Bill Text: FL S1108 | 2021 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Education
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-23 - Chapter No. 2021-157 [S1108 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S1108-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Education
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-23 - Chapter No. 2021-157 [S1108 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S1108-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2021 CS for CS for SB 1108 By the Committees on Appropriations; and Judiciary; and Senator Diaz 576-04464-21 20211108c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to education; amending s. 1001.23, 3 F.S.; authorizing the Department of Education to hold 4 patents, copyrights, trademarks, and service marks; 5 authorizing the department to take specified actions 6 to enforce its rights under certain circumstances; 7 requiring the department to notify the Department of 8 State in writing when property rights by patent, 9 copyright, trademark, or service marks are secured by 10 the department; requiring, except for educational 11 materials and products, any proceeds received by the 12 department from the exercise of its rights to be 13 deposited in the department’s Operating Trust Fund; 14 creating s. 1002.334, F.S.; establishing the 15 Innovative Blended Learning and Real-Time Student 16 Assessment Pilot Program within the department; 17 providing the purpose of the program; defining the 18 term “innovative blended learning”; specifying program 19 eligibility; requiring program applicants to submit 20 applications to the department in a format prescribed 21 by the department; requiring program applications to 22 include specified information; requiring applications 23 to be considered only for synchronous innovative 24 blended learning programs; requiring the Commissioner 25 of Education to select applicants to participate in 26 the program; providing a start date for the program; 27 providing for funding; authorizing the commissioner to 28 remove an approved applicant from the program under 29 certain circumstances; providing for future 30 expiration; amending s. 1003.4282, F.S.; deleting 31 obsolete language; requiring certain students to take 32 a specified assessment relating to civic literacy; 33 providing that such assessment meets certain 34 postsecondary requirements under specified 35 circumstances; conforming a cross-reference; amending 36 s. 1007.25, F.S.; requiring certain postsecondary 37 students to complete a civic literacy course and pass 38 a specified assessment to demonstrate competency in 39 civic literacy; authorizing students to meet the 40 assessment requirements in high school; providing for 41 rulemaking; authorizing the development of new civic 42 literacy courses; providing requirements for such 43 courses; amending s. 1008.212, F.S.; conforming cross 44 references; amending s. 1008.22, F.S.; revising the 45 purpose of the assessment program; deleting obsolete 46 language; requiring that certain assessments be given 47 in a paper-based format; requiring school districts to 48 provide the SAT or ACT to grade 11 students beginning 49 in a specified school year; requiring school districts 50 to choose which assessment to administer; deleting 51 specified reporting requirements; deleting a 52 requirement that the Commissioner of Education 53 maintain a specified item bank; deleting specified 54 requirements for the date of the administration of 55 specified assessments; revising a deadline for the 56 publication of certain assessments; conforming 57 provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 58 1008.24, F.S.; revising the tests that are included 59 under test administration and security rules; amending 60 ss. 1008.34 and 1008.3415, F.S.; conforming cross 61 references; amending s. 1009.286, F.S.; providing an 62 additional exception to credit hours used when 63 calculating baccalaureate degrees; providing an 64 effective date. 65 66 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 67 68 Section 1. Subsection (5) is added to section 1001.23, 69 Florida Statutes, to read: 70 1001.23 Specific powers and duties of the Department of 71 Education.—In addition to all other duties assigned to it by law 72 or by rule of the State Board of Education, the department 73 shall: 74 (5) Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 286, have the 75 authority to hold patents, copyrights, trademarks, and service 76 marks. The department may take any action necessary to enforce 77 its rights with respect to such patents, copyrights, trademarks, 78 and service marks or enter into a transaction to sell, lease, 79 license, or transfer such rights for monetary gain or other 80 consideration at the discretion of the department. The 81 department shall notify the Department of State in writing when 82 property rights by patent, copyright, trademark, or service 83 marks are secured by the department. Except for educational 84 materials and products, any proceeds received by the department 85 from the exercise of such rights shall be deposited in the 86 department’s Operating Trust Fund. 87 Section 2. Section 1002.334, Florida Statutes, is created 88 to read: 89 1002.334 Innovative Blended Learning and Real-Time Student 90 Assessment Pilot Program.