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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

EDUCATION ELEMENT

PRINCIPLES

Education is the basis for a diverse workforce and a critical aspect of personal growth and the creation of opportunities that result in a high quality of life.

Fort Lauderdale shall coordinate with Broward County Public Schools on available school capacity, facilities, and schools as community focal points.

The City will be known for world-class schools, being a great place to raise a family, educating and attracting top talent, training a skilled workforce and for government effectiveness and innovation. As economic opportunities increase, the City is committed to providing educational growth and training for its workforce.

Education is not limited by age, but is lifelong. As the population ages, the City will support educational opportunities for aging in place.

Attract colleges and universities in its downtown core, with access to transit and a connected transportation system.

EDUCATION ELEMENT

GOALS AND POLICIES

GOAL 1: Ensure the provision of K-12 school facilities servicing Fort Lauderdale includes consideration of local facilities adequate for the needs of current and future residents.

OBJECTIVE EDU 1.1 : Collaborate and Coordinate to Maximize Quality Education Collaborate and coordinate with Broward County and the School Board, to plan for public elementary and secondary school facilities to meet the current and future needs of Broward County’s public school population.

POLICY EDU 1.1.1: The City shall collaborate with Broward County Public Schools’ administrators and school leaders in comprehensive planning to attain consistent, high performance for all schools and goal attainment.

POLICY EDU 1.1.1a: Engage City Departments and convene businesses and relevant stakeholder to explore opportunities that improve neighborhood factors that support educational success in alignment with schools’ improvement plans.

POLICY EDU 1.1.1b: Explore and promote comprehensive measures of academic success that recognize and celebrate school and student progress beyond the school grade.

POLICY EDU 1.1.2: Fort Lauderdale shall coordinate and cooperate to ensure the adopted public school facilities elements and/or provisions included in the City’s and Broward County’s comprehensive plans regarding public school concurrency are consistent with each other.

POLICY EDU 1.1.2a: The City shall coordinate land use with Broward County and the School Board through the procedures established in the ILA and the Broward County and municipal land use planning process to ensure that existing and proposed public school facility sites are consistent and compatible with the land use categories, future land use maps and policies of the County and municipal comprehensive plans and enable a close integration between existing and planned schools and surrounding land uses.

POLICY EDU 1.1.2b: Participate in a staff working group comprised of staff representatives from the School Board, the County and the Municipalities (hereinafter referred to as “Staff Working Group”) which will at least annually meet to discuss issues and formulate recommendations regarding coordination of land use and school facilities planning and to comply with public school concurrency requirements, including such issues as population and student projections, development trends, school needs, co-location and joint use opportunities, ancillary infrastructure improvements needed to support the schools and safe student access. The city shall provide information as needed for the school board’s report.

POLICY EDU 1.1.2c: Utilize the procedures identified within the ILA, including the Staff Working Group and Oversight Committee established by the ILA, to coordinate the annual review of school enrollment projections, prepare and annually review proposed changes to the public school facilities elements and ensure that the County and City’s policies are consistent with each other.

POLICY EDU 1.1.3: The City shall work closely with Broward County Public Schools and community-based service providers to identify gaps in public educational services/programs and develop solutions which will prepare children and youth for their futures.

EDUCATION ELEMENT

POLICY EDU 1.1.3a: Support and advocate for the expansion of high quality, affordable early learning and after-school programs.

POLICY EDU 1.1.3b: Expand the City’s volunteer network in coordination with local service organizations to connect students with adult advocates and mentors.

POLICY EDU 1.1.3c: As needed, the City will work with education providers, Broward County Library, non-profits, and the private sector to promote internet accessibility as an educational resource for children and youth.

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POLICY EDU 1.1.4: Coordinate with Broward County, the School Board and the municipalities to prepare projections of future development and public school enrollment growth and to ensure such projections are consistent with the Broward County and municipal future land use maps and the School Board’s Long Range Public School Facilities Map consistent with the procedures and requirements identified in the ILA.

