Title: Public School Attendance

Summary: Creates Student Preparedness Pilot Program to include Duval County School District as one of selected school districts; requires that students in pilot program districts who are 16-18 years of age & do not regularly attend school shall be subject to attendance & completion requirements; requires pilot program districts to identify curricula options; requires annual study & report by OPPAGA.

Full Text:
An act relating to public school attendance; amending ss. 1002.01, 1002.20, 1002.42, and 1002.43, F.S.; conforming cross-references; amending s. 1003.01, F.S.; redefining the term "habitual truancy" to apply to students who are subject to pilot program requirements; defining the term "regular program attendance" to conform to changes made by the act; amending s. 1003.21, F.S.; requiring that a student in a pilot program school district be informed of attendance and completion requirements; creating s. 1003.215, F.S.; creating the Student Preparedness Pilot Program; requiring that the Duval County School District and each selected school district review and identify curricula options for certain students; requiring that students in pilot program districts who attain the age of 16 years but have not reached the age of years and who do not regularly attend school be subject to specific attendance and completion requirements; providing for an application and selection process for school district participation; specifying procedures for termination of school enrollment and requirements for pilot program attendance and completion; providing that students who select a nontraditional academic option are not eligible students for purposes of school grading; requiring that the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability conduct and submit an annual study and report; amending s. 1003.26, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; providing an effective date. 30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 32 Section 1. Section 1002.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1002.01 Definitions.-(1) A "home education program" means the sequentially progressive instruction of a student directed by his or her parent in order to satisfy the attendance requirements in of ss. 1002.41, 1003.01(13)(a) 1003.01(13),and 1003.21(1). (2) A "private school" is a nonpublic school defined as an individual, association, copartnership, or corporation, or department, division, or section of such organizations, that designates itself as an educational center that includes kindergarten or a higher grade or as an elementary, secondary, business, technical, or trade school below college level or any organization that provides instructional services that meet the requirements in s. 1003.01(13)(a) intent of s. 1003.01(13) or that gives preemployment or supplementary training in technology or in fields of trade or industry or that offers academic, literary, or career training below college level, or any combination of the above, including an institution that performs the functions of the above schools through correspondence or extension, except those licensed under the provisions of chapter 1005. A private school may be a parochial, religious, denominational, for-profit, or nonprofit school. This definition does not include home education programs conducted in accordance with s. 1002.41. Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.-Parents of public school students must receive accurate and timely information regarding their child's academic progress and must be informed of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory rights including, but not limited to, the following: (2) ATTENDANCE.-(b) Regular school attendance.-Parents of students who have attained the age of years by February of any school year but who have not attained the age of years must comply with the compulsory school attendance laws. Parents have the option to comply with the school attendance laws by attendance of the student in a public school; a parochial, religious, or denominational school; a private school; a home education program; or a private tutoring program, pursuant to s. 1003.01(13)(a) in accordance with the provisions of s. 1003.01(13).Section 3. Subsection (7) of section 1002.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1002.42 Private schools.-(7) ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS.-Attendance of a student at a private, parochial, religious, or denominational school satisfies the attendance requirements in of ss. 1003.01(13)(a) 1003.01(13) and 1003.21(1). Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 1002.43, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1002.43 Private tutoring programs.-(1) Regular school attendance as defined in s. 1003.01(13)(a) s. 1003.01(13) may be achieved by attendance in a private tutoring program if the person tutoring the student meets the following requirements: (a) Holds a valid Florida certificate to teach the subjects or grades in which instruction is given. (b) Keeps all records and makes all reports required by the state and district school board and makes regular reports on the attendance of students in accordance with the provisions of s. 1003.23(2). (c) Requires students to be in actual attendance for the minimum length of time prescribed by s. 1011.60(2). Section 5. Subsections (8) and (13) of section 1003.01, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1003.01 Definitions.