Florida Senate - 2013                              CS for SB 154
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Education; and Senators Detert and Clemens
       
       
       
       
       581-03364-13                                           2013154c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to certified school counselors;
    3         amending ss. 322.091, 381.0057, 1002.3105, 1003.21,
    4         1003.43, 1003.491, 1004.04, 1006.025, 1007.35,
    5         1008.42, 1009.53, 1012.01, 1012.71, and 1012.98, F.S.;
    6         renaming guidance counselors as “certified school
    7         counselors”; providing an effective date.
    8  
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section
   12  322.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   13         322.091 Attendance requirements.—
   14         (3) HARDSHIP WAIVER AND APPEAL.—
   15         (b) The public school principal, the principal’s designee,
   16  or the designee of the governing body of a private school shall
   17  waive the requirements of subsection (1) for any minor under the
   18  school’s jurisdiction for whom a personal or family hardship
   19  requires that the minor have a driver driver’s license for his
   20  or her own, or his or her family’s, employment or medical care.
   21  The minor or the minor’s parent or guardian may present other
   22  evidence that indicates compliance with the requirements of
   23  subsection (1) at the waiver hearing. The public school
   24  principal, the principal’s designee, or the designee of the
   25  governing body of a private school shall consider take into
   26  consideration the recommendations of teachers, other school
   27  officials, certified school guidance counselors, or academic
   28  advisers before waiving the requirements of subsection (1).
   29         Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section
   30  381.0057, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   31         381.0057 Funding for school health services.—
   32         (3) Any school district, school, or laboratory school which
   33  desires to receive state funding under the provisions of this
   34  section shall submit a proposal to the joint committee
   35  established in subsection (2). The proposal shall state the
   36  goals of the program, provide specific plans for reducing
   37  teenage pregnancy, and describe all of the health services to be
   38  available to students with funds provided pursuant to this
   39  section, including a combination of initiatives such as health
   40  education, counseling, extracurricular, and self-esteem
   41  components. School health services shall not promote elective
   42  termination of pregnancy as a part of counseling services. Only
   43  those program proposals which have been developed jointly by
   44  county health departments and local school districts or schools,
   45  and which have community and parental support, shall be eligible
   46  for funding. Funding shall be available specifically for
   47  implementation of one of the following programs:
   48         (b) Student support services team program.—The program
   49  shall include a multidisciplinary team composed of a
   50  psychologist, social worker, and nurse whose responsibilities
   51  are to provide basic support services and to assist, in the
   52  school setting, children who exhibit mild to severely complex
   53  health, behavioral, or learning problems affecting their school
   54  performance. Support services shall include, but are not be
   55  limited to: evaluation and treatment of for minor illnesses and
   56  injuries, referral and followup for serious illnesses and
   57  emergencies, onsite care and consultation, referral to a
   58  physician, and followup care for pregnancy or chronic diseases
   59  and disorders as well as emotional or mental problems. Services
   60  also shall include referral care for drug and alcohol abuse and
   61  sexually transmitted diseases, sports and employment physicals,
   62  immunizations, and in addition, effective preventive services
   63  aimed at delaying early sexual involvement and aimed at
   64  pregnancy, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, sexually
   65  transmitted diseases, and destructive lifestyle conditions, such
   66  as alcohol and drug abuse. Moneys for this program shall be used
   67  to fund three teams, each consisting of one half-time
   68  psychologist, one full-time nurse, and one full-time social
   69  worker. Each team shall provide student support services to an
   70  elementary school, middle school, and high school that are a
   71  part of one feeder school system and shall coordinate all
   72  activities with the school administrator and certified school
   73  guidance counselor at each school. A program that which places
   74  all three teams in middle schools or high schools may also be
   75  proposed.
   76  
   77  Funding may also be available for any other program that is
   78  comparable to a program described in this subsection but is
   79  designed to meet the particular needs of the community.
   80         Section 3. Paragraph (e) of subsection (3) of section
   81  1002.3105, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   82         1002.3105 Academically Challenging Curriculum to Enhance
   83  Learning (ACCEL) options.—
   84         (3) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS.—When establishing
   85  student eligibility requirements, principals and school
   86  districts must consider, at a minimum:
   87         (e) A recommendation from a certified school guidance
   88  counselor, if one is assigned to the school in which the student
   89  is enrolled.
   90         Section 4. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
   91  1003.21, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   92         1003.21 School attendance.—
   93         (1)
   94         (c) A student who attains the age of 16 years during the
   95  school year is not subject to compulsory school attendance
   96  beyond the date upon which he or she attains that age if the
   97  student files a formal declaration of intent to terminate school
   98  enrollment with the district school board. Public school
   99  students who have attained the age of 16 years and who have not
  100  graduated are subject to compulsory school attendance until the
  101  formal declaration of intent is filed with the district school
  102  board. The declaration must acknowledge that terminating school
  103  enrollment is likely to reduce the student’s earning potential
  104  and must be signed by the student and the student’s parent. The
  105  school district shall must notify the student’s parent of
  106  receipt of the student’s declaration of intent to terminate
  107  school enrollment. The student’s certified school guidance
  108  counselor or other school personnel shall must conduct an exit
  109  interview with the student to determine the reasons for the
  110  student’s decision to terminate school enrollment and actions
  111  that could be taken to keep the student in school. The student’s
  112  certified school counselor or other school personnel shall
  113  inform the student must be informed of opportunities to continue
  114  his or her education in a different environment, including, but
  115  not limited to, adult education and GED test preparation.
  116  Additionally, the student shall must complete a survey in a
  117  format prescribed by the Department of Education to provide data
  118  on student reasons for terminating enrollment and actions taken
  119  by schools to keep students enrolled.
  120         Section 5. Paragraph (d) of subsection (7) of section
  121  1003.43, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  122         1003.43 General requirements for high school graduation.—
  123         (7) No student may be granted credit toward high school
  124  graduation for enrollment in the following courses or programs:
  125         (d) Any Level I course unless the student’s assessment
  126  indicates that a more rigorous course of study would be
  127  inappropriate, in which case a written assessment of the need
  128  must be included in the student’s individual educational plan or
  129  in a student performance plan, signed by the principal, the
  130  certified school guidance counselor, and the parent of the
  131  student, or the student if the student is 18 years of age or
  132  older.
  133         Section 6. Subsection (3) and paragraph (a) of subsection
  134  (4) of section 1003.491, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  135         1003.491 Florida Career and Professional Education Act.—The
  136  Florida Career and Professional Education Act is created to
  137  provide a statewide planning partnership between the business
  138  and education communities in order to attract, expand, and
  139  retain targeted, high-value industry and to sustain a strong,
  140  knowledge-based economy.
  141         (3) The strategic 3-year plan developed jointly by the
  142  local school district, regional workforce boards, economic
  143  development agencies, and state-approved postsecondary
  144  institutions shall be constructed and based on:
  145         (a) Research conducted to objectively determine local and
  146  regional workforce needs for the ensuing 3 years, using labor
  147  projections of the United States Department of Labor and the
  148  Department of Economic Opportunity;
  149         (b) Strategies to develop and implement career academies or
  150  career-themed courses based on those careers determined to be
  151  high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand;
  152         (c) Strategies to provide shared, maximum use of private
  153  sector facilities and personnel;
  154         (d) Strategies that ensure instruction by industry
  155  certified faculty and standards and strategies to maintain
  156  current industry credentials and for recruiting and retaining
  157  faculty to meet those standards;
  158         (e) Strategies to provide personalized student advisement,
  159  including a parent-participation component, and coordination
  160  with middle schools to promote and support career-themed courses
  161  and education planning as required under s. 1003.4156;
  162         (f) Alignment of requirements for middle school career
  163  planning under s. 1003.4156(1)(a)5., middle and high school
  164  career and professional academies or career-themed courses
  165  leading to industry certification or postsecondary credit, and
  166  high school graduation requirements;
  167         (g) Provisions to ensure that career-themed courses and
  168  courses offered through career and professional academies are
  169  academically rigorous, meet or exceed appropriate state-adopted
  170  subject area standards, result in attainment of industry
  171  certification, and, when appropriate, result in postsecondary
  172  credit;
  173         (h) Plans to sustain and improve career-themed courses and
  174  career and professional academies;
  175         (i) Strategies to improve the passage rate for industry
  176  certification examinations if the rate falls below 50 percent;
  177         (j) Strategies to recruit students into career-themed
  178  courses and career and professional academies which include
  179  opportunities for students who have been unsuccessful in
  180  traditional classrooms but who are interested in enrolling in
  181  career-themed courses or a career and professional academy.
