Florida Senate - 2011                                     SB 150
       
       
       
       By Senator Smith
       
       
       
       
       29-00060-11                                            2011150__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to career and education planning;
    3         amending s. 1003.4156, F.S.; revising the general
    4         requirements for middle grades promotion to require
    5         that a course in career and education planning explore
    6         the National Career Clusters; providing an effective
    7         date.
    8  
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   12  1003.4156, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   13         1003.4156 General requirements for middle grades
   14  promotion.—
   15         (1) Beginning with students entering grade 6 in the 2006
   16  2007 school year, promotion from a school composed of middle
   17  grades 6, 7, and 8 requires that:
   18         (a) The student must successfully complete academic courses
   19  as follows:
   20         1. Three middle school or higher courses in English. These
   21  courses shall emphasize literature, composition, and technical
   22  text.
   23         2. Three middle school or higher courses in mathematics.
   24  Each middle school must offer at least one high school level
   25  mathematics course for which students may earn high school
   26  credit. Successful completion of a high school level Algebra I
   27  or geometry course is not contingent upon the student’s
   28  performance on the end-of-course assessment required under s.
   29  1008.22(3)(c)2.a.(I). However, beginning with the 2011-2012
   30  school year, to earn high school credit for an Algebra I course,
   31  a middle school student must pass the Algebra I end-of-course
   32  assessment, and beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, to
   33  earn high school credit for a geometry course, a middle school
   34  student must pass the geometry end-of-course assessment.
   35         3. Three middle school or higher courses in social studies,
   36  one semester of which must include the study of state and
   37  federal government and civics education. Beginning with students
   38  entering grade 6 in the 2012-2013 school year, one of these
   39  courses must be at least a one-semester civics education course
   40  that a student successfully completes in accordance with s.
   41  1008.22(3)(c) and that includes the roles and responsibilities
   42  of federal, state, and local governments; the structures and
   43  functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches
   44  of government; and the meaning and significance of historic
   45  documents, such as the Articles of Confederation, the
   46  Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United
   47  States.
   48         4. Three middle school or higher courses in science.
   49  Successful completion of a high school level Biology I course is
   50  not contingent upon the student’s performance on the end-of
   51  course assessment required under s. 1008.22(3)(c)2.a.(II).
   52  However, beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, to earn high
   53  school credit for a Biology I course, a middle school student
   54  must pass the Biology I end-of-course assessment.
   55         5. One course in career and education planning to be
   56  completed in 7th or 8th grade. The course may be taught by any
   57  member of the instructional staff; must include career
   58  exploration aligned to the National Career Clusters supported by
   59  Florida’s Career Clusters Initiative; must include career
   60  exploration using Florida CHOICES or a comparable cost-effective
   61  program; must include educational planning using the online
   62  student advising system known as Florida Academic Counseling and
   63  Tracking for Students at the Internet website FACTS.org; and
   64  shall result in the completion of a personalized academic and
   65  career plan. The required personalized academic and career plan
   66  must inform students of high school graduation requirements,
   67  high school assessment and college entrance test requirements,
   68  Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program requirements, state
   69  university and Florida college admission requirements, and
   70  programs through which a high school student can earn college
   71  credit, including Advanced Placement, International
   72  Baccalaureate, Advanced International Certificate of Education,
   73  dual enrollment, career academy opportunities, and courses that
   74  lead to national industry certification.
   75  
   76  Each school must hold a parent meeting either in the evening or
   77  on a weekend to inform parents about the course curriculum and
   78  activities. Each student shall complete an electronic personal
   79  education plan that must be signed by the student; the student’s
   80  instructor, guidance counselor, or academic advisor; and the
   81  student’s parent. The Department of Education shall develop
   82  course frameworks and professional development materials for the
   83  career exploration and education planning course. The course may
   84  be implemented as a stand-alone course or integrated into
   85  another course or courses. The Commissioner of Education shall
   86  collect longitudinal high school course enrollment data by
   87  student ethnicity in order to analyze course-taking patterns.
   88         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.