Florida Senate - 2008 CS for SB 1914

By the Committee on Education Pre-K - 12; and Senator Gaetz

581-06442-08 20081914c1

A bill to be entitled

An act relating to education; amending s. 1000.21, F.S.;

providing definitions; amending s. 1001.452, F.S.;

revising provisions relating to membership of school

advisory councils; amending s. 1003.41, F.S.; requiring

that the State Board of Education replace the Sunshine

State Standards with the Sunshine State Standards 2.0;

providing for application of the Sunshine State Standards

pending adoption of the Sunshine State Standards 2.0;

providing requirements concerning the content and

organization of the Sunshine State Standards 2.0;

requiring that the Sunshine State Standards 2.0 establish

core curricular content in specified areas for certain

grades or strands; requiring that the state board

establish schedules for the adoption and revision of the

Sunshine State Standards 2.0; requiring that the state

board adopt the Sunshine State Standards 2.0 by a

specified date; requiring the Commissioner of Education to

provide proposed Sunshine State Standards 2.0 or proposed

revisions of such standards to the state board; providing

requirements concerning the commissioner's development of

the proposed standards or revisions; requiring

consultation with certain experts; requiring distribution

of a proposal developed by the commissioner for review and

comment by certain experts; requiring a written evaluation

of the proposal developed by the commissioner by a

research institution meeting specified criteria; requiring

provision of the commissioner's proposed standards and the

written evaluation and comments to the Governor, the

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

Representatives; authorizing rulemaking by the State Board

of Education; amending s. 1008.22, F.S.; revising

provisions governing application of testing requirements

for high school graduation; providing requirements

concerning the Commissioner of Education's scoring of a

statewide assessment when such assessment is revised;

providing criteria concerning the testing and scores

required for a continuously enrolled student to earn a

standard high school diploma; authorizing the commissioner

to discontinue administration of an outdated assessment

under certain conditions; amending s. 1008.31, F.S.;

declaring the legislative intent that the K-20 education

system comply with the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act; amending s. 1012.71, F.S.; revising

requirements for the use of program funds by classroom

teachers; providing for the disbursement of funds to

school districts; specifying the means for providing a

classroom teacher with his or her proportionate share of

program funds; providing that funds received are not

subject to collective bargaining; providing for

retroactive effect; providing requirements for accounting

of expenditures and reimbursement of funds under certain

conditions; amending s. 1013.12, F.S.; requiring that a

school cafeteria post certain information concerning its

sanitation certificate and inspection; providing effective

dates.

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

Section 1. Subsection (7) of section 1000.21, Florida

Statutes, is amended to read:

1000.21 Systemwide definitions.--As used in the Florida K-

20 Education Code:

(7) "Sunshine State Standards" or "Sunshine State Standards

2.0" means the state's public K-12 curricular are standards

established under s. 1003.41. The term includes the Sunshine

State Standards that are in place for a subject until the

standards for that subject are replaced under s. 1003.41 by the

Sunshine State Standards 2.0. that identify what public school

students should know and be able to do. These standards delineate

the academic achievement of students for which the state will

hold its public schools accountable in grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and

9-12, in the subjects of language arts, mathematics, science,

social studies, the arts, health and physical education, foreign

languages, reading, writing, history, government, geography,

economics, and computer literacy.

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

1001.452, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

1001.452 District and school advisory councils.--

(1) ESTABLISHMENT.--

(a) The district school board shall establish an advisory

council for each school in the district and shall develop

procedures for the election and appointment of advisory council

members. Each school advisory council shall include in its name

the words "school advisory council." The school advisory council

shall be the sole body responsible for final decisionmaking at

the school relating to implementation of the provisions of ss.

1001.42(16) and 1008.345. A majority of the members of each

school advisory council must be persons who are not employed by

the school district. Each advisory council shall be composed of

the principal and an appropriately balanced number of teachers,

education support employees, students, parents, and other

business and community citizens who are representative of the

ethnic, racial, and economic community served by the school.

Career center and high school advisory councils shall include

students, and middle and junior high school advisory councils may

include students. School advisory councils of career centers and

adult education centers are not required to include parents as

members. Council members representing teachers, education support

100

employees, students, and parents shall be elected by their

101

respective peer groups at the school in a fair and equitable

102

manner as follows:

103

1. Teachers shall be elected by teachers.

104

2. Education support employees shall be elected by

105

education support employees.

