HB 0023B, Engrossed 2 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; providing for
17	legislative review; providing for retroactive application;
18	providing for construction of the act in pari materia with
19	laws enacted during the 2003 Regular Session or the 2003
20	Special Session A of the Legislature; providing an
21	effective date.
22
23	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25	Section 1. Section 1003.433, Florida Statutes, is created
26	to read:
27	1003.433 Learning opportunities for out-of-state and out-
28	of-country transfer students and students needing additional
29	instruction to meet high school graduation requirements.--
30	(1) Students who enter a Florida public school at the
31	eleventh or twelfth grade from out of state or from a foreign
32	country shall not be required to spend additional time in a
33	Florida public school in order to meet the high school course
34	requirements if the student has met all requirements of the
35	school district, state, or country from which he or she is
36	transferring. Such students who are not proficient in English
37	should receive immediate and intensive instruction in English
38	language acquisition. However, to receive a standard high school
39	diploma, a transfer student must earn a 2.0 grade point average
40	and pass the grade 10 FCAT required in s. 1008.22(3) or an
41	alternate assessment as described in s. 1008.22(9).
42	(2) Students who have met all requirements for the
43	standard high school diploma except for passage of the grade 10
44	FCAT or an alternate assessment by the end of grade 12 must be
45	provided the following learning opportunities:
46	(a) Participation in an accelerated high school
47	equivalency diploma preparation program during the summer.
48	(b) Upon receipt of a certificate of completion, be
49	allowed to take the College Placement Test and be admitted to
50	remedial or credit courses at a state community college, as
51	appropriate.
52	(c) Participation in an adult general education program as
53	provided in s. 1004.93 for such time as the student requires to
54	master English, reading, mathematics, or any other subject
55	required for high school graduation. Students attending adult
56	basic, adult secondary, or vocational-preparatory instruction
57	are exempt from any requirement for the payment of tuition and
58	fees, including lab fees, pursuant to s. 1009.25. A student
59	attending an adult general education program shall have the
60	opportunity to take the grade 10 FCAT an unlimited number of
61	times in order to receive a standard high school diploma.
62	(3) Students who have been enrolled in an ESOL program for
63	less than 2 school years and have met all requirements for the
64	standard high school diploma except for passage of the grade 10
65	FCAT or alternate assessment may receive immersion English
66	language instruction during the summer following their senior
67	year. Students receiving such instruction are eligible to take
68	the FCAT or alternate assessment and receive a standard high
69	school diploma upon passage of the grade 10 FCAT or the
70	alternate assessment. This subsection shall be implemented to
71	the extent funding is provided in the General Appropriations
72	Act.
73	(4) The district school superintendent shall be responsible
74	for notifying all students of the consequences of failure to
75	receive a standard high school diploma, including the potential
76	ineligibility for financial assistance at postsecondary
77	educational institutions.
78	(5) The State Board of Education may adopt rules pursuant
79	to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section.
80	Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
81	1008.22, Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter 2003-8, Laws of
82	Florida, is amended, subsection (9) is renumbered as subsection
83	(10), and a new subsection (9) is added to said section, to
84	read:
85	1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.--
86	(3) STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.--The commissioner shall
87	design and implement a statewide program of educational
88	assessment that provides information for the improvement of the
89	operation and management of the public schools, including
90	schools operating for the purpose of providing educational
91	services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs.
92	Pursuant to the statewide assessment program, the commissioner
93	shall:
94	(c) Develop and implement a student achievement testing
95	program known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
96	(FCAT) as part of the statewide assessment program, to be
97	administered annually in grades 3 through 10 to measure reading,
98	writing, science, and mathematics. Other content areas may be
99	included as directed by the commissioner. The testing program
100	must be designed so that:
101	1. The tests measure student skills and competencies
102	adopted by the State Board of Education as specified in
103	paragraph (a). The tests must measure and report student
104	proficiency levels in reading, writing, mathematics, and
105	science. The commissioner shall provide for the tests to be
106	developed or obtained, as appropriate, through contracts and
107	project agreements with private vendors, public vendors, public
108	agencies, postsecondary educational institutions, or school
109	districts. The commissioner shall obtain input with respect to
110	the design and implementation of the testing program from state
111	educators and the public.
112	2. The testing program will include a combination of norm-
113	referenced and criterion-referenced tests and include, to the
114	extent determined by the commissioner, questions that require
115	the student to produce information or perform tasks in such a
116	way that the skills and competencies he or she uses can be
117	measured.
118	3. Each testing program, whether at the elementary,
119	middle, or high school level, includes a test of writing in
120	which students are required to produce writings that are then
121	scored by appropriate methods.
