HB 0023B, 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; requiring
7	district school superintendents to notify students of the
8	consequences of failure to receive a standard high school
9	diploma; authorizing rules; amending s. 1008.22, F.S.,
10	relating to student assessment for public schools;
11	providing for alternate assessments for the grade 10 FCAT;
12	directing the Commissioner of Education to approve certain
13	standardized tests if determined to meet certain criteria
14	as equivalents to the FCAT and to permit passage of such
15	tests in lieu of passage of the grade 10 FCAT for students
16	graduating in the 2002-2003 school year or thereafter;
17	providing for retroactive application; providing for
18	construction of the act in pari materia with laws enacted
19	during the 2003 Regular Session or the 2003 Special
20	Session A of the Legislature; providing an effective date.
21
22	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24	Section 1. Section 1003.433, Florida Statutes, is created
25	to read:
26	1003.433 Learning opportunities for out-of-state and out-
27	of-country transfer students and students needing additional
28	instruction to meet high school graduation requirements.--
29	(1) Students who enter a Florida public school at the
30	eleventh or twelfth grade from out of state or from a foreign
31	country shall not be required to spend additional time in a
32	Florida public school in order to meet the high school course
33	requirements if the student has met all requirements of the
34	school district, state, or country from which he or she is
35	transferring. Such students who are not proficient in English
36	should receive immediate and intensive instruction in English
37	language acquisition. However, to receive a standard high school
38	diploma, a transfer student must earn a 2.0 grade point average
39	and pass the grade 10 FCAT required in s. 1008.22(3) or an
40	alternate assessment as described in s. 1008.22(9).
41	(2) Students who have met all requirements for the
42	standard high school diploma except for passage of the grade 10
43	FCAT or an alternate assessment by the end of grade 12 must be
44	provided the following learning opportunities:
45	(a) Participation in an accelerated high school
46	equivalency diploma preparation program during the summer.
47	(b) Upon receipt of a certificate of completion, be
48	allowed to take the College Placement Test and be admitted to
49	remedial or credit courses at a state community college, as
50	appropriate.
51	(c) Participation in an adult general education program as
52	provided in s. 1004.93 for such time as the student requires to
53	master English, reading, mathematics, or any other subject
54	required for high school graduation. Students attending adult
55	basic, adult secondary, or vocational-preparatory instruction
56	are exempt from any requirement for the payment of tuition and
57	fees, including lab fees, pursuant to s. 1009.25. A student
58	attending an adult general education program shall have the
59	opportunity to take the grade 10 FCAT an unlimited number of
60	times in order to receive a standard high school diploma.
61	(3) Students who have been enrolled in an ESOL program for
62	less than 2 school years and have met all requirements for the
63	standard high school diploma except for passage of the grade 10
64	FCAT or alternate assessment may receive immersion English
65	language instruction during the summer following their senior
66	year. Students receiving such instruction are eligible to take
67	the FCAT or alternate assessment and receive a standard high
68	school diploma upon passage of the grade 10 FCAT or the
69	alternate assessment. This subsection shall be implemented to
70	the extent funding is provided in the General Appropriations
71	Act.
72	(4) The district school superintendent shall be responsible
73	for notifying all students of the consequences of failure to
74	receive a standard high school diploma, including the potential
75	ineligibility for financial assistance at postsecondary
76	educational institutions.
77	(5) The State Board of Education may adopt rules pursuant
78	to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section.
79	Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
80	1008.22, Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter 2003-8, Laws of
81	Florida, is amended, subsection (9) is renumbered as subsection
82	(10), and a new subsection (9) is added to said section, to
83	read:
84	1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.--
85	(3) STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.--The commissioner shall
86	design and implement a statewide program of educational
87	assessment that provides information for the improvement of the
88	operation and management of the public schools, including
89	schools operating for the purpose of providing educational
90	services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs.
91	Pursuant to the statewide assessment program, the commissioner
92	shall:
93	(c) Develop and implement a student achievement testing
94	program known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
95	(FCAT) as part of the statewide assessment program, to be
96	administered annually in grades 3 through 10 to measure reading,
97	writing, science, and mathematics. Other content areas may be
98	included as directed by the commissioner. The testing program
99	must be designed so that:
100	1. The tests measure student skills and competencies
101	adopted by the State Board of Education as specified in
102	paragraph (a). The tests must measure and report student
103	proficiency levels in reading, writing, mathematics, and
104	science. The commissioner shall provide for the tests to be
105	developed or obtained, as appropriate, through contracts and
106	project agreements with private vendors, public vendors, public
107	agencies, postsecondary educational institutions, or school
108	districts. The commissioner shall obtain input with respect to
109	the design and implementation of the testing program from state
110	educators and the public.
111	2. The testing program will include a combination of norm-
112	referenced and criterion-referenced tests and include, to the
113	extent determined by the commissioner, questions that require
114	the student to produce information or perform tasks in such a
115	way that the skills and competencies he or she uses can be
116	measured.
117	3. Each testing program, whether at the elementary,
118	middle, or high school level, includes a test of writing in
119	which students are required to produce writings that are then
120	scored by appropriate methods.
121	4. A score is designated for each subject area tested,
122	below which score a student's performance is deemed inadequate.
123	The school districts shall provide appropriate remedial
124	instruction to students who score below these levels.
125	5. Except as provided in s. 1003.43(11)(b), students must
126	earn a passing score on the grade 10 assessment test described
127	in this paragraph or on an alternate assessment as described in
128	subsection (9)in reading, writing, and mathematics to qualify
129	for a regular high school diploma. The State Board of Education
130	shall designate a passing score for each part of the grade 10
131	assessment test. In establishing passing scores, the state board
132	shall consider any possible negative impact of the test on
133	minority students. All students who took the grade 10 FCAT
134	during the 2000-2001 school year shall be required to earn the
135	passing scores in reading and mathematics established by the
136	State Board of Education for the March 2001 test administration.
137	Such students who did not earn the established passing scores
138	and must repeat the grade 10 FCAT are required to earn the
139	passing scores established for the March 2001 test
140	administration. All students who take the grade 10 FCAT for the
141	first time in March 2002 and thereafter shall be required to
142	earn the passing scores in reading and mathematics established
143	by the State Board of Education for the March 2002 test
144	administration. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
145	which specify the passing scores for the grade 10 FCAT. Any such
146	rules, which have the effect of raising the required passing
147	scores, shall only apply to students taking the grade 10 FCAT
148	after such rules are adopted by the State Board of Education.
149	6. Participation in the testing program is mandatory for
150	all students attending public school, including students served
151	in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, except as otherwise
152	prescribed by the commissioner. If a student does not
153	participate in the statewide assessment, the district must
154	notify the student's parent and provide the parent with
155	information regarding the implications of such nonparticipation.
156	If modifications are made in the student's instruction to
157	provide accommodations that would not be permitted on the
158	statewide assessment tests, the district must notify the
159	student's parent of the implications of such instructional
160	modifications. A parent must provide signed consent for a
161	student to receive instructional modifications that would not be
162	permitted on the statewide assessments and must acknowledge in
163	writing that he or she understands the implications of such
164	accommodations. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules,
165	based upon recommendations of the commissioner, for the
166	provision of test accommodations and modifications of procedures
167	as necessary for students in exceptional education programs and
168	for students who have limited English proficiency.
169	Accommodations that negate the validity of a statewide
170	assessment are not allowable.
171	7. A student seeking an adult high school diploma must
172	meet the same testing requirements that a regular high school
173	student must meet.
174	8. District school boards must provide instruction to
175	prepare students to demonstrate proficiency in the skills and
176	competencies necessary for successful grade-to-grade progression
177	and high school graduation. If a student is provided with
178	accommodations or modifications that are not allowable in the
179	statewide assessment program, as described in the test manuals,
180	the district must inform the parent in writing and must provide
181	the parent with information regarding the impact on the
182	student's ability to meet expected proficiency levels in
183	reading, writing, and math. The commissioner shall conduct
184	studies as necessary to verify that the required skills and
185	competencies are part of the district instructional programs.
186	9. The Department of Education must develop, or select,
187	and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
188	used in all juvenile justice programs in the state. These tools
189	must accurately measure the skills and competencies established
190	in the Florida Sunshine State Standards.
191
192	The commissioner may design and implement student testing
193	programs, for any grade level and subject area, necessary to
194	effectively monitor educational achievement in the state.
195	(9) EQUIVALENCIES FOR STANDARDIZED TESTS.--The
196	Commissioner of Education shall determine the comparable
197	validity of other available standardized tests, including the
198	SAT, ACT, College Placement Test, PSAT, PLAN, and tests used for
199	entry into the military. If such tests are deemed to be valid
200	and reliable measures, the commissioner shall approve the use of
201	such tests as alternate assessments to the grade 10 FCAT.
202	Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, students who attain
203	scores that equate to the passing scores on the grade 10 FCAT
204	for purposes of high school graduation on any of the approved
205	alternate assessments shall satisfy the assessment requirement
206	for a standard high school diploma as provided in s.
207	1003.43(5)(a).
208	Section 3. If any law amended by this act was also amended
209	by a law enacted at the 2003 Regular Session of the Legislature
210	or at the 2003 Special Session A of the Legislature, such laws
211	shall be construed as if they had been enacted at the same
212	session of the Legislature, and full effect shall be given to
213	each if possible.
214	Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law
215	and shall apply retroactively with respect to any provision that
216	specifically refers to the 2002-2003 school year.
217