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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to education; creating s. 683.335, 2
F.S.; requiring the Governor to proclaim September 11 3
of each year as "9/11 Heroes' Day"; requiring the day 4
to be observed in public schools and by public 5
exercise; requiring certain middle and high school 6
students to receive specified instruction; requiring 7
the State Board of Education to adopt certain revised 8
social studies standards; amending s. 1002.20,F.S.; 9
requiring school districts to annually review and 10
confirm specified information is accurate and up to 11
date; requiring school districts to send a 12
notification to parents under certain circumstances; 13
authorizing students to possess and use certain 14
medication while on school property or at a school -15
sponsored events; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; providing 16
clarifying language relating to admission and 17
dismissal procedures for charter schools; amending s. 18
1002.42, F.S.; conforming a cross -reference; creating 19
s. 1003.07, F.S.; creating the Year -round School Pilot 20
Program for a period of 4 school years beginnin g with 21
a specified school year; providing the purpose of the 22
program; providing for an application process for 23
participation in the program; requiring the 24
Commissioner of Education to select a certain number 25
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of school districts to participate in the progra m; 26
providing requirements for participating school 27
districts; requiring the commissioner to submit a 28
report to the Governor and Legislature; providing 29
requirements for such report; authorizing the State 30
Board of Education to adopt rules; amending s. 31
1003.42, F.S.; requiring the history of Asian 32
Americans and Pacific Islanders to be included in 33
specified instruction; providing requirements for such 34
instruction; amending s. 1003.4282, F.S.; revising a 35
graduation requirement for certain students; amending 36
s. 1004.04, F.S.; revising the core curricula for 37
certain teacher preparation programs; amending s. 38
1004.85, F.S.; revising terminology; deleting a 39
requirement that certain certification programs be 40
previously approved by the Department of Education; 41
revising requirements for certain competency -based 42
programs, certain teacher preparation field 43
experience, and participants in certain teacher 44
preparation programs; requiring the State Board of 45
Education to adopt specified rules relating to the 46
continued approval o f certain teacher preparation 47
programs rather than by a determination of the 48
Commissioner of Education; amending s. 1005.04, F.S.; 49
requiring certain institutions to include specified 50
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information relating to student fees and costs in a 51
disclosure to prospec tive students; requiring certain 52
institutions to provide information affirmatively 53
demonstrating compliance with fair consumer practice 54
requirements; creating s. 1005.11, F.S.; requiring the 55
Commission for Independent Education to annually 56
prepare an accountability report by a specified date; 57
providing requirements for such report; requiring 58
licensed institutions to annually provide certain data 59
to the commission by a specified date; providing 60
requirements for the determination of a specified 61
rate; requiring the commission to establish a common 62
set of data definitions; requiring the commission to 63
impose administrative fines for an institution that 64
fails to timely submit the data; providing 65
requirements for such fines; providing authority for 66
the commission to require certain data reporting by 67
certain institutions; amending s. 1005.22, F.S.; 68
revising the powers and duties of the commission; 69
amending s. 1005.31, F.S.; revising the commission's 70
evaluation standards for licensure of an institution; 71
authorizing the commission to prohibit the enrollment 72
of new students, or limit the number of students in a 73
program at, a licensed institution under certain 74
circumstances; authorizing the commission to take 75
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specified actions relating to licensed institutions; 76
authorizing the commission to establish certain 77
benchmarks by rule; providing for the designation of 78
certain licensed institutions as high performing; 79
creating s. 1005.335, F.S.; requiring all programs at 80
licensed institutions to be disclosed to the 81
commission; requiring institutions to receive 82
institutional accreditation prior to obtaining 83
licensure for prelicensure professional nursing 84
programs; requiring the commission to adopt rules; 85
amending s. 1006.09, F.S.; providing requirements for 86
searches of students' pers onal belongings; amending s. 87
1006.13, F.S.; creating a rebuttable presumption for 88
certain disciplinary actions; amending s. 1006.148, 89
F.S.; conforming a cross -reference; amending s. 90
1007.27, F.S.; revising the articulated acceleration 91
mechanisms available to certain students; requiring 92
the state board and Board of Governors to identify 93
Florida College System institutions and state 94
universities to develop certain courses and provide 95
specified training; requiring the department to take 96
specified actions relat ing to certain courses; 97
authorizing the department to partner with specified 98
organizations to develop certain assessments; 99
providing for the award of credit to certain students; 100
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requiring the department to provide a report to the 101
Legislature by a specified date; providing 102
requirements for such report; amending s. 1007.271, 103
F.S.; requiring dual enrollment courses to be age and 104
developmentally appropriate; amending s. 1007.35, 105
F.S.; revising the responsibilities of the Florida 106
Partnership for Minority and Und errepresented Student 107
Achievement; conforming provisions to changes made by 108
the act; amending s. 1008.22, F.S.; authorizing school 109
districts to select the Classic Learning Test for an 110
annual districtwide administration for certain 111
students; amending s. 100 8.34, F.S.; revising the 112
calculation of school grades for certain schools; 113
amending s. 1009.531, F.S.; revising the list of 114
courses that receive additional weights for the 115
purpose of calculating students' grade point averages 116
when determining initial eligi bility for a Florida 117
Bright Futures Scholarship; authorizing students to 118
earn a concordant score on the Classic Learning Test 119
to meet the initial eligibility requirements for the 120
Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program; amending 121
ss. 1009.534, 1009.535, and 1009.536, F.S.; 122
authorizing students to use a combination of volunteer 123
service hours and paid work hours to meet certain 124
program eligibility requirements; providing that paid 125
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work hours completed on or after a specified date 126
shall be used to meet certa in program eligibility 127
requirements; amending s. 1012.22, F.S.; authorizing 128
district school boards to review and reappoint certain 129
staff; amending s. 1012.34, F.S.; providing school 130
administrators are not precluded from taking specified 131
actions; amending s. 1012.56, F.S.; revising 132
requirements for a person seeking an educator 133
certification; revising criteria for the award of a 134
temporary certificate; revising the validity period 135
for certain temporary certificates; deleting 136
provisions relating to the departme nt's ability to 137
extend the validity period of certain temporary 138
certificates; revising the requirements for the 139
approval and administration of such programs; 140
establishing professional education competency 141
programs; requiring school districts to develop and 142
maintain such a program; authorizing private schools 143
and state-supported schools to develop and maintain 144
such a program; amending s. 1012.57, F.S.; authorizing 145
charter school governing boards to issue adjunct 146
teaching certificates; requiring a charter sch ool to 147
post specified requirements on its website and 148
annually report specified information relating to 149
adjunct teaching certificates to the Department of 150
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Education; conforming a cross -reference; amending s. 151
1012.575, F.S.; conforming a cross -reference; amending 152
s. 1012.585, F.S.; requiring certain applicants for 153
the renewal of a professional certificate to earn 154
specified college credit or inservice points; 155
providing requirements for such credit or points; 156
amending s. 1012.586, F.S.; conforming a cross -157
reference; amending s. 1012.98, F.S.; defining the 158
term "professional learning"; prohibiting specified 159
meetings from being considered professional learning 160
and eligible for inservice points; providing and 161
revising requirements for certain professional 162
learning activities; revising department and school 163
district duties relating to such activities; providing 164
requirements for entities contracted with to provide 165
professional learning services and inservice education 166
for school districts; amending s. 1012.986, F.S.; 167
renaming the "William Cecil Golden Professional 168
Development Program for School Leaders" as the 169
"William Cecil Golden Professional Learning Program 170
for School Leaders"; revising the goal of the program; 171
amending s. 1013.62, F.S.; revising the charter schoo l 172
eligibility criteria for capital outlay funding; 173
amending s. 1014.05, F.S.; conforming a cross -174
reference; authorizing certain students to meet 175
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specified assessment graduation requirements by 176
earning certain scores on specified assessments; 177
providing for the future expiration of such 178
provisions; providing a directive to the Division of 179
Law Revision; providing effective dates. 180
181
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 182
183
Section 1. Section 683.335, Florida Statutes, is created 184
to read: 185
683.335 9/11 Heroes' Day. — 186
(1) The Governor shall proclaim September 11 of each year 187
as "9/11 Heroes' Day," which shall be suitably observed in the 188
public schools of the state as a day honoring those who perished 189
in the September 11, 2001, attacks, i ncluding 2,763 people at 190
the World Trade Center, 189 people at the Pentagon, and 44 191
people on United Airlines Flight 93, and the 25,000 people 192
maimed or fatally injured on or after that date, and which shall 193
be suitably observed by public exercise in the S tate Capitol and 194
elsewhere as the Governor may designate. 195
(2) If September 11 falls on a day that is not a school 196
day, "9/11 Heroes' Day" shall be observed in the public schools 197
in the state on the preceding school day or on such school day 198
as may be designated by local school authorities. 199
(3) Beginning in the 2023 -2024 school year, middle school 200
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and high school students enrolled in the civics education class 201
required by s. 1003.4156 or the United States Government class 202
required by s. 1003.4282(3)(d), respectively, must receive at 203
least 45 minutes of instruction on "9/11 Heroes' Day" topics 204
involving the history and significance of September 11, 2001, 205
including remembering the sacrifice of military personnel, 206
government employees, civilians, and emergen cy responders who 207
were killed, wounded, or suffered sickness due to the terrorist 208
attacks on or after that date, including, but not limited to: 209
(a) The historical context of global terrorism. 210
(b) A timeline of events on September 11, 2001, including 211
the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United 212
Airlines Flight 93. 213
(c) The selfless heroism of police officers, firefighters, 214
paramedics, other first responders, and civilians involved in 215
the rescue and recovery of victims and the heroic a ctions taken 216
by the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93. 217
(d) The unprecedented outpouring of humanitarian, 218
charitable, and volunteer aid occurring after the events of 219
September 11, 2001. 220
(e) The global response to terrorism and importance of 221
respecting civil liberties while ensuring safety and security. 222
(4) The State Board of Education must adopt revised social 223
studies standards for inclusion in the civics education course 224
required by s. 1003.4156 and the United States Government class 225
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required by s. 1003.4282(3)(d) which incorporate the 226
requirements of this section. 227
Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section 228
1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (p) is 229
added to that subsection, to read: 230
1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public 231
school students must receive accurate and timely information 232
regarding their child's academic progress and must be informed 233
of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K -12 234
students and their parents are afforde d numerous statutory 235
rights including, but not limited to, the following: 236
(3) HEALTH ISSUES.— 237
(d) Reproductive health and disease education. —A public 238
school student whose parent makes written request to the school 239
principal shall be exempted from the t eaching of reproductive 240
health or any disease, including HIV/AIDS, in accordance with s. 241
1003.42(5). 242
1. Each school district shall, on the district's website 243
homepage, notify parents of this right and the process to 244
request an exemption. The homepage mus t include a link for a 245
student's parent to access and review the instructional 246
materials, as defined in s. 1006.29(2), used to teach the 247
curriculum. 248
2. Each school district shall annually review and confirm 249
that the information provided on the district' s website homepage 250
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under subparagraph 1. is accurate and up to date and shall 251
notify parents by physical or electronic means any time 252
revisions are made to such information. 253
(p) A student may possess and use a medication to relieve 254
headaches while on sch ool property or at a school -sponsored 255
event or activity without a physician's note or prescription if 256
the medication is regulated by the United States Food and Drug 257
Administration for over -the-counter use to treat headaches. 258
Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 259
1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 260
1002.33 Charter schools. — 261
(7) CHARTER.—The terms and conditions for the operation of 262
a charter school, including a virtual charter school, shall be 263
set forth by the sponsor and t he applicant in a written 264
contractual agreement, called a charter. The sponsor and the 265
governing board of the charter school or virtual charter school 266
shall use the standard charter contract or standard virtual 267
charter contract, respectively, pursuant to s ubsection (21), 268
which shall incorporate the approved application and any addenda 269
approved with the application. Any term or condition of a 270
proposed charter contract or proposed virtual charter contract 271
that differs from the standard charter or virtual char ter 272
contract adopted by rule of the State Board of Education shall 273
be presumed a limitation on charter school flexibility. The 274
sponsor may not impose unreasonable rules or regulations that 275
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violate the intent of giving charter schools greater flexibility 276
to meet educational goals. The charter shall be signed by the 277
governing board of the charter school and the sponsor, following 278
a public hearing to ensure community input. 279
(a) The charter shall address and criteria for approval of 280
the charter shall be based on: 281
1. The school's mission, the types of students to be 282
served, and, for a virtual charter school, the types of students 283
the school intends to serve who reside outside of the sponsoring 284
school district, and the ages and grades to be included. 285
2. The focus of the curriculum, the instructional methods 286
to be used, any distinctive instructional techniques to be 287
employed, and identification and acquisition of appropriate 288
technologies needed to improve educational and administrative 289
performance which includ e a means for promoting safe, ethical, 290
and appropriate uses of technology which comply with legal and 291
professional standards. 292
a. The charter shall ensure that reading is a primary 293
focus of the curriculum and that resources are provided to 294
identify and provide specialized instruction for students who 295
are reading below grade level. The curriculum and instructional 296
strategies for reading must be consistent with the Next 297
Generation Sunshine State Standards and grounded in 298
scientifically based reading research . 299
b. In order to provide students with access to diverse 300
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instructional delivery models, to facilitate the integration of 301
technology within traditional classroom instruction, and to 302
provide students with the skills they need to compete in the 303
21st century economy, the Legislature encourages instructional 304
methods for blended learning courses consisting of both 305
traditional classroom and online instructional techniques. 306
Charter schools may implement blended learning courses which 307
combine traditional classroom instruction and virtual 308
instruction. Students in a blended learning course must be full -309
time students of the charter school pursuant to s. 310
1011.61(1)(a)1. Instructional personnel certified pursuant to s. 311
1012.55 who provide virtual instruction for blended learning 312
courses may be employees of the charter school or may be under 313
contract to provide instructional services to charter school 314
students. At a minimum, such instructional personnel must hold 315
an active state or school district adjunct certification un der 316
s. 1012.57 for the subject area of the blended learning course. 317
The funding and performance accountability requirements for 318
blended learning courses are the same as those for traditional 319
courses. 320
3. The current incoming baseline standard of student 321
academic achievement, the outcomes to be achieved, and the 322
method of measurement that will be used. The criteria listed in 323
this subparagraph shall include a detailed description of: 324
a. How the baseline student academic achievement levels 325
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and prior rates of academic progress will be established. 326
b. How these baseline rates will be compared to rates of 327
academic progress achieved by these same students while 328
attending the charter school. 329
c. To the extent possible, how these rates of progress 330
will be evaluated and compared with rates of progress of other 331
closely comparable student populations. 332
333
A district school board is required to provide academic student 334
performance data to charter schools for each of their students 335
coming from the district school system , as well as rates of 336
academic progress of comparable student populations in the 337
district school system. 338
4. The methods used to identify the educational strengths 339
and needs of students and how well educational goals and 340
performance standards are met by s tudents attending the charter 341
school. The methods shall provide a means for the charter school 342
to ensure accountability to its constituents by analyzing 343
student performance data and by evaluating the effectiveness and 344
efficiency of its major educational pr ograms. Students in 345
charter schools shall, at a minimum, participate in the 346
statewide assessment program created under s. 1008.22. 347
5. In secondary charter schools, a method for determining 348
that a student has satisfied the requirements for graduation in 349
s. 1002.3105(5), s. 1003.4281, or s. 1003.4282. 350
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6. A method for resolving conflicts between the governing 351
board of the charter school and the sponsor. 352
7. The admissions procedures and dismissal procedures, 353
including the school's code of student conduct. Admission or 354
dismissal must not be based on a student's academic performance , 355
except as authorized under subparagraph (10)(e)5 . 356
8. The ways by which the school will achieve a 357
racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or 358
within the racial/ethnic range of other nearby public schools or 359
school districts. 360
9. The financial and administrative management of the 361
school, including a reasonable demonstration of the professional 362
experience or competence of those individuals or organizations 363
applying to operate the charter school or those hired or 364
retained to perform such professional services and the 365
description of clearly delineated responsibilities and the 366
policies and practices needed to effectively manage the charter 367
school. A description of internal audit procedures and 368
establishment of controls to ensure that financial resources are 369
properly managed must be included. Both public sector and 370
private sector professional experience shall be equally valid in 371
such a consideration. 372
10. The asset and liability projections required in the 373
application which are incorporated into the charter and shall be 374
compared with information provided in the annual report of the 375
