Florida Senate - 2019 CS for SB 226
By the Committee on Education; and Senator Brandes
581-02949-19 2019226c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to mastery-based education; amending
3 s. 1003.436, F.S.; authorizing a district school board
4 or developmental research school participating in the
5 Mastery-Based Education Pilot Program to award credit
6 based on student mastery of certain content and
7 skills; amending s. 1003.437, F.S.; authorizing a
8 district school board or developmental research school
9 participating in the Mastery-Based Education Pilot
10 Program to use an alternative interpretation of letter
11 grades for certain students; requiring participating
12 district school boards and developmental research
13 schools to use the current 4-point scale in
14 determining student grade point averages; amending s.
15 1003.4996, F.S.; renaming the Competency-Based
16 Education Pilot Program as the Mastery-Based Education
17 Pilot Program; authorizing public school districts and
18 developmental research schools to submit applications
19 for the program; authorizing participating school
20 districts and developmental research schools to amend
21 their applications to include alternatives for the
22 award of credits and interpretation of letter grades;
23 providing requirements for such alternatives; amending
24 s. 1007.23, F.S.; requiring the statewide articulation
25 agreement to ensure fair and equitable access for
26 students who have earned high school credit through
27 mastery-based education and graduate with a standard
28 high school diploma; providing an effective date.
29
30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
33 1003.436, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
34 1003.436 Definition of “credit.”—
35 (1)(a) For the purposes of requirements for high school
36 graduation, one full credit means a minimum of 135 hours of bona
37 fide instruction in a designated course of study that contains
38 student performance standards, except as otherwise provided
39 through the Credit Acceleration Program (CAP) under s.
40 1003.4295(3). One full credit means a minimum of 120 hours of
41 bona fide instruction in a designated course of study that
42 contains student performance standards for purposes of meeting
43 high school graduation requirements in a district school that
44 has been authorized to implement block scheduling by the
45 district school board. However, district school boards and
46 developmental research schools participating in the Mastery
47 Based Education Pilot Program under s. 1003.4996 may determine
48 and award credit based on a student’s mastery of the core
49 content and skills, consistent with s. 1003.41, as approved by
50 the district school board. The State Board of Education shall
51 determine the number of postsecondary credit hours earned
52 through dual enrollment pursuant to s. 1007.271 that satisfy the
53 requirements of a dual enrollment articulation agreement
54 according to s. 1007.271(21) and that equal one full credit of
55 the equivalent high school course identified pursuant to s.
56 1007.271(9).
57 Section 2. Section 1003.437, Florida Statutes, is amended
58 to read:
59 1003.437 Middle and high school grading system.—
60 (1) The grading system and interpretation of letter grades
61 used to measure student success in grade 6 through grade 12
62 courses for students in public schools is shall be as follows:
63 (a)(1) Grade “A” equals 90 percent through 100 percent, has
64 a grade point average value of 4, and is defined as “outstanding
65 progress.”
66 (b)(2) Grade “B” equals 80 percent through 89 percent, has
67 a grade point average value of 3, and is defined as “above
68 average progress.”
69 (c)(3) Grade “C” equals 70 percent through 79 percent, has
70 a grade point average value of 2, and is defined as “average
71 progress.”
72 (d)(4) Grade “D” equals 60 percent through 69 percent, has
73 a grade point average value of 1, and is defined as “lowest
74 acceptable progress.”
75 (e)(5) Grade “F” equals zero percent through 59 percent,
76 has a grade point average value of zero, and is defined as
77 “failure.”
78 (f)(6) Grade “I” equals zero percent, has a grade point
79 average value of zero, and is defined as “incomplete.”
80 (2) A district school board and a developmental research
81 school participating in the Mastery-Based Education Pilot
82 Program under s. 1003.4996 may use an alternative interpretation
83 of letter grades to measure student success in grade 6 through
84 grade 12; however, the school board and developmental research
85 school must continue to use the 4-point scale established in
86 subsection (1) for calculating a student’s grade point average.
87
88 For the purposes of class ranking, district school boards may
89 exercise a weighted grading system pursuant to s. 1007.271.
90 Section 3. Section 1003.4996, Florida Statutes, is amended
91 to read:
92 1003.4996 Mastery-Based Competency-Based Education Pilot
93 Program.—Beginning with the 2016-2017 school year, the Mastery
94 Based Competency-Based Education Pilot Program is created within
95 the Department of Education to be administered for a period of 5
96 years. The purpose of the pilot program is to provide an
97 educational environment that allows students to advance to
98 higher levels of learning upon the mastery of concepts and
99 skills through statutory exemptions relating to student
100 progression and the awarding of credits.
