Florida Senate - 2016 CS for SB 1076
By the Committee on Education Pre-K - 12; and Senator Legg
581-02939-16 20161076c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education; amending s. 1007.273,
3 F.S.; providing additional options for students
4 participating in a structured high school acceleration
5 program; prohibiting a district school board from
6 limiting the number of public school students who may
7 enroll in a structured high school acceleration
8 program; revising requirements relating to contracts
9 establishing structured high school acceleration
10 programs; requiring each district school board to
11 notify students in certain grades about the program;
12 revising provisions relating to program funding;
13 providing compliance and reporting requirements;
14 amending s. 1003.4295, F.S.; revising the purpose of
15 the Credit Acceleration Program; requiring students to
16 earn passing scores on specified assessments or
17 examinations to earn course credit; amending s.
18 1003.621, F.S.; requiring an academically high
19 performing school district to execute a contract to
20 establish a structured high school acceleration
21 program; providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25 Section 1. Section 1007.273, Florida Statutes, is amended
26 to read:
27 1007.273 Structured high school acceleration programs
28 Collegiate high school program.—
29 (1) Each Florida College System institution shall work with
30 each district school board in its designated service area to
31 establish one or more structured high school acceleration
32 programs, including, but not limited to, collegiate high school
33 programs.
34 (1)(2) PURPOSE.—At a minimum, structured collegiate high
35 school acceleration programs must include an option for public
36 school students in grade 11 or grade 12 participating in the
37 program, for at least 1 full school year, to earn CAPE industry
38 certifications pursuant to s. 1008.44 and to successfully
39 complete 30 credit hours toward general education core
40 curriculum or common prerequisite course requirements pursuant
41 to s. 1007.25 through the dual enrollment program under s.
42 1007.271, a mechanism pursuant to s. 1007.27, or a CAPE industry
43 certification pursuant to s. 1008.44 toward the first year of
44 college for an associate degree or baccalaureate degree while
45 enrolled in the program. A district school board may not limit
46 the number of public school students who may enroll in such
47 programs.
48 (2)(3) REQUIRED PROGRAM CONTRACTS.—Each district school
49 board and its local Florida College System institution shall
50 execute a contract to establish one or more structured
51 collegiate high school acceleration programs at a mutually
52 agreed upon location or locations. Beginning with the 2015-2016
53 school year, If the institution does not establish a program
54 with a district school board in its designated service area,
55 another Florida College System institution may execute a
56 contract with that district school board to establish the
57 program. Beginning with the 2016-2017 school year, the contract
58 must be executed by January 1 of each school year for
59 implementation of the program during the next school year. The
60 contract must:
61 (a) Identify the grade levels to be included in the
62 collegiate high school program which must, at a minimum, include
63 grade 12.
64 (b) Describe the collegiate high school program, including
65 the delineation of courses that must, at a minimum, include
66 general education core curriculum or common prerequisite course
67 requirements pursuant to s. 1007.25 and industry certifications
68 offered, including online course availability; the high school
69 and college credits earned for each postsecondary course
70 completed and industry certification earned; student eligibility
71 criteria; and the enrollment process and relevant deadlines.
72 (c) Describe the methods, medium, and process by which
73 students and their parents are annually informed about the
74 availability of the collegiate high school program, the return
75 on investment associated with participation in the program, and
76 the information described in paragraphs (a) and (b).
77 (d) Identify the delivery methods for instruction and the
78 instructors for all courses.
79 (e) Identify student advising services and progress
80 monitoring mechanisms.
81 (f) Establish a program review and reporting mechanism
82 regarding student performance outcomes.
83 (g) Describe the terms of funding arrangements to implement
84 the collegiate high school program pursuant to paragraph (5)(a).
85 (3) STUDENT PERFORMANCE CONTRACT AND NOTIFICATION.—
86 (a)(4) Each student participating in a structured
87 collegiate high school acceleration program must enter into a
88 student performance contract which must be signed by the
89 student, the parent, and a representative of the school district
90 and the applicable Florida College System institution, state
91 university, or other institution participating pursuant to
92 subsection (4) (5). The performance contract must, at a minimum,
93 include the schedule of courses, by semester, and industry
94 certifications to be taken by the student, student attendance
95 requirements, and course grade requirements.
96 (b) By September 1 of each school year, each district
97 school board must notify each student enrolled in grades 9, 10,
98 11, and 12 in a public school within the school district about
99 the structured high school acceleration program including, but
100 not limited to:
101 1. The method for earning college credit through
102 participation in the program. Such methods must include an
103 Internet website link to the dual enrollment course equivalency
104 list approved by the Department of Education and the credit-by
105 examination equivalency list adopted by the State Board of
106 Education in rule.
107 2. The estimated cost savings to students and their
108 families resulting from students successfully completing 30
109 credit hours toward general education core or common
110 prerequisite course requirements and earning industry
111 certifications before graduating from high school versus the
112 cost of earning such credit hours and industry certifications
113 after graduating from high school.
114 (4)(5) AUTHORIZED PROGRAM CONTRACTS.—In addition to
115 executing a contract with the local Florida College System
116 institution under this section, a district school board may
117 execute a contract to establish a structured collegiate high
118 school acceleration program with a state university or an
119 institution that is eligible to participate in the William L.
