| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to student assessment; amending s. |
| 3 | 1008.22, F.S.; requiring the Department of Education to |
| 4 | conduct a concordance study to identify alternative |
| 5 | examinations for the grade 10 FCAT for certain students |
| 6 | with limited English proficiency; requiring approval of |
| 7 | such examinations by the Commissioner of Education; |
| 8 | providing student eligibility requirements; providing for |
| 9 | satisfaction of the assessment requirement for high school |
| 10 | graduation; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Subsection (9) of section 1008.22, Florida |
| 15 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 16 | 1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.-- |
| 17 | (9) EQUIVALENCIES FOR STANDARDIZED TESTS.-- |
| 18 | (a)1. The Commissioner of Education shall approve the use |
| 19 | of the SAT and ACT tests as alternative assessments to the grade |
| 20 | 10 FCAT for the 2003-2004 school year. Students who attain |
| 21 | scores on the SAT or ACT which equate to the passing scores on |
| 22 | the grade 10 FCAT for purposes of high school graduation shall |
| 23 | satisfy the assessment requirement for a standard high school |
| 24 | diploma as provided in s. 1003.429(6)(a) or s. 1003.43(5)(a) for |
| 25 | the 2003-2004 school year if the students meet the requirement |
| 26 | in subparagraph 2. paragraph (b). |
| 27 | 2.(b) A student shall be required to take the grade 10 |
| 28 | FCAT a total of three times without earning a passing score in |
| 29 | order to use the scores on an alternative assessment pursuant to |
| 30 | subparagraph 1. paragraph (a). This requirement shall not apply |
| 31 | to a student who is a new student to the public school system in |
| 32 | grade 12. |
| 33 | (b) The Department of Education shall conduct a |
| 34 | concordance study to identify, and the Commissioner of Education |
| 35 | shall approve the use of, alternative examinations for the grade |
| 36 | 10 FCAT that exist for major non-English-speaking subgroups in |
| 37 | the state's high school student population. To be eligible to |
| 38 | take an alternative examination in his or her native language |
| 39 | pursuant to this paragraph, a limited English proficient student |
| 40 | must have been enrolled in an ESOL program for fewer than 3 |
| 41 | years and not have passed the grade 10 FCAT by the end of grade |
| 42 | 12. Students who attain scores on an alternative examination |
| 43 | pursuant to this paragraph which equate to the passing scores on |
| 44 | the grade 10 FCAT for purposes of high school graduation shall |
| 45 | satisfy the assessment requirement for a standard high school |
| 46 | diploma as provided in s. 1003.43(5)(a). |
| 47 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |