Bill Text: FL S1244 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Public School Student Progression [SPSC]
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Education Pre-K - 12 [S1244 Detail]
Download: Florida-2010-S1244-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2010 SB 1244 By Senator Wilson 33-01260-10 20101244__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to public school student progression; 3 amending s. 1008.25, F.S.; providing a process by 4 which the retention of a third grade student who 5 exhibits a reading deficiency may be appealed; 6 providing for exemption from mandatory retention 7 through successful appeal; requiring the Department of 8 Education to establish an appeal process; specifying 9 circumstances recognized as justification for granting 10 an appeal; requiring assessment and evaluation; 11 providing for reporting; providing an effective date. 12 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14 15 Section 1. Subsection (5) and paragraph (b) of subsection 16 (6) of section 1008.25, Florida Statutes, are amended, present 17 subsections (7), (9), and (10) are renumbered as subsections 18 (8), (10), and (11), respectively, present subsection (8) is 19 renumbered as subsection (9) and amended, and a new subsection 20 (7) is added to that section, to read: 21 1008.25 Public school student progression; remedial 22 instruction; reporting requirements.— 23 (5) READING DEFICIENCY AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION.— 24 (a) It is the ultimate goal of the Legislature that every 25 student read at or above grade level. Any student who exhibits a 26 substantial deficiency in reading, based upon locally determined 27 or statewide assessments conducted in kindergarten or grade 1, 28 grade 2, or grade 3, or through teacher observations, must be 29 given intensive reading instruction immediately following the 30 identification of the reading deficiency. The student’s reading 31 proficiency must be reassessed by locally determined assessments 32 or through teacher observations at the beginning of the grade 33 following the intensive reading instruction. The student must 34 continue to be provided with intensive reading instruction until 35 the reading deficiency is remedied. 36 (b) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, if the 37 student’s reading deficiency, as identified in paragraph (a), is 38 not remedied by the end of grade 3, as demonstrated by scoring 39 at Level 2 or higher on the statewide assessment test in reading 40 for grade 3, the student must be retained. 41 (c) The parent of any student who exhibits a substantial 42 deficiency in reading, as described in paragraph (a), must be 43 notified in writing of the following: 44 1. That his or her child has been identified as having a 45 substantial deficiency in reading. 46 2. A description of the current services that are provided 47 to the child. 48 3. A description of the proposed supplemental instructional 49 services and supports that will be provided to the child that 50 are designed to remediate the identified area of reading 51 deficiency. 52 4. That if the child’s reading deficiency is not remediated 53 by the end of grade 3, the child must be retained unless he or 54 she is exempt from mandatory retention for good cause. 55 5. The availability of an appeal process for a student who 56 is to be retained pursuant to paragraph (b). 57 6.5.Strategies for parents to use in helping their child 58 succeed in reading proficiency. 59 7.6.That the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) 60 is not the sole determiner of promotion and that additional 61 evaluations, portfolio reviews, and assessments are available to 62 the child to assist parents and the school district in knowing 63 when a child is reading at or above grade level and ready for 64 grade promotion. 65 8.7.The district’s specific criteria and policies for 66 midyear promotion. Midyear promotion means promotion of a 67 retained student at any time during the year of retention once 68 the student has demonstrated ability to read at grade level. 69 (6) ELIMINATION OF SOCIAL PROMOTION.— 70 (b) The district school board may only exempt students from 71 mandatory retention, as provided in paragraph (5)(b), for good 72 cause or for successful appeal of their retention under 73 subsection (7). Good cause exemptions shall be limited to the 74 following: 75 1. Limited English proficient students who have had less 76 than 2 years of instruction in an English for Speakers of Other 77 Languages program. 78 2. Students with disabilities whose individual education 79 plan indicates that participation in the statewide assessment 80 program is not appropriate, consistent with the requirements of 81 State Board of Education rule. 82 3. Students who demonstrate an acceptable level of 83 performance on an alternative standardized reading assessment 84 approved by the State Board of Education. 85 4. Students who demonstrate, through a student portfolio, 86 that the student is reading on grade level as evidenced by 87 demonstration of mastery of the Sunshine State Standards in 88 reading equal to at least a Level 2 performance on the FCAT. 89 5. Students with disabilities who participate in the FCAT 90 and who have an individual education plan or a Section 504 plan 91 that reflects that the student has received intensive 92 remediation in reading for more than 2 years but still 93 demonstrates a deficiency in reading and was previously retained 94 in kindergarten, grade 1, grade 2, or grade 3. 