Senate Bill sb0028
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Florida Senate - 2006 (Corrected Copy) SB 28
By Senator Fasano
11-53-06
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public K-12 educational
3 instruction; amending s. 1003.42, F.S.;
4 revising provisions relating to required
5 instruction and courses of study in the public
6 schools; including study of the history of the
7 United States and free enterprise; requiring
8 standards and assessments adopted by the State
9 Board of Education to conform; providing
10 requirements for the teaching and assessment of
11 the history of the United States; amending s.
12 1003.43, F.S., relating to general requirements
13 for high school graduation; including study of
14 the Declaration of Independence; amending s.
15 1002.20, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference;
16 providing an effective date.
17
18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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20 Section 1. Section 1003.42, Florida Statutes, is
21 amended to read:
22 1003.42 Required instruction.--
23 (1) Each district school board shall provide all
24 courses required for high school graduation and appropriate
25 instruction designed to ensure that students meet State Board
26 of Education adopted standards in the following subject areas:
27 reading and other language arts, mathematics, science, social
28 studies, foreign languages, health and physical education, and
29 the arts.
30 (2) All members of the instructional staff of the
31 public schools, subject to the rules of the State Board of
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Florida Senate - 2006 (Corrected Copy) SB 28
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1 Education and the district school board, shall teach
2 efficiently and faithfully, using the books and materials
3 required which meet the highest standards for professionalism
4 and historic accuracy, following the prescribed courses of
5 study, and employing approved methods of instruction, the
6 following:
7 (a) The history and content of the Declaration of
8 Independence, including national sovereignty, natural law,
9 self-evident truth, equality of all persons, limited
10 government, popular sovereignty, and God-given, inalienable
11 rights of life, liberty, and property, and how this history
12 and content form it forms the philosophical foundation of our
13 government.
14 (b) The history, meaning, significance, and effect of
15 the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and
16 amendments thereto, with emphasis on each of the 10 amendments
17 that make up the Bill of Rights and how the Constitution
18 provides the structure of our government.
19 (c) The history of the state and of the State
20 Constitution.
21 (d)(b) The most important arguments in support of
22 adopting our republican form of government, as they are
23 embodied in the most important of the Federalist Papers.
24 (c) The essentials of the United States Constitution
25 and how it provides the structure of our government.
26 (e)(d) Flag education, including proper flag display
27 and flag salute.
28 (f)(e) The elements of United States civil government,
29 including the primary functions of and interrelationships
30 between the Federal Government, the state, and its counties,
31 municipalities, school districts, and special districts.
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Florida Senate - 2006 (Corrected Copy) SB 28
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1 (g) The history of the United States, including the
2 period of discovery, early colonies, the War for Independence,
3 the Civil War, the expansion of the United States to its
4 present boundaries, the world wars, and the civil rights
5 movement to the present. The history of the United States
6 shall be taught as genuine history and shall not follow the
7 revisionist or postmodernist viewpoints of relative truth.
8 American history shall be viewed as factual, not as
9 constructed, shall be viewed as knowable, teachable, and
10 testable, and shall be defined as the creation of a new nation
11 based largely on the universal principles stated in the
12 Declaration of Independence.
13 (h)(f) The history of the Holocaust (1933-1945), the
14 systematic, planned annihilation of European Jews and other
15 groups by Nazi Germany, a watershed event in the history of
16 humanity, to be taught in a manner that leads to an
17 investigation of human behavior, an understanding of the
18 ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping, and an
19 examination of what it means to be a responsible and
20 respectful person, for the purposes of encouraging tolerance
21 of racial, ethnic, and religious diversity in a pluralistic
22 society and for nurturing and protecting democratic values and
23 institutions.
24 (i)(g) The history of African Americans, including the
25 history of African peoples before the political conflicts that
26 led to the development of slavery, the passage to America, the
27 enslavement experience, abolition, and the contributions of
28 African Americans to society.
29 (j)(h) The elementary principles of agriculture.
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1 (k)(i) The true effects of all alcoholic and
2 intoxicating liquors and beverages and narcotics upon the
3 human body and mind.
4 (l)(j) Kindness to animals.
5 (k) The history of the state.
6 (m)(l) The conservation of natural resources.
7 (n)(m) Comprehensive health education that addresses
8 concepts of community health; consumer health; environmental
9 health; family life, including an awareness of the benefits of
10 sexual abstinence as the expected standard and the
11 consequences of teenage pregnancy; mental and emotional
12 health; injury prevention and safety; nutrition; personal
13 health; prevention and control of disease; and substance use
14 and abuse.
15 (o)(n) Such additional materials, subjects, courses,
16 or fields in such grades as are prescribed by law or by rules
17 of the State Board of Education and the district school board
18 in fulfilling the requirements of law.