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charter school. 376
11. A description of procedures that identify various 377
risks and provide for a comprehensive approach to reduce the 378
impact of losses; plans to ensure the safety and security of 379
students and staff; plans to identify, minimize, and protect 380
others from violent or disruptive student behavior; and the 381
manner in which the school will be insured, including whether or 382
not the school will be required to have liability insurance, 383
and, if so, the terms and conditions thereof and the amounts of 384
coverage. 385
12. The term of the charter which shall provide for 386
cancellation of the charter i f insufficient progress has been 387
made in attaining the student achievement objectives of the 388
charter and if it is not likely that such objectives can be 389
achieved before expiration of the charter. The initial term of a 390
charter shall be for 5 years, excludin g 2 planning years. In 391
order to facilitate access to long -term financial resources for 392
charter school construction, charter schools that are operated 393
by a municipality or other public entity as provided by law are 394
eligible for up to a 15 -year charter, subject to approval by the 395
sponsor. A charter lab school is eligible for a charter for a 396
term of up to 15 years. In addition, to facilitate access to 397
long-term financial resources for charter school construction, 398
charter schools that are operated by a private, not-for-profit, 399
s. 501(c)(3) status corporation are eligible for up to a 15 -year 400
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charter, subject to approval by the sponsor. Such long -term 401
charters remain subject to annual review and may be terminated 402
during the term of the charter, but only according to the 403
provisions set forth in subsection (8). 404
13. The facilities to be used and their location. The 405
sponsor may not require a charter school to have a certificate 406
of occupancy or a temporary certificate of occupancy for such a 407
facility earlier than 15 calendar days before the first day of 408
school. 409
14. The qualifications to be required of the teachers and 410
the potential strategies used to recruit, hire, train, and 411
retain qualified staff to achieve best value. 412
15. The governance structure of the school, including the 413
status of the charter school as a public or private employer as 414
required in paragraph (12)(i). 415
16. A timetable for implementing the charter which 416
addresses the implementation of each element thereof and the 417
date by which the charter shall be awarded in order to meet this 418
timetable. 419
17. In the case of an existing public school that is being 420
converted to charter status, alternative arrangements for 421
current students who choose not to attend the charter school and 422
for current teachers who cho ose not to teach in the charter 423
school after conversion in accordance with the existing 424
collective bargaining agreement or district school board rule in 425
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the absence of a collective bargaining agreement. However, 426
alternative arrangements shall not be requir ed for current 427
teachers who choose not to teach in a charter lab school, except 428
as authorized by the employment policies of the state university 429
which grants the charter to the lab school. 430
18. Full disclosure of the identity of all relatives 431
employed by the charter school who are related to the charter 432
school owner, president, chairperson of the governing board of 433
directors, superintendent, governing board member, principal, 434
assistant principal, or any other person employed by the charter 435
school who has equivalent decisionmaking authority. For the 436
purpose of this subparagraph, the term "relative" means father, 437
mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first 438
cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father -in-law, mother-in-439
law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, 440
stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, 441
stepsister, half brother, or half sister. 442
19. Implementation of the activities authorized under s. 443
1002.331 by the charter school when it satisfies the eli gibility 444
requirements for a high -performing charter school. A high -445
performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in writing by 446
March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or expand grade 447
levels the following school year. The written notice shall 448
specify the amount of the enrollment increase and the grade 449
levels that will be added, as applicable. 450
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Section 4. Subsection (13) of section 1002.42, Florida 451
Statutes, is amended to read: 452
1002.42 Private schools. — 453
(13) PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM.—An 454
organization of private schools that has no fewer than 10 member 455
schools in this state may develop a professional learning 456
development system to be filed with the Department of Education 457
in accordance with s. 1012.98(7) the provisions of s. 458
1012.98(6). 459
Section 5. Section 1003.07, Florida Statutes, is created 460
to read: 461
1003.07 Year-round School Pilot Program. —Beginning with 462
the 2024-2025 school year, the Year -round School Pilot Program 463
is created for a period of 4 school years. The purpose of the 464
program is for the Department of Education to assist school 465
districts in establishing a year -round school program within at 466
least one elementary school in the district and study the 467
issues, benefits, and schedule options for instituting year -468
round school programs for all students. 469
(1)(a) School districts shall apply to the Department of 470
Education, in a format and by a date prescribed by the 471
department, to participate in the program. The application must 472
include: 473
1. The number of students enrolled i n the elementary 474
school or schools that will implement a year -round school 475
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program. 476
2. The academic performance of the students enrolled in 477
such school or schools. 478
3. The rate of absenteeism and tardiness of students 479
enrolled in such school or schools. 480
4. The commitment of such school's or schools' 481
instructional personnel and students to the year -round school 482
program. 483
5. An explanation of how the implementation of the year -484
round school program will benefit the students. 485
(b) The Commissioner of Edu cation shall select five school 486
districts to participate in the program. To the extent possible, 487
the commissioner shall select school districts that represent a 488
variety of demographics, including, but not limited to, an 489
urban, suburban, and rural school di strict. 490
(2) A school district enrolled in a year -round school 491
program shall: 492
(a) Implement a single -track or multi-track schedule. 493
(b) Provide data to the department to allow for: 494
1. An assessment of the academic and safety benefits 495
associated with establishing a year-round school program. 496
2. An evaluation of any potential barriers for the school 497
district upon implementation of a year -round school program, 498
including, but not limited to: 499
a. Issues related to the commitment of instructional 500
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personnel and students. 501
b. The provision of services during the summer months. 502
c. School district budgeting. 503
d. Parental engagement and participation. 504
e. Coordination with community services. 505
f. Student assessment and progression practices. 506
g. Student transportation. 507
3. The consideration of strategies for addressing such 508
potential barriers. 509
(3) Upon completion of the program, the commissioner shall 510
provide a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 511
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report must 512
include: 513
(a) The number of students enrolled at participating 514
schools. 515
(b) The number of students enrolled at participating 516
schools before and after the implementation of the year -round 517
school program. 518
(c) Any health, academic, and safety benefits for students 519
or instructional personnel from the implementation of the year -520
round school program. 521
(d) An evaluation of any potential barriers for school 522
districts and families associated with a year -round school 523
program. 524
(e) The commissioner's recommendation on the adoption of 525
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year-round school programs for all students. 526
(4) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to 527
administer the program. 528
Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 1003.42, Florida 529
Statutes, is amended to read: 530
1003.42 Required instruction. — 531
(2) Members of the instructional staff of the public 532
schools, subject to the rules of the State Board of Education 533
and the district school board, shall teach efficiently and 534
faithfully, using the books and ma terials required that meet the 535
highest standards for professionalism and historical accuracy, 536
following the prescribed courses of study, and employing 537
approved methods of instruction, the following: 538
(a) The history and content of the Declaration of 539
Independence, including national sovereignty, natural law, self -540
evident truth, equality of all persons, limited government, 541
popular sovereignty, and inalienable rights of life, liberty, 542
and property, and how they form the philosophical foundation of 543
our government. 544
(b) The history, meaning, significance, and effect of the 545
provisions of the Constitution of the United States and 546
amendments thereto, with emphasis on each of the 10 amendments 547
that make up the Bill of Rights and how the constitution 548
provides the structure of our government. 549
(c) The arguments in support of adopting our republican 550
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form of government, as they are embodied in the most important 551
of the Federalist Papers. 552
(d) Flag education, including proper flag display and flag 553
salute. 554
(e) The elements of civil government, including the 555
primary functions of and interrelationships between the Federal 556
Government, the state, and its counties, municipalities, school 557
districts, and special districts. 558
(f) The history of the United States, including the period 559
of discovery, early colonies, the War for Independence, the 560
Civil War, the expansion of the United States to its present 561
boundaries, the world wars, and the civil rights movement to the 562
present. American history shall be viewed as factual, not as 563
constructed, shall be viewed as knowable, teachable, and 564
testable, and shall be defined as the creation of a new nation 565
based largely on the universal principles stated in the 566
Declaration of Independence. 567
(g)1. The history of the Holocaust (1933 -1945), the 568
systematic, planned annihilation of European Jews and other 569
groups by Nazi Germany, a watershed event in the history of 570
humanity, to be taught in a manner that leads to an 571
investigation of human behavior, an understanding of the 572
ramifications of prejudic e, racism, and stereotyping, and an 573
examination of what it means to be a responsible and respectful 574
person, for the purposes of encouraging tolerance of diversity 575
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in a pluralistic society and for nurturing and protecting 576
democratic values and institutions, including the policy, 577
definition, and historical and current examples of anti -578
Semitism, as described in s. 1000.05(8), and the prevention of 579
anti-Semitism. Each school district must annually certify and 580
provide evidence to the department, in a manner pres cribed by 581
the department, that the requirements of this paragraph are met. 582
The department shall prepare and offer standards and curriculum 583
for the instruction required by this paragraph and may seek 584
input from the Commissioner of Education's Task Force on 585
Holocaust Education or from any state or nationally recognized 586
Holocaust educational organizations. The department may contract 587
with any state or nationally recognized Holocaust educational 588
organizations to develop training for instructional personnel 589
and grade-appropriate classroom resources to support the 590
developed curriculum. 591
2. The second week in November shall be designated as 592
"Holocaust Education Week" in this state in recognition that 593
November is the anniversary of Kristallnacht, widely recognized 594
as a precipitating event that led to the Holocaust. 595
(h) The history of African Americans, including the 596
history of African peoples before the political conflicts that 597
led to the development of slavery, the passage to America, the 598
enslavement experience, abolition, and the history and 599
contributions of Americans of the African diaspora to society. 600
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Students shall develop an understanding of the ramifications of 601
prejudice, racism, and stereotyping on individual freedoms, and 602
examine what it means to be a resp onsible and respectful person, 603
for the purpose of encouraging tolerance of diversity in a 604
pluralistic society and for nurturing and protecting democratic 605
values and institutions. Instruction shall include the roles and 606
contributions of individuals from all walks of life and their 607
endeavors to learn and thrive throughout history as artists, 608
scientists, educators, businesspeople, influential thinkers, 609
members of the faith community, and political and governmental 610
leaders and the courageous steps they took to fulfill the 611
promise of democracy and unite the nation. Instructional 612
materials shall include the vital contributions of African 613
Americans to build and strengthen American society and celebrate 614
the inspirational stories of African Americans who prospered, 615
even in the most difficult circumstances. Instructional 616
personnel may facilitate discussions and use curricula to 617
address, in an age-appropriate manner, how the individual 618
freedoms of persons have been infringed by slavery, racial 619
oppression, racial segrega tion, and racial discrimination, as 620
well as topics relating to the enactment and enforcement of laws 621
resulting in racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial 622
discrimination and how recognition of these freedoms has 623
overturned these unjust laws. Howev er, classroom instruction and 624
curriculum may not be used to indoctrinate or persuade students 625
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to a particular point of view inconsistent with the principles 626
enumerated in subsection (3) or the state academic standards. 627
The department shall prepare and offe r standards and curriculum 628
for the instruction required by this paragraph and may seek 629
input from the Commissioner of Education's African American 630
History Task Force. 631
(i) The history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, 632
including the history of Japa nese internment camps and the 633
incarceration of Japanese -Americans during World War II; the 634
immigration, citizenship, civil rights, identity, and culture of 635
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; and the contributions of 636
Asian Americans and Pacific Islander s to American society. 637
Instructional materials shall include the contributions of Asian 638
Americans and Pacific Islanders to American society. 639
(j)(i) The elementary principles of agriculture. 640
(k)(j) The true effects of all alcoholic and intoxicating 641
liquors and beverages and narcotics upon the human body and 642
mind. 643
(l)(k) Kindness to animals. 644
(m)(l) The history of the state. 645
(n)(m) The conservation of natural resources. 646
(o)(n) Comprehensive age-appropriate and developmentally 647
appropriate K-12 instruction on: 648
1. Health education that addresses concepts of community 649
health, consumer health, environmental health, and family life, 650
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including: 651
a. Injury prevention and safety. 652
b. Internet safety. 653
c. Nutrition. 654
d. Personal health. 655
e. Prevention and control of disease. 656
f. Substance use and abuse. 657
g. Prevention of child sexual abuse, exploitation, and 658
human trafficking. 659
2. For students in grades 7 through 12, teen dating 660
violence and abuse. This component must include, but not be 661
limited to, the definition of dating violence and abuse, the 662
warning signs of dating violence and abusive behavior, the 663
characteristics of healthy relationships, measures to prevent 664
and stop dating violence and abuse, and community resources 665
available to victims of da ting violence and abuse. 666
3. For students in grades 6 through 12, awareness of the 667
benefits of sexual abstinence as the expected standard and the 668
consequences of teenage pregnancy. 669
4. Life skills that build confidence, support mental and 670
emotional health, and enable students to overcome challenges, 671
including: 672
a. Self-awareness and self-management. 673
b. Responsible decisionmaking. 674
c. Resiliency. 675
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d. Relationship skills and conflict resolution. 676
e. Understanding and respecting other viewpoints and 677
backgrounds. 678
f. For grades 9 through 12, developing leadership skills, 679
interpersonal skills, organization skills, and research skills; 680
creating a resume, including a digital resume; exploring career 681
pathways; using state career planning resources; developi ng and 682
practicing the skills necessary for employment interviews; 683
workplace ethics and workplace law; managing stress and 684
expectations; and self -motivation. 685
686
Health education and life skills instruction and materials may 687
not contradict the principles enume rated in subsection (3). 688
(p)(o) Such additional materials, subjects, courses, or 689
fields in such grades as are prescribed by law or by rules of 690
the State Board of Education and the district school board in 691
fulfilling the requirements of law. 692
(q)(p) The study of Hispanic contributions to the United 693
States. 694
(r)(q) The study of women's contributions to the United 695
States. 696
(s)(r) The nature and importance of free enterprise to the 697
United States economy. 698
(t)(s) Civic and character education on the qualit ies and 699
responsibilities of patriotism and citizenship, including 700
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kindness; respect for authority, life, liberty, and personal 701
property; honesty; charity; racial, ethnic, and religious 702
tolerance; and cooperation and, for grades 11 and 12, voting 703
using the uniform primary and general election ballot described 704
in s. 101.151(9). 705
(u)(t) In order to encourage patriotism, the sacrifices 706
that veterans and Medal of Honor recipients have made in serving 707
our country and protecting democratic values worldwide. Such 708
instruction must occur on or before Medal of Honor Day, 709
Veterans' Day, and Memorial Day. Members of the instructional 710
staff are encouraged to use the assistance of local veterans and 711
Medal of Honor recipients when practicable. 712
713
The State Board of Education is encouraged to adopt standards 714
and pursue assessment of the requirements of this subsection. 715
Instructional programming that incorporates the values of the 716
recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor and that is 717
offered as part of a social studies, En glish Language Arts, or 718
other schoolwide character building and veteran awareness 719
initiative meets the requirements of paragraph (u) (t). 720
Section 7. Paragraph (e) of subsection (3) of section 721
1003.4282, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 722
1003.4282 Requirements for a standard high school 723
diploma.— 724
(3) STANDARD HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA; COURSE AND ASSESSMENT 725
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REQUIREMENTS.— 726
(e) One credit in fine or performing arts, speech and 727
debate, or career and technical education practical arts.—A The 728
practical arts course that incorporates must incorporate 729
artistic content and techniques of creativity, interpretation, 730
and imagination satisfies the one credit requirement in fine or 731
performing arts, speech and debate, or career and technical 732
education. Eligible practical arts courses are identified in the 733
Course Code Directory. 734
Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 735
1004.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 736
1004.04 Public accountability and state approval for 737
teacher preparation programs.— 738
(2) UNIFORM CORE CURRICULA AND CANDIDATE ASSESSMENT. — 739
(b) The rules to establish uniform core curricula for each 740
state-approved teacher preparation program must include, but are 741
not limited to, the following: 742
1. Candidate instruction and a ssessment in the Florida 743
Educator Accomplished Practices across content areas. 744
2. The use of state -adopted content standards to guide 745
curricula and instruction. 746
3. Scientifically researched and evidence -based reading 747
instructional strategies that impro ve reading performance for 748
all students, including explicit, systematic, and sequential 749
approaches to teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, 750
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fluency, and text comprehension and multisensory intervention 751
