Bill Text: FL S0226 | 2019 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Mastery-based Education
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Appropriations [S0226 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S0226-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2019 CS for SB 226 By the Committee on Education; and Senator Brandes 581-02949-19 2019226c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to mastery-based education; amending 3 s. 1003.436, F.S.; authorizing a district school board 4 or developmental research school participating in the 5 Mastery-Based Education Pilot Program to award credit 6 based on student mastery of certain content and 7 skills; amending s. 1003.437, F.S.; authorizing a 8 district school board or developmental research school 9 participating in the Mastery-Based Education Pilot 10 Program to use an alternative interpretation of letter 11 grades for certain students; requiring participating 12 district school boards and developmental research 13 schools to use the current 4-point scale in 14 determining student grade point averages; amending s. 15 1003.4996, F.S.; renaming the Competency-Based 16 Education Pilot Program as the Mastery-Based Education 17 Pilot Program; authorizing public school districts and 18 developmental research schools to submit applications 19 for the program; authorizing participating school 20 districts and developmental research schools to amend 21 their applications to include alternatives for the 22 award of credits and interpretation of letter grades; 23 providing requirements for such alternatives; amending 24 s. 1007.23, F.S.; requiring the statewide articulation 25 agreement to ensure fair and equitable access for 26 students who have earned high school credit through 27 mastery-based education and graduate with a standard 28 high school diploma; providing an effective date. 29 30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31 32 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 33 1003.436, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 34 1003.436 Definition of “credit.”— 35 (1)(a) For the purposes of requirements for high school 36 graduation, one full credit means a minimum of 135 hours of bona 37 fide instruction in a designated course of study that contains 38 student performance standards, except as otherwise provided 39 through the Credit Acceleration Program (CAP) under s. 40 1003.4295(3). One full credit means a minimum of 120 hours of 41 bona fide instruction in a designated course of study that 42 contains student performance standards for purposes of meeting 43 high school graduation requirements in a district school that 44 has been authorized to implement block scheduling by the 45 district school board. However, district school boards and 46 developmental research schools participating in the Mastery 47 Based Education Pilot Program under s. 1003.4996 may determine 48 and award credit based on a student’s mastery of the core 49 content and skills, consistent with s. 1003.41, as approved by 50 the district school board. The State Board of Education shall 51 determine the number of postsecondary credit hours earned 52 through dual enrollment pursuant to s. 1007.271 that satisfy the 53 requirements of a dual enrollment articulation agreement 54 according to s. 1007.271(21) and that equal one full credit of 55 the equivalent high school course identified pursuant to s. 56 1007.271(9). 57 Section 2. Section 1003.437, Florida Statutes, is amended 58 to read: 59 1003.437 Middle and high school grading system.— 60 (1) The grading system and interpretation of letter grades 61 used to measure student success in grade 6 through grade 12 62 courses for students in public schools isshall beas follows: 63 (a)(1)Grade “A” equals 90 percent through 100 percent, has 64 a grade point average value of 4, and is defined as “outstanding 65 progress.” 66 (b)(2)Grade “B” equals 80 percent through 89 percent, has 67 a grade point average value of 3, and is defined as “above 68 average progress.” 69 (c)(3)Grade “C” equals 70 percent through 79 percent, has 70 a grade point average value of 2, and is defined as “average 71 progress.” 72 (d)(4)Grade “D” equals 60 percent through 69 percent, has 73 a grade point average value of 1, and is defined as “lowest 74 acceptable progress.” 75 (e)(5)Grade “F” equals zero percent through 59 percent, 76 has a grade point average value of zero, and is defined as 77 “failure.” 78 (f)(6)Grade “I” equals zero percent, has a grade point 79 average value of zero, and is defined as “incomplete.” 80 (2) A district school board and a developmental research 81 school participating in the Mastery-Based Education Pilot 82 Program under s. 1003.4996 may use an alternative interpretation 83 of letter grades to measure student success in grade 6 through 84 grade 12; however, the school board and developmental research 85 school must continue to use the 4-point scale established in 86 subsection (1) for calculating a student’s grade point average. 87 88 For the purposes of class ranking, district school boards may 89 exercise a weighted grading system pursuant to s. 1007.271. 90 Section 3. Section 1003.4996, Florida Statutes, is amended 91 to read: 92 1003.4996 Mastery-BasedCompetency-BasedEducation Pilot 93 Program.—Beginning with the 2016-2017 school year, the Mastery 94 BasedCompetency-BasedEducation Pilot Program is created within 95 the Department of Education to be administered for a period of 5 96 years. The purpose of the pilot program is to provide an 97 educational environment that allows students to advance to 98 higher levels of learning upon the mastery of concepts and 99 skills through statutory exemptions relating to student 100 progression and the awarding of credits. 101 (1) PARTICIPATION.