Bill Text: FL S0862 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Parent Empowerment in Education
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-29 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 7009 (Ch. 2013-250) [S0862 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S0862-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Parent Empowerment in Education
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-29 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 7009 (Ch. 2013-250) [S0862 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S0862-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2013 SB 862
By Senator Stargel
15-00412-13 2013862__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to parent empowerment in education;
3 amending s. 1001.10, F.S.; conforming a cross
4 reference; amending s. 1002.20, F.S.; providing that
5 parents who have a student in a public school that is
6 implementing a turnaround option may petition to have
7 a particular turnaround option implemented; requiring
8 the school district to give parents of public school
9 students, upon request, a performance evaluation for
10 each classroom teacher assigned to their child;
11 requiring the school district to notify parents of a
12 public school student being taught by an out-of-field
13 teacher or by a teacher with an unsatisfactory
14 performance rating; specifying requirements for the
15 notice; amending s. 1002.32, F.S.; conforming a cross
16 reference; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; requiring a
17 charter school to comply with certain performance
18 evaluation notification procedures; creating s.
19 1003.07, F.S.; creating the Parent Empowerment Act;
20 specifying what constitutes an eligible student and a
21 parental vote; requiring that a school district send a
22 written notice to parents of public school students
23 regarding the parents’ options to petition the school
24 for a particular turnaround option; requiring the
25 notice to include certain information; authorizing up
26 to one parental vote per eligible student;
27 establishing the process to solicit signatures for a
28 petition; prohibiting a person from being paid for
29 signatures; prohibiting a for-profit corporation,
30 business, or entity from soliciting signatures or
31 paying a person to solicit signatures; establishing
32 criteria to verify the signatures on a petition;
33 requiring the State Board of Education to adopt rules
34 for filing a petition; specifying that a petition is
35 valid if it is signed and dated by a majority of the
36 parents of eligible students and those signatures are
37 verified; requiring the school district to consider
38 the turnaround option on the valid petition with the
39 most signatures at a publicly noticed school board
40 meeting; requiring the school district to submit an
41 implementation plan to the state board; amending s.
42 1008.33, F.S.; authorizing a parent to petition the
43 school district to implement a turnaround option
44 selected by the parent; amending s. 1012.2315, F.S.;
45 providing for assistance to teachers teaching out-of
46 field; requiring the school district to notify parents
47 and inform them of their options if a student is being
48 taught by an out-of-field teacher; requiring the
49 school district to give to a parent a teacher’s
50 performance evaluation upon request; providing that a
51 student may not be assigned to an unsatisfactory
52 teacher in a single subject for two consecutive school
53 years; repealing s. 1012.42, F.S., relating to
54 teachers who are teaching out-of-field; providing an
55 effective date.
56
57 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
58
59 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 1001.10, Florida
60 Statutes, is amended to read:
61 1001.10 Commissioner of Education; general powers and
62 duties.—
63 (3) To facilitate innovative practices and to allow local
64 selection of educational methods, the State Board of Education
65 may authorize the commissioner to waive, upon the request of a
66 district school board, rules of the State Board of Education
67 relating rules that relate to district school instruction and
68 school operations, except those rules pertaining to civil
69 rights, and student health, safety, and welfare. The
70 commissioner of Education is not authorized to grant waivers for
71 any provisions in rule pertaining to the allocation and
72 appropriation of state and local funds for public education; the
73 election, compensation, and organization of school board members
74 and superintendents; graduation and state accountability
75 standards; financial reporting requirements; reporting of out
76 of-field teaching assignments under s. 1012.2315 s. 1012.42;
77 public meetings; public records; or due process hearings
78 governed by chapter 120. No later than January 1 of each year,
79 the commissioner shall report to the Legislature and the State
80 Board of Education all approved waiver requests in the preceding
81 year.
