Florida Senate - 2021                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SPB 7070
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
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       The Committee on Education (Berman) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 158 - 179
    4  and insert:
    5         (4) Notwithstanding s. 1008.25, Florida Statutes, a parent
    6  or guardian may request that his or her K-5 public school
    7  student be retained for the 2021-2022 school year in the grade
    8  level to which the student was assigned at the beginning of the
    9  2020-2021 school year, provided that such request is made for
   10  academic reasons.
   11         (a) A parent or guardian who wishes for his or her student
   12  to be retained as provided by this act must submit, in writing,
   13  to the school principal a retention request that specifies the
   14  academic reasons for the retention. Only requests received by
   15  the principal on or before June 30, 2021, must be considered. A
   16  principal may consider a request received after that date at his
   17  or her discretion.
   18         (b)1. A principal who considers a retention request
   19  submitted pursuant to this section shall inform the student’s
   20  teachers of the retention request and collaboratively discuss
   21  with the parent or guardian any basis for agreement or
   22  disagreement with the request. As part of the discussion with
   23  the parent or guardian, the principal shall disclose that
   24  retention may impact the student’s eligibility to participate in
   25  high school interscholastic or intrascholastic sports due to the
   26  student’s age.
   27         2. In lieu of retention, the principal, teachers, and
   28  parent or guardian may collaborate to develop a customized 1
   29  year education plan for the student with the intent of helping
   30  the student return to grade level readiness by the end of the
   31  next academic year. Such plan may include, but need not be
   32  limited to, supplemental educational support, services, and
   33  interventions; summer education; promotion in some, but not all,
   34  courses; and midyear promotion.
   35         3. The parent’s or guardian’s decision to promote or retain
   36  his or her student after discussing the retention request with
   37  the principal shall control.
   38         (c) If a student retained under this section has an
   39  individual education plan (IEP) in effect, the student’s IEP
   40  team shall convene to review and revise the student’s IEP, as
   41  appropriate.
   42         (d) By June 30, 2022, school districts shall report to the
   43  Department of Education the number of students retained pursuant
   44  to this act for all or part of the 2021-2022 school year.
   45  
   46  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   47  And the title is amended as follows:
   48         Delete lines 29 - 47
   49  and insert:
   50         earned during a certain school year; authorizing a
   51         parent or guardian to request that his or her K-5
   52         student be retained in a grade level for academic
   53         reasons for a specified school year; requiring that
   54         such a request be submitted in a specified manner;
   55         requiring school principals to consider such requests
   56         if they are timely received; authorizing school
   57         principals to consider requests that are not timely
   58         received; requiring a school principal who considers a
   59         request for retention to inform the student’s teachers
   60         of the request and collaboratively discuss with the
   61         parent or guardian any basis for agreement or
   62         disagreement with the request; requiring such
   63         discussion to disclose that retention may impact the
   64         student’s eligibility to participate in high school
   65         interscholastic or intrascholastic sports; authorizing
   66         the principal, teachers, and parent or guardian to
   67         collaborate to develop a customized 1-year education
   68         plan for the student in lieu of retaining the student;
   69         requiring a parent’s or guardian’s decision regarding
   70         retention to control; requiring the individual
   71         education plan (IEP) team for a retained student to
   72         review and revise the student’s IEP, as appropriate;
   73         requiring school districts to report certain data to
   74         the Department of Education by a specified date;