Senate Bill sb7068pb

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    Florida Senate - 2007   (PROPOSED COMMITTEE BILL)     SPB 7068

    FOR CONSIDERATION By the Committee on Higher Education





    581-548B-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to teacher education;

  3         establishing the Florida Quality Educator

  4         Council within the Executive Office of the

  5         Governor; providing purposes and objectives of

  6         the council; providing for membership and terms

  7         of office; authorizing the members of the

  8         council to be reimbursed for per diem and

  9         travel expenses; requiring the council to

10         direct a data-collection and analysis

11         initiative; providing requirements for the

12         initiative; requiring that the council select

13         demonstration partnerships; providing

14         requirements for such partnerships; requiring

15         that the initiative and partnerships be used in

16         redesigning state teacher-preparation programs;

17         requiring that the council provide an annual

18         report to the Governor and Legislature;

19         providing an effective date.

20  

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

22  

23         Section 1.  Florida Quality Educator Council.--

24         (1)  The Florida Quality Educator Council is

25  established to promote, recruit, support, and sustain a highly

26  effective teacher workforce in order to meet the state's

27  educational needs and to compete in a global economy.

28         (2)  Initiatives and programs developed by the Florida

29  Quality Educator Council pursuant to this act shall have the

30  following purposes and objectives:

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2007   (PROPOSED COMMITTEE BILL)     SPB 7068
    581-548B-07




 1         (a)  To promote the extent to which teachers affect the

 2  state's economy and ability to compete in a global, knowledge

 3  economy.

 4         (b)  To advance teaching as a valuable profession.

 5         (c)  To direct a long-term data collection and analysis

 6  initiative in order to identify and promote the most effective

 7  practices and policies related to the preparation and

 8  continuous support of highly effective teachers.

 9         (d)  To foster immediate and long-term modifications to

10  teacher preparation and teacher support programs provided by

11  postsecondary institutions, school districts, and individual

12  schools.

13         (e)  To support action research through collaborative

14  partnerships between postsecondary institutions and local

15  school districts.

16         (3)(a)  The Florida Quality Educator Council shall be

17  established within the Executive Office of the Governor and

18  shall consist of 12 members, six of whom shall be appointed by

19  the Governor, three of whom shall be appointed by the

20  President of the Senate, and three of whom shall be appointed

21  by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Members shall

22  be appointed no later than October 1, 2007, and must represent

23  one of the following categories, provided each of the

24  respective categories is represented:

25         1.  A Florida Teacher of the Year with demonstrated

26  evidence of sustained student achievement and who currently

27  teaches in a public school.

28         2.  A school principal with demonstrated commitment to

29  beginning teachers, effective classroom instruction, and

30  evidence of sustained student achievement and school

31  improvement.

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    Florida Senate - 2007   (PROPOSED COMMITTEE BILL)     SPB 7068
    581-548B-07




 1         3.  A district school superintendent with demonstrated

 2  evidence of successful teacher recruitment and retention

 3  practices and support for beginning teachers.

 4         4.  A president of a postsecondary institution

 5  accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

 6  (SACS) which is currently engaged in research on teacher

 7  quality, multiple teacher-preparation pathways, efforts to

 8  expand recruitment of new teachers, comprehensive redesign of

 9  teacher preparation practices, and collaborative partnerships

10  with local schools and school-based instructional leaders.

11         5.  A member of a Florida local education foundation

12  actively engaged in efforts to promote recruitment,

13  professional development, and retention of highly effective

14  teachers.

15         6.  A chief operating officer of a Florida business who

16  serves as a member of a statewide economic development

17  organization and whose employees actively partner with local

18  schools.

19         (b)  Council members shall serve 4-year terms and may

20  be reappointed to no more than two consecutive terms.

21         (c)  Members of the council shall serve without

22  compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem

23  and travel expenses pursuant to s. 112.061, Florida Statutes.

24         (d)  The Executive Office of the Governor shall provide

25  administrative support and service to the council.

26         (e)  The council may apply for and accept funds,

27  grants, gifts, and services from the state, the government of

28  the United States or any of its agencies, or any other public

29  or private source and is authorized to use funds derived from

30  these sources to defray clerical and administrative costs as

31  may be necessary to carry out the council's assigned duties.