82 Section 2. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (21) of
83 section 1002.20, Florida Statutes, and subsections (25) and (26)
84 are added to that section, to read:
85 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public
86 school students must receive accurate and timely information
87 regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed
88 of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12
89 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory
90 rights including, but not limited to, the following:
91 (21) PARENTAL INPUT AND MEETINGS.—
92 (d) Parent empowerment.—Parents of students who are
93 assigned to a public school that is required to implement a
94 turnaround option pursuant to s. 1008.33 may submit a petition
95 to the school district requesting implementation of a turnaround
96 option pursuant to s. 1003.07.
97 (25) PERSONNEL EVALUATION REPORTS.—Upon request by the
98 parent of a public school student, the school district shall
99 provide the parent with a performance evaluation for each
100 classroom teacher assigned to his or her child.
101 (26) ASSIGNMENT TO TEACHERS.—
102 (a) Out-of-field classroom teachers.—Each school district
103 shall annually notify the parent of a public school student who
104 is assigned to a classroom teacher teaching out-of-field. The
105 notice must inform the parent that virtual instruction from a
106 certified in-field teacher having an annual performance
107 evaluation rating of “effective” or “highly effective” is
108 available pursuant to s. 1012.2315(5).
109 (b) Underperforming classroom teachers.—Each school
110 district shall annually notify the parent of a public school
111 student assigned to a classroom teacher or school administrator
112 who, under s. 1012.34, has two consecutive annual performance
113 evaluation ratings of “unsatisfactory,” two annual performance
114 evaluation ratings of “unsatisfactory within a 3-year period,”
115 or three consecutive annual performance evaluation ratings of
116 “needs improvement” or a combination of “needs improvement” and
117 “unsatisfactory.” The notice must inform the parent that virtual
118 instruction from a teacher who has an annual performance
119 evaluation rating of “effective” or “highly effective” is
120 available pursuant to s. 1012.2315(7).
121 Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (7) of section
122 1002.32, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
123 1002.32 Developmental research (laboratory) schools.—
124 (7) PERSONNEL.—
125 (c) Lab school faculty members shall meet the certification
126 requirements of s. 1012.32 ss. 1012.32 and 1012.42.
127 Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (16) of section
128 1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
129 1002.33 Charter schools.—
130 (16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES.—
131 (b) Additionally, a charter school shall comply be in
132 compliance with the following statutes:
133 1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and
134 records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties.
135 2. Chapter 119, relating to public records.
136 3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size,
137 except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s.
138 1003.03 must shall be the average at the school level.
139 4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and
140 salary schedules.
141 5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions.
142 6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with
143 instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011.
144 7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive
145 requirements for performance evaluations for instructional
146 personnel and school administrators.
147 8. Section 1012.2315(5) and (7), relating to the assignment
148 of teachers and notification to parents.
149 Section 5. Section 1003.07, Florida Statutes, is created to
150 read:
151 1003.07 Parent empowerment.—
152 (1) This section may be cited as the “Parent Empowerment
153 Act.”
154 (2) As used in this section, the term:
155 (a) “Eligible student” means a student enrolled in a school
156 in which a turnaround option will be implemented or a student
157 who, under the school district’s enrollment policy, is scheduled
158 for assignment to that school the following school year. A
159 student who is graduating or being promoted out of a school that
160 is eligible for a turnaround option and who will not be enrolled
161 in that school the following school year is not an eligible
162 student.
163 (b) “Parental vote” means the signature of one parent of an
164 eligible student.
165 1. If the other parent objects in writing to the parental
166 vote before the date the petition is scheduled to be submitted,
167 and if the parents have equal parental rights, the parental vote
168 counts for one-half of a vote.
169 2. If one parent has sole parental responsibility or holds
170 the right to make educational decisions for the student pursuant
171 to s. 61.13, only that parent can vote regarding the eligible
172 student.
173 (3) Each school district shall notify, in writing, the
174 parents of eligible students and the school advisory council
175 when a public school has been unable to improve performance and
176 is required to implement a turnaround option pursuant to s.