  182  School boards shall provide opportunities for students who may
  183  be deemed as potential dropouts to enroll in career-themed
  184  courses or participate in career and professional academies;
  185         (k) Strategies to provide sufficient space within academies
  186  to meet workforce needs and to provide access to all interested
  187  and qualified students;
  188         (l) Strategies to implement career-themed courses or career
  189  and professional academy training that lead to industry
  190  certification in juvenile justice education programs;
  191         (m) Opportunities for high school students to earn weighted
  192  or dual enrollment credit for higher-level career and technical
  193  courses;
  194         (n) Promotion of the benefits of the Gold Seal Bright
  195  Futures Scholarship;
  196         (o) Strategies to ensure the review of district pupil
  197  progression plans and to amend such plans to include career
  198  themed courses and career and professional academy courses and
  199  to include courses that may qualify as substitute courses for
  200  core graduation requirements and those that may be counted as
  201  elective courses;
  202         (p) Strategies to provide professional development for
  203  secondary certified school guidance counselors on the benefits
  204  of career and professional academies and career-themed courses
  205  that lead to industry certification; and
  206         (q) Strategies to redirect appropriated career funding in
  207  secondary and postsecondary institutions to support career
  208  academies and career-themed courses that lead to industry
  209  certification.
  210         (4) The State Board of Education shall establish a process
  211  for the continual and uninterrupted review of newly proposed
  212  core secondary courses and existing courses requested to be
  213  considered as core courses to ensure that sufficient rigor and
  214  relevance is provided for workforce skills and postsecondary
  215  education and aligned to state curriculum standards.
  216         (a) The review of newly proposed core secondary courses
  217  shall be the responsibility of a curriculum review committee
  218  whose membership is approved by Workforce Florida, Inc., and
  219  shall include:
  220         1. Three certified high school guidance counselors
  221  recommended by the Florida Association of Student Services
  222  Administrators.
  223         2. Three assistant superintendents for curriculum and
  224  instruction, recommended by the Florida Association of District
  225  School Superintendents and who serve in districts that operate
  226  successful career and professional academies pursuant to s.
  227  1003.492 or a successful series of courses that lead to industry
  228  certification. Committee members in this category shall employ
  229  the expertise of appropriate subject area specialists in the
  230  review of proposed courses.
  231         3. Three workforce representatives recommended by the
  232  Department of Economic Opportunity.
  233         4. Three admissions directors of postsecondary institutions
  234  accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools,
  235  representing both public and private institutions.
  236         5. The Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee,
  237  responsible for K-12 curriculum and instruction. The
  238  commissioner shall employ the expertise of appropriate subject
  239  area specialists in the review of proposed courses.
  240         Section 7. Paragraph (f) of subsection (5) of section
  241  1004.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  242         1004.04 Public accountability and state approval for
  243  teacher preparation programs.—
  244         (5) CONTINUED PROGRAM APPROVAL.—Notwithstanding subsection
  245  (4), failure by a public or nonpublic teacher preparation
  246  program to meet the criteria for continued program approval
  247  shall result in loss of program approval. The Department of
  248  Education, in collaboration with the departments and colleges of
  249  education, shall develop procedures for continued program
  250  approval that document the continuous improvement of program
  251  processes and graduates’ performance.