strategies. 752
4. Content literacy and math ematics practices. 753
5. Strategies appropriate for the instruction of English 754
language learners. 755
6. Strategies appropriate for the instruction of students 756
with disabilities. 757
7. Strategies to differentiate instruction based on 758
student needs. 759
8. Strategies and practices to support evidence -based 760
content aligned to state standards and grading practices. 761
9. Strategies appropriate for the early identification of 762
a student in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge 763
and the referral of such studen t to a mental health professional 764
for support. 765
10. Strategies to support the use of technology in 766
education and distance learning. 767
11. Strategies and practices to support effective, 768
research-based assessment and grading practices aligned to the 769
state's academic standards. 770
Section 9. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and subsections 771
(3), (4), and (5) of section 1004.85, Florida Statutes, are 772
amended to read: 773
1004.85 Postsecondary educator preparation institutes. — 774
(2)(a) Postsecondary institutions t hat are accredited or 775
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approved as described in State Board of Education rule may seek 776
approval from the Department of Education to create educator 777
preparation institutes for the purpose of providing any or all 778
of the following: 779
1. Professional learning development instruction to assist 780
teachers in improving classroom instruction and in meeting 781
certification or recertification requirements. 782
2. Instruction to assist potential and existing substitute 783
teachers in performing their duties. 784
3. Instruction to assist paraprofessionals in meeting 785
education and training requirements. 786
4. Instruction for baccalaureate degree holders to become 787
certified teachers as provided in this section in order to 788
increase routes to the classroom for mid-career professionals 789
who hold a baccalaureate degree and college graduates who were 790
not education majors. 791
5. Instruction and professional learning development for 792
part-time and full-time nondegreed teachers of career programs 793
under s. 1012.39(1)(c). 794
(3) Educator preparation institutes approved pursuant to 795
this section may offer competency -based certification programs 796
specifically designed for noneducation major baccalaureate 797
degree holders to enable program participants to meet the 798
educator certification requirements of s. 1 012.56. An educator 799
preparation institute choosing to offer a competency -based 800
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certification program pursuant to the provisions of this section 801
must implement a program previously approved by the Department 802
of Education for this purpose or a program developed by the 803
institute and approved by the department for this purpose. 804
Approved programs shall be available for use by other approved 805
educator preparation institutes. 806
(a) Within 90 days after receipt of a request for 807
approval, the Department of Education shall approve a 808
preparation program pursuant to the requirements of this 809
subsection or issue a statement of the deficiencies in the 810
request for approval. The department shall approve a 811
certification program if the institute provides evidence of the 812
institute's capacity to implement a competency -based program 813
that instructs and assesses each candidate in includes each of 814
the following: 815
1.a. Participant instruction and assessment in The Florida 816
Educator Accomplished Practices approved by the state board 817
across content areas. 818
b. The state academic use of state-adopted student content 819
standards provided under s. 1003.41, including scientifically 820
based reading instruction, content literacy, and mathematical 821
practices, for each subject identified on the statem ent of 822
status of eligibility or the temporary certificate to guide 823
curriculum and instruction . 824
c. Scientifically researched and evidence -based reading 825
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instructional strategies that improve reading performance for 826
all students, including explicit, systematic, and sequential 827
approaches to teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, 828
fluency, and text comprehension and multisensory intervention 829
strategies. 830
d. Content literacy and mathematical practices. 831
e. Strategies appropriate for instructi on of English 832
language learners. 833
f. Strategies appropriate for instruction of students with 834
disabilities. 835
g. Strategies to differentiate instruction based on 836
student needs. 837
h. Strategies and practices to support evidence -based 838
content aligned to stat e standards and grading practices. 839
i. Strategies appropriate for the early identification of 840
a student in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge 841
and the referral of such student to a mental health professional 842
for support. 843
j. Strategies to su pport the use of technology in 844
education and distance learning. 845
2. An educational plan for each participant to meet 846
certification requirements and demonstrate his or her ability to 847
teach the subject area for which the participant is seeking 848
certification, which is based on an assessment of his or her 849
competency in the areas listed in subparagraph 1. 850
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3. Field experiences appropriate to the certification 851
subject area specified in the educational plan with a diverse 852
population of students in a variety of c hallenging environments, 853
including, but not limited to, high -poverty schools, urban 854
schools, and rural schools, under the supervision of qualified 855
educators. The state board shall determine in rule the amount of 856
field experience necessary to serve as the t eacher of record, 857
beginning with candidates entering a program in the 2023 -2024 858
school year. 859
4. A certification ombudsman to facilitate the process and 860
procedures required for participants who complete the program to 861
meet any requirements related to the background screening 862
pursuant to s. 1012.32 and educator professional or temporary 863
certification pursuant to s. 1012.56. 864
(b) Each program participant must: 865
1. Meet certification requirements pursuant to s. 866
1012.56(1) by obtaining a statement of status of eligibility in 867
the certification subject area of the educational plan and meet 868
the requirements of s. 1012.56(2)(a) -(f). 869
2. Demonstrate competency and participate in coursework 870
and field experiences that are appropriate to his or her 871
educational plan prepared under paragraph (a). Beginning with 872
candidates entering an educator preparation institute in the 873
2022-2023 school year, a candidate for certification in a 874
coverage area identified pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(f) must 875
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successfully complete all compet encies for a reading 876
endorsement, including completion of the endorsement practicum 877
through the candidate's field experience, in order to graduate 878
from the program. 879
3. Before completion of the program, fully demonstrate his 880
or her ability to teach the su bject area for which he or she is 881
seeking certification by documenting a positive impact on 882
student learning growth in a prekindergarten through grade 12 883
setting and, except as provided in s. 1012.56(7)(a)3., achieving 884
a passing score on the professional e ducation competency 885
examination, the basic skills examination, and the subject area 886
examination for the subject area certification which is required 887
by state board rule. 888
(c) Upon completion of all requirements for a 889
certification program approved pursuan t to this subsection, a 890
participant shall receive a credential from the sponsoring 891
institution signifying that the participant has completed a 892
state-approved competency-based certification program in the 893
certification subject area specified in the educatio nal plan. A 894
participant is eligible for educator certification through the 895
Department of Education upon satisfaction of all requirements 896
for certification set forth in s. 1012.56(2). 897
(4) The state board shall adopt rules for the continued 898
approval of each program approved pursuant to this section . 899
shall be determined by the Commissioner of Education based upon 900
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a periodic review of the following areas: 901
(a) Candidate readiness based on passage rates on educator 902
certification examinations under s. 1012.56, as applicable. 903
(b) Evidence of performance in each of the following 904
areas: 905
1. Performance of students in prekindergarten through 906
grade 12 who are assigned to in -field program completers on 907
statewide assessments using the results of the student learnin g 908
growth formula adopted under s. 1012.34. 909
2. Results of program completers' annual evaluations in 910
accordance with the timeline as set forth in s. 1012.34. 911
3. Workforce contributions, including placement of program 912
completers in instructional positions in Florida public and 913
private schools, with additional weight given to production of 914
program completers in statewide critical teacher shortage areas 915
as identified in s. 1012.07. 916
(5) Each institute approved pursuant to this section shall 917
submit to the Department of Education annual performance 918
evaluations that measure the effectiveness of the programs , 919
including the pass rates of participants on all examinations 920
required for teacher certification, employment rates, 921
longitudinal retention rates, and satisf action surveys of 922
employers and program completers. The satisfaction surveys must 923
be designed to measure the sufficient preparation of the 924
educator for the realities of the classroom and the institute's 925
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responsiveness to local school districts. These evalu ations 926
shall be used by the Department of Education for purposes of 927
continued approval of an educator preparation institute's 928
certification program . 929
Section 10. Section 1005.04, Florida Statutes, is amended 930
to read: 931
1005.04 Fair consumer practices. — 932
(1) Every institution that is under the jurisdiction of 933
the commission or is exempt from the jurisdiction or purview of 934
the commission pursuant to s. 1005.06(1)(c) or (f) and that 935
either directly or indirectly solicits for enrollment any 936
student shall: 937
(a) Disclose to each prospective student a statement of 938
the purpose of such institution, its educational programs and 939
curricula, a description of its physical facilities, its status 940
regarding licensure, its fee schedule and policies regarding 941
retaining student fees if a student withdraws, and a statement 942
regarding the transferability of credits to and from other 943
institutions. The institution shall make the required 944
disclosures in writing at least 1 week prior to enrollment or 945
collection of any tuition from the prospective student. The 946
required disclosures may be made in the institution's current 947
catalog; 948
(b) Use a reliable method to assess, before accepting a 949
student into a program, the student's ability to complete 950
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successfully the course of study for whi ch he or she has 951
applied; 952
(c) Inform each student accurately about financial 953
assistance and obligations for repayment of loans; describe any 954
employment placement services provided and the limitations 955
thereof; and refrain from promising or implying guaran teed 956
placement, market availability, or salary amounts; 957
(d) Provide to prospective and enrolled students accurate 958
information regarding the relationship of its programs to state 959
licensure requirements for practicing related occupations and 960
professions in Florida; 961
(e) Ensure that all advertisements are accurate and not 962
misleading; 963
(f) Publish and follow an equitable prorated refund policy 964
for all students, and follow both the federal refund guidelines 965
for students receiving federal financial assistance and the 966
minimum refund guidelines set by commission rule; 967
(g) Follow the requirements of state and federal laws that 968
require annual reporting with respect to crime statistics and 969
physical plant safety and make those reports available to the 970
public; and 971
(h) Publish and follow procedures for handling student 972
complaints, disciplinary actions, and appeals ; and 973
(i) Prior to enrollment, provide a written disclosure to a 974
student or prospective student of all fees and costs that will 975
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be incurred by a student , the institution's refund policy, any 976
exit examination requirements, and the grade point average 977
required for completion of the student's program or degree. The 978
disclosure shall include a statement regarding the scope of 979
accreditation, if applicable. Inst itutions licensed by the 980
Commission for Independent Education shall disclose the 981
information required pursuant to this paragraph in a format 982
prescribed by the commission . 983
(2) In addition, institutions that are required to be 984
licensed by the commission sh all disclose to prospective 985
students that additional information regarding the institution 986
may be obtained by contacting the Commission for Independent 987
Education, Department of Education, Tallahassee. 988
(3) In an application for licensure, the burden of 989
demonstrating compliance with fair consumer practice is upon the 990
person, entity, or institution asserting compliance. Determining 991
compliance with this section shall rest with the commission. The 992
commission may require further evidence and make such further 993
investigation, in addition to any information submitted, as may 994
be reasonably necessary in the commission's judgment. 995
Section 11. Section 1005.11, Florida Statutes, is created 996
to read: 997
1005.11 Accountability for institutions licensed by the 998
Commission for Independent Education. — 999
(1) By June 30, 2024, and by April 15 of each year 1000
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thereafter, the commission shall prepare an annual 1001
accountability report for licensed institutions. The report must 1002
contain, at a minimum, the graduation rates, including the 1003
number of graduates by program, retention rates, and placement 1004
rates for all licensed institutions. 1005
(2) By March 15, 2024, and by November 30 of each year 1006
thereafter, each licensed institution shall provide data to the 1007
commission in a format prescribed by the commission. Placement 1008
rates shall be determined using a methodology approved by the 1009
commission. 1010
(3) The commission shall establish a common set of data 1011
definitions for institutional reporting purposes. 1012
(4) The commission shall impose an administ rative fine of 1013
not more than $500 when a licensed institution fails to timely 1014
submit the required data to the commission pursuant to this 1015
section. Administrative fines collected under this subsection 1016
shall be deposited into the Student Protection Fund. 1017
(5) Notwithstanding s. 1005.32(3), the commission shall 1018
have the authority to require licensed institutions to provide 1019
institutional, graduate, and student data through reasonable 1020
data collection efforts as required or necessitated by statute 1021
or rule. 1022
Section 12. Paragraph (p) is added to subsection (1) of 1023
section 1005.22, Florida Statutes, to read: 1024
1005.22 Powers and duties of commission. — 1025
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(1) The commission shall: 1026
(p) Have the power, within its respective regulatory 1027
jurisdiction, to examine and investigate the affairs of every 1028
person, entity, or independent postsecondary institution in 1029
order to determine whether the person, entity, or independent 1030
postsecondary institution is operating in accordance with the 1031
provisions of this chapter or has been or is engaged in any 1032
unfair or deceptive act or practice prohibited by s. 1005.04. 1033
Section 13. Subsections (6) and (7) of section 1005.31, 1034
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (7) and (8), 1035
respectively, subsections (2) and (8) are amended, a nd a new 1036
subsection (6) is added to that section, to read: 1037
1005.31 Licensure of institutions. — 1038
(2) The commission shall develop minimum standards by 1039
which to evaluate institutions for licensure. These standards 1040
must include, at a minimum, at least the institution's name, 1041
financial stability, purpose, administrative organization, 1042
admissions and recruitment, educational programs and curricula, 1043
retention and, completion, including a retention and completion 1044
management plan, career placement, faculty, learn ing resources, 1045
student personnel services, physical plant and facilities, 1046
publications, and disclosure statements about the status of the 1047
institution with respect to professional certification and 1048
licensure. The commission may adopt rules to ensure that 1049
institutions licensed under this section meet these standards in 1050
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ways that are appropriate to achieve the stated intent of this 1051
chapter, including provisions for nontraditional or distance 1052
education programs and delivery. 1053
(a) The standard relating to admis sions and recruitment 1054
shall include, but is not limited to, requirements for 1055
verification of high school graduation, high school equivalency, 1056
or qualifying scores on an ability -to-benefit test. 1057
(b) The commission may require a licensed institution to 1058
submit a management plan, prohibit a licensed institution from 1059
enrolling new students in the institution or a program of the 1060
institution, or limit the number of students in a program at a 1061
licensed institution, based upon the institution's performance 1062
on the licensure standards or criteria established pursuant to 1063
this chapter; the placement of the institution or a program of 1064
the institution on probation or the imposition of other adverse 1065
actions by the commission, an accrediting agency, or other 1066
regulatory agency, including the United States Department of 1067
Education; or similar circumstances that leave the institution 1068
unable to meet the needs of students or prospective students. 1069
(6) The commission may establish, by rule, performance 1070
benchmarks to identify high -performing institutions licensed by 1071
the commission. 1072
(8) An institution may not conduct a program unless 1073
specific authority is granted in its license. 1074
Section 14. Section 1005.335, Florida Statutes, is created 1075
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to read: 1076
1005.335 Accreditation require ments and programmatic 1077
approval.— 1078
(1) All programs offered by a licensed institution must be 1079
disclosed to the commission, including, but not limited to, 1080
avocational programs, examination preparation programs, contract 1081
training programs, continuing educat ion, or professional 1082
development programs. 1083
(2) An institution must obtain institutional accreditation 1084
prior to obtaining approval from the commission to offer a 1085
prelicensure professional nursing program. 1086
(3) The commission shall adopt rules to implement this 1087
section. 1088
Section 15. Subsection (10) is added to section 1006.09, 1089
Florida Statutes, to read: 1090
1006.09 Duties of school principal relating to student 1091
discipline and school safety. — 1092
(10) Any search of a student's personal belongings, 1093
including a purse, backpack, or bookbag, must be conducted 1094
discreetly to maintain the privacy of the student's personal 1095
items within such belongings. Personal items that are not 1096
prohibited on school grounds must be immediately returned to the 1097
student's personal belongings. 1098
Section 16. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 1099
1006.13, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1100
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1006.13 Policy of zero tolerance for crime and 1101
victimization.— 1102
(2) Each district school board shall adopt a policy of 1103
zero tolerance that: 1104
(d) Minimizes the victimization of students, staff, or 1105
volunteers, including taking all steps necessary to protect the 1106
victim of any violent act crime from any further victimization. 1107
In a disciplinary action, there is a rebuttable presumption th at 1108
the actions of a student who intervened, using only the amount 1109
of force necessary, to stop a violent act against a student, 1110
staff, or volunteer were necessary to restore or maintain the 1111
safety of others. 1112
Section 17. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) o f section 1113
1006.148, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1114
1006.148 Dating violence and abuse prohibited. — 1115
(1) Each district school board shall adopt and implement a 1116
dating violence and abuse policy. The policy shall: 1117
(c) Define dating violence and ab use and provide for a 1118
teen dating violence and abuse component in the health education 1119
curriculum, according to s. 1003.42(2)(o)2. s. 1003.42(2)(n)2., 1120
with emphasis on prevention education. 1121
Section 18. Subsections (1), (2), and (5) of section 1122