-As used in this chapter, the term: (8) "Habitual truant" means a student who has unexcused absences within calendar days with or without the knowledge or consent of the student's parent;, is subject to compulsory school attendance under s. 1003.21(1) and (2)(a) or is subject to the Student Preparedness Pilot Program under s. 1003.215;,and is not exempt under s. 1003.21(3),or s. 1003.24, or by meeting the criteria for any other exemption specified by law or rules of the State Board of Education. Such a student must have been the subject of the activities specified in ss. 1003.26 and 1003.27(3), without resultant successful remediation of the truancy problem before being dealt with as a child in need of services according to the provisions of chapter 984. (13) (a) "Regular school attendance" means the actual attendance of a student during the school day as defined by law and rules of the State Board of Education. Regular attendance within the intent of s. 1003.21 may be achieved by attendance in: 1. (a) A public school supported by public funds; 2. (b) A parochial, religious, or denominational school; 3. (c) A private school supported in whole or in part by tuition charges or by endowments or gifts; 4. (d) A home education program that meets the requirements of chapter 1002; or 5. (e) A private tutoring program that meets the requirements of chapter 1002. (b) "Regular program attendance" means actual attendance by a student who is participating in the Student Preparedness Pilot Program under s. 1003.215 and who has selected a traditional or nontraditional academic option as defined by law and rules of the State Board of Education. The district school superintendent shall enforce the attendance of the student. Section 6. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 1003.21, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1003.21 School attendance.-(1) (c) A student who attains the age of years during the school year is not subject to compulsory school attendance beyond the date upon which he or she attains that age if the student files a formal declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment with the district school board. Public school students who have attained the age of years and who have not graduated are subject to compulsory school attendance until the formal declaration of intent is filed with the district school board. The declaration must acknowledge that terminating school enrollment is likely to reduce the student's earning potential and must be signed by the student and the student's parent. The school district must notify the student's parent of receipt of the student's declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment. The student's guidance counselor or other school personnel must conduct an exit interview with the student to determine the reasons for the student's decision to terminate school enrollment and actions that could be taken to keep the student in school. The student must be informed of opportunities to continue his or her education in a different environment, including, but not limited to, adult education and GED test preparation. Additionally, the student must complete a survey in a format prescribed by the Department of Education to provide data on student reasons for terminating enrollment and actions taken by schools to keep students enrolled. A student enrolled in a Student Preparedness Pilot Program school district must receive information regarding the program's attendance and completion requirements under s. 1003.215. Section 7. Section 1003.215, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 1003.215 Student Preparedness Pilot Program.-(1) The Legislature finds that it is in the public interest that all students exit from public schools having attained academic skills that provide the students the opportunity to pursue postsecondary education or having attained skills that lead to ready-to-work certification, industry certification, or skill licensure. (2)(a) Beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, and continuing through the 2017-2018 school year, there is created the Student Preparedness Pilot Program, which shall be implemented as a pilot program by school districts. Students in a school district selected to implement the pilot program pursuant to subsection (3) who attain the age of years, but have not reached the age of years, and who choose to exercise their option not to regularly attend school pursuant to s. 1003.21(1)(c) shall be subject to the attendance and completion requirements in this section. (b) In the 2011-2012 school year, each school district selected pursuant to subsection (3) shall review, identify, and develop curricula options for the implementation of the pilot program requirements pursuant to paragraph (5)(a) for students who attain the age of years, but have not reached the age of 18 years, and whose academic goals may not include a traditional high school diploma. These options shall include, but are not limited to, nontraditional academic options and flexible attendance options, and may include a phasing in of students by age or grade. Each selected school district must develop a plan to meet the student's needs and the attendance and completion requirements in this section before the pilot program is implemented in the 2012-2013 school year. (3) The Department of Education shall develop an application process for all school districts to apply to participate in the pilot program. The State Board of Education shall select the pilot program districts, one of which shall be the Duval County School District. (4) Parents of public school students enrolled in a participating pilot program district must receive accurate and timely information regarding their child's academic progress and must be informed of ways they can help their child succeed in school. (5)(a) A student in a participating pilot program district who attains the age of years, but has not reached the age of 18 years, has the right to file a formal declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment if the declaration is signed by the parent. The parent has the right to be notified by the school district of the district's receipt of the student's declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment. The student's guidance counselor or other school personnel must conduct an exit interview pursuant to s. 1003.21(1)(c). Any student in a participating pilot program district who files a declaration seeking to terminate school enrollment but has not reached the age of years shall be required, until completion