Florida Senate - 2014                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1512
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì6152844Î615284                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
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       Senator Bullard moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 1612 and 1613
    4  insert:
    5         Section 10. Subsection (3) of section 1008.22, Florida
    6  Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.—
    8         (3) STATEWIDE, STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.—The
    9  Commissioner of Education shall design and implement a
   10  statewide, standardized assessment program aligned to the core
   11  curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine
   12  State Standards. The commissioner also must develop or select
   13  and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
   14  used in all juvenile justice education programs in the state.
   15  These tools must accurately measure the core curricular content
   16  established in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.
   17  Participation in the assessment program is mandatory for all
   18  school districts and all students attending public schools,
   19  including students seeking an adult high school diploma and
   20  students in Department of Juvenile Justice education programs,
   21  except as otherwise prescribed by the commissioner. If a student
   22  does not participate in the assessment program, the school
   23  district must notify the student’s parent and provide the parent
   24  with information regarding the implications of such
   25  nonparticipation. Parents of students in grades 3 through 10 may
   26  choose to have their child take one of the nationally norm
   27  referenced tests identified by the Department of Education or
   28  the statewide assessments pursuant this section. The statewide,
   29  standardized assessment program shall be designed and
   30  implemented as follows:
   31         (a) Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) until
   32  replaced by common core assessments.—FCAT Reading shall be
   33  administered annually in grades 3 through 10; FCAT Mathematics
   34  shall be administered annually in grades 3 through 8; FCAT
   35  Writing shall be administered annually at least once at the
   36  elementary, middle, and high school levels; and FCAT Science
   37  shall be administered annually at least once at the elementary
   38  and middle grades levels. A student who has not earned a passing
   39  score on grade 10 FCAT Reading must participate in each retake
   40  of the assessment until the student earns a passing score. The
   41  commissioner shall recommend and the State Board of Education
   42  must adopt a score on both the SAT and ACT that is concordant to
   43  a passing score on grade 10 FCAT Reading that, if achieved by a
   44  student, meets the must-pass requirement for grade 10 FCAT
   45  Reading.
   46         (b) End-of-course (EOC) assessments.—EOC assessments must
   47  be statewide, standardized, and developed or approved by the
   48  Department of Education as follows:
   49         1. Statewide, standardized EOC assessments in mathematics
   50  shall be administered according to this subparagraph. Beginning
   51  with the 2010-2011 school year, all students enrolled in Algebra
   52  I must take the Algebra I EOC assessment. Except as otherwise
   53  provided in this section, beginning with students entering grade
   54  9 in the 2011-2012 school year, a student who is enrolled in
   55  Algebra I must earn a passing score on the Algebra I EOC
   56  assessment or attain a comparative score as authorized under
   57  subsection (8) in order to earn a standard high school diploma.
   58  A student who has not earned a passing score on the Algebra I
   59  EOC assessment must participate in each retake of the assessment
   60  until the student earns a passing score. Beginning with the
   61  2011-2012 school year, all students enrolled in geometry must
   62  take the Geometry EOC assessment. Middle grades students
   63  enrolled in Algebra I or geometry must take the statewide,
   64  standardized EOC assessment for those courses and are not
   65  required to take the corresponding grade-level FCAT.
   66         2. Statewide, standardized EOC assessments in science shall
   67  be administered according to this subparagraph. Beginning with
   68  the 2011-2012 school year, all students enrolled in Biology I
   69  must take the Biology I EOC assessment.
   70         3. During the 2012-2013 school year, an EOC assessment in
   71  civics education shall be administered as a field test at the
   72  middle grades level. Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year,
   73  each student’s performance on the statewide, standardized EOC
   74  assessment in civics education constitutes 30 percent of the
   75  student’s final course grade.
   76         4. The commissioner may select one or more nationally
   77  developed comprehensive examinations, which may include
   78  examinations for a College Board Advanced Placement course,
   79  International Baccalaureate course, or Advanced International
   80  Certificate of Education course, or industry-approved
   81  examinations to earn national industry certifications identified
   82  in the Industry Certification Funding List, for use as EOC
   83  assessments under this paragraph if the commissioner determines
   84  that the content knowledge and skills assessed by the
   85  examinations meet or exceed the grade-level expectations for the
   86  core curricular content established for the course in the Next
   87  Generation Sunshine State Standards. Use of any such examination
   88  as an EOC assessment must be approved by the state board.
   89         5. Contingent upon funding provided in the General
   90  Appropriations Act, including the appropriation of funds
   91  received through federal grants, the commissioner may establish
   92  an implementation schedule for the development and
   93  administration of additional statewide, standardized EOC
   94  assessments that must be approved by the state board. If
   95  approved by the state board, student performance on such
   96  assessments constitutes 30 percent of a student’s final course
   97  grade.
   98         6. All statewide, standardized EOC assessments must be
   99  administered online except as otherwise provided in paragraph
  100  (c).
