1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act relating to the public school grading system; |
3 | amending s. 1008.34, F.S.; adding certain feeder pattern |
4 | schools to list of schools receiving a school grade; |
5 | prescribing circumstances in which a feeder pattern |
6 | exists; amending s. 1002.38, F.S.; allowing students |
7 | served by certain feeder pattern schools to participate in |
8 | the Opportunity Scholarship Program; amending s. 1008.36, |
9 | F.S.; allowing certain feeder pattern schools to |
10 | participate in the Florida School Recognition Program; |
11 | providing an effective date. |
12 |
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13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
14 |
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15 | Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 1008.34, Florida |
16 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
17 | 1008.34 School grading system; district performance |
18 | grade.-- |
19 | (3) DESIGNATION OF SCHOOL PERFORMANCE GRADE CATEGORIES.--A |
20 | school that serves any combination of students in kindergarten |
21 | through grade 3 that does not receive a school grade because its |
22 | students are not tested and included in the school grading |
23 | system shall receive the school grade designation of a feeder |
24 | pattern school identified by the Department of Education and |
25 | verified by the school district. A school feeder pattern exists |
26 | if at least 60 percent of the students in the school serving a |
27 | combination of students in kindergarten through grade 3 are |
28 | scheduled to be assigned to the graded school. School |
29 | performance grade category designations itemized in subsection |
30 | (2) shall be based on the following: |
31 | (a) Timeframes.-- |
32 | 1. School performance grade category designations shall be |
33 | based on the school's current year performance and the school's |
34 | annual learning gains. |
35 | 2. A school's performance grade category designation shall |
36 | be based on a combination of student achievement scores, student |
37 | learning gains as measured by annual FCAT assessments in grades |
38 | 3 through 10, and improvement of the lowest 25th percentile of |
39 | students in the school in reading, math, or writing on the FCAT, |
40 | unless these students are performing above satisfactory |
41 | performance. |
42 | (b) Student assessment data.--Student assessment data used |
43 | in determining school performance grade categories shall |
44 | include: |
45 | 1. The aggregate scores of all eligible students enrolled |
46 | in the school who have been assessed on the FCAT. |
47 | 2. The aggregate scores of all eligible students enrolled |
48 | in the school who have been assessed on the FCAT, including |
49 | Florida Writes, and who have scored at or in the lowest 25th |
50 | percentile of students in the school in reading, math, or |
51 | writing, unless these students are performing above satisfactory |
52 | performance. |
53 |
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54 | The Department of Education shall study the effects of mobility |
55 | on the performance of highly mobile students and recommend |
56 | programs to improve the performance of such students. The State |
57 | Board of Education shall adopt appropriate criteria for each |
58 | school performance grade category. The criteria must also give |
59 | added weight to student achievement in reading. Schools |
60 | designated as performance grade category "C," making |
61 | satisfactory progress, shall be required to demonstrate that |
62 | adequate progress has been made by students in the school who |
63 | are in the lowest 25th percentile in reading, math, or writing |
64 | on the FCAT, including Florida Writes, unless these students are |
65 | performing above satisfactory performance. |
66 | Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and paragraphs |
67 | (a) and (b) of subsection (3) of section 1002.38, Florida |
68 | Statutes, are amended to read: |
69 | 1002.38 Opportunity Scholarship Program.-- |
70 | (2) OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY.--A public school |
71 | student's parent may request and receive from the state an |
72 | opportunity scholarship for the student to enroll in and attend |
73 | a private school in accordance with the provisions of this |
74 | section if: |
75 | (a)1. By assigned school attendance area or by special |
76 | assignment, the student has spent the prior school year in |
77 | attendance at a public school, including a K-3 feeder pattern |
78 | school, that has been designated pursuant to s. 1008.34 as |
79 | performance grade category "F," failing to make adequate |
80 | progress, and that has had 2 school years in a 4-year period of |
81 | such low performance, and the student's attendance occurred |
82 | during a school year in which such designation was in effect; |
83 | 2. The student has been in attendance elsewhere in the |
84 | public school system and has been assigned to such school for |
85 | the next school year; or |
86 | 3. The student is entering kindergarten or first grade and |
87 | has been notified that the student has been assigned to such |
88 | school for the next school year. |
89 |
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90 | The provisions of this section shall not apply to a student who |
91 | is enrolled in a school operating for the purpose of providing |
92 | educational services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice |
93 | commitment programs. For purposes of continuity of educational |
94 | choice, the opportunity scholarship shall remain in force until |
95 | the student returns to a public school or, if the student |
96 | chooses to attend a private school the highest grade of which is |
97 | grade 8, until the student matriculates to high school and the |
98 | public high school to which the student is assigned is an |
99 | accredited school with a performance grade category designation |
100 | of "C" or better. However, at any time upon reasonable notice to |
101 | the Department of Education and the school district, the |
102 | student's parent may remove the student from the private school |
103 | and place the student in a public school, as provided in |
104 | subparagraph (3)(a)2. |
105 | (3) SCHOOL DISTRICT OBLIGATIONS.-- |
106 | (a) A school district shall, for each student enrolled in |
107 | or assigned to a school, including a K-3 feeder pattern school, |
108 | that has been designated as performance grade category "F" for 2 |
109 | school years in a 4-year period: |
110 | 1. Timely notify the parent of the student as soon as such |
111 | designation is made of all options available pursuant to this |
112 | section. |
113 | 2. Offer that student's parent an opportunity to enroll |
114 | the student in the public school within the district that has |
115 | been designated by the state pursuant to s. 1008.34 as a school |
116 | performing higher than that in which the student is currently |
117 | enrolled or to which the student has been assigned, but not less |
118 | than performance grade category "C." The parent is not required |
119 | to accept this offer in lieu of requesting a state opportunity |
120 | scholarship to a private school. The opportunity to continue |
121 | attending the higher performing public school shall remain in |
122 | force until the student graduates from high school. |
123 | (b) The parent of a student enrolled in or assigned to a |
124 | school, including a K-3 feeder pattern school, that has been |
125 | designated performance grade category "F" for 2 school years in |
126 | a 4-year period may choose as an alternative to enroll the |
127 | student in and transport the student to a higher-performing |
128 | public school that has available space in an adjacent school |
129 | district, and that school district shall accept the student and |
130 | report the student for purposes of the district's funding |
131 | pursuant to the Florida Education Finance Program. |
132 | Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 1008.36, Florida |
133 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
134 | 1008.36 Florida School Recognition Program.-- |
135 | (3) All public schools, including charter schools and K-3 |
136 | feeder pattern schools, that receive a school grade pursuant to |
137 | s. 1008.34 are eligible to participate in the program. |
138 |
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139 | Notwithstanding statutory provisions to the contrary, incentive |
140 | awards are not subject to collective bargaining. |
141 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |