Senate Bill sb1890
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 1890
By Senator Holzendorf
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education; creating the
3 "Education Investment Act"; providing
4 definitions; providing legislative intent for
5 certain investments and enhancements;
6 authorizing certain programs; authorizing
7 improved curriculum; requiring improved
8 counseling ratios in certain schools;
9 authorizing academic preparation tools,
10 including test preparation study skills and
11 advanced writing programs for certain students;
12 authorizing the development of programs through
13 the Internet; providing for separation of open
14 enrollment programs within schools for certain
15 purposes; authorizing expanded student
16 assistance programs at universities;
17 authorizing fee waivers for students and former
18 students of certain schools; authorizing rules
19 of the Department of Education; authorizing
20 state-funded test-preparation courses for
21 certain students; providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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25 Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Education
26 Investment Act."
27 Section 2. The Legislature finds that low-performing
28 high schools are those that receive students from
29 low-performing elementary and middle schools. Even the top
30 graduates from those high schools are likely to experience
31 difficulty in university education. Therefore, the Legislature
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 1890
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1 intends to invest academic resources in students attending
2 low-performing schools at all levels. An adequate return on
3 the investment will be earned if the top twenty percent of
4 each high school's graduating class gains academic skills
5 sufficient to experience success in postsecondary education.
6 (1) To identify the schools that will benefit from the
7 resource investments provided in this act, the Department of
8 Education shall determine which schools with a grade
9 designation of "C" are at risk of falling beneath that
10 designation. As used in this act, the term "low-performing
11 school" means a "C" school at risk of earning a lower grade,
12 as determined by the Department of Education, and each school
13 with a grade designation of "D" or "F."
14 (2) The Department of Education shall determine which
15 elementary and middle schools provide the majority of students
16 to low-performing high schools. As used in this act, the term
17 "feeder-pattern school" refers to any elementary or middle
18 school whose former students predominantly enroll in a
19 low-performing high school, as determined by the Department of
20 Education.
21 Section 3. The Legislature intends to invest resources
22 in low-performing high schools and their feeder-pattern
23 elementary and middle schools in the core disciplines of
24 mathematics, language arts, and writing.
25 (1) For a high school, these enhancements may consist
26 of providing:
27 (a) A longer school day,
28 (b) A longer school year,
29 (c) Consultants or mentors to assist teachers to
30 improve or adapt curriculum to better meet the needs of
31 students,
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 1890
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1 (d) Additional teachers to reduce class size, and
2 (e) Electronic access to grades 6 through 12 career
3 information, postsecondary degree, and training programs
4 portal connected to the web-based FACTS system.
5 (2) For a feeder-pattern school for a low-performing
6 high school, these enhancements may include:
7 (a) Increased funding to expand special reading
8 instruction from grade levels 1-3 into grades 4-8.
9 (b) Enhanced instruction in mathematics, reading, and
10 writing skills.
11 (c) After-school programs to provide homework
12 assistance, recreational reading, or other activities that
13 will increase a student's association with adults or older
14 students as positive role models for learning.
15 (d) Electronic access to grades 6 through 12 career
16 information, postsecondary degree, and training programs
17 portal connected to the web-based FACTS system.
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19 The Department of Education, in collaboration with colleges
20 and universities, shall oversee any program of curriculum
21 enhancement for low-performing high schools and their
22 feeder-pattern schools and shall adopt measures of
23 productivity and accountability to judge the success of the
24 program. For instance, the department should assure that, in a
25 high school with such a program, a teacher in the core subject
26 areas does not have responsibility for more than 150 students
27 per day.
28 (3) The department shall assist any school whose
29 program is not likely to produce an adequate return on the
30 investment provided in this act.
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 1890
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1 (4) Annually the department shall report to the
2 Legislature the number of programs implemented with funds
3 provided for this act, the types of assistance provided, and
4 the results of the productivity and accountability measures
5 established.
6 Section 4. The Department of Education shall evaluate
7 the ability of low-performing high schools and their
8 feeder-pattern schools adequately to counsel students who
9 would benefit from enrollment in honors courses, Advanced
10 Placement courses, dual enrollment courses, and the college
11 preparatory courses required for university admission to the
12 freshman class.
13 (1) Each school district that contains a
14 low-performing high school must annually report to the
15 department the college preparatory, Advanced Placement,
16 honors, or dual enrollment courses completed by students who
17 have a cumulative, unweighted grade point average of 2.5 or
18 greater. The department shall analyze the reports and
19 determine which districts require intervention in the form of
20 technical assistance or an enhanced allocation to employ or
21 contract for the services of additional counselors.
22 (2) If a low-performing high school has a greater
23 ratio of students per counselor than another high school in
24 the district, the ratio must be lowered by employing
25 additional counselors. In a district with only one high
26 school, the comparison must be made with adjacent districts.
27 The ratio of students per counselor at a low-performing high
28 school may be no higher than the ratio at the highest
29 performing high school in the district or adjacent district.
30 (3) Beginning in the 2002-2003 school year, each
31 school district that contains a low-performing high school
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1 shall compute and report to the Department of Education the
2 following accountability measures related to college
3 preparatory courses:
4 (a) The percent increase in the numbers of guidance
5 counselors at the middle and high school level who completed a
6 seminar on advising for college.
