| 1 | The PreK-12 Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to public K-12 educational instruction; |
| 7 | amending s. 1003.42, F.S.; revising provisions relating to |
| 8 | required instruction and courses of study in the public |
| 9 | schools; including study of the history of the United |
| 10 | States and free enterprise; requiring standards and |
| 11 | assessments adopted by the State Board of Education to |
| 12 | conform to requirements for instruction; providing |
| 13 | requirements for teaching the history of the United States |
| 14 | at certain grade levels; amending s. 1003.43, F.S., |
| 15 | relating to general requirements for high school |
| 16 | graduation; including study of the Declaration of |
| 17 | Independence in the credit requirement for American |
| 18 | government; amending s. 1002.20, F.S.; correcting a cross |
| 19 | reference; providing an effective date. |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Section 1. Section 1003.42, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 24 | to read: |
| 25 | 1003.42 Required instruction.-- |
| 26 | (1) Each district school board shall provide all courses |
| 27 | required for high school graduation and appropriate instruction |
| 28 | designed to ensure that students meet State Board of Education |
| 29 | adopted standards in the following subject areas: reading and |
| 30 | other language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, |
| 31 | foreign languages, health and physical education, and the arts. |
| 32 | (2) All members of the instructional staff of the public |
| 33 | schools, subject to the rules of the State Board of Education |
| 34 | and the district school board, shall teach efficiently and |
| 35 | faithfully, using the books and materials required that meet the |
| 36 | highest standards for professionalism and historic accuracy, |
| 37 | following the prescribed courses of study, and employing |
| 38 | approved methods of instruction, the following: |
| 39 | (a) The history and content of the Declaration of |
| 40 | Independence as written, including national sovereignty, natural |
| 41 | law, self-evident truth, equality of all persons, limited |
| 42 | government, popular sovereignty, and God-given, inalienable |
| 43 | rights of life, liberty, and property, and how it forms the |
| 44 | philosophical foundation of our government. |
| 45 | (b) The history, meaning, significance, and effect of the |
| 46 | provisions of the Constitution of the United States and |
| 47 | amendments thereto with emphasis on each of the 10 amendments |
| 48 | that make up the Bill of Rights and how the constitution |
| 49 | provides the structure of our government. |
| 50 | (c) The history of the state and the State Constitution. |
| 51 | (d)(b) The most important arguments in support of adopting |
| 52 | our republican form of government, as they are embodied in the |
| 53 | most important of the Federalist Papers. |
| 54 | (c) The essentials of the United States Constitution and |
| 55 | how it provides the structure of our government. |
| 56 | (e)(d) Flag education, including proper flag display and |
| 57 | flag salute. |
| 58 | (f)(e) The elements of United States civil government, |
| 59 | including the primary functions of and interrelationships |
| 60 | between the Federal Government, the state, and its counties, |
| 61 | municipalities, school districts, and special districts. |
| 62 | (g) The history of the United States, including the period |
| 63 | of discovery, early colonies, the War for Independence, the |
| 64 | Civil War, the expansion of the United States to its present |
| 65 | boundaries, the world wars, and the civil rights movement to the |
| 66 | present. The history of the United States shall be taught as |
| 67 | genuine history and shall not follow the revisionist or |
| 68 | postmodernist viewpoints of relative truth. American history |
| 69 | shall be viewed as factual, not as constructed, shall be viewed |
| 70 | as knowable, teachable, and testable, and shall be defined as |
| 71 | the creation of a new nation based largely on the universal |
| 72 | principles stated in the Declaration of Independence. |
| 73 | (h)(f) The history of the Holocaust (1933-1945), the |
| 74 | systematic, planned annihilation of European Jews and other |
| 75 | groups by Nazi Germany, a watershed event in the history of |
| 76 | humanity, to be taught in a manner that leads to an |
| 77 | investigation of human behavior, an understanding of the |
| 78 | ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping, and an |
| 79 | examination of what it means to be a responsible and respectful |
| 80 | person, for the purposes of encouraging tolerance of diversity |
| 81 | in a pluralistic society and for nurturing and protecting |
| 82 | democratic values and institutions. |
| 83 | (i)(g) The history of African Americans, including the |
| 84 | history of African peoples before the political conflicts that |
| 85 | led to the development of slavery, the passage to America, the |
| 86 | enslavement experience, abolition, and the contributions of |
| 87 | African Americans to society. |
| 88 | (j)(h) The elementary principles of agriculture. |
| 89 | (k)(i) The true effects of all alcoholic and intoxicating |
| 90 | liquors and beverages and narcotics upon the human body and |
| 91 | mind. |
| 92 | (l)(j) Kindness to animals. |
| 93 | (k) The history of the state. |
| 94 | (m)(l) The conservation of natural resources. |
| 95 | (n)(m) Comprehensive health education that addresses |
| 96 | concepts of community health; consumer health; environmental |
| 97 | health; family life, including an awareness of the benefits of |
| 98 | sexual abstinence as the expected standard and the consequences |
| 99 | of teenage pregnancy; mental and emotional health; injury |
| 100 | prevention and safety; nutrition; personal health; prevention |
| 101 | and control of disease; and substance use and abuse. |
| 102 | (o)(n) Such additional materials, subjects, courses, or |
| 103 | fields in such grades as are prescribed by law or by rules of |