—Developmental research schools 102 established under s. 1002.32, including the P.K. Yonge 103 Developmental Research School, and public school districts, 104 including, but not limited to, the Lake, Palm Beach, Pinellas, 105 and Seminole County School Districts, may submit an application 106 in a format prescribed by the department to participate in the 107 pilot program. 108 (2) APPLICATION.—The application to participate in the 109 pilot program must, at a minimum, include: 110 (a) The vision and timelines for the implementation of 111 mastery-basedcompetency-basededucation within the school 112 district, including a list of the schools that will participate 113 in the pilot program during the first school year and the list 114 of schools that will be integrated into the program in 115 subsequent school years. 116 (b) The annual goals and performance outcomes for 117 participating schools, including, but not limited to: 118 1. Student performance as defined in s. 1008.34. 119 2. Promotion and retention rates. 120 3. Graduation rates. 121 4. Indicators of college and career readiness. 122 (c) A communication plan for parents and other 123 stakeholders, including local businesses and community members. 124 (d) The scope of and timelines for professional development 125 for school instructional and administrative personnel. 126 (e) A plan for student progression based on the mastery of 127 content, including mechanisms that determine and ensure that a 128 student has satisfied the requirements for grade-level promotion 129 and content mastery. 130 (f) A plan for using technology and digital and blended 131 learning to enhance student achievement and facilitate the 132 mastery-basedcompetency-basededucation system. 133 (g) The proposed allocation of resources for the pilot 134 program at the school and district levels. 135 (h) The recruitment and selection of participating schools. 136 (i) The rules to be waived for participating schools 137 pursuant to subsection (3) to implement the pilot program. 138 (3) EXEMPTION FROM RULES.—In addition to the waivers 139 authorized in s. 1001.10(3), the State Board of Education may 140 authorize the commissioner to grant an additional waiver of 141 rules relating to student progression and the awarding of 142 credits. 143 (4) ALTERNATIVE CREDIT AND LETTER GRADE SYSTEMS.— 144 (a) Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, participating 145 school districts and developmental research schools may amend 146 their applications to include alternatives for awarding credit, 147 as authorized under s. 1003.436, and for the interpretation of 148 middle school and high school letter grades, as authorized under 149 s. 1003.437. 150 1. Alternatives to awarding credit must include 151 verification of the student’s mastery of the applicable course 152 content using rigorous scoring rubrics to evaluate the student’s 153 work. A participating school district and developmental research 154 school must amend its student progression plan required by s. 155 1008.25 to conform to the alternative awarding of credits 156 pursuant to this section. 157 2. Alternatives to the interpretation of middle school and 158 high school letter grades may substitute the applicable language 159 from the school district’s rigorous scoring rubric; however, 160 participating school districts and developmental research 161 schools must continue to use the 4-point scale established in s. 162 1003.437(1) for calculating a student’s grade point average. 163 (b) An application that is amended pursuant to this 164 subsection must be approved by the district school board or 165 developmental research school governing authority, as 166 applicable. 167 (5)(4)STUDENT FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a 168 participating school shall be reported for and generate funding 169 pursuant to s. 1011.62. 170 (6)(5)DEPARTMENT DUTIES.—The department shall: 171 (a) Compile the student and staff schedules of 172 participating schools before and after implementation of the 173 pilot program. 174 (b) Provide participating schools with access to statewide, 175 standardized assessments required under s. 1008.22. 176 (c) Annually, by June 1, provide to the Governor, the 177 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 178 Representatives a report summarizing the activities and 179 accomplishments of the pilot program and any recommendations for 180 statutory revisions. 181 (7)(6)RULES.—The State Board of Education shall adopt 182 rules to administer this section. 183 Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 1007.23, Florida 184 Statutes, is amended to read: 185 1007.23 Statewide articulation agreement.— 186 (1) The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors 187 shall enter into a statewide articulation agreement which the 188 State Board of Education shall adopt by rule. The agreement must 189 preserve Florida’s “2+2” system of articulation, facilitate the 190 seamless articulation of student credit across and among 191 Florida’s educational entities, and reinforce the provisions of 192 this chapter by governing: 193 (a) Articulation between secondary and postsecondary 194 education, including fair and equitable access for students who 195 have earned high school credit through a mastery-based education 196 program pursuant to s. 1003.4996 and graduate with a standard 197 high school diploma; 198 (b) Admission of associate in arts degree graduates from 199 Florida College System institutions and state universities; 200 (c) Admission of applied technology diploma program 201 graduates from Florida College System institutions or career 202 centers; 203 (d) Admission of associate in science degree and associate 204 in applied science degree graduates from Florida College System 205 institutions; 206 (e) The use of acceleration mechanisms, including 207 nationally standardized examinations through which students may 208 earn credit; 209 (f) General education requirements and statewide course 210 numbers as provided for in ss. 1007.24 and 1007.25; and 211 (g) Articulation among programs in nursing. 212 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.