101 (1) PARTICIPATION.—Developmental research schools
102 established under s. 1002.32, including the P.K. Yonge
103 Developmental Research School, and public school districts,
104 including, but not limited to, the Lake, Palm Beach, Pinellas,
105 and Seminole County School Districts, may submit an application
106 in a format prescribed by the department to participate in the
107 pilot program.
108 (2) APPLICATION.—The application to participate in the
109 pilot program must, at a minimum, include:
110 (a) The vision and timelines for the implementation of
111 mastery-based competency-based education within the school
112 district, including a list of the schools that will participate
113 in the pilot program during the first school year and the list
114 of schools that will be integrated into the program in
115 subsequent school years.
116 (b) The annual goals and performance outcomes for
117 participating schools, including, but not limited to:
118 1. Student performance as defined in s. 1008.34.
119 2. Promotion and retention rates.
120 3. Graduation rates.
121 4. Indicators of college and career readiness.
122 (c) A communication plan for parents and other
123 stakeholders, including local businesses and community members.
124 (d) The scope of and timelines for professional development
125 for school instructional and administrative personnel.
126 (e) A plan for student progression based on the mastery of
127 content, including mechanisms that determine and ensure that a
128 student has satisfied the requirements for grade-level promotion
129 and content mastery.
130 (f) A plan for using technology and digital and blended
131 learning to enhance student achievement and facilitate the
132 mastery-based competency-based education system.
133 (g) The proposed allocation of resources for the pilot
134 program at the school and district levels.
135 (h) The recruitment and selection of participating schools.
136 (i) The rules to be waived for participating schools
137 pursuant to subsection (3) to implement the pilot program.
138 (3) EXEMPTION FROM RULES.—In addition to the waivers
139 authorized in s. 1001.10(3), the State Board of Education may
140 authorize the commissioner to grant an additional waiver of
141 rules relating to student progression and the awarding of
142 credits.
143 (4) ALTERNATIVE CREDIT AND LETTER GRADE SYSTEMS.—
144 (a) Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, participating
145 school districts and developmental research schools may amend
146 their applications to include alternatives for awarding credit,
147 as authorized under s. 1003.436, and for the interpretation of
148 middle school and high school letter grades, as authorized under
149 s. 1003.437.
150 1. Alternatives to awarding credit must include
151 verification of the student’s mastery of the applicable course
152 content using rigorous scoring rubrics to evaluate the student’s
153 work. A participating school district and developmental research
154 school must amend its student progression plan required by s.
155 1008.25 to conform to the alternative awarding of credits
156 pursuant to this section.
157 2. Alternatives to the interpretation of middle school and
158 high school letter grades may substitute the applicable language
159 from the school district’s rigorous scoring rubric; however,
160 participating school districts and developmental research
161 schools must continue to use the 4-point scale established in s.
162 1003.437(1) for calculating a student’s grade point average.
163 (b) An application that is amended pursuant to this
164 subsection must be approved by the district school board or
165 developmental research school governing authority, as
166 applicable.
167 (5)(4) STUDENT FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a
168 participating school shall be reported for and generate funding
169 pursuant to s. 1011.62.
170 (6)(5) DEPARTMENT DUTIES.—The department shall:
171 (a) Compile the student and staff schedules of
172 participating schools before and after implementation of the
173 pilot program.
174 (b) Provide participating schools with access to statewide,
175 standardized assessments required under s. 1008.22.
176 (c) Annually, by June 1, provide to the Governor, the
177 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
178 Representatives a report summarizing the activities and
179 accomplishments of the pilot program and any recommendations for
180 statutory revisions.
181 (7)(6) RULES.—The State Board of Education shall adopt
182 rules to administer this section.
183 Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 1007.23, Florida
184 Statutes, is amended to read:
185 1007.23 Statewide articulation agreement.—
186 (1) The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors
187 shall enter into a statewide articulation agreement which the
188 State Board of Education shall adopt by rule. The agreement must
189 preserve Florida’s “2+2” system of articulation, facilitate the
190 seamless articulation of student credit across and among
191 Florida’s educational entities, and reinforce the provisions of
192 this chapter by governing:
193 (a) Articulation between secondary and postsecondary
194 education, including fair and equitable access for students who
195 have earned high school credit through a mastery-based education
196 program pursuant to s. 1003.4996 and graduate with a standard
197 high school diploma;
198 (b) Admission of associate in arts degree graduates from
199 Florida College System institutions and state universities;
200 (c) Admission of applied technology diploma program
201 graduates from Florida College System institutions or career
202 centers;
203 (d) Admission of associate in science degree and associate
204 in applied science degree graduates from Florida College System
205 institutions;
206 (e) The use of acceleration mechanisms, including
207 nationally standardized examinations through which students may
208 earn credit;
209 (f) General education requirements and statewide course
210 numbers as provided for in ss. 1007.24 and 1007.25; and
211 (g) Articulation among programs in nursing.
212 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.