— 91 (1) There is created within the Department of Education the 92 Innovative Blended Learning and Real-Time Student Assessment 93 Pilot Program. The purpose of the program is to develop and 94 measure innovative blended learning and real-time weekly student 95 assessment educational models that improve the educational 96 progress of this state’s students and help close achievement 97 gaps for this state’s traditionally underserved students. 98 (2) As used in this section, the term “innovative blended 99 learning” means: 100 (a) A mode of learning where in-person and remote students 101 are combined in one classroom environment where the education, 102 instruction, and engagement occurs at the same time with the 103 teacher and other students physically present in the classroom; 104 and 105 (b) For a given course, students learn in part through 106 online delivery of content and instruction with some element of 107 student control over time, place, path, or pace and in part at a 108 traditional supervised classroom location away from home. 109 (3) To be eligible to work with the program, an applicant 110 must be: 111 (a) A high-performing charter school under s. 1002.331; 112 (b) A high-performing charter school system under s. 113 1002.332; or 114 (c) An academically high-performing school district 115 pursuant to s. 1003.621. 116 (4) A program applicant must submit an application to the 117 department in a format prescribed by the department. The 118 application must include all of the following: 119 (a) A plan for the synchronous technological and resource 120 design, curriculum, classroom operation, school or district 121 management, privacy protection and teacher professional 122 development, and at least weekly progress monitoring of real 123 time student performance in innovative blended learning 124 programs. 125 (b) A plan to reduce achievement gaps through innovative 126 blended learning. 127 (c) A requirement that distance learning will always be at 128 the choosing of the student or the student’s parent or guardian 129 and that a family will never be coerced to choose distance 130 learning. 131 (d) A requirement that a participating classroom may not be 132 fully virtual such that at least two-thirds of the students in a 133 class must be present for in-person learning on any regularly 134 scheduled school day. 135 (e) A requirement that any struggling student who is 136 participating in this program and who, according to progress 137 monitoring data, is on pace to learn less than a year’s content 138 in a year’s time must return to learning in person. 139 (f) A requirement that any student can choose to switch 140 learning modalities, in person or distance, on any given day, 141 without notice and therefore a seat must always be available for 142 every student registered to take any participating course. 143 (g) A requirement that the applicant provide all requested 144 student-level data from participating schools, including, as 145 necessary, benchmark historical data for up to the prior 3 146 school years, to the department upon request. 147 (5) Applications may be considered only for synchronous 148 innovative blended learning programs. 149 (6) The Commissioner of Education shall select applicants 150 to participate in the program. 151 (7) Districts and schools may not begin approved 152 synchronous innovative blended learning programs until October 153 1, 2021. 154 (8)(a) Applicants approved by the commissioner shall 155 receive funding based upon the number of full-time equivalent 156 students being educated under the pilot program, as if each 157 student were being educated full-time in person at his or her 158 respective school. 159 (b) The commissioner may remove an approved applicant from 160 program participation if the applicant fails to maintain the 161 designations listed in subsection (3) or the applicant fails to 162 meet any of the requirements listed in subsection (4). 163 (9) This section expires July 1, 2024. 164 Section 3. Paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (3), 165 subsection (7), and paragraph (e) of subsection (10) of section 166 1003.4282, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 167 1003.4282 Requirements for a standard high school diploma.— 168 (3) STANDARD HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA; COURSE AND ASSESSMENT 169 REQUIREMENTS.— 170 (a) Four credits in English Language Arts (ELA).—The four 171 credits must be in ELA I, II, III, and IV. A student must pass 172 the statewide, standardized grade 10Reading assessment or, when173implemented, the grade 10ELA assessment, or earn a concordant 174 score, in order to earn a standard high school diploma. 175 (d) Three credits in social studies.—A student must earn 176 one credit in United States History; one credit in World 177 History; one-half credit in economics; and one-half credit in 178 United States Government. The United States History EOC 179 assessment constitutes 30 percent of the student’s final course 180 grade. Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, students taking 181 the United States Government course are required to take the 182 assessment of civic literacy identified by the State Board of 183 Education pursuant to s. 1007.25(4). Students earning a passing 184 score on the assessment are exempt from the postsecondary civic 185 literacy assessment required by s. 1007.25(4). 186 (7) UNIFORM TRANSFER OF HIGH SCHOOL CREDITS.—Beginning with 187 the 2012-2013 school year, if a student transfers to a Florida 188 public high school from out of country, out of state, a private 189 school, or a home education program and the student’s transcript 190 shows a credit in Algebra I, the student must pass the 191 statewide, standardized Algebra I EOC assessment in order to 192 earn a standard high school diploma unless the student earned a 193 comparative score, passed a statewide assessment in Algebra I 194 administered by the transferring entity, or passed the statewide 195 mathematics assessment the transferring entity uses to satisfy 196 the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 197 as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), 20 U.S.C. 198 ss. 6301 et seq. If a student’s transcript shows a credit in 199 high school reading or English Language Arts II or III, in order 200 to earn a standard high school diploma, the student must take 201 and pass the statewide, standardized grade 10Reading assessment202or, when implemented, the grade 10ELA assessment, or earn a 203 concordant score. If a transfer student’s transcript shows a 204 final course grade and course credit in Algebra I, Geometry, 205 Biology I, or United States History, the transferring course 206 final grade and credit shall be honored without the student 207 taking the requisite statewide, standardized EOC assessment and 208 without the assessment results constituting 30 percent of the 209 student’s final course grade. 210 (10) STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.—Beginning with students 211 entering grade 9 in the 2014-2015 school year, this subsection 212 applies to a student with a disability. 213 (e) Any waiver of the statewide, standardized assessment 214 requirements by the individual education plan team, pursuant to 215 s. 1008.22(3)(d)s. 1008.22(3)(c), must be approved by the 216 parent and is subject to verification for appropriateness by an 217 independent reviewer selected by the parent as provided for in 218 s. 1003.572. 219 220 The State Board of Education shall adopt rules under ss. 221 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this subsection, including 222 rules that establish the minimum requirements for students 223 described in this subsection to earn a standard high school 224 diploma. The State Board of Education shall adopt emergency 225 rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54. 226 Section 4. Subsection (4) of section 1007.25, Florida 227 Statutes, is amended to read: 228 1007.25 General education courses; common prerequisites; 229 other degree requirements.— 230 (4)(a) Beginning with students initially entering a Florida 231 College System institution or state university in the 2018-2019 232 school year and thereafter, each student must demonstrate 233 competency in civic literacy. Students must have the option to 234 demonstrate competency either through successful completion of a 235 civic literacy course or by achieving a passing score on an 236 assessment. The State Board of Education must adopt in rule and 237 the Board of Governors must adopt in regulation at least one 238 existing assessment that measures competencies consistent with 239 the required course competencies outlined in subparagraph (b)2 240paragraph (b). 241 (b) Beginning with students initially entering a Florida 242 College System institution or state university in the 2021-2022 243 school year and thereafter, each student must demonstrate 244 competency in civic literacy by achieving a passing score on an 245 assessment and by successfully completing a civic literacy 246 course. Credits earned for such courses via articulated 247 acceleration mechanisms in s. 1007.27 will count toward the 248 civic literacy competency requirement. The State Board of 249 Education and the Board of Governors shall adopt by rule and 250 regulation, respectively, approved assessments that address the 251 competencies in subparagraph 2. and courses that meet the 252 requirements in subparagraph 1. The chair of the State Board of 253 Education and the chair of the Board of Governors, or their 254 respective designees, shall jointly appoint a faculty committee 255 to: 256 1.(a)Develop one or moreanew coursescoursein civic 257 literacy or revise an existing general education core course in 258 American History or American Government to include, at a 259 minimum, opportunities to engage synchronously in political 260 discussions and civil debates with multiple points of view and 261 to master the ability to synthesize information that informs 262 civic decisionmakingcivic literacy. 263 2.(b)Establish course competencies and identify outcomes 264 that include, at a minimum, an understanding of the basic 265 principles of American democracy and how they are applied in our 266 republican form of government, an understanding of the United 267 States Constitution, knowledge of the founding documents and how 268 they have shaped the nature and functions of our institutions of 269 self-governance, and an understanding of landmark Supreme Court 270 cases and their impact on law and society. 271 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsection 272 (2) of section 1008.212, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 273 1008.212 Students with disabilities; extraordinary 274 exemption.— 275 (1) As used in this section, the term: 276 (a) “Circumstance” means a situation in which 277 accommodations allowable for use on the statewide standardized 278 assessment, a statewide standardized end-of-course assessment, 279 or an alternate assessment pursuant to s. 1008.22(3)(d)s.2801008.22(3)(c)are not offered to a student during the current 281 year’s assessment administration due to technological 282 limitations in the testing administration program which lead to 283 results that reflect the student’s impaired sensory, manual, or 284 speaking skills rather than the student’s achievement of the 285 benchmarks assessed by the statewide standardized assessment, a 286 statewide standardized end-of-course assessment, or an alternate 287 assessment. 288 (2) A student with a disability for whom the individual 289 education plan (IEP) team determines is prevented by a 290 circumstance or condition from physically demonstrating the 291 mastery of skills that have been acquired and are measured by 292 the statewide standardized assessment, a statewide standardized 293 end-of-course assessment, or an alternate assessment pursuant to 294 s. 1008.22(3)(d)s. 1008.22(3)(c)shall be granted an 295 extraordinary exemption from the administration of the 296 assessment. A learning, emotional, behavioral, or significant 297 cognitive disability, or the receipt of services through the 298 homebound or hospitalized program in accordance with rule 6A 299 6.03020, Florida Administrative Code, is not, in and of itself, 300 an adequate criterion for the granting of an extraordinary 301 exemption. 302 Section 6. Present paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of 303 section 1008.22, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph 304 (d), a new paragraph (c) is added to that subsection, and 305 paragraph (a) of subsection (1), paragraphs (a) and (b), present 306 paragraph (d), and paragraph (g) of subsection (3), subsection 307 (6), paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (h) of subsection (7), 308 subsections (8) and (9), and paragraph (e) of subsection (12) of 309 that section are amended, to read: 310 1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools.— 311 (1) PURPOSE.—The primary purpose of the student assessment 312 program is to provide student academic achievement and learning 313 gains data to students, parents, teachers, school 314 administrators, and school district staff. This data is to be 315 used by districts to improve instruction; by students, parents, 316 and teachers to guide learning objectives; by education 317 researchers to assess national and international education 318 comparison data; and by the public to assess the cost benefit of 319 the expenditure of taxpayer dollars. The program must be 320 designed to: 321 (a) Assess the achievement level andannuallearning gains 322 of each student in English Language Arts and mathematics and the 323 achievement level in all other subjects assessed. 324 (3) STATEWIDE, STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.—The 325 Commissioner of Education shall design and implement a 326 statewide, standardized assessment program aligned to the core 327 curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine 328 State Standards. The commissioner also must develop or select 329 and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be 330 used in all juvenile justice education programs in the state. 331 These tools must accurately measure the core curricular content 332 established in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. 333 Participation in the assessment program is mandatory for all 334 school districts and all students attending public schools, 335 including adult students seeking a standard high school diploma 336 under s. 1003.4282 and students in Department of Juvenile 337 Justice education programs, except as otherwise provided by law. 338 If a student does not participate in the assessment program, the 339 school district must notify the student’s parent and provide the 340 parent with information regarding the implications of such 341 nonparticipation. The statewide, standardized assessment program 342 shall be designed and implemented as follows: 343 (a) Statewide, standardized comprehensive assessments.