POLICY EDU 1.1.5: The City Education Element shall include future conditions maps showing existing and anticipated school facilities for the short-term (5 year) and long-term (10 year) planning time frames.

POLICY EDU 1.1.6: The City shall coordinate with the school board regarding inconsistencies in their comprehensive plans and plan amendments with the District Educational Facilities Plan (DEFP) and Long-Range School Facilities Plan.

POLICY EDU 1.1.7: The City shall coordinate with the School Board to monitor and participate in the Broward County and/or local government plat review and site plan review processes, the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) process, the land use plan amendment process and other development order/permit processes that may have an impact on current or planned public educational facilities in Broward County.

POLICY EDU 1.1.8: Amend the Capital Improvement Element to incorporate the annually updated DEFP and amendments consistent with the provisions and procedures of the ILA, which are transmitted to the City.

POLICY EDU 1.1.9: Share and coordinate information with the School Board and County through the plat, site plan and school siting processes and procedures identified in the ILA to ensure the location, phasing, and development of public school facilities, including additions to existing facilities, is coordinated with the provision of necessary public infrastructure including water and sewer, roads, drainage, sidewalks, mass transit and other infrastructure required to support the public school facilities.

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EDUCATION ELEMENT

POLICY EDU 1.1.10: Coordinate with Broward County, the School Board and the municipalities through the school siting process identified in the ILA and Broward County and Fort Lauderdale platting and site plan approval processes to implement strategies, consistent with Florida's Safe Routes to School Program, or similar current state safe route program, which reduce hazardous conditions and provide direct, unobstructed and safe access for pedestrian travel (including sidewalks, bicycle paths, signage and signalization) to existing and new school facilities.

POLICY EDU 1.1.9: Include principles and guidelines in the Intergovernmental Coordination Element to coordinate with the School Board and to collaborate on planning and decision making on population projections and public school siting.

POLICY EDU 1.1.11: Continue to review resources needed to improve the quality of education in existing schools.

POLICY EDU 1.1.12: The City shall coordinate with Broward County Public Schools to encourage the continued development of programs that integrate of employment outcomes into education and prepare students with skills and knowledge to transition from education into the workforce.

OBJECTIVE EDU 1.2: Financially Feasible District Educational Facilities Plan

Review the School Board's annual update of the Third Amended and Restated Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning (TRILA) and their adopted Five-Year District Educational Facilities Plan (DEFP) as it relates to schools within the City's boundaries. Review the five-year schedule of capital improvements to both address existing deficiencies and achieve and maintain the adopted level of service in all concurrency service areas (CSAs) and a LOS plan to achieve and maintain the adopted LOS standards.

Coordinate with the School Board regarding long-term planning period of the Public School Facility Element (PSFE) of the Broward County Comprehensive Plan.

POLICY EDU 1.2.1: The City shall comment as necessary on the adoption of the DEFP financially feasible schedule of capacity additions to existing schools and construction of new schools to eliminate existing level of service deficiencies and meet the needs of projected growth for the five-year planning period.

POLICY EDU 1.2.2: The City shall review and provide comments as need on the DEFP year-by-year projections of the capacity needed to achieve and maintain the adopted LOS within the CSA for each school for the five-year planning period. These projections are included in the supporting documents of the Education Element.

POLICY EDU 1.2.3: Review the DEFP's five-year financially feasible schedule for the remodeling/renovation of existing schools to meet the identified needs of aging schools and replace worn facilities and coordinate with the School Board as necessary.

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EDUCATION ELEMENT

POLICY EDU 1.2.4: Coordinate with the School Board on the annual DEFP review to: 1) add a new fifth year; 2) reflect changes in estimated capital revenues, planned capital appropriations costs, planned capital facilities projects, CSAs and school usage; and, 3) ensure the DEFP continues to be financially feasible for the five-year planning period.

POLICY EDU 1.2.5: Coordinate annually adopted updates to the DEFP and CSA maps with annual plan amendments to the CIE in terms of financial feasibility and both achieving and maintaining the LOS.

POLICY EDU 1.2.6: The City shall adopt by reference the DEFP as amended by the school board into the Capital Improvements Element (CIE). This adoption may either be by reference or by restatement of the relevant portion of the school board's DEFP with language consistent with the schools board's adopted DEFP and without modifications to the school board's plan.

OBJECTIVE EDU 1.3: Concurrency Management System

Review all proposed residential development to ensure that public school facilities are available at the County's adopted level of service standard concurrent with the impact of proposed residential development.

POLICY EDU 1.3.1: In collaboration with the School Board, implement concurrency management systems in Fort Lauderdale's development review processes consistent with Third Amended and Restated Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning (TRILA), the City's Education element, and the Unified Land Development Regulations (ULDR).

POLICY EDU 1.3.2: Utilize the CSAs, which are the annually adopted school attendance boundaries for each elementary, middle and high school, to coordinate residential development review.

POLICY EDU 1.3.3: Use the uniform district-wide LOS, consistent with the adopted Third Amended and Restated Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning (TRILA), for the following School Types:

1. School Type A is a bounded elementary, middle, or high school that has the equivalent of at least 10% of its permanent Florida Inventory of School Houses (FISH) capacity available onsite in relocatables. The LOS for School Type A shall be 100% gross capacity.
2. School Type B is a bounded elementary, middle, or high school that has less than the equivalent of 10% of its permanent FISH capacity available onsite in relocatables. The LOS for School Type B shall be 110% permanent FISH capacity.

POLICY EDU 1.3.4: If adequate capacity is not available in a CSA for a proposed residential development, but capacity exists in one or more contiguous CSAs, the City shall permit the development consistent with the provisions and procedures in the ILA and City LDRs.

POLICY EDU 1.3.5: If adequate capacity is not currently available in a CSA or contiguous CSA, for a proposed residential development, but capacity is scheduled in the DEFP to be available within 3 years after the issuance of final subdivision or site plan approval, (or functional equivalent), the City shall permit the development of the project in accordance with the provisions and procedures in the ILA and City LDRs.

POLICY EDU 1.3.6: Fort Lauderdale shall not accept a building permit application, nor issue a building permit, for new or additional residential units until the School Board has reported that the school concurrency requirement has been satisfied consistent with the provisions and procedures in the ILA and City LDRs.

EDUCATION ELEMENT

POLICY EDU 1.3.7: City staff shall coordinate with Broward County Public Schools to provide feedback on the CSA boundaries and ensure any future boundary modifications maximize available school capacity in accordance with the level of service standards and the permanent capacity, taking into account special considerations such as, core capacity, special programs, transportation costs, geographic impediments, diversity programs, and class size reduction requirements to prevent disparate enrollment levels between schools of the same type category (elementary, middle, high).

POLICY EDU 1.3.8: The projected student impact of a proposed residential development shall be determined using the student generation rates approved by the School Board and adopted within the Broward County Land Development Code. The student generation rates shall be reviewed and updated at least every 3 years.

POLICY EDU 1.3.9: Public school concurrency approval for residential plats by the City of Fort Lauderdale shall expire if development within the plat does not commence within 5 years following the date of City Commission approval.

OBJECTIVE EDU 1.4: Proportionate Share Mitigation

Ensure that residential developments unable to meet the public school concurrency requirement can alternatively contribute its fair share through a mitigation alternative.

POLICY EDU 1.4.1: Residential developments unable to meet the public school concurrency requirement may meet the requirement through the School Board’s proportionate fair share mitigation alternative program as described in the ILA. Upon approval of a proportionate share mitigation alternative by the School Board and completion of necessary binding agreements, a development will be deemed to have met the public school concurrency requirement and may proceed.

POLICY EDU 1.4.1a: A residential development's proportionate share mitigation value will be calculated by multiplying the number of additional student stations needed to mitigate the impact of the proposed development on schools within the affected CSA(s) not meeting the adopted LOS standards by the State cost per student station for each school type plus a land impact cost share, if any. Pursuant to Section 163.3180, Florida Statutes, the applicant’s proportionate share mitigation obligation shall be credited toward any other impact or exaction fee imposed by local ordinance for the same need, on a dollar-for dollar basis, at fair market value.