  101         (c) Students with disabilities; Florida Alternate
  102  Assessment.—
  103         1. Each district school board must provide instruction to
  104  prepare students with disabilities in the core content knowledge
  105  and skills necessary for successful grade-to-grade progression
  106  and high school graduation.
  107         2. A student with a disability, as defined in s.
  108  1007.02(2), for whom the individual education plan (IEP) team
  109  determines that the statewide, standardized assessments under
  110  this section cannot accurately measure the student’s abilities,
  111  taking into consideration all allowable accommodations, shall
  112  have assessment results waived for the purpose of receiving a
  113  course grade and a standard high school diploma. Such waiver
  114  shall be designated on the student’s transcript.
  115         3. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, based
  116  upon recommendations of the commissioner, for the provision of
  117  assessment accommodations for students with disabilities and for
  118  students who have limited English proficiency.
  119         a. Accommodations that negate the validity of a statewide,
  120  standardized assessment are not allowed during the
  121  administration of the assessment. However, instructional
  122  accommodations are allowed in the classroom if identified in a
  123  student’s IEP. Students using instructional accommodations in
  124  the classroom that are not allowed on a statewide, standardized
  125  assessment may have assessment results waived if the IEP team
  126  determines that the assessment cannot accurately measure the
  127  student’s abilities.
  128         b. If a student is provided with instructional
  129  accommodations in the classroom that are not allowed as
  130  accommodations for statewide, standardized assessments, the
  131  district must inform the parent in writing and provide the
  132  parent with information regarding the impact on the student’s
  133  ability to meet expected performance levels. A parent must
  134  provide signed consent for a student to receive classroom
  135  instructional accommodations that would not be available or
  136  permitted on a statewide, standardized assessment and
  137  acknowledge in writing that he or she understands the
  138  implications of such instructional accommodations.
  139         c. If a student’s IEP states that online administration of
  140  a statewide, standardized assessment will significantly impair
  141  the student’s ability to perform, the assessment shall be
  142  administered in hard copy.
  143         4. For students with significant cognitive disabilities,
  144  the Department of Education shall provide for implementation of
  145  the Florida Alternate Assessment to accurately measure the core
  146  curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine
  147  State Standards.
  148         (d) Common core assessments in English Language Arts (ELA)
  149  and mathematics.—
  150         1. Contingent upon funding, common core assessments in ELA
  151  shall be administered to students in grades 3 through 11. Retake
  152  opportunities for the grade 10 assessment must be provided.
  153  Students taking the ELA assessments are not required to take the
  154  assessments in FCAT Reading or FCAT Writing. Common core ELA
  155  assessments shall be administered online.
  156         2. Contingent upon funding, common core assessments in
  157  mathematics shall be administered to all students in grades 3
  158  through 8, and common core assessments in Algebra I, geometry,
  159  and Algebra II shall be administered to students enrolled in
  160  those courses. Retake opportunities must be provided for the
  161  Algebra I assessment. Students may take the common core
  162  mathematics assessments pursuant to the Credit Acceleration
  163  Program (CAP) under s. 1003.4295(3). Students taking common core
  164  assessments in mathematics are not required to take FCAT
  165  Mathematics or statewide, standardized EOC assessments in
  166  mathematics. Common core mathematics assessments shall be
  167  administered online.
  168         3. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
  169  establishing an implementation schedule to transition from FCAT
  170  Reading, FCAT Writing, FCAT Mathematics, and Algebra I and
  171  Geometry EOC assessments to common core assessments in English
  172  Language Arts and mathematics. The schedule must take into
  173  consideration funding, sufficient field and baseline data,
  174  access to assessments, instructional alignment, and school
  175  district readiness to administer the common core assessments
  176  online. Until the 10th grade common core ELA and Algebra I
  177  assessments become must-pass assessments, students must pass
  178  10th grade FCAT Reading and the Algebra I EOC assessment, or
  179  achieve a concordant or comparative score as authorized under
  180  this section, in order to earn a standard high school diploma
  181  under s. 1003.4282. Students taking 10th grade FCAT Reading or
  182  the Algebra I EOC assessment are not required to take the
  183  respective common core assessments.
  184         4. The Department of Education shall publish minimum and
  185  recommended technology requirements that include specifications
  186  for hardware, software, networking, security, and broadband
  187  capacity to facilitate school district compliance with the
  188  requirement that common core assessments be administered online.
  189         (e) Assessment scores and achievement levels.—
  190         1. All statewide, standardized EOC assessments and FCAT
  191  Reading, FCAT Writing, and FCAT Science shall use scaled scores
  192  and achievement levels. Achievement levels shall range from 1
  193  through 5, with level 1 being the lowest achievement level,
  194  level 5 being the highest achievement level, and level 3
  195  indicating satisfactory performance on an assessment. For
  196  purposes of FCAT Writing, student achievement shall be scored
  197  using a scale of 1 through 6.
  198         2. The state board shall designate by rule a passing score
  199  for each statewide, standardized EOC and FCAT assessment. In
  200  addition, the state board shall designate a score for each
  201  statewide, standardized EOC assessment that indicates that a
  202  student is high achieving and has the potential to meet college
  203  readiness standards by the time the student graduates from high
  204  school.
  205         3. If the commissioner seeks to revise a statewide,
  206  standardized assessment and the revisions require the state
  207  board to modify performance level scores, including the passing
  208  score, the commissioner shall provide a copy of the proposed
  209  scores and implementation plan to the President of the Senate
  210  and the Speaker of the House of Representatives at least 90 days
  211  before submission to the state board for review. Until the state
  212  board adopts the modifications by rule, the commissioner shall
  213  use calculations for scoring the assessment that adjust student
  214  scores on the revised assessment for statistical equivalence to
  215  student scores on the former assessment. The state board shall
  216  adopt by rule the passing score for the revised assessment that
  217  is statistically equivalent to the passing score on the
  218  discontinued assessment for a student who is required to attain
  219  a passing score on the discontinued assessment. The commissioner
  220  may, with approval of the state board, discontinue
  221  administration of the former assessment upon the graduation,
  222  based on normal student progression, of students participating
  223  in the final regular administration of the former assessment. If
  224  the commissioner revises a statewide, standardized assessment
  225  and the revisions require the state board to modify the passing
  226  score, only students taking the assessment for the first time
  227  after the rule is adopted are affected.
  228         (f) Assessment schedules and reporting of results.—The
  229  Commissioner of Education shall establish schedules for the
  230  administration of assessments and the reporting of student
  231  assessment results. The commissioner shall consider the
  232  observance of religious and school holidays when developing the
  233  schedule. By August 1 of each year, the commissioner shall
  234  notify each school district in writing and publish on the
  235  department’s website the assessment and reporting schedules for,
  236  at a minimum, the school year following the upcoming school
  237  year. The assessment and reporting schedules must provide the
  238  earliest possible reporting of student assessment results to the
  239  school districts. Assessment results for FCAT Reading and FCAT
  240  Mathematics must be made available no later than the week of
  241  June 8. The administration of FCAT Writing and the Florida
  242  Alternate Assessment may be no earlier than the week of March 1.
  243  School districts shall administer assessments in accordance with
  244  the schedule established by the commissioner.
  245         (g) Prohibited activities.—A district school board shall
  246  prohibit each public school from suspending a regular program of
  247  curricula for purposes of administering practice assessments or
  248  engaging in other assessment-preparation activities for a
  249  statewide, standardized assessment. However, a district school
  250  board may authorize a public school to engage in the following
  251  assessment-preparation activities:
  252         1. Distributing to students sample assessment books and
  253  answer keys published by the Department of Education.
  254         2. Providing individualized instruction in assessment
  255  taking strategies, without suspending the school’s regular
  256  program of curricula, for a student who scores Level 1 or Level
  257  2 on a prior administration of an assessment.
  258         3. Providing individualized instruction in the content
  259  knowledge and skills assessed, without suspending the school’s
  260  regular program of curricula, for a student who scores Level 1
  261  or Level 2 on a prior administration of an assessment or a
  262  student who, through a diagnostic assessment administered by the
  263  school district, is identified as having a deficiency in the
  264  content knowledge and skills assessed.
  265         4. Administering a practice assessment or engaging in other
  266  assessment-preparation activities that are determined necessary
  267  to familiarize students with the organization of the assessment,
  268  the format of assessment items, and the assessment directions or
  269  that are otherwise necessary for the valid and reliable
  270  administration of the assessment, as set forth in rules adopted
  271  by the State Board of Education with specific reference to this
  272  paragraph.
  273         (h) Contracts for assessments.—The commissioner shall
  274  provide for the assessments to be developed or obtained, as
  275  appropriate, through contracts and project agreements with
  276  private vendors, public vendors, public agencies, postsecondary
  277  educational institutions, or school districts. The commissioner
  278  may enter into contracts for the continued administration of the
  279  assessments authorized and funded by the Legislature. Contracts
  280  may be initiated in 1 fiscal year and continue into the next
  281  fiscal year and may be paid from the appropriations of either or
  282  both fiscal years. The commissioner may negotiate for the sale
  283  or lease of tests, scoring protocols, test scoring services, and
  284  related materials developed pursuant to law.
  285  
  286  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  287  And the title is amended as follows:
  288         Between lines 147 and 148
  289  insert:
  290         amending s. 1008.22, F.S.; authorizing parents of
  291         students in grades 3 through 10 to choose to have
  292         their child take one of the nationally norm-referenced
  293         tests identified by the Department of Education or
  294         certain statewide assessments;