HB 0379

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to student assessment instruments;
3amending s. 1008.23, F.S.; authorizing a student's parent
4and the student to review the questions and the student's
5answers to questions on the criterion-referenced portion
6of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test; providing
7restrictions on the review; requiring the Department of
8Education to honor requests within a certain time period;
9requiring that district school boards notify eligible
10parents; requiring the State Board of Education to adopt
11rules; authorizing reasonable attorney's fees and costs
12under certain circumstances; amending s. 1003.433, F.S.;
13revising requirements for receipt of a standard high
14school diploma for certain transfer students; repealing s.
151008.301, F.S., relating to FCAT equivalency and a
16concordance study by the State Board of Education;
17providing an effective date.
18
19Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21     Section 1.  Section 1008.23, Florida Statutes, is amended
22to read:
23     1008.23  Confidentiality of assessment instruments.--
24     (1)  All examination and assessment instruments, including
25developmental materials and workpapers directly related thereto,
26which are prepared, prescribed, or administered pursuant to ss.
271003.43, 1008.22, and 1008.25 shall be confidential and exempt
28from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and from s. 1001.52.
29Provisions governing access, maintenance, and destruction of
30such instruments and related materials shall be prescribed by
31rules of the State Board of Education.
32     (2)  Notwithstanding subsection (1), a student's parent,
33accompanied by the student, may review, at the school at which
34the student was enrolled when the student was administered the
35Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, the questions on each
36section of the criterion-referenced portion of the Florida
37Comprehensive Assessment Test, as well as the student's answers
38to those questions, under the following conditions:
39     (a)  The student must have failed to earn a passing score
40on the grade 10 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test or failed
41to score at Level 2 or higher on the Florida Comprehensive
42Assessment Test in reading for grade 3.
43     (b)  No recording or copying of the assessment may be made.
44     (c)  A school administrator, as defined in s.
451012.01(3)(c), or a representative of the Department of
46Education must be present at all times when the assessment is
47reviewed.
48     (d)  The student or student's parent may not review the
49assessment more than one time.
50     (e)  No other individual is authorized to attend the
51review.
52     (f)  The assessment was not administered to the student
53more than 2 years before the review.
54     (g)  The student or student's parent may not remove the
55assessment from the reviewing location.
56     (h)  The student, the student's parent, the school
57administrator, or the department representative may not take any
58notes during the review.
59     (i)  The parent must request the review within 14 days
60after receipt of the student's score.
61
62The Department of Education shall provide for review of the
63assessment questions and the student's answers to the questions
64within 30 days after receiving the request for review. Each
65district school board shall notify eligible parents of the
66review option and the procedures for the review. The State Board
67of Education shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and
68120.54 to administer this subsection. If the review request is
69not met in accordance with this subsection, the parent is
70entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred by the
71parent in obtaining compliance with this subsection.
72     Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 1003.433, Florida
73Statutes, is amended to read:
74     1003.433  Learning opportunities for out-of-state and out-
75of-country transfer students and students needing additional
76instruction to meet high school graduation requirements.--
77     (1)  Students who enter a Florida public school at the
78eleventh or twelfth grade from out of state or from a foreign
79country shall not be required to spend additional time in a
80Florida public school in order to meet the high school course
81requirements if the student has met all requirements of the
82school district, state, or country from which he or she is
83transferring. Such students who are not proficient in English
84should receive immediate and intensive instruction in English
85language acquisition. However, to receive a standard high school
86diploma, a transfer student must earn a 2.0 grade point average
87and pass the grade 10 FCAT required in s. 1008.22(3) or an
88alternate assessment as described in s. 1008.22(9). Beginning
89with the 2005-2006 school year, to receive a standard high
90school diploma, a transfer student must earn a 2.0 grade point
91average and pass the grade 10 FCAT required in s. 1008.22(3) if
92the student is an eleventh grade student or earn scores on the
93SAT or the ACT that equate to the passing scores on the grade 10
94FCAT if the student is a twelfth grade student.
95     Section 3.  Section 1008.301, Florida Statutes, is
96repealed.
97     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.


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