Florida Senate - 2019 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Bill No. CS for SB 226
Ì568896oÎ568896
576-03855-19
Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Appropriations
(Appropriations Subcommittee on Education)
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to mastery-based education; amending
3 s. 1003.436, F.S.; authorizing a district school board
4 or developmental research school participating in the
5 Mastery-Based Education Program to award credit based
6 on student mastery of certain content and skills;
7 amending s. 1003.437, F.S.; authorizing a district
8 school board or developmental research school
9 participating in the Mastery-Based Education Program
10 to use an alternative interpretation of letter grades
11 for certain students; requiring participating district
12 school boards and developmental research schools to
13 use the current 4-point scale in determining student
14 grade point averages; amending s. 1003.4996, F.S.;
15 renaming the Competency-Based Education Pilot Program
16 as the Mastery-Based Education Program; authorizing
17 public school districts and developmental research
18 schools to submit applications for the program;
19 authorizing participating school districts and
20 developmental research schools to amend their
21 applications to include alternatives for the award of
22 credits and interpretation of letter grades; providing
23 requirements for such alternatives; amending s.
24 1007.23, F.S.; requiring the statewide articulation
25 agreement to ensure fair and equitable access for
26 students who have earned high school credit through
27 mastery-based education and graduate with a standard
28 high school diploma; providing an effective date.
29
30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
33 1003.436, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
34 1003.436 Definition of “credit.”—
35 (1)(a) For the purposes of requirements for high school
36 graduation, one full credit means a minimum of 135 hours of bona
37 fide instruction in a designated course of study that contains
38 student performance standards, except as otherwise provided
39 through the Credit Acceleration Program (CAP) under s.
40 1003.4295(3). One full credit means a minimum of 120 hours of
41 bona fide instruction in a designated course of study that
42 contains student performance standards for purposes of meeting
43 high school graduation requirements in a district school that
44 has been authorized to implement block scheduling by the
45 district school board. However, district school boards and
46 developmental research schools participating in the Mastery-
47 Based Education Program under s. 1003.4996 may determine and
48 award credit based on a student’s mastery of the core content
49 and skills, consistent with s. 1003.41, as approved by the
50 district school board or developmental research school governing
51 authority, as applicable. The State Board of Education shall
52 determine the number of postsecondary credit hours earned
53 through dual enrollment pursuant to s. 1007.271 that satisfy the
54 requirements of a dual enrollment articulation agreement
55 according to s. 1007.271(21) and that equal one full credit of
56 the equivalent high school course identified pursuant to s.
57 1007.271(9).
58 Section 2. Section 1003.437, Florida Statutes, is amended
59 to read:
60 1003.437 Middle and high school grading system.—
61 (1) The grading system and interpretation of letter grades
62 used to measure student success in grade 6 through grade 12
63 courses for students in public schools is shall be as follows:
64 (a)(1) Grade “A” equals 90 percent through 100 percent, has
65 a grade point average value of 4, and is defined as “outstanding
66 progress.”
67 (b)(2) Grade “B” equals 80 percent through 89 percent, has
68 a grade point average value of 3, and is defined as “above
69 average progress.”
70 (c)(3) Grade “C” equals 70 percent through 79 percent, has
71 a grade point average value of 2, and is defined as “average
72 progress.”
73 (d)(4) Grade “D” equals 60 percent through 69 percent, has
74 a grade point average value of 1, and is defined as “lowest
75 acceptable progress.”
76 (e)(5) Grade “F” equals zero percent through 59 percent,
77 has a grade point average value of zero, and is defined as
78 “failure.”
79 (f)(6) Grade “I” equals zero percent, has a grade point
80 average value of zero, and is defined as “incomplete.”
81 (2) A district school board and a developmental research
82 school participating in the Mastery-Based Education Program
83 under s. 1003.4996 may use an alternative interpretation of
84 letter grades to measure student success in grade 6 through
85 grade 12; however, the school board and developmental research
86 school must continue to use the 4-point scale established in
87 subsection (1) for calculating a student’s grade point average.
88
89 For the purposes of class ranking, district school boards may
90 exercise a weighted grading system pursuant to s. 1007.271.
91 Section 3. Section 1003.4996, Florida Statutes, is amended
92 to read:
93 1003.4996 Mastery-Based Competency-Based Education Pilot
94 Program.—Beginning with the 2016-2017 school year, the Mastery
95 Based Competency-Based Education Pilot Program is created within
96 the Department of Education to be administered for a period of 5
97 years. The purpose of the pilot program is to provide an
98 educational environment that allows students to advance to
99 higher levels of learning upon the mastery of concepts and
100 skills through statutory exemptions relating to student
101 progression and the awarding of credits.
