Notice of Proposed Rule

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
State Board of Education
RULE NO: RULE TITLE
6A-6.0788: Notice Requirements for Charter School Performance Data.
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of this new rule is to outline the manner in which charter schools, that serve at least ten students who are tested on the statewide assessment and who do not receive a school grade or school improvement rating, will provide student performance data to the required recipients.
SUMMARY: The proposed rule will establish requirements for certain charter schools to report student performance data on their website and to the public at large.
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS: Charter schools required to comply with this rule may incur minimal costs associated with providing student assessment data in writing to the required recipients.
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.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 1002.33(21), (26) FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1002.33(21) FS.
A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: March 16, 2010, 9:00 a.m.
PLACE: Tallahassee Community College, 444 Appleyard Drive, Building 38, Room 105, Tallahassee, Florida
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Adam Miller, Director of Charter Schools, Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice, 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 522, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

6A-6.0788 Notice Requirements for Charter School Performance Data.

The following provisions have been established to administer the notice requirements of Section 1002.33(21)(b), Florida Statutes.

(1) Distribution of student assessment data.

(a) Department of Education duties. The Department of Education shall annually report student assessment data pursuant to Section 1002.34(3)(c), Florida Statutes, for charter schools that do not receive a school grade or school improvement rating and serve at least ten (10) students who are tested on the statewide assessment test through the individual School Accountability Reports accessible on the Department’s website at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org. The data for a school grading component shall be suppressed in cases where the number of students tested is less than ten (10). The Department shall notify applicable charter schools that the student assessment data is available within ten (10) days of its posting.

(b) Charter school duties. The charter school shall report the student assessment data to the required recipients no later than thirty (30) days after receipt of notification that the data is available in the charter school’s School Accountability Report. The data shall be provided in writing on school letterhead to each parent of a student at the charter school, the parent of a child on a waiting list for the charter school, the district in which the charter school is located, and the charter school’s governing board, and shall include, as applicable: the percentage of students meeting high standards in reading, math, writing, and science; the percentage of students making learning gains in reading and math; the percentage of the lowest performing twenty-five (25) percent of students making learning gains in reading and math; and the percentage of students tested.

(2) Comparison of charter school student assessment data.

(a) Department of Education duties. Annually, following the release of school grades, the Department of Education shall provide district-level performance data for traditional public school students and state-level performance data for charter school students. The Department shall also provide state-level performance data for students in alternative public (non-charter) schools in the state. This data shall be provided in the grade groupings 3-5, 6-8, and 9-11, and posted on the Department’s school grades website at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org, in a downloadable, Excel file format. The data for any component where the number of students is less than ten (10) shall be suppressed. The Department shall notify applicable charter schools that the performance data is available within ten (10) days of its posting.

(b) Charter school duties.

1. A traditional charter school shall provide data comparing the charter school’s performance to state-level and district-level performance. Such data shall be posted in a prominent place at the charter school’s physical location, and shall include data from the charter school’s School Accountability Report, compared to state-level performance data for all charter school students and the district-level student performance data for traditional public schools in the district where the charter school is located. If the charter school maintains a website, the comparison data shall also be posted in a prominent place on the website. The information must remain posted throughout the school year following the availability of the data.

2. An alternative charter school shall provide data comparing the charter school’s performance to state-level student performance. Such data shall be posted in a prominent place at the charter school’s physical location, and shall include data from the charter school’s School Accountability Report, compared to state-level student performance data for all alternative charter schools in the state. If the alternative charter school maintains a website, the comparison data shall also be posted in a prominent place on the website. The information must remain posted throughout the school year following the availability of the data.

Rulemaking Authority 1002.33(21), (26) FS. Law Implemented 1002.33(21) FS. History–New________.

 


NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Michael Kooi, Executive Director, Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice
NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Dr. Eric Smith, Commissioner, Department of Education.
DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: February 01, 2010
DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAW: July 10, 2009