HB 0023B 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; directing the
10	Commissioner of Education to approve certain standardized
11	tests if determined to meet certain criteria as
12	equivalents to the FCAT and to permit passage of such
13	tests in lieu of passage of the grade 10 FCAT for students
14	graduating in the 2002-2003 school year or thereafter;
15	providing for construction of the act in pari materia with
16	laws enacted during the 2003 Regular Session or the 2003
17	Special Session A of the Legislature; providing an
18	effective date.
19
20	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22	Section 1. Section 1003.433, Florida Statutes, is created
23	to read:
24	1003.433 Learning opportunities for out-of-state and out-
25	of-country transfer students and students needing additional
26	instruction to meet high school graduation requirements.--
27	(1) Students who enter a Florida public school at the
28	eleventh or twelfth grade from out of state or from a foreign
29	country shall not be required to spend additional time in a
30	Florida public school in order to meet the high school course
31	requirements if the student has met all requirements of the
32	school district, state, or country from which he or she is
33	transferring. Such students who are not proficient in English
34	should receive immediate and intensive instruction in English
35	language acquisition. However, to receive a standard high school
36	diploma, a transfer student must earn a 2.0 grade point average
37	and pass the grade 10 FCAT required in s. 1008.22(3) or an
38	alternate assessment as described in s. 1008.22(9).
39	(2) Students who have met all requirements for the
40	standard high school diploma except for passage of the grade 10
41	FCAT or an alternate assessment by the end of grade 12 must be
42	provided the following learning opportunities:
43	(a) Participation in an accelerated high school
44	equivalency diploma preparation program during the summer.
45	(b) Upon receipt of a certificate of completion, be
46	allowed to take the College Placement Test and be admitted to
47	remedial or credit courses at a state community college, as
48	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, as amended by chapter 2003-8, Laws of
74	Florida, is amended, subsection (9) is renumbered as subsection
75	(10), and a new subsection (9) is added to said section, to
76	read:
77	1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.--
78	(3) STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.--The commissioner shall
79	design and implement a statewide program of educational
80	assessment that provides information for the improvement of the
81	operation and management of the public schools, including
82	schools operating for the purpose of providing educational
83	services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs.
84	Pursuant to the statewide assessment program, the commissioner
85	shall:
86	(c) Develop and implement a student achievement testing
87	program known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
88	(FCAT) as part of the statewide assessment program, to be
89	administered annually in grades 3 through 10 to measure reading,
90	writing, science, and mathematics. Other content areas may be
91	included as directed by the commissioner. The testing program
92	must be designed so that:
93	1. The tests measure student skills and competencies
94	adopted by the State Board of Education as specified in
95	paragraph (a). The tests must measure and report student
96	proficiency levels in reading, writing, mathematics, and
97	science. The commissioner shall provide for the tests to be
98	developed or obtained, as appropriate, through contracts and
99	project agreements with private vendors, public vendors, public
100	agencies, postsecondary educational institutions, or school
101	districts. The commissioner shall obtain input with respect to
102	the design and implementation of the testing program from state
103	educators and the public.
104	2. The testing program will include a combination of norm-
105	referenced and criterion-referenced tests and include, to the
106	extent determined by the commissioner, questions that require
107	the student to produce information or perform tasks in such a
108	way that the skills and competencies he or she uses can be
109	measured.
110	3. Each testing program, whether at the elementary,
111	middle, or high school level, includes a test of writing in
112	which students are required to produce writings that are then
113	scored by appropriate methods.
114	4. A score is designated for each subject area tested,
115	below which score a student's performance is deemed inadequate.
116	The school districts shall provide appropriate remedial
117	instruction to students who score below these levels.
118	5. Except as provided in s. 1003.43(11)(b), students must
119	earn a passing score on the grade 10 assessment test described
120	in this paragraph or on an alternate assessment as described in
121	subsection (9)in reading, writing, and mathematics to qualify
122	for a regular high school diploma. The State Board of Education
123	shall designate a passing score for each part of the grade 10
124	assessment test. In establishing passing scores, the state board
125	shall consider any possible negative impact of the test on
126	minority students. All students who took the grade 10 FCAT
127	during the 2000-2001 school year shall be required to earn the
128	passing scores in reading and mathematics established by the
129	State Board of Education for the March 2001 test administration.
130	Such students who did not earn the established passing scores
131	and must repeat the grade 10 FCAT are required to earn the
132	passing scores established for the March 2001 test
133	administration. All students who take the grade 10 FCAT for the
134	first time in March 2002 and thereafter shall be required to
135	earn the passing scores in reading and mathematics established
136	by the State Board of Education for the March 2002 test
137	administration. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
138	which specify the passing scores for the grade 10 FCAT. Any such
139	rules, which have the effect of raising the required passing
140	scores, shall only apply to students taking the grade 10 FCAT
141	after such rules are adopted by the State Board of Education.
142	6. Participation in the testing program is mandatory for
143	all students attending public school, including students served
144	in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, except as otherwise
145	prescribed by the commissioner. If a student does not
146	participate in the statewide assessment, the district must
147	notify the student's parent and provide the parent with
148	information regarding the implications of such nonparticipation.
149	If modifications are made in the student's instruction to
150	provide accommodations that would not be permitted on the
151	statewide assessment tests, the district must notify the
152	student's parent of the implications of such instructional
153	modifications. A parent must provide signed consent for a
154	student to receive instructional modifications that would not be
155	permitted on the statewide assessments and must acknowledge in
156	writing that he or she understands the implications of such
157	accommodations. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules,
158	based upon recommendations of the commissioner, for the
159	provision of test accommodations and modifications of procedures
160	as necessary for students in exceptional education programs and
161	for students who have limited English proficiency.
162	Accommodations that negate the validity of a statewide
163	assessment are not allowable.
164	7. A student seeking an adult high school diploma must
165	meet the same testing requirements that a regular high school
166	student must meet.
167	8. District school boards must provide instruction to
168	prepare students to demonstrate proficiency in the skills and
169	competencies necessary for successful grade-to-grade progression
170	and high school graduation. If a student is provided with
171	accommodations or modifications that are not allowable in the
172	statewide assessment program, as described in the test manuals,
173	the district must inform the parent in writing and must provide
174	the parent with information regarding the impact on the
175	student's ability to meet expected proficiency levels in
176	reading, writing, and math. The commissioner shall conduct
177	studies as necessary to verify that the required skills and
178	competencies are part of the district instructional programs.
179	9. The Department of Education must develop, or select,
180	and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
181	used in all juvenile justice programs in the state. These tools
182	must accurately measure the skills and competencies established
183	in the Florida Sunshine State Standards.
184
185	The commissioner may design and implement student testing
186	programs, for any grade level and subject area, necessary to
187	effectively monitor educational achievement in the state.
188	(9) EQUIVALENCIES FOR STANDARDIZED TESTS.--The
189	Commissioner of Education shall determine the comparable
190	validity of other available standardized tests, including the
191	SAT, ACT, College Placement Test, PSAT, PLAN, and tests used for
192	entry into the military. If such tests are deemed to be valid
193	and reliable measures, the commissioner shall approve the use of
194	such tests as alternate assessments to the grade 10 FCAT.
195	Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, students who attain
196	scores that equate to the passing scores on the grade 10 FCAT
197	for purposes of high school graduation on any of the approved
198	alternate assessments shall satisfy the assessment requirement
199	for a standard high school diploma as provided in s.
200	1003.43(5)(a).
201	Section 3. If any law amended by this act was also amended
202	by a law enacted at the 2003 Regular Session of the Legislature
203	or at the 2003 Special Session A of the Legislature, such laws
204	shall be construed as if they had been enacted at the same
205	session of the Legislature, and full effect shall be given to
206	each if possible.
207	Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.