102 (1) PARTICIPATION.—Developmental research schools
103 established under s. 1002.32, including the P.K. Yonge
104 Developmental Research School, and public school districts,
105 including, but not limited to, the Lake, Palm Beach, Pinellas,
106 and Seminole County School Districts, may submit an application
107 in a format prescribed by the department to participate in the
108 pilot program.
109 (2) APPLICATION.—The application to participate in the
110 pilot program must, at a minimum, include:
111 (a) The vision and timelines for the implementation of
112 mastery-based competency-based education within the school
113 district, including a list of the schools that will participate
114 in the pilot program during the first school year and the list
115 of schools that will be integrated into the program in
116 subsequent school years.
117 (b) The annual goals and performance outcomes for
118 participating schools, including, but not limited to:
119 1. Student performance as defined in s. 1008.34.
120 2. Promotion and retention rates.
121 3. Graduation rates.
122 4. Indicators of college and career readiness.
123 (c) A communication plan for parents and other
124 stakeholders, including local businesses and community members.
125 (d) The scope of and timelines for professional development
126 for school instructional and administrative personnel.
127 (e) A plan for student progression based on the mastery of
128 content, including mechanisms that determine and ensure that a
129 student has satisfied the requirements for grade-level promotion
130 and content mastery.
131 (f) A plan for using technology and digital and blended
132 learning to enhance student achievement and facilitate the
133 mastery-based competency-based education system.
134 (g) The proposed allocation of resources for the pilot
135 program at the school and district levels.
136 (h) The recruitment and selection of participating schools.
137 (i) The rules to be waived for participating schools
138 pursuant to subsection (3) to implement the pilot program.
139 (3) EXEMPTION FROM RULES.—In addition to the waivers
140 authorized in s. 1001.10(3), the State Board of Education may
141 authorize the commissioner to grant an additional waiver of
142 rules relating to student progression and the awarding of
143 credits.
144 (4) ALTERNATIVE CREDIT AND LETTER GRADE SYSTEMS.—
145 (a) Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, participating
146 school districts and developmental research schools may amend
147 their applications to include alternatives for awarding credit,
148 as authorized under s. 1003.436, and for the interpretation of
149 middle school and high school letter grades, as authorized under
150 s. 1003.437.
151 1. Alternatives to awarding credit must include
152 verification of the student’s mastery of the applicable course
153 content using rigorous scoring rubrics to evaluate the student’s
154 work. A participating school district and developmental research
155 school must amend its student progression plan required by s.
156 1008.25 to conform to the alternative awarding of credits
157 pursuant to this section.
158 2. Alternatives to the interpretation of middle school and
159 high school letter grades may substitute the applicable language
160 from the school district’s rigorous scoring rubric; however,
161 participating school districts and developmental research
162 schools must continue to use the 4-point scale established in s.
163 1003.437(1) for calculating a student’s grade point average.
164 (b) An application that is amended pursuant to this
165 subsection must be approved by the district school board or
166 developmental research school governing authority, as
167 applicable.
168 (5)(4) STUDENT FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a
169 participating school shall be reported for and generate funding
170 pursuant to s. 1011.62.
171 (6)(5) DEPARTMENT DUTIES.—The department shall:
172 (a) Compile the student and staff schedules of
173 participating schools before and after implementation of the
174 pilot program.
175 (b) Provide participating schools with access to statewide,
176 standardized assessments required under s. 1008.22.
177 (c) Annually, by June 1, provide to the Governor, the
178 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
179 Representatives a report summarizing the activities and
180 accomplishments of the pilot program and any recommendations for
181 statutory revisions.
182 (7)(6) RULES.—The State Board of Education shall adopt
183 rules to administer this section.
184 Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 1007.23, Florida
185 Statutes, is amended to read:
186 1007.23 Statewide articulation agreement.—
187 (1) The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors
188 shall enter into a statewide articulation agreement which the
189 State Board of Education shall adopt by rule. The agreement must
190 preserve Florida’s “2+2” system of articulation, facilitate the
191 seamless articulation of student credit across and among
192 Florida’s educational entities, and reinforce the provisions of
193 this chapter by governing:
194 (a) Articulation between secondary and postsecondary
195 education, including fair and equitable access for students who
196 have earned high school credit through a mastery-based education
197 program pursuant to s. 1003.4996 and graduate with a standard
198 high school diploma;
199 (b) Admission of associate in arts degree graduates from
200 Florida College System institutions and state universities;
201 (c) Admission of applied technology diploma program
202 graduates from Florida College System institutions or career
203 centers;
204 (d) Admission of associate in science degree and associate
205 in applied science degree graduates from Florida College System
206 institutions;
207 (e) The use of acceleration mechanisms, including
208 nationally standardized examinations through which students may
209 earn credit;
210 (f) General education requirements and statewide course
211 numbers as provided for in ss. 1007.24 and 1007.25; and
212 (g) Articulation among programs in nursing.
213 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.