177 1008.33. The written notice must inform parents that, before the
178 district school board selects a turnaround option, parents may
179 petition for implementation of a particular turnaround option by
180 the school the following school year. The notice must be
181 provided to parents within 30 calendar days after the school
182 district receives notice from the department that the school is
183 required to implement a turnaround option. The notice must
184 include:
185 (a) A description of each turnaround option available for
186 selection under s. 1008.33;
187 (b) A description of the process for implementing a
188 turnaround option, including the date by which the school
189 district must submit its implementation plan to the State Board
190 of Education;
191 (c) The date and location for submission of the petition;
192 (d) The date and location of the publicly noticed district
193 school board meeting required in this section at which the
194 school board will consider the available turnaround options; and
195 (e) The contact information of the district school board.
196 (4) A person who solicits signatures may not offer monetary
197 compensation, a promise of employment, or any other reward to a
198 parent for signing a petition. A person who solicits signatures
199 may not be paid per signature and, if asked, must disclose the
200 organization he or she represents. A for-profit corporation,
201 business, or entity is prohibited from gathering signatures or
202 paying others to solicit signatures.
203 (5) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to
204 establish a petition format, the petition submission process,
205 standards for verifying signatures, and timeframes for the
206 verification and consideration of a petition at a publicly
207 noticed meeting. Petition forms must be easily accessible to
208 parents. Each petition form must clearly identify only one
209 turnaround option on the front page of the petition and on each
210 page thereafter. The school district shall provide clear
211 instructions and a sample petition form for each turnaround
212 option available for selection under s. 1008.33.
213 (6) The petition process must provide that:
214 (a) Parents of eligible students have at least 30 days
215 after initial notification to gather petition signatures.
216 (b) The school district shall verify signatures no more
217 than 30 days after the date the petition is submitted.
218 (c) The district school board may not meet sooner than 30
219 days after the petition is submitted.
220 (d) A submitted petition may list only one turnaround
221 option identified in s. 1008.33 which is not currently being
222 implemented at the school. A parent may sign more than one
223 petition for a turnaround option.
224 (e) A parent signature constitutes a certification that the
225 parent has a present intention to enroll his or her child, who
226 must be identified on the petition, if the turnaround option
227 identified on the petition is selected. A school district may
228 not reject a parent’s signature on a petition on the basis that
229 the parent signed the petition before the initial notice.
230 (f) The school district shall verify at least a majority of
231 the signatures on the petition using existing student enrollment
232 documentation or other records containing parent signatures. A
233 school district may not reject a parent’s signature on a
234 petition based on a lack of conformity to signatures in school
235 records if the parent’s identity and signature can be easily
236 validated with a photographic identification or a notarized
237 signature verifying the identity of the signer, or by the
238 personal knowledge of a school employee. The school district is
239 not required to verify notarized signatures, and signatures
240 verified outside an established verification period are valid.
241 (g) For a petition to be valid, it must bear the dated
242 signatures of a majority of the parents of eligible students.
243 For purposes of this section, a majority is more than one-half
244 of the parents who are eligible to sign the petition. Only one
245 parental vote per eligible student may be counted with respect
246 to each petition.
247 (h) If valid petitions for more than one turnaround option
248 are submitted, the petition having the most signatures is the
249 official turnaround option selected by parents.
250 (7) The turnaround option selected by parents must be
251 considered for implementation by the school district at a
252 publicly noticed district school board meeting. The district
253 school board may adopt the turnaround option selected by parents
254 or a different turnaround option selected by the district school
255 board. Pursuant to s. 1008.33, an implementation plan for the
256 adopted turnaround option must be submitted to the state board.
257 (a) If the district school board adopts a turnaround option
258 that is different from the turnaround option selected by
259 parents, it shall identify with its submission the turnaround
260 option selected by parents.