or attainment of the age of years, to continue pursuing credits toward a high school diploma, pursue a high school equivalency diploma along with participation in the Florida Ready to Work Certification Program under s. 1004.99, participate in a career or job training program leading to industry certification or skill licensure that is developed by or in cooperation with the district school board, or participate in the Florida Ready to Work Certification Program under s. 1004.99. (b) A Student Preparedness Pilot Program student subject to the attendance and completion requirements in this section is not an eligible student for purposes of school grading under s. 1008.34(3)(c) if the student has selected a nontraditional academic option as part of the pilot program. (6) Students who are or become married or who are pregnant and parenting have the right to attend school and receive the same or equivalent educational instruction as other students. (7) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), in cooperation with the participating pilot program districts, the applicable state attorneys' offices and regional workforce boards, the Agency for Workforce Innovation, the Department of Education, and the Department of Juvenile Justice, shall conduct a study annually of the impact of the pilot program on dropout and graduation rates, on the employability of students, and on juvenile crime, using 2010-2011 data as the baseline for the research. OPPAGA shall develop criteria for the collection and reporting of data using input from the cooperating entities. The results of each annual report shall be made available to participating pilot program districts, the applicable state attorneys' offices and regional workforce boards, the Agency for Workforce Education, the Department of Education, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by January following each school year, beginning January 1, 2015. Section 8. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section 1003.26, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1003.26 Enforcement of school attendance.-The Legislature finds that poor academic performance is associated with nonattendance and that school districts must take an active role in promoting and enforcing attendance as a means of improving student performance. It is the policy of the state that each district school superintendent be responsible for enforcing school attendance of all students subject to the compulsory school age in the school district and supporting enforcement of school attendance by local law enforcement agencies. The responsibility includes recommending policies and procedures to the district school board that require public schools to respond in a timely manner to every unexcused absence, and every absence for which the reason is unknown, of students enrolled in the schools. District school board policies shall require the parent of a student to justify each absence of the student, and that justification will be evaluated based on adopted district school board policies that define excused and unexcused absences. The policies must provide that public schools track excused and unexcused absences and contact the home in the case of an unexcused absence from school, or an absence from school for which the reason is unknown, to prevent the development of patterns of nonattendance. The Legislature finds that early intervention in school attendance is the most effective way of producing good attendance habits that will lead to improved student learning and achievement. Each public school shall implement the following steps to promote and enforce regular school attendance: (1) CONTACT, REFER, AND ENFORCE.-(f)1. If the parent of a child who has been identified as exhibiting a pattern of nonattendance enrolls the child in a home education program pursuant to chapter 1002, the district school superintendent shall provide the parent a copy of s. 1002.41 and the accountability requirements in of this paragraph. The district school superintendent shall also refer the parent to a home education review committee composed of the district contact for home education programs and at least two home educators selected by the parent from a district list of all home educators who have conducted a home education program for at least years and who have indicated a willingness to serve on the committee. The home education review committee shall review the portfolio of the student, as defined by s. 1002.41, every days during the district's regular school terms until the committee is satisfied that the home education program is in compliance with s. 1002.41(1)(b). The first portfolio review must occur within the first calendar days of the establishment of the program. The provisions of subparagraph 2. do not apply once the committee determines the home education program is in compliance with s. 1002.41(1)(b). 2. If the parent fails to provide a portfolio to the committee, the committee shall notify the district school superintendent. The district school superintendent shall then terminate the home education program and require the parent to enroll the child in an attendance option that meets the definition of "regular school attendance" under s. 1003.01(13)(a) 1., 2., 3., or 5.,(b), (c), or (e), within days. Upon termination of a home education program pursuant to this subparagraph, the parent shall not be eligible to reenroll the child in a home education program for calendar days. Failure of a parent to enroll the child in an attendance option as required by this subparagraph after termination of the home education program pursuant to this subparagraph shall constitute noncompliance with the compulsory attendance requirements of s. 1003.21 and may result in criminal prosecution under s. 1003.27(2). Nothing contained herein shall restrict the ability of the district school superintendent, or the ability of his or her designee, to review the portfolio pursuant to s. 1002.41(1)(b). Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.