HB 0901

1	CHAMBER ACTION
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6	The Committee on Education K-20 recommends the following:
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8	Committee Substitute
9	Remove the entire bill and insert:
10	A bill to be entitled
11	An act relating to public school educational instruction;
12	creating s. 1003.415, F.S.; providing the popular name the
13	"Middle Grades Reform Act"; providing purpose and intent;
14	defining the term "middle grades"; requiring a review and
15	recommendations relating to curricula and courses;
16	requiring implementation of new or revised reading and
17	language arts courses; providing for implementation of a
18	rigorous reading requirement in certain schools; requiring
19	a study of the academic performance of middle grade
20	students and schools with recommendations for an increase
21	in performance; requiring a personalized middle school
22	success plan for certain students; providing authority for
23	State Board of Education rulemaking and enforcement;
24	amending s. 1001.42, F.S.; requiring a school improvement
25	plan to include the rigorous reading requirement if
26	applicable; amending s. 1008.25, F.S.; requiring a
27	personalized middle school success plan to be incorporated
28	in a student's academic improvement plan if applicable;
29	amending s. 1012.34, F.S.; revising assessment criteria
30	for instructional personnel; providing an effective date.
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32	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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34	Section 1.  Section 1003.415, Florida Statutes, is created
35	to read:
36	1003.415  The Middle Grades Reform Act.--
37	(1)  POPULAR NAME.--This section shall be known by the
38	popular name the "Middle Grades Reform Act."
39	(2)  PURPOSE AND INTENT.--The purpose of this section is to
40	provide added focus and rigor to academics in the middle grades.
41	Using reading as the foundation, all middle grade students
42	should receive rigorous academic instruction through challenging
43	curricula delivered by highly qualified teachers in schools with
44	outstanding leadership, which schools are supported by engaged
45	and informed parents. It is the intent of the Legislature that
46	students promoted from the eighth grade will be ready for
47	success in high school.
48	(3)  DEFINITION.--As used in this section, the term "middle
49	grades" means grades 6, 7, and 8.
50	(4)  CURRICULA AND COURSES.--The Department of Education
51	shall review course offerings, teacher qualifications,
52	instructional materials, and teaching practices used in reading
53	and language arts programs in the middle grades. The department
54	must consult with the Florida Center for Reading Research at
55	Florida State University, the Just Read, Florida! Office,
56	reading researchers, reading specialists, and district
57	supervisors of curriculum in the development of findings and
58	recommendations. The Commissioner of Education shall make
59	recommendations to the State Board of Education regarding
60	changes to reading and language arts curricula in the middle
61	grades based on research-based proven effective programs. The
62	State Board of Education shall adopt rules based upon the
63	commissioner's recommendations no later than March 1, 2005.
64	Implementation of new or revised reading and language arts
65	courses in all middle grades shall be phased in beginning no
66	later than the 2005-2006 school year with completion no later
67	than the 2008-2009 school year.
68	(5)  RIGOROUS READING REQUIREMENT.--
69	(a)  Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, each public
70	school serving middle grade students, including charter schools,
71	with fewer than 75 percent of its students reading at or above
72	grade level in grade 6, grade 7, or grade 8 as measured by a
73	student scoring at Level 3 or above on the FCAT during the prior
74	school year, must incorporate by October 1 a rigorous reading
75	requirement for reading and language arts programs as the
76	primary component of its school improvement plan. The department
77	shall annually provide to each district school board by June 30
78	a list of its schools that are required to incorporate a
79	rigorous reading requirement as the primary component of the
80	school's improvement plan.
81	(b)  The purpose of the rigorous reading requirement is to
82	assist each student who is not reading at or above grade level
83	to do so before entering high school. The rigorous reading
84	requirement must include for a middle school's low-performing
85	student population specific areas that address phonemic
86	awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary; the
87	desired levels of performance in those areas; and the
88	instructional and support services to be provided to meet the
89	desired levels of performance. The school shall utilize
90	research-based reading activities that have been shown to be
91	successful in teaching reading to low-performing students.
