HB 0291CS

CHAMBER ACTION




1The PreK-12 Committee recommends the following:
2
3     Council/Committee Substitute
4     Remove the entire bill and insert:
5
A bill to be entitled
6An act relating to the public school grading system;
7amending s. 1008.34, F.S.; adding feeder pattern schools
8to list of schools receiving a school grade; prescribing
9circumstances in which a feeder pattern exists; amending
10s. 1002.38, F.S.; allowing students served by feeder
11pattern schools to participate in the Opportunity
12Scholarship Program; amending s. 1008.36, F.S.; allowing
13feeder pattern schools to participate in the Florida
14School Recognition Program; providing an effective date.
15
16Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18     Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 1008.34, Florida
19Statutes, is amended to read:
20     1008.34  School grading system; district performance
21grade.--
22     (3)  DESIGNATION OF SCHOOL PERFORMANCE GRADE CATEGORIES.--A
23school that serves any combination of students in kindergarten
24through grade 3 that does not receive a school grade because its
25students are not tested and included in the school grading
26system shall receive the school grade designation of a feeder
27pattern school identified by the Department of Education and
28verified by the school district. A school feeder pattern exists
29if at least 60 percent of the students in the school serving a
30combination of students in kindergarten through grade 3 are
31scheduled to be assigned to the graded school. School
32performance grade category designations itemized in subsection
33(2) shall be based on the following:
34     (a)  Timeframes.--
35     1.  School performance grade category designations shall be
36based on the school's current year performance and the school's
37annual learning gains.
38     2.  A school's performance grade category designation shall
39be based on a combination of student achievement scores, student
40learning gains as measured by annual FCAT assessments in grades
413 through 10, and improvement of the lowest 25th percentile of
42students in the school in reading, math, or writing on the FCAT,
43unless these students are performing above satisfactory
44performance.
45     (b)  Student assessment data.--Student assessment data used
46in determining school performance grade categories shall
47include:
48     1.  The aggregate scores of all eligible students enrolled
49in the school who have been assessed on the FCAT.
50     2.  The aggregate scores of all eligible students enrolled
51in the school who have been assessed on the FCAT, including
52Florida Writes, and who have scored at or in the lowest 25th
53percentile of students in the school in reading, math, or
54writing, unless these students are performing above satisfactory
55performance.
56
57The Department of Education shall study the effects of mobility
58on the performance of highly mobile students and recommend
59programs to improve the performance of such students. The State
60Board of Education shall adopt appropriate criteria for each
61school performance grade category. The criteria must also give
62added weight to student achievement in reading. Schools
63designated as performance grade category "C," making
64satisfactory progress, shall be required to demonstrate that
65adequate progress has been made by students in the school who
66are in the lowest 25th percentile in reading, math, or writing
67on the FCAT, including Florida Writes, unless these students are
68performing above satisfactory performance.
69     Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
701002.38, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
71     1002.38  Opportunity Scholarship Program.--
72     (2)  OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.--A public school
73student's parent may request and receive from the state an
74opportunity scholarship for the student to enroll in and attend
75a private school in accordance with the provisions of this
76section if:
77     (a)1.  By assigned school attendance area or by special
78assignment, the student has spent the prior school year in
79attendance at a public school, including a feeder pattern
80school, that has been designated pursuant to s. 1008.34 as
81performance grade category "F," failing to make adequate
82progress, and that has had 2 school years in a 4-year period of
83such low performance, and the student's attendance occurred
84during a school year in which such designation was in effect;
85     2.  The student has been in attendance elsewhere in the
86public school system and has been assigned to such school for
87the next school year; or
88     3.  The student is entering kindergarten or first grade and
89has been notified that the student has been assigned to such
90school for the next school year.
91
92The provisions of this section shall not apply to a student who
93is enrolled in a school operating for the purpose of providing
94educational services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice
95commitment programs. For purposes of continuity of educational
96choice, the opportunity scholarship shall remain in force until
97the student returns to a public school or, if the student
98chooses to attend a private school the highest grade of which is
99grade 8, until the student matriculates to high school and the
100public high school to which the student is assigned is an
101accredited school with a performance grade category designation
102of "C" or better. However, at any time upon reasonable notice to
103the Department of Education and the school district, the
104student's parent may remove the student from the private school
105and place the student in a public school, as provided in
106subparagraph (3)(a)2.
107     Section 3.  Subsection (3) of section 1008.36, Florida
108Statutes, is amended to read:
109     1008.36  Florida School Recognition Program.--
110     (3)  All public schools, including charter schools and
111feeder pattern schools, that receive a school grade pursuant to
112s. 1008.34 are eligible to participate in the program.
113
114Notwithstanding statutory provisions to the contrary, incentive
115awards are not subject to collective bargaining.
116     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.


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