1007.27, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (9) is 1123
added to that section, to read: 1124
1007.27 Articulated acceleration mechanisms. — 1125
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(1)(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that a variety 1126
of articulated acceleration mechanisms be available for 1127
secondary and postsecondary students attending public 1128
educational institutions. It is intended that articulated 1129
acceleration serve to shorten the time necessary for a student 1130
to complete the requirements associated with the conference of a 1131
high school diploma and a postsecondary degree, broaden the 1132
scope of curricular options available to students, or increase 1133
the depth of study available for a particular subject. 1134
Articulated acceleration mechanisms shall include, but are not 1135
limited to, dual enrollment and early admission as provided for 1136
in s. 1007.271, advanced placement, credit by examination, the 1137
College Board Advanced Placement Program, the International 1138
Baccalaureate Program, and the Advanced International 1139
Certificate of Education Program. Credit earned throu gh the 1140
Florida Virtual School shall provide additional opportunities 1141
for early graduation and acceleration. Students of Florida 1142
public secondary schools enrolled pursuant to this subsection 1143
shall be deemed authorized users of the state -funded electronic 1144
library resources that are licensed for Florida College System 1145
institutions and state universities by the Florida Postsecondary 1146
Academic Library Network. Verification of eligibility shall be 1147
in accordance with rules established by the State Board of 1148
Education and regulations established by the Board of Governors 1149
and processes implemented by Florida College System institutions 1150
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and state universities. 1151
(b) The State Board of Education and the Board of 1152
Governors shall identify Florida College System institution s and 1153
state universities to develop courses that align with s. 1007.25 1154
for students in secondary education and provide the training 1155
required under s. 1007.35(6). 1156
(2)(a) The Department of Education shall annually identify 1157
and publish the minimum scores, m aximum credit, and course or 1158
courses for which credit is to be awarded for each course 1159
developed under paragraph (1)(b), College Level Examination 1160
Program (CLEP) subject examination, College Board Advanced 1161
Placement Program examination, Advanced Internatio nal 1162
Certificate of Education examination, International 1163
Baccalaureate examination, Excelsior College subject 1164
examination, Defense Activity for Non -Traditional Education 1165
Support (DANTES) subject standardized test, and Defense Language 1166
Proficiency Test (DLPT ). 1167
(b) The department may partner with an independent third -1168
party testing or assessment organization to develop assessments 1169
that measure competencies consistent with the required course 1170
competencies identified by the Articulation Coordinating 1171
Committee for general education core courses under paragraph 1172
(1)(b). Postsecondary credit shall be limited to students who 1173
achieve a minimum score as established in this subsection. 1174
(c) The department shall use student performance data in 1175
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subsequent postsecondary courses to determine the appropriate 1176
examination scores and courses for which credit is to be 1177
granted. Minimum scores may vary by subject area based on 1178
available performance data. In addition, the department shall 1179
identify such courses in the general educa tion core curriculum 1180
of each state university and Florida College System institution. 1181
(5) Advanced courses include placement shall be the 1182
enrollment of an eligible secondary student in a course offered 1183
through the Advanced Placement Program administered by the 1184
College Board or a course that prepares students for assessments 1185
developed under paragraph (2)(b) . Postsecondary credit for an 1186
advanced course or advanced placement course shall be limited to 1187
students who score a minimum of 3, on a 5 -point scale, on the 1188
corresponding Advanced Placement Examination or at least the 1189
minimum score on an assessment identified in subsection (2) . The 1190
specific courses for which students receive such credit shall be 1191
identified in the statewide articulation agreement required by 1192
s. 1007.23(1). Students of Florida public secondary schools 1193
enrolled pursuant to this subsection shall be exempt from the 1194
payment of any fees for administration of the examination 1195
regardless of whether or not the student achieves a passing 1196
score on the examination. 1197
(9) The department, in consultation with the Board of 1198
Governors, shall issue a report to the Legislature by January 1, 1199
2024, on the alignment between acceleration mechanisms available 1200
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to secondary students and student success at the postseco ndary 1201
level. At a minimum, the report must explain how: 1202
(a) Acceleration mechanisms align to secondary completion 1203
and rates of success. 1204
(b) Bonuses provided to classroom teachers for the 1205
completion or passage of acceleration courses by students impact 1206
school quality and performance. 1207
(c) Acceleration mechanisms align to postsecondary 1208
completion rates. 1209
(d) Acceleration course offerings align with general 1210
education core courses and reduce the amount of time needed for 1211
students to complete a postsecon dary degree. 1212
(e) To improve acceptance of postsecondary credit earned 1213
through acceleration courses through agreements with other 1214
states. 1215
Section 19. Subsection (14) of section 1007.271, Florida 1216
Statutes, is amended to read: 1217
1007.271 Dual enrollment programs.— 1218
(14) The Department of Education shall approve any course 1219
for inclusion in the dual enrollment program that is age and 1220
developmentally appropriate and contained within the statewide 1221
course numbering system. However, developmental education and 1222
physical education and other courses that focus on the physical 1223
execution of a skill rather than the intellectual attributes of 1224
the activity, may not be so approv ed but must be evaluated 1225
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individually for potential inclusion in the dual enrollment 1226
program. This subsection may not be construed to mean that an 1227
independent postsecondary institution eligible for inclusion in 1228
a dual enrollment or early admission program pursuant to s. 1229
1011.62 must participate in the statewide course numbering 1230
system developed pursuant to s. 1007.24 to participate in a dual 1231
enrollment program. 1232
Section 20. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) and subsection 1233
(6) of section 1007.35, Florida St atutes, are amended to read: 1234
1007.35 Florida Partnership for Minority and 1235
Underrepresented Student Achievement. — 1236
(5) Each public high school, including, but not limited 1237
to, schools and alternative sites and centers of the Department 1238
of Juvenile Justice, shall provide for the administration of the 1239
Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test 1240
(PSAT/NMSQT), or the PreACT to all enrolled 10th grade students. 1241
However, a written notice shall be provided to each parent which 1242
must include the oppo rtunity to exempt his or her child from 1243
taking the PSAT/NMSQT or the PreACT. 1244
(a) Test results will provide each high school with a 1245
database of student assessment data which certified school 1246
counselors will use to identify students who are prepared or wh o 1247
need additional work to be prepared to enroll and be successful 1248
in AP courses or other advanced high school courses. 1249
(6) The partnership shall: 1250
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(a) Provide teacher training and professional development 1251
to enable teachers of AP or other advanced courses to have the 1252
necessary content knowledge and instructional skills to prepare 1253
students for success on assessments developed pursuant to s. 1254
1007.27(2) AP or other advanced course examinations and mastery 1255
of postsecondary general education core courses course content. 1256
(b) Provide to middle school teachers and administrators 1257
professional development that will enable them to educate middle 1258
school students at the level necessary to prepare the students 1259
to enter high school ready to participate in advanced cou rses. 1260
(c) Provide teacher training and materials that are 1261
aligned with the state standards Next Generation Sunshine State 1262
Standards and are consistent with best theory and practice 1263
regarding multiple learning styles and research on learning, 1264
instructional strategies, instructional design, and classroom 1265
assessment. Curriculum materials must be based on current, 1266
accepted, and essential academic knowledge. 1267
(d) Provide assessment of individual strengths and 1268
weaknesses as related to potential success in AP or other 1269
advanced courses and readiness for college. 1270
(e) Provide college entrance exam preparation through a 1271
variety of means that may include, but are not limited to, 1272
training teachers to provide courses at schools; training 1273
community organizations to pr ovide courses at community centers, 1274
faith-based organizations, and businesses; and providing online 1275
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courses. 1276
(f) Consider ways to incorporate Florida College System 1277
institutions in the mission of preparing all students for 1278
postsecondary success. 1279
(g) Provide a plan for communication and coordination of 1280
efforts with the Florida Virtual School's provision of online AP 1281
or other advanced courses. 1282
(h) Work with school districts to identify minority and 1283
underrepresented students for participation in AP or other 1284
advanced courses. 1285
(i) Work with school districts to provide information to 1286
students and parents that explains available opportunities for 1287
students to take AP and other advanced courses and that explains 1288
enrollment procedures that students must follow to enroll in 1289
such courses. Such information must also explain the value of 1290
such courses as they relate to: 1291
1. Preparing the student for postsecondary level 1292
coursework. 1293
2. Enabling the student to gain access to postsecondary 1294
education opportunities. 1295
3. Qualifying for scholarships and other financial aid 1296
opportunities. 1297
(j) Provide information to students, parents, teachers, 1298
counselors, administrators, districts, Florida College System 1299
institutions, and state universities regarding PSAT/NMSQT or the 1300
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PreACT administration, including, but not limited to: 1301
1. Test administration dates and times. 1302
2. That participation in the PSAT/NMSQT or the PreACT is 1303
open to all 10th grade students. 1304
3. The value of such tests in providing diagnostic 1305
feedback on student skills. 1306
4. The value of student scores in predicting the 1307
probability of success on AP or other advanced course 1308
examinations. 1309
(k) Cooperate with the department to provide information 1310
to administrators, teachers, and counselors, whenever possible, 1311
about partnership activities, opportunities, and priorities. 1312
(l) Partner with the Florida College System institutions 1313
and state universities identified by the State Board of 1314
Education and Board of Governors pursuant to s. 1007.25(3) to 1315
develop advanced cou rses and provide teacher training. 1316
Section 21. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section 1317
1008.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1318
1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools. — 1319
(3) STATEWIDE, STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM. —The 1320
Commissioner of Education shall design and implement a 1321
statewide, standardized assessment program aligned to the core 1322
curricular content established in the state academic standards. 1323
The commissioner also must develop or select and implement a 1324
common battery of assessment tools that will be used in all 1325
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juvenile justice education programs in the state. These tools 1326
must accurately measure the core curricular content established 1327
in the state academic standards. Participation in the assessment 1328
program is mandatory for all school districts and all students 1329
attending public schools, including adult students seeking a 1330
standard high school diploma under s. 1003.4282 and students in 1331
Department of Juvenile Justice education programs, except as 1332
otherwise provided by law. I f a student does not participate in 1333
the assessment program, the school district must notify the 1334
student's parent and provide the parent with information 1335
regarding the implications of such nonparticipation. The 1336
statewide, standardized assessment program sha ll be designed and 1337
implemented as follows: 1338
(c) Nationally recognized high school assessments. — Each 1339
school district shall, by the 2023-2024 2021-2022 school year 1340
and subject to appropriation, select either the SAT , or ACT, or 1341
Classic Learning Test for districtwide administration to each 1342
public school student in grade 11, including students attending 1343
public high schools, alternative schools, and Department of 1344
Juvenile Justice education programs. 1345
Section 22. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 1346
1008.34, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1347
1008.34 School grading system; school report cards; 1348
district grade.— 1349
(3) DESIGNATION OF SCHOOL GRADES. — 1350
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(b)1. Beginning with the 2014 -2015 school year, A school's 1351
grade shall be based on the following co mponents, each worth 100 1352
points: 1353
a. The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, 1354
standardized assessments in English Language Arts under s. 1355
1008.22(3). 1356
b. The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, 1357
standardized assessments in math ematics under s. 1008.22(3). 1358
c. The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, 1359
standardized assessments in science under s. 1008.22(3). 1360
d. The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, 1361
standardized assessments in social studies under s . 1008.22(3). 1362
e. The percentage of eligible students who make Learning 1363
Gains in English Language Arts as measured by statewide, 1364
standardized assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3). 1365
f. The percentage of eligible students who make Learning 1366
Gains in mathematics as measured by statewide, standardized 1367
assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3). 1368
g. The percentage of eligible students in the lowest 25 1369
percent in English Language Arts, as identified by prior year 1370
performance on statewide, standardized assessments, who make 1371
Learning Gains as measured by statewide, standardized English 1372
Language Arts assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3). 1373
h. The percentage of eligible students in the lowest 25 1374
percent in mathematics, as identified by prior year p erformance 1375
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on statewide, standardized assessments, who make Learning Gains 1376
as measured by statewide, standardized Mathematics assessments 1377
administered under s. 1008.22(3). 1378
i. For schools comprised of middle grades 6 through 8 or 1379
grades 7 and 8, the perce ntage of eligible students passing high 1380
school level statewide, standardized end -of-course assessments 1381
or attaining national industry certifications identified in the 1382
CAPE Industry Certification Funding List pursuant to state board 1383
rule. 1384
j. Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, for schools 1385
comprised of grade levels that include grade 3, the percentage 1386
of eligible students who score an achievement level 3 or higher 1387
on the grade 3 statewide, standardized English Language Arts 1388
assessment administered under s. 1008.22(3). 1389
1390
In calculating Learning Gains for the components listed in sub -1391
subparagraphs e.-h., the State Board of Education shall require 1392
that learning growth toward achievement levels 3, 4, and 5 is 1393
demonstrated by students who scored below each of those levels 1394
in the prior year. In calculating the components in sub -1395
subparagraphs a.-d., the state board shall include the 1396
performance of English language learners only if they have been 1397
enrolled in a school in the United States for more than 2 years. 1398
2. For a school comprised of grades 9, 10, 11, and 12, or 1399
grades 10, 11, and 12, the school's grade shall also be based on 1400
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the following components, each worth 100 points: 1401
a. The 4-year high school graduation rate of the school as 1402
defined by state board r ule. 1403
b. The percentage of students who were eligible to earn 1404
college and career credit through an assessment identified 1405
pursuant to s. 1007.27(2), College Board Advanced Placement 1406
examinations, International Baccalaureate examinations, dual 1407
enrollment courses, including career dual enrollment courses 1408
resulting in the completion of 300 or more clock hours during 1409
high school which are approved by the state board as meeting the 1410
requirements of s. 1007.271, or Advanced International 1411
Certificate of Education e xaminations; who, at any time during 1412
high school, earned national industry certification identified 1413
in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List, pursuant to 1414
rules adopted by the state board; or , beginning with the 2022 -1415
2023 school year, who earned an Armed Services Qualification 1416
Test score that falls within Category II or higher on the Armed 1417
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and earned a minimum of two 1418
credits in Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps courses from 1419
the same branch of the United State s Armed Forces. 1420
Section 23. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) and paragraph 1421
(c) of subsection (6) of section 1009.531, Florida Statutes, are 1422
amended to read: 1423
1009.531 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program; 1424
student eligibility requirements for init ial awards.— 1425
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(3) For purposes of calculating the grade point average to 1426
be used in determining initial eligibility for a Florida Bright 1427
Futures Scholarship, the department shall assign additional 1428
weights to grades earned in the following courses: 1429
(a) Courses identified in the course code directory as 1430
Advanced Placement, pre -International Baccalaureate, 1431
International Baccalaureate, International General Certificate 1432
of Secondary Education (pre -AICE), or Advanced International 1433
Certificate of Education , or advanced courses developed under s. 1434
1007.27(1)(b). 1435
1436
The department may assign additional weights to courses, other 1437
than those described in paragraphs (a) and (b), that are 1438
identified by the Department of Education as containing rigorous 1439
academic curriculum and performance standards. The additional 1440
weight assigned to a course pursuant to this subsection shall 1441
not exceed 0.5 per course. The weighted system shall be 1442
developed and distributed to all high schools in the state. The 1443
department may determine a stud ent's eligibility status during 1444
the senior year before graduation and may inform the student of 1445
the award at that time. 1446
(6) 1447
(c) To ensure that the required examination scores 1448
represent top student performance and are equivalent between the 1449
SAT, and ACT, and Classic Learning Test (CLT) , the department 1450
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shall develop a method for determining the required examination 1451
scores which incorporates all of the following: 1452
1. The minimum required SAT score for the Florida Academic 1453
Scholarship must be set no lower t han the 89th national 1454
percentile on the SAT. The department may adjust the required 1455
SAT score only if the required score drops below the 89th 1456
national percentile, and any such adjustment must be applied to 1457
the bottom of the SAT score range that is concorda nt to the ACT 1458
and CLT. 1459
2. The minimum required SAT score for the Florida 1460
Medallion Scholarship must be set no lower than the 75th 1461
national percentile on the SAT. The department may adjust the 1462
required SAT score only if the required score drops below the 1463
75th national percentile, and any such adjustment must be made 1464
to the bottom of the SAT score range that is concordant to the 1465
ACT and CLT. 1466
3. The required ACT and CLT scores must be made concordant 1467
to the required SAT scores, using the latest published national 1468
concordance table developed jointly by the College Board , and 1469
ACT, Inc., and Classic Learning Initiatives. 1470
Section 24. Subsection (1) of section 1009.534, F lorida 1471
Statutes, is amended to read: 1472
1009.534 Florida Academic Scholars award. — 1473
(1) A student is eligible for a Florida Academic Scholars 1474
award if he or she meets the general eligibility requirements 1475
