Must a Florida school district remove portable classrooms over 20 years old even if they meet state standards?

Plain-English summary

The General Counsel for the Broward County School Board asked the Attorney General's Office three related questions about portable classrooms ("relocatables"): whether the district must reduce them when the Legislature has not funded the reduction; whether Florida law bars using relocatables over 20 years old that still meet the standards in section 1013.20, Florida Statutes; and whether the district may still count those relocatables' capacity in its inventory of student stations for public school concurrency. Assistant Attorney General Lagran Saunders gave general comments, noting at the outset that the office cannot direct a public agency to ignore a legislative mandate.

The comments read section 1013.21(1)(a) as setting a "goal" of reducing old relocatables, with progress "measured annually," which suggests an aspiration rather than a strict mandate, except for one specific requirement: relocatables over 20 years old that were in use during the 1998-1999 fiscal year had to be removed by July 1, 2003. The office found no language extending that removal mandate to relocatables that reached 20 years of age later. Instead, section 1013.20 sets standards for relocatables intended for long-term classroom use, and a relocatable that meets the standards may be used as a classroom and reported in the Florida Inventory of School Houses; only those that fail the standards after an approved plan may not be used or reported. The office said it would defer to the Department of Education's interpretation that the reduction was a goal rather than a requirement and that standard-meeting relocatables over 20 years old may continue in use and be counted, while expressly declining to comment on whether such use satisfies any interlocal-agreement obligations.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Is reducing old portable classrooms a hard legal requirement?
A: The office read section 1013.21(1)(a) as framing it as a "goal" measured annually, which suggests an aspiration rather than a strict mandate. The one specific requirement it identified was that relocatables over 20 years old in use during 1998-1999 be removed by July 1, 2003.

Q: Can a district keep using a relocatable that is more than 20 years old?
A: The comments indicated that a relocatable meeting the standards in section 1013.20 may continue to be used as a classroom. Only relocatables that fail the standards after an approved plan may not be used or reported as satisfactory student stations.

Q: Do those relocatables still count toward capacity for concurrency?
A: The office deferred to the Department of Education's position that relocatables over 20 years old which meet the section 1013.20 standards may be counted in the inventory of student stations for determining whether levels of service have been achieved.

Q: Did the opinion address interlocal agreements with local governments?
A: No. The office expressly offered no comment on whether using relocatables over 20 years old satisfies contractual obligations that may exist under an interlocal agreement between the district and local governments.

Background and statutory framework

Section 1013.21(1)(a), Florida Statutes, states a legislative "goal" that student stations in relocatables over 20 years old and in use during 1998-1999 be removed, and that other relocatable stations at over-capacity schools be reduced by half, while acknowledging that maintenance needs and enrollment growth impair some districts' ability to meet the goal and directing that progress be measured annually. Section 1013.20 requires the State Board of Education to adopt standards for relocatables intended for long-term classroom use, requires districts to submit five-year use plans, provides that relocatables failing the standards after an approved plan may not be used or reported as satisfactory student stations, and requires annual inspections.

The office treated the "goal" framing and the annual-progress measurement as signs of an aspiration rather than a strict ongoing mandate, found no statutory language extending the 2003 removal requirement to relocatables aging past 20 years later, and concluded that standard-meeting relocatables may be used and counted. Consistent with the Department of Education's powers under the Florida School Code, the office deferred to that agency's interpretation, while declining to opine on interlocal-agreement obligations.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• § 1013.20, Fla. Stat. (standards for relocatables; long-term use; inspections), including § 1013.20(1) and § 1013.20(2)
• § 1013.21(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (legislative goal of reducing relocatables)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/school-district-portable-classrooms
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/8198

Original opinion text

Mr. Edward J. Marko

General Counsel

School Board of Broward County

600 Southeast Third Avenue, 11th Floor

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301

Dear Mr. Marko:

You have asked this office for assistance in determining whether the Broward County School District is bound by a statutory requirement to reduce the number of relocatables (portable classrooms) when the Legislature has not budgeted additional funds to do so. You also ask whether Florida law prohibits the use of relocatables exceeding twenty years in age even though they satisfy the standards prescribed in section 1013.20, Florida Statutes. Finally, you ask whether the district may include the capacity of such relocatables in its inventory of student stations for determining whether levels of service have been achieved for purposes of public school concurrency.

Initially, I must note that this office has no authority to direct a public agency to ignore that which the Legislature has mandated. The following general comments, however, are offered to provide assistance.

