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