Florida Senate - 2021                                     SB 886
       
       
        
       By Senator Thurston
       
       
       
       
       
       33-00877A-21                                           2021886__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to COVID-19 impact on school
    3         accountability; amending s. 1008.34, F.S.; prohibiting
    4         a school from being required to select and implement a
    5         turnaround option in the 2021-2022 school year based
    6         on the school’s 2020-2021 school grade or improvement
    7         rating; prohibiting a school or an approved provider
    8         from being subject to sanctions or penalties as a
    9         result of its 2020-2021 school grade or improvement
   10         rating; prohibiting a high-performing charter school
   11         system or school district from losing such designation
   12         based on 2020-2021 school grades; prohibiting student
   13         performance results from the 2020-2021 statewide,
   14         standardized assessments from being used for
   15         determining grade 3 retention or high school
   16         graduation or for calculating student performance
   17         measurement and evaluating personnel; providing an
   18         effective date.
   19          
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Present subsection (6) of section 1008.34,
   23  Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (7), and a new
   24  subsection (6) is added to that section, to read:
   25         1008.34 School grading system; school report cards;
   26  district grade.—
   27         (6) HEALTH EMERGENCY PROVISION.—In recognition of the
   28  public health emergency caused by COVID-19, and notwithstanding
   29  any other provision of law:
   30         (a) A school may not be required to select and implement a
   31  turnaround option pursuant to s. 1008.33 in the 2021-2022 school
   32  year based on the school’s 2020-2021 school grade or school
   33  improvement rating pursuant to s. 1008.341, as applicable.
   34         (b) A school or approved provider under s. 1002.45 that
   35  receives the same or a lower school grade or school improvement
   36  rating for the 2020-2021 school year compared to the 2018-2019
   37  school year is not subject to sanctions or penalties that would
   38  otherwise occur as a result of the 2020-2021 school grade or
   39  school improvement rating. A charter school system or a school
   40  district designated as high performing may not lose the
   41  designation based on the 2020-2021 school grade of any of the
   42  schools within the charter school system or school district, as
   43  applicable.
   44         (c) Student performance results from the 2020-2021
   45  statewide, standardized assessments may not be used for purposes
   46  of determining grade 3 retention pursuant to s. 1008.25(5) and
   47  high school graduation pursuant to s. 1003.4282 or for
   48  calculating student performance measurement and evaluating
   49  personnel pursuant to s. 1012.34.
   50         (d) This subsection is repealed July 1, 2023.
   51         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.