—The 344 statewide, standardizedReading assessment shall be administered345annually in grades 3 through 10. The statewide, standardized346Writing assessment shall be administered annually at least once347at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. When the348Reading and Writing assessments are replaced byEnglish Language 349 Arts (ELA) assessments, ELA assessmentsshall be administered to 350 students in grades 3 through 10. Retake opportunities for the 351grade 10 Reading assessment or, upon implementation, thegrade 352 10 ELA assessment must be provided.Students taking the ELA353assessments shall not take the statewide, standardized354assessments in Reading or Writing.Reading passages and writing 355 prompts for ELA assessments shall incorporate grade-level core 356 curricula content from social studies. The statewide, 357 standardized Mathematics assessments shall be administered 358 annually in grades 3 through 8.Students taking a revised359Mathematics assessment shall not take the discontinued360assessment.The statewide, standardized Science assessment shall 361 be administered annually at least once at the elementary and 362 middle grades levels. In order to earn a standard high school 363 diploma, a student who has not earned a passing score on the 364 grade 10Reading assessment or, upon implementation, the grade36510ELA assessment must earn a passing score on the assessment 366 retake or earn a concordant score as authorized under subsection 367 (9). Statewide, standardized ELA and Mathematics assessments in 368 grades 3 through 6 must be delivered in a paper-based format. 369 (b) End-of-course (EOC) assessments.—EOC assessments must 370 be statewide, standardized, and developed or approved by the 371 Department of Education as follows: 372 1. EOC assessments for Algebra I, Geometry, Biology I, 373 United States History, and Civics shall be administered to 374 students enrolled in such courses as specified in the course 375 code directory. 376 2. Students enrolled in a course, as specified in the 377 course code directory, with an associated statewide, 378 standardized EOC assessment must take the EOC assessment for 379 such course and may not take the corresponding subject or grade 380 level statewide, standardized assessment pursuant to paragraph 381 (a). Sections 1003.4156 and 1003.4282 govern the use of 382 statewide, standardized EOC assessment results for students. 383 3. The commissioner may select one or more nationally 384 developed comprehensive examinations, which may include 385 examinations for a College Board Advanced Placement course, 386 International Baccalaureate course, or Advanced International 387 Certificate of Education course, or industry-approved 388 examinations to earn national industry certifications identified 389 in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List, for use as EOC 390 assessments under this paragraph if the commissioner determines 391 that the content knowledge and skills assessed by the 392 examinations meet or exceed the grade-level expectations for the 393 core curricular content established for the course in the Next 394 Generation Sunshine State Standards. Use of any such examination 395 as an EOC assessment must be approved by the state board in 396 rule. 397 4. Contingent upon funding provided in the General 398 Appropriations Act, including the appropriation of funds 399 received through federal grants, the commissioner may establish 400 an implementation schedule for the development and 401 administration of additional statewide, standardized EOC 402 assessments that must be approved by the state board in rule. If 403 approved by the state board, student performance on such 404 assessments constitutes 30 percent of a student’s final course 405 grade. 406 5. All statewide, standardized EOC assessments must be 407 administered online except as otherwise provided in paragraph 408 (d)(c). 409 6. A student enrolled in an Advanced Placement (AP), 410 International Baccalaureate (IB), or Advanced International 411 Certificate of Education (AICE) course who takes the respective 412 AP, IB, or AICE assessment and earns the minimum score necessary 413 to earn college credit, as identified in s. 1007.27(2), meets 414 the requirements of this paragraph and does not have to take the 415 EOC assessment for the corresponding course. 416 (c) Nationally recognized high school assessments.—Each 417 school district shall, by the 2021-2022 school year and subject 418 to appropriation, select either the SAT or ACT for districtwide 419 administration to each public school student in grade 11, 420 including students attending public high schools, alternative 421 schools, and Department of Juvenile Justice education programs. 422(d)Implementation schedule.