FSBA Session Spotlight — April 20, 2017

In today’s House Education Committee meeting, a lot of attention was given to HB 549 relating to Publication of Student Assessments.  The House has chosen this bill as a vehicle for adding several provisions relating to assessments and accountability, several of which are also included in HB 773.  The original core of this bill requires the Commissioner of Education, beginning with the 2019-2020 school year and every 3 years thereafter, to publish certain statewide, standardized assessments and statewide EOC assessments that were administered in the most recent school year. The bill allows the commissioner to determine the schedule for publishing assessments during the 3-year period but requires that the initial publication must occur no later than June 30, 2020, and must include the grade 3 ELA and mathematics assessments, the grade 10 ELA assessment, and the Algebra I EOC assessment. The DOE must publish materials on its website to help the public interpret the published assessment information. Because test items that have been published cannot be repeated for purposes of assessment validity, DOE would be required to purchase sufficient test items to replace these assessments, The bill provides an appropriation to cover the costs associated with these provisions.

An amendment sponsored by Representative Diaz added to these basic core components of the bill. In brief, this amendment:

• Eliminates the Algebra II end-of-course assessment from the course and assessment requirements and from the requirements for a scholar designation on a diploma, thus reducing the number of statewide assessments by one;
• Provides that, beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, statewide, standardized ELA and mathematics assessments for grades 3 through 6 must be delivered in a paper-based format only, thus repealing the current requirement that these assessments must be computer based;
• Requires that results for the ELA and mathematics assessments and all EOC assessments must be made available no later than June 30 (rather than the week of June 8), except for results of for the grade 3 ELA assessment, which must be made available no later than May 31;
• Provides that the Commissioner must publish a uniform calendar that includes the assessment and reporting schedules for, at least, the next two school years in January (rather than August);
• Provides that, Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, the spring administration of the statewide, standardized assessments, excluding retakes, must be in accordance with the following schedule:
  • The grade 3 statewide, standardized ELA assessment, the writing portion of the statewide, standardized ELA assessments, and any statewide, standardized assessment delivered in a paper-based format must be administered no earlier than April 1 each year within an assessment window not to exceed 2 weeks.
  • With the exception of assessments identified above, any statewide, standardized assessment delivered in a computer-based format shall be administered within a 4-week assessment window that opens no earlier than May 1 each year, and each school district shall administer the assessment no earlier than 4 weeks before the last day of school for the district.
• Provides that, beginning with any new contract for the ELA assessment in grades 3 through 10 and the mathematics assessment in grades 3 through 8 entered into after July 1, 2017, each new assessment must be made available once per quarter for students who the school district has identified through competency-based education as having mastered the content and who are prepared to take the applicable assessment;
• Requires a school district to provide a student’s performance results on district-required local assessments to the student’s teachers within 1 week (rather than the 30 days, as currently allowed for providing the results to teachers and the student’s parents);
• Requires that the results of statewide ELA and mathematics assessments, including assessment retakes, must be reported in an easy-to-read and understandable format and delivered in time to provide useful, actionable information to students, parents, and to each student’s current teacher of record and teacher of record for the subsequent school year within 1 week after receiving the results from the department;
• Requires that the report of student assessment results must, at a minimum, contain:
  • A clear explanation of the student’s performance on the applicable assessments;
  • Information identifying the student’s areas of strength and areas in need of improvement;
  • Specific actions that may be taken, and the available resources that may be used, by the student’s parent to assist his or her child based on the student’s areas of strength and areas in need of improvement;
  • Longitudinal information, if available, on the student’s progress in each subject area based on previous statewide, standardized assessment data;
  • Comparative information showing the student’s score compared to other students in the school district, in the state, or, if available, in other states; and
  • Predictive information, if available, showing the linkage between the scores attained by the student on the statewide, standardized assessments and the scores he or she may potentially attain on nationally recognized college entrance examinations;
• Revises personnel evaluation procedures and criteria to provide the measurement of student performance will be based on a formula that must be developed by a third party independent of the assessment administrator, which must verify the suitability of assessment results for annual student learning growth measures, and must take into consideration each student’s prior academic performance.  The commissioner must provide schools access to individual student learning growth data in a user-friendly format that enables teachers to understand and evaluate the data and school administrators to improve instruction, evaluate programs, allocate resources, plan professional development, and communicate with stakeholders.
• Requires the Commissioner to contract for an independent study to determine whether the SAT and ACT may be administered in lieu of the grade 10 ELA assessment and the Algebra I EOC assessment for high school students and submit a report containing the results of such review and any recommendations to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the State Board of Education by January 1, 2018.
• Provides numerous allocations totaling more than $19 million to pursue and implement the provisions of the bill.

