Florida Senate - 2015 SB 1524
By Senator Simmons
10-00485B-15 20151524__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to English language learners; amending
3 s. 1003.4282, F.S.; requiring that a school district
4 notify students and parents in writing of options for
5 transferring high school credits and earning
6 comparative, concordant, or passing scores on
7 alternative assessments; providing transfer students
8 with options for satisfying the English Language Arts
9 (ELA) assessment requirement to earn a standard high
10 school diploma; amending s. 1003.433, F.S.; providing
11 alternatives and additional learning opportunities for
12 transfer students who enter a Florida public school at
13 grade 10 under certain circumstances; providing that a
14 limited English proficient transfer student who has
15 met certain requirements, but has not passed the grade
16 10 ELA assessment by grade 12, may receive a standard
17 high school diploma if the student earns a concordant
18 or passing score on an alternative assessment;
19 amending s. 1003.56, F.S.; requiring a school district
20 to notify limited English proficient students and
21 their parents of the requirements and options for
22 earning a standard high school diploma; amending s.
23 1008.22, F.S.; requiring the Commissioner of Education
24 to identify concordant and passing scores on
25 alternative assessments that are offered in languages
26 other than English and demonstrate the college
27 readiness of limited English proficient students;
28 requiring that the State Board of Education adopt by
29 rule alternative assessments and their respective
30 concordant and passing scores; providing an effective
31 date.
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35 Section 1. Subsections (2) and (8) of section 1003.4282,
36 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
37 1003.4282 Requirements for a standard high school diploma.—
38 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—The school district must
39 notify students and parents, in writing, of the requirements for
40 a standard high school diploma, available designations, options
41 for transferring high school credits and for earning
42 comparative, concordant, or passing scores on alternative
43 assessments, and the eligibility requirements for state
44 scholarship programs and postsecondary admissions. The
45 Department of Education shall directly and through the school
46 districts notify registered private schools of public high
47 school course credit and assessment requirements. Each private
48 school must make this information available to students and
49 their parents so they are aware of public high school graduation
50 requirements.
51 (8) UNIFORM TRANSFER OF HIGH SCHOOL CREDITS.—Beginning with
52 the 2012-2013 school year, if a student transfers to a Florida
53 public high school from out of country, out of state, a private
54 school, or a home education program and the student’s transcript
55 shows a credit in Algebra I, the student must pass the
56 statewide, standardized Algebra I EOC assessment in order to
57 earn a standard high school diploma unless the student earned a
58 comparative score, passed a statewide assessment in Algebra I
59 administered by the transferring entity, or passed the statewide
60 mathematics assessment the transferring entity uses to satisfy
61 the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,
62 20 U.S.C. s. 6301. If a transfer student’s transcript shows a
63 credit in high school reading or English Language Arts (ELA) II,
64 or III, or IV, in order to earn a standard high school diploma,
65 the student must take and pass the statewide, standardized grade
66 10 Reading assessment or, when implemented, the grade 10 ELA
67 assessment, unless the student earned a concordant or passing
68 score identified pursuant to s. 1008.22(7) and (9) or passed a
69 statewide assessment in ELA II, III, or IV administered by the
70 transferring entity to satisfy the requirements of the
71 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 20 U.S.C. s. 6301 or
72 earn a concordant score. If a transfer student’s transcript
73 shows a final course grade and course credit in Algebra I;,
74 Geometry;, Biology I;, or United States History; or ELA II, III,
75 or IV, the transferring course final grade and credit shall be
76 honored without the student taking the requisite statewide,
77 standardized EOC assessment and without the assessment results
78 constituting 30 percent of the student’s final course grade.
79 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 1003.433, Florida
80 Statutes, is amended to read:
81 1003.433 Learning opportunities for out-of-state and out
82 of-country transfer students and students needing additional
83 instruction to meet high school graduation requirements.—
84 (1) Students who enter a Florida public school at the 10th,
85 11th, or 12th grade from out of state or out of country shall
86 not be required to spend additional time in a Florida public
87 school in order to meet the high school course requirements if
88 the student has met all requirements of the school district,
89 state, or country from which he or she is transferring. A
90 district school board must notify a transfer student who is
91 limited English proficient and his or her parent, as required in
92 s. 1003.56(3)(i), of the requirements for earning a standard
93 high school diploma and the options available under s.
94 1003.4282, if applicable, including the opportunity to earn a
95 concordant or passing score on an alternative assessment
96 identified pursuant to s. 1008.22(7) and (9). Such students who
97 are not proficient in English should receive immediate and
98 intensive instruction in English language acquisition, including
99 the instruction required pursuant to s. 1003.56. However, to
100 receive a standard high school diploma, any a transfer student
101 must earn at least a 2.0 grade point average and meet the
102 requirements under s. 1008.22. A limited English proficient
103 student who has met the minimum grade point average and has met
104 the assessment requirements under s. 1008.22, except for passage
105 of the grade 10 ELA assessment by the end of grade 12, may
106 receive a standard high school diploma if he or she has earned a
107 concordant or passing score on an alternative assessment
108 identified pursuant to s. 1008.22(7) and (9), or passed a
109 statewide assessment in ELA II, III, or IV administered by the
110 transferring entity to satisfy the requirements of the
111 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 20 U.S.C. s. 6301.
112 Section 3. Paragraph (i) is added to subsection (3) of
113 section 1003.56, Florida Statutes, and subsection (4) of that
114 section is amended, to read:
115 1003.56 English language instruction for limited English
116 proficient students.—
117 (3) Each district school board shall implement the
118 following procedures:
119 (i) Notify a transfer student and his or her parent of the
120 requirements for earning a standard high school diploma; any
121 applicable options available under s. 1003.4282(8); and
122 concordant and passing scores on alternative assessments as
123 identified pursuant to s. 1008.22(7) and (9), which satisfy the
124 grade 10 English Language Arts assessment requirement.
125 (4) Each district school board’s program for limited
126 English proficient students shall be evaluated and monitored
127 periodically, including compliance with the notification
128 requirements in paragraph (3)(i).
129 Section 4. Present subsection (7) of section 1008.22,
130 Florida Statutes, is amended, subsections (9), (10), and (11) of
131 that section are redesignated as subsections (10), (11), and
132 (12), respectively, and a new subsection (9) is added to that
133 section, to read:
134 1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.—
135 (7) CONCORDANT SCORES.—The Commissioner of Education must
136 identify scores on the SAT and ACT that if achieved satisfy the
137 graduation requirement that a student pass the grade 10
138 statewide, standardized Reading assessment or, upon
139 implementation, the grade 10 ELA assessment. The commissioner
140 must may identify concordant scores on assessments other than
141 the SAT and ACT. If the content or scoring procedures change for
142 the grade 10 Reading assessment or, upon implementation, the
143 grade 10 ELA assessment, new concordant scores must be
144 determined. If new concordant scores are not timely adopted, the
145 last-adopted concordant scores remain in effect until such time
146 as new scores are adopted. The state board shall adopt by rule
147 concordant scores in rule.
148 (9) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT STUDENTS; ALTERNATIVE
149 ASSESSMENTS.—The Commissioner of Education must identify
150 alternative assessments and their respective passing scores
151 which are offered in languages other than English and are
152 appropriate for demonstrating the college readiness of limited
153 English proficient students as provided in ss. 1003.4282 and
154 1003.433. The state board shall adopt by rule passing scores on
155 alternative assessments identified pursuant to this subsection.
156 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.