(1)  Promotion from a school composed of middle grades 6, 7, and 8 requires that:

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   (a) The student must successfully complete academic courses as follows:

   1. Three middle school or higher courses in English. These courses shall emphasize literature, composition, and technical text.

   2. Three middle school or higher courses in mathematics. Each middle school must offer at least one high school level mathematics course for which students may earn high school credit. Successful completion of a high school level Algebra I or geometry course is not contingent upon the student’s performance on the end-of-course assessment required under s. 1008.22(3)(c)2.a.(I). However, beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, to earn high school credit for an Algebra I course, a middle school student must pass the Algebra I end-of-course assessment, and beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, to earn high school credit for a geometry course, a middle school student must pass the geometry end-of-course assessment.

   3. Three middle school or higher courses in social studies, one semester of which must include the study of state and federal government and civics education. Beginning with students entering grade 6 in the 2012-2013 school year, one of these courses must be at least a one-semester civics education course that a student successfully completes in accordance with s. 1008.22(3)(c) and that includes the roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments; the structures and functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government; and the meaning and significance of historic documents, such as the Articles of Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States.

   4. Three middle school or higher courses in science. Successful completion of a high school level Biology I course is not contingent upon the student’s performance on the end-of-course assessment required under s. 1008.22(3)(c)2.a.(II). However, beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, to earn high school credit for a Biology I course, a middle school student must pass the Biology I end-of-course assessment.

   5. One course in career and education planning to be completed in 7th or 8th grade. The course may be taught by any member of the instructional staff; must include career exploration using Florida CHOICES or a comparable cost-effective program; must include educational planning using the online student advising system known as Florida Academic Counseling and Tracking for Students at the Internet website FACTS.org; and shall result in the completion of a personalized academic and career plan. The required personalized academic and career plan must inform students of high school graduation requirements, high school assessment and college entrance test requirements, Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program requirements, state university and Florida College System institution admission requirements, and programs through which a high school student can earn college credit, including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Advanced International Certificate of Education, dual enrollment, career academy opportunities, and courses that lead to national industry certification.

A student with a disability, as defined in s. 1007.02(2), for whom the individual education plan team determines that an end-of-course assessment cannot accurately measure the student’s abilities, taking into consideration all allowable accommodations, shall have the end-of-course assessment results waived for purposes of determining the student’s course grade and completing the requirements for middle grades promotion. Each school must hold a parent meeting either in the evening or on a weekend to inform parents about the course curriculum and activities. Each student shall complete an electronic personal education plan that must be signed by the student; the student’s instructor, guidance counselor, or academic advisor; and the student’s parent. The Department of Education shall develop course frameworks and professional development materials for the career exploration and education planning course. The course may be implemented as a stand-alone course or integrated into another course or courses. The Commissioner of Education shall collect longitudinal high school course enrollment data by student ethnicity in order to analyze course-taking patterns.

   (b) For each year in which a student scores at Level l on FCAT Reading, the student must be enrolled in and complete an intensive reading course the following year. Placement of Level 2 readers in either an intensive reading course or a content area course in which reading strategies are delivered shall be determined by diagnosis of reading needs. The department shall provide guidance on appropriate strategies for diagnosing and meeting the varying instructional needs of students reading below grade level. Reading courses shall be designed and offered pursuant to the comprehensive reading plan required by s. 1011.62(9). A middle grades student who scores at Level 1 or Level 2 on FCAT Reading but who did not score below Level 3 in the previous 3 years may be granted a 1-year exemption from the reading remediation requirement; however, the student must have an approved academic improvement plan already in place, signed by the appropriate school staff and the student’s parent, for the year for which the exemption is granted.

   (c) For each year in which a student scores at Level 1 or Level 2 on FCAT Mathematics, the student must receive remediation the following year, which may be integrated into the student’s required mathematics course.

   (2) Students in grade 6, grade 7, or grade 8 who are not enrolled in schools with a middle grades configuration are subject to the promotion requirements of this section.

   (3) The State Board of Education may adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this section and may enforce the provisions of this section pursuant to s. 1008.32.

s. 21, ch. 2006-74; s. 179, ch. 2008-4; s. 2, ch. 2010-2