7 (b) The percent increase in the numbers of students in
8 grades 6-12 who received a college-preparation curriculum
9 audit and the number of students in grades 6 through 12 who
10 received a 7-year plan for courses needed to satisfy the
11 19-credit admission standard and high school graduation
12 requirements.
13 (c) The number of low-performing high schools and
14 their feeder-pattern schools that employ at least one
15 instructional coach per 500 students.
16 (d) A comparison of students in low-achieving high
17 schools and their feeder-pattern schools with schools of
18 comparable size that earned a grade of "A." The comparison
19 shall include the percent change (increase or decrease) in the
20 gap between students at each type of school who:
21 1. Enroll in and complete with a grade of "C" or
22 better gatekeeper courses by grade level. Gatekeeper courses
23 include pre-algebra in grade 8 and English, mathematics,
24 science, social studies, and foreign language in each of
25 grades 6 through 12.
26 2. Enroll in and complete with a grade of "C" or
27 better in honors, Advanced Placement, and dual enrollment
28 courses.
29 3. Earn college credit by passing a dual enrollment
30 course or passing an Advanced Placement test with a score of 3
31 or better.
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 1890
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1 Section 5. (1) The Legislature intends to assist
2 students whose initial sitting for the Preliminary Scholastic
3 Assessment Test provides evidence of poor test-taking, study,
4 or academic preparation skills.
5 (a) The Department of Education and each school
6 district shall use PSAT scores of students in low-performing
7 high schools to adopt priorities for identifying students who
8 could most benefit from a course designed to prepare students
9 for taking the Scholastic Assessment Test of the College
10 Entrance Examination or an equivalent test in the American
11 College Testing Program.
12 (b) The department may adopt rules or policies to
13 select students for a test-preparation and study skills
14 program, and the policies may include financial need, teacher
15 recommendations, or other measures of the student's ability to
16 benefit.
17 (2) The department shall develop academic booster
18 courses for students who attend low-performing high schools
19 and whose scores on the PSAT indicate that they could benefit
20 from such preparation.
21 Section 6. Any self-contained public education program
22 located within a low-performing high school is defined as a
23 separate school for purposes of implementing the "Talented
24 Twenty Percent" component of the state's policy for university
25 admissions. An open-enrollment magnet program is, therefore, a
26 school for purposes of this act and the identification of the
27 "Talented Twenty Percent." Such a program must determine its
28 top-ranked twenty percent in each graduating class, and the
29 high school that contains the program shall separately
30 identify its top-ranked graduates. Both groups of graduates
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1 are eligible for any benefits provided by policy, rule, or law
2 because of their standing.
3 Section 7. The Legislature intends to improve the
4 ability of public universities to expand undergraduate student
5 recruitment, retention, and support services provided to
6 students from low-performing high schools.
7 (1) If funded in the annual General Appropriations
8 Act, each university that enrolls students from low-performing
9 high schools because of the "Talented Twenty Percent"
10 admissions policy shall develop student services to assist
11 them. These services may include admitting students early for
12 orientation programs, providing mentors or additional
13 opportunities for personal advisement, and conducting meetings
14 to identify additional opportunities for assistance.
15 (2) Any funds provided for this purpose must be used
16 to enhance any similar program funded by the federal
17 government or the university and must address the unique needs
18 of students admitted because of the policy who would not have
19 met the admissions standards prior to implementation of the
20 policy.
21 Section 8. The Legislature intends to provide waivers
22 of matriculation fees for Florida residents who begin a
23 post-baccalaureate degree program within a public state
24 university within 2 years after graduation from a Florida
25 public or independent university and who received a Pell Grant
26 or a subsidized Stafford Loan as an undergraduate student.
27 (1) Priority for the first 3 years of the fee waiver
28 program must be for students who also graduated from a high
29 school that was low-performing either when the student
30 graduated from high school or when the student graduated from
31 college.
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1 (2) If funded in the annual General Appropriations
2 Act, the fee waivers must be distributed to students
3 identified by the university in which the student wishes to
4 enroll.
5 (3) The Department of Education shall adopt rules for
6 allocating an equitable number of fee waivers to each
7 university. If funds are not adequate to provide fee waivers
8 to each student whose university makes a request on his or her
9 behalf, the university shall base the selection of students to
10 receive the waivers upon considerations that include the
11 student's need and the low performance of the student's high
12 school.
13 Section 9. The Legislature intends to provide
14 Law-School-Admission-Test-preparation courses to aspiring
15 law-school students who graduate from a state university and
16 are also graduates of a low-performing high school.
17 (1) If funds are provided for this program in the
18 General Appropriations Act, each university shall identify and
19 inform eligible students of this opportunity. Eligible
20 students are students in each incoming group of admissions and
21 in each graduating class who are graduates of a low-performing
22 high school.
23 (2) First priority for a free course is for students
24 who enrolled in the university as freshmen, with other
25 graduates included if funds are available.
26 (3) A student is eligible if his or her former high
27 school was low-performing either in the year the student
28 graduated from high school or in the year the student
29 graduated from college. However, a student who graduates from
30 the university more than 6 years after graduation from high
31 school is eligible only if his or her high school was
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1 low-performing in the year of the student's graduation from
2 high school.
3 Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.
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6 SENATE SUMMARY
7 Creates the "Education Investment Act." Provides
legislative intent. Provides for programs and fee waivers
8 for students of certain schools. (See bill for details.)
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