| 104 | the State Board of Education and the district school board in |
| 105 | fulfilling the requirements of law. |
| 106 | (p)(o) The study of Hispanic contributions to the United |
| 107 | States. |
| 108 | (q)(p) The study of women's contributions to the United |
| 109 | States. |
| 110 | (r) The nature and importance of free enterprise to the |
| 111 | United States economy. |
| 112 | (s)(q) A character-development program in the elementary |
| 113 | schools, similar to Character First or Character Counts, which |
| 114 | is secular in nature and stresses such character qualities as |
| 115 | attentiveness, patience, and initiative. Beginning in school |
| 116 | year 2004-2005, the character-development program shall be |
| 117 | required in kindergarten through grade 12. Each district school |
| 118 | board shall develop or adopt a curriculum for the character- |
| 119 | development program that shall be submitted to the department |
| 120 | for approval. The character-development curriculum shall stress |
| 121 | the qualities of patriotism;, responsibility;, citizenship; the |
| 122 | Golden Rule;, kindness;, respect for authority, human life, |
| 123 | liberty, and personal property;, honesty; charity;, self- |
| 124 | control;, racial, ethnic, and religious tolerance;, and |
| 125 | cooperation. |
| 126 | (t)(r) In order to encourage patriotism, the sacrifices |
| 127 | that veterans have made in serving our country and protecting |
| 128 | democratic values worldwide. Such instruction must occur on or |
| 129 | before Veterans' Day and Memorial Day. Members of the |
| 130 | instructional staff are encouraged to use the assistance of |
| 131 | local veterans when practicable. |
| 132 |
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| 133 | Standards and assessments adopted by the State Board of |
| 134 | Education shall be based on, and conform to, the requirements of |
| 135 | this subsection. |
| 136 | (3) Each district school board shall require that United |
| 137 | States history, including the provisions of paragraphs (2)(a)- |
| 138 | (g), be taught in at least two grade levels in elementary |
| 139 | school, two grade levels in middle school, and two grade levels |
| 140 | in high school. |
| 141 | (4)(3) Any student whose parent makes written request to |
| 142 | the school principal shall be exempted from the teaching of |
| 143 | reproductive health or any disease, including HIV/AIDS, its |
| 144 | symptoms, development, and treatment. A student so exempted may |
| 145 | not be penalized by reason of that exemption. Course |
| 146 | descriptions for comprehensive health education shall not |
| 147 | interfere with the local determination of appropriate curriculum |
| 148 | which reflects local values and concerns. |
| 149 | Section 2. Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of section |
| 150 | 1003.43, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 151 | 1003.43 General requirements for high school graduation.-- |
| 152 | (1) Graduation requires successful completion of either a |
| 153 | minimum of 24 academic credits in grades 9 through 12 or an |
| 154 | International Baccalaureate curriculum. The 24 credits shall be |
| 155 | distributed as follows: |
| 156 | (g) One-half credit in American government, including |
| 157 | study of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of |
| 158 | the United States. For students entering the 9th grade in the |
| 159 | 1997-1998 school year and thereafter, the study of Florida |
| 160 | government, including study of the State Constitution, the three |
| 161 | branches of state government, and municipal and county |
| 162 | government, shall be included as part of the required study of |
| 163 | American government. |
| 164 |
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| 165 | District school boards may award a maximum of one-half credit in |
| 166 | social studies and one-half elective credit for student |
| 167 | completion of nonpaid voluntary community or school service |
| 168 | work. Students choosing this option must complete a minimum of |
| 169 | 75 hours of service in order to earn the one-half credit in |
| 170 | either category of instruction. Credit may not be earned for |
| 171 | service provided as a result of court action. District school |
| 172 | boards that approve the award of credit for student volunteer |
| 173 | service shall develop guidelines regarding the award of the |
| 174 | credit, and school principals are responsible for approving |
| 175 | specific volunteer activities. A course designated in the Course |
| 176 | Code Directory as grade 9 through grade 12 that is taken below |
| 177 | the 9th grade may be used to satisfy high school graduation |
| 178 | requirements or Florida Academic Scholars award requirements as |
| 179 | specified in a district school board's student progression plan. |
| 180 | A student shall be granted credit toward meeting the |
| 181 | requirements of this subsection for equivalent courses, as |
| 182 | identified pursuant to s. 1007.271(6), taken through dual |
| 183 | enrollment. |
| 184 | Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section |
| 185 | 1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 186 | 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.--Parents of public |
| 187 | school students must receive accurate and timely information |
| 188 | regarding their child's academic progress and must be informed |
| 189 | of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12 |
| 190 | students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory |
| 191 | rights including, but not limited to, the following: |
| 192 | (3) HEALTH ISSUES.-- |
| 193 | (d) Reproductive health and disease education.--A public |
| 194 | school student whose parent makes written request to the school |
| 195 | principal shall be exempted from the teaching of reproductive |
| 196 | health or any disease, including HIV/AIDS, in accordance with |
| 197 | the provisions of s. 1003.42(4)(3). |
| 198 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |