CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.





                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS/HBs 751, 753 & 755, 2nd Eng.

    Amendment No.    

                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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10                                                                

11  Senator Klein moved the following amendment to amendment

12  (594764):

13

14         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 

15         On page 42, line 2, through page 49, line 9, delete

16  those lines

17

18  and insert:

19         229.592  Implementation of state system of school

20  improvement and education accountability.--

21         (1)  DEVELOPMENT.--It is the intent of the Legislature

22  that every public school in the state shall have a school

23  improvement plan, as required by s. 230.23(16), fully

24  implemented and operational by the beginning of the 1993-1994

25  school year.  Vocational standards considered pursuant to s.

26  239.229 shall be incorporated into the school improvement plan

27  for each area technical center operated by a school board by

28  the 1994-1995 school year, and area technical centers shall

29  prepare school report cards incorporating such standards,

30  pursuant to s. 230.23(16), for the 1995-1996 school year.  In

31  order to accomplish this, the Florida Commission on Education

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS/HBs 751, 753 & 755, 2nd Eng.

    Amendment No.    





 1  Reform and Accountability and the school districts and schools

 2  shall carry out the duties assigned to them by ss. 229.594 and

 3  230.23(16), respectively.

 4         (2)  ESTABLISHMENT.--Based upon the recommendations of

 5  the Florida Commission on Education Reform and Accountability,

 6  the Legislature may enact such laws as it considers necessary

 7  to establish and maintain a state system of school improvement

 8  and accountability.  If, after considering the recommendations

 9  of the commission, the Legislature determines an adequate

10  system of accountability to be in place to protect the public

11  interest, the Legislature may repeal or revise laws, including

12  fiscal policies, deemed to stand in the way of school

13  improvement.

14         (3)  COMMISSIONER.--The commissioner shall be

15  responsible for implementing and maintaining a system of

16  intensive school improvement and stringent education

17  accountability, which shall include policies and programs

18  based on the recommendations of the Florida Commission on

19  Education Reform and Accountability to.

20         (a)  Based on the recommendations of The Florida

21  Commission on Education Reform and Accountability, the

22  commissioner shall develop and implement the following

23  programs and procedures:

24         (a)1.  A system of data collection and analysis that

25  will improve information about the educational success of

26  individual students and schools. The information and analyses

27  must be capable of identifying educational programs or

28  activities in need of improvement, and reports prepared

29  pursuant to this paragraph subparagraph shall be distributed

30  to the appropriate school boards prior to distribution to the

31  general public.  This provision shall not preclude access to

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS/HBs 751, 753 & 755, 2nd Eng.

    Amendment No.    





 1  public records as provided in chapter 119.

 2         (b)2.  A program of school improvement that will

 3  analyze information to identify schools, educational programs,

 4  or educational activities in need of improvement.

 5         (c)3.  A method of delivering services to assist school

 6  districts and schools to improve.

 7         (d)4.  A method of coordinating with the state

 8  educational goals and school improvement plans any other state

 9  program that creates incentives for school improvement.

10         (4)(b)  The commissioner shall be held responsible for

11  the implementation and maintenance of the system of school

12  improvement and education accountability outlined in this

13  section subsection.  There shall be an annual determination of

14  whether adequate progress is being made toward implementing

15  and maintaining a system of school improvement and education

16  accountability.

17         (5)(c)  The annual feedback report shall be developed

18  by the commission and the Department of Education.

19         (6)(d)  The commissioner and the commission shall

20  review each school board's feedback report and submit its

21  findings to the State Board of Education.  If adequate

22  progress is not being made toward implementing and maintaining

23  a system of school improvement and education accountability,

24  the State Board of Education shall direct the commissioner to

25  prepare and implement a corrective action plan. The

26  commissioner and State Board of Education shall monitor the

27  development and implementation of the corrective action plan.