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for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program a nd: 1476
(a) Has achieved a 3.5 weighted grade point average as 1477
calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or its equivalent, in high 1478
school courses that are designated by the State Board of 1479
Education as college -preparatory academic courses and has 1480
attained at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)(a) on 1481
the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic 1482
Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered 1483
Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, 1484
or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 1485
(b) Has attended a home education program according to s. 1486
1002.41 during grades 11 and 12, has completed the International 1487
Baccalaureate curriculum but failed to earn the International 1488
Baccalaureate Diploma, or has comp leted the Advanced 1489
International Certificate of Education curriculum but failed to 1490
earn the Advanced International Certificate of Education 1491
Diploma, and has attained at least the score required under s. 1492
1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and quantitativ e parts of 1493
the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or 1494
the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College 1495
Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT 1496
Assessment Program; 1497
(c) Has been awarded an International Baccala ureate 1498
Diploma from the International Baccalaureate Office or an 1499
Advanced International Certificate of Education Diploma from the 1500
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University of Cambridge International Examinations Office; 1501
(d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement 1502
programs of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a 1503
scholar or finalist; or 1504
(e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic 1505
Recognition Program as a scholar recipient. 1506
1507
The student must complete a program of volunteer service or, 1508
beginning with a high school student graduating in the 2022 -2023 1509
academic year and thereafter, paid work, as approved by the 1510
district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic school, 1511
or the Department of Education for home education program 1512
students, which must include 100 hou rs of volunteer service , or 1513
paid work, or a combination of both. Eligible paid work 1514
completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be included in the 1515
student's total of paid work hours . The student may identify a 1516
social or civic issue or a professional area th at interests him 1517
or her and develop a plan for his or her personal involvement in 1518
addressing the issue or learning about the area. The student 1519
must, through papers or other presentations, evaluate and 1520
reflect upon his or her volunteer service or paid work 1521
experience. Such volunteer service or paid work may include, but 1522
is not limited to, a business or governmental internship, work 1523
for a nonprofit community service organization, or activities on 1524
behalf of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer 1525
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service or paid work must be documented in writing, and the 1526
document must be signed by the student, the student's parent or 1527
guardian, and a representative of the organization for which the 1528
student performed the volunteer service or paid work. 1529
Section 25. Subsection (1) of section 1009.535, Florida 1530
Statutes, is amended to read: 1531
1009.535 Florida Medallion Scholars award. — 1532
(1) A student is eligible for a Florida Medallion Scholars 1533
award if he or she meets the general eligibility requirements 1534
for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program and: 1535
(a) Has achieved a weighted grade point average of 3.0 as 1536
calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or the equivalent, in high 1537
school courses that are designated by the State Board of 1538
Education as college -preparatory academic courses and has 1539
attained at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)(b) on 1540
the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic 1541
Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered 1542
Scholastic Assessment Test of the Col lege Entrance Examination, 1543
or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 1544
(b) Has completed the International Baccalaureate 1545
curriculum but failed to earn the International Baccalaureate 1546
Diploma or has completed the Advanced International Certifica te 1547
of Education curriculum but failed to earn the Advanced 1548
International Certificate of Education Diploma, and has attained 1549
at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)(b) on the 1550
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combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic 1551
Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered 1552
Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, 1553
or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 1554
(c) Has attended a home education program according to s. 1555
1002.41 during grades 11 and 12 and has attained at least the 1556
score required under s. 1009.531(6)(b) on the combined verbal 1557
and quantitative parts of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the 1558
Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered Scholastic 1559
Assessment Test of the College Entrance Exam ination, or an 1560
equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 1561
(d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement 1562
program of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a 1563
scholar or finalist but has not completed the program of 1564
volunteer service or pa id work required under s. 1009.534; or 1565
(e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic 1566
Recognition Program as a scholar, but has not completed the 1567
program of volunteer service or paid work required under s. 1568
1009.534. 1569
1570
A high school student must complete a program at least 75 hours 1571
of volunteer service or, beginning with a high school student 1572
graduating in the 2022 -2023 academic year and thereafter, 100 1573
hours of paid work approved by the district school board, the 1574
administrators of a nonpublic school, or the Department of 1575
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Education for home education program students , which must 1576
include 75 hours of volunteer service, 100 hours of paid work, 1577
or 100 hours of a combination of both. Eligible paid work 1578
completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be included in a 1579
student's total of required paid work hours . The student may 1580
identify a social or civic issue or a professional area that 1581
interests him or her and develop a plan for his or her personal 1582
involvement in addressing the issue or learning about the area. 1583
The student must, through papers or other presentations, 1584
evaluate and reflect upon his or her volunteer service or paid 1585
work experience. Such volunteer service or paid work may 1586
include, but is not limited to, a business or governmental 1587
internship, work for a no nprofit community service organization, 1588
or activities on behalf of a candidate for public office. The 1589
hours of volunteer service or paid work must be documented in 1590
writing, and the document must be signed by the student, the 1591
student's parent or guardian, a nd a representative of the 1592
organization for which the student performed the volunteer 1593
service or paid work. 1594
Section 26. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) and paragraph 1595
(b) of subsection (2) of section 1009.536, Florida Statutes, are 1596
amended to read: 1597
1009.536 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars and Florida 1598
Gold Seal CAPE Scholars awards. —The Florida Gold Seal Vocational 1599
Scholars award and the Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars award are 1600
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created within the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program to 1601
recognize and reward academic achievement and career preparation 1602
by high school students who wish to continue their education. 1603
(1) A student is eligible for a Florida Gold Seal 1604
Vocational Scholars award if he or she meets the general 1605
eligibility requirements for the Florida Bright Futures 1606
Scholarship Program and: 1607
(e) Completes at least 30 hours of volunteer service or, 1608
beginning with high school students graduating in the 2022 -2023 1609
academic year and thereafter, 100 hours of paid work, approved 1610
by the district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic 1611
school, or the Department of Education for home education 1612
program students, or 100 hours of a combination of both. 1613
Eligible paid work completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be 1614
included in a student's t otal of required paid work hours . The 1615
student may identify a social or civic issue or a professional 1616
area that interests him or her and develop a plan for his or her 1617
personal involvement in addressing the issue or learning about 1618
the area. The student must, through papers or other 1619
presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her volunteer 1620
service or paid work experience. Such volunteer service or paid 1621
work may include, but is not limited to, a business or 1622
governmental internship, work for a nonprofit comm unity service 1623
organization, or activities on behalf of a candidate for public 1624
office. The hours of volunteer service or paid work must be 1625
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documented in writing, and the document must be signed by the 1626
student, the student's parent or guardian, and a represe ntative 1627
of the organization for which the student performed the 1628
volunteer service or paid work. 1629
(2) A student is eligible for a Florida Gold Seal CAPE 1630
Scholars award if he or she meets the general eligibility 1631
requirements for the Florida Bright Futures S cholarship Program, 1632
and the student: 1633
(b) Completes at least 30 hours of volunteer service or, 1634
beginning with a high school student graduating in the 2022 -2023 1635
academic year and thereafter, 100 hours of paid work, approved 1636
by the district school board, th e administrators of a nonpublic 1637
school, or the Department of Education for home education 1638
program students, or 100 hours of a combination of both. 1639
Eligible paid work completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be 1640
included in a student's total required paid work hours. The 1641
student may identify a social or civic issue or a professional 1642
area that interests him or her and develop a plan for his or her 1643
personal involvement in addressing the issue or learning about 1644
the area. The student must, through papers or oth er 1645
presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her experience. 1646
Such volunteer service or paid work may include, but is not 1647
limited to, a business or governmental internship, work for a 1648
nonprofit community service organization, or activities on 1649
behalf of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer 1650
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service or paid work must be documented in writing, and the 1651
document must be signed by the student, the student's parent or 1652
guardian, and a representative of the organization for which the 1653
student performed the volunteer service or paid work. 1654
Section 27. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 1655
1012.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1656
1012.22 Public school personnel; powers and duties of the 1657
district school board. —The district school boar d shall: 1658
(1) Designate positions to be filled, prescribe 1659
qualifications for those positions, and provide for the 1660
appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and dismissal 1661
of employees as follows, subject to the requirements of this 1662
chapter: 1663
(a) Positions, qualifications, and appointments. — 1664
1. The district school board shall act upon written 1665
recommendations submitted by the district school superintendent 1666
for positions to be filled, for minimum qualifications for 1667
personnel for the various positio ns, and for the persons 1668
nominated to fill such positions. 1669
2. The district school board may reject for good cause any 1670
employee nominated. 1671
3. If the third nomination by the district school 1672
superintendent for any position is rejected for good cause, if 1673
the district school superintendent fails to submit a nomination 1674
for initial employment within a reasonable time as prescribed by 1675
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the district school board, or if the district school 1676
superintendent fails to submit a nomination for reemployment 1677
within the time prescribed by law, the district school board may 1678
proceed on its own motion to fill such position. 1679
4. The district school board's decision to reject a 1680
person's nomination does not give that person a right of action 1681
to sue over the rejection and may not b e used as a cause of 1682
action by the nominated employee. 1683
5. The district school board may review and reappoint any 1684
member of the district executive staff. This provision does not 1685
apply to a school district with an elected superintendent. 1686
Section 28. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 1687
1012.34, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1688
1012.34 Personnel evaluation procedures and criteria. — 1689
(3) EVALUATION PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA. —Instructional 1690
personnel and school administrator performance evaluati ons must 1691
be based upon the performance of students assigned to their 1692
classrooms or schools, as provided in this section. Pursuant to 1693
this section, a school district's performance evaluation system 1694
is not limited to basing unsatisfactory performance of 1695
instructional personnel and school administrators solely upon 1696
student performance, but may include other criteria to evaluate 1697
instructional personnel and school administrators' performance, 1698
or any combination of student performance and other criteria. 1699
Evaluation procedures and criteria must comply with, but are not 1700
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limited to, the following: 1701
(a) A performance evaluation must be conducted for each 1702
employee at least once a year, except that a classroom teacher, 1703
as defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a), excluding substitu te teachers, 1704
who is newly hired by the district school board must be observed 1705
and evaluated at least twice in the first year of teaching in 1706
the school district. The performance evaluation must be based 1707
upon sound educational principles and contemporary res earch in 1708
effective educational practices. The evaluation criteria must 1709
include: 1710
1. Performance of students. —At least one-third of a 1711
performance evaluation must be based upon data and indicators of 1712
student performance, as determined by each school distric t. This 1713
portion of the evaluation must include growth or achievement 1714
data of the teacher's students or, for a school administrator, 1715
the students attending the school over the course of at least 3 1716
years. If less than 3 years of data are available, the years for 1717
which data are available must be used. The proportion of growth 1718
or achievement data may be determined by instructional 1719
assignment. 1720
2. Instructional practice. —For instructional personnel, at 1721
least one-third of the performance evaluation must be based upon 1722
instructional practice. Evaluation criteria used when annually 1723
observing classroom teachers, as defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a), 1724
excluding substitute teachers, must include indicators based 1725
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upon each of the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices adopted 1726
by the State Board of Education. For instructional personnel who 1727
are not classroom teachers, evaluation criteria must be based 1728
upon indicators of the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices 1729
and may include specific job expectations related to student 1730
support. This section does not preclude a school administrator 1731
from visiting and observing classroom teachers throughout the 1732
school year for purposes of providing mentorship, training, 1733
instructional feedback, or professional learning. 1734
3. Instructional leader ship.—For school administrators, at 1735
least one-third of the performance evaluation must be based on 1736
instructional leadership. Evaluation criteria for instructional 1737
leadership must include indicators based upon each of the 1738
leadership standards adopted by the State Board of Education 1739
under s. 1012.986, including performance measures related to the 1740
effectiveness of classroom teachers in the school, the 1741
administrator's appropriate use of evaluation criteria and 1742
procedures, recruitment and retention of effective and highly 1743
effective classroom teachers, improvement in the percentage of 1744
instructional personnel evaluated at the highly effective or 1745
effective level, and other leadership practices that result in 1746
student learning growth. The system may include a means to give 1747
parents and instructional personnel an opportunity to provide 1748
input into the administrator's performance evaluation. 1749
4. Other indicators of performance. —For instructional 1750
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personnel and school administrators, the remainder of a 1751
performance evaluatio n may include, but is not limited to, 1752
professional and job responsibilities as recommended by the 1753
State Board of Education or identified by the district school 1754
board and, for instructional personnel, peer reviews, 1755
objectively reliable survey information fr om students and 1756
parents based on teaching practices that are consistently 1757
associated with higher student achievement, and other valid and 1758
reliable measures of instructional practice. 1759
Section 29. Subsections (9) through (16) of section 1760
1012.56, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (10) 1761
through (17), respectively, subsection (1), paragraphs (d), (g), 1762
and (i) of subsection (2) and subsections (6), (7), and (8) are 1763
amended, and a new subsection (9) is added to that section, to 1764
read: 1765
1012.56 Educator certification requirements. — 1766
(1) APPLICATION.—Each person seeking certification 1767
pursuant to this chapter shall submit a completed application 1768
containing the applicant's social security number to the 1769
Department of Education and remit the fee require d pursuant to 1770
s. 1012.59 and rules of the State Board of Education. Pursuant 1771
to the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 1772
Reconciliation Act of 1996, each party is required to provide 1773
his or her social security number in accordance with this 1774
section. Disclosure of social security numbers obtained through 1775
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this requirement is limited to the purpose of administration of 1776
the Title IV-D program of the Social Security Act for child 1777
support enforcement. 1778
(a) Pursuant to s. 120.60, the department sh all issue 1779
within 90 calendar days after receipt of the completed 1780
application a professional certificate to a qualifying applicant 1781
covering the classification, level, and area for which the 1782
applicant is deemed qualified and a document explaining the 1783
requirements for renewal of the professional certificate. 1784
(b) The department shall issue a temporary certificate to 1785
a qualifying applicant within 14 calendar days after receipt of 1786
a request from an employer with a professional education 1787
competence demonstration program pursuant to paragraph 1788
paragraphs (6)(f) and subsection (9) (8)(b). The temporary 1789
certificate must cover the classification, level, and area for 1790
which the applicant is deemed qualified. The department shall 1791
electronically notify the applicant's emp loyer that the 1792
temporary certificate has been issued and provide the applicant 1793
an official statement of status of eligibility at the time the 1794
certificate is issued. 1795
(c) Pursuant to s. 120.60, the department shall issue 1796
within 90 calendar days after recei pt of the completed 1797
application, if an applicant does not meet the requirements for 1798
either certificate, an official statement of status of 1799
eligibility. 1800
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1801
The statement of status of eligibility must be provided 1802
electronically and must advise the applicant of any 1803
qualifications that must be completed to qualify for 1804
certification. Each method by which an applicant can complete 1805
the qualifications for a professional certificate must be 1806
included in the statement of status of eligibility. Each 1807
statement of status o f eligibility is valid for 5 3 years after 1808
its date of issuance, except as provided in paragraph (2)(d). 1809
(2) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA. —To be eligible to seek 1810
