House Bill hb1695

    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1695

        By Representative Alexander






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; amending s.

  3         229.57, F.S.; providing an exemption from

  4         public records requirements for information in

  5         the possession of the Department of Education

  6         in connection with annual student assessments

  7         which identifies teachers or other

  8         instructional personnel or discloses the

  9         effects of instruction by such persons;

10         providing for future review and repeal;

11         providing a finding of public necessity;

12         providing an effective date.

13

14         WHEREAS, beginning with the full implementation of an

15  annual assessment of student learning gains, the assessment of

16  instructional personnel must primarily use data and indicators

17  of improvement in student performance, and

18         WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Legislature to

19  permanently and completely protect the privacy of individual

20  teacher records at the state level, and

21         WHEREAS, data identifying instructional personnel and

22  students and estimating the effects of instruction by such

23  instructional personnel on a student's year-to-year

24  achievement, or lack thereof, in the possession of the

25  Department of Education or the State Board of Education must

26  be held confidential and exempt from public records

27  requirements, NOW, THEREFORE,

28

29  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1695

    593-144-01






  1         Section 1.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (11) of section

  2  229.57, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

  3         229.57  Student assessment program.--

  4         (11)  STATEWIDE ASSESSMENTS.--The Department of

  5  Education is authorized, subject to appropriation, to

  6  negotiate a multiyear contract for the development, field

  7  testing, and implementation of annual assessments of students

  8  in grades 3 through 10. Such assessments must comply with the

  9  following criteria:

10         (e)1.  The statistical system shall use measures of

11  student learning, such as the FCAT, to determine teacher,

12  school, and school district statistical distributions, which

13  distributions:

14         a.1.  Shall be determined using available data from the

15  FCAT, and other data collection as deemed appropriate by the

16  Department of Education, to measure the differences in student

17  prior year achievement against the current year achievement or

18  lack thereof, such that the "effects" of instruction to a

19  student by a teacher, school, and school district may be

20  estimated on a per-student and constant basis.

21         b.2.  Shall, to the extent possible, be able to be

22  expressed in linear scales such that the effects of ceiling

23  and floor dispersions are minimized.

24         2.  The department shall not release data disclosing

25  personal identifying information about a teacher or any other

26  instructional personnel and the effects of instruction by such

27  teacher or other instructional personnel on a student except

28  to the State Board of Education. Such data, in the possession

29  of the department and the State Board of Education, are

30  confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I

31  of the State Constitution. This subparagraph is subject to the

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1695

    593-144-01






  1  Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with

  2  s. 119.15, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2006, unless

  3  reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the

  4  Legislature.

  5         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that the exemption

  6  from public records requirements provided by s.

  7  229.57(11)(e)2., Florida Statutes, is a public necessity in

  8  order to ensure the privacy of individual teacher records at

  9  the state level. Personal information about the effects of

10  instruction by teachers and instructional personnel is highly

11  sensitive. Collection of such information by the Department of

12  Education allows it to effectively administer the statewide

13  student assessment program. However, if this information were

14  subject to statewide public release, teachers and

15  instructional personnel would be reluctant to participate

16  fully in the assessment program, and qualified persons would

17  be discouraged from entering the field of teaching. Therefore,

18  the harm that would result from release of this information

19  outweighs any public benefit that might result therefrom.

20         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

21  law.

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24                          HOUSE SUMMARY

25
      Provides an exemption from public records requirements
26    for information in the possession of the Department of
      Education in connection with annual student assessments
27    which identifies teachers or other instructional
      personnel or discloses the effects of instruction by such
28    persons. Provides for future review and repeal.

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