120 Boyd, IV, Florida Resident Access Grant Program, that is a
121 nonprofit independent college or university located and
122 chartered in this state, and that is accredited by the
123 Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges
124 and Schools to grant baccalaureate degrees. Such university or
125 institution must meet the requirements specified under
126 subsections (2) (3) and (3) (4). A charter school may execute a
127 contract directly with the local Florida College System
128 institution or another institution as authorized under this
129 section to establish a structured high school acceleration
130 program at a mutually agreed upon location.
131 (5) FUNDING.—
132 (a)(6) The structured collegiate high school acceleration
133 program shall be funded pursuant to ss. 1007.271 and 1011.62.
134 The State Board of Education shall enforce compliance with this
135 section by withholding the transfer of funds for the school
136 districts and the Florida College System institutions in
137 accordance with s. 1008.32.
138 (b) A student who enrolls in the structured high school
139 acceleration program and successfully completes 30 credit hours
140 toward general education core curriculum or common prerequisite
141 course requirements pursuant to s. 1007.25, and attains one or
142 more industry certifications generates a 0.5 full-time
143 equivalent (FTE) bonus. A student who enrolls in the structured
144 high school acceleration program and successfully completes 60
145 credit hours toward an associate in arts or an associate in
146 science degree, and attains one or more industry certifications
147 before graduating from high school, generates an additional 0.5
148 FTE bonus. Each district school board that is a contractual
149 partner with a Florida College System institution shall report
150 to the commissioner the total FTE bonus for each structured high
151 school acceleration program for the students from that district
152 school board. The total FTE bonus shall be added to each school
153 district’s total weighted FTE for funding in the subsequent
154 fiscal year.
155 (6) COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.—If a district school board
156 does not execute a contract with its local Florida College
157 System institution to establish one or more structured high
158 school acceleration programs pursuant to this section or if a
159 school district does not enroll at least 2 percent of its public
160 school students in grades 11 and 12 in the district’s structured
161 high school acceleration program, the school district is not
162 eligible to:
163 (a) Qualify for the academically high-performing school
164 district designation pursuant to s. 1003.621.
165 (b) Have the calculation for compliance with maximum class
166 size pursuant to s. 1003.03 for any school in the district be
167 the average at the school level, notwithstanding any provision
168 to the contrary, which includes but is not limited to s. 1002.31
169 and s. 1002.451.
170 (7) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—
171 (a) By September 1 of each school year, each district
172 school superintendent must report to the commissioner, at a
173 minimum, the following information for the prior school year:
174 1. Number of students in public schools within the school
175 district who enrolled in the structured high school acceleration
176 program, and the partnering postsecondary institutions pursuant
177 to subsections (2) and (4).
178 2. Average number of courses completed and the number of
179 industry certifications attained by the students who enrolled in
180 the structured high school acceleration program.
181 3. Projected student enrollment in the structured high
182 school acceleration program within the next school year.
183 4. Barriers to executing contracts to establish one of more
184 structured high school acceleration programs.
185 (b) By November 30 of each school year, the commissioner
186 must report to the Governor, President of the Senate, and
187 Speaker of the House of Representatives the status of structured
188 high school acceleration programs including, at a minimum, a
189 summary of student enrollment and completion information
190 pursuant to this subsection; barriers, if any, to establishing
191 such programs; and recommendations for expanding access to such
192 programs statewide.
193 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 1003.4295, Florida
194 Statutes, is amended to read:
195 1003.4295 Acceleration options.—
196 (3) The Credit Acceleration Program (CAP) is created for
197 the purpose of allowing a student to earn high school credit in
198 Algebra I, Algebra II, geometry, United States history, or
199 biology, or a course under s. 1003.4285 if the student passes
200 the corresponding statewide, standardized assessment
201 administered under s. 1008.22 or Advanced Placement Examination.
202 Notwithstanding s. 1003.436, a school district shall award
203 course credit to a student who is not enrolled in the course, or
204 who has not completed the course, if the student attains a
205 passing score on the corresponding statewide, standardized
206 assessment or Advanced Placement Examination. The school
207 district shall permit a student who is not enrolled in the
208 course, or who has not completed the course, to take the
209 assessment or examination during the regular administration of
210 the assessment or examination.
211 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
212 1003.621, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
213 1003.621 Academically high-performing school districts.—It
214 is the intent of the Legislature to recognize and reward school
215 districts that demonstrate the ability to consistently maintain
216 or improve their high-performing status. The purpose of this
217 section is to provide high-performing school districts with
218 flexibility in meeting the specific requirements in statute and
219 rules of the State Board of Education.
220 (1) ACADEMICALLY HIGH-PERFORMING SCHOOL DISTRICT.—
221 (a) A school district is an academically high-performing
222 school district if it meets the following criteria:
223 1.a. Earns a grade of “A” under s. 1008.34 for 2
224 consecutive years; and
225 b. Has no district-operated school that earns a grade of
226 “F” under s. 1008.34;
227 2. Complies with all class size requirements in s. 1, Art.
228 IX of the State Constitution and s. 1003.03; and
229 3. Has no material weaknesses or instances of material
230 noncompliance noted in the annual financial audit conducted
231 pursuant to s. 11.45 or s. 218.39.
232 4. Has executed a contract with its local Florida College
233 System institution to establish one or more structured high
234 school acceleration programs at a mutually agreed upon location
235 or locations pursuant to s. 1007.273.
236
237 However, a district in which a district-operated school earns a
238 grade of “F” under s. 1008.34 during the 3-year period may not
239 continue to be designated as an academically high-performing
240 school district during the remainder of that 3-year period. The
241 district must meet the criteria in paragraph (a) in order to be
242 redesignated as an academically high-performing school district.
243 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.