Senate Bill sb1388c1
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Florida Senate - 2002 CS for SB 1388
By the Committee on Education; and Senator Pruitt
304-1886-02
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to instructional personnel;
3 amending s. 231.17, F.S.; requiring certain
4 competencies as a prerequisite to initial
5 professional certification; amending s. 231.29,
6 F.S.; requiring procedures to be included in
7 school district evaluation systems for
8 instructional personnel; requiring review by
9 the Department of Education; requiring
10 development and implementation of certain
11 professional development training components;
12 providing an effective date.
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14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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16 Section 1. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (5) of
17 section 231.17, Florida Statutes, to read:
18 231.17 Teacher certification requirements.--
19 (5) MASTERY OF PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION AND EDUCATION
20 COMPETENCE.--
21 (c) To qualify for initial professional certification,
22 an educator must be able to use research-based, effective
23 instructional and behavioral strategies for speech and
24 language development, emerging literacy, and developmentally
25 appropriate practices and learning strategies for diverse
26 learners.
27 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2), paragraphs
28 (a) and (c) of subsection (3), and subsection (8) of section
29 231.29, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (9) is
30 added to that section, to read:
31 231.29 Assessment procedures and criteria.--
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Florida Senate - 2002 CS for SB 1388
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1 (2) The following conditions must be considered in the
2 design of the district's instructional personnel assessment
3 system:
4 (b) The system must provide appropriate instruments,
5 procedures, and criteria for continuous quality improvement of
6 the professional skills of instructional personnel including
7 updated skills related to preventing or identifying early
8 signs of learning disabilities.
9 (3) The assessment procedure for instructional
10 personnel and school administrators must be primarily based on
11 the performance of students assigned to their classrooms or
12 schools, as appropriate. The procedures must comply with, but
13 are not limited to, the following requirements:
14 (a) An assessment must be conducted for each employee
15 at least once a year. The assessment must be based upon sound
16 educational principles and contemporary research in effective
17 educational practices. Beginning with the full implementation
18 of an annual assessment of learning gains, the assessment must
19 primarily use data and indicators of improvement in student
20 performance assessed annually as specified in s. 229.57 and
21 may consider results of peer reviews in evaluating the
22 employee's performance. Student performance must be measured
23 by state assessments required under s. 229.57 and by local
24 assessments for subjects and grade levels not measured by the
25 state assessment program. The assessment criteria must
26 include, but are not limited to, indicators that relate to the
27 following:
28 1. Performance of students.
29 2. Ability to maintain appropriate discipline.
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Florida Senate - 2002 CS for SB 1388
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1 3. Knowledge of subject matter. The district school
2 board shall make special provisions for evaluating teachers
3 who are assigned to teach out-of-field.
4 4. Ability to plan and deliver instruction, including
5 the use of technology in the classroom.
6 5. Ability to evaluate instructional needs, including
7 the evaluation of learning problems using research-based,
8 effective instructional and behavioral strategies for speech
9 and language development, emerging literacy, and
10 developmentally appropriate practices and learning strategies
11 for diverse learners.
12 6. Ability to establish and maintain a positive
13 collaborative relationship with students' families to increase
14 student achievement.
15 7. Other professional competencies, responsibilities,
16 and requirements as established by rules of the State Board of
17 Education and policies of the district school board.
18 (c) The individual responsible for supervising the
19 employee must assess the employee's performance. The evaluator
20 must submit a written report of the assessment to the
21 superintendent of schools for the purpose of reviewing the
22 employee's contract, and that report must include the specific
23 evaluation of the educator's ability to identify and work with
24 students who have learning problems or learning disabilities.
25 If the employee is assigned to a school designated in
26 performance grade category "D" or "F" and was rated
27 unsatisfactory on any function related to the employee's
28 instructional or administrative duties, the superintendent of
29 schools, in consultation with the employee's evaluator, shall
30 review the employee's performance assessment. If the
31 superintendent of schools determines that the lack of general
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Florida Senate - 2002 CS for SB 1388
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1 knowledge, subject area expertise, or other professional
2 competencies contributed to the employee's unsatisfactory
3 performance, the superintendent of schools shall notify the
4 district school board of that determination. The district
5 school board shall require those employees, as part of their
6 performance probation, to take and receive a passing score on
7 a test of general knowledge, subject area expertise, or
8 professional competencies, whichever is appropriate. The
9 tests required by this paragraph shall be those required for
10 certification under this chapter and rules of the State Board
11 of Education. The evaluator must submit the written report to
12 the employee no later than 10 days after the assessment takes
13 place. The evaluator must discuss the written report of
14 assessment with the employee. The employee shall have the
15 right to initiate a written response to the assessment, and
16 the response shall become a permanent attachment to his or her
17 personnel file.
18 (8) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
19 pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, that establish uniform
20 guidelines for the submission, review, and approval of
21 district procedures for the annual assessment of instructional
22 personnel and that include criteria for evaluating
23 professional performance. The department shall ensure that the
24 assessment systems contain the appropriate focus on the
25 ability of instructional personnel to address learning
26 problems and learning disabilities that can impede school
27 success.
28 (9) The department shall make available to each school
29 district a professional development program for teachers who
30 seek to improve their competencies or whose annual evaluation
31 indicates a need for improvement. The department shall
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Florida Senate - 2002 CS for SB 1388
304-1886-02
1 cooperate with the state-approved teacher-preparation programs
2 and with others having expertise in developmental or learning
3 disabilities to design and implement these programs that must
4 primarily address competencies and strategies for improving
5 academic progress of students having learning problems.
6 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
7 law.
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9 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
10 SB 1388
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12 The Committee Substitute:
13 Limits the required competency demonstration to teachers who
are applying for initial professional certificates, not
14 teachers who apply for temporary certificates or renewal
certificates.
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Requires the evaluation system for educators to focus on their
16 ability to work with students who have learning problems. This
focus is required for individual teachers evaluated by their
17 principals and the school district's evaluation system.
18 Does not amend the requirements for the alternate route to
certification.
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