Senate Bill sb0416

    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 416

    By Senator Wilson





    33-49-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to school attendance; amending

  3         s. 1003.21, F.S.; revising the requirement that

  4         an exit interview be conducted before a student

  5         terminates school enrollment; requiring that a

  6         counselor present specified information to such

  7         a student and assign to the student a followup

  8         counselor who shall provide educational

  9         information until the student is 18 years of

10         age; providing an effective date.

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12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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14         Section 1.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section

15  1003.21, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

16         1003.21  School attendance.--

17         (1)

18         (c)1.  A student who attains the age of 16 years during

19  the school year is not subject to compulsory school attendance

20  beyond the date upon which he or she attains that age if the

21  student files a formal declaration of intent to terminate

22  school enrollment with the district school board. Public

23  school students who have attained the age of 16 years and who

24  have not graduated are subject to compulsory school attendance

25  until the formal declaration of intent is filed with the

26  district school board. The declaration must acknowledge that

27  terminating school enrollment is likely to reduce the

28  student's earning potential and must be signed by the student

29  and the student's parent. The school district must notify the

30  student's parent of receipt of the student's declaration of

31  intent to terminate school enrollment.

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






    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 416
    33-49-07




 1         2.  Beginning in the 2007-2008 school year, a student

 2  who withdraws from a public school for reasons other than

 3  graduating or transferring to another school within or outside

 4  the state must have an exit interview with a counselor who

 5  presents the student with information concerning:

 6         a.  The value of a high school education, both

 7  financial and cultural;

 8         b.  The alternative assessments, such as the SAT and

 9  the ACT, the scores of which could help the student obtain a

10  high school diploma; and

11         c.  The postsecondary options that are available,

12  including workforce training and enrolling in a community

13  college or a university, and the prerequisites for each, with

14  or without a high school diploma. The exit interview must

15  include a detailed discussion of the relative advantages and

16  disadvantages of each alternative.

17         3.  During the exit interview, the counselor must also

18  determine the student's plans, and the school must assign to

19  the student a counselor who shall serve as a resource for

20  educational information until the student attains the age of

21  18 years. The student's guidance counselor or other school

22  personnel must conduct an exit interview with the student to

23  determine the reasons for the student's decision to terminate

24  school enrollment and actions that could be taken to keep the

25  student in school. The student must be informed of

26  opportunities to continue his or her education in a different

27  environment, including, but not limited to, adult education

28  and GED test preparation. Additionally, the student must

29  complete a survey in a format prescribed by the Department of

30  Education to provide data on student reasons for terminating

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 416
    33-49-07




 1  enrollment and actions taken by schools to keep students

 2  enrolled.

 3         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

 4  law.

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 7                          SENATE SUMMARY

 8    Revises the requirement that an exit interview be
      conducted before a student terminates school enrollment.
 9    Requires that a counselor present specified information
      to such a student and assign to the student a followup
10    counselor who shall provide educational information until
      the student is 18 years of age.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.