In addition to these provisions, there was one other provision contained in today’s amendment by Representative Diaz that was considered to be more controversial. This provision stated that, beginning with any new contract for the statewide, standardized ELA and mathematics assessments entered into after July 1, 2017, achievement level 3 shall be defined as on grade level for each new assessment. Students who score on grade level may still need additional support to achieve the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for the next grade level.  As was the case in Wednesday’s amendments to SB 926, this provision was interpreted to have the effect of raising the achievement level necessary for student progression and promotion.  Representative Jones offered an amendment to Representative Diaz’ amendment that deleted this provision and this amendment to the amendment was approved.  However, Representative Diaz indicated that this provision may be offered again when the bill is considered on the House floor.  Ultimately, HB 549 was approved unanimously by the Committee.

As a Call To Action, we ask that you review the amended version of HB 549, share it with your district staff and others, and seek their feedback, as appropriate.  You may also wish to contact the members of the House Education Committee to express your support and/or concerns about this bill.

In the link below, we have provided a report on the bills of interest that were under consideration today. There are no committee meetings or floor sessions scheduled for Friday, but we will provide the agenda of meetings and bills of interest scheduled for Monday, April 24, 2017 in tomorrow’s Spotlight.

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In the House Judiciary Committee meeting:

HB 205 – Juvenile Diversion Programs by Ahern – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE (CS)
Current law authorizes four different types of juvenile diversion programs: Juvenile Civil Citation Programs; Prearrest and Postarrest Diversion Programs; Neighborhood Restorative Justice Programs; and Community Arbitration Programs. A juvenile who successfully completes one type of these four programs — a prearrest or postarrest diversion program — may seek expunction of his or her non-judicial arrest record, if authorized, via an application and payment of a $75 fee. A juvenile is then authorized to deny an expunged record in most circumstances. This bill revises the expunction process so that:

• Expunction is available for any of the four diversion programs, rather than only prearrest and postarrest diversion programs.
• A one-time expunction is available for any first-time misdemeanor when the program is successfully completed and it is no longer necessary for the agencies operating the diversion program to authorize the expunction.
• The diversion program is required to submit to the FDLE a certification for expunction when a juvenile successfully completes the program under specified circumstances, instead of requiring the juvenile to apply for expunction.
• The FDLE may not assess a fee for the expunction.
• A juvenile may lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge successful participation in a diversion program and expunction for a first-time misdemeanor for purposes of criminal justice agency employment.

In addition, the bill provides that diversion programs must submit data regarding participants and nonparticipants in diversion programs to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), which is required to compile and publish the data on its website.

The bill also addresses pre-arrest diversion programs geared to adults. The bill:

• Encourages local communities and public or private educational institutions to implement prearrest diversion programs for certain offenders;
• Authorizes law enforcement officers, at their sole discretion, to issue a civil citation or similar prearrest diversion program notice to adults under specified circumstances;
• Requires an adult who is issued a civil citation or similar notice by a participating law enforcement agency to report for intake as required by the prearrest diversion program and requires the program to provide certain services;
• Requires that an adult who is issued a civil citation or similar notice fulfill a community service requirement and pay restitution to a victim;
• Specifies that a law enforcement agency may criminally charge an adult who fails to complete the prearrest diversion program and refer the case for prosecution.  

[NOTE: Today’s amendment incorporated many of the provisions of HB 367 relating to prearrest diversion programs. This short summary reflects the changes made by this amendment. This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. There is no direct Senate companion bill.]

HB 575 – Threats to Kill or Do Bodily Injury by Plasencia – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
Under current law, it is a second degree felony to create and send certain written threats, including electronic communications, to kill or do bodily harm. To violate this section, a person must:

• Write or compose a threat to kill or do bodily injury; and
• Send, or procure the sending of, that communication to the person threatened or family member of the person threatened.