—4231.The Commissioner of Education shall establish and424publish on the department’s website an implementation schedule425to transition from the statewide, standardized Reading and426Writing assessments to the ELA assessments and to the revised427Mathematics assessments, including the Algebra I and Geometry428EOC assessments. The schedule must take into consideration429funding, sufficient field and baseline data, access to430assessments, instructional alignment, and school district431readiness to administer the assessments online. All such432assessments must be delivered through computer-based testing,433however, the following assessments must be delivered in a434computer-based format, as follows: the grade 3 Mathematics435assessment beginning in the 2016-2017 school year; the grade 4436ELA assessment, beginning in the 2015-2016 school year; and the437grade 4 Mathematics assessment, beginning in the 2016-2017438school year. Notwithstanding the requirements of this439subparagraph, statewide, standardized ELA and mathematics440assessments in grades 3 through 6 must be delivered only in a441paper-based format, beginning with the 2017-2018 school year,442and all such assessments must be paper-based no later than the4432018-2019 school year.4442.The Department of Education shall publish minimum and445recommended technology requirements that include specifications446for hardware, software, networking, security, and broadband447capacity to facilitate school district compliance with the448requirements of this section.449 (g) Contracts for assessments.— 4501.The commissioner shall provide for the assessments to be 451 developed or obtained, as appropriate, through contracts and 452 project agreements with private vendors, public vendors, public 453 agencies, postsecondary educational institutions, or school 454 districts. The commissioner may enter into contracts for the 455 continued administration of the assessments authorized and 456 funded by the Legislature. Contracts may be initiated in 1 457 fiscal year and continue into the next fiscal year and may be 458 paid from the appropriations of either or both fiscal years. The 459 commissioner may negotiate for the sale or lease of tests, 460 scoring protocols, test scoring services, and related materials 461 developed pursuant to law. 4622.A student’s performance results on statewide,463standardized assessments, EOC assessments, and Florida464Alternative Assessments administered pursuant to this subsection465must be provided to the student’s teachers and parents by the466end of the school year, unless the commissioner determines that467extenuating circumstances exist and reports the extenuating468circumstances to the State Board of Education. This subparagraph469does not apply to existing contracts for such assessments, but470shall apply to new contracts and any renewal of existing471contracts for such assessments.4723.If liquidated damages are applicable, the department473shall collect liquidated damages that are due in response to the474administration of the spring 2015 computer-based assessments of475the department’s Florida Standards Assessment contract with476American Institutes for Research, and expend the funds to477reimburse parties that incurred damages.478 (6) LOCAL ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE ON STATE 479 STANDARDS.— 480(a)Measurement of student performance is the 481 responsibility of school districts except in those subjects and 482 grade levels measured under the statewide, standardized 483 assessment program described in this section. When available, 484 instructional personnel must be provided with information on 485 student achievement of standards and benchmarks in order to 486 improve instruction. 487(b)The Commissioner of Education shall assist and support488districts in measuring student performance on the state489standards by maintaining a statewide item bank, facilitating the490sharing of developed tests or test items among school districts,491and providing technical assistance in best assessment practices.492The commissioner may discontinue the item bank if he or she493determines that district participation is insufficient for its494sustainability.495 (7) ASSESSMENT SCHEDULES AND REPORTING OF RESULTS.— 496 (a) The Commissioner of Education shall establish schedules 497 for the administration of statewide, standardized assessments 498 and the reporting of student assessment results. The 499 commissioner shall consider the observance of religious and 500 school holidays when developing the schedules. The assessment 501 and reporting schedules must provide the earliest possible 502 reporting of student assessment results to the school districts,503consistent with the requirements of paragraph (3)(g). Assessment 504 results for the statewide, standardized ELA and mathematics 505 assessments and all statewide, standardized EOC assessments must 506 be made available no later than June 30, except for results for 507 the grade 3 statewide, standardized ELA assessment, which must 508 be made available no later than May 31. School districts shall 509 administer statewide, standardized assessments in accordance 510 with the schedule established by the commissioner. 511 (b) By January of each year,beginning in 2018,the 512 commissioner shall publish on the department’s website a uniform 513 calendar that includes the assessment and reporting schedules 514 for, at a minimum, the next 2 school years. The uniform calendar 515 must be provided to school districts in an electronic format 516 that allows each school district and public school to populate 517 the calendar with, at minimum, the following information for 518 reporting the district assessment schedules under paragraph (d): 519 1. Whether the assessment is a district-required assessment 520 or a state-required assessment. 