28         (7)(e)  As co-chair of the Florida Commission on

29  Education Reform and Accountability,  The commissioner shall

30  appear before the appropriate committees of the Legislature

31  annually in October to report to the Legislature and recommend

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS/HBs 751, 753 & 755, 2nd Eng.

    Amendment No.    





 1  changes in state policy necessary to foster school improvement

 2  and education accountability. The report shall reflect the

 3  recommendations of the Florida Commission on Education Reform

 4  and Accountability. Included in the report shall be a list of

 5  the schools for which school boards have developed assistance

 6  and intervention plans and an analysis of the various

 7  strategies used by the school boards. School reports shall be

 8  distributed pursuant to this paragraph and s. 230.23(16)(e)

 9  according to guidelines adopted by the State Board of

10  Education.

11         (8)(4)  DEPARTMENT.--

12         (a)  The Department of Education shall implement a

13  training program to develop among state and district educators

14  a cadre of facilitators of school improvement.  These

15  facilitators shall assist schools and districts to conduct

16  needs assessments and develop and implement school improvement

17  plans to meet state goals.

18         (b)  Upon request, the department shall provide

19  technical assistance and training to any school, school

20  advisory council, district, or school board for conducting

21  needs assessments, developing and implementing school

22  improvement plans, developing and implementing assistance and

23  intervention plans, or implementing other components of school

24  improvement and accountability. Priority for these services

25  shall be given to schools designated as performance grade

26  category "D" or "F" and school districts in rural and sparsely

27  populated areas of the state.

28         (c)  Pursuant to s. 24.121(5)(d), the department shall

29  not release funds from the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund

30  to any district in which a school does not have an approved

31  school improvement plan, pursuant to s. 230.23(16), after 1

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS/HBs 751, 753 & 755, 2nd Eng.

    Amendment No.    





 1  full school year of planning and development, or does not

 2  comply with school advisory council membership composition

 3  requirements pursuant to s. 229.58(1). The department shall

 4  send a technical assistance team to each school without an

 5  approved plan to develop such school improvement plan or to

 6  each school without appropriate school advisory council

 7  membership composition to develop a strategy for corrective

 8  action.  The department shall release the funds upon approval

 9  of the plan or upon establishment of a plan of corrective

10  action. Notice shall be given to the public of the

11  department's intervention and shall identify each school

12  without a plan or without appropriate school advisory council

13  membership composition.

14         (9)(5)  STATE BOARD.--The State Board of Education

15  shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54

16  necessary to implement a state system of school improvement

17  and education accountability and shall specify required annual

18  reports by schools and school districts. Such rules must be

19  based on recommendations of the Commission on Education Reform

20  and Accountability and must include, but need not be limited

21  to, a requirement that each school report identify the annual

22  Education Enhancement Trust Fund allocations to the district

23  and the school and how those allocations were used for

24  educational enhancement and supporting school improvement.

25         (10)(6)  EXCEPTIONS TO LAW.--To facilitate innovative

26  practices and to allow local selection of educational methods,

27  the commissioner may waive, upon the request of a school

28  board, requirements of chapters 230 through 239 of the Florida

29  School Code that relate to instruction and school operations,

30  except those pertaining to civil rights, and student health,

31  safety, and welfare. The Commissioner of Education is not

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS/HBs 751, 753 & 755, 2nd Eng.

    Amendment No.    





 1  authorized to grant waivers for any provisions of law

 2  pertaining to the allocation and appropriation of state and

 3  local funds for public education; the election, compensation,

 4  and organization of school board members and superintendents;

 5  graduation and state accountability standards; financial

 6  reporting requirements; public meetings; public records; or

 7  due process hearings governed by chapter 120. Prior to

 8  approval, the commissioner shall report pending waiver

 9  requests to the state board on a monthly basis, and shall,

10  upon request of any state board member, bring a waiver request

11  to the state board for consideration. If, within 2 weeks of

12  receiving the report, no member requests that a waiver be

13  considered by the state board, the commissioner may act on the

14  original waiver request. No later than January 1 of each year,

15  the commissioner shall report to the President and Minority

16  Leader of the Senate and the Speaker and Minority Leader of

17  the House of Representatives all approved waiver requests in

18  the preceding year.