certification, a person must: 1811
(d) Submit to background screening in accordance with 1812
subsection (11) (10). If the background screening indicates a 1813
criminal history or if the applicant acknowledges a criminal 1814
history, the applicant's records shall be referred to the 1815
investigative section in the Department of Education for review 1816
and determination of elig ibility for certification. If the 1817
applicant fails to provide the necessary documentation requested 1818
by the department within 90 days after the date of the receipt 1819
of the certified mail request, the statement of eligibility and 1820
pending application shall beco me invalid. 1821
(g) Demonstrate mastery of general knowledge , pursuant to 1822
subsection (3), if the person serves as a classroom teacher 1823
pursuant to s. 1012.01(2)(a) . 1824
(i) Demonstrate mastery of professional preparation and 1825
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education competence, pursuant to su bsection (6), if the person 1826
serves as a classroom teacher or school administrator as 1827
classified in s. 1012.01(2)(a) and (3)(c), respectively . 1828
(6) MASTERY OF PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION AND EDUCATION 1829
COMPETENCE.—Acceptable means of demonstrating mastery of 1830
professional preparation and education competence are: 1831
(a) Successful completion of an approved teacher 1832
preparation program at a postsecondary educational institution 1833
within this state and achievement of a passing score on the 1834
professional education compe tency examination required by state 1835
board rule; 1836
(b) Successful completion of a teacher preparation program 1837
at a postsecondary educational institution outside Florida and 1838
achievement of a passing score on the professional education 1839
competency examination required by state board rule; 1840
(c) Documentation of a valid professional standard 1841
teaching certificate issued by another state; 1842
(d) Documentation of a valid certificate issued by the 1843
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or a national 1844
educator credentialing board approved by the State Board of 1845
Education; 1846
(e) Documentation of two semesters of successful, full -1847
time or part-time teaching in a Florida College System 1848
institution, state university, or private college or university 1849
that awards an associate or higher degree and is an accredited 1850
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institution or an institution of higher education identified by 1851
the Department of Education as having a quality program and 1852
achievement of a passing score on the professional education 1853
competency examination required by state board rule; 1854
(f) Successful completion of professional preparation 1855
courses as specified in state board rule, successful completion 1856
of a professional preparation and education competence program 1857
pursuant to subsection (9) paragraph (8)(b), and achievement of 1858
a passing score on the professional education competency 1859
examination required by state board rule; 1860
(g) Successful completion of a professional learning 1861
development certification and education competency program, 1862
outlined in subsection (8) paragraph (8)(a); or 1863
(h) Successful completion of a competency -based 1864
certification program pursuant to s. 1004.85 and achievement of 1865
a passing score on the professional education competency 1866
examination required by rule of the State Board o f Education. 1867
1868
The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to implement this 1869
subsection by December 31, 2014 , including rules to approve 1870
specific teacher preparation programs that are not identified in 1871
this subsection which may be used to meet requiremen ts for 1872
mastery of professional preparation and education competence. 1873
(7) TYPES AND TERMS OF CERTIFICATION. — 1874
(a) The Department of Education shall issue a professional 1875
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certificate for a period not to exceed 5 years to any applicant 1876
who fulfills one of t he following: 1877
1. Meets all the applicable requirements outlined in 1878
subsection (2). 1879
2. For a professional certificate covering grades 6 1880
through 12: 1881
a. Meets the applicable requirements of paragraphs (2)(a) -1882
(h). 1883
b. Holds a master's or higher degree i n the area of 1884
science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. 1885
c. Teaches a high school course in the subject of the 1886
advanced degree. 1887
d. Is rated highly effective as determined by the 1888
teacher's performance evaluation under s. 1012.34, based in part 1889
on student performance as measured by a statewide, standardized 1890
assessment or an Advanced Placement, Advanced International 1891
Certificate of Education, or International Baccalaureate 1892
examination. 1893
e. Achieves a passing score on the Florida professional 1894
education competency examination required by state board rule. 1895
3. Meets the applicable requirements of paragraphs (2)(a) -1896
(h) and completes a professional learning certification 1897
preparation and education competence program approved by the 1898
department pursuant to paragraph (8)(b) (8)(c) or an educator 1899
preparation institute approved by the department pursuant to s. 1900
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1004.85. An applicant who completes one of these programs and is 1901
rated highly effective as determined by his or her performance 1902
evaluation under s. 1012 .34 is not required to take or achieve a 1903
passing score on the professional education competency 1904
examination in order to be awarded a professional certificate. 1905
(b) The department shall issue a temporary certificate to 1906
any applicant who: 1907
1. Completes the requirements outlined in paragraphs 1908
(2)(a)-(f) and completes the subject area content requirements 1909
specified in state board rule or demonstrates mastery of subject 1910
area knowledge pursuant to subsection (5) and holds an 1911
accredited degree or a degree approv ed by the Department of 1912
Education at the level required for the subject area 1913
specialization in state board rule; or 1914
2. For a subject area specialization for which the state 1915
board otherwise requires a bachelor's degree, documents 48 1916
months of active-duty military service with an honorable 1917
discharge or a medical separation; completes the requirements 1918
outlined in paragraphs (2)(a), (b), and (d) -(f); completes the 1919
subject area content requirements specified in state board rule 1920
or demonstrates mastery of subje ct area knowledge pursuant to 1921
subsection (5); and documents completion of 60 college credits 1922
with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 1923
scale, as provided by one or more accredited institutions of 1924
higher learning or a nonaccredited insti tution of higher 1925
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learning identified by the Department of Education as having a 1926
quality program resulting in a bachelor's degree or higher ; or. 1927
3. Is enrolled in a state -approved teacher preparation 1928
program under s. 1004.04; is actively completing the re quired 1929
program field experience or internship at a public school; 1930
completes the requirements outlined in paragraphs (2)(a), (b), 1931
(d), (e), and (f); completes the subject area content 1932
requirements specified in state board rule or demonstrates 1933
mastery of subject area knowledge pursuant to subsection (5); 1934
and documents completion of 60 college credits with a minimum 1935
cumulative grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, as 1936
provided by one or more accredited institutions of higher 1937
learning or a nonaccredited ins titution of higher learning 1938
identified by the Department of Education as having a quality 1939
program resulting in a bachelor's degree or higher. 1940
(c) The department shall issue one nonrenewable 2 -year 1941
temporary certificate and one nonrenewable 5 -year professional 1942
certificate to a qualified applicant who holds a bachelor's 1943
degree in the area of speech -language impairment to allow for 1944
completion of a master's degree program in speech -language 1945
impairment. 1946
(d) A person who is issued a temporary certificate unde r 1947
subparagraph (b)2. must be assigned a teacher mentor for a 1948
minimum of 2 school years after commencing employment. Each 1949
teacher mentor selected by the school district, charter school, 1950
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or charter management organization must: 1951
1. Hold a valid professional certificate issued pursuant 1952
to this section; 1953
2. Have earned at least 3 years of teaching experience in 1954
prekindergarten through grade 12; and 1955
3. Have earned an effective or highly effective rating on 1956
the prior year's performance evaluation under s. 101 2.34. 1957
(e)(e)1. A temporary certificate issued under subparagraph 1958
(b)1. is valid for 3 school fiscal years and is nonrenewable. 1959
2. A temporary certificate issued under subparagraph (b)2. 1960
is valid for 5 school fiscal years, is limited to a one -time 1961
issuance, and is nonrenewable. 1962
1963
At least 1 year before an individual's temporary certificate is 1964
set to expire, the department shall electronically notify the 1965
individual of the date on which his or her certificate will 1966
expire and provide a list of each method by which the 1967
qualifications for a professional certificate can be completed. 1968
The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to allow the 1969
department to extend the validity period of a temporar y 1970
certificate for 2 years when the requirements for the 1971
professional certificate were not completed due to the serious 1972
illness or injury of the applicant, the military service of an 1973
applicant's spouse, other extraordinary extenuating 1974
circumstances, or if t he certificateholder is rated highly 1975
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effective in the immediate prior year's performance evaluation 1976
pursuant to s. 1012.34 or has completed a 2 -year mentorship 1977
program pursuant to subsection (8). The department shall extend 1978
the temporary certificate upon a pproval by the Commissioner of 1979
Education. A written request for extension of the certificate 1980
shall be submitted by the district school superintendent, the 1981
governing authority of a university lab school, the governing 1982
authority of a state -supported school, or the governing 1983
authority of a private school. 1984
(8) PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DEVELOPMENT CERTIFICATION AND 1985
EDUCATION COMPETENCY PROGRAM.— 1986
(a) The Department of Education shall develop and each 1987
school district, charter school, and charter management 1988
organization may provide a cohesive competency -based 1989
professional learning development certification and education 1990
competency program by which instructional staff may satisfy the 1991
mastery of professional preparation and education competence 1992
requirements specified in subsection (6) and rules of the State 1993
Board of Education. Participants must hold a state -issued 1994
temporary certificate. A school district, charter school, or 1995
charter management organization that implements the program 1996
shall provide a competency -based certification program developed 1997
by the Department of Education or developed by the district, 1998
charter school, or charter management organization and approved 1999
by the Department of Education. These entities may collaborate 2000
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with other supporting agencies or educ ational entities for 2001
implementation. The program shall include the following: 2002
1. A minimum period of initial preparation before assuming 2003
duties as the teacher of record. 2004
2. An option for collaboration with other supporting 2005
agencies or educational entit ies for implementation. 2006
1.3. A teacher mentorship and induction component. 2007
a. Each individual selected by the district , charter 2008
school, or charter management organization as a mentor: 2009
(I) Must hold a valid professional certificate issued 2010
pursuant to this section; 2011
(II) Must have earned at least 3 years of teaching 2012
experience in prekindergarten through grade 12; 2013
(III) Must have completed specialized training in clinical 2014
supervision and participate in ongoing mentor training provided 2015
through the coordinated system of professional learning 2016
development under s. 1012.98(4) s. 1012.98(3)(e); 2017
(IV) Must have earned an effective or highly effective 2018
rating on the prior year's performance evaluation under s. 2019
1012.34; and 2020
(V) May be a peer evaluator under t he district's 2021
evaluation system approved under s. 1012.34. 2022
b. The teacher mentorship and induction component must, at 2023
a minimum, provide routine weekly opportunities for mentoring 2024
and induction activities, including common planning time, 2025
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ongoing professional learning as described in s. 1012.98 2026
development targeted to a teacher's needs, opportunities for a 2027
teacher to observe other teachers, co -teaching experiences, and 2028
reflection and followup discussions. Professional learning must 2029
meet the criteria establ ished in s. 1012.98(3). Mentorship and 2030
induction activities must be provided for an applicant's first 2031
year in the program and may be provided until the applicant 2032
attains his or her professional certificate in accordance with 2033
this section. A principal who is rated highly effective as 2034
determined by his or her performance evaluation under s. 1012.34 2035
must be provided flexibility in selecting professional 2036
development activities under this paragraph; however, the 2037
activities must be approved by the department as p art of the 2038
district's, charter school's, or charter management 2039
organization's program. 2040
2.4. An assessment of teaching performance aligned to the 2041
district's, charter school's, or charter management 2042
organization's system for personnel evaluation under s. 1012.34 2043
which provides for: 2044
a. An initial evaluation of each educator's competencies 2045
to determine an appropriate individualized professional learning 2046
development plan. 2047
b. A summative evaluation to assure succes sful completion 2048
of the program. 2049
3.5. Professional education preparation content knowledge, 2050
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which must be included in the mentoring and induction activities 2051
under subparagraph 1. 3., that includes, but is not limited to, 2052
the following: 2053
a. The state academic standards provided under s. 1003.41, 2054
including scientifically based reading instruction, content 2055
literacy, and mathematical practices, for each subject 2056
identified on the temporary certificate. 2057
b. The educator-accomplished practices approved by the 2058
state board. 2059
c. A variety of data indicators for monitoring student 2060
progress. 2061
d. Methodologies for teaching students with disabilities. 2062
e. Methodologies for teaching students of limited English 2063
proficiency appropriate for each subject area identified on the 2064
temporary certificate. 2065
f. Techniques and strategies for operationalizing the role 2066
of the teacher in assuring a safe learning environment for 2067
students. 2068
4.6. Required achievement of passing scores on the subject 2069
area and professional education com petency examination required 2070
by State Board of Education rule. Mastery of general knowledge 2071
must be demonstrated as described in subsection (3). 2072
5.7. Beginning with candidates entering a program in the 2073
2022-2023 school year, a candidate for certification in a 2074
coverage area identified pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(f) must 2075
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successfully complete all competencies for a reading 2076
endorsement, including completion of the endorsement practicum 2077
through the candidate's demonstration of mastery of professional 2078
preparation and education competence under paragraph (b) . 2079
(b)1. Each school district must and a private school or 2080
state-supported public school, including a charter school, may 2081
develop and maintain a system by which members of the 2082
instructional staff may demonstr ate mastery of professional 2083
preparation and education competence as required by law. Each 2084
program must be based on classroom application of the Florida 2085
Educator Accomplished Practices and instructional performance 2086
and, for public schools, must be aligned w ith the district's or 2087
state-supported public school's evaluation system established 2088
under s. 1012.34, as applicable. 2089
2. The Commissioner of Education shall determine the 2090
continued approval of programs implemented under this paragraph, 2091
based upon the department's review of performance data. The 2092
department shall review the performance data as a part of the 2093
periodic review of each school district's professional 2094
development system required under s. 1012.98. 2095
(b)(c) No later than December 31, 2017, The department 2096
State Board of Education shall adopt rules standards for the 2097
approval and continued approval of professional learning 2098
development certification and education competency programs 2099
aligned to, including standards for the teacher mentorship and 2100
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induction component, under paragraph (a). Standards for the 2101
teacher mentorship and induction component must include program 2102
administration and evaluation; mentor roles, selection, and 2103
training; beginning teacher assessment and professional 2104
development; and tea cher content knowledge and practices aligned 2105
to the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices. Each school 2106
district or charter school with a program under this subsection 2107
must submit its program, including the teacher mentorship and 2108
induction component, to t he department for approval no later 2109
than June 30, 2018. After December 31, 2018, A teacher may not 2110
satisfy requirements for a professional certificate through a 2111
professional learning development certification and education 2112
competency program under paragraph (a) unless the program has 2113
been approved by the department pursuant to this paragraph. 2114
(9) PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION COMPETENCY PROGRAM. — 2115
(a) Each school district must and a private school or 2116
state-supported public school, including a charter school, ma y 2117
develop and maintain a system by which members of the 2118
instructional staff may demonstrate mastery of professional 2119
preparation and education competence as required by law. Each 2120
program must be based on classroom application of the Florida 2121
Educator Accomplished Practices and instructional performance 2122
and, for public schools, must be aligned with the district's or 2123
state-supported public school's evaluation system established 2124
under s. 1012.34, as applicable. 2125
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(b) The Commissioner of Education shall determine the 2126
continued approval of programs implemented under this paragraph, 2127
based upon the department's review of performance data. The 2128
department shall review the performance data as a part of the 2129
periodic review of each school district's professional learning 2130
system required under s. 1012.98. 2131
(d) The Commissioner of Education shall determine the 2132
continued approval of programs implemented under paragraph (a) 2133
based upon the department's periodic review of the following: 2134
1. Evidence that the requirements in pa ragraph (a) are 2135
consistently met; and 2136
2. Evidence of performance in each of the following areas: 2137
a. Rate of retention for employed program completers in 2138
instructional positions in Florida public schools. 2139
b. Performance of students in prekindergarten through 2140
grade 12 who are assigned to in -field program completers on 2141
statewide assessments using the results of the student learning 2142
growth formula adopted under s. 1012.34. 2143
c. Performance of students in prekindergarten through 2144
grade 12 who are assigned t o in-field program completers 2145
aggregated by student subgroups, as defined in the federal 2146
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), 20 U.S.C. s. 2147
6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II), as a measure of how well the program 2148
prepares teachers to work with a variety of stud ents in Florida 2149
public schools. 2150
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d. Results of program completers' annual evaluations in 2151
accordance with the timeline as set forth in s. 1012.34. 2152
e. Production of program completers in statewide critical 2153
teacher shortage areas as defined in s. 1012.07. 2154
Section 30. Section 1012.57, Florida Statutes, is amended 2155
to read: 2156
1012.57 Certification of adjunct educators. — 2157
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of ss. 1012.32, 2158
1012.55, and 1012.56, or any other provision of law or rule to 2159
the contrary, district school boards and charter school 2160
governing boards shall adopt rules to allow for the issuance of 2161
an adjunct teaching certificate to any applicant who fulfills 2162
the requirements of s. 1012.56(2)(a)-(f) and (11) s. 2163
1012.56(2)(a)-(f) and (10) and who has expertise in the subject 2164
