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: CS/CS/SB 1402
INTRODUCER: Appropriations Committee on Pre-K - 12 Education; Education Pre-K - 12 Committee;
and Senator Yarborough
SUBJECT: Students Enrolled in Dropout Retrieval Programs
DATE: April 1, 2025
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Palazesi Bouck ED Fav/CS
2. Gray Elwell AED Fav/CS
3. Palazesi Siples FP Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/SB 1402 defines dropout retrieval programs as programs that serve students who have
officially withdrawn from high school and were not engaged in the education system at the time
of enrollment in the dropout retrieval program. The bill also requires all dropout retrieval
programs to choose between receiving a school improvement rating or a school grade.
The bill requires that each Virtual Instruction Provider (VIP) receives a school grade or school
improvement rating for each district with which it contracts, based on the assessment scores of
all students served within those districts. The bill also exempts a VIP operating as a dropout
retrieval program from receiving a district grade.
This bill takes effect July 1, 2025.
This bill does not have a fiscal impact on state revenues or expenditures. See Section V., Fiscal
Impact Statement.
REVISED: BILL: CS/CS/SB 1402 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Virtual Instruction Programs
A virtual instruction program (VIP) is a program of instruction provided in an interactive
learning environment created through technology in which students are separated from their
teachers by time or space, or both.
1
Florida law establishes a variety of options to make virtual
instruction accessible to K-12 students. These options include:
• Full-time or part-time enrollment in a school district virtual instruction program;
2
• Full-time enrollment in a virtual charter school;
3
• Enrollment in individual virtual courses offered by school districts and approved by the
Department of Education (DOE);
4
and
• Full-time and part-time enrollment in Florida Virtual Schools (FLVS) or school district
FLVS franchises.
5
The VIP providers that are approved by the DOE must meet the following requirements:
• Align virtual course curriculum and course content to the state academic standards.
• Offer instruction that is designed to enable a student to gain proficiency in each virtual
instruction course of study.
• Provide each student enrolled in the virtual instruction program with all the necessary
instructional materials.
• Provide each full-time student enrolled in the virtual instruction program who qualifies for
free or reduced-price school lunches and who does not have a computer or internet access in
his or her home with the equipment necessary for participants in the virtual instruction
program.
6
Accel Schools East, Connections Education of Florida, LLC, FLVS, Graduation Alliance,
Imagine Learning, K12 Florida, Mater Virtual Academy, Optima Academy Online, and
Somerset Virtual Academy are the current DOE-approved statewide VIP programs.
7
Each approved VIP must participate in the statewide assessment program and receive a school
grade or school improvement rating. Each statewide VIP provider’s school improvement rating
or school grade is based on the aggregated assessment scores of all students served by the
provider statewide. Additionally, each approved virtual instruction program provider receives a
district grade based upon the aggregated assessment scores of all students served by the VIP
1
Section 1002.45(1), F.S.
2
Section 1002.45, F.S.
3
Sections 1002.33(1) and 1002.45(1), F.S.
4
Section 1003.498, F.S.
5
Section 1002.45(2), F.S.; see also Florida Department of Education, List of Approved Program and Course Providers,
https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/virtual-edu/provider-resources/approved-providers/ (last visited
March 19, 2025).
6
Section 1002.45(3) F.S.
7
Florida Department of Education, List of Approved Program and Course Providers, available at
https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/virtual-edu/provider-resources/approved-providers/ (last visited
March 19, 2025). BILL: CS/CS/SB 1402 Page 3
statewide and a separate school grade for each school district with which it contracts based upon
the assessment scores of all students served within the school district.
8
Dropout Prevention and Academic Intervention
Dropout prevention and academic intervention programs differ from traditional educational
programs and schools in scheduling, administrative structure, philosophy, curriculum, or setting
and must employ alternative teaching methodologies, curricula, learning activities, and
diagnostic and assessment procedures in order to meet the needs, interests, abilities, and talents
of eligible students. Dropout prevention and academic intervention are required to provide
curricula, character development and law education, and related services that support the
program goals and lead to improved performance in the areas of academic achievement,
attendance, and discipline.
9
Educational alternative programs, disciplinary programs, dropout
retrieval programs, alternative to expulsion programs, teenage parent programs, and city and
county jail programs are considered dropout prevention programs.
Dropout retrieval programs are designed for students who have officially dropped out of school,
re-enrolled and are persevering towards graduation with a primary focus on credit recovery and
career planning. In the 2023-2024 school year, 3,095 students at all grade levels participated in a
dropout retrieval program and the outcome data for students in dropout retrieval programs reveal
the following:
• 530 (42.6 percent) of 1,244 students in grade 12 graduated with a high school diploma.
• 177 (6.3 percent) of 2,810 students in grades nine-12 dropped out of school.
• 1,851 (59.8 percent) of 3,095 students were promoted to a higher grade.
• 1,825 (59 percent) of 3,095 students missed 10 percent or more school days; and
• No students were suspended for more than 10 days or expelled.
