The purpose and effect of the proposed rule is to substantially re-write the existing rule on school improvement to incorporate legislative changes limiting schools that are in need of intervention and support to schools graded “D” and “F,” to ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

State Board of Education

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

6A-1.099811Differentiated Accountability State System of School Improvement

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose and effect of the proposed rule is to substantially re-write the existing rule on school improvement to incorporate legislative changes limiting schools that are in need of intervention and support to schools graded “D” and “F,” to revise incorporated forms, and to clarify the turnaround process for failing schools.

SUMMARY: The proposed rule identifies schools for improvement each school year based upon their most recently released school grade and categorizes schools as Focus schools (those graded “D”) and as Priority schools (those graded “F”). A subsection addressing Focus schools has been added and describes interventions or actions in year one, year two, and year three of receiving a grade of “D.” A subsection addressing Priority schools has been added to describe interventions and exit criteria. The turnaround options available to districts and process for planning for those options are also set out in the proposal. Lastly, the proposed rule incorporates forms used by school districts.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:

The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has been prepared by the agency.

As noted in the SERC, the turnaround options available to a district to address a failing school remain unchanged, except that a new hybrid option is available to districts to provide flexibility. Further, the strategies to address failing schools remain largely unchanged from prior rule, except that the proposal provides more flexibility to school districts, acting in concert with the department, to improve failing schools. As such, it is not anticipated that the proposal will increase regulatory costs. Moreover, to assist districts with costs associated with the school improvement process outlined in this rule, districts have funds available from the Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants. The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1001.02(1), 1008.33, Florida Statutes.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1003.413, 1006.40(2), 1008.33, 1008.345, 1012.2315 FS.

A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:

DATE AND TIME: June 18, 2013, 9:00 a.m.

PLACE: Hillsborough County School Board Office, 901 East Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, Florida

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Sam Foerster, Deputy Chancellor of Student Achievement and School Improvement, 325 West Gaines St., Suite 1502, Tallahassee, FL 32399, [phone], [e-mail]

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

 

(substantial rewording of Rule 6A-1.099811 follows. See Florida Administrative Code for present text)

 

6A-1.099811 Differentiated Accountability State System of School Improvement.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to set forth the Differentiated Accountability (DA) State System of School Improvement pursuant to Section 1008.33, Florida Statutes, by establishing differentiated intervention and support strategies for traditional public schools, delineating the responsibilities of the school, district, and Department of Education (Department), setting timelines for intervention and support strategies, prescribing reporting requirements to review and monitor progress of schools, and setting forth submission and approval criteria for turnaround implementation plans.

(2) Definitions. The following definitions, listed alphabetically, shall be used in this rule and incorporated documents:

(a) “Annual Measurable Objectives” or “AMOs” mean the yearly targets established for each subgroup, to include American Indian, Asian, black, Hispanic, white, English language learners, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged, and all students, calculated at the school, district, and state levels, to show whether the subgroup is making enough progress in the current year to be on track to reduce its percentage of non-proficient students in reading and math by half by 2016-17 (using 2010-11 as the baseline year). For the purposes of this definition, non-proficient means scoring at level 1 or 2 on FCAT 2.0 and end-of-course (EOC) assessments, or scoring at level 3 or lower on the Florida Alternate Assessment (FAA), pursuant to Rule 6A-1.09981, F.A.C.

(b) “Coaching” means serving as an instructional resource in a school to generate improvement in student achievement by improving the quality of instruction through professional development support to teachers in their respective content areas, as needed, based on an analysis of student performance and observational data.

(c) “Classroom walkthrough” means, for the purposes of DA, a brief, informal observation of classroom activities by DA Regional Team members, district, and school staff to gather data and provide feedback to teachers and administrators to inform instructional practices for improved student achievement. These data shall not be tied to individual teachers or used in teacher evaluations.

(d) “Common planning time” means the time provided to grade-level teachers at the elementary level and subject-area teachers at the secondary level to meet within and across grades and subjects for data-based decision making, problem-solving, and professional development on Common Core State Standards (CCSS), Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS), and lesson study.

