HB 961 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to schools of innovation; creating s. 2
1003.65, F.S.; establishing the Schools of Innovation 3
Program within the Department of Education; providing 4
the purpose of the program; defining terms; 5
authorizing the State Board of Education to authorize 6
the Commissioner of Education to waive certain rules; 7
authorizing public school districts to apply for 8
identified schools to receive the designation of 9
school of innovation; requiring school districts 10
participating in the Competency -Based Education Pilot 11
Program to transition to the School of Innovation 12
Program before a specified school year; authorizing 13
school districts to submit innovation plans to the 14
department; requiring the department to approve or 15
reject innovation plans submitted by school districts 16
within a specified timeframe; requiring that a school 17
maintains its designation as a school of innovati on 18
for a 5-year period upon approval of an innovation 19
plan; authorizing the department to revoke the 20
designation if specified metrics are not met; 21
specifying requirements for innovation plans; 22
authorizing innovation plans to include a request for 23
waivers from certain rules; specifying duties of the 24
department; prohibiting a student attending a school 25
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of innovation who transfers to another school from 26
being subject to specified penalties; providing for 27
funding; requiring the state board to adopt rules; 28
amending s. 1003.436, F.S.; revising the definition of 29
the term "credit"; amending s. 1003.437, F.S.; 30
authorizing schools designated as schools of 31
innovation to use an alternative definition of letter 32
grades; requiring such schools to calculate grade 33
point averages according to a certain scale; amending 34
s. 1007.23, F.S.; requiring the statewide articulation 35
agreement to ensure fair and equitable access for high 36
school graduates with mastery -based, nontraditional 37
diplomas and transcripts; providing an effective d ate. 38
39
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 40
41
Section 1. Section 1003.65, Florida Statutes, is created 42
to read: 43
1003.65 Schools of Innovation Program. —Beginning with the 44
2022-2023 school year, the Schools of Innovation Program is 45
created within the Department of Education. The purpose of the 46
program is to provide a mechanism for public schools to operate 47
with greater flexibility in regard to instructional delivery and 48
instructional strategies to improve student achievement and 49
enhance academic opportunities. 50
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(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 51
(a) "Innovation" means an alternative to the existing 52
instructional and administrative practices which is intended to 53
improve learning or enhance academic opportunities for all 54
students. 55
(b) "School of innovation" is a designation given to a 56
public school with an approved application, in accordance with 57
subsection (4). 58
(2) EXEMPTION FROM RULES. —In addition to the waivers 59
authorized in s. 1001.10(3), the State Board of Education may 60
authorize the Commissioner of Education to waive State Board of 61
Education rules relating to student progression and the awarding 62
of credits. 63
(3) PARTICIPATION.— 64
(a) Any public school district may apply for identified 65
schools to receive t he designation of school of innovation. 66
(b) Before the 2023 -2024 school year, school districts 67
participating in the Competency -Based Education Pilot Program 68
authorized by s. 1003.4996 shall transition to the Schools of 69
Innovation Program. 70
(4) APPLICATION.— 71
(a) School districts may submit an innovation plan in 72
accordance with subsection (6) to the department. 73
(b) Within 60 days after receiving an innovation plan 74
submission, the department shall approve or reject the 75
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innovation plan and notify the dis trict accordingly. 76
(5) DURATION.— 77
(a) Upon approval of an innovation plan by the department, 78
a school shall maintain the school of innovation designation for 79
a 5-year period. 80
(b) The department may revoke the innovation designation 81
if the innovation plan goals, performance indicators, or 82
implementation milestones are not being met. 83
(6) INNOVATION PLAN REQUIREMENTS. —An innovation plan, at a 84
minimum, must include the following information for each school 85
to be considered: 86
(a) A statement of the school's mission and why 87
designation as a school of innovation would enhance the school's 88
ability to achieve its mission. 89
(b) A description of the innovative practices the school 90
would like to implement and a detailed implementation timelin e 91
not to exceed 5 years. 92
(c) A plan to address the programs, policies, or 93
operations at the local level which would need to change to 94
successfully implement the innovation plan. 95
(d) A description of annual goals and expected performance 96
outcomes, including, but not limited to: 97
1. Student performance as defined in s. 1008.34. 98
2. Promotion and retention rates. 99
3. Graduation rates. 100
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4. Indicators of college and career readiness. 101
(e) Anticipated timelines for implementation and proposed 102
allocation of resources and support at the school and district 103
levels, including flexibility given under local policies and 104
procedures to support implementation. 105
(f) The scope of and timelines for professional 106
development for school instructional and administrative 107
personnel. 108
