To clarify and update the academic and economic criteria sections which include specific criteria that participating postsecondary educational institutions use to determine the eligibility of a student to participate in ....

 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

State Board of Education

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

6A-6.05282College Reach-Out Program

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: To clarify and update the academic and economic criteria sections which include specific criteria that participating postsecondary educational institutions use to determine the eligibility of a student to participate in the College Reach-Out Program. In the academic criteria section, the academic year that a student’s cumulative grade point average is below 2.5 will be removed and replaced with language that the student must meet this criterion at the time the student applies for participation in the program. The academic criteria in which a student earned an academic course grade of a “C” or below in specific courses will be revised to include English Language Arts (ELA) and social studies. This revision will remove the criteria of a student needing a course grade of a “C” or below in math and science courses and replaces it with the option to consider a student’s course grade in any of the four core subject areas — English Language Arts, math, science, and social studies, which will broaden opportunities for additional students to be eligible to participate in the program. A student’s performance in English Language Arts and mathematics will be revised to expand the options of consideration and will allow a student’s performance on the Florida Standards Assessments (FSA), or on the Algebra I End-of-Course (EOC) Assessment to be considered. Criteria that relates to grade retention, school suspension or expulsion, truancy and a student’s participation in a Dropout Prevention Program will be removed. In the economic criteria section of the rule, “Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Program” will be removed and replaced with “school lunch program” to align with the eligibility descriptions under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act [42 U.S.C. §1758(b)(1)(A)]. The economic criteria related to a student’s family receiving “public assistance” will remove the calendar year that a student’s family receives such assistance and be replaced with the focus on the current status of a student’s family receiving public assistance. The outdated terminology used to describe a student as an “orphan or ward of the court with no taxable income” will be removed and replaced with updated terminology that describes such student as one who is “currently placed, or during the previous fiscal year was placed, in foster care.” The effect of this proposal is to clarify, update and provide more flexibility regarding the academic and economic criteria sections that are used to determine the eligibility of a student to participate in the College Reach-Out Program.

SUBJECT AREA TO BE ADDRESSED: Remove and revise the academic and economic criteria sections for redundancy, accuracy, and clarity. Remove all references related to grade retention, school suspension or expulsion, truancy, including the requirement associated with a student’s participation in a Dropout Prevention Program.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1001.02(2)(n), 1007.34, FS.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1007.34, FS.

IF REQUESTED IN WRITING AND NOT DEEMED UNNECESSARY BY THE AGENCY HEAD, A RULE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP WILL BE NOTICED IN THE NEXT AVAILABLE FLORIDA ADMINISTRATIVE REGISTER.

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT AND A COPY OF THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT, IF AVAILABLE, IS: Melissa Ramsey, Executive Vice Chancellor, Division of Public Schools, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400, [phone]. To comment on this rule development or to request a rule development workshop, please go to https://web02.fldoe.org/rules or contact: Chris Emerson, Director, Office of Executive Management, Department of Education, [phone] or email [e-mail].

THE PRELIMINARY TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT IS: Available at https://web02.fldoe.org/rules.