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["Name:","Stakeholder Group Represented: (Please select an option below.)",null,"Organization: (If no organization, type self or none.)","County:","If you have any comments, please use the box below."]
["Open-Ended Response","Response","Other (please specify)","Open-Ended Response","Response","Open-Ended Response"]
["Beverly Slough","Educator Organizations","School Board Member","Self","St. Johns","Recommend that input from district stakeholders be sought on this issue.   "]
["Ester de Jong","Civil Rights Organizations",null,"LULAC & Sunshine State TESOL","Alachua","Entry and Exit criteria need to be established in collaboration with stakeholders.  Exit criteria need to include a balance between English proficiency and academic achievement (see WestED report by Linquanti and Cook)"]
["Rosa Castro Feinberg","Civil Rights Organizations",null,"LULAC Florida","Statewide Representation","9. United States Department of Education Draft Regulations on Accountability, State Plans and Data Reporting  LULAC Florida urges reconsideration of proposed regulation §299.19(c) that would prohibit the use of scores on content assessments as part of a State’s exit criteria.     1.\tThe proposed regulation goes against the spirit of the statute by ignoring the twin goals for ELLs of language acquisition AND mastery of content areas.    ‘‘SEC. 1001. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. ‘‘The purpose of this title is to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.’’.     ‘‘SEC. 3102. PURPOSES. ‘‘The purposes of this part are— ‘‘(1) to help ensure that English learners, including immigrant children and youth, attain English proficiency and develop high levels of academic achievement in English; ‘‘(2) to assist all English learners, including immigrant children and youth, to achieve at high levels in academic subjects so that all English learners can meet the same challenging State academic standards that all children are expected to meet;     2.\tThe proposed regulation denies states the flexibility the act was intended to provide. As of 2013, no more than 12 states considered only ELP scores in reclassification decisions. Over 70% of districts and schools use achievement test scores as part of the data reviewed before reclassification.     3.\tThe proposed regulation is not consistent with the emphasis on academic as well as linguistic development in key court decisions such as Castaneda and in the Equal Education Opportunity Act. It is not consistent with the court order in LULAC v Florida Board of Education and may conflict with court orders in other states also.      4.\tThe most direct way to be sure ELLs can meet the state's requirements on state assessments is to include their scores on those content examinations, along with their ELP scores,  among the multiple measures that make up program exit criteria. Including both achievement and ELP results responds to mandates for language instruction and for instruction leading to success in school and life. Both areas must be addressed.  At the same time, we must be careful to reduce the risk of ELLs’ academic failure caused by premature exit of students who still have linguistic needs, and mindful as well of the effects of misplacements on ELLs’ school ratings and teacher evaluations.    5.\tThe proposed regulation is not evidence-based. The answers to a set of reclassification policy questions have not been empirically determined. Chief among them is the identification of reclassification criteria based solely on ELP measures that would result in no higher risk of failure for exited students on academic assessments than for the general student population.    6.\tThe proposed regulation goes further than what is required by statute, could have pernicious effects on children the act is intended to assist, and should be withdrawn.    (Statement and citations by LULAC National on the exit issue attached or available by request to rcf2012@att.net.)      "]
["Brandon McKelvey","School District Administrators",null,"Orange County Public Schools","Orange","On behalf of Orange County Public Schools, we would like to provide our feedback on the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ESSA provides a unique opportunity for the State of Florida to evaluate many areas of education policy to include assessments, accountability, school support, school interventions and teacher evaluations. Florida has an opportunity to construct new systems that meet state needs and are aligned with the input of students, parents, educators and community. Increased involvement and aggressive changes might improve public confidence in our state accountability system which was once a national model.       We surveyed parents, students, teachers, administrators and community members. We received over 500 responses and asked that they also provide direct feedback to the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) and the United States Department of Education (USDOE). We feel certain that responses would increase if more time were provided. This limited feedback directs our comments. We have found that there is strong consensus in our community on some items, while they feel that more information is needed before commenting on others.      Assessments     ESSA provides new flexibility to states for statewide assessments. A majority of respondents (51%) would like the state to consider innovative options that separate end-of-year statewide assessments into smaller assessments. Only 10% of respondents would not like this, and 39% would like to receive more information. Given this feedback, we recommend that the state consider innovative methods of providing assessments. As a district fully committed to provided digital opportunities for all children, we believe that new methods of assessment hold considerable promise to increase the relevance of assessment while decreasing both assessment time and student stress.      Respondents strongly support the use of national assessments such as the SAT and ACT for high school students rather than the Florida Standards Assessments (FSA). Nearly 73% of respondents would be interested in making this transition with only 7% opposed and 20% needing more information.          Over 200 additional responses were provided concerning the implementation and use of statewide assessments. Most respondents were interested in ways to reduce the time spent testing and to reduce the emphasis on statewide assessments. We received many responses asking about how a nationally normed assessment could be provided rather than a statewide assessment to ensure that the comparisons made are reasonable and that the assessments are valid. For nearly all respondents the feedback was clear, fewer statewide assessments should be provided and the consequences of these assessments for student progression, school accountability and teacher evaluation should be carefully reconsidered.      Federal Funding and Title I     We found that respondents in our community did not have as much information concerning changes to federal funding. Over one-third of respondents in our survey felt that they needed more information to answer questions in this area.      We asked how respondents felt about potential regulations that may change rules on ‘supplant v. supplement’. In particular, we asked for their feedback concerning how these rules might impact school funding when taking teacher salaries into account. The majority of respondents, nearly 56%, stated that they did not feel that they had enough information to answer this question. A large proportion of respondents, around 36%, also stated that they did not feel that they had enough information to decide if states should keep a higher percentage of Title I funds to distribute back to districts through targeted grants.      For both questions a larger percentage of respondents wanted to keep the current ‘supplant v. supplement rules’ (30% for not changing against 14% for changing) and to not allocate additional money for the state to distribute back to districts or for other programs (44% for not changing and 21% for changing). This said, the larger message in this section is the need for more information provided to all stakeholders concerning decisions in this area.      School and Teacher Accountability     Unlike the section concerning federal funds and Title I, respondents to the survey had clear and defined opinions on school and teacher accountability. 72% of respondents stated that Florida should select a measure other than a school grade for measuring the performance of schools. Only 9% of respondents disagreed, while an additional 19% would need more information to decide. The feedback of respondents on this question was reflected additionally in open response questions. They wanted to see additional ways for parents to contribute to school accountability to show their importance in the process and expressed concerns about disconnects between school and teacher accountability.          We asked respondents to respond to the use of different indicators in the accountability system. We allowed respondents to decide if they wanted to see five additional indicators used in the school accountability system. They were permitted to choose as many as they wanted. The average respondent chose two additional indicators, and they are in order of percent selected:     (1) Teacher quality and experience  (2) School climate survey feedback  (3) Student participation in fine arts programs  (4) Advanced coursework participation  (5) Student discipline    Respondents were fairly united in their opinions on teacher evaluation. They believed that the state should use new flexibility in ESSA to remove the use of student test scores in teacher evaluations. Nearly 87% of respondents said that the state should use this flexibility to remove the use of student scores in teacher evaluations. Only 3% of respondents stated that student test scores should be used, and 10% of respondents would need more information before making a decision. Many of our open responses also mentioned this issue. In some of these comments, parents identified stresses put on both teachers and students concerning the use of test scores.      ESSA requires all student subgroup data to be reported, though it is still unclear whether or not aggregations of subgroups (sometimes called ‘super-subgroups’) will be permitted. The best example of a ‘super-subgroup’ is Florida’s Lowest Quartile (LQ) measure. When respondents were asked whether or not they would prefer to keep the Lowest Quartile measure, or something like it, rather than reporting by subgroup in the accountability system, they preferred the super-subgroup measure by 37% to 12%. That said, the majority (51%) felt that they needed more information in order to decide. This is a complicated area, and it is certainly possible for both options to exist together depending on the complexity of the school accountability system.       Supporting School Improvement     We asked for respondents to provide open feedback on how schools should be targeted for support and what support they should receive. Similar to responses received throughout the survey, most asked for a more detailed look at schools that examined assessment and other factors. There was a shared concern for not penalizing schools for items out of their control and helping them partner with parents and the community. Many respondents said that local parents, communities, teachers and students should be able to identify a school's need for support. The community should be in agreement about the concern and committed to making significant changes.              Recommendations     We make the following recommendations in alignment with the feedback provided to the school district.      Assessments  - We support the identification and use of alternative methods of assessing students that include the use of smaller, interim assessments rather than a single, end-of-year assessment.      - We support further research and options concerning the use of national assessments such as SAT and ACT in Florida’s assessment and accountability system.      Federal Funding and Title I  - We support allowing districts with the support and feedback of their local communities to control the maximum amount of federal and Title I funds. This will ensure that the input of all local stakeholders is respected and that they can be actively involved in the planning and execution of school improvement initiatives.     Accountability   - We support the transition away from school grades as a measure of school performance. This sole measure reduces the complexity of school performance to a simplistic label that limits school improvement efforts and often drives student and adult talent away from struggling schools. A single indicator could be still used to effectively communicate information.       -We support the current measures of the percent of students meeting state standards (scoring Level 3 or above) on statewide assessments as the appropriate indicator to use in achievement measures for both school accountability and statewide achievement goals.     - We support the inclusion of an ‘additional indicator of school quality or student success’ that has the support of Florida’s parents, community members and other stakeholders.     - We oppose excessively punitive measures of penalizing schools for testing less than 95% of students. For example, we oppose any recommendation to provide schools with an automatic rating in the lowest category or categories based on not meeting percent tested requirements.      Supporting School Improvement  - We support school identification for improvement based on a larger understanding of school performance rather than a school grade.            Conclusion     We believe this request for public feedback marks the beginning of a process that we hope will be productive throughout the year. Even with the current resources provided by the state and district, many respondents did not feel that they had enough information to answer these questions. The state should consider engaging in more public information sessions and involving more stakeholders. In so doing, the process might stand a better chance of concluding with decisions that are supported by stakeholders who then will support school improvement.      Most notably, our stakeholders feel strongly about accountability and assessment issues. Specifically, they see the flexibility in ESSA as an opportunity to move away from a single measure of school performance represented in a school grade, to alter current models of teacher evaluation, to expand the types of information in the school accountability system, and to consider alternate ways of assessing students. Their feedback and opinions should be considered.      Florida has been a leader in statewide accountability, but what was once thought of as innovative may have served its purpose. We believe with the Every Child Succeeds Act that Florida has come to the natural end of the current accountability system. Only by building a new, broadly supported accountability, assessment and support system can we ensure future success. We hope to provide additional feedback based on stakeholder comments before the State Board of Education creates its legislative agenda in September.   "]
["April M. Griffin","School Administrators","School Board Member","self","Alachua","Continued input from district stakeholders should be sought on this issue.  We need to continue the dialogue and input from those actually implementing the plan is essential.  "]
["Andrea Messina","School District Administrators","Elected School District Policy Makers","Florida School Boards Association","Leon","We recommend that input from district stakeholders be sought on this issue."]
["Shannon Minor","Parents and Families",null,"self","Pinellas","It's clear from the mountain of text and this cumbersome survey process that you don't truly want parent feedback, even though we’re the ones who really care about the kids whose futures are at stake. No one besides trained attorneys could make heads or tails of this crap, and you should be ashamed of yourselves for pretending to want feedback and going about getting it in this way.     Testing is out of control. Teachers are not allowed to do their jobs and determine who is ready for promotion or not. Tests are being crammed down our kids' throats without anyone being able to review them. Telling kids they can't talk about the tests with their parents?! Are you kidding me?!? Communication is the heart of any strong parent-child relationship.    Money is being siphoned off to private testing companies when it should be going to attract and retain good teachers, who are more than capable of handling student assessments. There is no privacy; you’re giving these for-profit private firms carte blanche as far as our kids’ sensitive data.     Libraries are closed for WEEKS in the name of testing. LIBRARIES! The foundations of learning!!!    PreK and Kindergarten kids DO NOT need to be tested! What kind of monsters are you?!? They should be learning how to be humans and playing, not forced to sit for hours taking tests that rob them of the joy of learning. It’s like you’re grooming future generations of people who hate school, drop out, and end up in the corrections system – another area unfairly controlled by private corporations who could not care less about the humans in their charge.    At Shore Acres Elementary in St. Petersburg, FL, which is a good school, 22 kids are being forced to repeat third grade, despite good report cards. Because of testing. Because they didn’t pass the FSA, the state test. Think of how these kids now feel about education. Think about the extra costs incurred in putting kids through another entire year of school.     Utah ditched these same tests, but then Florida bought them anyway. Even though they’re not aligned to Florida state standards.    And auditory questions for first graders? That can’t be repeated? WTF are you thinking?!? These are little, LITTLE kids! They can’t process this!    This is what needs to happen if you care AT ALL about public education:  Eliminate high-stakes testing.  Return assessments to teachers.  Make privacy a priority.  End promotion requirements based on test scores; leave the decision up to teachers’ evaluations.  Reduce overall testing days.    Teachers and educators can’t say anything – they’ve been threatened with their jobs, with low grades, with lost funding. People are being forced out of public education. Parents that care can’t bear to watch their kids sit in testing for ten days put them in private or charter schools, or home school them. If you’re gunning for the end of public education, so you don’t have to deal with the costs anymore, then you’re on the right track, friends.    I am a college educated business owner and an SICKENED by what’s going on with ESSA, testing, the way teachers are treated, and school funding. Stop this madness. Make learning fun again. There’s a reason the U.S. is so far behind other nations academically, why we’re not prepared for the jobs of the future: Because people like you are sucking all the joy out of learning and have completely forgotten your duty to educate the citizens of our state and country. Your alliances lie with making money.     SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!!!  "]
["Anne-Marie Shaffer","Parents and Families",null,"Freedomschoolers Academy","Flagler","The Federal government has no authority to direct Florida's schools. Florida is an autonomous member of the federal union. The powers over Florida's schools, education, children, and failures is NOT one of the enumerated powers of the Federal government."]