Recently, the Second District Court of Appeal issued an opinion highlighting the difficulty of applying this law to threats issued and shared publicly on social media, as such threats may not be communicated directly to any specific person. The bill revises this law to prohibit a person from making a threat to kill or do bodily injury to another person in a writing or other record, including an electronic record, by sending, posting, or transmitting, or procuring the sending, posting, or transmission of, the threat in a manner that would allow another person to view the threat. The bill removes the requirement that the written threat be sent to the person threatened or a member of his or her family so that the law would apply even if the threat is not specifically sent to or received by the person who is the target of the threat.  [NOTE: The Committee took up a Proposed Committee Substitute (PCS) for this bill. This short summary reflects the provisions of the PCS. This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 260 — is similar and has passed three of four committees of reference.]

In the House Education Committee meeting:

HB 233 – Students with Disabilities in Public Schools by Edwards – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The bill amends the use of restraint and seclusion on students with disabilities. Specifically, the bill:

• Provides definitions;
• Provides requirements for the use of restraint;
• Provides specified physical restraint techniques;
• Provides requirements for the use of exclusionary and non-exclusionary time;
• Provides requirements for school districts to report and publish training procedures;
• Provides for student-centered follow-up;
• Provides requirements for documenting, reporting, and monitoring the use of restraint and seclusion;
• Revises required components of school district policies and procedures relating to restraint and seclusion

[NOTE: The Committee took up and passed a strike-all amendment that improved and simplified this bill. This short summary reflects today’s changes. This is the second of two committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 810 – is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

HB 525 – High School Graduation Requirements by Silvers – PASSED; PLACED ON HOUSE CALENDAR ON 2^ND READING
The bill allows a student to use credit earned upon completion of a registered apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship program registered with the Department of Education to satisfy certain high school credit requirements for graduation with a standard diploma. Specifically, the bill:

• Authorizes the use of credit earned upon completion of a registered apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship program to satisfy up to one credit in fine or performing arts, speech and debate, or practical arts; or electives.
• Requires the State Board of Education to approve and identify in the Course Code Directory the registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs from which a student may use earned credit to satisfy such course credit requirements.

[NOTE: This is the second of two committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 978 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of reference.]

HB 549 – Publication of Student Assessments by Fine – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The bill requires the Commissioner of Education, beginning with the 2019-2020 school year and every 3 years thereafter, to publish each statewide, standardized assessment and statewide EOC assessment on the DOE’s website, excluding retake and alternate assessments, administered in the most recent school year. The bill allows the commissioner to determine the schedule for publishing assessments during the 3-year period but requires that the initial publication must occur no later than June 30, 2020, and must include the grade 3 ELA and mathematics assessments, the grade 10 ELA assessment, and the Algebra I EOC assessment. The bill requires the DOE to publish materials on its website to help the public interpret the published assessment information. Because test items cannot be repeated for purposes of assessment validity, DOE would be required to purchase sufficient test items to replace assessments that are published in accordance with the bill. The bill provides an appropriation to cover the costs associated with the provisions of the bill.  [NOTE: The bill was amended to incorporate several provisions relating to assessments (see discussion of this above). This is the second of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 906 – is comparable but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]

HB 955 – High School Graduation Requirements by Ahern – PASSED; PLACED ON HOUSE CALENDAR ON 2^ND READING
The bill requires students entering grade 9 in the 2017-2018 school year and thereafter to complete a one-half course credit in personal financial literacy. Currently, high school students receive financial literacy instruction as part of the one-half Economics course credit required for graduation. The bill revises the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards to include additional, specified financial literacy topics and requires the new personal financial literacy course to include discussion of or instruction in those topics. To maintain the current 24-credit graduation requirement, the bill reduces the electives credit requirement from eight credits to seven-and-one-half credits.  [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 392 – is similar, has passed all committees of reference, and is on 3^rd Reading in the Senate.]

HB 1229 – Committee on Early Grade Success by Grall — PASSED; PLACED ON HOUSE CALENDAR ON 2^ND READING
The bill creates the Committee on Early Grade Success, within the Department of Education to develop a proposal for establishing and implementing a coordinated child assessment system for the School Readiness Program, the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program, and the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment.

