HB 0045A 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 for
10	construction of the act in pari materia with laws enacted
11	during the Regular Session of the Legislature; providing
12	an effective date.
13
14	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16	Section 1. Section 1003.433, Florida Statutes, is created
17	to read:
18	1003.433 Learning opportunities for out-of-state and out-
19	of-country transfer students and students needing additional
20	instruction to meet high school graduation requirements.--
21	(1) Students who enter a Florida public school at the
22	eleventh or twelfth grade from out of state or from a foreign
23	country shall not be required to spend additional time in a
24	Florida public school in order to meet the high school course
25	requirements if the student has met all requirements of the
26	school district, state, or country from which he or she is
27	transferring. Such students who are not proficient in English
28	should receive immediate and intensive instruction in English
29	language acquisition. However, to receive a standard high school
30	diploma, a transfer student must earn a 2.0 grade point average
31	and pass the grade 10 FCAT required in s. 1008.22(3) or an
32	alternate assessment as described in s. 1008.22(9).
33	(2) Students who have met all requirements for the
34	standard high school diploma except for passage of the grade 10
35	FCAT or an alternate assessment by the end of grade 12 must be
36	provided the following learning opportunities:
37	(a) Participation in an accelerated high school
38	equivalency diploma preparation program during the summer.
39	(b) Upon receipt of a certificate of completion, be allowed
40	to take the College Placement Test and be admitted to remedial
41	or credit courses at a state community college, as appropriate.
42	(c) Participation in an adult general education program as
43	provided in s. 1004.93 for such time as the student requires to
44	master English, reading, mathematics, or any other subject
45	required for high school graduation. Students attending adult
46	basic, adult secondary, or vocational-preparatory instruction
47	are exempt from any requirement for the payment of tuition and
48	fees, including lab fees, pursuant to s. 1009.25. A student
49	attending an adult general education program shall have the
50	opportunity to take the grade 10 FCAT an unlimited number of
51	times in order to receive a standard high school diploma.
52	(3) Students who have been enrolled in an ESOL program for
53	less than 2 school years and have met all requirements for the
54	standard high school diploma except for passage of the grade 10
55	FCAT or alternate assessment may receive immersion English
56	language instruction during the summer following their senior
57	year. Students receiving such instruction are eligible to take
58	the FCAT or alternate assessment and receive a standard high
59	school diploma upon passage of the grade 10 FCAT or the
60	alternate assessment. This subsection shall be implemented to
61	the extent funding is provided in the General Appropriations
62	Act.
63	(4) The State Board of Education may adopt rules pursuant
64	to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section.
65	Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
66	1008.22, Florida Statutes, is amended, subsection (9) is
67	renumbered as subsection (10), and a new subsection (9) is added
68	to said section, to read:
69	1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.--
70	(3) STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.--The commissioner shall
71	design and implement a statewide program of educational
72	assessment that provides information for the improvement of the
73	operation and management of the public schools, including
74	schools operating for the purpose of providing educational
75	services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs.
76	Pursuant to the statewide assessment program, the commissioner
77	shall:
78	(c) Develop and implement a student achievement testing
79	program known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
80	(FCAT) as part of the statewide assessment program, to be
81	administered annually in grades 3 through 10 to measure reading,
82	writing, science, and mathematics. Other content areas may be
83	included as directed by the commissioner. The testing program
84	must be designed so that:
85	1. The tests measure student skills and competencies
86	adopted by the State Board of Education as specified in
87	paragraph (a). The tests must measure and report student
88	proficiency levels in reading, writing, mathematics, and
89	science. The commissioner shall provide for the tests to be
90	developed or obtained, as appropriate, through contracts and
91	project agreements with private vendors, public vendors, public
92	agencies, postsecondary educational institutions, or school
93	districts. The commissioner shall obtain input with respect to
94	the design and implementation of the testing program from state
95	educators and the public.
96	2. The testing program will include a combination of norm-
97	referenced and criterion-referenced tests and include, to the
98	extent determined by the commissioner, questions that require
99	the student to produce information or perform tasks in such a
100	way that the skills and competencies he or she uses can be
101	measured.
102	3. Each testing program, whether at the elementary,
103	middle, or high school level, includes a test of writing in
104	which students are required to produce writings that are then
105	scored by appropriate methods.
106	4. A score is designated for each subject area tested,
107	below which score a student's performance is deemed inadequate.
