Florida Senate - 2009 CS for CS for SB 2482
By the Committees on Education Pre-K - 12 Appropriations; and
Education Pre-K - 12; and Senator Wise
602-05118-09 20092482c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to school improvement and
3 accountability; amending s. 1003.413, F.S.; redefining
4 the term “secondary school” to no longer include an
5 elementary school serving students through grade 6
6 only; repealing s. 1003.413(5), F.S., relating to a
7 requirement that the Commissioner of Education create
8 and implement the Secondary School Improvement Award
9 Program; amending s. 1003.4156, F.S.; correcting a
10 cross-reference; amending s. 1003.429, F.S.; revising
11 provisions relating to accelerated high school
12 graduation; revising the credits for certain courses
13 required under the 3-year standard college preparatory
14 program beginning with students who enter grade 9 in
15 the 2009-2010 school year; amending s. 1003.621, F.S.;
16 requiring that the State Board of Education annually
17 designate school districts as academically high
18 performing school districts if certain criteria are
19 met; requiring that such designation occur at the next
20 meeting of the State Board of Education on or after a
21 specified date each year; providing that the
22 designation is effective beginning the following
23 school year; revising the information that an
24 academically high-performing school district must
25 include in its annual report to the State Board of
26 Education and the Legislature; amending s. 1008.25,
27 F.S.; requiring that each district school board
28 annually post certain information on its Internet
29 website; revising the date that each district school
30 board is required to report certain information to the
31 State Board of Education; amending s. 1008.36, F.S.;
32 revising the date that school staff and the school
33 advisory council are required to reach an agreement
34 regarding the distribution of financial awards under
35 the Florida School Recognition Program; providing an
36 effective date.
37
38 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
39
40 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 1003.413, Florida
41 Statutes, is amended to read:
42 1003.413 Florida Secondary School Redesign Act.—
43 (1) For purposes of this section, the term “secondary
44 school” means a school that serves Secondary schools are schools
45 that primarily serve students in grades 6 through 12. A
46 secondary school does not include an elementary school serving
47 students only through grade 6. It is the intent of the
48 Legislature to provide for secondary school redesign so that
49 students promoted from the 8th grade have the necessary academic
50 skills for success in high school and students graduating from
51 high school have the necessary skills for success in the
52 workplace and postsecondary education.
53 Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 1003.413, Florida
54 Statutes, is repealed.
55 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
56 1003.4156, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
57 1003.4156 General requirements for middle grades
58 promotion.—
59 (1) Beginning with students entering grade 6 in the 2006
60 2007 school year, promotion from a school composed of middle
61 grades 6, 7, and 8 requires that:
62 (a) The student must successfully complete academic courses
63 as follows:
64 1. Three middle school or higher courses in English. These
65 courses shall emphasize literature, composition, and technical
66 text.
67 2. Three middle school or higher courses in mathematics.
68 Each middle school must offer at least one high school level
69 mathematics course for which students may earn high school
70 credit.
71 3. Three middle school or higher courses in social studies,
72 one semester of which must include the study of state and
73 federal government and civics education.
74 4. Three middle school or higher courses in science.
75 5. One course in career and education planning to be
76 completed in 7th or 8th grade. The course may be taught by any
77 member of the instructional staff; must include career
78 exploration using Florida CHOICES for the 21st Century or a
79 comparable cost-effective program; must include educational
80 planning using the online student advising system known as
81 Florida Academic Counseling and Tracking for Students at the
82 Internet website FACTS.org; and shall result in the completion
83 of a personalized academic and career plan.
84
85 Each school must hold a parent meeting either in the evening or
86 on a weekend to inform parents about the course curriculum and
87 activities. Each student shall complete an electronic personal
88 education plan that must be signed by the student; the student’s
89 instructor, guidance counselor, or academic advisor; and the
90 student’s parent. By January 1, 2007, The Department of
91 Education shall develop course frameworks and professional
92 development materials for the career exploration and education
93 planning course. The course may be implemented as a stand-alone
94 course or integrated into another course or courses. The
95 Commissioner of Education shall collect longitudinal high school
96 course enrollment data by student ethnicity in order to analyze
97 course-taking patterns.