• The 17-member committee’s proposal must include legislative recommendations for the design and implementation of a coordinated child assessment system, including, but not limited to:
• The purpose of a child assessment, with a focus on developmentally appropriate learning gains.
• Attributes for tool selection that provide guidance on procurement policies.
• An implementation schedule and protocols, including the frequency of data collection and a timeline for training to ensure reliability of the system.
• The methodology for collecting and analyzing data that define reporting requirements.
• A budget for the system, including cost analyses for purchasing materials and the necessary technology, training to ensure reliability, and data system management.
• Considerations for student privacy and tracking child development over time.

The bill provides that members of the committee serve without compensation and to reduce costs, the committee must meet at least three times by teleconference or other electronic means, if possible. The University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning must provide the committee with staff necessary to assist the committee in the performance of its duties.  [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 806 – is similar but has not been heard in any of four committees of reference.]

HB 6017 – Florida Center for the Partnerships for Arts Integrated Teaching by Gruters — PASSED; PLACED ON HOUSE CALENDAR ON 2^ND READING
The bill repeals the July 1, 2017, expiration date of The Florida Center for the Partnerships for Arts Integrated Teaching (PAInT) which is created within the University of South Florida Sarasota/Manatee. PAInT was established to increase the knowledge and research of arts-integrated instruction statewide, provide analysis of arts-integrated programs, and to partner with arts and educational organizations to introduce arts-integrated programs to more Florida Schools. Arts-integrated instruction is a teaching method in which the arts and academics are woven together to strengthen students’ understanding and retention of academic material. PAInT maintains partnerships with its host communities of Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties and to schools and districts across Florida, including public, private, and charter schools. [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill – SB 256 – is identical, has passed all committees of reference, and is on the Senate Calendar on 2^nd Reading.]

In the Senate Appropriations Committee meeting:

SB 260 – Threats to Kill or Do Bodily Injury by Steube – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The bill deletes the current statutory requirements that a specific person be directly threatened by a person making a threat through means of a letter, inscribed communication, or electronic communication, and that the specific person actually receive the threat.  The bill:

• Reorganizes the elements of the offense so that current law provides for a violation if a threat to kill or do bodily injury to another is sent, posted, or transmitted in a manner that would allow another person to view the threat.
• Creates a definition for the term “electronic record.”
• Provides that a juvenile who violates these provisions commits a first degree misdemeanor (rather than the existing second degree felony).
• Adds a new exception to the general rule that a misdemeanor must be committed in a law enforcement officer’s presence in order for a warrantless arrest to occur.

[NOTE: The Committee is expected to take up a PCS for this bill. This short summary reflects the provisions of the PCS. This is the third of four committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HB 575 – is similar and has passed all committees of reference.]

SB 534 – Public Works Projects by Perry — PASSED
The bill prohibits the state and its political subdivisions that contract for public works projects from imposing restrictive conditions on certain contractors, subcontractors, or material suppliers or carriers, except as otherwise required by federal or state law. Specifically, the state or political subdivision that contracts for a public works project may not require that a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier or carrier engaged in the project:

• Pay employees a predetermined amount of wages or prescribe any wage rate;
• Provide employees a specified type, amount, or rate of employee benefits;
• Control, limit, or expand staffing; or
• Recruit, train, or hire employees from a designated, restricted, or single source.

The bill specifies that public works projects include only those projects for which 50% or more of the cost will be paid from state-appropriated funds. In addition, the bill prohibits the state or a political subdivision from restricting a qualified contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier or carrier from submitting a bid on any public works project or being awarded any contract, subcontract, material order, or carrying order. However, the prohibition does not apply to discriminatory vendors or those that have committed a public entity crime.  [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HB 599 – is identical, has passed all committees of reference, and has passed the House.]

SB 1222 – School Grades by Bradley — PASSED
This bill reduces the percentage of students that must be scheduled to be assigned to another school from 60% to a majority (over 50%). With this change, a K-3 school that does not receive a school grade itself will be assigned the school grade of a graded school for which it is designated to be a feeder pattern school. A designated feeder pattern school may be eligible to receive Florida School Recognition Program funding and a charter school that is an expanded feeder chain of a charter school within the same school district that is currently receiving charter school capital outlay funds may be eligible to receive a charter school capital outlay funding allocation.  [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HB 781 – is similar, has passed all committees of reference, and has passed the House.]

