Florida Senate - 2021 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1108
Ì886910(Î886910
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
.
.
.
.
.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
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 Innovative Blended Learning and Real-Time Student
8 Assessment Pilot Program.—
9 (1) There is created within the Department of Education the
10 Innovative Blended Learning and Real-Time Student Assessment
11 Pilot Program. The purpose of the program is to develop and
12 measure innovative blended learning and real-time weekly student
13 assessment educational models that improve the educational
14 progress of this state’s students and help close achievement
15 gaps for this state’s traditionally underserved students.
16 (2) As used in this section, the term “innovative blended
17 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 real
41 time student performance in innovative blended learning
42 programs.
43 (b) A plan to reduce achievement gaps through innovative
44 blended learning.
45 (c) A requirement that distance learning will always be at
46 the choosing of the student or the student’s parent or guardian
47 and that a family will never be coerced to choose distance
48 learning.
49 (d) A requirement that a participating classroom may not be
50 fully virtual such that at least two-thirds of the students in a
51 class must be present for in-person learning on any regularly
52 scheduled school day.
53 (e) A requirement that any struggling student who is
54 participating in this program and who, according to progress
55 monitoring data, is on pace to learn less than a year’s content
56 in a year’s time must return to learning in person.
57 (f) A requirement that any student can choose to switch
58 learning modalities, in person or distance, on any given day,
59 without notice and therefore a seat must always be available for
60 every student registered to take any participating course.
61 (g) A requirement that the applicant provide all requested
62 student-level data from participating schools, including, as
63 necessary, benchmark historical data for up to the prior 3
64 school years, to the department upon request.
65 (5) Applications may be considered only for synchronous
66 innovative blended learning programs.
67 (6) The Commissioner of Education shall select applicants
68 to participate in the program.
69 (7) Districts and schools may not begin approved
70 synchronous innovative blended learning programs until October
71 1, 2021.
72 (8)(a) Applicants approved by the commissioner shall
73 receive funding based upon the number of full-time equivalent
74 students being educated under the pilot program, as if each
75 student were being educated full-time in person at his or her
76 respective school.
77 (b) The commissioner may remove an approved applicant from
78 program participation if the applicant fails to maintain the
79 designations listed in subsection (3) or the applicant fails to
80 meet any of the requirements listed in subsection (4).
81 (9) This section expires July 1, 2024.
82
83 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
84 And the title is amended as follows:
85 Between lines 13 and 14
86 insert:
87 creating s. 1002.334, F.S.; establishing the
88 Innovative Blended Learning and Real-Time Student
89 Assessment Pilot Program within the department;
90 providing the purpose of the program; defining the
91 term “innovative blended learning”; specifying program
92 eligibility; requiring program applicants to submit
93 applications to the department in a format prescribed
94 by the department; requiring program applications to
95 include specified information; requiring applications
96 to be considered only for synchronous innovative
97 blended learning programs; requiring the Commissioner
98 of Education to select applicants to participate in
99 the program; providing a start date for the program;
100 providing for funding; authorizing the commissioner to
101 remove an approved applicant from the program under
102 certain circumstances; providing for future
103 expiration;