Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Florida School Counselor Association



1. Florida Legislative Session Update
2. Open Calais: A Powerful Online Tool For Analyzing Documents
3. Running The Numbers
The Florida Legislature made sweeping changes to graduation requirements and teacher compensation this week, and will soon consider equally-historic changes to the state retirement system. In the midst of all this, the Florida State Board of Education met today and considered 19 important new state board rules. I'll try to have the new state board rules reviewed in the next update, since today's has so much legislative news already.

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FLORIDA LEGISLATIVE SESSION UPDATE
SENATE 0004 (by Nancy Detert, R-Venice and 10 others) This bill is consistent, in part, with proposals from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for Florida's Future, and Achieve, Inc. It is also consistent with the state's Race to the Top grant proposal. This bill would eliminate FCAT administration for mathematics (Grades 9 and 10) and science (Grade 11) in favor of end-of-course examinations. It would require students to pass Geometry, Biology I, Algebra II, Chemistry or physics, and an "equally rigorous science course" in order to graduate from high school. It would also require passing certain end-of-course examinations in order to receive credit in most of those courses, and would allow students to earn credit in those courses by examination only. It would also require high school students to take at least one virtual course in order to graduate. The bill would eliminate Florida's current system of having high school students declare majors. The bill was approved by the Education Committee on March 10th by a 6-2 vote. The bill was approved on March 16th by the Senate Policy & Steering Committee on Ways and Means with 17-7 vote.
This week's action: Along with four amendments, the bill was approved on March 24th by the Senate 36-1. The single "nay" vote was from Frederica Wilson (D-Miami Gardens), the Senate minority whip. Two Republicans and one Democrat did not vote. The bill now goes to the House in messages, The Governor indicated he would likely sign the bill if approved by the House.
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SENATE 0006 (by John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville and 8 others) This bill is consistent, in part, with proposals from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for Florida's Future, and Achieve, Inc. It is also consistent with the state's Race to the Top grant proposal. It would require that more than 50 percent of the salary of instructional personnel and school-based administrators (including those in charter schools) would be based on student learning gains and would require differentiated pay for difficult assignments. It would forbid school districts from considering an employee's experience or education in its salary schedule. It would withhold five percent of the total local, state, and federal funding allocated for each district to be held in a special incentive fund for performance pay. It would abolish professional services contracts for teachers hired after July 1, 2010 and limit those teachers to holding only probationary or annual contracts. It would also require that non-instructional personnel would be compensated under a performance pay plan. It would require all high schools (including all charter high schools) to implement end-of-course examinations in all subjects not tested with FCAT, IB, AP, or similar examinations. The bill provides for the suspension or removal of a superintendent whose standardized testing program is found to be out of compliance with security requirements. The bill would shorten the time available to obtain professional certification and would abolish certification on the basis of a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards credential. The bill would limit Dale Hickam bonuses for National Board teachers to those who who already hold a National Board certificate and who are currently teaching. The bill requires local school boards to impose a punitive ad valorem tax if the school district fails to comply with these new requirements. The bill was approved by the Education Committee on March 10th by a 6-2 vote. It was approved by the Policy & Steering Committee on Ways and Means on March 19th by a 15-8 vote.
This week's action: On March 24, the bill was approved with six amendments by a 21-17 vote mostly along party lines (four Republicans voted against the bill and no Democrats voted for it.) One Republican and one Democrat did not vote. The bill now goes to the House in messages, The Governor indicated he would likely sign the bill if approved by the House.
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HOUSE 0413 (by John Wood, R-Winter Haven ) would make historical reductions in pensions provided under the Florida Retirement System. For new hires, the bill would eliminate the option of choosing the defined benefit plan currently used by 88% of all FRS members and limit their retirement benefit only to the defined contribution plan.
This week's action: None.
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House 1173 (by Erik Fresen, R-Miami) authorizes virtual charter schools. It provides that home-schooled students may enroll in courses offered by the Florida Virtual School or a franchisee, and provides that home-schooled students may enroll in courses offered in the school district in which the student resides. The bill requires that high school students take at least one virtual course. The bill had its first reading by the House on 1st Reading on March 02, 2010.
This week's action: None.
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HOUSE 1319 (by Tom Grady, R-Naples) would make historic reductions in pensions provided under the Florida Retirement System. New employees or employees entering DROP would be required to contribute 1% of their salary to FRS. For all current employees, pension benefits would be calculated on a total career average instead of the current five-highest-year average, reducing most pensions amounts by 40% to 50%. For all current employees, the retirement age would increase from the current 30 years to 33 years, or from age 62 to 65. For all current employees, the annual accrual rate would be reduced from the current 16% per year to 1.44% per year. Several other provisions have the similar effect of significantly reducing pension benefit for current employees.
This week's action: The Governor has indicated that he will veto this bill if it passes in its current form.
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SENATE 1368 (by Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville) This bill addresses numerous issues. Notably, this bill would have the constitutional class size calculations be based on February reporting rather than October, and increase the fiscal penalty for non-compliance to include the base student allocation in addition to the class size allocation for all students over the constitutional limits. The bill specifies that the class size limits do apply to charter schools but do not apply to virtual classrooms. It lowers the administrative fees school districts may charge to charter schools. This bill would require that all high school materials be primarily adopted and delivered in electronic format. The bill increases VPK class size from 10 to 12. This bill would have school districts contract with community colleges to provide high school students access to Florida college courses to be delivered virtually. It removes the requirement for a state board rule establishing the minimum length of a school year. The bill lowers bonuses paid for IB, AICE, and AP examinations. It requires, in effect, that school board member salaries be the same level as the salaries of legislators. It freezes the salaries of elected superintendents and encourages that the salaries of appointed superintendents also be frozen. On March 19, it passed the Senate Education PK-12 Committee by a 4-1 vote.
