Florida Senate - 2021                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 7070
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì487960@Î487960                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       The Committee on Rules (Thurston) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (502390) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Between lines 142 and 143
    5  insert:
    6         Section 3. In recognition of the public health emergency
    7  caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and notwithstanding any other
    8  provision in law:
    9         (1) School grades calculated for the 2020-2021 school year
   10  may be used for eligibility for the Florida School Recognition
   11  Program established under s. 1008.36, Florida Statutes, as
   12  provided in the General Appropriations Act.
   13         (2) A school currently in turnaround status pursuant to s.
   14  1008.33, Florida Statutes, may exit turnaround status if the
   15  school receives a grade of “C” or better.
   16         (3) A school or approved provider under s. 1002.45, Florida
   17  Statutes, which receives the same or a lower school grade or
   18  school improvement rating for the 2020-2021 school year compared
   19  to the 2018-2019 school year is not subject to sanctions or
   20  penalties that would otherwise occur as a result of the 2020
   21  2021 school grade or school improvement rating. A charter school
   22  system or a school district designated as high-performing may
   23  not lose the designation based on the 2020-2021 school grade of
   24  any of the schools within the charter school system or school
   25  district, as applicable.
   26         (4) Notwithstanding s. 1008.25, Florida Statutes, a parent
   27  or guardian may request that his or her K-5 public school
   28  student be retained for the 2021-2022 school year in the grade
   29  level to which the student was assigned at the beginning of the
   30  2020-2021 school year, provided that such request is made for
   31  academic reasons.
   32         (a) A parent or guardian who wishes for his or her student
   33  to be retained as provided by this act must submit, in writing,
   34  to the school principal a retention request that specifies the
   35  academic reasons for the retention. Only requests received by
   36  the principal on or before June 30, 2021, must be considered. A
   37  principal may consider a request received after that date at his
   38  or her discretion.
   39         (b)1. A principal who considers a retention request
   40  submitted pursuant to this subsection shall inform the student’s
   41  teachers of the retention request and collaboratively discuss
   42  with the parent or guardian any basis for agreement or
   43  disagreement with the request. As part of the discussion with
   44  the parent or guardian, the principal shall disclose that
   45  retention may impact the student’s eligibility to participate in
   46  high school interscholastic or intrascholastic sports due to the
   47  student’s age.
   48         2.In lieu of retention, the principal, teachers, and
   49  parent or guardian may collaborate to develop a customized 1
   50  year education plan for the student with the intent of helping
   51  the student return to grade level readiness by the end of the
   52  next academic year. Such plan may include, but need not be
   53  limited to, supplemental educational support, services, and
   54  interventions; summer education; promotion in some, but not all,
   55  courses; and midyear promotion.
   56         3. The parent’s or guardian’s decision to promote or retain
   57  his or her student after discussing the retention request with
   58  the principal shall control.
   59         (c)If a student retained under this subsection has an
   60  individual education plan (IEP) in effect, the student’s IEP
   61  team shall convene to review and revise the student’s IEP, as
   62  appropriate.
   63         (d) By June 30, 2022, school districts shall report to the
   64  Department of Education the number of students retained pursuant
   65  to this act for all or part of the 2021-2022 school year.
   66         (5) A student who meets all of the requirements for
   67  graduation at the end of the 2020-2021 school year except for
   68  passing either or both statewide, standardized assessments
   69  required pursuant to s. 1003.4282(3)(a) and (b), Florida
   70  Statutes, will be deemed to have met all of the requirements for
   71  graduation.
   72         (6)Student performance results from the 2020-2021
   73  statewide, standardized assessments may not be used for
   74  calculating student performance measurement and evaluating
   75  personnel pursuant to s. 1012.34, Florida Statutes.
   76         (7) The provision in s. 1002.61(2)(a), Florida Statutes,
   77  that requires a summer prekindergarten program delivered by a
   78  public school or private prekindergarten provider to consist of
   79  at least 300 hours is waived. The 2021 summer prekindergarten
   80  program must consist of at least 200 hours. The full-time
   81  equivalent calculation for a student in a summer 2021
   82  prekindergarten program delivered by a public school or private
   83  prekindergarten provider under s. 1002.71(2)(b), Florida
   84  Statutes, shall be prorated for the number of instructional
   85  hours reported.
   86         (8) The requirement in s. 1002.89(6), Florida Statutes,
   87  that no more than 22 percent of the state, federal, and local
   88  matching funds provided to an early learning coalition to
   89  implement its approved school readiness program plan be used for
   90  any combination of administrative costs, quality activities, and
   91  nondirect services is waived for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022
   92  school years, provided that the funds are used for purposes of
   93  emergency recovery and direct support to providers.
   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 168
   98  and insert:
   99         educational institution; authorizing school grades
  100         calculated during a certain school year to be used for
  101         eligibility for the Florida School Recognition
  102         Program; authorizing a school in turnaround status to
  103         exit turnaround status if the school receives a grade
  104         of “C” or better; exempting certain schools or
  105         approved providers from being subject to sanctions or
  106         penalties as a result of school grade or school
  107         improvement ratings earned during a certain school
  108         year; prohibiting a high-performing charter school
  109         system or school district from losing such designation
  110         based on school grades earned during a certain school
  111         year; authorizing a parent or guardian to request that
  112         his or her K-5 student be retained in a grade level
  113         for academic reasons for a specified school year;
  114         requiring that such a request be submitted in a
  115         specified manner; requiring school principals to
  116         consider such requests if they are timely received;
  117         authorizing school principals to consider requests
  118         that are not timely received; requiring a school
  119         principal who considers a request for retention to
  120         inform the student’s teachers of the request and
  121         collaboratively discuss with the parent or guardian
  122         any basis for agreement or disagreement with the
  123         request; requiring such discussion to disclose that
  124         retention may impact the student’s eligibility to
  125         participate in high school interscholastic or
  126         intrascholastic sports; authorizing the principal,
  127         teachers, and parent or guardian to collaborate to
  128         develop a customized 1-year education plan for the
  129         student in lieu of retaining the student; requiring a
  130         parent’s or guardian’s decision regarding retention to
  131         control; requiring the individual education plan (IEP)
  132         team for a retained student to review and revise the
  133         student’s IEP, as appropriate; requiring school
  134         districts to report certain data to the department by
  135         a specified date; authorizing certain students to
  136         graduate; prohibiting certain performance results from
  137         being used for calculating student performance
  138         measurement and for evaluating personnel; waiving a
  139         provision requiring summer prekindergarten programs to
  140         consist of at least 300 hours; waiving a requirement
  141         that no more than 22 percent of certain funds provided
  142         to an early learning coalition be used for certain
  143         purposes; providing an effective date.