261 (b) If the state board determines that the turnaround
262 option selected by parents is more likely to improve the
263 academic performance of students at the school, the district
264 school board shall submit to the state board an implementation
265 plan for the turnaround option selected by parents.
266 Section 6. Subsection (4) of section 1008.33, Florida
267 Statutes, is amended to read:
268 1008.33 Authority to enforce public school improvement.—
269 (4)(a) The state board shall apply the most intense
270 intervention and support strategies to schools earning a grade
271 of “F.” In the first full school year after a school initially
272 earns a grade of “F,” the school district must implement
273 intervention and support strategies prescribed in rule under
274 paragraph (3)(c), select a turnaround option from those provided
275 in subparagraphs (b)1.-5., and submit a plan for implementing
276 the turnaround option to the department for approval by the
277 state board. Upon approval by the state board, the turnaround
278 option must be implemented in the following school year.
279 (b) Except as provided in subsection (5), the turnaround
280 options available to a school district to address a school that
281 earns a grade of “F” are:
282 1. Convert the school to a district-managed turnaround
283 school;
284 2. Reassign students to another school and monitor the
285 progress of each reassigned student;
286 3. Close the school and reopen the school as one or more
287 charter schools, each with a governing board that has a
288 demonstrated record of effectiveness;
289 4. Contract with an outside entity that has a demonstrated
290 record of effectiveness to operate the school; or
291 5. Implement a hybrid of turnaround options set forth in
292 subparagraphs 1.-4. or other turnaround models that have a
293 demonstrated record of effectiveness.
294 (c) Parents of students who are assigned to a public school
295 that is required by the State Board of Education to implement a
296 turnaround option may petition the school district to implement
297 one of the turnaround options in paragraph (b) selected by the
298 parents pursuant to s. 1003.07. Except for schools required to
299 implement a turnaround option pursuant to subsection (5), a
300 school earning a grade of “F” shall have a planning year
301 followed by 2 full school years to implement the initial
302 turnaround option selected by the school district and approved
303 by the state board. Implementation of the turnaround option is
304 no longer required if the school improves by at least one letter
305 grade.
306 (d) A school earning a grade of “F” that improves its
307 letter grade must continue to implement strategies identified in
308 its school improvement plan pursuant to s. 1001.42(18)(a). The
309 department must annually review implementation of the school
310 improvement plan for 3 years to monitor the school’s continued
311 improvement.
312 (e) If a school earning a grade of “F” does not improve by
313 at least one letter grade after 2 full school years of
314 implementing the turnaround option selected by the school
315 district under paragraph (b), the school district must select a
316 different option and submit another implementation plan to the
317 department for approval by the state board. Implementation of
318 the approved plan must begin the school year following the
319 implementation period of the existing turnaround option, unless
320 the state board determines that the school is likely to improve
321 a letter grade if additional time is provided to implement the
322 existing turnaround option.
323 Section 7. Section 1012.2315, Florida Statutes, is amended
324 to read:
325 1012.2315 Assignment of teachers.—
326 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The Legislature finds
327 disparities between teachers assigned to teach in a majority of
328 schools that do not need improvement and schools that do need
329 improvement pursuant to s. 1008.33. The disparities may be found
330 in the assignment of temporarily certified teachers, teachers in
331 need of improvement, and out-of-field teachers and in the
332 performance of the students. It is the intent of the Legislature
333 that district school boards have flexibility through the
334 collective bargaining process to assign teachers more equitably
335 across the schools in the district.
336 (2) ASSIGNMENT TO SCHOOLS GRADED “D” or “F”.—School
337 districts may not assign a higher percentage than the school
338 district average of temporarily certified teachers, teachers in
339 need of improvement, or out-of-field teachers to schools graded
340 “D” or “F” pursuant to s. 1008.34. Each school district shall
341 annually certify to the commissioner of Education that this
342 requirement has been met. If the commissioner determines that a
343 school district is not in compliance with this subsection, the
344 State Board of Education must shall be notified and shall take
345 action pursuant to s. 1008.32 in the next regularly scheduled
346 meeting to require compliance.
