House Bill 1285: Education

HB 1285: Education

The bill makes a number of changes to Florida’s K-12 public schools, specifically the bill:

• Requires virtual instruction providers and virtual charter schools to provide a list of students to be administered statewide assessments and progress monitoring to the school district, and specifies that unless an alternative testing site is mutually agreed upon, all assessments and progress monitoring must be taken at the school to which the student would be assigned according to district school board attendance policies;
• Requires district school boards to make reasonable efforts to enter into dual enrollment articulation agreements with a Florida College System (FCS) institution which offers online dual enrollment courses;
• Requires each school district and charter school to offer students in grades 11 and 12 the opportunity to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and consult with a military recruiter if the student chooses;
• Expands Florida’s support of military families by creating the Purple Star School District Program which recognizes school districts with at least 75 percent of schools designated as Purple Star Campuses;
• Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt rules for the issuance of a classical education teaching certificate;
• Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to appoint and remove an executive director for the Education Practices Commission;
• Revises district dropout prevention and academic intervention programs by requiring teachers assigned to such schools to be certified, revising the parental notification prior to student enrollment in the program, and requiring students in the program to have individualized student goals and progress monitoring;
• Revises the deadlines for submission of turnaround plans and requirements under a turnaround option available to low performing schools, specifying the responsibilities of a school district and charter school who are implementing a turnaround plan for a public school which is reopening as a charter school, prohibiting a district from charging rental or leasing fees for the existing facility or withholding an administrative fee, and requiring the SBE to develop a standard charter school turnaround contract, facility lease, and mutual management agreement;
• Requires that any changes made by the SBE to components in the school grades model or the school grading scale must go into effect, at the earliest, in the following school year;
• Allows a classical charter school to provide an enrollment preference to students who transfer from another classical school;
• Exempts an owner or lessee of a property used to house a charter school from having to make an annual ad valorem tax exemption application, and provides penalties under certain circumstances related to the exemption.

At the postsecondary level, the bill:

• Requires that for each adoption cycle, publishers and manufacturers must make sample copies of all state -adopted instructional materials available electronically for use by Florida’s Educator Preparation Institutes;
• Prohibits a public postsecondary institution from implicitly or explicitly prohibiting applicants or currently enrolled students from being employed, either full time or part time, as a condition of admission to or enrollment in any of the institution’s schools, colleges, or programs;
• Provides a single-document method for a student to prove residency for tuition purposes;
• Transitions and extends the effective period for the amount paid by the Florida Prepaid College Board to state universities on behalf of qualified beneficiaries of advance payment contracts within the Florida Prepaid Program;
• Authorizes an Associate in Arts (AA) specialized transfer degree for FCS institution students who need supplemental lower -level coursework above the 60 credit hours of the traditional AA degree in preparation for transfer to a baccalaureate degree program; and
• Repeals the FCS Institution Employment Equity Accountability Program. 

EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES

Virtual Instruction Programs 

The bill requires virtual instruction providers and virtual charter schools to provide a list of students to be administered statewide assessments and progress monitoring to the school district, including the students’ names, Florida Education Identifiers, grade levels, assessments, and progress monitoring to be administered, and contact information.

The bill specifies that unless an alternative testing site is mutually agreed upon by the virtual provider and the school district, or specified in a contract between the school district and a qualified contractor, all assessments and progress monitoring must be taken at the school to which the student would be assigned according to district school board attendance policies. The school district must provide the student with access to the school’s or district’s testing facilities and provide the student with the date and time of the administration of each assessment and progress monitoring.  

Dual Enrollment 

The bill requires district school boards to make reasonable efforts to enter into dual enrollment articulation agreements with a FCS institution which offers online dual enrollment courses.

The Purple Star Campus Program 

The bill requires the DOE to create the Purple Star School District Program. At a minimum, the program must require a participating district to have at least 75% of schools in the district designated as Purple Star Campuses and maintain a web page on the district website with resources for military students and their families and links to each Purple Star Campus’s web page with resources.

The bill authorizes the DOE to establish additional program criteria to identify school districts that demonstrate a commitment to or provide critical coordination of services for military students and their families, including, but not limited to, establishing a council consisting of a representative from each Purple Star Campus in the district and one district-level representative to ensure the alignment of military student-focused policies and procedures within the district.

The bill authorizes the SBE to adopt rules to administer the program.

Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) & Military Recruiters

The bill requires each school district and charter school to offer students in grades 11 and 12 the

opportunity to take the ASVAB and consult with a military recruiter if the student chooses. The ASVAB must be scheduled during normal school hours.

Dropout Prevention and Academic Intervention

The bill authorizes district school boards to assign students to a disciplinary program for disruptive students or an alternative school setting or other program in accordance with the state’s policy of zero tolerance for crime and victimization. The bill requires that, notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no student can be identified as eligible to receive services through the dropout prevention and academic intervention program solely based on having a disability. 

