HOUSE AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 23B
1	CHAMBER ACTION
2	Senate House
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12	Representative Richardson offered the following:
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14	Amendment (with title amendment)
15	Remove everything after the enacting clause, and insert:
16	Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
17	1003.43, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
18	1003.43 General requirements for high school graduation.--
19	(5) Each district school board shall establish standards
20	for graduation from its schools, and these standards must
21	include:
22	(a) Beginning with students graduating in the 2005-2006
23	school year,earning passing scores on the FCAT, as defined in
24	s. 1008.22(3)(c).
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26	The standards required in this subsection, and any subsequent
27	modifications, shall be reprinted in the Florida Administrative
28	Code even though not defined as "rules."
29	Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
30	1008.22, Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter 2003-8, Laws of
31	Florida, is amended to read:
32	1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.--
33	(3) STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.--The commissioner shall
34	design and implement a statewide program of educational
35	assessment that provides information for the improvement of the
36	operation and management of the public schools, including
37	schools operating for the purpose of providing educational
38	services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs.
39	Pursuant to the statewide assessment program, the commissioner
40	shall:
41	(c) Develop and implement a student achievement testing
42	program known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
43	(FCAT) as part of the statewide assessment program, to be
44	administered annually in grades 3 through 10 to measure reading,
45	writing, science, and mathematics. Other content areas may be
46	included as directed by the commissioner. The testing program
47	must be designed so that:
48	1. The tests measure student skills and competencies
49	adopted by the State Board of Education as specified in
50	paragraph (a). The tests must measure and report student
51	proficiency levels in reading, writing, mathematics, and
52	science. The commissioner shall provide for the tests to be
53	developed or obtained, as appropriate, through contracts and
54	project agreements with private vendors, public vendors, public
55	agencies, postsecondary educational institutions, or school
56	districts. The commissioner shall obtain input with respect to
57	the design and implementation of the testing program from state
58	educators and the public.
59	2. The testing program will include a combination of norm-
60	referenced and criterion-referenced tests and include, to the
61	extent determined by the commissioner, questions that require
62	the student to produce information or perform tasks in such a
63	way that the skills and competencies he or she uses can be
64	measured.
65	3. Each testing program, whether at the elementary,
66	middle, or high school level, includes a test of writing in
67	which students are required to produce writings that are then
68	scored by appropriate methods.
69	4. A score is designated for each subject area tested,
70	below which score a student's performance is deemed inadequate.
71	The school districts shall provide appropriate remedial
72	instruction to students who score below these levels.
73	5. Beginning with students graduating in the 2005-2006
74	school year,except as provided in s. 1003.43(11)(b), students
75	must earn a passing score on the grade 10 assessment test
76	described in this paragraph in reading, writing, and mathematics
77	to qualify for a regular high school diploma. The State Board of
78	Education shall designate a passing score for each part of the
79	grade 10 assessment test. In establishing passing scores, the
80	state board shall consider any possible negative impact of the
81	test on minority students. All students who took the grade 10
82	FCAT during the 2000-2001 school year shall be required to earn
83	the passing scores in reading and mathematics established by the
84	State Board of Education for the March 2001 test administration.
85	Such students who did not earn the established passing scores
86	and must repeat the grade 10 FCAT are required to earn the
87	passing scores established for the March 2001 test
88	administration. All students who take the grade 10 FCAT for the
89	first time in March 2002 and thereafter shall be required to
90	earn the passing scores in reading and mathematics established
91	by the State Board of Education for the March 2002 test
92	administration.The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
93	which specify the passing scores for the grade 10 FCAT. Any such
94	rules, which have the effect of raising the required passing
95	scores, shall only apply to students taking the grade 10 FCAT
96	after such rules are adopted by the State Board of Education.
97	6. Participation in the testing program is mandatory for
98	all students attending public school, including students served
99	in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, except as otherwise
100	prescribed by the commissioner. If a student does not
101	participate in the statewide assessment, the district must
102	notify the student's parent and provide the parent with
103	information regarding the implications of such nonparticipation.
104	If modifications are made in the student's instruction to
105	provide accommodations that would not be permitted on the
106	statewide assessment tests, the district must notify the
107	student's parent of the implications of such instructional
108	modifications. A parent must provide signed consent for a
109	student to receive instructional modifications that would not be
110	permitted on the statewide assessments and must acknowledge in
111	writing that he or she understands the implications of such
112	accommodations. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules,
113	based upon recommendations of the commissioner, for the
114	provision of test accommodations and modifications of procedures
115	as necessary for students in exceptional education programs and
116	for students who have limited English proficiency.
117	Accommodations that negate the validity of a statewide
118	assessment are not allowable.
119	7. A student seeking an adult high school diploma must
120	meet the same testing requirements that a regular high school
121	student must meet.
122	8. District school boards must provide instruction to
123	prepare students to demonstrate proficiency in the skills and
124	competencies necessary for successful grade-to-grade progression
125	and high school graduation. If a student is provided with
126	accommodations or modifications that are not allowable in the
127	statewide assessment program, as described in the test manuals,
128	the district must inform the parent in writing and must provide
129	the parent with information regarding the impact on the
130	student's ability to meet expected proficiency levels in
131	reading, writing, and math. The commissioner shall conduct
132	studies as necessary to verify that the required skills and
133	competencies are part of the district instructional programs.
134	9. The Department of Education must develop, or select,
135	and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
136	used in all juvenile justice programs in the state. These tools
137	must accurately measure the skills and competencies established
138	in the Florida Sunshine State Standards.
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140	The commissioner may design and implement student testing
141	programs, for any grade level and subject area, necessary to
142	effectively monitor educational achievement in the state.
143	Section 3. Any twelfth grade student who was denied a
144	standard high school diploma during the 2002-2003 school year
145	based solely on his or her inability to achieve the passing
146	scores established by the State Board of Education for the grade
147	10 FCAT shall receive a standard high school diploma.
148	Section 4. The Department of Education shall study the
149	failure rates on the grade 10 FCAT of minority students,
150	students with disabilities, and students with limited English
151	proficiency and develop policy recommendations and a
152	comprehensive strategy to be implemented beginning with the
153	2003-2004 school year to improve the passing rates of such
154	students on the grade 10 FCAT.
155	Section 5. If any law amended by this act was also amended
156	by a law enacted at the 2003 Regular Session of the Legislature
157	or at the 2003 Special Session A of the Legislature, such laws
158	shall be construed as if they had been enacted at the same
159	session of the Legislature, and full effect shall be given to
160	each if possible.
161	Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
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164	================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T =================
165	Remove the entire title, and insert:
166	A bill to be entitled
167	An act relating to high school graduation; amending ss.
168	1003.43 and 1008.22, F.S.; delaying the graduation
169	requirement that students earn passing scores on the grade
170	10 FCAT; providing that certain students who were denied a
171	standard high school diploma during the 2002-2003 school
172	year shall receive such diploma; requiring the Department
173	of Education to study failure rates of certain students on
174	the grade 10 FCAT and develop recommendations and a
175	comprehensive strategy to improve performance on the test;
176	providing for construction of the act in pari materia with
177	laws enacted during the 2003 Regular Session or the 2003
178	Special Session A of the Legislature; providing an
179	effective date.
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