area to be taught. An applicant shall be considered to have 2165
expertise in the subject area to be taught if the applicant 2166
demonstrates sufficient subject area mastery through passage of 2167
a subject area test. 2168
(2) The Legislature intends that this section allow school 2169
districts and charter schools to tap the wealth of talent and 2170
expertise represented in Florida's citizens who may wish to 2171
teach in a Florida public school by permitting school districts 2172
and charter schools to issue adjunct certificates to qualified 2173
applicants. 2174
(3) Adjunct certificateholders should be used primarily as 2175
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a strategy to enhance the diversity of course offerings offered 2176
to all students. School districts and charter schools may use 2177
the expertise of individuals in t he state who wish to provide 2178
online instruction to students by issuing adjunct certificates 2179
to qualified applicants. 2180
(4) Each adjunct teaching certificate is valid through the 2181
term of the annual contract between the educator and the school 2182
district or charter school. An additional annual certification 2183
and an additional annual contract may be awarded by the district 2184
or charter school at the district's or charter school's 2185
discretion but only if the applicant is rated effective or 2186
highly effective under s. 1 012.34 during each year of teaching 2187
under adjunct teaching certification. A school district and 2188
charter school may issue an adjunct teaching certificate for a 2189
part-time or full-time teaching position; however, an adjunct 2190
teaching certificate issued for a f ull-time teaching position is 2191
valid for no more than 3 years and is nonrenewable. 2192
(5) Individuals who are certified and employed under this 2193
section shall have the same rights and protection of laws as 2194
teachers certified under s. 1012.56. 2195
(6) Each school district and charter school shall: 2196
(a) Post requirements on its website for the issuance of 2197
an adjunct teaching certificate, which must specify the subject 2198
area test through which an applicant demonstrates subject area 2199
mastery. 2200
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(b) Annually report to the department the number of 2201
adjunct teaching certificates issued for part -time teaching 2202
positions and full-time teaching positions pursuant to this 2203
section. 2204
Section 31. Section 1012.575, Florida Statutes, is amended 2205
to read: 2206
1012.575 Alternative pr eparation programs for certified 2207
teachers to add additional coverage. —A district school board, or 2208
an organization of private schools or a consortium of charter 2209
schools with an approved professional learning development 2210
system as described in s. 1012.98(7) s. 1012.98(6), may design 2211
alternative teacher preparation programs to enable persons 2212
already certificated to add an additional coverage to their 2213
certificates. Each alternative teacher preparation program shall 2214
be reviewed and approved by the Department of Education to 2215
assure that persons who complete the program are competent in 2216
the necessary areas of subject matter specialization. Two or 2217
more school districts may jointly participate in an alternative 2218
preparation program for teachers. 2219
Section 32. Paragraph (g) of subsection (3) of section 2220
1012.585, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph (h), 2221
and a new paragraph (g) is added to that subsection, to read: 2222
1012.585 Process for renewal of professional 2223
certificates.— 2224
(3) For the renewal of a profes sional certificate, the 2225
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following requirements must be met: 2226
(g) An applicant for renewal of a professional certificate 2227
in educational leadership from a Level I program under s. 2228
1012.562(2) or Level II program under s. 1012.562(3), with a 2229
beginning validity date of July 1, 2025, or thereafter, must 2230
earn a minimum of 1 college credit or 20 inservice points in 2231
Florida's educational leadership standards, as established in 2232
rule by the State Board of Education. The requirement in this 2233
paragraph may not add to t he total hours required by the 2234
department for continuing education or inservice training. 2235
Section 33. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 2236
1012.586, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2237
1012.586 Additions or changes to certificates; duplicate 2238
certificates; reading endorsement pathways. — 2239
(1) A school district may process via a Department of 2240
Education website certificates for the following applications of 2241
public school employees: 2242
(a) Addition of a subject coverage or endorsement to a 2243
valid Florida certificate on the basis of the completion of the 2244
appropriate subject area testing requirements of s. 2245
1012.56(5)(a) or the completion of the requirements of an 2246
approved school district program or the inservice components for 2247
an endorsement. 2248
1. To reduce duplication, the department may recommend the 2249
consolidation of endorsement areas and requirements to the State 2250
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Board of Education. 2251
2. At least once every 5 years, the department shall 2252
conduct a review of existing subject coverage or endorsement 2253
requirements in the elementary, reading, and exceptional student 2254
educational areas. The review must include reciprocity 2255
requirements for out -of-state certificates and requirements for 2256
demonstrating competency in the reading instruction professional 2257
learning development topics listed in s. 1012.98(5)(b)11 s. 2258
1012.98(4)(b)11. The review must also consider the award of an 2259
endorsement to an individual who holds a certificate issued by 2260
an internationally recognized organization that establishes 2261
standards for provid ing evidence-based interventions to 2262
struggling readers or who completes a postsecondary program that 2263
is accredited by such organization. Any such certificate or 2264
program must require an individual who completes the certificate 2265
or program to demonstrate comp etence in reading intervention 2266
strategies through clinical experience. At the conclusion of 2267
each review, the department shall recommend to the state board 2268
changes to the subject coverage or endorsement requirements 2269
based upon any identified instruction or intervention strategies 2270
proven to improve student reading performance. This subparagraph 2271
does not authorize the state board to establish any new 2272
certification subject coverage. 2273
2274
The employing school district shall charge the employee a fee 2275
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not to exceed the amount charged by the Department of Education 2276
for such services. Each district school board shall retain a 2277
portion of the fee as defined in the rules of the State Board of 2278
Education. The portion sent to the department shall be used for 2279
maintenance of the technology system, the web application, and 2280
posting and mailing of the certificate. 2281
Section 34. Section 1012.98, Florida Statutes, is amended 2282
to read: 2283
1012.98 School Community Professional Learning Development 2284
Act.— 2285
(1) The Department of Education , public postsecondary 2286
educational institutions, public school districts, public 2287
schools, state education foundations, consortia, and 2288
professional organizations in this state shall work 2289
collaboratively to establish a coordinated system of 2290
professional learning. For the purposes of this section, the 2291
term "professional learning" means learning that is aligned to 2292
the state's standards for effective professional learning, 2293
educator practices, and leadership practices; incorporates 2294
active learning; is collaborati ve; provides models; and is 2295
sustained and continuous development. The purpose of the 2296
professional learning development system is to increase student 2297
achievement, enhance classroom instructional strategies that 2298
promote rigor and relevance throughout the cur riculum, and 2299
prepare students for continuing education and the workforce. The 2300
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system of professional learning development must align to the 2301
standards adopted by the state . Routine informational meetings 2302
may not be considered professional learning and are n ot eligible 2303
for inservice points and support the framework for standards 2304
adopted by the National Staff Development Council . 2305
(2) The school community includes students and parents, 2306
administrative personnel, managers, instructional personnel, 2307
support personnel, members of district school boards, members of 2308
school advisory councils, business partners, and personnel that 2309
provide health and social services to students. 2310
(3) Professional learning activities linked to student 2311
learning and professional growth f or instructional and 2312
administrative staff meet the following criteria: 2313
(a) For instructional personnel, utilize materials aligned 2314
to the state's academic standards. 2315
(b) For school administrators, utilize materials aligned 2316
to the state's educational lea dership standards. 2317
(c) Have clear, defined, and measurable outcomes for both 2318
individual inservice activities and multiple day sessions. 2319
(d) Employ multiple measurement tools for data on teacher 2320
growth, participants' use of new knowledge and skills, stu dent 2321
learning outcomes, instructional growth outcomes, and leadership 2322
growth outcomes, as applicable. 2323
(e) Utilize active learning and engage participants 2324
directly in designing and trying out strategies, providing 2325
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participants with the opportunity to engage in authentic 2326
teaching and leadership experiences. 2327
(f) Utilize artifacts, interactive activities, and other 2328
strategies to provide deeply embedded and highly contextualized 2329
professional learning. 2330
(g) Create opportunities for collaboration. 2331
(h) Utilize coaching and expert support to involve the 2332
sharing of expertise about content and evidence -based practices, 2333
focused directly on instructional personnel and school 2334
administrator needs. 2335
(i) Provide opportunities for instructional personnel and 2336
school administrators to think about, receive input on, and make 2337
changes to practice by facilitating reflection and providing 2338
feedback. 2339
(j) Provide sustained duration with followup for 2340
instructional personnel and school administrators to have 2341
adequate time to learn, practice, implement, and reflect upon 2342
new strategies that facilitate changes in practice. 2343
(4)(3) The activities designed to implement this section 2344
must: 2345
(a) Support and increase the success of educators through 2346
collaboratively developed school improvement plans that focus 2347
on: 2348
1. Enhanced and differentiated instructional strategies to 2349
engage students in a rigorous and relevant curriculum based on 2350
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state and local educational standards, goals, and initiatives; 2351
2. Increased opportunities to prov ide meaningful 2352
relationships between teachers and all students; and 2353
3. Increased opportunities for professional collaboration 2354
among and between teachers, certified school counselors, 2355
instructional leaders, postsecondary educators engaged in 2356
preservice training for new teachers, and the workforce 2357
community. 2358
(b) Assist the school community in providing stimulating, 2359
scientific research-based educational activities that encourage 2360
and motivate students to achieve at the highest levels and to 2361
participate as active learners and that prepare students for 2362
success at subsequent educational levels and the workforce. 2363
(c) Provide continuous support for all education 2364
professionals as well as temporary intervention for education 2365
professionals who need improvement in knowledge, skills, and 2366
performance. 2367
(d) Provide middle grades instructional personnel and 2368
school administrators with the knowledge, skills, and best 2369
practices necessary to support excellence in classroom 2370
instruction and educational leadership. 2371
(e) Provide training to teacher mentors as part of the 2372
professional learning development certification program under s. 2373
1012.56(8) and the professional education competency program 2374
under s. 1012.56(9) s. 1012.56(8)(a). The training must include 2375
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components on teacher development, peer coaching, time 2376
management, and other related topics as determined by the 2377
Department of Education. 2378
(5)(4) The Department of Education, school districts, 2379
schools, Florida College System institutions, and state 2380
universities share the responsibilities described in this 2381
section. These responsibilities include the following: 2382
(a)1. The department shall create a high -quality 2383
professional learning marketplace list that acts as guide and 2384
tool for teachers, schools, school administrat ors, and districts 2385
across the state to identify high -quality professional learning 2386
provider programs and resources that meet the criteria described 2387
in subsection (3) and have demonstrated success in meeting 2388
identified student needs. 2389
2.(a)1. The department shall disseminate to the school 2390
community, through a centralized professional learning webpage, 2391
the marketplace list under subparagraph 1 research-based 2392
professional development methods and programs that have 2393
demonstrated success in meeting identified st udent needs. The 2394
Commissioner of Education shall use data on student achievement 2395
to identify student needs. The methods of dissemination must 2396
include a web-based statewide performance support system, 2397
including a database of exemplary professional developme nt 2398
activities, a listing of available professional development 2399
resources, training programs, and available assistance. 2400
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2. The web-based statewide performance support system 2401
established pursuant to subparagraph 1. must include for middle 2402
grades, subject to appropriation, materials related to classroom 2403
instruction, including integrated digital instruction and 2404
competency-based instruction; CAPE Digital Tool certificates and 2405
CAPE industry certifications; classroom management; student 2406
behavior and interaction; extended learning opportunities for 2407
students; and instructional leadership. 2408
(b) Each school district shall develop a professional 2409
learning development system as specified in subsection (4) (3). 2410
The system shall be developed in consultation with teachers , 2411
teacher-educators of Florida College System institutions and 2412
state universities, business and community representatives, and 2413
local education foundations, consortia, and professional 2414
organizations. The professional learning development system 2415
must: 2416
1. Be reviewed and approved by the department for 2417
compliance with s. 1003.42(3) and this section. Effective March 2418
1, 2024, the department shall establish a calendar for the 2419
review and approval of all professional learning systems. A 2420
professional learning syste m must be reviewed and approved every 2421
5 years. Any All substantial revisions to the system shall be 2422
submitted to the department for review and for continued 2423
approval. The department shall establish a format for the review 2424
and approval of a professional lea rning system. 2425
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2. Be based on analyses of student achievement data and 2426
instructional strategies and methods that support rigorous, 2427
relevant, and challenging curricula for all students. Schools 2428
and districts, in developing and refining the professional 2429
learning development system, shall also review and monitor 2430
school discipline data; school environment surveys; assessments 2431
of parental satisfaction; performance appraisal data of 2432
teachers, managers, and administrative personnel; and other 2433
performance indicato rs to identify school and student needs that 2434
can be met by improved professional performance. 2435
3. Provide inservice activities coupled with followup 2436
support appropriate to accomplish district -level and school-2437
level improvement goals and standards. The ins ervice activities 2438
for instructional and school administrative personnel shall 2439
focus on analysis of student achievement data, ongoing formal 2440
and informal assessments of student achievement, identification 2441
and use of enhanced and differentiated instructional strategies 2442
that emphasize rigor, relevance, and reading in the content 2443
areas, enhancement of subject content expertise, integrated use 2444
of classroom technology that enhances teaching and learning, 2445
classroom management, parent involvement, and school safety . 2446
4. Provide inservice activities and support targeted to 2447
the individual needs of new teachers participating in the 2448
professional learning development certification and education 2449
competency program under s. 1012.56(8)(a). 2450
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5. Include a professional learning catalog master plan for 2451
inservice activities, pursuant to rules of the State Board of 2452
Education, for all district employees from all fund sources. The 2453
catalog master plan shall be updated annually by September 1, 2454
must be based on input from teachers and district and school 2455
instructional leaders, and must use the latest available student 2456
achievement data and research to enhance rigor and relevance in 2457
the classroom. Each dis trict inservice catalog plan must be 2458
aligned to and support the school -based inservice catalog plans 2459
and school improvement plans pursuant to s. 1001.42(18). Each 2460
district inservice catalog plan must provide a description of 2461
the training that middle grades instructional personnel and 2462
school administrators receive on the district's code of student 2463
conduct adopted pursuant to s. 1006.07; integrated digital 2464
instruction and competency -based instruction and CAPE Digital 2465
Tool certificates and CAPE industry certif ications; classroom 2466
management; student behavior and interaction; extended learning 2467
opportunities for students; and instructional leadership. 2468
District plans must be approved by the district school board 2469
annually in order to ensure compliance with subsectio n (1) and 2470
to allow for dissemination of research -based best practices to 2471
other districts. District school boards must submit verification 2472
of their approval to the Commissioner of Education no later than 2473
October 1, annually. Each school principal may establ ish and 2474
maintain an individual professional learning development plan 2475
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for each instructional employee assigned to the school as a 2476
seamless component to the school improvement plans developed 2477
pursuant to s. 1001.42(18). An individual professional learning 2478
development plan must be related to specific performance data 2479
for the students to whom the teacher is assigned, define the 2480
inservice objectives and specific measurable improvements 2481
expected in student performance as a result of the inservice 2482
activity, and include an evaluation component that determines 2483
the effectiveness of the professional learning development plan. 2484
6. Include inservice activities for school administrative 2485
personnel, aligned to the state's educational leadership 2486
standards, that address updated skills necessary for 2487
instructional leadership and effective school management 2488
pursuant to s. 1012.986. 2489
7. Provide for systematic consultation with regional and 2490
state personnel designated to provide technical assistance and 2491
evaluation of local profes sional learning development programs. 2492
8. Provide for delivery of professional learning 2493
development by distance learning and other technology -based 2494
delivery systems to reach more educators at lower costs. 2495
9. Provide for the continuous evaluation of the quality 2496
and effectiveness of professional learning development programs 2497
in order to eliminate ineffective programs and strategies and to 2498
expand effective ones. Evaluations must consider the impact of 2499
such activities on the performance of participating educ ators 2500
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and their students' achievement and behavior. 2501
10. For all middle grades, emphasize: 2502
a. Interdisciplinary planning, collaboration, and 2503
instruction. 2504
b. Alignment of curriculum and instructional materials to 2505
the state academic standards adopted pu rsuant to s. 1003.41. 2506
c. Use of small learning communities; problem -solving, 2507
inquiry-driven research and analytical approaches for students; 2508
strategies and tools based on student needs; competency -based 2509
instruction; integrated digital instruction; and pr oject-based 2510
instruction. 2511
2512
Each school that includes any of grades 6, 7, or 8 must include 2513
in its school improvement plan, required under s. 1001.42(18), a 2514
description of the specific strategies used by the school to 2515
implement each item listed in this subpa ragraph. 2516
11. Provide training to reading coaches, classroom 2517
