HB 785

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the statewide assessment program for
3	public schools; amending s. 1008.22, F.S.; revising
4	provisions relating to the design and implementation of
5	the FCAT; deleting obsolete language relating to students
6	taking the grade 10 FCAT; authorizing the State Board of
7	Education to adopt rules specifying grade 10 FCAT passing
8	scores; revising provisions relating to test
9	accommodations for students in exceptional education
10	programs and students who have limited English
11	proficiency; authorizing certain accommodations if
12	included in a student's individual education plan and
13	access to a waiver of grade 10 FCAT requirements for high
14	school graduation; requiring rulemaking; requiring
15	universal design principles and accessibility standards or
16	web-based assessments that will prevent unintended
17	obstacles for students with disabilities; providing field
18	testing and analysis requirements; amending s. 1003.43,
19	F.S., relating to general requirements for high school
20	graduation; requiring rules for FCAT waiver application
21	procedures; providing an effective date.
22
23	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25	Section 1.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
26	1008.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
27	1008.22  Student assessment program for public schools.--
28	(3)  STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.--The commissioner shall
29	design and implement a statewide program of educational
30	assessment that provides information for the improvement of the
31	operation and management of the public schools, including
32	schools operating for the purpose of providing educational
33	services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs.
34	The commissioner may enter into contracts for the continued
35	administration of the assessment, testing, and evaluation
36	programs authorized and funded by the Legislature. Contracts may
37	be initiated in 1 fiscal year and continue into the next and may
38	be paid from the appropriations of either or both fiscal years.
39	The commissioner is authorized to negotiate for the sale or
40	lease of tests, scoring protocols, test scoring services, and
41	related materials developed pursuant to law. Pursuant to the
42	statewide assessment program, the commissioner shall:
43	(c)  Develop and implement a student achievement testing
44	program known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
45	(FCAT) as part of the statewide assessment program, to be
46	administered annually in grades 3 through 10 to measure reading,
47	writing, science, and mathematics. Other content areas may be
48	included as directed by the commissioner. The testing program
49	must be designed so that:
50	1.  The tests measure student skills and competencies
51	adopted by the State Board of Education as specified in
52	paragraph (a). The tests must measure and report student
53	proficiency levels of all students in reading, writing,
54	mathematics, and science. The commissioner shall provide for the
55	tests to be developed or obtained, as appropriate, through
56	contracts and project agreements with private vendors, public
57	vendors, public agencies, postsecondary educational
58	institutions, or school districts. The commissioner shall obtain
59	input with respect to the design and implementation of the
60	testing program from regular and exceptional student state
61	educators, assistive technology experts, and the public.
62	2.  The testing program will include a combination of norm-
63	referenced and criterion-referenced tests and include, to the
64	extent determined by the commissioner, questions that require
65	the student to produce information or perform tasks in such a
66	way that the skills and competencies he or she uses can be
67	measured.
68	3.  Each testing program, whether at the elementary,
69	middle, or high school level, includes a test of writing in
70	which students are required to produce writings that are then
71	scored by appropriate and timely methods.
72	4.  A score is designated for each subject area tested,
73	below which score a student's performance is deemed inadequate.
74	The school districts shall provide appropriate remedial
75	instruction to students who score below these levels.
76	5.  Except as provided in s. 1003.43(11)(b), students must
77	earn a passing score on the grade 10 assessment test described
78	in this paragraph or on an alternate assessment as described in
79	subsection (9) in reading, writing, and mathematics to qualify
80	for a standard regular high school diploma. The State Board of
81	Education shall designate a passing score for each part of the
82	grade 10 assessment test. In establishing passing scores, the
83	state board shall consider any possible negative impact of the
84	test on minority students. All students who take took the grade
85	10 FCAT during the 2000-2001 school year shall be required to
86	earn the passing scores in reading and mathematics established
87	by the State Board of Education for the March 2001 test
88	administration. Such Students who do did not earn the
89	established passing scores and must repeat the grade 10 FCAT are
90	required to earn such the passing scores established for the
91	March 2001 test administration. All students who take the grade
92	10 FCAT for the first time in March 2002 shall be required to
93	earn the passing scores in reading and mathematics established
94	by the State Board of Education for the March 2002 test
95	administration. The State Board of Education may shall adopt
96	rules which specify the passing scores for the grade 10 FCAT.
