CS/HB 105

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to civics education; providing a short
3title; amending s. 1003.41, F.S., relating to the Next
4Generation Sunshine State Standards; providing a
5requirement that the reading portion of the language arts
6curriculum include civics education content for all grade
7levels; amending s. 1003.4156, F.S.; providing
8requirements for a civics education course that a student
9must successfully complete for middle grades promotion
10beginning with students entering grade 6 in the 2012-2013
11school year; amending s. 1008.22, F.S.; requiring the
12administration of an end-of-course assessment in civics
13education as a field test at the middle school level
14during the 2012-2013 school year; providing requirements
15for course grade and course credit for subsequent school
16years; amending s. 1008.34, F.S.; requiring the inclusion
17of civics education end-of-course assessment data in
18determining school grades beginning with the 2013-2014
19school year; providing an effective date.
20
21Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23     Section 1.  This act may be cited as the "Justice Sandra
24Day O'Connor Civics Education Act."
25     Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
261003.41, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
27     1003.41  Sunshine State Standards.-
28     (1)  Public K-12 educational instruction in Florida is
29based on the "Sunshine State Standards." The State Board of
30Education shall review the Sunshine State Standards and replace
31them with the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards that
32establish the core content of the curricula to be taught in this
33state and that specify the core content knowledge and skills
34that K-12 public school students are expected to acquire. The
35Next Generation Sunshine State Standards must, at a minimum:
36     (a)  Establish the core curricular content for language
37arts, science, mathematics, and social studies, as follows:
38     1.  Language arts standards must establish specific
39curricular content for, at a minimum, the reading process,
40literary analysis, the writing process, writing applications,
41communication, and information and media literacy. The standards
42must include distinct grade level expectations for the core
43content knowledge and skills that a student is expected to have
44acquired by each individual grade level from kindergarten
45through grade 8. The language arts standards for grades 9
46through 12 may be organized by grade clusters of more than one
47grade level. The language arts standards must also identify
48significant literary genres and authors that encompass a
49comprehensive range of historical periods. Beginning with the
502011-2012 school year, the reading portion of the language arts
51curriculum shall include civics education content for all grade
52levels. The State Board of Education shall, in accordance with
53the expedited schedule established under subsection (2), review
54and replace the language arts standards adopted by the state
55board in 2007 with Next Generation Sunshine State Standards that
56comply with this subparagraph.
57     2.  Science standards must establish specific curricular
58content for, at a minimum, the nature of science, earth and
59space science, physical science, and life science. The standards
60must include distinct grade level expectations for the core
61content knowledge and skills that a student is expected to have
62acquired by each individual grade level from kindergarten
63through grade 8. The science standards for grades 9 through 12
64may be organized by grade clusters of more than one grade level.
65     3.  Mathematics standards must establish specific
66curricular content for, at a minimum, algebra, geometry,
67probability, statistics, calculus, discrete mathematics,
68financial literacy, and trigonometry. The standards must include
69distinct grade level expectations for the core content knowledge
70and skills that a student is expected to have acquired by each
71individual grade level from kindergarten through grade 8. The
72mathematics standards for grades 9 through 12 may be organized
73by grade clusters of more than one grade level.
74     4.  Social studies standards must establish specific
75curricular content for, at a minimum, geography, United States
76and world history, government, civics, economics, and
77humanities. The standards must include distinct grade level
78expectations for the core content knowledge and skills that a
79student is expected to have acquired by each individual grade
80level from kindergarten through grade 8. The social studies
81standards for grades 9 through 12 may be organized by grade
82clusters of more than one grade level.
83     Section 3.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
841003.4156, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
85     1003.4156  General requirements for middle grades
86promotion.-
87     (1)  Beginning with students entering grade 6 in the 2006-
882007 school year, promotion from a school composed of middle
89grades 6, 7, and 8 requires that:
90     (a)  The student must successfully complete academic
91courses as follows:
92     1.  Three middle school or higher courses in English. These
93courses shall emphasize literature, composition, and technical
94text.
95     2.  Three middle school or higher courses in mathematics.
96Each middle school must offer at least one high school level
97mathematics course for which students may earn high school
98credit.
99     3.  Three middle school or higher courses in social
100studies, one semester of which must include the study of state
101and federal government and civics education. Beginning with
102students entering grade 6 in the 2012-2013 school year, one of
103these courses must be at least a one-semester civics education
104course that a student successfully completes in accordance with
105s. 1008.22(3)(c) and that includes the roles and
106responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments; the
107structures and functions of the legislative, executive, and
108judicial branches of government; and the meaning and
109significance of historic documents, such as the Articles of
110Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, and the
111Constitution of the United States.
112     4.  Three middle school or higher courses in science.
