Florida Association of School Nurses 10th Annual Conference

1. Florida Association of School Nurses 10th Annual Conference Florida Department of Education Update January 29, 2005 Orlando, Florida Dianne Mennitt, MS, RN School Nurse Consultant Student Support Services Project http://sss.usf.edu

2. Florida Department of Education John Winn, Commissioner of Education Strategic Goals • Highest Student Achievement • Seamless Articulation and Maximum Access • Skilled Workforce and Economic Development • Quality, Efficient Services

3. K-12 Public Schools • Jim Warford, Chancellor • http://www.fldoe.org • http://www.firn.edu/doe/commhome/

4. Bambi Lockman, Bureau Chief, Exceptional Education and Student Services • The Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (BEESS) administers programs for students with disabilities and for gifted students. Additionally, the bureau coordinates student services throughout the state and participates in multiple inter-agency efforts designed to strengthen the quality and variety of services available to students with special needs.

5. Education Goal All children with disabilities receive a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment that promotes a high quality education and prepares them for employment and independent living.

6. Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) • The term FAPE means special education and related services that: • Have been provided at public expense, under public supervision & direction, and without charge • Meet the standards of the State Education Agency (SEA) • Are provided in conformity with the IEP

7. Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) • To the maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities are educated with students who are not disabled • Removal of students with disabilities from regular education occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aides and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily

8. Tropical Depression Bonnie Hurricane Charley Hurricane Frances Hurricane Ivan Hurricane Jeanne Florida’s 2004 Hurricane Season www.floridadisaster.org

9. Hurricanes & School Closures • All 67 school districts missed at least one day: • 29 districts missed 1-5 days • 24 districts missed 6-10 days • 14 districts missed 11-21 days

10. Hurricanes… • Flexibility to Make Up Missed Days • Waiver of 180-Day Requirement • Delay in Administration of FCAT • Hurricane School Grade Appeal Option • Working with USDOE on an Appeals Process for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) due to Hardships • Extensions to Report Deadlines

12. Overview Topics • IDEA Reauthorization • Graduation • Middle Grades Reform • Third Grade Student Progression • Accountability • Voluntary Pre-K Education Program

13. IDEA Reauthorization • Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004 • H.R. 1350 Passed by Congress • Signed by President Bush on December 3, 2004 • Public Law No: 108-446 http://thomas.loc.gov/

14. Amendment to IDEA • Part A--General Provisions • Sec. 602. Definitions. (26) Related Services.-- (A) In general.--The term ‘related services’ means transportation, and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services (including speech-language pathology and audiology services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, social work services, school nurse services designed to enable a child with a disability to receive a free appropriate public education as described in the individualized education program of the child, counseling services…

15. State Improvement Goals • Students with disabilities will have increased participation and improved performance in the general education curriculum, statewide assessments, and accountability systems • All schools will provide positive, effective, and safe learning environments. • Students with disabilities will achieve positive post-school outcomes

16. Performance Indicators for Graduation Are high school graduation rates and drop out rates for students with disabilities comparable to graduation rates and drop out rates for non-disabled students?

21. Middle Grades Reform… • Rigorous Reading Requirement for Schools and Personalized Success Plans for Students are being implemented this year • Will examine data next year to determine any effects of these initiatives

22. Middle Grades Reform… • Comprehensive Middle Grades Reform Study • DOE is completing the study this fall • Commissioner will make recommendations for reform to SBOE and Legislative Leadership • Report will include: • Background on Florida middle schools, other states’ middle school initiatives, and national research • Public input, public forums, and Task Force findings • Commissioner’s recommendations

23. Middle Grades Reform… • Middle Grades Reform Task Force: • Include middle school teachers, principals, assistant principals, superintendents, school board and parent representatives, district curriculum supervisors, Just Read, Florida!, FCRR, university faculty • Are reviewing and deliberating information on middle grades areas specified in legislation • Reforms in Florida may include: • Credit-base system • Uniform grading scale • Reading initiatives

24. FCAT Reading Performance

25. FCAT Mathematics Performance

26. 2003 and 2004 Third Grade Data

27. Number of Students Taking 3rd Grade FCAT

29. 2004 Third Grade Reading FCAT • The percentage of third graders scoring Level 1 has dropped from 29 percent in 2001 to 22 percent in 2004 • In the same period, the percentage of third graders scoring at Level 3 or above has increased from 57 percent to 66 percent.