19         (a)  Graduation requirements in s. 232.246 must be met

20  by demonstrating performance of intended outcomes for any

21  course in the Course Code Directory unless a waiver is

22  approved by the commissioner. In developing procedures for

23  awarding credits based on performance outcomes, districts may

24  request waivers from State Board of Education rules relating

25  to curriculum frameworks and credits for courses and programs

26  in the Course Code Directory. Credit awarded for a course or

27  program beyond that allowed by the Course Code Directory

28  counts as credit for electives. Upon request by any school

29  district, the commissioner shall evaluate and establish

30  procedures for variations in academic credits awarded toward

31  graduation by a high school offering six periods per day

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS/HBs 751, 753 & 755, 2nd Eng.

    Amendment No.    





 1  compared to those awarded by high schools operating on other

 2  schedules.

 3         1.  A school board may originate a request for waiver

 4  and submit the request to the commissioner if such a waiver is

 5  required to implement districtwide improvements.

 6         2.  A school board may submit a request to the

 7  commissioner for a waiver if such request is presented to the

 8  school board by a school advisory council established pursuant

 9  to s. 229.58 and if such a waiver is required to implement a

10  school improvement plan required by s. 230.23(16). The school

11  board shall report annually to the Florida Commission on

12  Education Reform and Accountability, in conjunction with the

13  feedback report required pursuant to this section subsection

14  (3), the number of waivers requested by school advisory

15  councils, the number of such waiver requests approved and

16  submitted to the commissioner, and the number of such waiver

17  requests not approved and not submitted to the commissioner.

18  For each waiver request not approved, the school board shall

19  report the statute or rule for which the waiver was requested,

20  the rationale for the school advisory council request, and the

21  reason the request was not approved.

22         3.  When approved by the commissioner, a waiver

23  requested under this paragraph is effective for a 5-year

24  period.

25         (b)  Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 120 and

26  for the purpose of implementing this subsection, the

27  commissioner may waive State Board of Education rules if the

28  school board has submitted a written request to the

29  commissioner for approval pursuant to this subsection.

30         (c)  The written request for waiver of statute or rule

31  must indicate at least how the general statutory purpose will

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS/HBs 751, 753 & 755, 2nd Eng.

    Amendment No.    





 1  be met, how granting the waiver will assist schools in

 2  improving student outcomes related to the student performance

 3  standards adopted by the state board pursuant to subsection

 4  (5), and how student improvement will be evaluated and

 5  reported. In considering any waiver, The commissioner shall

 6  not grant any waiver that would impair the ensure protection

 7  of the health, safety, welfare, or and civil rights of the

 8  students or the and protection of the public interest.

 9         (d)  Upon denying a request for a waiver, the

10  commissioner must state with particularity the grounds or

11  basis for the denial. The commissioner shall report the

12  specific statutes and rules for which waivers are requested

13  and the number and disposition of such requests to the

14  Legislature, the State Board of Education, and the Florida

15  Commission on Education Reform and Accountability for use in

16  determining which statutes and rules stand in the way of

17  school improvement.

18         (e)1.  Schools designated in performance grade category

19  "A," making excellent progress, shall, if requested by the

20  school, be given deregulated status as specified in s.

21  228.0565(5), (7), (8), (9), and (10).

22         2.  Schools that have improved at least two performance

23  grade categories and that meet the criteria of the Florida

24  School Recognition Program pursuant to s. 231.2905 may be

25  given deregulated status as specified in s. 228.0565(5), (7),

26  (8), (9), and (10).

27

28

29  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============

30  And the title is amended as follows:

31         On page 168, line 30, through page 169, line 3, delete

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS/HBs 751, 753 & 755, 2nd Eng.

    Amendment No.    





 1  those lines

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 4         removing obsolete provisions; deleting the

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