Senate Bill 1908 - School Grading

The 2008 Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 1908 - School Grading.  This bill requires that by December 31, 2011, the State Board of Education will replace the Sunshine State Standards with “Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.”  We encourage you to review the enrolled version of the bill.

Related to this bill, the Florida Department of Education has embarked upon the Next Generation High School Initiative.  The mission of this initiative is to create a shift in culture:

• Higher expectations;
• More rigorous curriculum;
• Respond to students needs and
• Ensure students are prepared for college and or a high-skills high-wage work force.

Access, articulation and accountability are integral components of the initiative.  (Please see attached powerpoint)

In order to address the articulation component of the Next Generation High School Initiative, Florida has joined 33 other states as a member state in the American Diploma Project (ADP) Project http://www.achieve.org/ .  This is an Achieve, Inc. initiative created to insure that all students graduate from high school prepared to face the challenges of work and college.  There are four components of the goal for the ADP:

• Align high school standards and assessment with the knowledge and skills required for success after high school
• Require all graduates to take rigorous courses aligned to college- and work- ready standards that prepare them for life after high school
• Streamline the assessment system so that tests students take in high school also serve as placement tests for college and hiring for work
• Hold high schools accountable for graduating students who are ready for college or careers and hold postsecondary institutions accountable for students’ success once enrolled.

You may wish to review the Achieve powerpoint presentation to discover more about this project online at http://www.fldoe.org/cc/gohigher/2007_10_11/agenda.asp.

Please look forward to more information regarding the role of the high school counselor in Next Generation High School Initiative in the near future.

Helen Lancashire
Consultant, School Counseling
Student Support Services Project/USF
310 Blount St. Suite 215
Tallahassee, FL 32301-2206
email: hlancash@tempest.coedu.usf.edu
Phone: (850) 488-1842 SunCom: 278-1842
Fax: (850) 921-4752