SB 1416 – Enhanced Safety for School Crossings by Young – PASSED
The bill requires the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to evaluate the viability and cost of a uniform system of pavement markings and signage for use on all state and local arterial or collector roads within a one-mile radius of all public and private schools for the purpose of designating safe school crossing locations.  [NOTE: This is the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill – HB 493 – is similar, has passed all committees of reference, and has passed the House.]

SB 1210 – Instructional Materials in K-12 Public Education by Lee – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A CS
The bill revises provisions relating to the definition and acquisition of instructional materials. Specifically, the bill:

• Defines “legal resident” or “resident” to mean a person who has maintained his or her legal residence in the state for the preceding year, has purchased a home that is occupied by him or her as his or her residence, or has established a domicile in this state pursuant to Florida law.
• Requires a district school board to adopt a policy regarding the right of a parent or legal resident of the county to object to the use of an instructional material based on specified criteria or contest the district school boards’ adoption of specific instructional materials.
• Revises the review process for district school boards that implement their own instructional materials review program.
• Requires district school board, upon a written request, to provide access to any instructional material or book specified in the written request, which is maintained in a district school system library and is available for review.
• Revises requirements related to the instructional materials allocation.

[NOTE: Today’s amendment revised language that had been stricken in the original bill to provide that each district school board must use at least 50% of the annual instructional materials allocation for the purchase of instructional materials that are aligned with state standards and are on the state adopted list. This is the second of two committees of reference for this bill.  The House companion bill – HB 989 – is comparable, has passed all committees of reference, and has passed the House.]

In the House Session: 

HB 7057 – Civic Literacy by PreK-12 Quality – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
To bolster civics instruction in Florida and prepare students to be civically engaged, knowledgeable adults, the bill:

• Designates the month of September as “American Founders’ Month” and authorizes the Governor to issue a proclamation urging public and private organizations within the state to celebrate the month;
• Encourages all public schools to coordinate instruction on the founding fathers with “American Founders’ Month;”
• Requires the Just Read, Florida! Office to develop sequenced, content-rich programming to help elementary schools incorporate social studies, science, and fine arts content into literacy skills instruction;
• Provides that it is a priority of the K-20 public education system to prepare students to become civically engaged and knowledgeable adults who make positive contributions to their community;
• Requires students entering a Florida College System or State University System institution in 2018-2019 or thereafter to demonstrate competence in civic literacy either through a general education civics course or by passing an assessment adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE) or the Board of Governors (BOG); and
• Require the chairs of the SBE and BOG to jointly appoint a faculty committee to develop a new course in civic literacy or revise an existing general education core course in American Government or American History to include civic literacy and establish competencies and identify outcomes for the course.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1710 – is similar and has passed two of four committees of reference.]

HB 1331 – Education/Schools of Excellence/Certification by Grall – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill requires the State Board of Education to designate a school as a School of Excellence if it has a school grades score in the 80th percentile or higher, statewide, for schools of its type (elementary, middle, high, or combination) for 2 of the last 3 school years. A school retains its designation for 3 years unless it earns a school grade lower than a “B” during that span. A school may renew its designation if it remains in the 80th percentile or higher for 2 of the 3 years and does not receive a grade lower than a “B.” The bill provides the following administrative flexibilities to a School of Excellence:

• Exemption from any provision in law or rule that expressly requires a minimum period of daily or weekly instruction in reading.
• The same autonomy over personnel and budgetary decisions for the school’s principal as provided to principals participating in the Principal Autonomy Pilot Project Initiative.
• Exemption from district-set starting and stopping times for the school day.
• Allowing a teacher to substitute 1 school year of employment at a School of Excellence for 20 inservice points toward the renewal of their professional certificate, up to 60 inservice points.
• Calculation for compliance with maximum class size at the school level rather than the classroom level.

