Senate Bill sb2188

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 2188

    By Senator Holzendorf





    2-1202-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to education; creating the

  3         "Education Investment Act"; providing

  4         definitions; providing legislative intent for

  5         certain investments and enhancements;

  6         authorizing certain programs; authorizing

  7         improved curriculum; requiring improved

  8         counseling ratios in certain schools;

  9         authorizing academic preparation tools,

10         including test preparation study skills and

11         advanced writing programs for certain students;

12         authorizing the development of programs through

13         the Internet; providing for separation of open

14         enrollment programs within schools for certain

15         purposes; authorizing expanded student

16         assistance programs at universities;

17         authorizing fee waivers for students and former

18         students of certain schools; authorizing rules

19         of the Department of Education; authorizing

20         state-funded test-preparation courses for

21         certain students; providing an effective date.

22

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

24

25         Section 1.  This act may be cited as the "Education

26  Investment Act."

27         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that low-performing

28  high schools are those that receive students from

29  low-performing elementary and middle schools. Even the top

30  graduates from those high schools are likely to experience

31  difficulty in university education. Therefore, the Legislature

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  1  intends to invest academic resources in students attending

  2  low-performing schools at all levels. An adequate return on

  3  the investment will be earned if the top twenty percent of

  4  each high school's graduating class gains academic skills

  5  sufficient to experience success in postsecondary education.

  6         (1)  To identify the schools that will benefit from the

  7  resource investments provided in this act, the Department of

  8  Education shall determine which schools with a grade

  9  designation of "C" are at risk of falling beneath that

10  designation. As used in this act, the term "low-performing

11  school" means a "C" school at risk of earning a lower grade,

12  as determined by the Department of Education, and each school

13  with a grade designation of "D" or "F."

14         (2)  The Department of Education shall determine which

15  elementary and middle schools provide the majority of students

16  to low-performing high schools. As used in this act, the term

17  "feeder-pattern school" refers to any elementary or middle

18  school whose former students predominantly enroll in a

19  low-performing high school, as determined by the Department of

20  Education.

21         Section 3.  The Legislature intends to invest resources

22  in low-performing high schools and their feeder-pattern

23  elementary and middle schools in the core disciplines of

24  mathematics, language arts, and writing.

25         (1)  For a high school, these enhancements may consist

26  of providing:

27         (a)  A longer school day,

28         (b)  A longer school year,

29         (c)  Consultants or mentors to assist teachers to

30  improve or adapt curriculum to better meet the needs of

31  students,

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  1         (d)  Additional teachers to reduce class size, and

  2         (e)  Electronic access to grades 6 through 12 career

  3  information, postsecondary degree, and training programs

  4  portal connected to the web-based FACTS system.

  5         (2)  For a feeder-pattern school for a low-performing

  6  high school, these enhancements may include:

  7         (a)  Increased funding to expand special reading

  8  instruction from grade levels 1-3 into grades 4-8.

  9         (b)  Enhanced instruction in mathematics, reading, and

10  writing skills.

11         (c)  After-school programs to provide homework

12  assistance, recreational reading, or other activities that

13  will increase a student's association with adults or older

14  students as positive role models for learning.

15         (d)  Electronic access to grades 6 through 12 career

16  information, postsecondary degree, and training programs

17  portal connected to the web-based FACTS system.

18

19  The Department of Education, in collaboration with colleges

20  and universities, shall oversee any program of curriculum

21  enhancement for low-performing high schools and their

22  feeder-pattern schools and shall adopt measures of

23  productivity and accountability to judge the success of the

24  program. For instance, the department should assure that, in a

25  high school with such a program, a teacher in the core subject

26  areas does not have responsibility for more than 150 students

27  per day.

28         (3)  The department shall assist any school whose

29  program is not likely to produce an adequate return on the

30  investment provided in this act.

31

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  1         (4)  Annually the department shall report to the

  2  Legislature the number of programs implemented with funds

  3  provided for this act, the types of assistance provided, and

  4  the results of the productivity and accountability measures

  5  established.

  6         Section 4.  The Department of Education shall evaluate

  7  the ability of low-performing high schools and their

  8  feeder-pattern schools adequately to counsel students who

  9  would benefit from enrollment in honors courses, Advanced

10  Placement courses, dual enrollment courses, and the college

11  preparatory courses required for university admission to the

12  freshman class.

13         (1)  Each school district that contains a

14  low-performing high school must annually report to the

15  department the college preparatory, Advanced Placement,

16  honors, or dual enrollment courses completed by students who

17  have a cumulative, unweighted grade point average of 2.5 or

18  greater. The department shall analyze the reports and

19  determine which districts require intervention in the form of

20  technical assistance or an enhanced allocation to employ or

21  contract for the services of additional counselors.

22         (2)  If a low-performing high school has a greater

23  ratio of students per counselor than another high school in

24  the district, the ratio must be lowered by employing

25  additional counselors. In a district with only one high

26  school, the comparison must be made with adjacent districts.

27  The ratio of students per counselor at a low-performing high

28  school may be no higher than the ratio at the highest

29  performing high school in the district or adjacent district.

30         (3)  Beginning in the 2001-2002 school year, each

31  school district that contains a low-performing high school

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  1  shall compute and report to the Department of Education the

  2  following accountability measures related to college

  3  preparatory courses:

  4         (a)  The percent increase in the numbers of guidance

  5  counselors at the middle and high school level who completed a

  6  seminar on advising for college.

