An "education train" bill to slash standardized testing is chugging its way along in the Florida Legislature, on track to pass sweeping changes to slash standardized testing and make changes to the state’s K-12 education system.
On Monday, the Florida House Education Committee passed HB 773, sponsored by Rep. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, and Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, sailing through its last committee stop before heading to the House floor.
The “Fewer, Better Tests” bill aims to cut back on standardized tests and make changes to statewide assessments in Florida.
Late Sunday evening, Diaz filed a last-minute, 76-page amendment which sandwiches various proposals from other education bills lawmakers tried to pass earlier this year.
Diaz’s amendment would change the current testing schedule, cutting testing time to a two-week window for the English Language Arts and writing exam for grades 4-10, beginning no earlier than April 1. Paper-based exams would be mandated to be administered in a two-week timeframe no earlier than May 1.
“Testing season” currently begins as early as March across the state and lasts for months, which has routinely been criticized by education activists.
The lengthy amendment would also have a sweeping impact on getting rid of some tests in Florida -- Diaz’s measure would eliminate the end-of-course assessment test for Algebra II and would also allow some students the option of using pencil-and-paper exams rather than taking tests online, which is currently mandatory for all grades.
Both provisions, especially the pencil-and-paper exam, have been pushed by education activists for years as a way to provide more options for students taking standardized test in Florida.
Diaz’s amended bill would establish a system to publish statewide assessments. Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, the Florida Department of Education would be required to publish each assessment test.
At a minimum, the department would have to publish the third grade English language arts and mathematics exams, the tenth grade ELA assessment, and the Algebra I EOC assessment test.
HB 773 would also require the Commissioner of Education to hire a third party to create an individual learning growth assessment for students so teachers and students can see how they are performing from year to year.
Diaz’s bill does not include mandatory recess time, a provision which was thrown into the Senate “education train” bill, SB 926, last week. The recess bill had an easy time passing through the Senate but has stalled out in the House for the time being.
House Democrats said they would prefer to vote in favor of the Senate’s education bill, but said they would hop on board with the House proposal anyway.
"It needs a bit of work.. but let's not let perfect get in the way of good,” said Rep. Larry Lee, D-Port Saint Lucie.
“Everything in the bill isn't something I like... but I think I'll hop on the train,” said Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park.
Only Rep. Kamia Jones, D-Ocoee, was the lone vote against the measure.
The bill now heads to the House floor for a full vote, but lawmakers will need to negotiate with the Senate to hammer out a final version of the bill. Negotiations over HB 773 could begin as early as this week.
The legislative session ends May 5.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