19 (p)(o) The study of Hispanic contributions to the
20 United States.
21 (q)(p) The study of women's contributions to the
22 United States.
23 (r) The nature and importance of free enterprise to
24 the United States economy.
25 (s)(q) A character-development program in the
26 elementary schools, similar to Character First or Character
27 Counts, which is secular in nature and stresses such character
28 qualities as attentiveness, patience, and initiative.
29 Beginning in school year 2004-2005, the character-development
30 program shall be required in kindergarten through grade 12.
31 Each district school board shall develop or adopt a curriculum
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1 for the character-development program which that shall be
2 submitted to the department for approval. The
3 character-development curriculum shall stress the qualities of
4 patriotism;, responsibility;, citizenship; the Golden Rule;,
5 kindness;, respect for authority, human life, liberty, and
6 personal property;, honesty; abstinence until marriage;
7 charity;, self-control;, racial, ethnic, and religious
8 tolerance;, and cooperation.
9 (t)(r) In order to encourage patriotism, the
10 sacrifices that veterans have made in serving our country and
11 protecting democratic values worldwide. Such instruction must
12 occur on or before Veterans' Day and Memorial Day. Members of
13 the instructional staff are encouraged to use the assistance
14 of local veterans when practicable.
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16 Standards and assessments adopted by the State Board of
17 Education must be based on, and conform to, the requirements
18 of this subsection.
19 (3) Each district school board shall require that:
20 (a) United States history, including the provisions of
21 paragraphs (2)(a)-(g), be taught in at least two grade levels
22 in elementary school, two grade levels in middle school, and
23 two grade levels in high school.
24 (b) High school students achieve a grade of 75 percent
25 or higher on a test to ensure that they understand the
26 contents, meaning, and significance of the Declaration of
27 Independence and the Constitution of the United States and the
28 amendments thereto.
29 (4)(3) Any student whose parent makes written request
30 to the school principal shall be exempted from the teaching of
31 reproductive health or any disease, including HIV/AIDS, its
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1 symptoms, development, and treatment. A student so exempted
2 may not be penalized by reason of that exemption. Course
3 descriptions for comprehensive health education shall not
4 interfere with the local determination of appropriate
5 curriculum which reflects local values and concerns.
6 Section 2. Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of section
7 1003.43, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
8 1003.43 General requirements for high school
9 graduation.--
10 (1) Graduation requires successful completion of
11 either a minimum of 24 academic credits in grades 9 through 12
12 or an International Baccalaureate curriculum. The 24 credits
13 shall be distributed as follows:
14 (g) One-half credit in American government, including
15 study of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
16 of the United States. For students entering the 9th grade in
17 the 1997-1998 school year and thereafter, the study of Florida
18 government, including study of the State Constitution, the
19 three branches of state government, and municipal and county
20 government, shall be included as part of the required study of
21 American government.
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23 District school boards may award a maximum of one-half credit
24 in social studies and one-half elective credit for student
25 completion of nonpaid voluntary community or school service
26 work. Students choosing this option must complete a minimum of
27 75 hours of service in order to earn the one-half credit in
28 either category of instruction. Credit may not be earned for
29 service provided as a result of court action. District school
30 boards that approve the award of credit for student volunteer
31 service shall develop guidelines regarding the award of the
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1 credit, and school principals are responsible for approving
2 specific volunteer activities. A course designated in the
3 Course Code Directory as grade 9 through grade 12 that is
4 taken below the 9th grade may be used to satisfy high school
5 graduation requirements or Florida Academic Scholars award
6 requirements as specified in a district school board's student
7 progression plan. A student shall be granted credit toward
8 meeting the requirements of this subsection for equivalent
9 courses, as identified pursuant to s. 1007.271(6), taken
10 through dual enrollment.
11 Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
12 1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
13 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.--Parents of
14 public school students must receive accurate and timely
15 information regarding their child's academic progress and must
16 be informed of ways they can help their child to succeed in
17 school. K-12 students and their parents are afforded numerous
18 statutory rights including, but not limited to, the following:
19 (3) HEALTH ISSUES.--
20 (d) Reproductive health and disease education.--A
21 public school student whose parent makes written request to
22 the school principal shall be exempted from the teaching of
23 reproductive health or any disease, including HIV/AIDS, in
24 accordance with s. 1003.42(4) the provisions of s. 1003.42(3).
25 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.
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Florida Senate - 2006 (Corrected Copy) SB 28
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Revises the requirements for required instruction in the
public schools. Requires the teaching of history,
4 national sovereignty, natural law, self-evident truth,
equality of all persons, limited government, popular
5 sovereignty, and God-given rights of life, liberty, and
property. Provides additional requirements for the
6 teaching of history and standards and assessments with
respect thereto.
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