122	4. A score is designated for each subject area tested,
123	below which score a student's performance is deemed inadequate.
124	The school districts shall provide appropriate remedial
125	instruction to students who score below these levels.
126	5. Except as provided in s. 1003.43(11)(b), students must
127	earn a passing score on the grade 10 assessment test described
128	in this paragraph or on an alternate assessment as described in
129	subsection (9)in reading, writing, and mathematics to qualify
130	for a regular high school diploma. The State Board of Education
131	shall designate a passing score for each part of the grade 10
132	assessment test. In establishing passing scores, the state board
133	shall consider any possible negative impact of the test on
134	minority students. All students who took the grade 10 FCAT
135	during the 2000-2001 school year shall be required to earn the
136	passing scores in reading and mathematics established by the
137	State Board of Education for the March 2001 test administration.
138	Such students who did not earn the established passing scores
139	and must repeat the grade 10 FCAT are required to earn the
140	passing scores established for the March 2001 test
141	administration. All students who take the grade 10 FCAT for the
142	first time in March 2002 and thereafter shall be required to
143	earn the passing scores in reading and mathematics established
144	by the State Board of Education for the March 2002 test
145	administration. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
146	which specify the passing scores for the grade 10 FCAT. Any such
147	rules, which have the effect of raising the required passing
148	scores, shall only apply to students taking the grade 10 FCAT
149	after such rules are adopted by the State Board of Education.
150	6. Participation in the testing program is mandatory for
151	all students attending public school, including students served
152	in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, except as otherwise
153	prescribed by the commissioner. If a student does not
154	participate in the statewide assessment, the district must
155	notify the student's parent and provide the parent with
156	information regarding the implications of such nonparticipation.
157	If modifications are made in the student's instruction to
158	provide accommodations that would not be permitted on the
159	statewide assessment tests, the district must notify the
160	student's parent of the implications of such instructional
161	modifications. A parent must provide signed consent for a
162	student to receive instructional modifications that would not be
163	permitted on the statewide assessments and must acknowledge in
164	writing that he or she understands the implications of such
165	accommodations. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules,
166	based upon recommendations of the commissioner, for the
167	provision of test accommodations and modifications of procedures
168	as necessary for students in exceptional education programs and
169	for students who have limited English proficiency.
170	Accommodations that negate the validity of a statewide
171	assessment are not allowable.
172	7. A student seeking an adult high school diploma must
173	meet the same testing requirements that a regular high school
174	student must meet.
175	8. District school boards must provide instruction to
176	prepare students to demonstrate proficiency in the skills and
177	competencies necessary for successful grade-to-grade progression
178	and high school graduation. If a student is provided with
179	accommodations or modifications that are not allowable in the
180	statewide assessment program, as described in the test manuals,
181	the district must inform the parent in writing and must provide
182	the parent with information regarding the impact on the
183	student's ability to meet expected proficiency levels in
184	reading, writing, and math. The commissioner shall conduct
185	studies as necessary to verify that the required skills and
186	competencies are part of the district instructional programs.
187	9. The Department of Education must develop, or select,
188	and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
189	used in all juvenile justice programs in the state. These tools
190	must accurately measure the skills and competencies established
191	in the Florida Sunshine State Standards.
192
193	The commissioner may design and implement student testing
194	programs, for any grade level and subject area, necessary to
195	effectively monitor educational achievement in the state.
196	(9) EQUIVALENCIES FOR STANDARDIZED TESTS.--The
197	Commissioner of Education shall determine the comparable
198	validity of other available standardized tests, including the
199	SAT, ACT, College Placement Test, PSAT, PLAN, and tests used for
200	entry into the military. If such tests are deemed to be valid
201	and reliable measures, the commissioner shall approve the use of
202	such tests as alternate assessments to the grade 10 FCAT for the
203	2002-2003 school year. Students who attain scores that equate to
204	the passing scores on the grade 10 FCAT for purposes of high
205	school graduation on any of the approved alternative assessments
206	shall satisfy the assessment requirement for a standard high
207	school diploma as provided in s. 1003.43(5)(a) for the 2002-2003
208	school year graduating class. Prior to the application of these
209	alternative assessments in subsequent school years, the
210	Legislature shall review the continued use of these alternative
211	tests.
212	Section 3. If any law amended by this act was also amended
213	by a law enacted at the 2003 Regular Session of the Legislature
214	or at the 2003 Special Session A of the Legislature, such laws
215	shall be construed as if they had been enacted at the same
216	session of the Legislature, and full effect shall be given to
217	each if possible.
218	Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law
219	and shall apply retroactively with respect to any provision that
220	specifically refers to the 2002-2003 school year.
221