HB 0467 2003
1	CHAMBER ACTION
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6	The Committee on Appropriations recommends the following:
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8	Committee Substitute
9	Remove the entire bill and insert:
10	A bill to be entitled
11	An act relating to high school graduation; creating s.
12	1003.433, F.S.; providing learning opportunities for
13	certain students to meet high school graduation
14	requirements; providing requirements for certain transfer
15	students; authorizing alternate assessments; authorizing
16	rules; amending s. 1008.22, F.S., relating to student
17	assessment for public schools; providing for alternate
18	assessments for the grade 10 FCAT; providing an effective
19	date.
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21	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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23	Section 1. Section 1003.433, Florida Statutes, is created
24	to read:
25	1003.433 Learning opportunities for out-of-state and out-
26	of-country transfer students and students needing additional
27	instruction to meet high school graduation requirements.--
28	(1) Students who enter a Florida public school at the
29	eleventh or twelfth grade from out of state or from a foreign
30	country shall not be required to spend additional time in a
31	Florida public school in order to meet the high school course
32	requirements if the student has met all requirements of the
33	school district, state, or country from which he or she is
34	transferring. Such students who are not proficient in English
35	should receive immediate and intensive instruction in English
36	language acquisition. However, to receive a standard high school
37	diploma, a transfer student must earn a 2.0 grade point average
38	and pass the grade 10 FCAT required in s. 1008.22(3) or an
39	alternate assessment as described in s. 1008.22(9).
40	(2) Students who have met all requirements for the
41	standard high school diploma except for passage of the grade 10
42	FCAT or an alternate assessment by the end of grade 12 must be
43	provided the following learning opportunities:
44	(a) Participation in an accelerated high school
45	equivalency diploma preparation program during the summer.
46	(b) Upon receipt of a certificate of completion, be allowed
47	to take the College Placement Test and be admitted to remedial
48	or credit courses at a state community college, as appropriate.
49	(c) Participation in an adult general education program as
50	provided in s. 1004.93 for such time as the student requires to
51	master English, reading, mathematics, or any other subject
52	required for high school graduation. Students attending adult
53	basic, adult secondary, or vocational-preparatory instruction
54	are exempt from any requirement for the payment of tuition and
55	fees, including lab fees, pursuant to s. 1009.25. A student
56	attending an adult general education program shall have the
57	opportunity to take the grade 10 FCAT an unlimited number of
58	times in order to receive a standard high school diploma.
59	(3) Students who have been enrolled in an ESOL program for
60	less than 2 school years and have met all requirements for the
61	standard high school diploma except for passage of the grade 10
62	FCAT or alternate assessment may receive immersion English
63	language instruction during the summer following their senior
64	year. Students receiving such instruction are eligible to take
65	the FCAT or alternate assessment and receive a standard high
66	school diploma upon passage of the grade 10 FCAT or the
67	alternate assessment. This subsection shall be implemented to
68	the extent funding is provided in the General Appropriations
69	Act.
70	(4) The State Board of Education may adopt rules pursuant
71	to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section.
72	Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
73	1008.22, Florida Statutes, is amended, subsection (9) is
74	renumbered as subsection (10), and a new subsection (9) is added
75	to said section, to read:
76	1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.--
77	(3) STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.--The commissioner shall
78	design and implement a statewide program of educational
79	assessment that provides information for the improvement of the
80	operation and management of the public schools, including
81	schools operating for the purpose of providing educational
82	services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs.
83	Pursuant to the statewide assessment program, the commissioner
84	shall:
85	(c) Develop and implement a student achievement testing
86	program known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
87	(FCAT) as part of the statewide assessment program, to be
88	administered annually in grades 3 through 10 to measure reading,
89	writing, science, and mathematics. Other content areas may be
90	included as directed by the commissioner. The testing program
91	must be designed so that:
92	1. The tests measure student skills and competencies
93	adopted by the State Board of Education as specified in
94	paragraph (a). The tests must measure and report student
95	proficiency levels in reading, writing, mathematics, and
96	science. The commissioner shall provide for the tests to be
97	developed or obtained, as appropriate, through contracts and
98	project agreements with private vendors, public vendors, public
99	agencies, postsecondary educational institutions, or school
100	districts. The commissioner shall obtain input with respect to
101	the design and implementation of the testing program from state
102	educators and the public.
103	2. The testing program will include a combination of norm-
104	referenced and criterion-referenced tests and include, to the
105	extent determined by the commissioner, questions that require
106	the student to produce information or perform tasks in such a
107	way that the skills and competencies he or she uses can be
108	measured.
