From: "Suzanne Heath" To: Cc: Subject: Re: Florida Statute 1008.22 (3)(c)(6) Date: Thursday, April 28, 2005 1:09 PM Dear Karen, My article will not reach as many Florida parents (a.k.a. voters and taxpayers) as you can reach on your own. Try this. Go to this link http://capwiz.com/chadd/dbq/media/. Click on your state. You will see a list of all newspapers, radio stations, and television stations in your state. You will be able to send an e-mail letter to all of them, in groups of five at a time. Write your letter in Word or Notepad. Make sure it is clear and concise. Design it to reach a variety of people who will all have varying amounts of prior knowledge about the testing system in Florida. Once you are satisfied with your letter cut and paste it to the box on the website. Then check the boxes beside the first 5 newspapers. Click send. Do the same for all the media outlets on the list, 5 at a time. It will not take more than an hour or two for you to put a letter to the editor in every newspaper in Florida. Sue Heath ----- Original Message ----- From: Pam Wright To: Michael Phillips Cc: Suzanne Heath Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 12:34 PM Subject: Re: Florida Statute 1008.22 (3)(c)(6) Karen: I am forwarding your email to Sue Heath, the author of the article you reference. Pam Wright ----- Original Message ----- From: Michael Phillips To: webmaster@wrightslaw.com Cc: mikesmom3@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 10:27 PM Subject: Florida Statute 1008.22 (3)(c)(6) "Since High Stakes! Can the School Use a Single Test to Retain My Child? was published, many people have written about Florida's "mandatory retention policy" that third graders who do not pass the FCAT test must be retained. So far, no one has been able to provide anything in the law that backs this up." Per your website article above, the REAL point that you are not discussing regarding FS 1008.22 (3)(c)(6) is that Florida is now changing the accommodation of reading as an oral presentation into a MODIFICATION! In Florida, the terms accommodation and modification mean very different things. In a nutshell, an accommodation maintains a standard diploma path in the regular education curriculum whereby a modification places a student in a modified curriculum, measures a separate standard and places a student on a special diploma track. Students as early as third grade are being placed on a special diploma track based solely upon an allowable vs a non-allowable accommodation. When you read the wording of the statute below, you will find that a non-allowable accommodation now ='s a modification and therefore a modified curriculum! So, students who have NO cognitive disabilities are being placed on a special diploma track as early as grade three. The worst part is that parents are unknowingly signing off on a modified curriculum without the knowledge that their child will not be receiving a standard diploma. I hope that you will address this issue in the future. Thank you. Karen M. Clay Michael's MOM (3) STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.--The commissioner shall design and implement a statewide program of educational assessment that provides information for the improvement of the operation and management of the public schools, including schools operating for the purpose of providing educational services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs. The commissioner may enter into contracts for the continued administration of the assessment, testing, and evaluation programs authorized and funded by the Legislature. Contracts may be initiated in 1 fiscal year and continue into the next and may be paid from the appropriations of either or both fiscal years. The commissioner is authorized to negotiate for the sale or lease of tests, scoring protocols, test scoring services, and related materials developed pursuant to law. Pursuant to the statewide assessment program, the commissioner shall: (c) Develop and implement a student achievement testing program known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) as part of the statewide assessment program, to be administered annually in grades 3 through 10 to measure reading, writing, science, and mathematics. Other content areas may be included as directed by the commissioner. The testing program must be designed so that: 6. Participation in the testing program is mandatory for all students attending public school, including students served in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, except as otherwise prescribed by the commissioner. If a student does not participate in the statewide assessment, the district must notify the student's parent and provide the parent with information regarding the implications of such nonparticipation. If modifications are made in the student's instruction to provide accommodations that would not be permitted on the statewide assessment tests, the district must notify the student's parent of the implications of such instructional modifications. A parent must provide signed consent for a student to receive instructional modifications that would not be permitted on the statewide assessments and must acknowledge in writing that he or she understands the implications of such accommodations. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, based upon recommendations of the commissioner, for the provision of test accommodations and modifications of procedures as necessary for students in exceptional education programs and for students who have limited English proficiency. Accommodations that negate the validity of a statewide assessment are not allowable.