Title: Alternative High School Course Credit

Summary: Revises the alternative high school course credit pilot project to include up to five school districts beginning in the 2012-2013 school year. Conforms dates for implementation. Provides additional courses for which alternative credit may be earned and end-of-course assessments approved.

Full Text:
An act relating to the alternative high school course credit pilot project; amending s. 1002.375, F.S.; revising the pilot project to include up to five school districts beginning in the 2012-2013 school year; conforming dates for implementation; providing additional courses for which alternative credit may be earned and end-of-course assessments approved; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsections (1), (2), and (4) of section 1002.375, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1002.375 Alternative credit for high school courses; pilot project.  (1) The Commissioner of Education shall implement a pilot project in up to five three school districts beginning in the 2012-2013 2008-2009 school year which allows school districts to award alternative course credit for students enrolled in nationally or state-recognized industry certification programs, as defined by the Agency for Workforce Innovation in accordance with the criteria described in s. 1003.492(2). The Commissioner of Education shall establish criteria for districts that participate in the pilot program. School districts interested in participating in the program must submit a letter of interest by January 1, 2012 July 15, 2008,to the Commissioner of Education identifying up to five nationally or state-recognized industry certification programs, as defined by the Agency for Workforce Innovation in accordance with the criteria described in s. 1003.492(2), under which the district would like to award alternative credit for the eligible courses identified in subsection (2). The Commissioner of Education shall select up to five three participating school districts by March 1, 2012 July 30, 2008.The Commissioner of Education shall submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives identifying the number of students choosing to earn alternative credit, the number of students that received alternative credit, and legislative recommendations for expanding the use of alternative credit for core academic courses required for high school graduation. The report shall be submitted by July 1, 2014 January 1, 2010.(2) For purposes of designing and implementing a successful pilot project, eligible alternative credit courses include Algebra I-A 1a,Algebra I-B 1b,Algebra I,Algebra II, Geometry, and Biology,Anatomy, and Physiology.Alternative credits shall be awarded for courses in which a student is not enrolled, but for which the student may earn academic credit by enrolling in another course or sequence of courses required to earn a nationally or state-recognized industry certificate, as defined by the Agency for Workforce Innovation in accordance with the criteria described in s. 1003.492(2), of which the majority of the standards-based content in the course description is consistent with the alternative credit course description approved by the Department of Education. (4) The Department of Education may approve a course as an alternative credit course pursuant to this section. In order to earn credit, each participating student must pass an end-of course assessment that measures proficiency in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards addressed by the course. The Department of Education shall approve each end-of-course assessment and the minimum passing score for each assessment. Approved assessments shall be limited to assessments for Algebra I-A 1a,Algebra I-B 1b,Algebra I,Algebra II, Geometry, and Biology,Anatomy, and Physiology developed by the Florida Virtual School, or end-of-course statewide standardized assessments for these courses which may be adopted or developed by the department. The department shall approve the method of administering end-of-course assessments for alternative credit courses in each participating school district in order to ensure the validity of the assessment results. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.