109	3. Each testing program, whether at the elementary,
110	middle, or high school level, includes a test of writing in
111	which students are required to produce writings that are then
112	scored by appropriate methods.
113	4. A score is designated for each subject area tested,
114	below which score a student's performance is deemed inadequate.
115	The school districts shall provide appropriate remedial
116	instruction to students who score below these levels.
117	5. Students must earn a passing score on the grade 10
118	assessment test described in this paragraph or on an alternate
119	assessment as described in subsection (9)in reading, writing,
120	and mathematics to qualify for a regular high school diploma.
121	The State Board of Education shall designate a passing score for
122	each part of the grade 10 assessment test. In establishing
123	passing scores, the state board shall consider any possible
124	negative impact of the test on minority students. All students
125	who took the grade 10 FCAT during the 2000-2001 school year
126	shall be required to earn the passing scores in reading and
127	mathematics established by the State Board of Education for the
128	March 2001 test administration. Such students who did not earn
129	the established passing scores and must repeat the grade 10 FCAT
130	are required to earn the passing scores established for the
131	March 2001 test administration. All students who take the grade
132	10 FCAT for the first time in March 2002 and thereafter shall be
133	required to earn the passing scores in reading and mathematics
134	established by the State Board of Education for the March 2002
135	test administration. The State Board of Education shall adopt
136	rules which specify the passing scores for the grade 10 FCAT.
137	Any such rules, which have the effect of raising the required
138	passing scores, shall only apply to students taking the grade 10
139	FCAT after such rules are adopted by the State Board of
140	Education.
141	6. Participation in the testing program is mandatory for
142	all students attending public school, including students served
143	in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, except as otherwise
144	prescribed by the commissioner. If a student does not
145	participate in the statewide assessment, the district must
146	notify the student's parent and provide the parent with
147	information regarding the implications of such nonparticipation.
148	If modifications are made in the student's instruction to
149	provide accommodations that would not be permitted on the
150	statewide assessment tests, the district must notify the
151	student's parent of the implications of such instructional
152	modifications. A parent must provide signed consent for a
153	student to receive instructional modifications that would not be
154	permitted on the statewide assessments and must acknowledge in
155	writing that he or she understands the implications of such
156	accommodations. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules,
157	based upon recommendations of the commissioner, for the
158	provision of test accommodations and modifications of procedures
159	as necessary for students in exceptional education programs and
160	for students who have limited English proficiency.
161	Accommodations that negate the validity of a statewide
162	assessment are not allowable.
163	7. A student seeking an adult high school diploma must
164	meet the same testing requirements that a regular high school
165	student must meet.
166	8. District school boards must provide instruction to
167	prepare students to demonstrate proficiency in the skills and
168	competencies necessary for successful grade-to-grade progression
169	and high school graduation. If a student is provided with
170	accommodations or modifications that are not allowable in the
171	statewide assessment program, as described in the test manuals,
172	the district must inform the parent in writing and must provide
173	the parent with information regarding the impact on the
174	student's ability to meet expected proficiency levels in
175	reading, writing, and math. The commissioner shall conduct
176	studies as necessary to verify that the required skills and
177	competencies are part of the district instructional programs.
178	9. The Department of Education must develop, or select,
179	and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
180	used in all juvenile justice programs in the state. These tools
181	must accurately measure the skills and competencies established
182	in the Florida Sunshine State Standards.
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184	The commissioner may design and implement student testing
185	programs, for any grade level and subject area, necessary to
186	effectively monitor educational achievement in the state.
187	(9) EQUIVALENCIES FOR STANDARDIZED TESTS.--The State Board
188	of Education shall study the comparable validity of other
189	available standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, College
190	Placement Test, PSAT, PLAN, and tests used for entry into the
191	military, and shall report its findings to the Governor, the
192	President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
193	Representatives by December 31, 2003. If such tests are deemed
194	to be valid and reliable measures, the State Board of Education
195	shall adopt scores on such tests that will equate to the FCAT
196	passing rate for purposes of high school graduation. If no
197	existing standardized assessment is deemed to be a valid and
198	reliable measure, the State Board of Education may initiate the
199	development of a valid and reliable alternate assessment.
200	Students who attain scores that equate to the FCAT passing rate
201	for purposes of high school graduation on one of the approved
202	tests shall satisfy the assessment requirement for a standard
203	high school diploma as provided in s. 1003.43(5)(a).
204	Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.