Senate Bill sb1554
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1554
By Senator Meek
36-724-01
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education; creating a
3 program within the Department of Education to
4 reduce class size in schools with students from
5 low-income families; providing for certain
6 district school boards to enter into an
7 achievement guarantee contract with the
8 department; requiring a reduction in the size
9 of classes in such schools for certain grades
10 during specified school years; providing
11 additional requirements under an achievement
12 guarantee contract; requiring that the district
13 school board implement a plan of staff
14 development; requiring evaluations; requiring
15 that a contract establish performance
16 objectives for academic achievement; requiring
17 a review committee to evaluate a school's
18 progress in implementing an achievement
19 guarantee contract; providing for the
20 Department of Education to provide additional
21 funds to a district school board that enters
22 into a contract; authorizing the department to
23 adopt rules; requiring an evaluation and annual
24 report to the Governor and the Legislature;
25 providing an effective date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29 Section 1. Achievement guarantee contracts.--
30 (1) As used in this section, the term:
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1554
36-724-01
1 (a) "Class size" means the number of students assigned
2 to a regular classroom on the 3rd Friday of September.
3 (b) "Department" means the Department of Education.
4 (c) "Low-income student" means a student whose family
5 income is at or below 125 percent of the federally established
6 poverty level.
7 (2) The district school board of any school district
8 in which a school in the previous school year had an
9 enrollment of 50 percent or more low-income students may enter
10 into an achievement guarantee contract with the department as
11 provided in this section. If more than one school in a
12 district is eligible to participate in the program, the
13 district school board shall apply on behalf of the school with
14 the largest number of low-income students in grades K through
15 1.
16 (3) Any school that enters into an achievement
17 guarantee contract with the department must:
18 (a) Reduce the class size to 15 students for:
19 1. The 2001-2002 school year, in at least grades K and
20 1.
21 2. The 2002-2003 school year, in at least grades K to
22 2.
23 3. The 2003-2004 school year, in at least grades K to
24 3.
25 (b) Keep the school open every day from early in the
26 morning until late in the day, as specified in the contract.
27 (c) Collaborate with community organizations to make
28 educational and recreational opportunities, as well as a
29 variety of community and social services, available in the
30 school to all residents of the school district.
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1554
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1 (d) Provide a rigorous academic curriculum designed to
2 improve academic achievement. The district school board, in
3 consultation with the department and the school's teachers and
4 administrators, shall review the school's curriculum to
5 determine how well it promotes academic achievement.
6 (e) Develop a 1-year program for all newly hired
7 teachers to assist them in making the transition from their
8 previous employment or school to their current employment.
9 (f) Provide sufficient time for teachers to
10 collaborate and prepare class plans.
11 (g) Require that each teacher and administrator submit
12 to the district school board a plan for professional
13 development which focuses on how the individual will improve
14 student academic achievement. The plan must include a method
15 by which the individual will be evaluated on the success of
16 his or her efforts from a variety of sources.
17 (h) Regularly review staff development plans to
18 determine if they are effective in improving student academic
19 achievement.
20 (i) Establish an evaluation process for professional
21 staff members which:
22 1. Identifies individual strengths and weaknesses.
23 2. Clearly describes areas in need of improvement.
24 3. Includes a support plan that provides opportunities
25 for staff members to learn and improve.
26 4. Systematically documents performance in accordance
27 with the plan.
28 5. Allows professional staff members to comment on and
29 contribute to revisions in the evaluation process.
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1554
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1 6. Provides for the dismissal of professional staff
2 members whose failure to learn and improve has been documented
3 over a 2-year period.
4 (4) Each achievement guarantee contract must include a
5 description of each of the following:
6 (a) How the school will implement each of the elements
7 required under subsection (3), including any alternative class
8 configurations for specific educational activities which may
9 be used to meet the class-size requirement.
10 (b) The method that the school district will use to
11 evaluate the academic achievement of the students enrolled in
12 the school.
13 (c) The school's performance objectives for the
14 academic achievement of the students enrolled in the school
15 and the means that will be used to evaluate success in
16 attaining the objectives. Performance objectives must include:
17 1. Where applicable, improvement in the scores on the
18 examinations specified by the department.
19 2. The attainment of any educational goals adopted by
20 the district school board.
21 3. Professional development with respect to improving
22 student academic achievement.
23 4. Methods by which the school involves students,
24 parents or guardians, or other residents of the school
25 district in decisions that affect the school.
26 (d) Any law or rule that is waived under the
27 provisions of a contract.
28 (e) The means by which the department will monitor
29 compliance with the terms of the contract.
30 (5) The Commissioner of Education, the chairpersons of
31 the education committees in the Senate and the House of
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Florida Senate - 2001 SB 1554
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1 Representatives, and the person chiefly responsible for the
2 evaluation under subsection (8) shall review the progress of
3 each school that has entered into an achievement guarantee
4 contract with the department. The committee may recommend to
5 the department that the department terminate a contract if the
6 committee finds that the district school board has violated
7 the contract or if the school has made insufficient progress
8 toward achieving its performance objectives under subsection
9 (4). The department may terminate the contract upon the
10 recommendation of the committee.
11 (6) The department shall pay to each district school
12 board that enters into a contract with the department under
13 this section an amount that may not exceed $2,000, multiplied
14 by the number of low-income students enrolled in the grades
15 eligible for funding in that district.
16 (7) The department shall adopt rules necessary to
17 administer this section.
18 (8) The department shall arrange for an evaluation of
19 this program and shall provide an annual report to the
20 Governor and the Legislature.
21 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
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24 SENATE SUMMARY
25 Provides for the school board in a district that has a
school with an enrollment of 50 percent or more students
26 from low-income families to enter into a contract with
the Department of Education to reduce the class size in
27 that school. Provides for additional funds to be provided
to the district to implement the achievement guarantee
28 contract. Requires that the district school board
implement a plan of staff development and evaluation.
29 Requires performance objectives for academic achievement.
Provides for a review committee to evaluate a school's
30 progress in implementing an achievement guarantee
contract. Requires that the Department of Education
31 provide for an evaluation of the program and report to
the Governor and Legislature. (See bill for details.)
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