["KATHY JAMES","Parents and Families",null,"NONE","Sarasota","Disclaimer: I do not know the lingo. I am not versed in “Eduspeak”. The last time I took economics classes was at least 25 years ago. It would take me longer than the window of opportunity for ESSA stakeholder input to get up-to-speed with trends, language, and sound like an informed professional in education giving the requested feedback in a public record forum and still sound intelligent.     I am important because I am a parent. Through my four children I see firsthand what teachers are required to do in a classroom of students, I see the effects of the current education system on my own children, and those of their classmates.    The education system of today is analogous to the current medical system in our country. Big business and their metrics have replaced the common sense relationship between teacher and student in much the same way as medical caregiver and patient. The business component has a broad societal reach and influence, thus creating a subtle requirement of “necessary” rules of cost-effectiveness, as opposed to fulfilling basic needs for successful outcomes.   For example, our school district is the largest employer in our county. The deep pockets of public taxation create an incentive for businesses to create a niche of usefulness to receive a share of the funds. Thus the local newspapers, the expansively diverse “construction” businesses, and the real estate communities have tethered themselves to cabinet members of the school district, the paid and elected school board members, and the principals/school leadership to influence decisions that enhance education processes from a business perspective, but not necessarily a teacher-student perspective.  After years of such financially driven decisions and legislative control, our public school system has now mandated teachers to abandon the traditional teaching methods and subscribe to new “best practices” from authoritative-sounding sources and studies and to produce results that primarily conform to parameters deduced from mathematical equations and algorithms, and public relations successes. To achieve this, students must produce data to quantify their learning, as though this is the only way to determine success or failure. The trilogy of the student-teacher-parent relationship and its importance is lost among the data and symantically correct “Eduspeak” and the independence, autonomy, and creative components of the learning process are lost in the metrics of standardized testing expectations.     The result of these changes over the years to our education system includes students that are more stressed, students that divert their attention to more interesting electronic gadgetry and “escapes”, and students feeling less understood, less unified, less important. Teachers consider promotions within their fields as anything that gets them out of classroom teaching. Like our medical professionals, teachers are stuck in the middle of the process with expectations from students and parents coupled with the demands of education “authorities” and political lawmakers who do not actively participate in the daily classroom requirements. Decisions are made on teachers’ behalf, without regard to the vital feedback and data that they could and should provide. Teachers justifiably feel underappreciated, overburdened, and unable to be successful.     Our educational system is broken. On paper, the autonomy of individual state decisions sounds like a great idea. Florida’s stakeholders are surely different than Alaska’s stakeholders. The bigger picture includes real accountability and involving teachers, students, and parents in the decision-making process. Their feedback is vital and should be utilized and collected in a manner that is not intimidating, provides legitimate value, and positively affects decisions for our students and teachers that are not inclusive of big businesses and “follow the money” processes. To create meaningful change for Title I students, ESE students, gifted learners, and all students in between, our education system both locally and nation-wide must focus on the individual successes and the learning capabilities of each student and their ability to be motivated and inspired by their teachers in conjunction with their parents so they can become independently and uniquely successful.  "]
["Juliet Sheffer","Parents and Families",null,"self","Orange"]
["eileen branham","Parents and Families",null,"self","Alachua","My child's educational experience should not be mined for data or tracked. My child should be able to expect that his privacy is being protected.  Part of the popularity of the opt-out movement not only is due to the over-testing of our children and the wasting of precious hours of education for standardized testing, but also that our children's privacy is not protected on these standardized tests. d"]
["Dr. Debra Elliott","Educator Organizations","rural districts","none","Statewide Representation","no comments"]
["Saba Baptiste","Community-Based Organizations",null,"self","Hillsborough","Agreed need fidelity in data collection and  implement accountability. The reporting tracking systems need to be improved with accuracy input and consistency.  "]
["Hunter Clary","Parents and Families",null,"none","St. Johns","No comments at this time."]