106

3. Students shall be elected by students.

107

4. Parents shall be elected by parents.

108

109

The district school board shall establish procedures for use by

110

schools in selecting business and community members that include

111

means of ensuring wide notice of vacancies and of taking input on

112

possible members from local business, chambers of commerce,

113

community and civic organizations and groups, and the public at

114

large. The district school board shall review the membership

115

composition of each advisory council. If the district school

116

board determines that the membership elected by the school is not

117

representative of the ethnic, racial, and economic community

118

served by the school, the district school board shall appoint

119

additional members to achieve proper representation. The

120

commissioner shall determine if schools have maximized their

121

efforts to include on their advisory councils minority persons

122

and persons of lower socioeconomic status. Although schools are

123

strongly encouraged to establish school advisory councils, the

124

district school board of any school district that has a student

125

population of 10,000 or fewer may establish a district advisory

126

council which shall include at least one duly elected teacher

127

from each school in the district. For the purposes of school

128

advisory councils and district advisory councils, the term

129

"teacher" shall include classroom teachers, certified student

130

services personnel, and media specialists. For purposes of this

131

paragraph, "education support employee" means any person employed

132

by a school who is not defined as instructional or administrative

133

personnel pursuant to s. 1012.01 and whose duties require 20 or

134

more hours in each normal working week.

135

Section 3. Section 1003.41, Florida Statutes, is amended to

136

read:

137

1003.41 Sunshine State Standards.--

138

(1) Until the Sunshine State Standards 2.0 are adopted,

139

public K-12 educational instruction in Florida is based on the

140

"Sunshine State Standards previously." These standards have been

141

adopted by the State Board of Education and delineate the

142

academic achievement of students, for which the state will hold

143

schools accountable, in grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 in the

144

subjects of language arts, mathematics, science, social studies,

145

the arts, health and physical education, and foreign languages.

146

They include standards in reading, writing, history, government,

147

geography, economics, and computer literacy. After adoption of

148

the Sunshine State Standards 2.0, such instruction shall be based

149

on the Sunshine State Standards 2.0 as revised by the State Board

150

of Education.

151

(2) The State Board of Education shall review and replace

152

the Sunshine State Standards with the Sunshine State Standards

153

2.0 that establish the core content of the curricula to be taught

154

in this state and that specify the core curricular content and

155

the knowledge and skills that K-12 public school students are

156

expected to learn. The Sunshine State Standards 2.0 must, at a

157

minimum:

158

(a) Establish the core curricular content for language

159

arts, science, mathematics, and social studies. Standards for

160

these subjects must identify specific curricular content and the

161

knowledge and skills that a student is expected to have learned

162

by each individual grade level from kindergarten through grade 8.

163

The standards for grades 9 through 12 may be organized by grade

164

clusters of more than one grade level or strands within the

165

content area.

166

1. Language arts standards shall establish core curricular

167

content for, at a minimum, the reading process, literary

168

analysis, the writing process, writing applications,

169

communication, and information and media literacy.

170

2. Science standards shall establish core curricular

171

content for, at a minimum, nature of science, earth and space

172

science, physical science, and life science.

173

3. Mathematics standards shall establish core curricular

174

content for, at a minimum, algebra, calculus, discrete

175

mathematics, financial literacy, geometry, probability,

176

statistics, and trigonometry.

177

4. Social studies standards shall establish core curricular

178

content for, at a minimum, civics and government, United States

179

history, world history, economics, humanities, and geography.

180

(b) Establish the core curricular content for visual and

181

performing arts, physical education, health, and world languages.

182

Standards for these subjects must identify specific curricular

183

content and the knowledge and skills that a student is expected

184

to have learned by each individual grade level from kindergarten

185

through grade 8. The standards for grades 9 through 12 may be

186

organized by grade clusters of more than one grade level or

187

strands within the content area.

188

189

expected to learn, for each subject at each individual grade

190

level, in order to acquire the broad background knowledge needed

191

for reading comprehension.

