Bill Text: FL S1278 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: College-Level Academic Skills Test
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [S1278 Detail]
Download: Florida-2011-S1278-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2011 SB 1278
By Senator Storms
10-01659-11 20111278__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the College-Level Academic Skills
3 Test; amending s. 1007.25, F.S.; deleting provisions
4 relating to the College-Level Academic Skills Test
5 (CLAST) and authorized examinations that demonstrate
6 mastery of certain academic competencies; amending ss.
7 467.009, 1004.04, 1008.30, 1008.38, and 1012.56, F.S.;
8 deleting provisions relating to the CLAST; providing
9 an effective date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 Section 1. Subsection (12) of section 1007.25, Florida
14 Statutes, is amended to read:
15 1007.25 General education courses; common prerequisites;
16 and other degree requirements.—
17 (12)(a) A public postsecondary educational institution may
18 not confer an associate in arts or baccalaureate degree upon any
19 student who fails to successfully complete one of the following
20 requirements:
21 1. Achieve a score that meets or exceeds a minimum score on
22 a nationally standardized examination, as established by the
23 State Board of Education in conjunction with the Board of
24 Governors; or
25 2. Demonstrate successful remediation of any academic
26 deficiencies and achieve a cumulative grade point average of 2.5
27 or above, on a 4.0 scale, in postsecondary-level coursework
28 identified by the State Board of Education in conjunction with
29 the Board of Governors. The Department of Education shall
30 specify the means by which a student may demonstrate successful
31 remediation.
32 (b) Any student who, in the best professional opinion of
33 the postsecondary educational institution, has a specific
34 learning disability such that the student cannot demonstrate
35 successful mastery of one or more of the authorized examinations
36 but is achieving at the college level in every area despite his
37 or her disability, and whose diagnosis indicates that further
38 remediation will not succeed in overcoming the disability, may
39 appeal through the appropriate dean to a committee appointed by
40 the president or the chief academic officer for special
41 consideration. The committee shall examine the evidence of the
42 student’s academic and medical records and may hear testimony
43 relevant to the case. The committee may grant a waiver for one
44 or more of the authorized examinations based on the results of
45 its review.
46 (c) Each public postsecondary educational institution
47 president shall establish a committee to consider requests for
48 waivers from the requirements in paragraph (a). The committee
49 shall be chaired by the chief academic officer of the
50 institution and shall have four additional members appointed by
51 the president as follows:
52 1. One faculty member from the mathematics department;
53 2. One faculty member from the English department;
54 3. The institutional test administrator; and
55 4. One faculty member from a department other than English
56 or mathematics.
57 (d) Any student who has taken the authorized examinations
58 and has not achieved a passing score, but has otherwise
59 demonstrated proficiency in coursework in the same subject area,
60 may request a waiver from the examination requirement. Waivers
61 shall be considered only after students have been provided test
62 accommodations or other administrative adjustments to permit the
63 accurate measurement of the student’s proficiency in the subject
64 areas measured by the authorized examinations. The committee
65 shall consider the student’s educational records and other
66 evidence as to whether the student should be able to pass the
67 authorized examinations. A waiver may be recommended to the
68 president upon a majority vote of the committee. The president
69 may approve or disapprove the recommendation. The president may
70 not approve a request that the committee has disapproved. If a
71 waiver is approved, the student’s transcript shall include a
72 statement that the student did not meet the requirements of this
73 subsection and that a waiver was granted.
74 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 467.009, Florida
75 Statutes, is amended to read:
76 467.009 Midwifery programs; education and training
77 requirements.—
78 (3) To be accepted into an approved midwifery program an
79 applicant shall have:
80 (a) A high school diploma or its equivalent.
81 (b) Passed the college level academic scholastic test
82 (CLAST) or Taken three college-level credits each of math and
83 English or demonstrated competencies in communication and
84 computation.
85 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
86 1004.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
87 1004.04 Public accountability and state approval for
88 teacher preparation programs.—
89 (4) INITIAL STATE PROGRAM APPROVAL.—
90 (b) Each teacher preparation program approved by the
91 Department of Education, as provided for by this section, shall
92 require students to meet the following as prerequisites for
93 admission into the program:
94 1. Have a grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0
95 scale for the general education component of undergraduate
96 studies or have completed the requirements for a baccalaureate
97 degree with a minimum grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale
98 from any college or university accredited by a regional
99 accrediting association as defined by State Board of Education
100 rule or any college or university otherwise approved pursuant to
101 State Board of Education rule.
102 2. Demonstrate mastery of general knowledge, including the
103 ability to read, write, and compute, by passing the General
104 Knowledge Test of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination,
105 the College Level Academic Skills Test, a corresponding
106 component of the National Teachers Examination series, or a
107 similar test pursuant to rules of the State Board of Education.
108
109 Each teacher preparation program may waive these admissions
110 requirements for up to 10 percent of the students admitted.
111 Programs shall implement strategies to ensure that students
112 admitted under a waiver receive assistance to demonstrate
113 competencies to successfully meet requirements for
114 certification.
115 Section 4. Subsection (2) of section 1008.30, Florida
116 Statutes, is amended to read:
117 1008.30 Common placement testing for public postsecondary
118 education.—
119 (2) The common placement testing program shall include at a
120 minimum the following: the capacity to diagnose basic
121 competencies in the areas of English, reading, and mathematics
122 which are essential to perform college-level work; prerequisite
123 skills that relate to progressively advanced instruction in
124 mathematics, such as algebra and geometry; prerequisite skills
125 that relate to progressively advanced instruction in language
126 arts, such as English composition and literature; prerequisite
127 skills which relate to the College Level Academic Skills Test
128 (CLAST); and provision of test information to students on the
129 specific deficiencies.
130 Section 5. Subsection (6) of section 1008.38, Florida
131 Statutes, is amended to read:
132 1008.38 Articulation accountability process.—The State
133 Board of Education, in conjunction with the Board of Governors,
134 shall develop articulation accountability measures which assess
135 the status of systemwide articulation processes authorized under
136 s. 1007.23 and establish an articulation accountability process
137 which at a minimum shall address:
138 (6) The relationship between the College Level Academic
139 Skills Test Program and articulation to the upper division in
140 public postsecondary institutions.
141 Section 6. Subsection (3) of section 1012.56, Florida
142 Statutes, is amended to read:
143 1012.56 Educator certification requirements.—
144 (3) MASTERY OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.—Acceptable means of
145 demonstrating mastery of general knowledge are:
146 (a) Achievement of passing scores on basic skills
147 examination required by state board rule;
148 (b) Achievement of passing scores on the College Level
149 Academic Skills Test earned prior to July 1, 2002;
150 (b)(c) A valid professional standard teaching certificate
151 issued by another state;
152 (c)(d) A valid certificate issued by the National Board for
153 Professional Teaching Standards or a national educator
154 credentialing board approved by the State Board of Education; or
155 (d)(e) Documentation of two semesters of successful
156 teaching in a community college, state university, or private
157 college or university that awards an associate or higher degree
158 and is an accredited institution or an institution of higher
159 education identified by the Department of Education as having a
160 quality program.
161 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