113     5.  One course in career and education planning to be
114completed in 7th or 8th grade. The course may be taught by any
115member of the instructional staff; must include career
116exploration using CHOICES for the 21st Century or a comparable
117cost-effective program; must include educational planning using
118the online student advising system known as Florida Academic
119Counseling and Tracking for Students at the Internet website
120FACTS.org; and shall result in the completion of a personalized
121academic and career plan.
122
123Each school must hold a parent meeting either in the evening or
124on a weekend to inform parents about the course curriculum and
125activities. Each student shall complete an electronic personal
126education plan that must be signed by the student; the student's
127instructor, guidance counselor, or academic advisor; and the
128student's parent. By January 1, 2007, the Department of
129Education shall develop course frameworks and professional
130development materials for the career exploration and education
131planning course. The course may be implemented as a stand-alone
132course or integrated into another course or courses. The
133Commissioner of Education shall collect longitudinal high school
134course enrollment data by student ethnicity in order to analyze
135course-taking patterns.
136     Section 4.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
1371008.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
138     1008.22  Student assessment program for public schools.-
139     (3)  STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.-The commissioner shall
140design and implement a statewide program of educational
141assessment that provides information for the improvement of the
142operation and management of the public schools, including
143schools operating for the purpose of providing educational
144services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs.
145The commissioner may enter into contracts for the continued
146administration of the assessment, testing, and evaluation
147programs authorized and funded by the Legislature. Contracts may
148be initiated in 1 fiscal year and continue into the next and may
149be paid from the appropriations of either or both fiscal years.
150The commissioner is authorized to negotiate for the sale or
151lease of tests, scoring protocols, test scoring services, and
152related materials developed pursuant to law. Pursuant to the
153statewide assessment program, the commissioner shall:
154     (c)  Develop and implement a student achievement testing
155program known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
156(FCAT) as part of the statewide assessment program to measure a
157student's content knowledge and skills in reading, writing,
158science, and mathematics. Other content areas may be included as
159directed by the commissioner. Comprehensive assessments of
160reading and mathematics shall be administered annually in grades
1613 through 10. Comprehensive assessments of writing and science
162shall be administered at least once at the elementary, middle,
163and high school levels. End-of-course assessments for a subject
164may be administered in addition to the comprehensive assessments
165required for that subject under this paragraph. An end-of-course
166assessment must be rigorous, statewide, standardized, and
167developed or approved by the department. The content knowledge
168and skills assessed by comprehensive and end-of-course
169assessments must be aligned to the core curricular content
170established in the Sunshine State Standards. During the 2012-
1712013 school year, an end-of-course assessment in civics
172education shall be administered as a field test at the middle
173school level. During the 2013-2014 school year, each student's
174performance on the statewide, standardized end-of-course
175assessment in civics education shall constitute 30 percent of
176the student's final course grade. Beginning with the 2014-2015
177school year, a student must earn a passing score on the end-of-
178course assessment in civics education in order to pass the
179course and receive course credit. The commissioner may select
180one or more nationally developed comprehensive examinations,
181which may include, but need not be limited to, examinations for
182a College Board Advanced Placement course, International
183Baccalaureate course, or Advanced International Certificate of
184Education course or industry-approved examinations to earn
185national industry certifications as defined in s. 1003.492, for
186use as end-of-course assessments under this paragraph, if the
187commissioner determines that the content knowledge and skills
188assessed by the examinations meet or exceed the grade level
189expectations for the core curricular content established for the
190course in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. The
191commissioner may collaborate with the American Diploma Project
192in the adoption or development of rigorous end-of-course
193assessments that are aligned to the Next Generation Sunshine
194State Standards. The testing program must be designed as
195follows:
196     1.  The tests shall measure student skills and competencies
197adopted by the State Board of Education as specified in
198paragraph (a). The tests must measure and report student
199proficiency levels of all students assessed in reading, writing,
200mathematics, and science. The commissioner shall provide for the
201tests to be developed or obtained, as appropriate, through
202contracts and project agreements with private vendors, public
203vendors, public agencies, postsecondary educational
204institutions, or school districts. The commissioner shall obtain
205input with respect to the design and implementation of the
206testing program from state educators, assistive technology
207experts, and the public.
208     2.  The testing program shall be composed of criterion-
209referenced tests that shall, to the extent determined by the
210commissioner, include test items that require the student to
211produce information or perform tasks in such a way that the core
212content knowledge and skills he or she uses can be measured.
213     3.  Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, the
214commissioner shall discontinue administration of the selected-
215response test items on the comprehensive assessments of writing.
216Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the comprehensive
217assessments of writing shall be composed of a combination of
218selected-response test items, short-response performance tasks,
219and extended-response performance tasks, which shall measure a
220student's content knowledge of writing, including, but not
221limited to, paragraph and sentence structure, sentence
222construction, grammar and usage, punctuation, capitalization,
223spelling, parts of speech, verb tense, irregular verbs, subject-
224verb agreement, and noun-pronoun agreement.
