Florida Senate - 2021 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1108
Ì732008ÃÎ732008
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Appropriations (Diaz) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Between lines 70 and 71
4 insert:
5 Section 2. Section 1002.334, Florida Statutes, is created
6 to read:
7 1002.334 Synchronous Innovative Blended Learning Pilot
8 Program.—
9 (1) There is created within the Department of Education the
10 Synchronous Innovative Blended Learning Pilot Program. The
11 purpose of the program is to develop and measure a synchronous
12 and innovative blended learning model that improves the
13 educational progress of this state’s students and helps close
14 achievement gaps for this state’s traditionally underserved
15 students.
16 (2) As used in this section, the term “synchronous
17 innovative blended learning” means:
18 (a) A mode of learning where in-person and remote students
19 are combined in one classroom environment where the education,
20 instruction, and engagement occurs at the same time with the
21 teacher and other students physically present in the classroom;
22 and
23 (b) For a given course, students learn in part through
24 online delivery of content and instruction with some element of
25 student control over time, place, path, or pace and in part at a
26 traditional supervised classroom location away from home.
27 (3) To be eligible to work with the program, an applicant
28 must be:
29 (a) A high-performing charter school under s. 1002.331;
30 (b) A high-performing charter school system under s.
31 1002.332; or
32 (c) An academically high-performing school district
33 pursuant to s. 1003.621.
34 (4) A program applicant must submit an application to the
35 department in a format prescribed by the department. The
36 application must include all of the following:
37 (a) A plan for the synchronous technological and resource
38 design, curriculum, classroom operation, school or district
39 management, privacy protection and teacher professional
40 development, and at least weekly progress monitoring of student
41 performance in synchronous innovative blended learning programs.
42 (b) A plan to reduce achievement gaps through synchronous
43 innovative blended learning.
44 (c) A requirement that distance learning will always be at
45 the choosing of the student or the student’s parent or guardian
46 and that a family will never be coerced to choose distance
47 learning.
48 (d) A requirement that a participating classroom may not be
49 fully virtual such that at least one-third of the students in a
50 class must be present for in-person learning on any regularly
51 scheduled school day.
52 (e) A requirement that any struggling student who is
53 participating in this program and who, according to progress
54 monitoring data, is on pace to learn less than a year’s content
55 in a year’s time must return to learning in person.
56 (f) A requirement that any student can choose to switch
57 learning modalities, in person or distance, on any given day,
58 without notice and therefore a seat must always be available for
59 every student registered to take any participating course.
60 (g) A requirement that the applicant provide all requested
61 student-level data from participating schools, including, as
62 necessary, benchmark historical data for up to the prior 3
63 school years, to the department upon request.
64 (5) Applications may be considered only for synchronous
65 innovative blended learning programs.
66 (6) The Commissioner of Education shall pick applicants to
67 participate in the program.
68 (7)(a) Applicants approved by the commissioner shall
69 receive funding based upon the number of full-time equivalent
70 students being educated under the pilot program, as if each
71 student were being educated full time in person at his or her
72 respective school.
73 (b) The commissioner may remove an approved applicant from
74 program participation if the applicant fails to maintain the
75 designations listed in subsection (3) or the applicant fails to
76 meet any of the requirements listed in subsection (4).
77 (8) This section expires July 1, 2024.
78
79 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
80 And the title is amended as follows:
81 Between lines 13 and 14
82 insert:
83 creating s. 1002.334, F.S.; establishing the
84 Synchronous Innovative Blended Learning Pilot Program
85 within the department; providing the purpose of the
86 program; defining the term “synchronous innovative
87 blended learning”; specifying program eligibility;
88 requiring program applicants to submit applications to
89 the department in a format prescribed by the
90 department; requiring program applications to include
91 specified information; requiring applications to be
92 considered only for synchronous innovative blended
93 learning programs; requiring the Commissioner of
94 Education to pick applicants to participate in the
95 program; providing for funding; authorizing the
96 commissioner to remove an approved applicant from the
97 program under certain circumstances; providing for
98 future expiration;