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POLICY EDU 1.4.1b: Mitigation shall be assured by a legally binding agreement between the School Board, the applicant and the City, which shall be executed prior to the issuance of the final subdivision plat or the final site plan approval (or functional equivalent). The School Board shall add the mitigation improvement to the first three years of the DEFP.

EDUCATION ELEMENT

OBJECTIVE EDU 1.5: School Facility Siting, Collocation & Design

Coordinate with Broward County and the School Board, pursuant to the Third Amended and Restated Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning, on the location of public school facilities relative to the location of other public facilities such as parks, libraries and community centers and promote schools to be focal points within the community.

POLICY EDU 1.5.1: City staff shall regularly review availability of public facilities, services and grounds (especially for the purposes of collocating parks, libraries, ball fields, community centers, public safety facilities, parking facilities, drainage facilities and other appropriate facilities) in the planning, siting, land acquisition, permitting and development of a new school facility or significant renovation or expansion, in coordination with the School Board and the County.

POLICY EDU 1.5.2: As applicable, the City shall pursue shared-use and co-location of school sites with facilities having similar facility needs, such as libraries, parks, ball fields, other recreation facilities.

POLICY EDU 1.5.2a: Leverage City parks to extend learning and recreational opportunities and explore innovative county/city joint/shared use programming and planning.

POLICY EDU 1.5.3: The City shall encourage school facilities to serve as community focal points through the design of school facilities, establishment of school siting standards and pursuit of collocation opportunities.

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POLICY EDU 1.5.4: City staff will coordinate with the School Board and County to build new school facilities, which are designed to serve as emergency shelters as required by Section 1013.372, Florida Statutes, and collaborate and coordinate on emergency preparedness issues through the County's Emergency Operating Center.

POLICY EDU 1.5.5: The City shall coordinate with all public schools, private schools and community-based educational service providers to promote safety within and outside school, safeguard children and adults against emergencies and coordinate to improve mental health.

POLICY EDU 1.5.6: The City shall consult with school administrators, non-profit organizations and mental health providers to explore opportunities to improve the coordination and quality of mental, social and health services.

POLICY EDU 1.5.7: City staff will coordinate with the School Board to determine how mitigation funds should be used subject to the ILA. The Following options are available:

1. Purchase or dedication of needed elementary, middle or high school sites.
2. Construction of capacity improvements identified in years four (4) or five (5) of the DEFP including advancement of such improvements into the first three years of the DEFP.
3. Construction of previously unplanned schools, classroom additions, modular classrooms or similar facilities. Such facility capacity shall be included in the first three years of the DEFP through an amendment approved by the School Board.
4. Construction of the needed capacity at one or more charter schools, which meet the qualifying criteria contained in the Third Amended and Restated Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning.

EDUCATION ELEMENT

5. Other mitigation options approved by the School Board on a case by case basis contingent upon a School Board finding that the option mitigates the impact of the proposed development.

POLICY EDU 1.5.7a: City staff will annually evaluate and, as both feasible and necessary, recommend sites in the downtown area for the development of elementary, middle, and/or high school sites.

GOAL 2: Encourage traditional and non-traditional educational opportunities beyond K-12 including higher educational institutions, continuing education, workforce development and Career Technical Education by developing strategic alliances with business associations, colleges, and universities to connect skills development with jobs.

OBJECTIVE EDU 2.1: Institutions of Higher Education

Encourage the location of facilities and programs of institutions of higher education to locate within the City, especially in Downtown Fort Lauderdale.

POLICY EDU 2.1.1: The City shall maintain regular communication with local institutions of higher learning on an annual basis to identify and provide for:

a. Specific neighborhood continuing education needs; b. Development of satellite campuses in Fort Lauderdale; c. Opportunities in sharing facilities for community activities and programs; and d. Explore collaborative arrangements with community service providers, CRAs, and local non-profits.

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POLICY EDU 2.1.2: Identify specific parcels as applicable for locating new facilities of higher learning.