As you have noted, section 1013.21(1)(a), Florida Statutes, provides:

"It is a goal of the Legislature that all school districts shall provide a quality educational environment for their students such that, by July 1, 2003, student stations in relocatable facilities exceeding 20 years of age and in use by a district during the 1998-1999 fiscal year shall be removed and the number of all other relocatable student stations at over-capacity schools during that fiscal year shall be decreased by half. The Legislature finds, however, that necessary maintenance of existing facilities and public school enrollment growth impair the ability of some districts to achieve the goal of this section within 5 years. Therefore, the Legislature is increasing its commitment to school funding in this act, in part to help districts reduce the number of temporary, relocatable student stations at over-capacity schools. The Legislature intends that local school districts also increase their investment toward meeting this goal. Each district's progress toward meeting this goal shall be measured annually by comparing district facilities work programs for replacing relocatables with the state capital outlay projections for education prepared by the Office of Educational Facilities and SMART Schools Clearinghouse. District facilities work programs shall be monitored by the SMART Schools Clearinghouse to measure the commitment of local school districts toward this goal." (e.s.)

You state that legislative funding has not been forthcoming and the district has limited financial resources to construct permanent facilities in order to reduce the number of relocatables.[1] Use of the term "goal" and measuring progress toward its attainment would appear to indicate an aspiration of the Legislature rather than a strict mandate. Legislative history accompanying the creation of the statute evidences an intent that relocatable classrooms over twenty years of age that were used during the 1998-1999 fiscal year must be removed from service by July 1, 2003.[2] It is unclear, however, that such a mandate would extend to relocatables reaching twenty years of age after the 1998-1999 fiscal year, as there is no specific language to that effect. Rather, section 1013.20, Florida Statutes, requires that standards be adopted by the State Board of Education for relocatables intended for long-term use as classroom space at public elementary, middle, and high schools.[3] District school boards were obligated to submit a plan for the use of existing relocatables within a five-year work program to be reviewed and approved by the commissioner of education by January 1, 2003.[4]

Section 1013.20(1), Florida Statutes, further states that relocatables failing to meet the standards after completion of the approved plan may not be used as classrooms and "shall not be reported as providing satisfactory student stations in the Florida Inventory of School Houses." An annual inspection is required for relocatables designed for classroom use or being occupied by students.[5] Thus, the various provisions of the Florida School Code discussing relocatables appear to contemplate that as long as such structures meet the standards, they may be used as classrooms and be reported in the school's inventory of student stations.

This office has been advised that the Florida Department of Education's position is that the reduction of relocatables was a goal, but not a requirement, and that relocatables exceeding twenty years of age which meet the standards set forth in section 1013.20, Florida Statutes, may continue to be used and counted in the inventory of student stations for determining whether levels of service have been achieved. This office would defer to the department's interpretation in light of its powers and duties under the Florida School Code. However, this office offers no comment on whether the use of relocatables exceeding twenty years of age satisfies contractual obligations which may have been established pursuant to an interlocal agreement between the school district and local governments within the district.

I trust that these comments will be of assistance to you.

Sincerely,

Lagran Saunders

Assistant Attorney General

ALS/tsh

[1] Section 6, Ch. 97-384, Laws of Fla., created s. 235.187, Fla. Stat. (1997), the Classrooms First Program, allocating funds to school districts for the construction, renovation, remodel, repair, or maintenance of educational facilities, or to pay debt service on bonds issued to pay for new construction, remodeling, renovation, and major repairs. Section 12 of the act provided that a maximum of $180 million of lottery revenues transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust fund in fiscal year 1997-1998 "and for 30 years thereafter" be reserved and used to meet the requirements for, among other projects, distributions to school districts for the Classrooms First Program. The act further provides that the sums distributed for the program shall equal $145 million each fiscal year. Department of Education records indicate Classrooms First distributions for Broward County totaled $227,536,984 from fiscal years 1998-99 through 2006-07. http://www.fldoe.org/edfacil/oef/cfmd.asp.

[2] See Senate Staff Analysis and Economic Impact Statement, SB 20-E, April 29, 2002, stating:

"School districts must include a plan for using existing relocatable facilities within a district 5-year program to be reviewed by the Commissioner of Education by January 1, 2003. Relocatables that do not meet state standards at the end of the work program may no longer be used as classrooms. This does not negate the statutory requirement that relocatable classrooms over 20 years of age that were used as classrooms during the 1998-1999 fiscal year must be removed from service by July 1, 2003."

[3] "Long-term use" is defined in s.1013.20(1), Fla. Stat., as "the use of relocatables at the same educational plant for a period of 4 years or more." See also Rule 6A-2.0010, Fla. R. Admin. P.

[4] Section 1013.20(1), Fla. Stat., also requiring the commissioner to provide a progress report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate each January thereafter.

[5] Section 1013.20(2), Fla. Stat.