10
School Grades
School grades are used to explain a school’s performance in a familiar, easy-to-understand
manner for parents and the public.
11
School grades are also used to determine whether a school
must select or implement a turnaround option
12
or whether a school is eligible for school
recognition funds as appropriated by the Legislature.
13
Elementary, middle and high schools each share a basic model for determining school grades,
based on the percentage of total points earned by a school for each component in the model.
Middle and high school models include additional components beyond the basic model.
Combination school models include the additional components for the grades served (e.g., a
school serving grades k-12 would include the additional components for the middle and high
8
Section 1002.45(7) F.S.
9
Section 1003.53(1), F.S.
10
Florida Department of Education, Dropout Prevention and Academic Intervention Programs 2023-2024 Annual Report,
available at https://www.fldoe.org/file/5576/2324DropoutPreventReport.pdf.
11
Section 1008.34(1), F.S.
12
Section 1008.33(4), F.S.
13
Section 1008.36, F.S. BILL: CS/CS/SB 1402 Page 4
school models). Each school must receive a school grade based on the school’s performance in
the following components:
14
• The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, standardized assessments in ELA,
mathematics, science, and social studies.
• The percentage of eligible students who make learning gains in ELA and mathematics as
measured by statewide, standardized assessments.
• The percentage of eligible students in the lowest 25 percent in ELA and mathematics, as
identified by prior year performance on statewide, standardized assessments, who make
learning gains as measured by statewide, standardized ELA assessments.
• For schools comprised of grade levels that include grade three, the percentage of eligible
students who score an achievement level three or higher on the grade three statewide,
standardized ELA assessment.
• For schools comprised of middle grades six through eight or grades seven and eight, the
percentage of eligible students passing high school level statewide, standardized end-of-
course assessments or attaining national industry certifications identified in the CAPE
Industry Certification Funding List pursuant to SBE rule.
15
For a school comprised of grades nine-12, or 10-12, the school’s grade includes the following
components:
• The four-year high school graduation rate of the school.
• The percentage of students who were eligible to earn college and career credit in a specified
acceleration mechanism, who earn a specified industry certification, or who participate in
Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps courses and earn a qualifying score on the Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.
16
School Improvement Ratings for Alternative Schools
An alternative school, for the purposes of school accountability, is a school that provides dropout
prevention and academic intervention services. An alternative school may choose to receive a
school improvement rating or a school grade. School improvement ratings are calculated using
student learning gains on statewide, standardized English Language Arts and mathematics
assessments for all eligible students who are enrolled in the school and who have assessment
scores or comparable scores for the preceding school year.
17
Schools that improve their ratings
by at least one level or maintain a “commendable” rating are eligible for school recognition
awards. The school improvement rating identifies an alternative school as having one of the
following ratings:
• Commendable: a significant percentage of the students attending the school are making
learning gains.
• Maintaining: a sufficient percentage of the students attending the school are making learning
gains.
14
Section 1008.34(3)(b), F.S.
15
Section 1008.34(3), F.S.; See also Rule 6A-1.09981(4)(a)-(c), F.A.C.
15
Section 1008.34(3), F.S.; See also Rule 6A-1.09981(4)(a)-(c), F.A.C.
16
Section 1008.34(3)(b), F.S.
17
Section 1008.341(3), F.S. BILL: CS/CS/SB 1402 Page 5
• Unsatisfactory: an insufficient percentage of the students attending the school are making
learning gains.
18
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
This bill amends section 1002.45, F.S., to require that each Virtual Instruction Provider (VIP)
receive a school grade or school improvement rating for each district with which it contracts,
based on the assessment scores of all students served within those districts. The bill also exempts
VIP providers that operate as a dropout retrieval program from receiving a district grade.
The bill also amends s. 1003.53, F.S., to define a dropout retrieval program as a program serving
students who have officially withdrawn from high school before graduation and were not
engaged in the education system at the time of enrollment. The bill also requires all dropout
retrieval programs to choose between receiving a school improvement rating or a school grade.
This act takes effect July 1, 2025.
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.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
18
Section 1008.341(2), F.S. BILL: CS/CS/SB 1402 Page 6
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
This bill does not have a fiscal impact on state revenues or expenditures.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends the following sections of the Florida Statutes: 1002.45 and
1003.53.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Substantial Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS/CS by Appropriations Committee on Pre-K - 12 Education on March 25, 2025:
The committee substitute requires all dropout retrieval programs to choose between
receiving a school improvement rating or a school grade.
CS by Education Pre-K - 12 on March 17, 2025:
The committee substitute requires that each Virtual Instruction Provider (VIP) receive a
school grade or school improvement rating for each district with which it contracts, based
on the assessment scores of all students served within those districts. The committee
substitute also exempts a VIP operating as a dropout retrieval program from receiving a
district grade. Finally, the committee substitute moves the definition of a dropout
retrieval program from the original bill to the dropout prevention and academic
intervention statute.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.