Senate Bill sb0160

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 160

    By Senator Siplin





    19-80-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to student assessment

  3         instruments; amending s. 1008.23, F.S.;

  4         authorizing a student's parent and the

  5         accompanying student to review the questions

  6         and the student's answers to those questions on

  7         the criterion-referenced portion of the Florida

  8         Comprehensive Assessment Test; providing

  9         restrictions on the review; requiring the

10         Department of Education to honor the requests

11         within a certain time period; requiring that

12         district school boards notify eligible parents;

13         requiring the State Board of Education to adopt

14         rules; authorizing reasonable attorney's fees

15         and costs under certain circumstances; amending

16         s. 1003.433, F.S.; allowing passage of

17         alternative assessments in lieu of the grade 10

18         FCAT for certain transfer students subject to

19         certain conditions beginning in the 2005-2006

20         school year; repealing s. 1008.301, F.S.,

21         relating to concordance studies by the State

22         Board of Education; providing for

23         applicability; providing effective dates.

24  

25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

26  

27         Section 1.  Section 1008.23, Florida Statutes, is

28  amended to read:

29         1008.23  Confidentiality of assessment instruments.--

30         (1)  All examination and assessment instruments,

31  including developmental materials and workpapers directly

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 160
    19-80-05




 1  related thereto, which are prepared, prescribed, or

 2  administered pursuant to ss. 1003.43, 1008.22, and 1008.25

 3  shall be confidential and exempt from the provisions of s.

 4  119.07(1) and from s. 1001.52. Provisions governing access,

 5  maintenance, and destruction of such instruments and related

 6  materials shall be prescribed by rules of the State Board of

 7  Education.

 8         (2)  Notwithstanding subsection (1), a student's

 9  parent, accompanied by the student, may review, at the

10  student's school at which the student was enrolled when the

11  student was administered the Florida Comprehensive Assessment

12  Test, the questions on each section of the

13  criterion-referenced portion of the Florida Comprehensive

14  Assessment Test, as well as the student's answers to those

15  questions, under the following conditions:

16         (a)  The student must have failed to earn a passing

17  score on the grade 10 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test or

18  failed to score at Level 2 or higher on the Florida

19  Comprehensive Assessment Test in reading for grade 3.

20         (b)  No recording or copying of the assessment may be

21  made.

22         (c)  A school administrator, as defined in s.

23  1012.01(3)(c), or a representative of the Department of

24  Education must be present at all times when the assessment is

25  reviewed.

26         (d)  The student or student's parent may not review the

27  assessment more than one time.

28         (e)  No other individual is authorized to attend the

29  review.

30         (f)  The assessment was not administered to the student

31  more than 2 years before the review.

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 160
    19-80-05




 1         (g)  The student or student's parent may not remove the

 2  assessment from the reviewing location.

 3         (h)  The student, the student's parent, or the school

 4  administrator may not take any notes during the review.

 5         (i)  The parent requests the review subsequent to the

 6  determination of the student's score and within 14 days

 7  following the determination of the student's score.

 8  

 9  The Department of Education shall ensure that the assessment

10  questions and the student's answers are provided for the

11  requested review within 30 days following the complete scoring

12  of the assessment upon proper request by the parent. Each

13  district school board shall notify eligible parents of the

14  review option and the procedures for the review. The State

15  Board of Education shall adopt rules pursuant to ss.

16  120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this subsection. If the

17  review request is not met in accordance with this subsection,

18  the parent is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs

19  incurred by the parent in obtaining compliance with this

20  subsection.

21         Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 1003.433, Florida

22  Statutes, is amended to read:

23         1003.433  Learning opportunities for out-of-state and

24  out-of-country transfer students and students needing

25  additional instruction to meet high school graduation

26  requirements.--

27         (1)  Students who enter a Florida public school at the

28  eleventh or twelfth grade from out of state or from a foreign

29  country shall not be required to spend additional time in a

30  Florida public school in order to meet the high school course

31  requirements if the student has met all requirements of the

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 160
    19-80-05




 1  school district, state, or country from which he or she is

 2  transferring. Such students who are not proficient in English

 3  should receive immediate and intensive instruction in English

 4  language acquisition. However, to receive a standard high

 5  school diploma, a transfer student must:

 6         (a)  Earn a 2.0 grade point average; and

 7         (b)  Pass the grade 10 FCAT required in s. 1008.22(3),

 8  if the student is an eleventh grade student; or

 9         (c)  Beginning in the 2005-2006 school year, attain

10  scores on the SAT or ACT which equate to the passing scores on

11  the grade 10 FCAT, if the student is a twelfth grade student

12  an alternate assessment as described in s. 1008.22(9).

13         Section 3.  Section 1008.301, Florida Statutes, is

14  repealed.

15         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

16  law, except that section 1 of this act shall take effect July

17  1, 2005, and shall apply to each Florida Comprehensive

18  Assessment Test administered after July 1, 2005.

19  

20            *****************************************

21                          SENATE SUMMARY

22    Authorizes a student's parent and the accompanying
      student to review the questions and the student's answers
23    to those questions on the criterion-referenced portion of
      the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Provides
24    restrictions on the review. Requires the Department of
      Education to honor such requests within a certain period
25    of time. Requires that district school boards notify
      eligible parents. Requires the State Board of Education
26    to adopt rules. Authorizes reasonable attorney's fees and
      costs in certain circumstances. Allows certain transfer
27    students to pass alternative assessment instruments in
      lieu of passing the grade-10 FCAT.
28  

29  

30  

31  

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