225     4.  A score shall be designated for each subject area
226tested, below which score a student's performance is deemed
227inadequate. The school districts shall provide appropriate
228remedial instruction to students who score below these levels.
229     5.  Except as provided in s. 1003.428(8)(b) or s.
2301003.43(11)(b), students must earn a passing score on the grade
23110 assessment test described in this paragraph or attain
232concordant scores as described in subsection (10) in reading,
233writing, and mathematics to qualify for a standard high school
234diploma. The State Board of Education shall designate a passing
235score for each part of the grade 10 assessment test. In
236establishing passing scores, the state board shall consider any
237possible negative impact of the test on minority students. The
238State Board of Education shall adopt rules which specify the
239passing scores for the grade 10 FCAT. Any such rules, which have
240the effect of raising the required passing scores, shall apply
241only to students taking the grade 10 FCAT for the first time
242after such rules are adopted by the State Board of Education.
243     6.  Participation in the testing program is mandatory for
244all students attending public school, including students served
245in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, except as otherwise
246prescribed by the commissioner. If a student does not
247participate in the statewide assessment, the district must
248notify the student's parent and provide the parent with
249information regarding the implications of such nonparticipation.
250A parent must provide signed consent for a student to receive
251classroom instructional accommodations that would not be
252available or permitted on the statewide assessments and must
253acknowledge in writing that he or she understands the
254implications of such instructional accommodations. The State
255Board of Education shall adopt rules, based upon recommendations
256of the commissioner, for the provision of test accommodations
257for students in exceptional education programs and for students
258who have limited English proficiency. Accommodations that negate
259the validity of a statewide assessment are not allowable in the
260administration of the FCAT. However, instructional
261accommodations are allowable in the classroom if included in a
262student's individual education plan. Students using
263instructional accommodations in the classroom that are not
264allowable as accommodations on the FCAT may have the FCAT
265requirement waived pursuant to the requirements of s.
2661003.428(8)(b) or s. 1003.43(11)(b).
267     7.  A student seeking an adult high school diploma must
268meet the same testing requirements that a regular high school
269student must meet.
270     8.  District school boards must provide instruction to
271prepare students to demonstrate proficiency in the core
272curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine
273State Standards adopted under s. 1003.41, including the core
274content knowledge and skills necessary for successful grade-to-
275grade progression and high school graduation. If a student is
276provided with instructional accommodations in the classroom that
277are not allowable as accommodations in the statewide assessment
278program, as described in the test manuals, the district must
279inform the parent in writing and must provide the parent with
280information regarding the impact on the student's ability to
281meet expected proficiency levels in reading, writing, and
282mathematics. The commissioner shall conduct studies as necessary
283to verify that the required core curricular content is part of
284the district instructional programs.
285     9.  District school boards must provide opportunities for
286students to demonstrate an acceptable level of performance on an
287alternative standardized assessment approved by the State Board
288of Education following enrollment in summer academies.
289     10.  The Department of Education must develop, or select,
290and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
291used in all juvenile justice programs in the state. These tools
292must accurately measure the core curricular content established
293in the Sunshine State Standards.
294     11.  For students seeking a special diploma pursuant to s.
2951003.438, the Department of Education must develop or select and
296implement an alternate assessment tool that accurately measures
297the core curricular content established in the Sunshine State
298Standards for students with disabilities under s. 1003.438.
299     12.  The Commissioner of Education shall establish
300schedules for the administration of statewide assessments and
301the reporting of student test results. The commissioner shall,
302by August 1 of each year, notify each school district in writing
303and publish on the department's Internet website the testing and
304reporting schedules for, at a minimum, the school year following
305the upcoming school year. The testing and reporting schedules
306shall require that:
307     a.  There is the latest possible administration of
308statewide assessments and the earliest possible reporting to the
309school districts of student test results which is feasible
310within available technology and specific appropriations;
311however, test results must be made available no later than the
312final day of the regular school year for students.
313     b.  Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, a
314comprehensive statewide assessment of writing is not
315administered earlier than the week of March 1 and a
316comprehensive statewide assessment of any other subject is not
317administered earlier than the week of April 15.
318     c.  A statewide standardized end-of-course assessment is
319administered within the last 2 weeks of the course.
320
321The commissioner may, based on collaboration and input from
322school districts, design and implement student testing programs,
323for any grade level and subject area, necessary to effectively
324monitor educational achievement in the state, including the
325measurement of educational achievement of the Sunshine State
326Standards for students with disabilities. Development and
327refinement of assessments shall include universal design
328principles and accessibility standards that will prevent any
329unintended obstacles for students with disabilities while
330ensuring the validity and reliability of the test. These
331principles should be applicable to all technology platforms and
332assistive devices available for the assessments. The field
333testing process and psychometric analyses for the statewide
334assessment program must include an appropriate percentage of
335students with disabilities and an evaluation or determination of
336the effect of test items on such students.
