Florida Senate - 2019 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1366
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/18/2019 .
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Appropriations Subcommittee on Education (Baxley) recommended
the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Between lines 40 and 41
4 insert:
5 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
6 1002.45, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
7 1002.45 Virtual instruction programs.—
8 (2) PROVIDER QUALIFICATIONS.—
9 (a) The department shall annually publish online a list of
10 providers approved to offer virtual instruction programs. To be
11 approved by the department, a provider must document that it:
12 1. Is nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies,
13 employment practices, and operations;
14 2. Complies with the antidiscrimination provisions of s.
15 1000.05;
16 3. Locates an administrative office or offices in this
17 state, requires its administrative staff to be state residents,
18 requires all instructional staff to be Florida-certified
19 teachers under chapter 1012 and conducts background screenings
20 for all employees or contracted personnel, as required by s.
21 1012.32, using state and national criminal history records;
22 4. Provides to parents and students specific information
23 posted and accessible online that includes, but is not limited
24 to, the following teacher-parent and teacher-student contact
25 information for each course:
26 a. How to contact the instructor via phone, e-mail, or
27 online messaging tools.
28 b. How to contact technical support via phone, e-mail, or
29 online messaging tools.
30 c. How to contact the administration office via phone, e
31 mail, or online messaging tools.
32 d. Any requirement for regular contact with the instructor
33 for the course and clear expectations for meeting the
34 requirement.
35 e. The requirement that the instructor in each course must,
36 at a minimum, conduct one contact via phone with the parent and
37 the student each month;
38 5. Possesses prior, successful experience offering online
39 courses to elementary, middle, or high school students.
40 Successful experience may be as demonstrated by showing, for
41 students in this state, quantified student learning gains in
42 each subject area and grade level provided for consideration as
43 an instructional program option. or, for students in other
44 states, quantified student learning gains using other statewide
45 assessments, nationally recognized assessments, or other third
46 party pre- and post-assessments. However, for a provider without
47 sufficient prior, successful experience offering online courses,
48 the department may conditionally approve the provider to offer
49 courses measured pursuant to subparagraph (8)(a)2. Conditional
50 approval shall be valid for 2 school years 1 school year only
51 and, based on the provider’s experience in offering the courses,
52 the department shall determine whether to grant approval to
53 offer a virtual instruction program;
54 6. Is accredited by a regional accrediting association as
55 defined by State Board of Education rule;
56 7. Ensures instructional and curricular quality through a
57 detailed curriculum and student performance accountability plan
58 that addresses every subject and grade level it intends to
59 provide through contract with the school district, including:
60 a. Courses and programs that meet the standards of the
61 International Association for K-12 Online Learning and the
62 Southern Regional Education Board.
63 b. Instructional content and services that align with, and
64 measure student attainment of, student proficiency in the Next
65 Generation Sunshine State Standards.
66 c. Mechanisms that determine and ensure that a student has
67 satisfied requirements for grade level promotion and high school
68 graduation with a standard diploma, as appropriate;
69 8. Publishes for the general public, in accordance with
70 disclosure requirements adopted in rule by the State Board of
71 Education, as part of its application as a provider and in all
72 contracts negotiated pursuant to this section:
73 a. Information and data about the curriculum of each full
74 time and part-time program.
75 b. School policies and procedures.
76 c. Certification status and physical location of all
77 administrative and instructional personnel.
78 d. Hours and times of availability of instructional
79 personnel.
80 e. Student-teacher ratios.
81 f. Student completion and promotion rates.
82 g. Student, educator, and school performance accountability
83 outcomes;
84 9. If the provider is a Florida College System institution,
85 employs instructors who meet the certification requirements for
86 instructional staff under chapter 1012; and
87 10. Performs an annual financial audit of its accounts and
88 records conducted by an independent certified public accountant
89 which is in accordance with rules adopted by the Auditor
90 General, is conducted in compliance with generally accepted
91 auditing standards, and includes a report on financial
92 statements presented in accordance with generally accepted
93 accounting principles.
94
95 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
96 And the title is amended as follows:
97 Delete line 2
98 and insert:
99 An act relating to education; amending s. 1002.45,
100 F.S.; revising requirements for qualifications of
101 virtual instruction program providers; revising the
102 length of time for which the Department of Education’s
103 conditional approval of a provider is valid; amending
104 s. 1003.4282,