92	(c)  Schools required to implement the rigorous reading
93	requirement must provide quarterly reports to the district
94	school superintendent on the progress of students toward
95	increased reading achievement.
96	(d)  The results of implementation of a school's rigorous
97	reading requirement shall be used as part of the annual
98	evaluation of the school's instructional personnel and school
99	administrators as required in s. 1012.34.
100	(6)  COMPREHENSIVE REFORM STUDY ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
101	OF STUDENTS AND SCHOOLS.--
102	(a)  The department shall conduct a study on how the
103	overall academic performance of middle grade students and
104	schools can be improved. The department must consult with the
105	Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University,
106	the Just Read, Florida! Office, and key education stakeholders,
107	including district school board members, district school
108	superintendents, principals, parents, teachers, district
109	supervisors of curriculum, and students across the state, in the
110	development of its findings and recommendations. The department
111	shall review, at a minimum, each of the following elements:
112	1.  Academic expectations, which include, but are not
113	limited to:
114	a.  Alignment of middle school expectations with elementary
115	and high school graduation requirements.
116	b.  Best practices to improve reading and language arts
117	courses based on research-based programs for middle school
118	students in alignment with the Sunshine State Standards.
119	c.  Strategies that focus on improving academic success for
120	low?performing students.
121	d.  Rigor of curricula and courses.
122	e.  Instructional materials.
123	f.  Course enrollment by middle school students.
124	g.  Student support services.
125	h.  Measurement and reporting of student achievement.
126	2.  Attendance policies and student mobility issues.
127	3.  Teacher quality, which includes, but is not limited to:
128	a.  Preparedness of teachers to teach rigorous courses to
129	middle school students.
130	b.  Teacher evaluations.
131	c.  Substitute teachers.
132	d.  Certification and recertification requirements.
133	e.  Staff development requirements.
134	f.  Availability of effective staff development training.
135	g.  Options to remove ineffective teachers.
136	h.  Teacher recruitment and vacancy issues.
137	i.  Federal requirements for highly qualified teachers
138	pursuant to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
139	4.  Identification and availability of diagnostic testing.
140	5.  Availability of personnel and scheduling issues.
141	6.  Middle school leadership.
142	7.  Parental and community involvement.
143	(b)  By December 1, 2004, the Commissioner of Education
144	shall submit to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
145	House of Representatives, the chairs of the education committees
146	in the Senate and the House of Representatives, and the State
147	Board of Education recommendations to increase the academic
148	performance of middle grade students and schools.
149	(7)  PERSONALIZED MIDDLE SCHOOL SUCCESS PLAN.--
150	(a)  Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, each
151	principal of a school with a middle grade shall designate
152	certified staff members at the school to develop and administer
153	a personalized middle school success plan for each entering
154	sixth grade student who scored below Level 3 in reading on the
155	most recently administered FCAT. The purpose of the success plan
156	is to assist the student in meeting state and school district
157	expectations in academic proficiency and to prepare the student
158	for a rigorous high school curriculum. The success plan shall be
159	developed in collaboration with the student and his or her
160	parent and must be implemented until the student completes the
161	eighth grade. The success plan must minimize paperwork and may
162	be incorporated into a parent/teacher conference, included as
163	part of a progress report or report card, included as part of a
164	general orientation at the beginning of the school year, or
165	provided by electronic mail or other written correspondence.
166	(b)  The personalized middle school success plan must:
167	1.  Identify educational goals and intermediate benchmarks
168	for the student in the core curriculum areas which will prepare
169	the student for high school.
170	2.  Be based upon academic performance data and an
171	identification of the student's strengths and weaknesses.
172	3.  Include academic intervention strategies with frequent
173	progress monitoring.
174	4.  Provide innovative methods to promote the student's

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.