The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: SB 590
INTRODUCER: Senators Burgess and Perry
SUBJECT: Music-based Supplemental Content to Accelerate Learner Engagement and Success Pilot
Program
DATE: February 26, 2024
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Brick Bouck ED Favorable
2. Gray Elwell AED Favorable
3. Brick Yeatman FP Pre-meeting
I. Summary:
SB 590 establishes the two-year Music-based Supplemental Content to Accelerate Learner
Engagement and Success (mSCALES) Pilot Program within the Department of Education
(DOE). The program is intended to assist districts in adopting music-based supplemental
materials that support STEM courses for middle school students.
School districts in Alachua, Marion, and Miami-Dade counties will receive $6 per student if they
are approved by the DOE and utilize the adopted music-based supplemental materials at least
twice per week to supplement mathematics instruction by teachers who are certified to teach
mathematics.
The bill requires the College of Education at the University of Florida to continuously evaluate
the program’s effectiveness and annually share the findings of its evaluations with the DOE and
the Legislature. The University of Florida will submit a final report by October 1, 2026, to the
DOE, the Legislature, and the Florida Center for Partnerships for Arts-Integrated Teaching.
The pilot program expires June 30, 2026.
This fiscal on this bill is subject to legislative appropriation. See section V.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
REVISED: BILL: SB 590 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Some studies have indicated a positive correlation between instruction in music and math.
1
Additionally, a variety of aspects of cognitive development have been shown to be positively
linked with music instruction in school, including spatial-temporal abilities, selective attention,
and memory for verbal stimuli.
2
Some research has even identified a positive association
between music education and increases in student self-esteem, academic success, and discipline.
3
Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Program
The Legislature established the Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Pilot Program in
2017 to assist certain school districts in implementing comprehensive music education programs
in kindergarten through grade 2, beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.
4
In 2023, the Early
Childhood Music Education Incentive Pilot Program was converted into a permanent program
administered by the DOE.
5
For a school district to be eligible for participation in the program, the district school
superintendent must certify to the DOE that specified elementary schools within the district have
established a comprehensive music education program that:
Includes all students enrolled at the school in kindergarten through second grade;
Is staffed by certified music educators;
Provides music instruction for at least 30 consecutive minutes two days a week;
Complies with class size requirements under the law; and
Complies with the DOE’s standards for early childhood music education programs for
students in kindergarten through second grade.
The DOE is required to approve school districts to participate in the program, subject to
legislative appropriation, according to needs-based criteria established by the State Board of
Education (SBE). Selected school districts must annually receive $150 per full-time equivalent
student in kindergarten through second grade who is enrolled in a comprehensive music
education program.
The SBE is authorized to adopt rules to administer the program.
6
1
J.D. Walsh and B.K. Coleman, Using Music to Teach Math in Middle School, 2 South Carolina Association for Middle
Level Education Journal 144-151 (2023), available at
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=scamle; see also M.F. Gardiner, et al, Learning
Improved by Arts Training, 381 NATURE 284 (1996) (last visited Jan. 9, 2024).
2
See, e.g., Lois Hetland, Learning to Make Music Enhances Spatial Reasoning, 34 J. Aesthetic Ed. 179 (2000); J. Goopy,
‘Extra-musical effects’ and Benefits of Programs Founded on the Kodaly Philosophy, 2 AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF MUSIC
EDUCATION 71-78 (2013); Yim-Chi Ho, et al, Music Training Improves Verbal but Not Visual Memory: Cross-Sectional and
Longitudinal Explorations in Children, 17 NEUROPSYCHOLOGY 439 (2003).
3
See e.g., Cecil Adderley, et al, “A home away from home”: The world of the high school music classroom, 51 J. MUSIC
RES. 190 (2003).
4
Chapter 2017-116, Laws of Fla.
5
Chapter 2023-168, Laws of Fla.
