Florida Senate Bill S1402 Latest Draft

 Florida Senate - 2025 CS for CS for SB 1402  By the Appropriations Committee on Pre-K - 12 Education; the Committee on Education Pre-K - 12; and Senator Yarborough 602-02902-25 20251402c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to students enrolled in dropout 3 retrieval programs; amending s. 1002.45, F.S.; 4 revising assessment and accountability requirements 5 for a virtual instruction program provider; providing 6 that a virtual instruction program provider operating 7 exclusively as a dropout retrieval program is exempt 8 from specified requirements; amending s. 1003.53, 9 F.S.; providing that dropout retrieval programs serve 10 a specified group of students; requiring a dropout 11 retrieval program to choose to receive a school grade 12 or school improvement rating; providing an effective 13 date. 14 15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16 17 Section 1.Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 18 1002.45, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 19 1002.45Virtual instruction programs. 20 (7)ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 21 (a)Each approved virtual instruction program provider 22 contracted pursuant to this section must: 23 1.Participate in the statewide assessment program under s. 24 1008.22 and in the states education performance accountability 25 system under s. 1008.31. 26 2.Receive a school grade under s. 1008.34 or a school 27 improvement rating under s. 1008.341, as applicable, for each 28 district with which it contracts, based on the assessment scores 29 of all students served within the school district. The school 30 improvement rating received by each approved virtual instruction 31 program provider shall be based upon the aggregated assessment 32 scores of all students served by the provider statewide. Each 33 approved virtual instruction program provider shall receive a 34 district grade pursuant to s. 1008.34 based upon the aggregated 35 assessment scores of all students served by the provider 36 statewide and a separate school grade or school improvement 37 rating for each school district with which it contracts based 38 upon the assessment scores of all students served within the 39 school district. A virtual instruction program provider 40 operating exclusively as a dropout retrieval program as 41 described in s. 1003.53(7) is exempt from the district grade 42 requirement of this paragraph. The department shall publish the 43 school grade or school improvement rating received by each 44 approved virtual instruction program provider on its Internet 45 website. The department shall develop an evaluation method for 46 providers of part-time programs which includes the percentage of 47 students making learning gains, the percentage of students 48 successfully passing any required end-of-course assessment, the 49 percentage of students taking Advanced Placement examinations, 50 and the percentage of students scoring 3 or higher on an 51 Advanced Placement examination. 52 Section 2.Present subsection (7) of section 1003.53, 53 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (8), and a new 54 subsection (7) is added to that section, to read: 55 1003.53Dropout prevention and academic intervention. 56 (7)Dropout retrieval programs serve students who have 57 officially withdrawn from high school before graduation and who 58 are not engaged in the education system at the time of 59 enrollment in the program. Each dropout retrieval program shall 60 choose to receive a school grade under s. 1008.34 or a school 61 improvement rating under s. 1008.341. 62 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.