97	Any such rules, which have the effect of raising the required
98	passing scores, shall only apply to students taking the grade 10
99	FCAT for the first time after such rules are adopted by the
100	State Board of Education.
101	6.  Participation in the testing program is mandatory for
102	all students attending public school, including students served
103	in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, except as otherwise
104	prescribed by the commissioner. If a student does not
105	participate in the statewide assessment, the district must
106	notify the student's parent and provide the parent with
107	information regarding the implications of such nonparticipation.
108	If modifications are made in the student's instruction to
109	provide accommodations that would not be permitted on the
110	statewide assessment tests, the district must notify the
111	student's parent of the implications of such instructional
112	modifications. A parent must provide signed consent for a
113	student to receive accommodations in the classroom instructional
114	modifications that would not be permitted on the statewide
115	assessments and must acknowledge in writing that he or she
116	understands the implications of such accommodations. The State
117	Board of Education shall adopt rules, based upon recommendations
118	of the commissioner, for the provision of test accommodations
119	and modifications of procedures as necessary for students in
120	exceptional education programs and for students who have limited
121	English proficiency. Accommodations in the classroom that negate
122	the validity of a statewide assessment are not allowable in the
123	administration of the FCAT but are allowable if included in a
124	student's individual education plan (IEP). Students using an
125	FCAT nonallowable accommodation in the classroom may have access
126	to the FCAT waiver pursuant to s. 1003.43(11)(b). The State
127	Board of Education shall adopt rules, based upon recommendations
128	of the commissioner, for the provision of test accommodations
129	and waiver application procedures as necessary for students in
130	exceptional education programs and students who have limited
131	English proficiency.
132	7.  A student seeking an adult high school diploma must
133	meet the same testing requirements that a regular high school
134	student must meet.
135	8.  District school boards must provide instruction to
136	prepare students to demonstrate proficiency in the skills and
137	competencies necessary for successful grade-to-grade progression
138	and high school graduation. If a student is provided with
139	accommodations or modifications that are not allowable in the
140	statewide assessment program, as described in the test manuals,
141	the district must inform the parent in writing and must provide
142	the parent with information regarding the impact on the
143	student's ability to meet expected proficiency levels in
144	reading, writing, and math. The commissioner shall conduct
145	studies as necessary to verify that the required skills and
146	competencies are part of the district instructional programs.
147	9.  The Department of Education must develop, or select,
148	and implement a common battery of assessment tools that will be
149	used in all juvenile justice programs in the state. These tools
150	must accurately measure the skills and competencies established
151	in the Florida Sunshine State Standards.
152
153	The commissioner may design and implement student testing
154	programs, for any grade level and subject area, necessary to
155	effectively measure educational achievement of the Sunshine
156	State Standards monitor educational achievement in the state.
157	Development and refinement shall include universal design
158	principles and accessibility standards or web-based assessments
159	that will prevent any unintended obstacles for students with
160	disabilities. The field testing process and psychometric
161	analyses for the statewide assessment program formats must
162	include an appropriate percentage of students with disabilities
163	and an evaluation or determination of the impact of test items
164	on such students.
165	Section 2.  Subsection (8) of section 1003.43, Florida
166	Statutes, is amended to read:
167	1003.43  General requirements for high school graduation.--
168	(8)  The State Board of Education, after a public hearing
169	and consideration, shall adopt rules based upon the
170	recommendations of the commissioner for the provision of test
171	accommodations, FCAT waiver application procedures pursuant to
172	paragraph (11)(b), and changes to modifications of procedures as
173	necessary for students with disabilities which will demonstrate
174	the student's abilities rather than reflect the student's
175	impaired sensory, manual, speaking, or psychological process
176	skills.
177	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.