HB 0033B 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to high school graduation; amending ss.
3	1003.43 and 1008.22, F.S.; delaying the graduation
4	requirement that students earn passing scores on the grade
5	10 FCAT; providing that certain students who were denied a
6	standard high school diploma during the 2002-2003 school
7	year shall receive such diploma; requiring the Department
8	of Education to study failure rates of certain students on
9	the grade 10 FCAT and develop recommendations and a
10	comprehensive strategy to improve performance on the test;
11	providing for construction of the act in pari materia with
12	laws enacted during the 2003 Regular Session or the 2003
13	Special Session A of the Legislature; providing an
14	effective date.
15
16	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18	Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
19	1003.43, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
20	1003.43 General requirements for high school graduation.--
21	(5) Each district school board shall establish standards
22	for graduation from its schools, and these standards must
23	include:
24	(a) Beginning with students graduating in the 2005-2006
25	school year,earning passing scores on the FCAT, as defined in
26	s. 1008.22(3)(c).
27
28	The standards required in this subsection, and any subsequent
29	modifications, shall be reprinted in the Florida Administrative
30	Code even though not defined as "rules."
31	Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
32	1008.22, Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter 2003-8, Laws of
33	Florida, is amended to read:
34	1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.--
35	(3) STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.--The commissioner shall
36	design and implement a statewide program of educational
37	assessment that provides information for the improvement of the
38	operation and management of the public schools, including
39	schools operating for the purpose of providing educational
40	services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs.
41	Pursuant to the statewide assessment program, the commissioner
42	shall:
43	(c) Develop and implement a student achievement testing
44	program known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
45	(FCAT) as part of the statewide assessment program, to be
46	administered annually in grades 3 through 10 to measure reading,
47	writing, science, and mathematics. Other content areas may be
48	included as directed by the commissioner. The testing program
49	must be designed so that:
50	1. The tests measure student skills and competencies
51	adopted by the State Board of Education as specified in
52	paragraph (a). The tests must measure and report student
53	proficiency levels in reading, writing, mathematics, and
54	science. The commissioner shall provide for the tests to be
55	developed or obtained, as appropriate, through contracts and
56	project agreements with private vendors, public vendors, public
57	agencies, postsecondary educational institutions, or school
58	districts. The commissioner shall obtain input with respect to
59	the design and implementation of the testing program from state
60	educators and the public.
61	2. The testing program will include a combination of norm-
62	referenced and criterion-referenced tests and include, to the
63	extent determined by the commissioner, questions that require
64	the student to produce information or perform tasks in such a
65	way that the skills and competencies he or she uses can be
66	measured.
67	3. Each testing program, whether at the elementary,
68	middle, or high school level, includes a test of writing in
69	which students are required to produce writings that are then
70	scored by appropriate methods.
71	4. A score is designated for each subject area tested,
72	below which score a student's performance is deemed inadequate.
73	The school districts shall provide appropriate remedial
74	instruction to students who score below these levels.
75	5. Beginning with students graduating in the 2005-2006
76	school year,except as provided in s. 1003.43(11)(b), students
77	must earn a passing score on the grade 10 assessment test
78	described in this paragraph in reading, writing, and mathematics
79	to qualify for a regular high school diploma. The State Board of
80	Education shall designate a passing score for each part of the
81	grade 10 assessment test. In establishing passing scores, the
82	state board shall consider any possible negative impact of the
83	test on minority students. All students who took the grade 10
84	FCAT during the 2000-2001 school year shall be required to earn
85	the passing scores in reading and mathematics established by the
86	State Board of Education for the March 2001 test administration.
87	Such students who did not earn the established passing scores
88	and must repeat the grade 10 FCAT are required to earn the
89	passing scores established for the March 2001 test
90	administration. All students who take the grade 10 FCAT for the
91	first time in March 2002 and thereafter shall be required to
92	earn the passing scores in reading and mathematics established
93	by the State Board of Education for the March 2002 test
94	administration.The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
95	which specify the passing scores for the grade 10 FCAT. Any such
96	rules, which have the effect of raising the required passing
97	scores, shall only apply to students taking the grade 10 FCAT
98	after such rules are adopted by the State Board of Education.
99	6. Participation in the testing program is mandatory for
100	all students attending public school, including students served
101	in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, except as otherwise
102	prescribed by the commissioner. If a student does not
103	participate in the statewide assessment, the district must
104	notify the student's parent and provide the parent with
105	information regarding the implications of such nonparticipation.
106	If modifications are made in the student's instruction to
107	provide accommodations that would not be permitted on the
108	statewide assessment tests, the district must notify the
109	student's parent of the implications of such instructional
110	modifications. A parent must provide signed consent for a
111	student to receive instructional modifications that would not be
112	permitted on the statewide assessments and must acknowledge in
113	writing that he or she understands the implications of such
114	accommodations. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules,
115	based upon recommendations of the commissioner, for the
116	provision of test accommodations and modifications of procedures
117	as necessary for students in exceptional education programs and
118	for students who have limited English proficiency.
119	Accommodations that negate the validity of a statewide
120	assessment are not allowable.
121	7. A student seeking an adult high school diploma must
122	meet the same testing requirements that a regular high school
123	student must meet.
124	8. District school boards must provide instruction to
125	prepare students to demonstrate proficiency in the skills and
126	competencies necessary for successful grade-to-grade progression
127	and high school graduation. If a student is provided with
128	accommodations or modifications that are not allowable in the
129	statewide assessment program, as described in the test manuals,
130	the district must inform the parent in writing and must provide
131	the parent with information regarding the impact on the
132	student's ability to meet expected proficiency levels in
133	reading, writing, and math. The commissioner shall conduct
134	studies as necessary to verify that the required skills and
135	competencies are part of the district instructional programs.
136	9. The Department of Education must develop, or select,
137	and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
138	used in all juvenile justice programs in the state. These tools
139	must accurately measure the skills and competencies established
140	in the Florida Sunshine State Standards.
141
142	The commissioner may design and implement student testing
143	programs, for any grade level and subject area, necessary to
144	effectively monitor educational achievement in the state.
145	Section 3. Any twelfth grade student who was denied a
146	standard high school diploma during the 2002-2003 school year
147	based solely on his or her inability to achieve the passing
148	scores established by the State Board of Education for the grade
149	10 FCAT shall receive a standard high school diploma.
150	Section 4. The Department of Education shall study the
151	failure rates on the grade 10 FCAT of minority students,
152	students with disabilities, and students with limited English
153	proficiency and develop policy recommendations and a
154	comprehensive strategy to be implemented beginning with the
155	2003-2004 school year to improve the passing rates of such
156	students on the grade 10 FCAT.
157	Section 5. If any law amended by this act was also amended
158	by a law enacted at the 2003 Regular Session of the Legislature
159	or at the 2003 Special Session A of the Legislature, such laws
160	shall be construed as if they had been enacted at the same
161	session of the Legislature, and full effect shall be given to
162	each if possible.
163	Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.