Florida Senate - 2019                             CS for SB 1480
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Education; and Senator Stargel
       
       
       
       
       
       581-03745-19                                          20191480c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to civics education; amending s.
    3         1003.4156, F.S.; requiring that instructional
    4         materials for certain civics education courses be
    5         reviewed and approved by the Commissioner of Education
    6         in consultation with certain entities and individuals;
    7         requiring the commissioner to identify errors and
    8         inaccuracies in state-adopted materials; requiring
    9         such errors and inaccuracies to be corrected;
   10         requiring the commissioner to consult with specified
   11         organizations and stakeholders to review civics
   12         instructional materials and test specifications by a
   13         specified date; requiring the commissioner to make
   14         recommendations for improving such materials and test
   15         specifications by a specified date; requiring the
   16         department to review statewide civics education course
   17         standards by a specified date; deleting obsolete
   18         language; providing an effective date.
   19          
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
   23  1003.4156, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   24         1003.4156 General requirements for middle grades
   25  promotion.—
   26         (1) In order for a student to be promoted to high school
   27  from a school that includes middle grades 6, 7, and 8, the
   28  student must successfully complete the following courses:
   29         (c) Three middle grades or higher courses in social
   30  studies. Beginning with students entering grade 6 in the 2012
   31  2013 school year, One of these courses must be at least a one
   32  semester civics education course that includes the roles and
   33  responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments; the
   34  structures and functions of the legislative, executive, and
   35  judicial branches of government; and the meaning and
   36  significance of historic documents, such as the Articles of
   37  Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, and the
   38  Constitution of the United States. The instructional materials
   39  for the civics education course must be reviewed and approved by
   40  the Commissioner of Education in consultation with organizations
   41  that may include, but are not limited to, the Florida Joint
   42  Center for Citizenship, the Bill of Rights Institute, Hillsdale
   43  College, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History,
   44  iCivics, and the Constitutional Sources Project, and in
   45  consultation with educators, school administrators,
   46  postsecondary education representatives, elected officials,
   47  business and industry leaders, parents, and the public. Any
   48  errors and inaccuracies the commissioner identifies in state
   49  adopted materials must be corrected pursuant to s. 1006.35.
   50  After consulting with such entities and individuals, the
   51  commissioner shall review the current state-approved civics
   52  education course instructional materials and the statewide EOC
   53  assessment test specifications and shall make recommendations
   54  for improvements to the materials and test specifications by
   55  December 31, 2019. By December 31, 2020, the department shall
   56  complete a review of the statewide civics education course
   57  standards. Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, Each
   58  student’s performance on the statewide, standardized EOC
   59  assessment in civics education required under s. 1008.22
   60  constitutes 30 percent of the student’s final course grade. A
   61  middle grades student who transfers into the state’s public
   62  school system from out of country, out of state, a private
   63  school, or a home education program after the beginning of the
   64  second term of grade 8 is not required to meet the civics
   65  education requirement for promotion from the middle grades if
   66  the student’s transcript documents passage of three courses in
   67  social studies or two year-long courses in social studies that
   68  include coverage of civics education.
   69         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.