337     Section 5.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
3381008.34, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
339     1008.34  School grading system; school report cards;
340district grade.-
341     (3)  DESIGNATION OF SCHOOL GRADES.-
342     (c)  Student assessment data used in determining school
343grades shall include:
344     1.  The aggregate scores of all eligible students enrolled
345in the school who have been assessed on the FCAT and, beginning
346with the 2013-2014 school year, on the statewide, standardized
347end-of-course assessment in civics education at the middle
348school level.
349     2.  The aggregate scores of all eligible students enrolled
350in the school who have been assessed on the FCAT and who have
351scored at or in the lowest 25th percentile of students in the
352school in reading, mathematics, or writing, unless these
353students are exhibiting satisfactory performance.
354     3.  Effective with the 2005-2006 school year, the
355achievement scores and learning gains of eligible students
356attending alternative schools that provide dropout prevention
357and academic intervention services pursuant to s. 1003.53. The
358term "eligible students" in this subparagraph does not include
359students attending an alternative school who are subject to
360district school board policies for expulsion for repeated or
361serious offenses, who are in dropout retrieval programs serving
362students who have officially been designated as dropouts, or who
363are in programs operated or contracted by the Department of
364Juvenile Justice. The student performance data for eligible
365students identified in this subparagraph shall be included in
366the calculation of the home school's grade. As used in this
367section and s. 1008.341, the term "home school" means the school
368to which the student would be assigned if the student were not
369assigned to an alternative school. If an alternative school
370chooses to be graded under this section, student performance
371data for eligible students identified in this subparagraph shall
372not be included in the home school's grade but shall be included
373only in the calculation of the alternative school's grade. A
374school district that fails to assign the FCAT scores of each of
375its students to his or her home school or to the alternative
376school that receives a grade shall forfeit Florida School
377Recognition Program funds for 1 fiscal year. School districts
378must require collaboration between the home school and the
379alternative school in order to promote student success. This
380collaboration must include an annual discussion between the
381principal of the alternative school and the principal of each
382student's home school concerning the most appropriate school
383assignment of the student.
384     4.  Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year for schools
385comprised of high school grades 9, 10, 11, and 12, or grades 10,
38611, and 12, the data listed in subparagraphs 1.-3. and the
387following data as the Department of Education determines such
388data are valid and available:
389     a.  The high school graduation rate of the school as
390calculated by the Department of Education;
391     b.  The participation rate of all eligible students
392enrolled in the school and enrolled in College Board Advanced
393Placement courses; International Baccalaureate courses; dual
394enrollment courses; Advanced International Certificate of
395Education courses; and courses or sequence of courses leading to
396industry certification, as determined by the Agency for
397Workforce Innovation under s. 1003.492(2) in a career and
398professional academy, as described in s. 1003.493;
399     c.  The aggregate scores of all eligible students enrolled
400in the school in College Board Advanced Placement courses,
401International Baccalaureate courses, and Advanced International
402Certificate of Education courses;
403     d.  Earning of college credit by all eligible students
404enrolled in the school in dual enrollment programs under s.
4051007.271;
406     e.  Earning of an industry certification, as determined by
407the Agency for Workforce Innovation under s. 1003.492(2) in a
408career and professional academy, as described in s. 1003.493;
409     f.  The aggregate scores of all eligible students enrolled
410in the school in reading, mathematics, and other subjects as
411measured by the SAT, the ACT, and the common placement test for
412postsecondary readiness;
413     g.  The high school graduation rate of all eligible at-risk
414students enrolled in the school who scored at Level 2 or lower
415on the grade 8 FCAT Reading and Mathematics examinations;
416     h.  The performance of the school's students on statewide
417standardized end-of-course assessments administered under s.
4181008.22; and
419     i.  The growth or decline in the data components listed in
420sub-subparagraphs a.-h. from year to year.
421
422The State Board of Education shall adopt appropriate criteria
423for each school grade. The criteria must also give added weight
424to student achievement in reading. Schools designated with a
425grade of "C," making satisfactory progress, shall be required to
426demonstrate that adequate progress has been made by students in
427the school who are in the lowest 25th percentile in reading,
428mathematics, or writing on the FCAT, unless these students are
429exhibiting satisfactory performance. Beginning with the 2009-
4302010 school year for schools comprised of high school grades 9,
43110, 11, and 12, or grades 10, 11, and 12, the criteria for
432school grades must also give added weight to the graduation rate
433of all eligible at-risk students, as defined in this paragraph.
434Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, in order for a high
435school to be designated as having a grade of "A," making
436excellent progress, the school must demonstrate that at-risk
437students, as defined in this paragraph, in the school are making
438adequate progress.
439     Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.


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