Bill Text: FL S1172 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Alternative High School Graduation Requirements
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-03-11 - Died in Education Pre-K - 12 [S1172 Detail]
Download: Florida-2016-S1172-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2016 SB 1172
By Senator Montford
3-01031A-16 20161172__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to alternative high school graduation
3 requirements; amending s. 1003.4282, F.S.; conforming
4 a cross-reference; authorizing certain students to be
5 eligible for an alternative pathway to a standard high
6 school diploma; providing student eligibility
7 requirements for the alternative pathway; specifying
8 documentation the student must provide; requiring a
9 school district to establish an Alternative Pathway to
10 Graduation Review Committee for certain students;
11 providing the membership and duties of the committee;
12 providing that a principal has the final decision on a
13 student’s completion of specified graduation
14 requirements; prohibiting a student or the student’s
15 parent or guardian from appealing the principal’s
16 decision; requiring certain waivers to be approved by
17 the parent or guardian; requiring each district school
18 board to adopt rules and to incorporate certain
19 provisions in the student progression plan; amending
20 s. 1008.22, F.S.; requiring each district school board
21 to ensure certain instruction, to waive certain
22 assessment results, and to administer a hard copy of
23 the grade 10 ELA assessment or the statewide,
24 standardized Algebra I EOC assessment for certain
25 students; amending ss. 1008.212, 1008.34, and
26 1008.3415, F.S.; conforming cross-references;
27 providing an effective date.
28
29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
30
31 Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subsection (10) of section
32 1003.4282, Florida Statutes, is amended, present subsection (11)
33 of that section is redesignated as subsection (12), and a new
34 subsection (11) is added to that section, to read:
35 1003.4282 Requirements for a standard high school diploma.—
36 (10) STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.—Beginning with students
37 entering grade 9 in the 2014-2015 school year, this subsection
38 applies to a student with a disability.
39 (e) Any waiver of the statewide, standardized assessment
40 requirements by the individual education plan team, pursuant to
41 s. 1008.22(3)(d) s. 1008.22(3)(c), must be approved by the
42 parent and is subject to verification for appropriateness by an
43 independent reviewer selected by the parent as provided for in
44 s. 1003.572.
45
46 The State Board of Education shall adopt rules under ss.
47 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this paragraph, including
48 rules that establish the minimum requirements for students
49 described in this paragraph to earn a standard high school
50 diploma. The State Board of Education shall adopt emergency
51 rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54.
52 (11) ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY TO A STANDARD HIGH SCHOOL
53 DIPLOMA.—
54 (a) Beginning with students entering grade 9 in the 2015
55 2016 school year, a student who meets the qualifications of this
56 subsection may be eligible for an alternative pathway to a
57 standard high school diploma.
58 (b) To be eligible for an alternative pathway to a standard
59 high school diploma, a student must not have passed the grade 10
60 ELA assessment or the statewide, standardized Algebra I EOC
61 assessment.
62 (c) A student may satisfy the requirements for a standard
63 high school diploma through the alternative pathway option by
64 documenting all of the following:
65 1. Completion of the minimum high school graduation course
66 credit requirements by rule of the State Board of Education.
67 2. Attainment of the applicable industry certifications,
68 occupational completion points, and postsecondary credits as
69 provided in the alternative pathway graduation plan under
70 paragraph (d).
71 3. A mastery of the academic standards or competencies that
72 had not previously been met, as indicated by the student not
73 passing the applicable grade 10 ELA assessment or the statewide,
74 standardized Algebra I EOC assessment, in a portfolio containing
75 quantifiable evidence of such mastery. The portfolio may
76 include, but is not limited to, evidence that a required
77 assessment was taken on a hard copy, any additional coursework,
78 segmented assessments, industry certifications, occupational
79 completion points, and postsecondary credits.
80 (d) A school district must establish an Alternative Pathway
81 to Graduation Review Committee for each student who chooses to
82 obtain a standard high school diploma through the alternative
83 pathway established under this subsection.
84 1. The review committee shall be composed of the principal
85 or his or her designee, the eligible student’s guidance
86 counselor, the teacher of the course for which the student
87 received a failing grade, and at least one teacher of a course
88 in which the student received a grade of “C” or above. The
89 principal may appoint an alternative member if a required
90 participant cannot serve on the review committee. The student
91 and the student’s parent or guardian may attend a review
92 committee meeting.
93 2. The review committee shall develop an alternative
94 pathway graduation plan that incorporates the requirements for a
95 standard high school diploma pursuant to this subsection. The
96 alternative pathway graduation plan must be signed by the
97 student, the student’s parent or guardian, and the principal and
98 must identify the following:
99 a. The expected academic standards or competencies,
100 industry certifications, occupational completion points, or
101 postsecondary credits that the student will master or complete,
102 as applicable.
