Title: Educational Student Achievenment Zones

Summary: Authorizes SBE to designate Educational Student Achievement Zones to eliminate areas in state with low student achievement & chronic student failure; provides criteria for designation of zone; requires process for application by educational provider; provides contractual requirements for delivery of educational services; provides accountability measures & for funding.

Full Text:
An act relating to Educational Student Achievement Zones; authorizing the State Board of Education to create Educational Student Achievement Zones to eliminate areas in the state with low student achievement and chronic student failure; providing criteria for designation of a zone; requiring a process for application by an educational provider; providing contractual requirements for the delivery of educational service s; requiring the Commissioner of Education to create a committee to provide oversight; providing for accountability measures; providing for funding, including eligibility for additional funds for extended instructional time; providing eligibility for capit al outlay funds; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Educational Student Achievement Zones.-(1) To eliminate areas in the state with low student achievement and chronic student fail ure, which prevent those areas from prospering, the State Board of Education may create Educational Student Achievement Zones. The Commissioner of Education, with the approval of the state board, shall identify areas in the state that have educational chal lenges, such as areas of high poverty, areas that are geographically isolated, HB 1255 2014 and military bases, to be designated Educational Student Achievement Zones. (2) The criteria to be considered for the designation of an area as an Educational Student Achievem ent Zone are: (a) High school dropout rates that are chronically high. (b) Low graduation rate among minority students. (c) Academic student achievement that is chronically low. (d) Low reading or mathematics achievement based on statewide assessme nts. (e) High incidence of out-of-cohort students. (f) Any other specific student educational needs of the area. (3)(a) After designating an Educational Student Achievement Zone, the commissioner shall request proposals from educational providers wit ha proven track record of increasing student achievement to deliver educational services within the zone. The commissioner shall give preference to educational providers with innovative solutions to meet the needs of chronically low-achieving students. (b) The commissioner shall create a process by which an educational provider, including, but not limited to, a school district outside the zone, a Florida College System institution, a state university, or a charter school, may apply to become an education al provider in the zone. (c) The commissioner shall execute a contract with an educational provider that specifies the educational services to HB 1255 2014 be provided, the student academic progress to be made, and the timeframe for accomplishing student achievement. The contract shall be in effect for years. (d) The commissioner shall create a committee, consisting of parents, community leaders, district school superintendents, and the chairs of district school boards in the zone, to provide oversight of the turn around effort. (4) The commissioner together with the state board shall establish accountability measures to determine student academic success in Educational Student Achievement Zones, which must be achieved within years from commencement of the contr act. A school participating in a zone shall be given a grade under the state's accountability system but may not be penalized for such a grade during the first academic years of operation. (5) All funding for schools within an Educational Student Achievement Zone shall be through the Department of Education. (6) A school within an Educational Student Achievement Zone that provides extended instructional time is eligible for an additional $2,000 per full-time-equivalent student. For purposes of this se ction, the term "extended instructional time" means minutes or more of instructional time per school day. (7) A charter school operating within an Educational Student Achievement Zone is immediately eligible for charter school capital outlay funds. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.