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