HB 817

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to public school attendance; creating s.
3	1003.215, F.S.; creating the Compulsory Attendance Pilot
4	Program; requiring receipt of a high school diploma, a
5	high school equivalency diploma and ready to work
6	certification, career or job training certification or
7	licensure, or ready to work certification in order to
8	terminate school enrollment between ages 16 and 18 years;
9	providing for an application and selection process for
10	school district participation in the pilot program;
11	providing student and parent rights; specifying school
12	attendance requirements and procedures for termination of
13	school enrollment; requiring an annual study and reporting
14	by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
15	Accountability; providing an effective date.
16
17	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19	Section 1.  Section 1003.215, Florida Statutes, is created
20	to read:
21	1003.215  Compulsory Attendance Pilot Program.--
22	(1)  The Legislature finds it to be in the public interest
23	that all students exit from the public schools with academic
24	skills that provide the students with the opportunity to pursue
25	postsecondary education or with skills that lead to ready to
26	work certification, industry certification, or skill licensure.
27	(2)  Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, and
28	continuing through the 2013-2014 school year, there is created
29	the Compulsory Attendance Pilot Program (CAPP) to be piloted by
30	school districts. Beginning with incoming ninth graders in the
31	2008-2009 school year, all students enrolled in a pilot school
32	district shall be subject to the attendance requirements of this
33	section, notwithstanding ss. 1002.20(2)(a)1. and (b) and
34	1003.21(1)(a)1. and (c) and any other provision of law to the
35	contrary.
36	(3)  The Department of Education shall develop an
37	application process for school districts to participate in the
38	pilot program. The State Board of Education shall select the
39	pilot school districts from the applications submitted, one of
40	which shall be the Duval County School District.
41	(4)  Parents of public school students enrolled in a pilot
42	school district must receive accurate and timely information
43	regarding their child's academic progress and must be informed
44	of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. These K-
45	12 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory
46	rights, including, but not limited to, the following:
47	(a)  The compulsory school attendance laws apply to all
48	children in a pilot school district between the ages of 6 and 18
49	years, as provided in, and in accordance with, subsection (5)
50	and s. 1003.21(1)(a)2., (b), (d), (e), and (f). A student who
51	attains the age of 16 years during the school year has the right
52	to file a formal declaration of intent to terminate school
53	enrollment if the declaration is signed by the parent. The
54	parent has the right to be notified by the school district of
55	the district's receipt of the student's declaration of intent to
56	terminate school enrollment. However, any student who files a
57	declaration seeking to terminate school enrollment but has not
58	reached the age of 18 years shall be required to continue
59	pursuing credits toward a high school diploma, pursue a high
60	school equivalency diploma with participation in the Florida
61	Ready to Work Certification Program under s. 1004.99,
62	participate in a career or job training program leading to
63	industry certification or skill licensure that is developed by
64	or in cooperation with the district school board, or participate
65	in the Ready to Work Certification Program under s. 1004.99.
66	(b)  Students who become or have become married or who are
67	pregnant and parenting have the right to attend school and
68	receive the same or equivalent educational instruction as other
69	students.
70	(c)  Parents of students who have attained the age of 6
71	years by February 1 of any school year but who have not attained
72	the age of 18 years must comply with the compulsory school
73	attendance laws. Parents have the option to comply with the
74	school attendance laws by attendance of the student in a public
75	school; a parochial, religious, or denominational school; a
76	private school; a home education program; or a private tutoring
77	program, in accordance with the provisions of s. 1003.01(13).
78	(5)(a)  All children in a pilot school district who have
79	attained the age of 6 years or who will have attained the age of
80	6 years by February 1 of any school year or who are older than 6
81	years of age but who have not attained the age of 18 years,
82	except as otherwise provided, are required to attend school
83	regularly during the entire school term.
84	(b)  A student who attains the age of 16 years during the
85	school year is not subject to compulsory school attendance
86	beyond the date upon which he or she attains that age if the
87	student files a formal declaration of intent to terminate school
88	enrollment with the district school board and has received a
89	high school diploma, has received a high school equivalency
90	diploma and obtained a bronze or higher level Florida Ready to
91	Work Credential under s. 1004.99, has obtained industry
92	certification or skill licensure, or has obtained a Florida
93	Ready to Work Credential under s. 1004.99. The declaration must
94	acknowledge that terminating school enrollment is likely to
95	reduce the student's earning potential and must be signed by the
96	student and the student's parent. The school district must
97	notify the student's parent of receipt of the student's
98	declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment. The
99	student's guidance counselor or other school personnel must
100	conduct an interview with the student to determine the reasons
101	for the student's decision to terminate school enrollment and
102	actions that could be taken to keep the student in school. If,
103	after the interview, the student still wishes to terminate
104	school enrollment, the student must continue his or her
105	education to complete high school graduation credit
106	requirements, receive a high school equivalency diploma with
107	completion of the Florida Ready to Work Certification Program,
108	complete a career or job training program leading to industry
109	certification or skill licensure that is developed by or in
110	cooperation with the district school board, or complete the
111	Florida Ready to Work Certification Program. Such student shall
112	be required to receive a high school diploma, a high school
113	equivalency diploma and a bronze or higher level Florida Ready
114	to Work Credential, industry certification or skill licensure,
115	or a Florida Ready to Work Credential. Additionally, the student
116	must complete a survey in a format prescribed by the Department
117	of Education to provide data on student reasons for seeking to
118	terminate enrollment and actions taken by schools to keep
119	students enrolled.
120	(6)  The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
121	Accountability (OPPAGA), in cooperation with the pilot school
122	districts, the applicable state attorneys' offices and regional
123	workforce boards, the Agency for Workforce Innovation, the
124	Department of Education, and the Department of Juvenile Justice,
125	shall conduct a study annually of the impact of the pilot
126	program on dropout and graduation rates, on the employability of
127	students, and on juvenile crime, using 2007-2008 data as the
128	baseline for the research. OPPAGA shall develop criteria for
129	collection and reporting of data with input from the cooperating
130	entities. The results of each annual report shall be made
131	available to participating pilot school districts, the
132	applicable state attorneys' offices and regional workforce
133	boards, the Agency for Workforce Education, the Department of
134	Education, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Office of the
135	Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
136	House of Representatives by January 1 following each school
137	year, beginning January 1, 2011.
138	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

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