Florida Senate - 2021                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. PCS (808686) for CS for SB 200
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
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       The Committee on Appropriations (Berman) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Notwithstanding s. 1008.25, Florida Statutes, a
    6  parent or guardian may request that his or her K-5 public school
    7  student be retained for the 2021-2022 school year in the grade
    8  level to which the student was assigned at the beginning of the
    9  2020-2021 school year, provided that such request is made for
   10  academic reasons.
   11         (1)A parent or guardian who wishes for his or her student
   12  to be retained as provided by this act must submit, in writing,
   13  to the school principal a retention request that specifies the
   14  academic reasons for the retention. Only requests received by
   15  the principal on or before June 30, 2021, must be considered. A
   16  principal may consider a request received after that date at his
   17  or her discretion.
   18         (2)(a)A principal who considers a retention request
   19  submitted pursuant to this act shall inform the student’s
   20  teachers of the retention request and collaboratively discuss
   21  with the parent or guardian any basis for agreement or
   22  disagreement with the request. As part of the discussion with
   23  the parent or guardian, the principal shall disclose that
   24  retention may impact the student’s eligibility to participate in
   25  high school interscholastic or intrascholastic sports due to the
   26  student’s age.
   27         (b)In lieu of retention, the principal, teachers, and
   28  parent or guardian may collaborate to develop a customized 1
   29  year education plan for the student with the intent of helping
   30  the student return to grade level readiness by the end of the
   31  next academic year. Such plan may include, but need not be
   32  limited to, supplemental educational support, services, and
   33  interventions; summer education; promotion in some, but not all,
   34  courses; and midyear promotion.
   35         (c)The parent’s or guardian’s decision to promote or
   36  retain his or her student after discussing the retention request
   37  with the principal shall control. The parent or guardian must
   38  sign a form provided by the principal indicating the parent or
   39  guardian’s decision and acknowledging the academic and athletic
   40  ramifications of their decision. This form must be retained in
   41  the student’s record.
   42         (3)If a student retained under this subsection has an
   43  individual education plan (IEP) in effect, the student’s IEP
   44  team must convene to review and revise the student’s IEP, as
   45  appropriate.
   46         (4)By June 30, 2022, school districts shall report to the
   47  Department of Education the number of students retained pursuant
   48  to this act for all or part of the 2021-2022 school year.
   49         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
   50  
   51  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   52  And the title is amended as follows:
   53         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   54  and insert:
   55                        A bill to be entitled                      
   56         An act relating to student retention; authorizing a
   57         parent or guardian to request that his or her K-5
   58         student be retained in a grade level for academic
   59         reasons for a specified school year; requiring that
   60         such a request be submitted in a specified manner;
   61         requiring school principals to consider such requests
   62         if they are timely received; authorizing school
   63         principals to consider requests that are not timely
   64         received; requiring a school principal who considers a
   65         request for retention to inform the student’s teachers
   66         of the request and collaboratively discuss with the
   67         parent or guardian any basis for agreement or
   68         disagreement with the request; requiring such
   69         discussion to disclose that retention may impact the
   70         student’s eligibility to participate in high school
   71         interscholastic or intrascholastic sports; authorizing
   72         the principal, teachers, and parent or guardian to
   73         collaborate to develop a customized 1-year education
   74         plan for the student in lieu of retaining the student;
   75         requiring a parent’s or guardian’s decision regarding
   76         retention to control; requiring a parent or guardian
   77         to sign a form provided by the principal indicating
   78         the parent or guardian’s decision and acknowledging
   79         the academic and athletic ramifications of their
   80         decision; requiring such form to be retained in the
   81         student’s record; requiring the individual education
   82         plan (IEP) team for a retained student to review and
   83         revise the student’s IEP, as appropriate; requiring
   84         school districts to report certain data to the
   85         Department of Education by a specified date; providing
   86         an effective date.