The legislative education train left the station Wednesday, passing through the Senate by a vote of 28-12.
The newly-passed legislation were packed with education reforms which would have lasting impacts on the state’s education system.
HB 7029 contains accountability measures for charter schools, creates the High Impact Charter Network, and would allow for open enrollment in schools. High school athletes could also transfer schools, a significant change from previous legislation.
Another education train set to leave the station is HB 524, which the Senate is set to consider before the legislative session ends.
One of the biggest parts that passed in the bill was the establishment of the Florida College System Performance-Based Incentive, giving state universities financial incentives based on performance-based metrics adopted by the State Board of Education.
The performance-based metrics must include retention rates, program completion and graduation rates, postgraduation employment, salaries, and continuing education for workforce education and baccalaureate programs.
HB 524 includes Florida’s Best and Brightest program, a scholarship which would be given to teachers who had performed highly on their ACT/SAT college admission tests. To qualify for the Best and Brightest scholarship program, teachers must have scored above the 80 percentile on either admission test.
The bill also establishes requirements for online courses, requiring high schoolers to complete at least one course online.
The state’s Principal Autonomy Pilot Program Initiative was also thrown into the train. The program would give highly effective principals more autonomy and authority over the way their school operates. Only eight counties statewide would be eligible to participate in the program.
One aspect of the HB 524 education train which has gathered significant attention is SB 1714, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg. The bill, which would create a competency-based Innovation Pilot Program for certain school districts. As part of the Innovation Pilot Program, studentsmay advance to higher levels of learning after demonstrating a mastery of concepts and skills instead of after a specified timeframe.
Public schools in Palm Beach, Pinellas and Seminole Counties and school districts and charter schools designated by Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart would all be allowed to submit applications to be a part of the competency-based program.
The feedback about the education train wasn’t all positive -- the Florida Stop Common Core Coalition opposed the legislation, saying certain provisions (like SB 1714) were dangerous and could lead to data mining of Florida’s students.
“Many quotes from proponent organizations, including the Gates Foundation, show that the goal of these programs is to do the majority of the teaching online, with constant assessments, data mining, and affective or psychosocial profiling of our children,” the Coalition wrote in an email about the legislation sent to supporters Wednesday. “Because of still weak data protection laws, this data will still be collected and shared with third parties without parental consent.”
The group also opposed the bill for containing similar language.