108	The school districts shall provide appropriate remedial
109	instruction to students who score below these levels.
110	5. Students must earn a passing score on the grade 10
111	assessment test described in this paragraph or on an alternate
112	assessment as described in subsection (9)in reading, writing,
113	and mathematics to qualify for a regular high school diploma.
114	The State Board of Education shall designate a passing score for
115	each part of the grade 10 assessment test. In establishing
116	passing scores, the state board shall consider any possible
117	negative impact of the test on minority students. All students
118	who took the grade 10 FCAT during the 2000-2001 school year
119	shall be required to earn the passing scores in reading and
120	mathematics established by the State Board of Education for the
121	March 2001 test administration. Such students who did not earn
122	the established passing scores and must repeat the grade 10 FCAT
123	are required to earn the passing scores established for the
124	March 2001 test administration. All students who take the grade
125	10 FCAT for the first time in March 2002 and thereafter shall be
126	required to earn the passing scores in reading and mathematics
127	established by the State Board of Education for the March 2002
128	test administration. The State Board of Education shall adopt
129	rules which specify the passing scores for the grade 10 FCAT.
130	Any such rules, which have the effect of raising the required
131	passing scores, shall only apply to students taking the grade 10
132	FCAT after such rules are adopted by the State Board of
133	Education.
134	6. Participation in the testing program is mandatory for
135	all students attending public school, including students served
136	in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, except as otherwise
137	prescribed by the commissioner. If a student does not
138	participate in the statewide assessment, the district must
139	notify the student's parent and provide the parent with
140	information regarding the implications of such nonparticipation.
141	If modifications are made in the student's instruction to
142	provide accommodations that would not be permitted on the
143	statewide assessment tests, the district must notify the
144	student's parent of the implications of such instructional
145	modifications. A parent must provide signed consent for a
146	student to receive instructional modifications that would not be
147	permitted on the statewide assessments and must acknowledge in
148	writing that he or she understands the implications of such
149	accommodations. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules,
150	based upon recommendations of the commissioner, for the
151	provision of test accommodations and modifications of procedures
152	as necessary for students in exceptional education programs and
153	for students who have limited English proficiency.
154	Accommodations that negate the validity of a statewide
155	assessment are not allowable.
156	7. A student seeking an adult high school diploma must
157	meet the same testing requirements that a regular high school
158	student must meet.
159	8. District school boards must provide instruction to
160	prepare students to demonstrate proficiency in the skills and
161	competencies necessary for successful grade-to-grade progression
162	and high school graduation. If a student is provided with
163	accommodations or modifications that are not allowable in the
164	statewide assessment program, as described in the test manuals,
165	the district must inform the parent in writing and must provide
166	the parent with information regarding the impact on the
167	student's ability to meet expected proficiency levels in
168	reading, writing, and math. The commissioner shall conduct
169	studies as necessary to verify that the required skills and
170	competencies are part of the district instructional programs.
171	9. The Department of Education must develop, or select,
172	and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
173	used in all juvenile justice programs in the state. These tools
174	must accurately measure the skills and competencies established
175	in the Florida Sunshine State Standards.
176
177	The commissioner may design and implement student testing
178	programs, for any grade level and subject area, necessary to
179	effectively monitor educational achievement in the state.
180	(9) EQUIVALENCIES FOR STANDARDIZED TESTS.--The State Board
181	of Education shall study the comparable validity of other
182	available standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, College
183	Placement Test, PSAT, PLAN, and tests used for entry into the
184	military, and shall report its findings to the Governor, the
185	President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
186	Representatives by December 31, 2003. If such tests are deemed
187	to be valid and reliable measures, the State Board of Education
188	shall adopt scores on such tests that will equate to the FCAT
189	passing rate for purposes of high school graduation. If no
190	existing standardized assessment is deemed to be a valid and
191	reliable measure, the State Board of Education may initiate the
192	development of a valid and reliable alternate assessment.
193	Students who attain scores that equate to the FCAT passing rate
194	for purposes of high school graduation on one of the approved
195	tests shall satisfy the assessment requirement for a standard
196	high school diploma as provided in s. 1003.43(5)(a).
197	Section 3. If any law amended by this act was also amended
198	by a law enacted at the 2003 Regular Session of the Legislature,
199	such laws shall be construed as if they had been enacted at the
200	same session of the Legislature, and full effect shall be given
201	to each if possible.
202	Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.