The bill requires that before placement in a dropout prevention and academic intervention program or the provision of an academic service, the school principal, or his or her designee, must provide written notice of placement or services to the student's parent; must make a reasonable effort to notify the student's parent by telephone or e-mail, or both; and must document this effort.

The bill provides that dropout prevention and academic intervention programs established by each district school board must utilize student services that lead to improved student behavior as appropriate to the specific needs of the student. The bill requires that each student enrolled in a dropout prevention and academic intervention program has an academic intervention plan developed to address eligibility for placement in the program and to provide individualized student goals and progress monitoring procedures. A student's academic intervention plan must be consistent with the student's individual education plan (IEP).

Finally, the bill requires that teachers assigned to dropout prevention and academic intervention programs are certified as required under the law and by rules of the SBE.

School Improvement and Accountability

School Turnaround Plans

The bill makes several changes relating to the procedures and prescribed options for a school which is required to implement a district-managed turnaround option or which has completed a cycle of turnaround and has not improved to a grade of “C” or higher.

For a school which has earned a school grade of “F” or a second consecutive school grade of “D” and is required to implement a district-managed turnaround option, for the 2024-2025 school year, the submission deadlines for the memorandum of understanding and district-managed turnaround plan the school district must submit to the DOE remain the same, September 1 and October 1, respectively. Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, both submission deadlines are moved to August 1. The bill requires that a district-managed turnaround plan must only include measurable academic benchmarks that put the school on a path to earning and maintaining a grade of “C” or higher.

For a school that has not improved to a grade of “C” or higher under a district-managed turnaround plan and has selected the turnaround option of closing and reopening as a charter school, the bill provides the following requirements for the school district and the charter school operator upon reopening as a charter school:

• The school district must continue to operate the school for the following school year and must execute a charter school turnaround contract by October 1 that will allow the charter school an opportunity to conduct an evaluation of the educational program and personnel currently assigned to the school during the year in preparation for assuming full operational control of the school and facility by July 1. The school district may not reduce or remove resources from the school during this time.
• The charter school operator must provide enrollment preference to students currently attending or who would have otherwise attended or been zoned for the school. The school district must consult and negotiate with the charter school every three years to determine whether realignment of the attendance zone is appropriate to ensure that students residing closest to the school are provided with an enrollment preference.
• The charter school operator must serve the existing grade levels served by the school at its current enrollment or higher, but may, at its discretion, serve additional grade levels.
• The school district may not charge rental or leasing fees for the existing facility or for the property normally inventoried to the school. The school and the school district must agree to reasonable maintenance provisions in order to maintain the facility in a manner similar to all other school facilities in the school district.
• The school district may not withhold an administrative fee for the provision of services identified in statute.

The bill provides that ceasing implementation of a turnaround option because a school improves to a grade of “C” or higher, does not apply to a school district that has already executed a charter school turnaround contract.

Finally, the bill requires the SBE to adopt rules to implement these provisions and to develop a standard charter school turnaround contract, a standard facility lease, and a mutual management

School Grades 

The bill requires that beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, any changes made by the SBE to components in the school grades model or the school grading scale must go into effect, at the earliest, in the following school year. 

 Charter Schools

All charter schools in Florida are tuition-free public schools within the state’s public education system. One of the guiding principles of charter schools is to “meet high standards of student achievement while providing parents flexibility to choose among diverse educational opportunities within the state’s public school system.” Ninety-five charter schools operate under a performance contract with a sponsor. This performance contract is known as a “charter.

• The bill authorizes a charter school to give enrollment preference to students who transfer from a Florida classical school to a charter classical school in the state. The bill defines a classical school as a traditional public school or charter school which implements a classical education school model that emphasizes the development of students in the principles of moral character and civic virtue through a well-rounded education in the liberal arts and sciences that is based on the classical trivium stages of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
• The bill removes “charter school owner” from the definition of “charter school personnel.” This is an outdated term as charter schools do not have owners, but instead have governing boards.
• The bill exempts an owner or lessee of a property used to house a charter school from having to make an annual ad valorem tax exemption application. The bill provides that the owner or lessee of such property is required to notify the property appraiser promptly whenever the use of the property or the status or condition of the owner or lessee changes so as to change the exempt status of the property.
• The bill provides penalties if any owner or lessee fails to notify the property appraiser and the property appraiser determines that for any year within the prior 10 years the owner or lessee was not entitled to receive such exemption. If this occurs, the owner or lessee of the property is subject to the taxes exempted as a result of such failure plus 15 percent interest per annum and a penalty of 50 percent of the taxes exempted. 
• The property appraiser making such determination must record in the public records of the county a notice of tax lien against any property owned by that person or entity in the county, and such property must be identified in the notice of tax lien. Such property is subject to the payment of all taxes and penalties. Such lien when filed shall attach to any property, identified in the notice of tax lien, owned by the person or entity who illegally or improperly received the exemption. If such person or entity no longer owns property in that county but owns property in some other county or counties in the state, the property appraiser will record a notice of tax lien in such other county or counties, identifying the property owned by such person or entity in such county or counties, and it will become a lien against that property.