31. 2004 Third Grade Reading FCAT • Increases in students scoring at Level 3 or above (and corresponding decreases in Level 1) can be seen in all racial/ethnic categories, but most dramatically among minorities.

34. 3rd Graders Scoring at Level 1 • 44,109 third grade students (21%) scored at level one in 2004. Of these students: • 82% were eligible for free/reduced lunch • 41% were in programs for students with disabilities • 31% were limited English proficient • 47% were limited English proficient and/or disabled • 53% were neither limited English proficient nor disabled

35. Student Progression • Progression of Retained Third Graders • Each district must provide a retained third grader who has received intensive instruction but is not ready for promotion, the option of being placed in a transitional setting. • Such a transitional setting must be specifically designed to produce learning gains sufficient to meet grade 4 performance standards while continuing to remediate the areas of reading deficiency.

36. Accountability – School Grades and AYP

37. School Grades (A+) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Florida’s Single Accountability System Measures Working Together

38. Accountability • No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal law: • Requires all states to utilize state assessments (FCAT Sunshine State Standards) to determine if a school has made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in the proficiency of all students

39. Nine Groups are Evaluated for AYP • Total School Population • White • Black • Hispanic • Asian • American Indian • Economically Disadvantaged • Limited English Proficient (LEP) • Students with Disabilities (SWD)

40. 2004 Criteria for Measuring AYP • Test 95% of the enrolled students • 31% of students reading at or above grade level • 38% of students scoring at or above grade level in Math • Meet the State’s other criteria • The school must improve performance in writing by 1% • The school must improve the graduation rate by 1% • The school must not earn a D or F

41. Accountability: http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org

42. Accountability - School Grades by School Type

43. Accountability…

44. Accountability - Adequate Yearly Progress 2004

45. Accountability - School Grade Changes Changes for 2004-05 • Raise Writing proficiency to 3.5 • Include students with disabilities and limited English proficiency in learning gains • FCAT scores only (not alternate assessments) • Full academic year (enrolled in Survey 2 and 3) Changes for 2006-2007 • Raise Writing proficiency to a 4.0 • Include FCAT Science proficiency, Grade 11

46. For the 2003-04 goal of 31% of students proficient in reading,14/71 districts met or exceeded this goal for students with disabilities. Alachua – 38% Brevard – 33% Citrus – 31% Clay – 38% Leon – 38% Martin – 38% Okaloosa – 38% St. Johns – 34% Santa Rosa – 39% Sarasota – 35% Seminole – 34% Wakulla – 38% FSU Lab – 50% UF Lab – 39% Accountability – 2004 AYP…

47. Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) Education Program • Dec 04-Florida House and Senate passed VPK bills • Governor approved HB 1 on Jan 2, 2005 • Authorizes parents to enroll their children in voluntary, free pre-kindergarten starting 2005 school year • 540 hour school-year program • 300 hour summer program

48. Voluntary Universal Pre-K • Preliminary estimates: For 2005-06, 152,796 children (70% of September 2003 census of 218,537 four-year olds) will be served through as many as 10,000 VPK providers in Florida • Transfers operation of school readiness system to Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI) and renames school readiness coalitions to “early learning coalitions.”

49. VPK Activities • Develop emergent literacy curriculum standards • Adopt Pre-K performance standards • Statewide kindergarten readiness screening • Consolidation to 30 or fewer coalitions to serve at least 2,000 children • Educational credentials, Child Development Associate (CDA) or state equivalent credentials (www.cdacouncil.org), & background screening requirements

50. Problem-Solving Initiative • AYP Disaggregated Data (NCLB) focus attention to student progress, not student labels • Building principals and superintendents want to know if students are achieving benchmarks, regardless of the students “type” • Accurate “placements” do not guarantee that students will be exposed to interventions that maximize their rate of progress • Effective interventions result from good problem-solving, rather than testing and placement • Progress monitoring is done best with “authentic” assessment that are sensitive to small changes in student academic and social behavior