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    Florida Senate - 2007   (PROPOSED COMMITTEE BILL)     SPB 7068
    581-548B-07




 1         (4)  The Florida Quality Educator Council shall direct

 2  a comprehensive data-collection and analysis initiative in

 3  order to provide effective policy recommendations and to

 4  establish successful and cost-efficient pathways to enhance

 5  high quality and effective classroom instruction. The council

 6  must use data collected pursuant to ss. 1001.10(3) and

 7  1008.385(2), Florida Statutes, whenever feasible in order to

 8  reduce data-collection duplication. The data-collection and

 9  analysis initiative must be based upon evidence of student

10  achievement and learning gains attained as the result of

11  highly effective teaching. The data-collection elements shall

12  address at minimum, the following:

13         (a)  Correlation, if any, based on a teacher's prior

14  involvement in a high school teaching career academy.

15         (b)  Correlation, if any, based on standardized test

16  scores of teacher education candidates.

17         (c)  Institution or teacher-preparation pathway

18  attended.

19         (d)  Components of postsecondary teacher preparation to

20  include information regarding:

21         1.  Onset and extent of classroom field experiences.

22         2.  Description of both content and pedagogical

23  coursework.

24         3.  Extent of opportunities for student teachers to

25  observe effective classroom instruction.

26         4.  Extent of opportunities for student teachers to

27  demonstrate and model effective classroom instruction.

28         5.  K-12 classroom teaching experience of faculty

29  members.

30         (e)  Support and induction programs provided for

31  beginning teachers to include information regarding:

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    Florida Senate - 2007   (PROPOSED COMMITTEE BILL)     SPB 7068
    581-548B-07




 1         1.  Length of the induction program.

 2         2.  Extent of involvement by the principal in the

 3  induction period.

 4         3.  Description of mentoring provided to new teachers.

 5         4.  Provisions for common planning time and involvement

 6  in professional learning communities with other teachers.

 7         5.  Professional development aligned to student

 8  achievement.

 9         6.  Teaching load and assignment of extracurricular

10  responsibilities.

11         (f)  Effect on student achievement and learning gains

12  by Florida National Board Certified Teachers.

13         (5)  In order to provide immediate and continuous

14  action research and to implement findings of the

15  data-collection and analysis initiative specified in

16  subsection (4), the Florida Quality Educator Council shall

17  request proposals and select no later than January 1, 2008,

18  research demonstration partnerships from different

19  geographical regions of the state. Selected research

20  demonstration partnerships must include, at a  minimum, the

21  following:

22         (a)  Commitment, support, and involvement from the

23  president of a SACS-accredited postsecondary institution that

24  operates state-approved traditional and alternative

25  teacher-preparation programs and education-leadership programs

26  for school principals as specified in s. 1012.985, Florida

27  Statutes. The postsecondary institution must provide

28  opportunities for effective public school teachers to serve as

29  adjunct faculty instructors and must commit to engagement from

30  the entire institution to recruit and prepare classroom

31  teachers.

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    Florida Senate - 2007   (PROPOSED COMMITTEE BILL)     SPB 7068
    581-548B-07




 1         (b)  Commitment, support, and involvement from local

 2  school district superintendents and school principals. Local

 3  schools must commit to serve as teaching and learning

 4  laboratories, providing student teachers continuous

 5  opportunities to observe effective classroom instruction.

 6         (c)  Technologies to deploy to Florida school districts

 7  and state-approved teacher-preparation programs research

 8  practices and key findings that result from the partnership.

 9         (6)  The comprehensive data-collection and analysis

10  specified in subparagraph (4) and the research demonstration

11  partnership specified in subparagraph (5) shall serve as the

12  basis of redesign and approval of all teacher-preparation

13  programs in the state.

14         (7)  The Florida Quality Educator Council shall prepare

15  an annual report and present the report jointly with the

16  research demonstration partnerships to the Governor, the

17  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of

18  Representatives no later than March 1 of each year.

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

20  law.

21  

22            *****************************************

23                          SENATE SUMMARY

24    Establishes the Florida Quality Educator Council within
      the Executive Office of the Governor. Provides for
25    membership and terms of office. Requires that the council
      direct a data-collection and analysis initiative and
26    select demonstration partnerships. Requires that the
      initiative and partnerships be used in redesigning state
27    teacher-preparation programs. Requires that the council
      provide an annual report to the Governor and Legislature.
28  

29  

30  

31  

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