98 Section 4. Subsection (1), paragraph (c) of subsection (7),
99 and subsection (8) of section 1003.429, Florida Statutes, are
100 amended to read:
101 1003.429 Accelerated high school graduation options.—
102 (1) Students who enter grade 9 in the 2006-2007 school year
103 and thereafter may select, upon receipt of each consent required
104 by this section, one of the following three high school
105 graduation options:
106 (a) Completion of the general requirements for high school
107 graduation pursuant to s. 1003.428 or s. 1003.43, as applicable;
108 (b) Completion of a 3-year standard college preparatory
109 program requiring successful completion of a minimum of 18
110 academic credits in grades 9 through 12. At least 6 of the 18
111 credits required for completion of this program must be received
112 in classes that are offered pursuant to the International
113 Baccalaureate Program, the Advanced Placement Program, dual
114 enrollment, Advanced International Certificate of Education, or
115 specifically listed or identified by the Department of Education
116 as rigorous pursuant to s. 1009.531(3). The 18 credits required
117 for completion of this program shall be primary requirements and
118 shall be distributed as follows:
119 1. Four credits in English, with major concentration in
120 composition and literature;
121 2. Three credits in mathematics at the Algebra I level or
122 higher from the list of courses that qualify for state
123 university admission. Beginning with students who enter grade 9
124 in the 2009-2010 school year, four credits in mathematics at the
125 Algebra I level or higher from the list of courses that qualify
126 for state university admission;
127 3. Three credits in natural science, two of which must have
128 a laboratory component;
129 4. Three credits in social sciences, which must include one
130 credit in American history, one credit in world history, one
131 half credit in American government, and one-half credit in
132 economics;
133 5. Two credits in the same second language unless the
134 student is a native speaker of or can otherwise demonstrate
135 competency in a language other than English. If the student
136 demonstrates competency in another language, the student may
137 replace the language requirement with two credits in other
138 academic courses; and
139 6. Three credits in electives. Beginning with students who
140 enter grade 9 in the 2009-2010 school year, two credits in
141 electives; or
142 (c) Completion of a 3-year career preparatory program
143 requiring successful completion of a minimum of 18 academic
144 credits in grades 9 through 12. The 18 credits shall be primary
145 requirements and shall be distributed as follows:
146 1. Four credits in English, with major concentration in
147 composition and literature;
148 2. Three credits in mathematics, one of which must be
149 Algebra I;
150 3. Three credits in natural science, two of which must have
151 a laboratory component;
152 4. Three credits in social sciences, which must include one
153 credit in American history, one credit in world history, one
154 half credit in American government, and one-half credit in
155 economics;
156 5. Three credits in a single vocational or career education
157 program, three credits in career and technical certificate dual
158 enrollment courses, or five credits in vocational or career
159 education courses; and
160 6. Two credits in electives unless five credits are earned
161 pursuant to subparagraph 5.
162
163 Any student who selected an accelerated graduation program
164 before July 1, 2004, may continue that program, and all
165 statutory program requirements that were applicable when the
166 student made the program choice shall remain applicable to the
167 student as long as the student continues that program.
168 (7) If, at the end of grade 10, a student is not on track
169 to meet the credit, assessment, or grade-point-average
170 requirements of the accelerated graduation option selected, the
171 school shall notify the student and parent of the following:
172 (c) The right of the student to change to the 4-year
173 program set forth in s. 1003.428 or s. 1003.43, as applicable.
174 (8) A student who selected one of the accelerated 3-year
175 graduation options shall automatically move to the 4-year
176 program set forth in s. 1003.428 or s. 1003.43, as applicable,
177 if the student:
178 (a) Exercises his or her right to change to the 4-year
179 program;
180 (b) Fails to earn 5 credits by the end of grade 9 or fails
181 to earn 11 credits by the end of grade 10;
182 (c) Does not achieve a score of 3 or higher on the grade 10
183 FCAT Writing assessment; or
184 (d) By the end of grade 11 does not meet the requirements
185 of subsections (1) and (6).
186 Section 5. Subsection (1) and paragraph (f) of subsection
187 (4) of section 1003.621, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
188 1003.621 Academically high-performing school districts.—It
189 is the intent of the Legislature to recognize and reward school
190 districts that demonstrate the ability to consistently maintain
191 or improve their high-performing status. The purpose of this
192 section is to provide high-performing school districts with
193 flexibility in meeting the specific requirements in statute and
194 rules of the State Board of Education.
195 (1) ACADEMICALLY HIGH-PERFORMING SCHOOL DISTRICT.—
196 (a) The State Board of Education shall annually designate a
197 school district as is an academically high-performing school
198 district if the district it meets the following criteria:
199 1.a. Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, earns a
200 grade of “A” under s. 1008.34(7) for 2 consecutive years; and
201 b. Has no district-operated school that earns a grade of
202 “F” under s. 1008.34;
203 2. Complies with all class size requirements in s. 1, Art.