 The bill also addresses the issue of certification as follows:

• Provides that a temporary certificate holder who completes an approved professional development certification program and earns a highly effective rating will qualify for a renewable professional certificate without having to complete additional classwork or pass the Professional Education Test.
• Allows a charter schools and charter management organizations to offer a professional development certification and educator competence program and requires the mentorship and induction component of a program to, at a minimum, provide weekly opportunities for specified mentoring and induction activities. The mentorship and induction activities must be provided for a teacher’s first year in the program and may be provided until the teacher attains his or her professional certificate. The bill requires the DOE to adopt standards for approving a professional development certification and educator competence program, including the mentorship and induction component.
• Allows mentoring activities, including serving as a mentor, to count towards a teacher’s inservice requirements for certification renewal. The bill requires professional development activities to provide training to mentors. The bill requires model professional development programs disseminated by the DOE to include effective mentorship activities to new teachers and training to mentors.
• Streamlines the temporary certificate application process and revises provisions related to the expiration of a temporary certificate.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1598 – is comparable and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 493 – Enhanced Safety for School Crossings by Toledo – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill requires DOT to evaluate the viability and cost of establishing a uniform system for the designation of safe school crossing locations on arterial or collector roads within a one-mile radius of all schools. The bill requires DOT to report its findings to the Governor and Legislature before January 1, 2018.  [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1416 – is similar and has passed all committees of reference.]

HB 655 – Exceptional Student Instruction by Porter – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
Current law requires that, after receiving the notification that an exceptional student is located in a residential facility, the receiving school district must review the student’s IEP to determine if it can be implemented by the receiving school district or by a provider or facility under contract with the receiving school district. The receiving school district must:

• provide educational instruction to the student;
• contract with another provider or facility to provide the educational instruction;
• contract with the residential care facility in which the student resides to provide the educational instruction; or
• decline to provide or contract for educational instruction.

The bill removes the option for school districts receiving an exceptional student with a disability who resides in a residential facility to decline to provide or contract for educational instruction.  [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1368 – is comparable, has passed two of four committees of reference.]

HB 989 – Instructional Materials by Donalds – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill provides for greater transparency in the district-level adoption process and more opportunities to review and challenge materials made available to students by:

• Allowing parents and residents of the county to provide the district school board evidence that an instructional material for adoption by the district does not meet the state criteria, contains prohibited content, or is otherwise inappropriate or unsuitable;
• Allowing county residents to contest the adoption of an instructional material and object to the use of a material made available to students;
• Requiring the process for contesting the adoption of an instructional material to provide for an impartial hearing officer and to provide certain procedural protections;
• Requiring school districts to discontinue use of a material found to be inappropriate or unsuitable;
• Requiring school districts to provide access to library materials upon written request;
• Requiring school districts to maintain a current list of purchased instructional materials on their websites;
• Requiring that instructional materials purchased using the instructional materials allocation be on the state-adopted list unless purchased through a district instructional materials program;
• Requiring that instructional materials purchased through a district instructional materials program meet the criteria for inclusion in the state-adopted list, be aligned to the state academic standards, and be consistent with course expectations and course descriptions;
• Eliminating the requirement that 50 percent of the instructional materials allocation be used to purchase electronic or digital materials; and
• Clarifying that a school district is responsible for the content of all materials made available to students, including those that may not meet the statutory definition of an instructional material.

The bill also specifies that an instructional material must be free of content that is pornographic or harmful to minors in order to be recommended for inclusion in the state-adopted list and that any material used in a classroom must also be free of such content. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1210 – is comparable and has passed all committees of reference.]

HB 293 – Middle Grades by Burton – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill directs the Florida Department of Education to issue a competitive solicitation for a contract to conduct a comprehensive study of states with high-performing students in grades 6 through 8 in reading and mathematics, based on the states’ performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The findings of the study and the recommendations to improve middle school study performance must be reported to the Governor, the State Board of Education, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 2017. The study must include a review of the following general topics:

• Academic expectations and instructional strategies.
• Attendance policies and student mobility issues.
• Teacher quality.
• Middle school administrator leadership and performance.
• Parental and community involvement.

In addition, the bill deletes the requirement for middle grade students to complete the career and education planning course.  [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 360 – is comparable and has passed two of three committees of reference.]