347 (3) SALARY INCENTIVES.—District school boards may are
348 authorized to provide salary incentives to meet the requirement
349 of subsection (2). A district school board may not sign a
350 collective bargaining agreement that precludes the school
351 district from providing sufficient incentives to meet this
352 requirement.
353 (4) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—Notwithstanding provisions of
354 chapter 447 relating to district school board collective
355 bargaining, collective bargaining provisions may not preclude a
356 school district from providing incentives to high-quality
357 teachers and assigning such teachers to low-performing schools.
358 (5) ASSISTANCE TO OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHERS.—
359 (a) Each district school board shall adopt rules for
360 administering an assistance plan for each classroom teacher who
361 is teaching out-of-field. The assistance plan must provide
362 teachers who are teaching out-of-field with priority
363 consideration in professional development activities and require
364 such teachers to participate in a certification or staff
365 development program that provides the competencies required for
366 the assigned duties. A school district may reimburse a teacher
367 who is teaching out-of-field for a certification fee. The
368 assistance plan must also include duties of administrative
369 personnel and other instructional personnel for assisting a
370 teacher who is teaching out-of-field.
371 (b) The school district shall annually notify the parent of
372 a student who is assigned to a classroom teacher teaching a
373 subject matter that is:
374 1. Outside the field in which the teacher is certified;
375 2. Outside the field that was the teacher’s minor field of
376 study; or
377 3. Outside the field in which the teacher has demonstrated
378 sufficient subject area expertise, as determined by district
379 school board policy, in the subject area to be taught.
380
381 The notice must inform the parent that virtual instruction from
382 a certified in-field teacher who has an annual performance
383 evaluation rating of “effective” or “highly effective” under s.
384 1012.34 is available to his or her child through the virtual
385 instruction options specified in s. 1002.321(4).
386 (6)(5) REPORT.—
387 (a) By July 1, 2012, the department of Education shall
388 annually report on its website, in a manner that is accessible
389 to the public, the performance rating data reported by district
390 school boards under s. 1012.34. The report must include the
391 percentage of classroom teachers, instructional personnel, and
392 school administrators receiving each performance rating
393 aggregated by school district and by school.
394 (7) ASSIGNMENT OF TEACHERS BASED UPON PERFORMANCE
395 EVALUATIONS.—
396 (a)(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of s.
397 1012.31(3)(a)2., each school district shall annually notify
398 report to the parent of a any student who is assigned to a
399 classroom teacher or school administrator having two consecutive
400 annual performance evaluation ratings of “unsatisfactory” under
401 s. 1012.34, two annual performance evaluation ratings of
402 unsatisfactory within a 3-year period under s. 1012.34, or three
403 consecutive annual performance evaluation ratings of “needs
404 improvement” or a combination of “needs improvement” and
405 “unsatisfactory” under s. 1012.34. The notice must inform the
406 parent that virtual instruction from a teacher having a
407 performance evaluation rating of “highly effective” or
408 “effective” under s. 1012.34 is available to his or her child
409 through the virtual instruction options specified in s.
410 1002.321(4).
411 (b) Upon request by the parent of a public school student,
412 the school district shall provide the parent with a performance
413 evaluation for each classroom teacher assigned to his or her
414 child, pursuant to s. 1012.31.
415 (c) If a student is currently taught by a classroom teacher
416 who, during that school year, receives a performance evaluation
417 rating of “needs improvement” or “unsatisfactory” under s.
418 1012.34, the student may not be assigned the following school
419 year to a classroom teacher in the same subject area who
420 received a performance evaluation rating of “needs improvement”
421 or “unsatisfactory” in the preceding school year.
422 Section 8. Section 1012.42, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
423 Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.