192

(d) Be rigorous, relevant, and provide for the logical,

193

sequential progression of core curricular content that

194

incrementally increases a student's core content knowledge and

195

skills over time.

196

(e) Use interdisciplinary methods to integrate critical

197

thinking and problem-solving skills; communication, reading, and

198

writing skills; mathematics skills; collaboration skills;

199

contextual and applied-learning skills; technology-literacy

200

skills; information-literacy and media-literacy skills; and

201

civic-engagement skills. Such integration must occur within and

202

between the subjects listed in paragraphs (a) and (b).

203

(f) Be organized according to a uniform structure and

204

format that is consistent for each subject.

205

(g) Be aligned to expectations for success in postsecondary

206

education and high-skill, high-wage employment.

207

(3) By December 31, 2008, the State Board of Education

208

shall establish an expedited schedule for adoption of the

209

Sunshine State Standards 2.0 and shall establish by rule a

210

schedule for the periodic review and revision of the standards.

211

The state board shall adopt the new standards for each subject by

212

December 31, 2011.

213

(4)(a) The Commissioner of Education shall submit to the

214

State Board of Education proposed Sunshine State Standards 2.0,

215

and periodically submit proposed revisions to the standards, for

216

adoption by the state board according to the schedules

217

established under subsection (3). In developing the proposed

218

standards, the commissioner shall consult with research

219

institutions having expertise in K-20 curriculum and standards

220

development in each subject listed in paragraphs (2)(a) and (b)

221

and shall review and consider standards implemented by other

222

states or nations which such experts regard as exceptionally

223

rigorous. The commissioner shall require that the research

224

experts involve curriculum specialists in a cross-section of

225

subject areas in order to address the need for integrated and

226

alternative curriculum, courses, and instruction.

227

(b) The commissioner shall effectively communicate and

228

distribute the proposed standards for review and comment by this

229

state's educators, school administrators, representatives of

230

community colleges and state universities who have expertise and

231

knowledge of the content areas addressed by the standards and the

232

skills necessary to prepare a student for postsecondary

233

education, and leaders in current and emerging fields of business

234

and industry. The commissioner, after considering any comments

235

and making any revisions to the proposed standards, shall submit

236

the standards for written evaluation by a research institution

237

having expertise in the development of K-20 curriculum and

238

standards and a proven record of working collaboratively with

239

multiple national and international research institutions and

240

organizations and with community and business shareholders.

241

242

standards, shall submit the proposed standards and a copy of the

243

comments and written evaluation required under paragraph (b) to

244

the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the

245

House of Representatives at least 21 days before the State Board

246

of Education considers adoption of the proposed standards.

247

(5) The State Board of Education may adopt rules under ss.

248

120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section.

249

Section 4. Subsection (8) of section 1008.22, Florida

250

Statutes, is amended to read:

251

1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.--

252

(8) APPLICABILITY OF TESTING STANDARDS.--

253

(a) If the Commissioner of Education revises a statewide

254

assessment and the revisions require the State Board of Education

255

to modify the assessment's proficiency levels or modify the

256

passing scores required for a standard high school diploma, until

257

the state board adopts the modifications by rule the commissioner

258

shall use calculations for scoring the assessment which adjust

259

student scores on the revised assessment for statistical

260

equivalence to student scores on the former assessment.

261

(b) A student must attain meet the passing scores on the

262

statewide assessment required testing requirements for a standard

263

high school diploma which are graduation that were in effect at

264

the time the student enters entered 9th grade 9, if provided the

265

student's enrollment is was continuous.

266

267

the revisions require the State Board of Education to modify the

268

passing scores required for a standard high school diploma, the

269

commissioner may, with approval of the state board, discontinue

270

administration of the former assessment upon the graduation,

271

based on normal student progression, of students participating in

272

the final regular administration of the former assessment. The

273

state board shall adopt by rule passing scores for the revised

274

assessment which are statistically equivalent to passing scores

275

on the discontinued assessment for a student required under

276

paragraph (b) to attain passing scores on the discontinued

277

assessment.