103 b. The criteria for determining and certifying mastery of
104 the academic standards or competencies. If the review committee
105 states that administering the grade 10 ELA assessment or the
106 statewide, standardized Algebra I EOC assessment, or both,
107 online will significantly impair the student’s ability to
108 perform, the district school board shall administer the
109 assessment by hard copy.
110 c. A description of the monitoring that the school will
111 provide.
112 (e) A student shall be awarded a standard high school
113 diploma upon completion of the requirements of the alternative
114 pathway graduation plan and documentation of the completion of
115 the requirements provided in paragraph (c). Documentation must
116 be verified by the Alternative Pathway to Graduation Review
117 Committee and approved by the principal. The decision by the
118 principal is final and may not be appealed by the student or the
119 student’s parent or guardian.
120 (f) Any waiver of the grade 10 ELA assessment or the
121 statewide, standardized Algebra I EOC assessment results by the
122 district school board upon a determination by the Alternative
123 Pathway to Graduation Review Committee authorized pursuant to s.
124 1008.22(3)(c) must be approved by a student’s parent or
125 guardian. The parent or guardian may select an independent
126 reviewer approved by the review committee to verify the
127 appropriateness of the waiver.
128 (g) Each district school board shall adopt rules to
129 administer this subsection and shall incorporate this subsection
130 in the student progression plan required pursuant to s. 1008.25.
131 Section 2. Present paragraphs (c) through (g) of subsection
132 (3) of section 1008.22, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
133 paragraphs (d) through (h), respectively, a new paragraph (c) is
134 added to that subsection, present paragraph (b) of that
135 subsection is amended, and paragraph (a) of subsection (7) is
136 amended, to read:
137 1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.—
138 (3) STATEWIDE, STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.—The
139 Commissioner of Education shall design and implement a
140 statewide, standardized assessment program aligned to the core
141 curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine
142 State Standards. The commissioner also must develop or select
143 and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
144 used in all juvenile justice education programs in the state.
145 These tools must accurately measure the core curricular content
146 established in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.
147 Participation in the assessment program is mandatory for all
148 school districts and all students attending public schools,
149 including adult students seeking a standard high school diploma
150 under s. 1003.4282 and students in Department of Juvenile
151 Justice education programs, except as otherwise provided by law.
152 If a student does not participate in the assessment program, the
153 school district must notify the student’s parent and provide the
154 parent with information regarding the implications of such
155 nonparticipation. The statewide, standardized assessment program
156 shall be designed and implemented as follows:
157 (b) End-of-course (EOC) assessments.—EOC assessments must
158 be statewide, standardized, and developed or approved by the
159 Department of Education as follows:
160 1. EOC assessments for Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II,
161 Biology I, United States History, and Civics shall be
162 administered to students enrolled in such courses as specified
163 in the course code directory.
164 2. Students enrolled in a course, as specified in the
165 course code directory, with an associated statewide,
166 standardized EOC assessment must take the EOC assessment for
167 such course and may not take the corresponding subject or grade
168 level statewide, standardized assessment pursuant to
169 paragraph(a). Sections 1003.4156 and 1003.4282 govern the use of
170 statewide, standardized EOC assessment results for students.
171 3. The commissioner may select one or more nationally
172 developed comprehensive examinations, which may include
173 examinations for a College Board Advanced Placement course,
174 International Baccalaureate course, or Advanced International
175 Certificate of Education course, or industry-approved
176 examinations to earn national industry certifications identified
177 in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List, for use as EOC
178 assessments under this paragraph if the commissioner determines
179 that the content knowledge and skills assessed by the
180 examinations meet or exceed the grade-level expectations for the
181 core curricular content established for the course in the Next
182 Generation Sunshine State Standards. Use of any such examination
183 as an EOC assessment must be approved by the state board in
184 rule.
185 4. Contingent upon funding provided in the General
186 Appropriations Act, including the appropriation of funds
187 received through federal grants, the commissioner may establish
188 an implementation schedule for the development and
189 administration of additional statewide, standardized EOC
190 assessments that must be approved by the state board in rule. If
191 approved by the state board, student performance on such
192 assessments constitutes 30 percent of a student’s final course
193 grade.
194 5. All statewide, standardized EOC assessments must be
195 administered online except as otherwise provided in paragraph
196 (d) (c).
197 (c) Alternative pathway to graduation.—Each district school
198 board shall:
199 1. Ensure that each school in the district provides
200 instruction to students in the core content knowledge and skills
201 necessary for successful high school graduation.