POLICY EDU 2.1.3: The City shall encourage the continued development of programs designed for college credits and an Associates of Arts College degree dual enrollment for high school students in Fort Lauderdale.

OBJECTIVE EDU 2.2: Continuing Education and Aging in Place

The City will support the development of a sustainable, learning city with opportunities for residents of all ages.

POLICY EDU 2.2.1: Encourage collaboration between continuing education providers and agencies which support continuing education for adults through the provision of specific programs that meet the needs of this population. This could include mentorship programs and web-based learning.

POLICY EDU 2.2.1a: The City will coordinate with Broward County Public Libraries, Broward County Public Schools, and local institutions of higher learning to encourage the development and provision of learning literacy, family learning course, computer skills , health and nutritional information classes, and other programs as needed to support a sustainable, learning city.

EDUCATION ELEMENT

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POLICY EDU 2.2.1b: The City shall establish a mechanism by which feedback on local continuing education needs can be communicated by residents, and will include targeted questions on adult learning needs as part of its annual Neighbor Survey. The City shall at minimum share that information with continuing education providers and agencies annually.

POLICY EDU 2.2.1c: Ensure that, by 2023, a regular system of program development or targeted partnership development occurs based on the feedback in the annual Neighbor Survey.

POLICY EDU 2.2.2: The City will support the development of a sustainable, learning city by providing adequate information, guidance and support to all citizens in its regular newsletters and other communications as appropriate, including maps of learning provision in the city.

POLICY EDU 2.2.3: The City shall establish, promote and maintain community-based learning spaces through the inclusion of this criteria in the design of future community facilities as appropriate.

POLICY EDU 2.2.4: Support the equitable access of libraries, civic facilities with educational qualities, and adult learning facilities with analysis of local neighborhood needs, land use, transportation, and through interagency coordination.

POLICY EDU 2.2.4a: Ensure, through land use and transportation policies, year-round public transit access to adult learning facilities and libraries within Fort Lauderdale.

POLICY EDU 2.2.4b: The City shall consider the accessibility of museums, public galleries, and educational civic institutions as part of evaluations on equitable access.

POLICY EDU 2.2.5: The City shall endeavor to boost social mobility in economically distressed communities by focusing on building financial capability among students, workers, and residents in Fort Lauderdale, including promoting financial planning education and other resources.

EDUCATION ELEMENT

OBJECTIVE EDU 2.3: Career Technical Education

Coordinate with Broward County Public Schools and local institutions of higher learning to encourage Career Technical Education training opportunities and research and development within the City and region.

POLICY EDU 2.3.1: Encourage the provision of appropriate educational opportunities, programs, and facilities to meet business and industry needs.

POLICY EDU 2.3.2: The City shall explore opportunities to encourage the development of Career Technical Education programs, including those which support the marine, life sciences, and high-tech industries.

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POLICY EDU 2.3.3: Encourage education and training programs that encourage high-tech and research and development businesses and industries to locate in Fort Lauderdale.

POLICY EDU 2.3.4: The City shall explore opportunities to encourage the collaboration of business, labor, civic and social service agencies, libraries, and educational institutions to develop and expand education, training, and industry certification programs targeted to business needs, especially for high-demand science, including life sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills.

POLICY EDU 2.3.5: Encourage institutions of higher education toward commercialization of research innovations to fuel the growth of start-ups.

POLICY EDU 2.3.6: The City shall seek opportunities to improve linkages between industry clusters and research institutions, hospitals, educational institutions, and other technology-based businesses, including the encouragement and support of research and development opportunities to enhance and support marine, tourism, and high-tech and life sciences industries.

POLICY EDU 2.3.7: Encourage, where feasible, the location of institutions of higher learning within the City, including entrepreneurship satellite programs, to provide increased access for local residents and businesses.

POLICY EDU 2.3.8: Utilize the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport in addition to the resources and the expertise of educational and business partners to enhance STEM/aviation education to prepare students for success at every level of their career for high demand jobs in the local economy.