521 2. The specific date or dates that each assessment will be 522 administered. 523 3. The time allotted to administer each assessment. 524 4. Whether the assessment is a computer-based assessment or 525 a paper-based assessment. 526 5. The grade level or subject area associated with the 527 assessment. 528 6. The date that the assessment results are expected to be 529 available to teachers and parents. 530 7. The type of assessment, the purpose of the assessment, 531 and the use of the assessment results. 532 8. A glossary of assessment terminology. 533 9. Estimates of average time for administering state 534 required and district-required assessments, by grade level. 535 (c)Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year,The spring 536 administration of the statewide, standardized assessments in 537 paragraphs (3)(a) and (b), excluding assessment retakes, must be 538 in accordance with the following schedule: 539 1. The grade 3 statewide, standardized ELA assessment and 540 the writing portion of the statewide, standardized ELA 541 assessmentfor grades 4 through 10must be administered no 542 earlier than April 1 each year within an assessment window not 543 to exceed 2 weeks. 544 2. With the exception of assessments identified in 545 subparagraph 1., any statewide, standardized assessment that is 546 delivered in a paper-based format must be administered no 547 earlier than May 1 each year within an assessment window not to 548 exceed 2 weeks. 549 3. With the exception of assessments identified in 550 subparagraphs 1. and 2., any statewide, standardized assessment 551 must be administered within a 4-week assessment window that 552 opens no earlier than May 1 each year. 553 554Each school district shall administer the assessments identified555under subparagraphs 2. and 3. no earlier than 4 weeks before the556last day of school for the district.557 (h) The results of statewide, standardized assessment in 558 ELA and mathematics, science, and social studiesassessments, 559 including assessment retakes, shall be reported in an easy-to 560 read and understandable format and delivered in time to provide 561 useful, actionable information to students, parents, and each 562 student’s current teacher of record and teacher of record for 563 the subsequent school year; however, in any case, the district 564 shall provide the results pursuant to this paragraph within 1 565 week after receiving the results from the department. A report 566 of student assessment results must, at a minimum, contain: 567 1. A clear explanation of the student’s performance on the 568 applicable statewide, standardized assessments. 569 2. Information identifying the student’s areas of strength 570 and areas in need of improvement. 571 3. Specific actions that may be taken, and the available 572 resources that may be used, by the student’s parent to assist 573 his or her child based on the student’s areas of strength and 574 areas in need of improvement. 575 4. Longitudinal information, if available, on the student’s 576 progress in each subject area based on previous statewide, 577 standardized assessment data. 578 5. Comparative information showing the student’s score 579 compared to other students in the school district, in the state, 580 or, if available, in other states. 581 6. Predictive information, if available, showing the 582 linkage between the scores attained by the student on the 583 statewide, standardized assessments and the scores he or she may 584 potentially attain on nationally recognized college entrance 585 examinations. 586 (8) PUBLICATION OF ASSESSMENTS.—To promote transparency in 587 the statewide assessment program, in any procurement for the 588 statewide, standardized assessment in ELA,assessment in grades5893 through 10 and themathematics, science, and social studies 590 assessment in grades 3 through 8, the Department of Education 591 shall solicit cost proposals for publication of the state 592 assessments on its website in accordance with this subsection. 593 (a) The department shall publish each assessment 594 administered under paragraph (3)(a) and subparagraph (3)(b)1., 595 excluding assessment retakes, at least once on a triennial basis 596 pursuant to a schedule determined by the Commissioner of 597 Education. Each assessment, when published, must have been 598 administered during the most recent school year and be in a 599 format that facilitates the sharing of assessment items. 600 (b) The initial publication of assessments must occur no 601 later than June 30, 2024June 30, 2021, subject to 602 appropriation, and must include, at a minimum, the grade 3 ELA 603 and mathematics assessments, the grade 10 ELA assessment, and 604 the Algebra I EOC assessment. 605 (c) The department must provide materials on its website to 606 help the public interpret assessment information published 607 pursuant to this subsection. 