["SHARONDA BAILEY","School Administrators",null,"SUNLAND PARK ACADEMY","Broward"]
["Holly Cordero","Teachers",null,"Polk County Schools","Polk","Title I - The purpose of this title is to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.    COMMENT: As a well-rounded subject, as defined in ESSA, music and the arts are vital to providing a well-rounded education for Florida students; therefore include access to Title I funds that address the needs and goals for learning for academically at-risk students in dance, music, theatre and visual arts.    Title II – Preparing, training, and recruiting high quality teachers, principals, or other school leaders.    COMMENT: It is critically important that Title II funds for professional development be used for teacher training in music and the arts. This will help in preparing, training, and recruiting high quality teachers since we face a teacher shortage in these areas.    Title IV – 21st Century Schools – Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants.    COMMENT: Title IV Part A funds should be appropriated for dance, music, theatre, and visual arts for academic enrichment grants. These grants will help to improve students' academic achievement by helping to provide access to a well-rounded education for Florida students.  Encourage LEAs to include music and the arts in STEM initiatives to be called STEAM.    Title VIII – General Provisions  COMMENT: Guarantee access to high quality music and arts education for Florida students as part of their well-rounded education as defined in Title VIII.  In addition, include in Florida's School Grades at least one measure of student engagement, attendance, and academic achievement through participation in music, dance, theatre, and visual arts.    It is critically important that music and the arts continue to be specified in all appropriate Title programs"]
["Timothy L. Sloan","Parents and Families",null,"Self","Duval","Really???? Maybe in another week or two."]
["Lauri Kirsch","The Public",null,"Florida Gifted Network","Hillsborough","It is agreed that the State plan must describe how the SEA will improve the skills of teachers, principals, or other school leaders in identifying students with specific learning needs and providing instruction based on the needs of such students including strategies with students who are gifted and talented.  The Florida Department of Education is encouraged to modify Rule 6A-6.03019 to include two specific requirements while retaining Gifted as a special instructional program in the text and title of Rule 6A-6.03019 with continued funding under the ESE guaranteed allocation:  1.\tREQUIRED PLAN FOR ENSURING EQUITABLE ACCESS:  a.\tRequire ALL Florida Districts to have an approved plan for increasing the number of gifted students from underrepresented populations:  All districts would be required by the Department of Education to submit a school district plan for increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in programs for gifted students, defined as groups who are limited English proficient or who are from a low socio-economic status family.   b.\tBy requiring all districts to have a research-supported “Plan B”, all Florida districts will move to ensure equitable access to gifted program services.    2.\tREQUIRED UNIVERSAL SCREENING:  a.\tRequire ALL Florida Districts to have a plan for Universal Screening. The required district identification plan would include universal screening procedures, which may include a review of existing data, to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups referred for evaluation.  b.\tResearch supports universal screening as a way to increase equity in gifted programs by removing the requirement for teacher referrals and considering all students as potentially gifted. Universal screening using existing data is cost-effective and works to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups referred for evaluation.  Additionally, Florida’s plan for implementing ESSA should:  1.\tRequire Title II supported professional development  focused on identification of gifted students & instructional strategies to respond to and support gifted students   2.\tEncourage Title II supported professional development  focused on instructional strategies to support high-ability students who have not been formally identified as gifted  3.\tEncourage Title I supported efforts to identity and serve low income gifted students.  4.\tEncourage Title I supported efforts support high-ability students who have not been formally identified as gifted    Finally, the Florida Department of Education is encouraged to convene a stakeholder group to include parents, advocacy groups, districts, and university experts to work together to collaboratively examine what is currently working in Florida’s gifted programs, identify areas of needed improvement, examine relevant research, and determine goals for future directions.    "]
["john eastman","Parents and Families",null,"self","Broward","The State of Florida is under no obligation to report to the Federal Government. The Federal DOE is an un-Constitutional Agency.  The Constitution details the powers of the Federal Government and reserves all other powers to the States.  Education is not a function of the Federal Government.  The State of Florida should enact it's 10th Amendment Powers granted by the Constitution and disengage totally from the Federal Government on all educational issues.  Taxes for schools are paid from property taxes.  Local control of education is essential.  Federal DOE needs to be defunded and sunset.  Florida should not accept any grants or money from DOE."]
["Valerie Gallina","Students","All Florida Schools","Florida Intentional Character Partnership, Inc. (FICP)","Statewide Representation","The FICP strongly advocates for the creation and expansion of Social and Emotional Character Development (SECD) standards for K-12 based on the Kansas SECD Model. Include implementation of Character.org's Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education framework with a focus on Principle 11's assessment.  The FICP is available to provide specifics concerning the Kansas Model Standards. The implementation frameworks mentioned are inclusive of all levels and abilities. This applies to all sections."]
["Karen Almond","School District Administrators","School Board Member","Seminole County Public School","Seminole","With regard to the accountability, I am concerned about \"equalized funding.\"  The first thoughts that I have are related to the operational challenges that I would anticipate.  I immediately thought...I think that we will be forced to move our teachers from school to school, to be in compliance.  Please take the necessary time to work with Superintendents statewide, to regulate and for successful implementation.  Respectfully, Karen Almond"]
["Dr. Sue Harrell","School Administrators",null,"Bay District Schools","Bay"]
["Wendi","Parents and Families",null,"none","Orange","Get the federal government out of education."]