  252         (f)1. Each Florida public and private institution that
  253  offers a state-approved teacher preparation program must
  254  annually report information regarding these programs to the
  255  state and the general public. This information shall be reported
  256  in a uniform and comprehensible manner that is consistent with
  257  definitions and methods approved by the Commissioner of the
  258  National Center for Educational Statistics and that is approved
  259  by the State Board of Education. This information must include,
  260  at a minimum:
  261         a. The percent of graduates obtaining full-time teaching
  262  employment within the first year of graduation.
  263         b. The average length of stay of graduates in their full
  264  time teaching positions.
  265         c. Satisfaction ratings required in paragraph (e).
  266         2. Each public and private institution offering training
  267  for school readiness related professions, including training in
  268  the fields of child care and early childhood education, whether
  269  offering career credit, associate in applied science degree
  270  programs, associate in science degree programs, or associate in
  271  arts degree programs, shall annually report information
  272  regarding these programs to the state and the general public in
  273  a uniform and comprehensible manner that conforms with
  274  definitions and methods approved by the State Board of
  275  Education. This information must include, at a minimum:
  276         a. Average length of stay of graduates in their positions.
  277         b. Satisfaction ratings of graduates’ employers.
  278  
  279  This information shall be reported through publications,
  280  including college and university catalogs and promotional
  281  materials sent to potential applicants, certified secondary
  282  school guidance counselors, and prospective employers of the
  283  institution’s program graduates.
  284         Section 8. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (2) of
  285  section 1006.025, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  286         1006.025 Guidance services.—
  287         (2) The guidance report shall include, but not be limited
  288  to, the following:
  289         (a) Examination of student access to certified school
  290  guidance counselors.
  291         (c) Evaluation of the information and training available to
  292  certified school guidance counselors and career specialists to
  293  advise students on areas of critical need, labor market trends,
  294  and technical training requirements.
  295         Section 9. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
  296  1007.35, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  297         1007.35 Florida Partnership for Minority and
  298  Underrepresented Student Achievement.—
  299         (5) Each public high school, including, but not limited to,
  300  schools and alternative sites and centers of the Department of
  301  Juvenile Justice, shall provide for the administration of the
  302  Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test
  303  (PSAT/NMSQT), or Preliminary ACT (PLAN) to all enrolled 10th
  304  grade students. However, a written notice shall be provided to
  305  each parent that shall include the opportunity to exempt his or
  306  her child from taking the PSAT/NMSQT or PLAN.
  307         (a) Test results will provide each high school with a
  308  database of student assessment data which certified school
  309  guidance counselors will use to identify students who are
  310  prepared or who need additional work to be prepared to enroll
  311  and be successful in AP courses or other advanced high school
  312  courses.
  313         Section 10. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
  314  1008.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  315         1008.42 Public information on career education programs.—
  316         (2) The dissemination shall be conducted in accordance with
  317  the following procedures:
  318         (b)1. Each district school board shall publish, at a
  319  minimum, the most recently available placement rate for each
  320  career certificate program conducted by that school district at
  321  the secondary school level and at the career degree level. The
  322  placement rates for the preceding 3 years shall be published, if
  323  available, shall be included in each publication that informs
  324  the public of the availability of the program, and shall be made
  325  available to each certified school guidance counselor. If a
  326  program does not have a placement rate, a publication that lists
  327  or describes that program must state that the rate is
  328  unavailable.
  329         2. Each Florida College System institution shall publish,
  330  at a minimum, the most recent placement rate for each career
  331  certificate program and for each career degree program in its
  332  annual catalog. The placement rates for the preceding 3 years
  333  shall be published, if available, and shall be included in any
  334  publication that informs the public of the availability of the
  335  program. If a program does not have a placement rate, the
  336  publication that lists or describes that program must state that
  337  the rate is unavailable.
