Florida Senate - 2009 SB 1874
By Senator Deutch
30-01305-09 20091874__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to teacher retention; amending s.
3 1008.34, F.S.; requiring that the school report card
4 that is delivered to parents in each school district
5 include the district's teacher turnover rate; creating
6 s. 1012.988, F.S.; creating the Florida Teacher
7 Induction Initiative for the purpose of providing
8 support to new teachers; requiring each district to
9 develop and implement a teacher induction initiative;
10 specifying required minimum elements of the
11 initiative; requiring that districts report the
12 teacher turnover rate to the Commissioner of
13 Education; requiring that a district submit a plan to
14 address its new teacher attrition rate under certain
15 circumstances; requiring the Department of Education
16 to establish a statewide data collection and reporting
17 system to determine the annual district cost of
18 replacing teachers; requiring the department to assist
19 districts in developing initiatives and goals;
20 requiring the department to conduct a study to
21 determine the relationship of teacher retention and
22 attrition to student academic achievement; providing
23 an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 1008.34, Florida
28 Statutes, is amended to read:
29 1008.34 School grading system; school report cards;
30 district grade.—
31 (5) SCHOOL REPORT CARD.—The Department of Education shall
32 annually develop, in collaboration with the school districts, a
33 school report card to be delivered to parents throughout each
34 school district. The report card shall include the school's
35 grade, information regarding school improvement, an explanation
36 of school performance as evaluated by the federal No Child Left
37 Behind Act of 2001, the teacher turnover rate pursuant to s.
38 1012.988, and indicators of return on investment. Each school's
39 report card shall be published annually by the department on its
40 website, and the school district shall provide the school report
41 card to each parent.
42 Section 2. Section 1012.988, Florida Statutes, is created
43 to read:
44 1012.988 Florida Teacher Induction Initiative.—
45 (1) The Florida Teacher Induction Initiative is established
46 to develop quality induction models in school districts to
47 provide new teachers with professional support and guidance in
48 the development of teaching skills, best practices, and
49 classroom management skills and to provide new teachers with
50 emotional and logistical support.
51 (2) In the 2009-2010 school year, each school district
52 shall plan for the implementation of a teacher induction
53 initiative that includes the following minimum elements:
54 (a) Provide each new teacher with an appropriate 2-year
55 induction program that supports the teacher in achieving success
56 in the classroom. A new teacher is defined as a teacher having
57 less than 1 year of prior teaching experience or having a
58 temporary teaching certificate. The plan shall include
59 professional development opportunities for beginning teachers
60 which are aligned to student achievement and classroom
61 organization skills.
62 (b) Implement strategies that include components such as
63 mentoring and best practices for effective teacher induction in
64 leadership training for principals.
65 (c) Propose strategies to redirect existing financial and
66 human resources to support and expand quality induction efforts
67 and retain effective teachers.
68 (d) Review the feasibility and fiscal impact of adjusting
69 levels of teaching responsibility and providing mentoring in
70 order to reduce teaching preparations and extracurricular
71 assignments.
72 (e) Calculate annual teacher turnover rates for the prior 2
73 school years, exclusive of retirements, by school and by school
74 district, including data analysis of the level of teacher
75 experience, teacher age, teacher ethnicity, teacher preparation
76 pathway, in-state or out-of-state training, and in-field or out
77 of-field assignment. This information shall be reported to the
78 Commissioner of Education.
79 (f) Establish school goals and school district goals to
80 reduce teacher attrition to no more than 10 percent, exclusive
81 of retirements and approved leaves of absence, with special
82 attention to the first 7 years of teacher service.
83 (3) In the 2010-2011 school year and each school year
84 thereafter, each school district shall:
85 (a) Implement its teacher induction initiative.
86 (b) Review and report to the commissioner the teacher
87 turnover rate by school and school district along with
88 associated data analysis and the progress made towards meeting
89 its goal to reduce teacher attrition.
90 (c) Use data from the Department of Education pursuant to
91 subsection (6) to determine the cost effectiveness of school
92 district teacher induction initiatives and report the school
93 district's findings to the commissioner.
94 (4) In 2011-2012 school year and each school year
95 thereafter, if the teacher turnover report shows no improvement
96 over the prior year in the retention of new teachers in schools
97 having grades of “D” or “F,” the school district must submit a
98 specific plan to address the attrition rate of new teachers and
99 must use mentoring and other strategies, such as reduced
100 teaching loads for new teachers, to address teacher turnover.
101 (5) If the school district goal to reduce teacher attrition
102 is not met, the district must revise its teacher induction
103 initiative and evaluate other methods of retaining teachers.
104 (6) The Department of Education shall:
105 (a) Develop and establish a statewide data collection and
106 reporting system to determine the annual school district cost of
107 replacing teachers and report the annual cost by district to the
108 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
109 House of Representatives.
110 (b) Provide technical assistance to school districts in
111 developing the teacher induction initiative and in establishing
112 school and school district goals to reduce teacher attrition.
113 (c) Report the teacher turnover rate at each school as part
114 of the school report card as required in s. 1008.34(5).
115 (d) Conduct a study to determine the relationship of
116 teacher retention and attrition to student academic achievement
117 and report the findings to the Governor, the President of the
118 Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by
119 October 1, 2012.
120 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.