(g) A summary that demonstrates that meaningful parental, 109
educator, and community input was gathered in creating the 110
innovation plan. 111
(h) The formative, benchmark, and summative assessments 112
that will be used to monitor progress and outcomes . 113
(i) A communication plan for parents and other 114
stakeholders, including local businesses and community members. 115
(7) WAIVER REQUEST. —An innovation plan may include a 116
request for waivers from State Board of Education rules. 117
(8) DEPARTMENT DUTIES. —The department shall: 118
(a) Support all schools of innovation through a statewide 119
innovation network. The statewide innovation network should be 120
composed of stakeholders from each school of innovation and 121
convene annually to share best practices, lessons learn ed, and 122
recommendations. 123
(b) Develop a process and timeline by which schools of 124
innovation report on the outcomes of their innovation plans. 125
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(c) Compile the schools of innovation reports into a 126
single annual report that analyzes the status of innovatio n 127
across this state and includes a list of requested and approved 128
flexibility requests as well as any statutory recommendations. 129
The report shall be presented annually, by June 1, to the 130
Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 131
House of Representatives. 132
(9) STUDENT PROTECTIONS. —A student attending a school of 133
innovation who transfers to another school within this state may 134
not be penalized by being required to repeat coursework or 135
content that the student has already demonstrated mast ery of, by 136
having his or her grades changed, or by receiving any other 137
penalty related to the student's previous attendance at a school 138
of innovation. 139
(10) STUDENT FUNDING. —Students enrolled in a participating 140
school shall be reported for and generate fu nding pursuant to s. 141
1011.62. 142
(11) RULES.—The State Board of Education shall adopt rules 143
to administer this section. 144
Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 145
1003.436, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 146
1003.436 Definition of "credi t."— 147
(1)(a) For the purposes of requirements for high school 148
graduation, one full credit means a minimum of 135 hours of bona 149
fide instruction in a designated course of study that contains 150
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student performance standards, except as otherwise provided 151
through the Credit Acceleration Program (CAP) under s. 152
1003.4295(3). One full credit means a minimum of 120 hours of 153
bona fide instruction in a designated course of study that 154
contains student performance standards for purposes of meeting 155
high school graduation requirements in a district school that 156
has been authorized to implement block scheduling by the 157
district school board. The State Board of Education shall 158
determine the number of postsecondary credit hours earned 159
through dual enrollment pursuant to s. 1007 .271 that satisfy the 160
requirements of a dual enrollment articulation agreement 161
according to s. 1007.271(21) and that equal one full credit of 162
the equivalent high school course identified pursuant to s. 163
1007.271(9). In lieu of the 135-hour and 120-hour instruction 164
requirements, a school designated as a school of innovation 165
pursuant to s. 1003.65 may determine and award credit based on a 166
student's mastery of the core content and skills, consistent 167
with s. 1003.41. 168
Section 3. Section 1003.437, Florida Stat utes, is amended 169
to read: 170
1003.437 Middle and high school grading system. — 171
(1) The grading system and interpretation of letter grades 172
used to measure student success in grade 6 through grade 12 173
courses for students in public schools is shall be as follows: 174
(a)(1) Grade "A" equals 90 percent through 100 percent, 175
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has a grade point average value of 4, and is defined as 176
"outstanding progress." 177
(b)(2) Grade "B" equals 80 percent through 89 percent, has 178
a grade point average value of 3, and is def ined as "above 179
average progress." 180
(c)(3) Grade "C" equals 70 percent through 79 percent, has 181
a grade point average value of 2, and is defined as "average 182
progress." 183
(d)(4) Grade "D" equals 60 percent through 69 percent, has 184
a grade point average value of 1, and is defined as "lowest 185
acceptable progress." 186
(e)(5) Grade "F" equals zero percent through 59 percent, 187
has a grade point average value of zero, and is defined as 188
"failure." 189
(f)(6) Grade "I" equals zero percent, has a grade point 190
average value of zero, and is defined as "incomplete." 191
(2) Schools with a school of innovation designation 192
pursuant to s. 1003.65 may use an alternative definition of 193
letter grades to measure student success in kindergarten through 194
grade 12; however, the student's grad e point average must be 195
calculated using the 4 -point scale established in subsection 196
(1). 197
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For the purposes of class ranking, district school boards may 199
exercise a weighted grading system pursuant to s. 1007.271. 200
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Section 4. Subsection (10) is added to section 1007.23, 201
Florida Statutes, to read: 202
1007.23 Statewide articulation agreement. — 203
(10) The articulation agreement must ensure fair and 204
equitable access for high school graduates with mastery -based, 205
nontraditional diplomas and transcripts. 206
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 207