6
Section 1003.481, F.S. BILL: SB 590 Page 3
The Legislature appropriated $400,000 in recurring funds and $10 million in nonrecurring funds
for the DOE to implement the Early Childhood Music Education Program in the 2023-2024
fiscal year.
7
Based on applications received, the DOE anticipates that the program will serve
19,346 students in 78 schools across 13 school districts in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The DOE
projects expenditures of $3,205,248 for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
8
Middle Grades Mathematics Teachers
Specialization requirements for teacher certification as a middle grades mathematics instructor
require a bachelor’s or higher degree with a mathematics or middle grades mathematics major, or
at least 18 semester hours in mathematics, including:
Calculus, precalculus, or trigonometry;
Geometry; and
Probability or statistics.
9
As of the 2021-2022 school year, there were 17,786 mathematics teacher certifications in
Florida.
10
The maximum number of students assigned to each teacher who is teaching middle
school mathematics may not exceed 22 students.
11
The Florida Center for Partnerships in Arts-Integrated Teaching
The Florida Center for Partnerships in Arts-Integrated Teaching, commonly referred to as
PAInT, is a state-wide resource in arts-integrated pedagogy. The Center for PAInT is an essential
part of the collaborative strategic planning for the arts in Florida.
12
The goals of the center
include research in arts-integrated teaching, technical assistance and support, professional
development, and examination of arts integrated teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math (STEM) educational courses.
13
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
This bill creates s. 1003.482, F.S., to establish the two-year Music-based Supplemental Content
to Accelerate Learner Engagement and Success (mSCALES) Pilot Program within the DOE. The
program is intended to assist districts in adopting music-based supplemental materials that
support STEM courses for middle school students.
7
Specific Appropriation 96, ch. 2023-239, s. 2, , Laws of Fla.
8
Email, Florida Department of Education (January 2, 2024), with attachment (on file with the Senate Committee on
Education Pre-K-12)..
9
Rule 6A-4.0261, F.A.C.
10
Florida Department of Education, Identification of High Demand Teacher Needs for 2023-2024, available at
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/20562/urlt/16-2.pdf, at 4 (last visited Jan. 9, 2024).
11
Section 1003.03(1), F.S.
12
University of South Florida, Center for PAInT, Mission, Belief Statement, and Definition of Arts Integration,
https://www.sarasotamanatee.usf.edu/academics/center-for-
paint/#:~:text=The%20Florida%20Center%20for%20Partnerships,for%20the%20Arts%20in%20Florida (last visited Jan. 9,
2024).
13
Section 1004.344, F.S. BILL: SB 590 Page 4
The bill requires the adopted music-based supplemental materials to be used at least twice per
week to supplement mathematics instruction by teachers who are certified to teach mathematics.
Participating districts are required to annually certify to the DOE that they are complying with
this requirement and also class size requirements. Participating school districts receive $6 per
student. Eligible middle schools must be in the same attendance zone as an elementary school
that participated in the Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Program.
The bill authorizes the school districts in Alachua, Marion, and Miami-Dade counties to
participate in the pilot program. To participate, the school district superintendent must contact
the DOE.
The bill authorizes the DOE to approve a school district to participate in the pilot program if
sufficient funding is available as appropriated by the Legislature. The DOE is required to
prescribe application forms and forms for districts to certify they are meeting the requirements of
the pilot program.
The bill requires the College of Education at the University of Florida to continuously evaluate
the program’s effectiveness and annually share the findings of its evaluations with the DOE and
the Legislature. The College of Education must also prepare a comprehensive final report of the
program’s overall effectiveness. The report must be presented, no later than October 1, 2026, to
the DOE, the Legislature, and the Florida Center for Partnerships for Arts-Integrated Teaching.
The pilot program expires June 30, 2026.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None. BILL: SB 590 Page 5
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
The provision of the bill authorizing school districts to participate in the pilot program is
subject to legislative appropriation.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill creates section 1003.482 of the Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.