HB 1109 – Private School Student / Extracurricular Activities by Antone – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
Current law provides that a student attending a private middle school or high school may participate in interscholastic or intrascholastic sports at a public school that is zoned for the physical address at which the student resides if the private school where the student is enrolled is not a member of the FHSAA and has an enrollment of less than 125 students. The bill revises private school student eligibility by allowing a student in a non-FHSAA member private school to participate in interscholastic or intrascholastic activities at the school where the student could choose to attend pursuant to controlled open enrollment provided the public school has not reached capacity as determined by the school board, in addition to the student’s zoned school which is currently permitted by law.  [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1302 – is similar and has passed two of four committees of reference.]

SB 80 – Public Records by Steube – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE; PASSED THE LEGISLATURE
The bill provides that a court must assess and award the reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney fees, against the responsible agency if the court determines that:

• The agency unlawfully refused to permit the public record to be inspected or copied; and
• The complainant provided written notice identifying the public record request to the agency’s custodian of public records at least 5 days before filing the civil action.

The bill requires a court to determine whether a complainant made a public record request or participated in the civil action for an improper purpose. If the court determines there was an improper purpose, the bill prohibits the court from awarding the reasonable costs of enforcement, including attorney fees, to the complainant, and instead requires the court to award against the complainant and to the agency such reasonable costs incurred by the agency in responding to the civil action.

HB 127 – Public School Attendance Policies by Plasencia – READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill:

• Requires district school boards to adopt student absence policies regarding student appointments to receive autism spectrum disorder therapy, including but not limited to, applied behavioral analysis, speech therapy and occupational therapy;
• Allows a parent to request and be granted permission for a student’s absence resulting from an appointment to receive therapy provided by a licensed health care practitioner or a certified behavior analyst for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder; and
• Allows a student who is continually sick and repeatedly absent to satisfy nonattendance requirement by being under the supervision of a licensed health care practitioner or a certified behavior analyst for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1128 – is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference and SB 1368 is comparable and has passed two of three committees of reference.  In addition, the basic provisions of these bills were amended onto SB 926 earlier this week.]

HB 1111 – Teacher Certification by Plasencia — READ 3^RD TIME; PASSED THE HOUSE
The bill revises the requirements for a district professional development certification and educator competence program. The bill:

• Provides that a temporary certificate holder who completes a Florida Department of Education (DOE) approved program and earns a highly effective rating will qualify for a renewable professional certificate without having to complete additional classwork or pass the Professional Education Test.
• Allows charter schools and charter management organizations to offer a professional development certification and educator competence program and requires the mentorship and induction component of the program to, at a minimum, provide weekly opportunities for mentoring and induction activities. The mentorship and induction activities must be provided for a teacher’s first year in the program and may be provided until the teacher attains his or her professional certificate.
• Requires the DOE to adopt standards for approving a professional development certification and educator competence program, including the mentorship and induction component.
• Allows mentoring activities, including serving as a mentor, to count towards a teacher’s inservice requirements for certification renewal.
• Requires professional development activities to provide training to mentors. The training must include components on teacher development, peer coaching, time management, and other related topics as determined by the DOE.
• Requires model professional development programs disseminated by the DOE to include effective mentorship activities to new teachers and training to mentors.
• Streamlines the temporary certificate application process and revises provisions related to the expiration of a temporary certificate.

The bill also addresses teacher preparation, professional development, and certification with regard to reading instruction. The bill:

• Revises core curricula requirements for certain teacher preparation programs to include certain reading instruction and interventions;
• Requires certain educator preparation institutes to provide evidence of specified reading instruction as a condition of program approval and continued approval; amending s. 1012.585, F.S.; 382 Revises requirements for renewal of professional teaching certificates;
• Authorizes the DOE to recommend consolidation of endorsement areas and requirements for endorsements for teacher certificates;
• Revises duties and requirements for implementation of the School Community Professional Development Act and revises activities to include specified training relating to a professional development certification and education competency program;
• Revises requirements for school district professional development systems.

[NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1474 – is comparable and has passed one of three committees of reference. In addition, the certification requirements in HB 1111 and SB 1474 are similar to those in HB 1331 and SB 1598 and the provisions relating to reading instruction are similar to those in HB 79.]

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