(e) “Data chats” means the process of administrators and teachers meeting to discuss assessment results in order to establish student goals. Students may or may not be present in these discussions.

(f) “Differentiated Accountability Regional Team” means the staff assigned by the Department to provide assistance to schools and districts located in one (1) of five (5) geographic regions.

(g) “Differentiated Accountability State System of School Improvement,” “Differentiated Accountability,” and “DA” mean the system set forth by Section 1008.33, Florida Statutes, in which the state provides support and interventions of escalating intensity to low-performing schools in order to improve and sustain performance of all student subgroups, and holds districts accountable for improving the academic achievement of all students and turning around low-performing schools.

(h) “Direct instructional support” means support provided by a district curriculum or content area specialist who visits the school frequently to provide onsite, job-embedded professional development and support to classroom teachers.

(i) “District Improvement and Assistance Plan” or “DIAP” means a district-level plan, submitted to the Department, which includes strategies for improving school performance and increasing student achievement and demonstrates how resources are aligned to ensure schools demonstrating the greatest need receive the highest percentage of resources (Form DIAP-1, District Improvement and Assistance Plan).

(j) “Florida’s Continuous Improvement Model” or “FCIM” is a process by which quality is improved over time by examining results and the processes that generate those results and employing problem solving skill to generate and implement targeted improvements.

(k) “Focus school” means any school that receives a grade of “D.”

(l) “Former F school” means any school that earned a grade of “F” within the past three (3) years but has since improved its grade.

(m) “Increased learning time” or “extended day” means lengthening the school day, week, or year; providing before school, after school, Saturday or summer school programs to allow additional time for instruction in core academic subjects; providing enrichment activities that contribute to a well-rounded education; and allowing time for teacher collaboration, planning, and professional development.

(n) “Instructional coach” means a staff member who serves in the expressed capacity of coaching instructional staff, as defined in paragraph (2)(b) of this rule.

(o) “Instructional monitoring” means a process for observing instructional programs and practices and ensuring that the appropriate research-based interventions or instructional strategies are implemented consistently with fidelity.

(p) “Instructional review” or “IR” means the process used by the DA Regional Team, in collaboration with school and district leadership teams, to review a school’s historical performance data, conduct observations of instructional delivery, and develop a school improvement action plan to address instructional concerns.

(q) “Lesson study” is a form of long-term professional development in which teams of teachers systematically and collaboratively conduct research closely tied to lessons, and then use what they learn about student thinking to become more effective instructors.

(r) “Multi-Tiered System of Supports” or “MTSS” means the system utilizing the problem-solving process to identify and support student needs based upon the available data. The data used in the process may include, but is not limited to, attendance, behavior/discipline, statewide assessment, and progress monitoring assessment data.

(s) “Priority school” means any school that receives a grade of “F.”

(t) “Professional Learning Community” or “PLC” is an extended learning opportunity to foster collaborative learning among colleagues within a particular work environment or field. It is often used in schools as a way to organize educators into working groups focused on a targeted improvement issue.

(u) “Progress monitoring” means the assessments that keep educators informed about students’ progress in grade-level skills during the school year.

(v) “Regional Executive Director” or “RED” means the person who leads the DA Regional Team to support school improvement efforts, builds district capacity, provides and brokers professional development, and coaches and mentors school principals and school and district leadership teams.

(w) “Response to Instruction/Intervention” or “RTI” means the multi-tiered practice of providing high quality instruction and intervention matched to student needs using learning rate over time and level of performance to make important instructional decisions.

(x) “Turnaround Option Plan” or “TOP” means a district-level plan to implement one (1) of five (5) turnaround options in a school, pursuant to subsection (6) of this rule.

(3) DA Categories and Responsibilities.

(a) The Department shall identify schools for DA each school year based upon their most recently released school grades, pursuant to Section 1008.34, Florida Statutes.

(b) Charter schools and ungraded schools are not assigned to DA categories.