  7         (b)  The percent increase in the numbers of students in

  8  grades 6-12 who received a college-preparation curriculum

  9  audit and the number of students in grades 6 through 12 who

10  received a 7-year plan for courses needed to satisfy the

11  19-credit admission standard and high school graduation

12  requirements.

13         (c)  The number of low-performing high schools and

14  their feeder-pattern schools that employ at least one

15  instructional coach per 500 students.

16         (d)  A comparison of students in low-achieving high

17  schools and their feeder-pattern schools with schools of

18  comparable size that earned a grade of "A." The comparison

19  shall include the percent change (increase or decrease) in the

20  gap between students at each type of school who:

21         1.  Enroll in and complete with a grade of "C" or

22  better gatekeeper courses by grade level. Gatekeeper courses

23  include pre-algebra in grade 8 and English, mathematics,

24  science, social studies, and foreign language in each of

25  grades 6 through 12.

26         2.  Enroll in and complete with a grade of "C" or

27  better in honors, Advanced Placement, and dual enrollment

28  courses.

29         3.  Earn college credit by passing a dual enrollment

30  course or passing an Advanced Placement test with a score of 3

31  or better.

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  1         Section 5.  (1)  The Legislature intends to assist

  2  students whose initial sitting for the Preliminary Scholastic

  3  Assessment Test provides evidence of poor test-taking, study,

  4  or academic preparation skills.

  5         (a)  The Department of Education and each school

  6  district shall use PSAT scores of students in low-performing

  7  high schools to adopt priorities for identifying students who

  8  could most benefit from a course designed to prepare students

  9  for taking the Scholastic Assessment Test of the College

10  Entrance Examination or an equivalent test in the American

11  College Testing Program.

12         (b)  The department may adopt rules or policies to

13  select students for a test-preparation and study skills

14  program, and the policies may include financial need, teacher

15  recommendations, or other measures of the student's ability to

16  benefit.

17         (2)  The department shall develop academic booster

18  courses for students who attend low-performing high schools

19  and whose scores on the PSAT indicate that they could benefit

20  from such preparation.

21         Section 6.  Any self-contained public education program

22  located within a low-performing high school is defined as a

23  separate school for purposes of implementing the "Talented

24  Twenty Percent" component of the state's policy for university

25  admissions. An open-enrollment magnet program is, therefore, a

26  school for purposes of this act and the identification of the

27  "Talented Twenty Percent." Such a program must determine its

28  top-ranked twenty percent in each graduating class, and the

29  high school that contains the program shall separately

30  identify its top-ranked graduates. Both groups of graduates

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  1  are eligible for any benefits provided by policy, rule, or law

  2  because of their standing.

  3         Section 7.  The Legislature intends to improve the

  4  ability of public universities to expand undergraduate student

  5  recruitment, retention, and support services provided to

  6  students from low-performing high schools.

  7         (1)  If funded in the annual General Appropriations

  8  Act, each university that enrolls students from low-performing

  9  high schools because of the "Talented Twenty Percent"

10  admissions policy shall develop student services to assist

11  them. These services may include admitting students early for

12  orientation programs, providing mentors or additional

13  opportunities for personal advisement, and conducting meetings

14  to identify additional opportunities for assistance.

15         (2)  Any funds provided for this purpose must be used

16  to enhance any similar program funded by the federal

17  government or the university and must address the unique needs

18  of students admitted because of the policy who would not have

19  met the admissions standards prior to implementation of the

20  policy.

21         Section 8.  The Legislature intends to provide waivers

22  of matriculation fees for Florida residents who begin a

23  post-baccalaureate degree program within a public state

24  university within 2 years after graduation from a Florida

25  public or independent university and who received a Pell Grant

26  or a subsidized Stafford Loan as an undergraduate student.

27         (1)  Priority for the first 3 years of the fee waiver

28  program must be for students who also graduated from a high

29  school that was low-performing either when the student

30  graduated from high school or when the student graduated from

31  college.

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  1         (2)  If funded in the annual General Appropriations

  2  Act, the fee waivers must be distributed to students

  3  identified by the university in which the student wishes to

  4  enroll.

  5         (3)  The Department of Education shall adopt rules for

  6  allocating an equitable number of fee waivers to each

  7  university. If funds are not adequate to provide fee waivers

  8  to each student whose university makes a request on his or her

  9  behalf, the university shall base the selection of students to

10  receive the waivers upon considerations that include the

11  student's need and the low performance of the student's high

12  school.

13         Section 9.  The Legislature intends to provide

14  Law-School-Admission-Test-preparation courses to aspiring

15  law-school students who graduate from a state university and

16  are also graduates of a low-performing high school.

17         (1)  If funds are provided for this program in the

18  General Appropriations Act, each university shall identify and

19  inform eligible students of this opportunity. Eligible

20  students are students in each incoming group of admissions and

21  in each graduating class who are graduates of a low-performing

22  high school.

23         (2)  First priority for a free course is for students

24  who enrolled in the university as freshmen, with other

25  graduates included if funds are available.

26         (3)  A student is eligible if his or her former high

27  school was low-performing either in the year the student

28  graduated from high school or in the year the student

29  graduated from college. However, a student who graduates from

30  the university more than 6 years after graduation from high

31  school is eligible only if his or her high school was

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  1  low-performing in the year of the student's graduation from

  2  high school.

  3         Section 10.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

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  6                          SENATE SUMMARY

  7    Creates the "Education Investment Act." Provides
      legislative intent. Provides for programs and fee waivers
  8    for students of certain schools. (See bill for details.)

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