202 2. Waive a student’s assessment results if the student
203 meets the eligibility requirements for an alternative pathway to
204 a standard high school diploma under s. 1003.4282(11) and if the
205 Alternative Pathway to Graduation Review Committee determines
206 that the grade 10 ELA assessment or the statewide, standardized
207 Algebra I EOC assessment, or both, do not accurately measure the
208 student’s abilities. The waiver shall be designated on the
209 student’s transcript and shall be limited to a statement that
210 performance on an assessment was waived for the student to
211 receive a standard high school diploma.
212 3. Administer the grade 10 ELA assessment or the statewide,
213 standardized Algebra I EOC assessment, or both, by hard copy for
214 a student if the Alternative Pathway to Graduation Review
215 Committee states that administering the assessments online will
216 significantly impair the student’s ability to perform.
217 (7) ASSESSMENT SCHEDULES AND REPORTING OF RESULTS.—
218 (a) The Commissioner of Education shall establish schedules
219 for the administration of statewide, standardized assessments
220 and the reporting of student assessment results. The
221 commissioner shall consider the observance of religious and
222 school holidays when developing the schedules. The assessment
223 and reporting schedules must provide the earliest possible
224 reporting of student assessment results to the school districts,
225 consistent with the requirements of paragraph (3)(h) (3)(g).
226 Assessment results for the statewide, standardized ELA and
227 mathematics assessments and all statewide, standardized EOC
228 assessments must be made available no later than the week of
229 June 8, except for results of assessments administered in the
230 2014-2015 school year. School districts shall administer
231 statewide, standardized assessments in accordance with the
232 schedule established by the commissioner.
233 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsection
234 (2) of section 1008.212, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
235 1008.212 Students with disabilities; extraordinary
236 exemption.—
237 (1) As used in this section, the term:
238 (a) “Circumstance” means a situation in which
239 accommodations allowable for use on the statewide standardized
240 assessment, a statewide standardized end-of-course assessment,
241 or an alternate assessment pursuant to s. 1008.22(3)(d) s.
242 1008.22(3)(c) are not offered to a student during the current
243 year’s assessment administration due to technological
244 limitations in the testing administration program which lead to
245 results that reflect the student’s impaired sensory, manual, or
246 speaking skills rather than the student’s achievement of the
247 benchmarks assessed by the statewide standardized assessment, a
248 statewide standardized end-of-course assessment, or an alternate
249 assessment.
250 (2) A student with a disability for whom the individual
251 education plan (IEP) team determines is prevented by a
252 circumstance or condition from physically demonstrating the
253 mastery of skills that have been acquired and are measured by
254 the statewide standardized assessment, a statewide standardized
255 end-of-course assessment, or an alternate assessment pursuant to
256 s. 1008.22(3)(d) s. 1008.22(3)(c) shall be granted an
257 extraordinary exemption from the administration of the
258 assessment. A learning, emotional, behavioral, or significant
259 cognitive disability, or the receipt of services through the
260 homebound or hospitalized program in accordance with rule 6A
261 6.03020, Florida Administrative Code, is not, in and of itself,
262 an adequate criterion for the granting of an extraordinary
263 exemption.
264 Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
265 1008.34, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
266 1008.34 School grading system; school report cards;
267 district grade.—
268 (1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of the statewide,
269 standardized assessment program and school grading system, the
270 following terms are defined:
271 (a) “Achievement level,” “student achievement,” or
272 “achievement” describes the level of content mastery a student
273 has acquired in a particular subject as measured by a statewide,
274 standardized assessment administered pursuant to s.
275 1008.22(3)(a) and (b). There are five achievement levels. Level
276 1 is the lowest achievement level, level 5 is the highest
277 achievement level, and level 3 indicates satisfactory
278 performance. A student passes an assessment if the student
279 achieves a level 3, level 4, or level 5. For purposes of the
280 Florida Alternate Assessment administered pursuant to s.
281 1008.22(3)(d) s. 1008.22(3)(c), the state board shall provide,
282 in rule, the number of achievement levels and identify the
283 achievement levels that are considered passing.
284 Section 5. Subsection (2) of section 1008.3415, Florida
285 Statutes, is amended to read:
286 1008.3415 School grade or school improvement rating for
287 exceptional student education centers.—
288 (2) Notwithstanding s. 1008.34, the achievement levels and
289 Learning Gains of a student with a disability who attends an
290 exceptional student education center and has not been enrolled
291 in or attended a public school other than an exceptional student
292 education center for grades K-12 within the school district
293 shall not be included in the calculation of the home school’s
294 grade if the student is identified as an emergent student on the
295 alternate assessment described in s. 1008.22(3)(d) s.
296 1008.22(3)(c).
297 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.
