Florida Senate - 2014                                     SB 514
       
       
        
       By Senator Flores
       
       
       
       
       
       37-00485-14                                            2014514__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Gender-Specific School pilot
    3         project; requiring the Department of Education to
    4         administer a pilot project in certain school districts
    5         in which an elementary school is designated as a
    6         Gender-Specific School; providing criteria for
    7         selection as a Gender-Specific School and requirements
    8         for instruction and enrollment; requiring school
    9         administrators and instructional personnel to
   10         participate in certain professional development;
   11         providing for funding for pilot project
   12         implementation; requiring the Office of Program Policy
   13         Analysis and Government Accountability to provide a
   14         report on the academic performance of students;
   15         providing an effective date.
   16          
   17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   18  
   19         Section 1. (1) The Department of Education shall administer
   20  a Gender-Specific School pilot project to be implemented during
   21  the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years in school districts in
   22  the state. A district that has more than 100,000 kindergarten
   23  through grade 12 students is eligible to participate in the
   24  pilot project. A district shall submit to the department a
   25  request to participate, and the department shall select five
   26  districts in which one elementary school within each district
   27  shall be designated as a “Gender-Specific School.” A school
   28  participating in the pilot project must have a student
   29  enrollment of at least 350 students.
   30         (2)(a) Students in a Gender-Specific School shall be
   31  separated by grade-level into boys-only classes and girls-only
   32  classes during instruction in the core subject areas. For
   33  classes for which a school has only one teacher for a subject
   34  area, such as foreign language, the students may be combined in
   35  a regular classroom setting. The students shall have
   36  coeducational opportunities during school lunch periods, recess,
   37  and other school activities.
   38         (b) Enrollment in a Gender-Specific School is open to
   39  students residing in the school district in which the school is
   40  located and may not be restricted to enrollment of students
   41  residing in the attendance zone served by the school. Student
   42  enrollment in a school may not exceed the building capacity.
   43         (3) The department shall develop a list of professional
   44  development providers to assist participating schools with
   45  scheduling and instructional strategies. A school district shall
   46  select a professional development provider from the department’s
   47  list and require the school’s administrative and instructional
   48  personnel to participate in the professional development.
   49         (4) Funds to implement the pilot project shall be
   50  appropriated by the Legislature and allocated to school
   51  districts by the department.
   52         Section 2. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
   53  Government Accountability shall provide to the Governor, the
   54  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
   55  Representatives by December 31, 2016, a report comparing the
   56  academic performance of students in schools participating in the
   57  Gender-Specific School pilot project with the academic
   58  performance of students in other public elementary schools in
   59  the district.
   60         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.