teachers, and school administrators in effective methods of 2518
identifying characteristics of conditions such as dyslexia and 2519
other causes of diminished phonological processing skills; 2520
incorporating instructional techniques into the general 2521
education setting which are proven to improve reading 2522
performance for all students; and using predictive and other 2523
data to make instructional decisions based on individual student 2524
needs. The training must help te achers integrate phonemic 2525
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awareness; phonics, word study, and spelling; reading fluency; 2526
vocabulary, including academic vocabulary; and text 2527
comprehension strategies into an explicit, systematic, and 2528
sequential approach to reading instruction, including 2529
multisensory intervention strategies. Each district must provide 2530
all elementary grades instructional personnel access to training 2531
sufficient to meet the requirements of s. 1012.585(3)(f). 2532
(6)(5) Each district school board shall provide funding 2533
for the professional learning development system as required by 2534
s. 1011.62 and the General Appropriations Act, and shall direct 2535
expenditures from other funding sources to continuously 2536
strengthen the system in order to increase student achievement 2537
and support instructi onal staff in enhancing rigor and relevance 2538
in the classroom. The department shall identify professional 2539
learning development opportunities that require the teacher to 2540
demonstrate proficiency in specific classroom practices, with 2541
priority given to implemen ting training to complete a reading 2542
endorsement pathway adopted pursuant to s. 1012.586(2)(a). A 2543
school district may coordinate its professional learning 2544
development program with that of another district, with an 2545
educational consortium, or with a Florida C ollege System 2546
institution or university, especially in preparing and educating 2547
personnel. Each district school board shall make available 2548
inservice activities to instructional personnel of nonpublic 2549
schools in the district and the state certified teachers who are 2550
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not employed by the district school board on a fee basis not to 2551
exceed the cost of the activity per all participants. 2552
(7)(6) An organization of private schools or consortium of 2553
charter schools which has no fewer than 10 member schools in 2554
this state, which publishes and files with the Department of 2555
Education copies of its standards, and the member schools of 2556
which comply with the provisions of part II of chapter 1003, 2557
relating to compulsory school attendance, or a public or private 2558
college or university with a teacher preparation program 2559
approved pursuant to s. 1004.04, may also develop a professional 2560
learning development system that includes a professional 2561
learning catalog master plan for inservice activities. The 2562
system and inservice catalog plan must be submitted to the 2563
commissioner for approval pursuant to state board rules. 2564
(8)(a)(7)(a) The Department of Education shall 2565
disseminate, using web -based technology, research -based best 2566
practice methods by which the state and district school boards 2567
may evaluate and improve the professional learning development 2568
system. The best practices must include data that indicate the 2569
progress of all students. The department shall report annually 2570
to the State Board of Education and the Legislature any school 2571
district that, in the determination of the department, has 2572
failed to provide an adequate professional learning development 2573
system. This report must include the results of the department's 2574
investigation and of any intervention provided. 2575
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(b) The department shal l also disseminate, using web -based 2576
technology, professional learning development in the use of 2577
integrated digital instruction at schools that include middle 2578
grades. The professional learning development must provide 2579
training and materials that districts can use to provide 2580
instructional personnel with the necessary knowledge, skills, 2581
and strategies to effectively blend digital instruction into 2582
subject-matter curricula. The professional learning development 2583
must emphasize online learning and research techniques, reading 2584
instruction, the use of digital devices to supplement the 2585
delivery of curricular content to students, and digital device 2586
management and security. Districts are encouraged to incorporate 2587
the professional learning development as part of their 2588
professional learning development system. 2589
(9)(8) The State Board of Education may adopt rules 2590
pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this 2591
section. 2592
(10)(9) This section does not limit or di scourage a 2593
district school board from contracting with independent entities 2594
for professional learning development services and inservice 2595
education if the district school board can demonstrate to the 2596
Commissioner of Education that, through such a contract, a 2597
better product can be acquired or its goals for education 2598
improvement can be better met. Such entities shall have 3 or 2599
more years of experience providing professional learning with 2600
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demonstrative success in instructional or school administrator 2601
growth. The school district must verify that such entities and 2602
contracted professional learning activities from such entities 2603
meet the criteria established in subsection (3) for training 2604
linked to student learning or professional growth. 2605
(11)(10) For instructional personnel and administrative 2606
personnel who have been evaluated as less than effective, a 2607
district school board shall require participation in specific 2608
professional learning development programs as provided in 2609
subparagraph (5)(b)5. (4)(b)5. as part of the improvement 2610
prescription. 2611
(12)(11) The department shall disseminate to the school 2612
community proven model professional learning development 2613
programs that have demonstrated success in increasing rigorous 2614
and relevant content, increasing student achievement and 2615
engagement, meeting identified student needs, and providing 2616
effective mentorship activities to new teachers and training to 2617
teacher mentors. The methods of dissemination must include a 2618
web-based statewide performance -support system including a 2619
database of exemplary professional learning development 2620
activities, a listing of available professional learning 2621
development resources, training programs, and available 2622
technical assistance. Professional learning development 2623
resources must include sample course-at-a-glance and unit 2624
overview templates that school districts may use when developing 2625
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curriculum. The templates must provide an organized structure 2626
for addressing the Florida Standards, grade -level expectations, 2627
evidence outcomes, and 21s t century skills that build to 2628
students' mastery of the standards at each grade level. Each 2629
template must support teaching to greater intellectual depth and 2630
emphasize transfer and application of concepts, content, and 2631
skills. At a minimum, each template mu st: 2632
(a) Provide course or year -long sequencing of concept -2633
based unit overviews based on the Florida Standards. 2634
(b) Describe the knowledge and vocabulary necessary for 2635
comprehension. 2636
(c) Promote the instructional shifts required within the 2637
Florida Standards. 2638
(d) Illustrate the interdependence of grade -level 2639
expectations within and across content areas within a grade. 2640
(13)(12) The department shall require teachers in grades 2641
K-12 to participate in continuing education training provided by 2642
the Department of Children and Families on identifying and 2643
reporting child abuse and neglect. 2644
Section 35. Subsection (1) of section 1012.986, Florida 2645
Statutes, is amended to read: 2646
1012.986 William Cecil Golden Professional Learning 2647
Development Program for School Leaders.— 2648
(1) There is established the William Cecil Golden 2649
Professional Learning Development Program for School Leaders to 2650
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provide high-quality standards and sustained support for 2651
educational leaders. For purposes of this section, the term 2652
"educational leader" means teacher leaders, assistant 2653
principals, principals, or school district leaders. The program 2654
shall consist of a collaborative network of school districts, 2655
state-approved educational leadership programs, regional 2656
consortia, charter management organizations, and state and 2657
national professional leadership organizations to respond to 2658
educational leadership needs throughout the state. The network 2659
shall support the human -resource learning development needs of 2660
educational leaders using the framework of leadership standards 2661
adopted by the State Board of Education. The goal of the network 2662
leadership program is to: 2663
(a) Provide resources to support and enhance the roles of 2664
educational leaders. 2665
(b) Maintain a clearinghouse and disseminate data -2666
supported information related to the continued enhancement of 2667
student achievement and learning, civic education, coaching and 2668
mentoring, mental health awareness, technology in education, 2669
distance learning, and school safety based on educational 2670
research and best practices. 2671
(c) Increase the quality and capacity of educational 2672
leadership learning development programs. 2673
(d) Support evidence -based leadership practices through 2674
dissemination and modeling at the preservice and inservice 2675
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levels for educational leaders. 2676
(e) Support the professional growth of instructional 2677
personnel who provide reading instruction and interventions by 2678
training school administrators on classroom observation , 2679
instructional coaching, and teacher evaluation practices aligned 2680
to evidence-based reading instruction and intervention 2681
strategies. 2682
Section 36. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 2683
1013.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2684
1013.62 Charter schools capital outlay funding.— 2685
(1) For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, charter school capital 2686
outlay funding shall consist of state funds appropriated in the 2687
2022-2023 General Appropriations Act. Beginning in fiscal year 2688
2023-2024, charter school capital outlay funding shall cons ist 2689
of state funds when such funds are appropriated in the General 2690
Appropriations Act and revenue resulting from the discretionary 2691
millage authorized in s. 1011.71(2) if the amount of state funds 2692
appropriated for charter school capital outlay in any fiscal 2693
year is less than the average charter school capital outlay 2694
funds per unweighted full -time equivalent student for the 2018 -2695
2019 fiscal year, multiplied by the estimated number of charter 2696
school students for the applicable fiscal year, and adjusted by 2697
changes in the Consumer Price Index issued by the United States 2698
Department of Labor from the previous fiscal year. Nothing in 2699
this subsection prohibits a school district from distributing to 2700
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charter schools funds resulting from the discretionary millage 2701
authorized in s. 1011.71(2). 2702
(a) To be eligible to receive capital outlay funds, a 2703
charter school must: 2704
1.a. Have been in operation for 2 or more years; 2705
b. Be governed by a governing board established in the 2706
state for 2 or more years which operates both ch arter schools 2707
and conversion charter schools within the state; 2708
c. Be an expanded feeder chain of a charter school within 2709
the same school district that is currently receiving charter 2710
school capital outlay funds; 2711
d. Have been accredited by a regional acc rediting 2712
association as defined by State Board of Education rule; 2713
e. Serve students in facilities that are provided by a 2714
business partner for a charter school -in-the-workplace pursuant 2715
to s. 1002.33(15)(b); or 2716
f. Be operated by a hope operator pursuant to s. 1002.333. 2717
2. Have an annual audit that does not reveal any of the 2718
financial emergency conditions provided in s. 218.503(1) for the 2719
most recent fiscal year for which such audit results are 2720
available. 2721
3. Have not earned two consecutive grades of " F", three 2722
consecutive grades below a "C", or two consecutive school 2723
improvement ratings of "Unsatisfactory" satisfactory student 2724
achievement based on state accountability standards applicable 2725
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to the charter school . 2726
4. Have received final approval from it s sponsor pursuant 2727
to s. 1002.33 for operation during that fiscal year. 2728
5. Serve students in facilities that are not provided by 2729
the charter school's sponsor. 2730
Section 37. Paragraphs (d) and (f) of subsection (1) of 2731
section 1014.05, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2732
1014.05 School district notifications on parental rights. — 2733
(1) Each district school board shall, in consultation with 2734
parents, teachers, and administrators, develop and adopt a 2735
policy to promote parental involvement in the public s chool 2736
system. Such policy must include: 2737
(d) Procedures, pursuant to s. 1002.20(3)(d), for a parent 2738
to withdraw his or her minor child from any portion of the 2739
school district's comprehensive health education required under 2740
s. 1003.42(2)(o) s. 1003.42(2)(n) that relates to sex education 2741
or instruction in acquired immune deficiency syndrome education 2742
or any instruction regarding sexuality if the parent provides a 2743
written objection to his or her minor child's participation. 2744
Such procedures must provide for a parent to be notified in 2745
advance of such course content so that he or she may withdraw 2746
his or her minor child from those portions of the course. 2747
(f) Procedures for a parent to learn about parental rights 2748
and responsibilities under general law, including all of the 2749
following: 2750
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1. Pursuant to s. 1002.20(3)(d), the right to opt his or 2751
her minor child out of any portion of the school district's 2752
comprehensive health education required under s. 1003.42(2)(o) 2753
s. 1003.42(2)(n) that relates to sex education instr uction in 2754
acquired immune deficiency syndrome education or any instruction 2755
regarding sexuality. 2756
2. A plan to disseminate information, pursuant to s. 2757
1002.20(6), about school choice options, including open 2758
enrollment. 2759
3. In accordance with s. 1002.20(3) (b), the right of a 2760
parent to exempt his or her minor child from immunizations. 2761
4. In accordance with s. 1008.22, the right of a parent to 2762
review statewide, standardized assessment results. 2763
5. In accordance with s. 1003.57, the right of a parent to 2764
enroll his or her minor child in gifted or special education 2765
programs. 2766
6. In accordance with s. 1006.28(2)(a)1., the right of a 2767
parent to inspect school district instructional materials. 2768
7. In accordance with s. 1008.25, the right of a parent to 2769
access information relating to the school district's policies 2770
for promotion or retention, including high school graduation 2771
requirements. 2772
8. In accordance with s. 1002.20(14), the right of a 2773
parent to receive a school report card and be informed of his or 2774
her minor child's attendance requirements. 2775
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9. In accordance with s. 1002.23, the right of a parent to 2776
access information relating to the state public education 2777
system, state standards, report card requirements, attendance 2778
requirements, and instructional material s requirements. 2779
10. In accordance with s. 1002.23(4), the right of a 2780
parent to participate in parent -teacher associations and 2781
organizations that are sanctioned by a district school board or 2782
the Department of Education. 2783
11. In accordance with s. 1002.22 2(1)(a), the right of a 2784
parent to opt out of any district -level data collection relating 2785
to his or her minor child not required by law. 2786
Section 38. Effective upon this act becoming law: 2787
(1) Notwithstanding rule 6A -1.09422, Florida 2788
Administrative Code, students who are in the 2022 -2023 2789
graduating class who have not yet earned their required passing 2790
score may: 2791
(a) Satisfy the Grade 10 statewide, standardized English 2792
Language Arts (ELA) Assessment requirement to qualify for a high 2793
school diploma by ear ning a concordant passing score on the 2794
respective section of the SAT or ACT. For eligible students, the 2795
concordant passing scale score shall be a score equal to or 2796
greater than 430 on the 200 to 800 scale for the SAT Evidence -2797
Based Reading and Writing (EBR W) section, equal to or greater 2798
than 24 on the 10 to 40 scale of the SAT Reading Subtest 2799
section, or equal to or greater than 19 on the 1 to 36 scale on 2800
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the ACT Reading section. 2801
(b) Satisfy the Algebra 1 end -of-course (EOC) assessment 2802
requirement to qualify for a high school diploma by earning a 2803
comparative passing score on the mathematics section of the 2804
Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (PERT), the Preliminary 2805
SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), the 2806
SAT, or the ACT or the Ge ometry EOC assessment. For eligible 2807
students, the comparative passing scale score shall be a score 2808
equal to or greater than 114 on the 50 to 150 scale for the PERT 2809
mathematics section, equal to or greater than 430 on the 160 to 2810
760 scale for the PSAT/NMSQT mathematics section, equal to or 2811
greater than 420 on the 200 to 800 scale for the SAT mathematics 2812
section, equal to or greater than 16 on the 1 to 36 scale for 2813
the ACT mathematics section, or equal to or greater than an 2814
achievement level 3 on the range fr om achievement level 1 to 2815
achievement level 5 for the Geometry EOC assessment. 2816
(2) Beginning with students who entered grade 9 in the 2817
2020-2021 school year, students and adults who have not yet 2818
earned their required passing score on the Grade 10 statewid e, 2819
standardized ELA Assessment may meet this testing requirement to 2820
qualify for a high school diploma by earning a concordant 2821
passing score on the EBRW section of the SAT or the average of 2822
the English and Reading subject test scores for the ACT. For 2823
eligible students, the concordant passing scale score for the 2824
SAT EBRW shall be a score equal to or greater than 480 on the 2825
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200 to 800 scale, and the concordant passing scale score for the 2826
average of the English and Reading subject test scores on the 2827
ACT shall be a score equal to or greater than 18 on the 1 to 36 2828
scale. The State Board of Education shall establish, in rule, a 2829
concordant passing score for the sum of the Grammar/Writing and 2830
Verbal Reasoning subject test scores on the Classic Learning 2831
Test (CLT). For the ACT, if the average of the two subject test 2832
scores results in a decimal of 0.5, the score shall be rounded 2833
up to the next whole number. The scores for the English and 2834
Reading subject tests on the ACT or the Grammar/Writing and 2835
Verbal Reasoning subjec t tests on the CLT are not required to 2836
come from the same test administration. 2837
(3) Beginning with students who entered grade 9 in the 2838
2020-2021 school year, students and adults who have not yet 2839
earned their required passing score on the Algebra 1 EOC 2840
assessment may meet this testing requirement to qualify for a 2841
high school diploma by earning a comparative passing score on 2842
the mathematics section of the PSAT/NMSQT, the SAT, or the ACT 2843
or on the Geometry EOC assessment. For eligible students, the 2844
comparative passing scale score shall be a score equal to or 2845
greater than 430 on the 160 to 760 scale for the PSAT/NMSQT 2846
mathematics section, equal to or greater than 420 on the 200 to 2847
800 scale for the SAT mathematics section, equal to or greater 2848
than 16 on the 1 to 36 scale for the ACT mathematics section, or 2849
equal to or greater than an achievement level 3 on the range 2850
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from achievement level 1 to achievement level 5 for the Geometry 2851
EOC assessment. The State Board of Education shall establish, in 2852
rule, a concordant passing score for the Quantitative Reasoning 2853
subject test on the CLT. 2854
(4) This section expires on July 1, 2025. 2855
Section 39. The Division of Law Revision shall prepare a 2856
reviser's bill for the 2024 Regular Session of the Legislature 2857
to replace references to the term "professional development" 2858
where it occurs within chapters 1000 through 1013 of the Florida 2859
Statutes with the term "professional learning." 2860
Section 40. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 2861
act and except for this section, wh ich shall take effect upon 2862
this act becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1, 2863
2023. 2864
2865