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A bill to be entitled

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An act relating to alternative credit high school courses;

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creating s. 1002.375, F.S.; establishing a pilot project

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for awarding high school credit to students enrolled in

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industry certification programs; requiring the

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Commissioner of Education to establish criteria for

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program participation; requiring that a school district

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submit a letter of interest by a specified date in order

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to participate in the pilot project; requiring that the

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Commissioner of Education submit a report to the Governor

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and the Legislature; providing for specified courses to be

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included as alternative credit courses; exempting

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alternative credit courses from certain requirements;

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authorizing the Department of Education to approve certain

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courses for credit by examination; requiring the

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Department of Education to adopt passing minimum scores on

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approved assessments and maintain a course directory;

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requiring the State Board of Education to adopt rules;

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amending s. 1011.61, F.S., relating to definitions for the

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Florida Education Finance Program; providing for an

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alternate method of reporting full-time equivalent

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membership for credit earned in alternative high school

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credit courses for the pilot project created under s.

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1002.375, F.S.; providing an effective date.

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

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     Section 1.  Section 1002.375, Florida Statutes, is created

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to read:

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     1002.375 Alternative credit for high school courses; pilot

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project.--

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     (1) The Commissioner of Education shall implement a pilot

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project in up to three school districts beginning in the 2008-

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2009 school year which allows school districts to award

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alternative course credit for students enrolled in nationally or

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state-recognized industry certification programs, as defined by

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the Agency for Workforce Innovation in accordance with the

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criteria described in s. 1003.492(2). The Commissioner of

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Education shall establish criteria for districts that participate

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in the pilot program. School districts interested in

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participating in the program must submit a letter of interest by

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July 15, 2008, to the Commissioner of Education identifying up to

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five nationally or state-recognized industry certification

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programs, as defined by the Agency for Workforce Innovation in

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accordance with the criteria described in s. 1003.492(2), under

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which the district would like to award alternative credit for the

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eligible courses identified in subsection (2). The Commissioner

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of Education shall select up to three participating school

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districts by July 30, 2008. The Commissioner of Education shall

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submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and

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the Speaker of the House of Representatives identifying the

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number of students choosing to earn alternative credit, the

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number of students that received alternative credit, and

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legislative recommendations for expanding the use of alternative

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credit for core academic courses required for high school

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graduation. The report shall be submitted by January 1, 2010.

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     (2) For purposes of designing and implementing a successful

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pilot project, eligible alternative credit courses include

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Algebra 1a, Algebra 1b, Algebra 1, Geometry, and Biology.

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Alternative credits shall be awarded for courses in which a

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student is not enrolled, but for which the student may earn

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academic credit by enrolling in another course or sequence of

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courses required to earn a nationally or state-recognized

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industry certificate, as defined by the Agency for Workforce

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Innovation in accordance with the criteria described in s.

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1003.492(2), of which the majority of the standards-based content

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in the course description is consistent with the alternative

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credit course description approved by the Department of

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Education.

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     (3) An alternative credit course is not subject to:

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     (a) The definition of credit under s. 1003.436;

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     (b) The time requirements of s. 1011.60(2); or

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     (c) The net hours of instruction requirements for purposes

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of determining full-time equivalency pursuant to s.

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1011.61(1)(a)1. under the Florida Education Finance Program.

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     (4) The Department of Education may approve a course as an

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alternative credit course pursuant to this section. In order to

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earn credit, each participating student must pass an end-of-

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course assessment that measures proficiency in the Sunshine State

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Standards addressed by the course. The Department of Education

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shall approve each end-of-course assessment and the minimum

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passing score for each assessment. Approved assessments shall be

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limited to assessments for Algebra 1a, Algebra 1b, Algebra 1,

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Geometry, and Biology developed by the Florida Virtual School, or

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end-of-course statewide standardized assessments for these

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courses which may be adopted or developed by the department. The

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department shall approve the method of administering end-of-

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course assessments for alternative credit courses in each

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participating school district in order to ensure the validity of

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the assessment results.

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     (5) School districts shall report all enrollments and

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credits awarded for alternative education courses pursuant to

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this section under procedures prescribed by the Department of

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Education.

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     (6) The Department of Education shall maintain a list of

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approved assessments and minimum passing scores for each approved

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course. The approved list must be incorporated into the Course

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Code Directory. The department shall prescribe the information a

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district must provide in order to have a course considered for

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inclusion in the directory listing for the approved courses used

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in the pilot program. A properly completed request by a district

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to have a course included in the directory must be approved or

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denied by the department within 30 days after receipt. When a

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request is denied, the department must provide the district with

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its reason for denial in writing within 10 days after the denial.

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     (7) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules pursuant

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to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the pilot program

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created in this section.

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     Section 2.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section

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1011.61, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

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     1011.61  Definitions.--Notwithstanding the provisions of s.

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1000.21, the following terms are defined as follows for the

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purposes of the Florida Education Finance Program:

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     (1)  A "full-time equivalent student" in each program of the

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district is defined in terms of full-time students and part-time

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students as follows:

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     (c)1.  A "full-time equivalent student" is:

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     a.  A full-time student in any one of the programs listed in

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s. 1011.62(1)(c); or

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     b.  A combination of full-time or part-time students in any

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one of the programs listed in s. 1011.62(1)(c) which is the

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equivalent of one full-time student based on the following

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calculations:

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     (I)  A full-time student, except a postsecondary or adult

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student or a senior high school student enrolled in adult

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education when such courses are required for high school

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graduation, in a combination of programs listed in s.

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1011.62(1)(c) shall be a fraction of a full-time equivalent

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membership in each special program equal to the number of net

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hours per school year for which he or she is a member, divided by

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the appropriate number of hours set forth in subparagraph (a)1.

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or subparagraph (a)2. The difference between that fraction or sum

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of fractions and the maximum value as set forth in subsection (4)

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for each full-time student is presumed to be the balance of the

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student's time not spent in such special education programs and

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shall be recorded as time in the appropriate basic program.

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     (II)  A prekindergarten handicapped student shall meet the

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requirements specified for kindergarten students.

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     (III)  A Florida Virtual School full-time equivalent student

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shall consist of six full credit completions in the programs

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listed in s. 1011.62(1)(c)1. and 4. Credit completions can be a

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combination of either full credits or half credits.

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     (IV) Each successfully completed credit earned under the

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alternative high school course credit requirements authorized in

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s. 1002.375, which is not reported as a portion of the 900 net

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hours of instruction pursuant to subparagraph (1)(a)1., shall be

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calculated as 1/6 FTE.

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     2.  A student in membership in a program scheduled for more

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or less than 180 school days is a fraction of a full-time

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equivalent membership equal to the number of instructional hours

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in membership divided by the appropriate number of hours set

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forth in subparagraph (a)1.; however, for the purposes of this

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subparagraph, membership in programs scheduled for more than 180

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days is limited to students enrolled in juvenile justice

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education programs and the Florida Virtual School.

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The department shall determine and implement an equitable method

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of equivalent funding for experimental schools and for schools

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operating under emergency conditions, which schools have been

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approved by the department to operate for less than the minimum

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school day.

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     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.