected to be repaid, 455and the district or charter school must expect that the QSCBs will be issued prior to the end of the calendar year in which an application is made.
4834484. 485Applications must clearly explain the 490pledged revenue from 493which the district 496or charter school 499int500ends to repay the bond principal 506upon maturity.
5085509. 510The application must include the following documents:
517a. 518A copy of the resolution referenced in the Certificate of Eligibility section 530of 531Form OEF 411534.
535b. 536A completed 538Qualified School Construction Bonds Notice of Intent to Issue and Request for Written Confirmation 552P553roject 554S555pending 556P557lan, Form OEF 415612, 562which is hereby incorporated by reference 568to become effective with the effective dat575e 576of this rule. Form OEF 415822 583may be obtained from the Department’s website at 591http://www.fldoe.org592/593e594d595facil/oef/federalbond.asp596.
5976. 598Charter schools must submit a copy of 605the most 607current financial audit containing an auditor’s opin614ion that 616the charter school will 620remain 621operational 622until the QSCBs mature.
626(c) 627Allocation Process.
6291. 630After 631the federally imposed state bonding authority is known for each calendar year, the 644school 645districts 646and charter school649s 650will be notified by the 655Department656.
6572. 658The 659total 660available 661state 662volume cap limitation 665will be divided 668between 669two pools, 671the school district674’675s 676pool 677and 678the 679charter school681’682s 683pool684. The pools will be established 690based on the ratio of the number 697of 698charter schools divided by the number of students served, as compared to the total student population.
7143715. 716Applications are reviewed for eligibility and 722completeness. Districts 724or charter schools 727may be 729contacted for further information or clarification.
7354736. 737Applications 738from school districts 741must include only survey recommended projects.
7475748. 749District applications 751will be considered 754and allotments awarded based on 759the following factors762:
763a. 764Existing 765classroom funding needs for compliance with the constitutionally mandated class-size reduction requirements;
777b. 778I779ncreasing enrollment growth of greater than 785one (7871788) percent 790per year;
792c. Need to replace aging facilities, 798fifty (80050801) 802years and older, based on a Department approved analysis; or
812d. 813Existing 814funding needs for survey recommended projects included in a current Educational Plant Survey approved by the Department.
8316. 832Charter school applications 835will be considered and allotments awarded based on the 844review and evaluation of the description of 851the 852facility; including, but not limited to, the age, condition, ownership, number of students currently being served, projected number of students to be served, and a photograph(s) of the 880existing 881facility 882demonstrating a need for the project to be financed with QSCB proceeds894.
8957896. 897Once the Department 900determines the allocations 903to be awarded, 906each district 908or 909charter school 911will be 913notified in writing. Districts 917or charter schools 920whose applications have been denied and those with ineligible projects will also be notified.
9348935. 936Any allotment balance remaining after the initial allocation process will revert to a state-wide allocation pool, to which unissued/returned allotments will be added. The state-wide pool 962may be reallocated at a later date 969to other qualifying districts973.
9749975. 976A final confirmation letter of the allocation will be provided upon the districts or charter schools submission of the 995State of Florida, Department of Education 1001Issuance Report 1003Pursuant to Part IX of Chapter 159, 1010F.S., 1011Form OEF 413 and a copy of the official statement cover. Form OEF 413 is h1027ereby incorporated by reference 1031to become effective with the effective date of this rule. This form may be obtained from the 1048Department’s website at 1051http://www.fldoe.org/edfacil/oef/federalbond.asp1052.
1053(2) In addition to previously stated req1060uirements, there are a number of administrative items school 1069districts or charter schools must keep in mind:
1077(a) Qualified 1079School Construction Bond (QSCB) proceeds cannot be used to pay debt service or other outstanding debt obligations incurred to finance project costs.
1101(b) 1102Qualified School Construction Bond (QSCB) proceeds cannot be used to make lease payments.
1115(c) 1116The district or charter school must comply with all information requests from the Department so that federal accountability and reporting requirements can be met.
1140(d) Each district or charter school must determine whether the purposes for which QSCBs are issued conform to state law regarding indebtedness.
1162(e) Each district or charter school is responsible for repayment of the principal upon maturity.
1177(f) School districts shall not use PECO or CO&DS revenues to pay QSCB debt service obligations, but may use 1196District 1197School 1198Tax revenues pursuant to Section 12031011.71, F.S. 1205(often referred to as local discretionary capital outlay millage).
1214(g) If 1216District 1217School 1218Tax proceeds are proposed for repayment of QSCB debt, those proceeds shall not exceed the Certificates of Participation (COPs) limit established for 1240District 1241School 1242Tax revenue in Section 12461011.71, F.S.
1248(h) If a district or charter school determines that its allotment will not be used, the district or charter school should notify the Department as soon as possible.
1276(i) If the scope of one of a district’s or charter school’s approved projects changes, the district or charter school must receive the approval of the Department before reallocating the funds to other projects. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
13181. The Department may allow reallocations among approved projects, as identified on the current QSCB award letter, to another current approved project.
13402. The Department will disallow the reallocation of funds to new or unapproved projects.
1354(j) Districts or charter schools must have all bonds issued by December 31 of its funding year.
1371(k) As districts or charter schools issue QSCB bonds, Form OEF 413 and a copy of the cover of the official statement must be forwarded to the Department upon issuance of the bonds in order to receive a final confirmation of the volume cap allocation.
1416(l) On December 31 of the district’s or charter 1425schools’ funding year, unused 1429allotments will revert back to the 1435Department 1436f1437o1438r reallocation.
1440(m) 1441Allocations of the volume limitation are granted first from carried-forward balances from previous years and then from the current year balance.
1462Rulemaking 1463Authority 1464159.845 FS. 1466L1467aw Implemented 1469159.841, 1470159.842, 1471159.843, 1472159.844 1473159.845 FS. 1475History1476–1477New 147812-15-09.
