Bill Text: FL S1124 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Education Accountability
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-03-11 - Died in Education Pre-K - 12 [S1124 Detail]
Download: Florida-2016-S1124-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2016 SB 1124 By Senator Montford 3-00690A-16 20161124__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to education accountability; amending 3 s. 1008.34, F.S.; redefining the terms “learning 4 gains,” “annual learning gains,” and “student learning 5 gains”; revising components upon which designation of 6 school grades are based beginning with the 2015-2016 7 school year; requiring each school district to receive 8 a district grade of “I” or “Incomplete” for the 2014 9 2015 school year; requiring specified components of 10 the school grading calculation to be reported for the 11 2014-2015 school year; providing that a school that 12 receives an “I” or “Incomplete” as a 2014-2015 school 13 grade or school improvement rating is not subject to 14 turnaround options, sanctions, or penalties; requiring 15 the Department of Education to conduct a comprehensive 16 review of the school accountability system; providing 17 requirements for the review; requiring a report to the 18 Governor and the Legislature by a specified date; 19 removing the scheduled repeal of transitional 20 provisions; providing an effective date. 21 22 WHEREAS, Florida’s accountability system has been a model 23 for the nation, and 24 WHEREAS, the transition to the new statewide Florida 25 Standards Assessments, or FSA, has been fraught with 26 difficulties, and 27 WHEREAS, during the testing window, students were locked 28 out of their computers, students were not able to finish their 29 tests, entire testing results were lost, computer screens were 30 blank, and computers were cyber-attacked, and 31 WHEREAS, days, if not weeks, of instruction were lost for 32 those students who were not being tested, and access to 33 computers and other instruction was disrupted, and 34 WHEREAS, the recently released validity study underscored 35 the difficulty of gauging the magnitude of the problem, as well 36 as the lack of rigor and lack of standardization in the 37 administration of the FSA, and 38 WHEREAS, the results of the FSA will be a major, if not the 39 only, determining factor in calculating school grades, and 40 WHEREAS, school grades, if issued, will be incomplete 41 because they will not include student learning gains or growth, 42 which are essential components of school grades, and 43 WHEREAS, the confidence in and credibility of Florida’s 44 accountability system are at stake with students, parents, 45 teachers, and the community, and 46 WHEREAS, the issuance of school grades months after the 47 administration of the FSA does nothing to measure performance, 48 inform instruction, evaluate teachers, or fairly grade schools 49 and will further weaken public support of the accountability 50 system, and 51 WHEREAS, changes must be made to develop a viable 52 accountability system and regain the trust of students, 53 teachers, parents, and communities, NOW, THEREFORE, 54 55 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 56 57 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1), paragraph (b) 58 of subsection (3), and subsections (5) and (7) of section 59 1008.34, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 60 1008.34 School grading system; school report cards; 61 district grade.— 62 (1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of the statewide, 63 standardized assessment program and school grading system, the 64 following terms are defined: 65 (b) “Learning gains,” “annual learning gains,” or “student 66 learning gains” means the degree of student learning growth 67 occurring from one school year to the next as required by state 68 board rule for purposes of calculating school grades under this 69 section. For the purpose of school grades, maintaining 70 achievement level 3, level 4, or level 5 or increasing such 71 achievement level constitutes a learning gain. 72 (3) DESIGNATION OF SCHOOL GRADES.— 73 (b)1. Beginning with the 2015-20162014-2015school year, a 74 school’s grade shall be based on the following components, each 75 worth 100 points: 76 a. The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, 77 standardized assessments in English Language Arts under s. 78 1008.22(3). 79 b. The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, 80 standardized assessments in mathematics under s. 1008.22(3). 81 c. The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, 82 standardized assessments in science under s. 1008.22(3). 83 d. The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, 84 standardized assessments in social studies under s. 1008.22(3). 85 e. The percentage of eligible students who make learning 86 gains in English Language Arts as measured by statewide, 87 standardized assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3). 88 f. The percentage of eligible students who make learning 89 gains in mathematics as measured by statewide, standardized 90 assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3). 91 g. The percentage of eligible students in the lowest 25 92 percent in English Language Arts, as identified by prior year 93 performance on statewide, standardized assessments, who make 94 learning gains as measured by statewide, standardized English 95 Language Arts assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3). 96 h. The percentage of eligible students in the lowest 25 97 percent in mathematics, as identified by prior year performance 98 on statewide, standardized assessments, who make learning gains 99 as measured by statewide, standardized mathematics assessments 100 administered under s. 1008.22(3). 101 i. For schools comprised of middle grades 6 through 8 or 102 grades 7 and 8, the percentage of eligible students passing high 103 school level statewide, standardized end-of-course assessments 104 or attaining national industry certifications identified in the 105 CAPE Industry Certification Funding List pursuant to rules 106 adopted by the State Board of Education. 107 108 In calculating learning gains for the components listed in sub 109 subparagraphs e.-h., the State Board of Education shall require 110 that learning growth toward achievement levels 3, 4, and 5 is 111 demonstrated by students who scored below or remained at 112 achievement level 3, level 4, or level 5each of those levelsin 113 the prior year. In calculating the components in sub 114 subparagraphs a.-d., the state board shall include the 115 performance of English language learners only if they have been 116 enrolled in a school in the United States for more than 2 years. 117 2. For a school comprised of grades 9, 10, 11, and 12, or 118 grades 10, 11, and 12, the school’s grade shall also be based on 119 the following components, each worth 100 points: 120 a. The 4-year high school graduation rate of the school as 121 defined by state board rule. 122 b. The percentage of students who were eligible to earn 123 college and career credit through College Board Advanced 124 Placement examinations, International Baccalaureate 125 examinations, dual enrollment courses, or Advanced International 126 Certificate of Education examinations; or who, at any time 127 during high school, earned national industry certification 128 identified in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List, 129 pursuant to rules adopted by the state board. 130 (5) DISTRICT GRADE.—Beginning with the 2015-20162014-2015131 school year, a school district’s grade shall include a district 132 level calculation of the components under paragraph (3)(b). For 133 the 2014-2015 school year, a school district shall receive a 134 district grade of “I” or “Incomplete.” This calculation 135 methodology captures each eligible student in the district who 136 may have transferred among schools within the district or is 137 enrolled in a school that does not receive a grade. The 138 department shall develop a district report card that includes 139 the district grade; the information required under s. 140 1008.345(5); measures of the district’s progress in closing the 141 achievement gap between higher-performing student subgroups and 142 lower-performing student subgroups; measures of the district’s 143 progress in demonstrating learning gains of its highest 144 performing students; measures of the district’s success in 145 improving student attendance; the district’s grade-level 146 promotion of students scoring achievement levels 1 and 2 on 147 statewide, standardized English Language Arts and mathematics 148 assessments; and measures of the district’s performance in 149 preparing students for the transition from elementary to middle 150 school, middle to high school, and high school to postsecondary 151 institutions and careers. 152 (7) TRANSITION.—School grades pursuant to this section and 153 school improvement ratings pursuant to s. 1008.341 for the 2013 154 2014 school year shall be calculated based on statutes and rules 155 in effect on June 30, 2014. To assist in the transition to the 1562014-2015 school grades and school improvement ratings,157calculated based onnew statewide, standardized assessments 158 administered pursuant to s. 1008.22, for the 2014-2015 school 159 year, each school shall receive an “I” or “Incomplete” as a 160 school grade or school improvement rating. However, the 161 components listed in sub-subparagraphs (3)(b)1.a.-d. and i. and 162 subparagraph (3)(b)2., if applicable, shall be calculated and 163 reported. The 2014-2015 school grades and school improvement 164 ratings shall serve as an informational baseline for schools to 165 work toward improved performance in future years. Accordingly, 166 notwithstanding any other provision of law: 167 (a) A school may not be required to select and implement a 168 turnaround option pursuant to s. 1008.33 in the 2015-2016 school 169 year based on the school’s 2014-2015 grade or school improvement 170 rating of “I” or “Incomplete” under s. 1008.341, as applicable. 171 The benefits of s. 1008.33(4)(c), relating to a school being 172 released from implementation of the turnaround option, and s. 173 1008.33(4)(d), relating to a school implementing strategies 174 identified in its school improvement plan, apply to a school 175 using turnaround options pursuant to s. 1008.33 which improves 176 at least one letter grade during the 2014-2015 school year. 177 (b)1. A school or approved provider under s. 1002.45 which 178 receives an “I” or “Incomplete”the same or a lower school grade179or school improvement ratingfor the 2014-2015 school year 180 compared to the 2013-2014 school year is not subject to 181 sanctions or penalties that would otherwise occur as a result of 182 the 2014-2015 school grade or rating. A charter school system or 183 a school district designated as high performing may not lose the 184 designation based on the 2014-2015 school grades of “I” or 185 “Incomplete” for any of the schools within the charter school 186 system or school district, as applicable. 187 2. The Florida School Recognition Program established under 188 s. 1008.36 shall continue to be implemented as otherwise 189 provided in the General Appropriations Act. 190 (c) Until such time as an independent verification of the 191 psychometric validity of the statewide, standardized assessments 192 first implemented in 2014-2015 is provided, for purposes of 193 grade 3 English Language Arts student performance and high 194 school graduation requirements pursuant to s. 1003.4282, student 195 performance on the 2014-2015 statewide, standardized assessments 196 shall be linked to 2013-2014 student performance expectations. 197 Students who score in the bottom quintile on the 2014-2015 grade 198 3 English Language Arts assessment shall be identified as 199 students at risk of retention. School districts must notify 200 parents of such students, provide evidence as outlined in s. 201 1008.25(6)(b), and provide the appropriate intervention and 202 support services for student success in grade 4. 203 (d) The Department of Education shall conduct a 204 comprehensive review that includes stakeholders of the school 205 accountability system, including, but not limited to: 206 1. A description of the system, including alignment and 207 consistency within all components of the accountability system. 208 2. A determination of the capacity of districts and schools 209 to administer the required statewide, standardized assessments 210 without interruption in the ongoing delivery of instruction to 211 students who are not being assessed. 212 3. The development of a timeline for transition to school 213 grades which includes all the components of school grades to be 214 available before school grades are released. 215 4. An analysis of a district’s pay for performance plan and 216 its impact on teacher recruitment and retention. 217 218 The department must submit a report containing the review and 219 any corresponding recommendation to the Governor, the President 220 of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives 221 by December 1, 2016This subsection is repealed July 1, 2017. 222 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.