(c) Prior to the start of the school year, the Department will notify each school district if any of its schools have been categorized for DA. Beginning with 2011-2012, a school shall be categorized as:

1. “Focus” when it receives a grade of “D.” For these schools,

a. The district shall direct the school interventions.

b. The school shall apply the interventions.

c. The district and Department shall monitor progress and support schools.

d. The district shall provide onsite support.

e. The Department shall monitor the district’s support to schools.

f. The Department shall review the school improvement plan (SIP) and conduct visits to monitor the fidelity of the plan’s implementation.

2. “Priority” when it receives a grade of “F.” For these schools,

a. The Department and district shall direct the school interventions.

b. The school shall apply the interventions.

c. The Department and district shall conduct onsite monitoring of intervention implementations.

d. The Department and district shall provide onsite support.

e. The Department shall monitor the district’s support to schools.

f. The Department shall review the SIP, pursuant to Section 1001.42(18)(a), Florida Statutes, and conduct visits to monitor the fidelity of the plan’s implementation.

(4) Focus schools.

(a) Year one Focus schools are those that declined to a grade of “D” in the most recent grades release. For these schools the district shall:

1. Collaborate with the school and DA Regional Team to develop a SIP to align the progress monitoring assessment data to new targets and strategies using Form SIP-1, which must be submitted at http://www.flbsi.org/.

2. Submit required district- and school-level deliverables as described in Forms DA-1 and DA-2, including the District Improvement and Assistance Plan (DIAP), using Form DIAP-1, which must be submitted at http://www.flbsi.org.

(b) Year-two Focus schools are those that previously earned a grade of “D” or “F” immediately followed by a grade of “D” in the most recent grades release. Year-two Focus is a turnaround planning school year. For these schools the district shall:

1. Fulfill requirements of subparagraphs (4)(a)1.-2. of this rule.

2. Select a turnaround option from those listed in subsection (6) of this rule. The selected option shall be submitted on Form TOP-1: Turnaround Option Selection (Phase 1), which must be submitted at http://www.flbsi.org.

3. Submit a Turnaround Option Plan (TOP) for State Board of Education approval.

a. The plan must be developed with Department input and submitted on Form TOP-2: Turnaround Option Plan- Phases 2 & 3, which must be submitted at http://www.flbsi.org.

b. The district will not be required to implement its TOP if the school grade improves in the planning year.

(c) Year-three Focus schools are those that earned a third consecutive grade of a “D” or an “F” immediately followed by two (2) consecutive grades of “D” in the most recent grades release. The year-three Focus school year begins the turnaround implementation period. For these schools the district must:

1. Fulfill requirements of subparagraphs (4)(a)1.-2. of this rule.

2. Fully implement the State Board of Education approved TOP. The district will not be required to continue implementation of its TOP if the school grade improves in the first implementation year.

(d) In order to exit the Focus category, a school must improve its letter grade.

(5) Priority schools.

(a) Priority schools are those that earned a grade of “F” in the most recent grades release. The Priority school year is a turnaround planning year, unless the school already received a planning year or implemented a turnaround option within the previous two (2) school years pursuant to paragraph (5)(c) of this rule, and except for schools required to implement a new turnaround option pursuant to paragraph (7)(d) of this rule. For schools entering a planning year, the district shall:

1. Fulfill requirements of subparagraphs (4)(a)1.-2. of this rule.

2. Select a turnaround option from those listed in subsection (6) of this rule. The selected option shall be submitted on Form TOP-1: Turnaround Option Selection (Phase 1), which must be submitted at http://www.flbsi.org.

3. Submit a TOP for State Board of Education approval.

a. The plan must be developed with Department input and submitted on Form TOP-2: Turnaround Option Plan- Phases 2 & 3, which must be submitted at http://www.flbsi.org.

b. The district will not be required to implement its TOP if the school grade improves in the planning year.

(b) The school year immediately following the planning year begins the turnaround implementation period for Priority schools that do not improve their grade in the planning year. For these schools, the district must fully implement the State Board of Education approved TOP. The district will not be required to continue implementation of its TOP if the school grade improves.