["Gildamary Espada","Parents and Families",null,"None","Palm Beach"]
["Destiny Woods","Parents and Families",null,"self","Leon"]
["Elizabeth Power","Community-Based Organizations",null,"The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast, Inc. ","Sarasota","Thank you for considering the following recommendations for Title VIII:     A well-rounded education that includes all the arts prepares students for success in school, higher education, the workforce, and life-long engagement in their communities and in learning. The Florida Department of Education ESSA Implementation Plan should     1. clearly define in writing that the “arts” include the subjects dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts as part of ESSA’s definition of courses, activities, and programs for a “well-rounded” education; Note: the term “all-arts-defined” referenced below means all five of these arts disciplines listed above;     2. include eligibility access to Title I funds for all-arts-defined programs that address the needs of and goals for standards-based learning for academically at-risk students;     3. include eligibility access to Title II funds for professional development for all-arts-defined teachers, teaching artists, principals, and other educators involved in the development and implementation of instructional delivery for grades Pre-K through 12;     4. include eligibility access to Title IV 21st Century Schools and Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants for school and community partnerships that utilize one or more of the all-arts-defined courses, activities, and programs to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of Florida’s Department of Education, local educational agencies, schools, and local communities to provide all students with access to a well-rounded education;     5. encourage full participation from Florida in the federal Assistance for Arts Education Grants Program that involves professional development for teachers; development and dissemination of arts-based educational programming in multiple arts disciplines; and national outreach activities that strengthen partnerships among local education agencies, local arts and cultural organizations, and national centers for the arts;     6. include in Florida’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) at least one measure of student engagement, attendance, and academic achievement through participation in one or more of the all-arts-defined subjects;     7. support the integration of one or more of the all-arts-defined-arts subjects into programs and activities that increase participation in STEM to improve attainment of STEM-related skills and promote a well-rounded education;     8. include assessments and evaluation systems for student achievement in the all-arts-defined subjects;     9. support policies and funding-eligibility support for Pre-K education that includes all-arts-defined subjects;     10. integrate all the defined-arts courses, activities, and programs into other goals established in ESSA, such as average daily attendance; evidence-based programs; graduation rates; literacy programs for low-performing students and English-learning students and families; engagement of parents, students, and community partners; school improvement, identity, and engagement; preparation for today’s and tomorrow’s workforce, careers, and higher education; expanded learning time in and out of school; Exceptional Student Education (ESE) programs for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities; programs for gifted and talented students; programs that prepare Pre-K students for greater engagement and effective learning and success in their future school experiences; etc. "]
["Jeana Valenty","Teachers",null,"Nina Harris School","Pinellas","To provide equitable education for all, I believe that the each system needs to collaborate and hold each entity accountable for one another - the nation, state, county, and school. This vision was presented from the county level that all students deserve a \"fair, equitable, and high quality education\" in an effort to close achievement gaps. However, at this time, this system and vision require more accountability, evidence-based methods, and monitoring to better achieve the \"Every Student Succeeds Act\" such as continuous (baseline, mid-, and final-year) monitoring procedures such as project-based learning based on standards not just a state-wide exam; online teacher-school input submitted to the county and state to better monitor student growth instead of relying strictly on report cards or other single-vision instruments; and additional evidence-based monitoring procedures that allow the state to better monitor and hold county-schools accountable. By doing this, the state will provide a system with significant fidelity and effectiveness that would provide: \"all students a fair, equitable, and high-quality education\" especially those individuals with significant cognitive impairments and others with special needs that are not college/career bound. Other instruments could include: filling out interview or another form of written feedback by individual teachers and schools, practice state-wide assessments in addition to county-developed projects/assessments based on a small set of standards for various access courses, or online video-conference with administration could be submitted and monitored by the county and the state to ensure equitable education for all students. This is crucial for all students including those with significant cognitive disabilities and those who are not college/career bound, low-socioeconomic students or English Language Learners, etc. I believe all students deserve the best and high-quality education especially those with significant cognitive disabilities or attend centers because each student is and should be treated as their same-aged and general education peer.     "]
["Cara","Parents and Families",null,"self","Seminole","I don't know what this means.  If you really want public feedback, you would put this in a way the general public can understand it. "]
["Cheree Lewandowski","Students",null,"None","Brevard","The Florida Accountability System should be completely overhauled."]