278

Section 5. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section

279

1008.31, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

280

1008.31 Florida's K-20 education performance accountability

281

system; legislative intent; mission, goals, and systemwide

282

measures; data quality improvements.--

283

(1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--It is the intent of the

284

Legislature that:

285

286

comply with the accountability requirements of the "No Child Left

287

Behind Act of 2001," Pub. L. No. 107-110, and the Individuals

288

with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

289

Section 6. Effective upon this act becoming a law, section

290

1012.71, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

291

(Substantial rewording of section. See

292

s. 1012.71, F.S., for present text.)

293

1012.71 The Florida Teachers Lead Program.--

294

(1) For purposes of the Florida Teachers Lead Program, the

295

term "classroom teacher" means a certified teacher employed by a

296

public school district or a public charter school in that

297

district on or before September 1 of each year whose full-time or

298

job-share responsibility is the classroom instruction of students

299

in prekindergarten through grade 12, including full-time media

300

specialists and guidance counselors serving students in

301

prekindergarten through grade 12, who are funded through the

302

Florida Education Finance Program. A "job-share classroom

303

teacher" is one of two teachers whose combined full-time

304

equivalent employment for the same teaching assignment equals one

305

full-time classroom teacher.

306

(2) The Legislature, in the General Appropriations Act,

307

shall determine funding for the Florida Teachers Lead Program.

308

The funds appropriated are for classroom teachers to purchase, on

309

behalf of the school district or charter school, classroom

310

materials and supplies for the public school students assigned to

311

them and may not be used to purchase equipment. The funds

312

appropriated shall be used to supplement the materials and

313

supplies otherwise available to classroom teachers. From the

314

funds appropriated for the Florida Teachers Lead Program, the

315

Commissioner of Education shall calculate an amount for each

316

school district based upon each school district's proportionate

317

share of the state's total unweighted FTE student enrollment and

318

shall disburse the funds to the school districts by July 15.

319

(3) From the funds allocated to each school district for

320

the Florida Teachers Lead Program, the district school board

321

shall calculate an identical amount for each classroom teacher,

322

which is that teacher's proportionate share of the total amount

323

allocated to the district. A job-share classroom teacher may

324

receive a prorated share of the amount provided to a full-time

325

classroom teacher. The district school board and each charter

326

school board shall provide each classroom teacher with his or her

327

total proportionate share by September 30 of each year by any

328

means determined appropriate by the district school board or

329

charter school board, including, but not limited to, direct

330

deposit, check, debit card, or purchasing card, notwithstanding

331

any law to the contrary. Expenditures under the program are not

332

subject to state or local competitive bidding requirements. Funds

333

received by a classroom teacher do not affect wages, hours, or

334

terms and conditions of employment and, therefore, are not

335

subject to collective bargaining. Any classroom teacher may

336

decline receipt of or return the funds without explanation or

337

cause. This subsection applies retroactively to July 1, 2007.

338

(4) Each classroom teacher must sign a statement

339

acknowledging receipt of the funds, keep receipts for no less

340

than 4 years to show that funds expended meet the requirements of

341

this section, and return any unused funds to the district school

342

board at the end of the regular school year. Any unused funds

343

that are returned to the district school board shall be deposited

344

into the school advisory council account of the school at which

345

the classroom teacher returning the funds was employed when that

346

teacher received the funds or shall be deposited into the Florida

347

Teachers Lead Program account of the school district in which a

348

charter school is sponsored, as applicable.

349

(5) The statement must be signed and dated by each

350

classroom teacher before receipt of the Florida Teachers Lead

351

Program funds and shall include the wording: "I, (name of

352

teacher) , am employed by the County District School Board

353

or by the Charter School as a full-time classroom teacher. I

354

acknowledge that Florida Teachers Lead Program funds are

355

appropriated by the Legislature for the sole purpose of

356

purchasing classroom materials and supplies to be used in the

357

instruction of students assigned to me. In accepting custody of

358

these funds, I agree to keep the receipts for all expenditures

359

for no less than 4 years. I understand that if I do not keep the

360

receipts, it will be my personal responsibility to pay any

361

federal taxes due on these funds. I also agree to return any

362

unexpended funds to the district school board at the end of the

363

regular school year for deposit into the school advisory council

364

account of the school where I was employed at the time I received

365

the funds or for deposit into the Florida Teachers Lead Program

366

account of the school district in which the charter school is

367