204 IX of the State Constitution and s. 1003.03; and
205 3. Has no material weaknesses or instances of material
206 noncompliance noted in the annual financial audit conducted
207 pursuant to s. 218.39.
208 (b) Each school district that satisfies the eligibility
209 criteria in this subsection shall be designated by The State
210 Board of Education shall designate a school district as an
211 academically high-performing school district at the next State
212 Board of Education meeting occurring on or after February 1 of
213 each year. The designation is effective beginning with the
214 following school year and remains effective through the entire
215 school year. With the exception of the statutes listed in
216 subsection (2), upon designation as an academically high
217 performing school district, each such district is exempt from
218 the provisions in chapters 1000-1013 which pertain to school
219 districts and rules of the State Board of Education which
220 implement these exempt provisions. This exemption remains in
221 effect during the time of the designation if the district
222 continues to meet all eligibility criteria.
223 (c) The academically high-performing school district shall
224 retain the designation as a high-performing school district for
225 3 years, at the end of which time the district may renew the
226 designation if the district meets the requirements in this
227 section. A school district that fails to meet the requirements
228 in this section shall provide written notification to the State
229 Board of Education that the district is no longer eligible to be
230 designated as an academically high-performing school district.
231 (c)(d) In order to annually maintain the designation as an
232 academically high-performing school district pursuant to this
233 section, a school district must meet the following requirements:
234 1. Comply with the provisions of sub-subparagraph (a)1.b.
235 and subparagraphs(a)2. and 3.; and
236 2. Earn a grade of “A” under s. 1008.34(7) for 2 years
237 within a 3-year period.
238
239 However, a district in which a district-operated school earns a
240 grade of “F” under s. 1008.34 during the 3-year period may not
241 continue to be designated as an academically high-performing
242 school district during the remainder of that 3-year period. The
243 district must meet the criteria in paragraph (a) in order to be
244 redesignated as an academically high-performing school district.
245 (4) REPORTS.—The academically high-performing school
246 district shall submit to the State Board of Education and the
247 Legislature an annual report on December 1 which delineates the
248 performance of the school district relative to the academic
249 performance of students at each grade level in reading, writing,
250 mathematics, science, and any other subject that is included as
251 a part of the statewide assessment program in s. 1008.22. The
252 annual report shall be submitted in a format prescribed by the
253 Department of Education and shall include, but need not be
254 limited to, the following:
255 (f) A list of each statute and rule that the district did
256 not comply with, pursuant to paragraph (1)(b) description of
257 each waiver and the status of each waiver.
258 Section 6. Paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of section
259 1008.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
260 1008.25 Public school student progression; remedial
261 instruction; reporting requirements.—
262 (8) ANNUAL REPORT.—
263 (b) Each district school board must annually publish in the
264 local newspaper or on the district school board’s Internet
265 website, and submit a corresponding link report in writing to
266 the State Board of Education by October 1 September 1 of each
267 year, the following information on the prior school year:
268 1. The provisions of this section relating to public school
269 student progression and the district school board’s policies and
270 procedures on student retention and promotion.
271 2. By grade, the number and percentage of all students in
272 grades 3 through 10 performing at Levels 1 and 2 on the reading
273 portion of the FCAT.
274 3. By grade, the number and percentage of all students
275 retained in grades 3 through 10.
276 4. Information on the total number of students who were
277 promoted for good cause, by each category of good cause as
278 specified in paragraph (6)(b).
279 5. Any revisions to the district school board’s policy on
280 student retention and promotion from the prior year.
281 Section 7. Subsection (4) of section 1008.36, Florida
282 Statutes, is amended to read:
283 1008.36 Florida School Recognition Program.—
284 (4) All selected schools shall receive financial awards
285 depending on the availability of funds appropriated and the
286 number and size of schools selected to receive an award. Funds
287 must be distributed to the school’s fiscal agent and placed in
288 the school’s account and must be used for purposes listed in
289 subsection (5) as determined jointly by the school’s staff and
290 school advisory council. If school staff and the school advisory
291 council cannot reach agreement by February 1 November 1, the
292 awards must be equally distributed to all classroom teachers
293 currently teaching in the school.
294
295 Notwithstanding statutory provisions to the contrary, incentive
296 awards are not subject to collective bargaining.
297 Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.