["Nancy Moral","School Administrators",null,"Family Tree Private School","Madison","I am against most federal involvement in our state's educational system because the individual counties within the states are the authority on the education systems. Federal funds are not needed to improve elementary and secondary education in the united states of America's public schools, because more money does not improve outcomes. So, I would propose that the state's develop a strategy to allow local schools to reject ESSA's authority and/or mitigate any drawbacks or repercussions for not participating or complying with ESSA programs and processes. "]
["Mamie Curry","Teachers",null,"JHPA","Escambia"]
["Tamara Hatcher","The Public","Odyssey Prepatory Academy ","self","Brevard","we need a better data reporting report for daily attendance to ensure better safety measure for student and parents. lack of communication in that area truancy, runaways, missing/abducted children, murdered children not reported absent from school for 2 years school unaware and authorities not notified children could have been saved from mom if reported to authorities no well care check for kids nothing in place to protect children from there parents until they report to school if they are able to attend school the future day "]
["Jamie","Students",null,"self","Bay","If the students were not inundated with high stakes assessments, low achievement and graduation rates would not be as much of a problem. These students feel the test scores are more important that their learning and cause them huge amounts of stress. Students are feeling powerless and discouraged through the constant testing.  It is paramount to abuse on both the student population and the teachers of those students to base an entire year's worth of learning and progress on one test that is taken during a 90 minute period in a 180 day school year. It pressure heaped on both populations is counterproductive and effectively kills the love and spirit of true learning in the classroom. Students are teachers are MUCH more than one test score and it is PAST time for government officials with no knowledge of education or educational pedagogy to get out of the classroom!  "]
["Elizabeth Cote","Parents and Families",null,"Self","Brevard","After review of this document and other sources, this effort feels like propaganda. The way the information is presented is guided and the whole thing is written to incite anger and fear. I'm embarrassed to admit I got wrapped up in it, but once I completed my review I realized this is just more of the same government regulation and waste that we're already suffering from. It's just more money being wasted in the name of education as we continue to prevent children from appreciating what they have to offer as individuals. Our future society will continue to decline as we continue on this wretched path. I feel like exploration of this topic was a waste of my time. My time is better spent helping children close to me find a niche in which they can explore their potential despite being taught they are failures by our accountability system."]
["Brenda Sorensen","Teachers","Parent","No","Brevard","Accountability is needed but the stakes are too high and it is too stressful for our students and teachers."]
["Paul Merritt","Parents and Families",null,"self","Brevard","None"]
["Jake Schweich","Parents and Families",null,"Self","Brevard"]
["Robert Wilson","The Public",null,"none","Duval","Eliminate high stakes attached to state testing. It is the stakes attached to the tests that have, more than anything else, corrupted the education system.  End the mandatory 3rd grade promotion requirement as well as the graduation requirement to pass the Algebra 1 EOC and 10th grade FSA-ELA . These are not required by federal law or regulations. Many states already have eliminated their test dependent graduation requirements.  Dramatically reduce or eliminate the weight of the state EOC exams on the students final grade, from 30% to 10% or less.  Stop the use of VAM and test scores to evaluate teachers. ESSA eliminated any federal mandate for test-based teacher evaluation.  Test scores should make up no more than 51% of the total points in the A-F School Grade formula  (the minimum percentage allowed under ESSA).  Ensure that School Grades are used to identify schools in need of assistance (including additional funding) and not to punish schools identified as “low performers.” ESSA does require states to rank all schools and act to improve the lowest performing, but it no longer specifies the types of interventions required.  There should be no state standardized tests beyond those mandated by ESSA (reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school, science once in elementary, middle and high school).   Minimize required state standardized tests to those mandated by ESSA. In Florida the Biology EOC and Algebra 1 EOC, along with the 10th grade FSA ELA could satisfy the high school requirements. The 9th grade FSA-ELA and all other state mandated EOCs could be eliminated.  The state should advocate for pilot programs allowing grade span testing or sampling in place of current ESSA mandates.  State should forbid standardized local interim, benchmark, predictive, formative, or other such tests, including those embedded in commercial on-line curricula. Eliminate all test data reporting requirements beyond the ESSA mandated assessments.  Institute a ban on standardized testing in pre-K through grade 3.  End the secrecy around state mandated assessments. Allow educators and parents to view and review state assessments.  Return classroom assessments to teachers, utilizing primarily locally-based, teacher-controlled assessments, such as projects and portfolios. The New York Performance Standards Consortium has demonstrated better outcomes with fewer standardized test, and should serve as a guide.  Protect student data and make student data privacy a top priority.  Eliminate digital classroom mandates, allowing districts to incorporate technology as a tool rather than a curriculum replacement.  Allow parents the option to safeguard their child’s data by allowing families to opt out of digital instruction.  The computer based, state mandated Civics exams allows the possibility of collection and sharing of sensitive data of a political nature.  In order to ensure the safety of such sensitive information, this exam, especially, should be paper based."]
