| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public K-12 educational instruction; |
| 3 | creating s. 1003.495, F.S.; providing purpose and |
| 4 | definitions relating to Advanced Placement courses and |
| 5 | teacher training; requiring each high school to offer |
| 6 | Advanced Placement courses taught by Advanced Placement |
| 7 | teachers; requiring the State Board of Education to |
| 8 | establish guidelines for teacher training; providing for |
| 9 | the appropriation of funds for Advanced Placement and Pre- |
| 10 | Advanced Placement teacher training and specifying |
| 11 | requirements; requiring school districts to offer rigorous |
| 12 | courses as preparation for Advanced Placement coursework; |
| 13 | providing state board duties relating to funding, |
| 14 | implementation of an integrated instructional program, |
| 15 | communication of information, and evaluation; providing an |
| 16 | effective date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Section 1. Section 1003.495, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 21 | to read: |
| 22 | 1003.495 Advanced Placement courses and teacher |
| 23 | training.-- |
| 24 | (1) The purpose of this section is to ensure that each |
| 25 | Florida student receives a sufficient education for success |
| 26 | after high school and that all students have equal access to a |
| 27 | substantive and rigorous curriculum that is designed to |
| 28 | challenge their minds, enhance their knowledge and skills, and |
| 29 | prepare them for success in college and work. |
| 30 | (2) For purposes of this section: |
| 31 | (a) "Advanced Placement course" means a course sponsored |
| 32 | by the College Board that is offered for college credit at the |
| 33 | high school level and taught by an Advanced Placement teacher. |
| 34 | (b) "Advanced Placement Vertical Team" means a group of |
| 35 | teachers and educators from different grade levels in a given |
| 36 | discipline who work cooperatively to develop and implement a |
| 37 | vertically aligned program aimed at helping students from |
| 38 | diverse backgrounds acquire the academic skills necessary for |
| 39 | success in Advanced Placement courses and other challenging |
| 40 | courses. |
| 41 | (c) "Pre-Advanced Placement teacher training" means a set |
| 42 | of professional development resources and services designed to |
| 43 | equip middle and high school teachers with the strategies and |
| 44 | tools they need to engage their students in active, high-level |
| 45 | learning, thereby ensuring that middle and high school students |
| 46 | develop the skills, habits of mind, and concepts they need to |
| 47 | succeed in Advanced Placement courses. |
| 48 | (3) By the 2007-2008 school year, each high school in the |
| 49 | state must offer at least four Advanced Placement courses, one |
| 50 | each in English, mathematics, science, and a foreign language |
| 51 | taught by an Advanced Placement teacher. |
| 52 | (4) The State Board of Education shall establish clear, |
| 53 | specific, and challenging training guidelines that require each |
| 54 | teacher of an Advanced Placement course to have obtained |
| 55 | recognized Advanced Placement teacher training endorsed by the |
| 56 | College Board. |
| 57 | (5) Funds to provide Advanced Placement and Pre-Advanced |
| 58 | Placement teacher training to Florida teachers shall be provided |
| 59 | annually in the General Appropriations Act. This training shall: |
| 60 | (a) Provide Advanced Placement teachers and Pre-Advanced |
| 61 | Placement teachers with the necessary content knowledge and |
| 62 | instructional skills to prepare students for success in Advanced |
| 63 | Placement courses and examinations and other advanced course |
| 64 | examinations and mastery of postsecondary course content. |
| 65 | (b) Provide school administrators and counselors with |
| 66 | professional development that will enable them to create strong |
| 67 | and effective Advanced Placement programs in their schools. |
| 68 | (c) Provide teachers in the middle grades and high school |
| 69 | with Advanced Placement Vertical Team training and other Pre- |
| 70 | Advanced Placement professional development to prepare students |
| 71 | for success in Advanced Placement courses. |
| 72 | (d) Support the implementation of an instructional program |
| 73 | for students in grades 6-12 that provides an integrated set of |
| 74 | instructional materials, diagnostic assessments, and teacher |
| 75 | professional development in reading, writing, and mathematics |
| 76 | that prepares all students for enrollment and success in |
| 77 | Advanced Placement courses and in college. |
| 78 | (6) In order to ensure that each student receives a |
| 79 | sufficient education for success in college or work after high |
| 80 | school and that all students have equal access to a substantive |
| 81 | and rigorous curriculum that is designed to challenge their |
| 82 | minds and enhance their knowledge and skills, school districts |
| 83 | must offer rigorous courses in grades 6-11 that prepare students |
| 84 | for the demands of Advanced Placement coursework. |
| 85 | (7) The State Board of Education shall: |
| 86 | (a) Seek federal funding through the Advanced Placement |
| 87 | Incentive Program and the Math and Science Partnership Program |
| 88 | to support Advanced Placement and Pre-Advanced Placement teacher |
| 89 | training and the implementation of an integrated instructional |
| 90 | program for students in grades 6-12 in reading, writing, and |
| 91 | mathematics that prepares all students for enrollment and |
| 92 | success in Advanced Placement courses and in college. |
| 93 | (b) Focus state and federal funding to carry out |
| 94 | activities that target school districts serving high |
| 95 | concentrations of low-income and underrepresented students. |
| 96 | (c) Provide a plan of communication which includes, but |
| 97 | need not be limited to, disseminating to parents materials that |
| 98 | emphasize the importance of Advanced Placement courses or other |
| 99 | advanced courses to a student's ability to gain access to and to |
| 100 | succeed in postsecondary education and materials that emphasize |
| 101 | the importance of the PSAT/NMSQT, which provide diagnostic |
| 102 | feedback on skills and relate student scores to the probability |
| 103 | of success in Advanced Placement courses and examinations. Such |
| 104 | information shall also be disseminated to students, teachers, |
| 105 | counselors, administrators, school districts, community |
| 106 | colleges, and state universities. |
| 107 | (d) Annually evaluate the impact of the implementation of |
| 108 | this section on the rates of student enrollment and success in |
| 109 | Advanced Placement courses, on high school graduation rates, and |
| 110 | on college enrollment rates. |
| 111 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |