Florida Senate - 2019                                     SB 416
       
       
        
       By Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       
       23-00760-19                                            2019416__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to high school graduation
    3         requirements; amending s. 1003.4282, F.S.; revising
    4         the required credits for certain students for a
    5         standard high school diploma to include one-half
    6         credit of instruction in civics and seven and one
    7         half, rather than eight, credits in electives;
    8         requiring certain students to correctly answer a
    9         minimum number of questions on a test identical to the
   10         civics portion of the naturalization test used by the
   11         United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration
   12         Services; providing an effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Paragraphs (d) and (g) of subsection (3) of
   17  section 1003.4282, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   18         1003.4282 Requirements for a standard high school diploma.—
   19         (3) STANDARD HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA; COURSE AND ASSESSMENT
   20  REQUIREMENTS.—
   21         (d) Three and one-half credits in social studies.—A student
   22  must earn one credit in United States History; one credit in
   23  World History; one-half credit in economics, which must include
   24  financial literacy; and one-half credit in United States
   25  Government; and, beginning with students entering grade 9 in the
   26  2019-2020 school year, one-half credit in civics. The United
   27  States History EOC assessment constitutes 30 percent of the
   28  student’s final course grade. Beginning with students entering
   29  grade 9 in the 2019-2020 school year, in order to obtain a high
   30  school diploma or its equivalent, a student must also correctly
   31  answer at least 60 of the 100 questions listed on a test that is
   32  identical to the civics portion of the naturalization test used
   33  by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration
   34  Services.
   35         (g) Eight Credits in electives.—School districts must
   36  develop and offer coordinated electives so that a student may
   37  develop knowledge and skills in his or her area of interest,
   38  such as electives with a STEM or liberal arts focus. Such
   39  electives must include opportunities for students to earn
   40  college credit, including industry-certified career education
   41  programs or series of career-themed courses that result in
   42  industry certification or articulate into the award of college
   43  credit, or career education courses for which there is a
   44  statewide or local articulation agreement and which lead to
   45  college credit. A student entering grade 9 before the 2019-2020
   46  school year must earn eight credits in electives. A student
   47  entering grade 9 in the 2019-2020 school year or thereafter must
   48  earn seven and one-half credits in electives.
   49         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.