["Vickie Jones","Teachers","n/a","none","Columbia","n/a"]
["Sue Woltanski","Parents and Families",null,"self","Monroe","In General, I find this website nearly impossible for the ordinary person to use, so I am going to place my concerns in each box and let you figure out where each comment should be place.  First, I want to remind the FLDOE of “the original intent of ESEA, which was to facilitate equitable, thriving, and successful public education for all schools via distribution of funding free of strings attached other than need and a comprehensive and viable game plan for success.\"    I demand a complete accountability overhaul: eliminate high stakes attached to state testing, minimize state standardized tests to those mandated by ESSA, return classroom assessments to teachers, utilizing primarily locally-based, teacher-controlled assessments, protect student data and make student data privacy a top priority.    Eliminate high stakes attached to state testing. It is the stakes attached to the tests that have, more than anything else, corrupted the education system.  End the mandatory 3rd grade promotion requirement as well as the graduation requirement to pass the Algebra 1 EOC and 10th grade FSA-ELA . These are not required by federal law or regulations. Many states already have eliminated their test dependent graduation requirements.  Dramatically reduce or eliminate the weight of the state EOC exams on the students final grade, from 30% to 10% or less.  Stop the use of VAM and test scores to evaluate teachers. ESSA eliminated any federal mandate for test-based teacher evaluation.  Test scores should make up no more than 51% of the total points in the A-F School Grade formula  (the minimum percentage allowed under ESSA).  Ensure that School Grades are used to identify schools in need of assistance (including additional funding) and not to punish schools identified as “low performers.” ESSA does require states to rank all schools and act to improve the lowest performing, but it no longer specifies the types of interventions required.  There should be no state standardized tests beyond those mandated by ESSA (reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school, science once in elementary, middle and high school).   Minimize required state standardized tests to those mandated by ESSA. In Florida the Biology EOC and Algebra 1 EOC, along with the 10th grade FSA ELA could satisfy the high school requirements. The 9th grade FSA-ELA and all other state mandated EOCs could be eliminated.  The state should advocate for pilot programs allowing grade span testing or sampling in place of current ESSA mandates.  State should forbid standardized local interim, benchmark, predictive, formative, or other such tests, including those embedded in commercial on-line curricula. Eliminate all test data reporting requirements beyond the ESSA mandated assessments.  Institute a ban on standardized testing in pre-K through grade 3.  End the secrecy around state mandated assessments. Allow educators and parents to view and review state assessments.  Return classroom assessments to teachers, utilizing primarily locally-based, teacher-controlled assessments, such as projects and portfolios. The New York Performance Standards Consortium has demonstrated better outcomes with fewer standardized test, and should serve as a guide.  Protect student data and make student data privacy a top priority.  Eliminate digital classroom mandates, allowing districts to incorporate technology as a tool rather than a curriculum replacement.  Allow parents the option to safeguard their child's data by allowing families to opt out of digital instruction.  The computer based, state mandated Civics exams allows the possibility of collection and sharing of sensitive data of a political nature.  In order to ensure the safety of such sensitive information, this exam, especially, should be paper based.  "]
["Jennifer R. Pace","Community-Based Organizations",null,"Professional Educators Network of Florida","Duval","I hope I am commenting under the correct area. According to ESSA, States will no longer have to do teacher evaluation through student outcomes, as they did under NCLB waivers. I really believe that FLDOE really needs to consider how it uses VAM. The way that VAM is calculated, the teacher gets a score blindly and does not get information on how they can better improve teaching. Furthermore, a VAM score can completely contradict a principal's observation. I believe that student growth should be USED and CONSIDERED as a discussion point in how to improve, but the data must be presented in a way that it can be used for coaching. As it is right now, teachers get a scorecard and a slap on the wrist or an attaboy and out the door. This should not be.     The former Teacher Incentive Fund—now called the Teacher and School Leader Innovation Program—will provide grants to districts that want to try out performance pay and other teacher-quality improvement measures. When talking about teacher quality improvement, we really need to discuss and open the door to talk about how to make the overall climate of the school a positive one; meanwhile talking about quality improvement. Evaluations should not be done in a way which creates a toxic environment. Discussion and policies need to be put in place along with PD for principals to ensure that we want EXCELLENCE, commitment to quality AND a positive working environment. A child notices it when parents are fighting. Similarly children notice when the culture of the school is healthy.     Proposed §299.18 would require each SEA to include key descriptions, strategies, and applicable funding sources to outline the State’s approach to supporting excellent educators. Again, make sure that the activities actually promote a healthy work enviornment. We have down and under control tracking data - now we need to use the data to improve WHILE keeping this healthy, NOT HOSTILE. I think a lot of principals don't understand how to create positive change, they know how to create change or ask for change but not always in a way that inspires others to follow...so they end up leading out of fear and control and we all know that leads to nothing good or healthy.   "]