This week's action: On March 26, the bill was approved with two amendments by the Senate Policy & Steering Committee on Ways and Means by a 15-3 vote.
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HOUSE 1543 (by Juan Zapata, R-Miami) would make historic reductions in pensions provided under the Florida Retirement System. The bill would collapse the current five plans to two and would limit pensions benefits to no more than 70% of the highest single year's salary.
This week's action: On March 24th, this bill was withdrawn from further consideration.
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SENATE 1764 (by Alfred Lawson, D-Tallahassee) would increase the minimum and maximum health insurance subsidies for each eligible FRS retiree from $5 to $7 per year of service and would increase the contribution paid by employers to 1.75 percent of each employee's gross compensation.
This week's action: None.
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SENATE 1902 (by Michael Bennett, R-Bradenton) would make historical reductions in pensions provided under the Florida Retirement System. For retirements beginning after July 1, 2010, The bill would limit pensions benefits to no more than 70% of the final average compensation.
This week's action: None.
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SENATE 2022 (by J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales) would require Florida Retirement System-covered employees to contribute 0.25% of their gross salary to the state retirement fund. This would be a historic change, since FRS would thus become a member-contributory system.
This week's action: The bill was approved by the Senate Policy & Steering Committee on Ways and Means in a 15-8 vote.
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SENATE 2126 (by Joe Negron, R-Palm City and 18 others) would expand Florida's private school voucher program, currently funded by corporate tax credits. The bill would increase the per-student amount paid to private schools from the current $3,950 to an estimated $5,500, or a total cost of about $140 million. On March 16th, the bill was approved by the Senate Finance and Tax Committee by 4-1 vote. On March 19th, the bill was approved 16-6 by the Policy & Steering Committee on Ways and Means.
This week's action: On March 24th, the bill was approved by the Senate on a 27-11 vote
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SENATE 2262 (by John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville) authorizes charter schools to operate as franchises of the Florida Virtual School. It provides that home-schooled students may enroll in courses offered by the Florida Virtual School or a franchisee, and provides that home-schooled students may enroll in courses offered in the school district in which the student resides. The bill requires that high school students take at least one virtual course.
This week's action: None.
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SENATE 2468 (by Alfred Lawson, D-Tallahassee) would redefine average final compensation from being based on the employee's highest-paid five years to the employee's highest-paid three years, and important factor in calculating retirement benefits.
This week's action: None
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HOUSE 5101 (by Anitere Flores, R-Miami and 13 others) addresses multiple topics. It requires school districts to make contingency plans for class size compliance pending the outcome of the proposed November 2010 constitutional amendment. This bill would have the constitutional class size calculations be based on February reporting rather than October, and increase the fiscal penalty for non-compliance to include the base student allocation in addition to the class size allocation for all students over the constitutional limits. It requires detailed reported on the education of gifted students. This bill would require that all high school materials be primarily adopted and delivered in electronic format and promotes adoption of electronic learning management systems.
This week's action: On March 23rd, the bill was approved by the House Full Appropriations Council on Education & Economic Development by a 12-5 vote.
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HOUSE 5701 (by David Rivera, R-Miami and 17 others) would abolish the health insurance subsidy of up to $150 per month currently paid to FRS retirees who have health insurance.
This week's action: On March 23rd, the bill was approved by the House Full Appropriations Council on Education & Economic Development in an 11-6 vote.
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OPEN CALAIS: A POWERFUL ONLINE TOOL FOR ANALYZING DOCUMENTS
Thomsun Reuters is sponsoring a major semantic Web initiative, and the portion that is most relevant to grant proposal writers and policy wonks is the Open Calais service. At its core, this technology takes an existing document (e.g., a text file or a Web page) and processes it with a very powerful set of analytics. The system then produces what is known as an RDF document, RDF stands for Resource Descriptions Framework, and is part of a global effort to help make the Web aware of itself by providing data about the data it holds (i.e., "metadata.") Most of you don't really have to know what that means, but you can still use the system for free by simply pasting some text into its Web portal and letting it chug away for you. I tested the system using the narrative portion of our district's Teaching American History grant proposal, and the Open Calais system provided me with a detailed analysis of what people were mentioned, what their related information was, what positions types were discussed, what institutions were mentioned, etc. Set aside any fears you might have of SKYNET becoming self-aware, because this is breathtaking technology. It will set the stage for truly magical-seeming online services, but even now it can be a powerful tool for those of who have to work with large and complex documents for a living.
http://viewer.opencalais.com/ (Web page)
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RUNNING THE NUMBERS

(1) Percentage of California schools that moved from "low-performing" in 1989 to "high-performing" in 2009: 1.4
(2) Percentage of Florida teachers of mathematics and reading for whom a majority of students made learning gains last year: 70
(3) Minimum number of bills affecting the Florida Retirement System now being considered by the Florida Legislature: 47
(4) Percentage of U.S. school districts with no charter schools: 89
(5) Total number of charter schools in the U.S.: 4,618
(6) Total number in Florida alone: 416
(7) Percentage of U.S. households that have returned census forms so far: 20
(8) Percentage of Florida households that have done so: 9
Sources
(1) Brown Center Report on American Education, p. 22 (PDF)
(2) State of Florida's Race to the Top Proposal p. 122 (PDF)
(3) Florida Division of Retirement (Web page)
(4-6) Center for Public Education (Web page)
(7-8) Miami Herald (Web page)
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