95 6. Students who have received intensive remediation in 96 reading for 2 or more years but still demonstrate a deficiency 97 in reading and who were previously retained in kindergarten, 98 grade 1, grade 2, or grade 3 for a total of 2 years. Intensive 99 reading instruction for students so promoted must include an 100 altered instructional day that includes specialized diagnostic 101 information and specific reading strategies for each student. 102 The district school board shall assist schools and teachers to 103 implement reading strategies that research has shown to be 104 successful in improving reading among low-performing readers. 105 (7) APPEALS FOR EXEMPTION FROM MANDATORY RETENTION.— 106 (a) The Legislature recognizes that there are unusual and 107 unique circumstances that may warrant a student’s exemption from 108 mandatory retention. The Department of Education shall establish 109 an appeal process in which the parent of a student who is to be 110 retained pursuant to paragraph (5)(b) may seek an exemption from 111 mandatory retention from the district school board. A majority 112 vote of the membership of the district school board is required 113 for such exemption. 114 (b) Circumstances that shall be recognized as justification 115 for granting an appeal include: 116 1. A student suffers physical or emotional trauma resulting 117 in test anxiety, including, but not limited to, death of a 118 family member, removal from the home, or serious illness or 119 injury to the student or a family member. 120 2. A student develops unusual test anxiety, especially when 121 it arises from being threatened with retention. 122 (c) A parent shall have input as to the types of additional 123 support the student will receive to overcome his or her 124 deficiency. 125 (d) When an appeal is filed with the district school board, 126 the school shall provide an independent assessment of the 127 student’s academic needs by a qualified school psychologist. 128 (e) The school principal shall evaluate the assessment, 129 discuss the assessment with the student’s teacher and parent, 130 and make a recommendation to the district school board within 30 131 days after receipt of the assessment. 132 (f) If a parent wishes to appeal his or her child’s 133 retention but does not have the means or resources to do so, the 134 school district shall appoint a qualified advocate to intervene 135 on the child’s behalf during the appeal process. 136 (g) School personnel, including guidance counselors and 137 teachers, may initiate the appeal process on behalf of a student 138 but must receive the parent’s permission to do so before 139 proceeding with an appeal. 140 (9)(8)ANNUAL REPORT.— 141 (a) In addition to the requirements in paragraph (5)(c)(b), 142 each district school board must annually report to the parent of 143 each student the progress of the student toward achieving state 144 and district expectations for proficiency in reading, writing, 145 science, and mathematics. The district school board must report 146 to the parent the student’s results on each statewide assessment 147 test. The evaluation of each student’s progress must be based 148 upon the student’s classroom work, observations, tests, district 149 and state assessments, and other relevant information. Progress 150 reporting must be provided to the parent in writing in a format 151 adopted by the district school board. 152 (b) Each district school board must annually publish in the 153 local newspaper, and report in writing to the State Board of 154 Education by September 1 of each year, the following information 155 on the prior school year: 156 1. The provisions of this section relating to public school 157 student progression and the district school board’s policies and 158 procedures on student retention and promotion. 159 2. By grade, the number and percentage of all students in 160 grades 3 through 10 performing at Levels 1 and 2 on the reading 161 portion of the FCAT. 162 3. By grade, the number and percentage of all students 163 retained in grades 3 through 10. 164 4. Information on the total number of students who were 165 promoted for good cause, by each category of good cause as 166 specified in paragraph (6)(b). 167 5. Information on the total number of students who were 168 promoted as a result of appealing their retention under 169 subsection (7). 170 6.5.Any revisions to the district school board’s policy on 171 student retention and promotion from the prior year. 172 (c) The Department of Education shall establish a uniform 173 format for school districts to report the information required 174 in paragraph (b). The format shall be developed with input from 175 district school boards and shall be provided not later than 90 176 days prior to the annual due date. The department shall annually 177 compile the information required in subparagraphs (b)2., 3.,and178 4., and 5., along with state-level summary information, and 179 report such information to the Governor, the President of the 180 Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 181 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.