K-12 Instructional Materials

The bill requires the SBE to adopt rules to allow for the issuance of a classical education teaching certificate. Upon the request of a classical school, the DOE will issue a classical education teaching certificate to any applicant who fulfills the requirements for a professional certificate except for demonstrating mastery of general knowledge, subject area knowledge, and professional preparation and education competence. Teachers who teach in classical learning models will demonstrate competency through the classical model of professional learning provided by the school and any other criteria established by the DOE. This certificate is only valid at a classical school.

The bill defines a "classical school" as a school that implements and provides professional learning in a classical education school model that emphasizes the development of students in the principles of moral character and civic virtue through a well-rounded education in the liberal arts and sciences that is based on the classical trivium stages of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.

Education Practices Commission

The bill authorizes the commissioner, at his or her discretion, to appoint and remove an executive director for the commission. The bill requires the commission to be assigned to the DOE for fiscal accountability purposes and provides that the commission may make expenditures on legal services when necessary.

Working Students

The bill prohibits a public postsecondary institution from implicitly or explicitly prohibiting applicants or currently enrolled students from being employed, either full time or part time, as a condition of admission to or enrollment in any of the institution’s schools, colleges, or programs.

The prohibition on employment does not apply if the applicant or currently enrolled student is employed by an organization or agency that is affiliated or associated with a foreign country of concern.

Residency Status for Tuition Purposes

The bill authorizes proof of a homestead exemption in Florida to serve as a single, conclusive piece of evidence for a student to prove residency for tuition purposes.

Stanley G. Tate Florida Prepaid College Program 

• The bill transitions the effective period for the amount paid by the Florida Prepaid College Board to state universities on behalf of qualified beneficiaries of advance payment contracts within the Prepaid Florida Program from 2009-2010 to 2022-2023. Additionally, it extends the applicability of the contracts to those purchased before July 1, 2034.
• The bill clarifies that the base rate is the amount assessed.
• The bill also removes obsolete language in regards to the differential fee amount paid for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

Florida College System-Transfer Degrees

The bill creates a new AA specialized transfer degree. The specialized transfer degrees are designed for FCS institution students who need supplemental lower-level coursework above the 60 credit hours of the traditional AA degree in preparation for transfer to a baccalaureate degree program. An AA specialized transfer degree must include 36 semester hours of general education coursework and require 60 semester hours or more of college credit.

The bill requires the SBE to establish criteria for the review and approval of new specialized transfer degrees. The approval process must require:

• After the submission of comments, the requesting FCS institution to submit a proposal that, at a minimum, includes:
• The Division of Florida Colleges to forward the notice of intent within 10 business days after receipt to all FCS institutions and the Chancellor of the SUS, who must forward the notice to all state universities. State universities and FCS institutions have 60 days after receipt of the notice to submit comments to the proposed AA specialized transfer degree.
• A FCS institution to submit a notice of its intent to propose a new AA specialized degree program to the Division of Florida Colleges. The notice must include the recommended credit hours, the rationale for the specialization, the demand for students entering the field, and the coursework being proposed to be included beyond the 60 semester hours required for the general transfer degree, if applicable. Notices of intent may be submitted by a FCS institution at any time.
• Evidence that the coursework for the AA specialized transfer degree includes demonstration of competency in a foreign language236 and demonstration of civic literacy competency.
• Demonstration that all required coursework will count toward the AA degree or the baccalaureate degree.
• An analysis of demand and unmet need for students entering the specialized field of study at the baccalaureate level.
• Justification for the program length if it exceeds 60 credit hours, including references to the Common Prerequisite Manual or other requirements for the baccalaureate degree. This includes documentation of alignment between the exit requirements of a FCS institution and the admissions requirements of a baccalaureate program at a state university to which students would typically transfer.
• Articulation agreements for graduates of the AA specialized transfer degree.
• Responses to the comments received. 

The Division of Florida Colleges must review the proposal and, within 30 days after receipt, provide written notification to the FCS institution of any deficiencies and provide the institution with an opportunity to correct the deficiencies. Within 45 days after receipt of a completed proposal by the Division of Florida Colleges, the commissioner must recommend approval or disapproval of the new specialized transfer degree to the SBE. The SBE must consider the recommendation at its next meeting.

Upon approval of an AA specialized transfer degree by the SBE, a FCS institution may offer the degree and must report data on student and program performance in a manner prescribed by the DOE.

The bill requires the SBE to adopt rules to prescribe format and content requirements and submission procedures for notices of intent, proposals, and compliance reviews for the AA specialized transfer degree.

Florida College System Institution Employment Equity Accountability Program

The bill repeals the FCS Institution Employment Equity Accountability Program. 

Related Bills: SB 996, HB 7025, HB 7039

Status: Bill passed on March 7, 2024