  338         3. If a school district or a Florida College System
  339  institution has calculated for a program a placement rate that
  340  differs from the rate reported by the department, and if each
  341  record of a placement was obtained through a process that was
  342  capable of being audited, procedurally sound, and consistent
  343  statewide, the district or the Florida College System
  344  institution may use the locally calculated placement rate in the
  345  report required by this section. However, that rate may not be
  346  combined with the rate maintained in the computer files of the
  347  Department of Education’s Florida Education and Training
  348  Placement Information Program.
  349         4. An independent career, trade, or business school may not
  350  publish a placement rate unless the placement rate was
  351  determined as provided by this section.
  352         Section 11. Subsection (3) of section 1009.53, Florida
  353  Statutes, is amended to read:
  354         1009.53 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.—
  355         (3) The Department of Education shall administer the Bright
  356  Futures Scholarship Program according to rules and procedures
  357  established by the State Board of Education. A single
  358  application must be sufficient for a student to apply for any of
  359  the three types of awards. The department shall must advertise
  360  the availability of the scholarship program and shall must
  361  notify students, teachers, parents, certified school guidance
  362  counselors, and principals or other relevant school
  363  administrators of the criteria and application procedures. The
  364  department must begin this process of notification no later than
  365  January 1 of each year.
  366         Section 12. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
  367  1012.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  368         1012.01 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the following
  369  terms have the following meanings:
  370         (2) INSTRUCTIONAL PERSONNEL.—“Instructional personnel”
  371  means any K-12 staff member whose function includes the
  372  provision of direct instructional services to students.
  373  Instructional personnel also includes K-12 personnel whose
  374  functions provide direct support in the learning process of
  375  students. Included in the classification of instructional
  376  personnel are the following K-12 personnel:
  377         (b) Student personnel services.—Student personnel services
  378  include staff members responsible for: advising students with
  379  regard to their abilities and aptitudes, educational and
  380  occupational opportunities, and personal and social adjustments;
  381  providing placement services; performing educational
  382  evaluations; and similar functions. Included in this
  383  classification are certified school guidance counselors, social
  384  workers, career specialists, and school psychologists.
  385         Section 13. Subsection (1) of section 1012.71, Florida
  386  Statutes, is amended to read:
  387         1012.71 The Florida Teachers Lead Program.—
  388         (1) For purposes of the Florida Teachers Lead Program, the
  389  term “classroom teacher” means a certified teacher employed by a
  390  public school district or a public charter school in that
  391  district on or before September 1 of each year whose full-time
  392  or job-share responsibility is the classroom instruction of
  393  students in prekindergarten through grade 12, including full
  394  time media specialists and certified school guidance counselors
  395  serving students in prekindergarten through grade 12, who are
  396  funded through the Florida Education Finance Program. A “job
  397  share” classroom teacher is one of two teachers whose combined
  398  full-time equivalent employment for the same teaching assignment
  399  equals one full-time classroom teacher.
  400         Section 14. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
  401  1012.98, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  402         1012.98 School Community Professional Development Act.—
  403         (3) The activities designed to implement this section must:
  404         (a) Support and increase the success of educators through
  405  collaboratively developed school improvement plans that focus
  406  on:
  407         1. Enhanced and differentiated instructional strategies to
  408  engage students in a rigorous and relevant curriculum based on
  409  state and local educational standards, goals, and initiatives;
  410         2. Increased opportunities to provide meaningful
  411  relationships between teachers and all students; and
  412         3. Increased opportunities for professional collaboration
  413  among and between teachers, certified school guidance
  414  counselors, instructional leaders, postsecondary educators
  415  engaged in preservice training for new teachers, and the
  416  workforce community.
  417         Section 15. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.