608 (9) CONCORDANT SCORES.—The Commissioner of Education must 609 identify scores on the SAT and ACT that if achieved satisfy the 610 graduation requirement that a student pass the grade 10 611statewide, standardized Reading assessment or, upon612implementation, the grade 10ELA assessment. The commissioner 613 may identify concordant scores on assessments other than the SAT 614 and ACT. If the content or scoring procedures change for the 615 grade 10Reading assessment or, upon implementation, the grade61610ELA assessment, new concordant scores must be determined. If 617 new concordant scores are not timely adopted, the last-adopted 618 concordant scores remain in effect until such time as new scores 619 are adopted. The state board shall adopt concordant scores in 620 rule. 621 (12) REPORTS.—The Department of Education shall annually 622 provide a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 623 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which shall 624 include the following: 625(e)The number of students who after 8th grade enroll in626adult education rather than other secondary education, which is627defined as grades 9 through 12.628 Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 1008.24, Florida 629 Statutes, is amended to read: 630 1008.24 Test administration and security; public records 631 exemption.— 632 (1) A person may not knowingly and willfully violate test 633 security rules adopted by the State Board of Education for 634 mandatory tests administered by or through the State Board of 635 Education or the Commissioner of Education to students, 636 educators, or applicants for certification or administered by 637 school districts pursuant to ss. 1002.69, 1003.52, 1003.56, 638 1007.25, 1007.35, 1008.22, 1008.25, and 1012.56s. 1008.22, or, 639 with respect to any such test, knowingly and willfully to: 640 (a) Give examinees access to test questions prior to 641 testing; 642 (b) Copy, reproduce, or use in any manner inconsistent with 643 test security rules all or any portion of any secure test 644 booklet; 645 (c) Coach examinees during testing or alter or interfere 646 with examinees’ responses in any way; 647 (d) Make answer keys available to examinees; 648 (e) Fail to follow security rules for distribution and 649 return of secure test as directed, or fail to account for all 650 secure test materials before, during, and after testing; 651 (f) Fail to follow test administration directions specified 652 in the test administration manuals; or 653 (g) Participate in, direct, aid, counsel, assist in, or 654 encourage any of the acts prohibited in this section. 655 Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 656 1008.34, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 657 1008.34 School grading system; school report cards; 658 district grade.— 659 (1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of the statewide, 660 standardized assessment program and school grading system, the 661 following terms are defined: 662 (a) “Achievement level,” “student achievement,” or 663 “achievement” describes the level of content mastery a student 664 has acquired in a particular subject as measured by a statewide, 665 standardized assessment administered pursuant to s. 666 1008.22(3)(a) and (b). There are five achievement levels. Level 667 1 is the lowest achievement level, level 5 is the highest 668 achievement level, and level 3 indicates satisfactory 669 performance. A student passes an assessment if the student 670 achieves a level 3, level 4, or level 5. For purposes of the 671 Florida Alternate Assessment administered pursuant to s. 672 1008.22(3)(d)s. 1008.22(3)(c), the state board shall provide, 673 in rule, the number of achievement levels and identify the 674 achievement levels that are considered passing. 675 Section 9. Subsection (2) of section 1008.3415, Florida 676 Statutes, is amended to read: 677 1008.3415 School grade or school improvement rating for 678 exceptional student education centers.— 679 (2) Notwithstanding s. 1008.34, the achievement levels and 680 Learning Gains of a student with a disability who attends an 681 exceptional student education center and has not been enrolled 682 in or attended a public school other than an exceptional student 683 education center for grades K-12 within the school district 684 shall not be included in the calculation of the home school’s 685 grade if the student is identified as an emergent student on the 686 alternate assessment described in s. 1008.22(3)(d)s.6871008.22(3)(c). 688 Section 10. Paragraph (i) is added to subsection (4) of 689 section 1009.286, Florida Statutes, to read: 690 1009.286 Additional student payment for hours exceeding 691 baccalaureate degree program completion requirements at state 692 universities.— 693 (4) For purposes of this section, credit hours earned under 694 the following circumstances are not calculated as hours required 695 to earn a baccalaureate degree: 696 (i) Credit hours earned to meet the requirements of s. 697 1007.25(4). 698 Section 11. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021. 699