Senate Bill 458 (2020) — English Language Learner Advisory Council
SB 458
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2020 SB 458 By Senator Rodriguez 37-00374-20 2020458__ Page 1 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the English Language Learner 2 Advisory Council; creating s. 1003.562, F.S.; creating 3 the English Language Learner Advisory Council adjunct 4 to the Department of Education; providing the purpose 5 of the advisory council; specifying the composition of 6 the advisory council, the appointment of members, and 7 the terms they serve; providing meeting requirements; 8 requiring the advisory council to identify certain 9 issues; requiring the advisory council to submit an 10 annual report to the Governor, the Legislature, the 11 chairs of the State Board of Education and the Board 12 of Governors, and the Commissioner of Education; 13 requiring the department to provide staff and 14 administrative support and to maintain a webpage; 15 providing an effective date. 16 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18 19
Section
Section 1003.562, Florida Statutes, is created 20 to read: 21 1003.562 English Language Learner Advisory Council.— 22
(1) The Florida English Language Learner Advisory Council, 23 an advisory council as defined in s. 20.03, is created adjunct 24 to the Department of Education for the purpose of providing 25 recommendations to enhance the education of English language 26 learners in this state by analyzing data and identifying areas 27 in which improvement is needed. 28
(2) Members of the advisory council shall include: 29
Florida Senate - 2020 SB 458 37-00374-20 2020458__ Page 2 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. (
a) The Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee, 30 who shall serve as a nonvoting member and be the chair of the 31 advisory council. 32 (
b) The director of the Office of Policy and Budget of the 33 Executive Office of the Governor, or his or her designee, who 34 shall serve as a nonvoting member. 35 (
c) The chair of the Florida Hispanic Legislative Caucus, 36 or his or her designee. 37 (
d) The chair of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, or 38 his or her designee. 39 (
e) The chair of the Florida Jewish Legislative Caucus, or 40 his or her designee. 41 (
f) Thirty members of the public, who shall be appointed by 42 the Governor, as follows: 43 1. One member who has professional or occupational 44 expertise in university-level preparation of English for 45 Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) or bilingual education 46 teachers and in second-language research. 47 2. One member who has professional or occupational 48 expertise in college-level preparation of special education 49 teachers and ESOL or bilingual education teachers. 50 3.
One member who has professional or occupational 51 expertise in implementing in-service programs for teachers of 52 English language learners. 53 4. One member who has professional or occupational 54 expertise as a guidance counselor in a secondary school and in 55 adult ESOL or bilingual education programs. 56 5. One member who has professional or occupational 57 expertise in preparing teachers for early childhood programs 58
Florida Senate - 2020 SB 458 37-00374-20 2020458__ Page 3 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. serving dual language learners. 59 6. One member who has experience as the principal of a 60 district school with a schoolwide dual language program. 61 7. One member who is a dual language program administrator 62 in a district with multiple dual language program tracks 63 operating under a school-within-a-school model which includes 64 elementary schools, middle schools, and at least one high 65 school. 66 8. One member who is an elementary school ESOL teacher. 67 9.
One member who is a secondary school ESOL teacher. 68 10. One member who teaches history, mathematics, computer 69 science, or science to English language learners. 70 11. Twenty members who have professional or occupational 71 expertise in, or who are generally knowledgeable about, issues 72 that relate to programs and services for English language 73 learners, with one member selected from two nominees from each 74 of the following organizations: 75 a. Sunshine State TESOL of Florida. 76 b. The Florida Association of Bilingual/ESOL Supervisors, 77 Inc. 78 c. LULAC Florida. 79 d.
NAACP Florida State Conference. 80 e. UnidosUS Florida. 81 f. Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center. 82 g. Iniciativa Accion Puertorriquena. 83 h. Florida PTA. 84 i. The ESOL parent leadership council in the same district 85 as the member selected from the Florida PTA. 86 j. A bilingual college located in Florida. 87
Florida Senate - 2020 SB 458 37-00374-20 2020458__ Page 4 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. k. The Florida League of Cities. 88 l. The Florida Foreign Language Association. 89 m. The Florida Educational Research Association. 90 n. The Florida School Boards Association. 91 o. The Florida Policy Institute. 92 p. The Florida Association for Bilingual Education. 93 q. A chamber of commerce with members engaged in industries 94 that require employees with multilingual and multicultural 95 skills. 96 r. The Association of Haitian Educators of Dade. 97 s.
The Spanish American League Against Discrimination. 98 t. The Coalition of Florida Farmworker Organizations. 99 (
g) One member of the Florida Education Association who 100 shall be appointed by the President of the Senate. 101 (
h) One member with experience as the superintendent of a 102 school district who shall be appointed by the Speaker of the 103 House of Representatives. 104 (
i) One member with experience as the principal of a 105 schoolwide dual language charter school who shall be appointed 106 by the Commissioner of Education. 107 (3)(
a) Members of the advisory council appointed by the 108 Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House 109 of Representatives, and the Commissioner of Education shall 110 serve 4-year terms, except that initially, to provide for 111 staggered terms, the Governor shall appoint 15 members to serve 112 2-year terms. 113 (
b) A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the 114 original appointment. A vacancy occurring on the advisory 115 council before the expiration of a term shall be filled for the 116
Florida Senate - 2020 SB 458 37-00374-20 2020458__ Page 5 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. remainder of the unexpired term. A member of the advisory 117 council may be reappointed. 118
(4) Each member of the advisory council shall serve without 119 compensation but may be reimbursed for per diem and travel 120 expenses pursuant to s. 112.061. 121
(5) The advisory council shall hold its first meeting no 122 later than October 1, 2020, and meet at least once per quarter 123 thereafter. Meetings may be held via teleconference or other 124 electronic means. In conducting its meetings, the advisory 125 council shall use Robert’s Rules of Order. 126
(6) The advisory council must identify three pressing 127 English language learner issues, selected by the advisory 128 council members at their third quarterly meeting each year, 129 related to the following topics: 130 (
a) Reform initiatives that address statewide English 131 language learner accountability policies, including research-132 based assessment accommodations and ESOL program entry and exit 133 criteria appropriate for English language learners. 134 (
b) Changes to state law, including, but not limited to, 135 the statutory criteria for awarding the State Seal of 136 Biliteracy; State Board of Education rules; the state plan 137 adopted under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA); and 138 agreements with the federal government which would remove 139 barriers to or enhance the implementation of education programs 140 offered to English language learners. 141 (
c) Changes to teacher preparation and credential 142 standards, professional development and in-service education, 143 ESOL program models, and instructional materials and strategies. 144 (
d) Methods for increasing parental engagement in English 145
Florida Senate - 2020 SB 458 37-00374-20 2020458__ Page 6 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. language learner programs. 146 (
e) Funding allocations for English language learner 147 programs. 148 (
f) Proposed changes needed in resources allocated to the 149 State University System to achieve improved outcomes for English 150 language learners in middle schools and secondary schools, to 151 increase the graduation rate of English language learners in 152 this state, and to expand the capabilities of ESOL or bilingual 153 programs. 154 (
g) Other matters identified by advisory council members. 155
(7) By November 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, the 156 advisory council shall submit a written report to the Governor, 157 the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of 158 Representatives, the Chair of the State Board of Education, the 159 Chair of the Board of Governors, and the Commissioner of 160 Education containing the advisory council’s recommendations on 161 the issues identified in subsection (6). 162
(8) The Department of Education shall provide staff and 163 administrative support for the advisory council and shall 164 maintain a webpage with meeting materials, hyperlinks to the 165 parliamentary authority or guidelines explaining key sections of 166 the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, council report 167 drafts, and final reports. 168