Florida Senate - 2013                                     SB 776
       
       
       
       By Senator Thompson
       
       
       
       
       12-01439-13                                            2013776__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship
    3         Program; amending s. 1002.395, F.S.; requiring a
    4         private school participating in the program to report
    5         to the Department of Education the assessment scores
    6         of any students who are administered certain
    7         assessments; requiring the department to publish the
    8         scores on its website; providing an effective date.
    9  
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (8) of section
   13  1002.395, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   14         1002.395 Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program.—
   15         (8) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—An eligible
   16  private school may be sectarian or nonsectarian and must:
   17         (c) Be academically accountable to the parent for meeting
   18  the educational needs of the student by:
   19         1. At a minimum, annually providing to the parent a written
   20  explanation of the student’s progress.
   21         2. Annually administering or making provision for students
   22  participating in the scholarship program in grades 3 through 10
   23  to take one of the nationally norm-referenced tests identified
   24  by the Department of Education or the statewide assessments
   25  pursuant to s. 1008.22. Students with disabilities for whom
   26  standardized testing is not appropriate are exempt from this
   27  requirement. A participating private school must report a
   28  student’s scores to the parent. A participating private school
   29  must annually report by August 15 the scores of all
   30  participating students to the independent research organization
   31  described in paragraph (9)(j).
   32         3. Cooperating with the scholarship student whose parent
   33  chooses to have the student participate in the statewide
   34  assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22 or, if a private school
   35  chooses to offer the statewide assessments, administering the
   36  assessments at the school.
   37         a. A participating private school may choose to offer and
   38  administer the statewide assessments to all students who attend
   39  the private school in grades 3 through 10. A participating
   40  private school shall report to the Department of Education the
   41  scores of any students who are administered the statewide
   42  assessments or any nationally norm-referenced tests. The
   43  department shall publish the scores on its website so that a
   44  parent is able to compare the assessment scores of participating
   45  private schools to determine the best school for his or her
   46  child.
   47         b. A participating private school must submit a request in
   48  writing to the Department of Education by March 1 of each year
   49  in order to administer the statewide assessments in the
   50  subsequent school year.
   51  
   52  The inability of a private school to meet the requirements of
   53  this subsection shall constitute a basis for the ineligibility
   54  of the private school to participate in the scholarship program
   55  as determined by the Department of Education.
   56         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.