(c) A school that earns a grade of “F” within two (2) years of raising its grade from an “F” must implement one (1) of the turnaround options pursuant to Section 1008.33, Florida Statutes, at the start of the subsequent school year.

(d) In order to exit the Priority category, a school must improve its letter grade. A Former F school must continue to refine and submit its turnaround plan pursuant to subsection (7) of this rule, in the school year immediately following the improved grade, in preparation for the event that it returns to a grade of “F” and must implement a turnaround option, pursuant to paragraph (5)(c) of this rule. Additionally, a Former F school shall sustain for three (3) years the activities and strategies outlined in the SIP that contributed to its improvement, which shall be monitored by the Department.

(6) Turnaround options are as follows:

(a) District-managed Turnaround (DMT);

(b) Closure;

(c) Charter;

(d) External Operation;

(e) Hybrid.

(7) Turnaround Option Plans. Turnaround plans shall be developed by the district according to the Department’s prescribed deadlines in three (3) phases during the turnaround planning year for each school required to plan for turnaround pursuant to paragraphs (4)(b), (5)(a), and (7)(d) of this rule. Each year, the Department shall publish notice of the deadlines for each phase of turnaround plan submission. The notice shall allow a minimum of ninety (90) days after the school grade is posted for submission of phase one, a minimum of sixty (60) days after the phase one deadline for submission of phase two, and require phase three upon the start of the school year in which turnaround implementation begins.

(a) Phase one – selection. Districts shall complete phase one by selecting a turnaround option and submitting Form TOP-1 through the Department’s web site at http:www.flbsi.org.

(b) Phase two – planning. Districts shall complete phase two by developing a draft for review and feedback of the RED and submitting a completed plan for implementing the selected option using Form TOP-2. Form TOP-2 shall be submitted at http:///www.flbsi.org and shall be approved or denied by the State Board of Education.

(c) Phase three – implementation. Phase three is required only for schools that do not improve the school grade and must implement the turnaround plan. Districts shall complete phase three by incorporating any revisions into Form TOP-2, which shall become the official turnaround plan on record, and by implementing the plan.

(d) If a school does not improve its grade following the second year of implementing a turnaround option, the school district must implement a different turnaround option at the beginning of the subsequent school year. The district does not receive an additional planning year, but must follow the requirements of paragraphs (7)(a)-(c) of this rule to develop the new plan during the second year of its current turnaround implementation.

(e) In the schools described in paragraph (7)(d) of this rule, the State Board of Education may grant additional time for the district to implement its current TOP, if the district demonstrates the school grade is likely to increase given more time. Using the forms and process outlined in paragraphs (7)(a)-(c) of this rule, the district may request additional time, and shall provide evidence of improvement under its current TOP, outline any changes in activities and strategies that will occur in the following year should additional time be granted, and assure timely implementation of an alternate turnaround option should the request be denied.

(8) Forms. The following forms are hereby incorporated by reference: Form DA-1, Checklist for Districts with Focus or Priority Schools (July 2013) [insert link]; Form DA-2, Checklist for Focus and Priority Schools (July 2013) [insert link]; Form DIAP-1, District Improvement and Assistance Plan (July 2013) [insert link]; Form SIP-1, School Improvement Plan (SIP) (July 2013) [insert link]; Form TOP-1: Turnaround Option Selection (Phase 1) (July 2013) [insert link]; Form TOP-2: Turnaround Option Plan – Phases 2 & 3 (July 2013) [insert link]. All forms may be obtained by contacting the Bureau of School Improvement, K-12 Public Schools, Department of Education, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.

(9) Failure to comply with the requirements of this rule will subject a district to the remedies provided in Section 1008.32, Florida Statutes.

Rulemaking Authority 1001.02(1), 1008.33 FS. Law Implemented 1006.40(2), 1008.33, 1008.345, 1012.2315 FS. History–New 8-11-10, Amended_________.

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Pam Stewart, Chancellor, Division of Public Schools

NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Tony Bennett, Commissioner, Department of Education

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: May 20, 2013

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: June 22, 2012