Recess, teacher-bonus measures added to bill

Amendments to school testing bill worry supporters.

TALLAHASSEE — A bill aimed at scaling back the number of standardized tests admini stered in Flor ida passed its final Senate committee Wednesday after picking up amendments dealing with recess and other education issues.

The growth of the measure (SB 926) quickly drew complaints, even from some supporters, that it was becoming an unwieldy “train,” a term for late-session bills that glom together different proposals in order to ease passage for one or more of the ideas.

The bill, which was unanimously approved by the Senate Rules Committee, would still make several changes to the state’s assessment system in the hopes of addressing what critics call over-testing.

It would require school districts to begin testing later in the year, eliminate requirements that students t ake four end-of-course tests in high school and allow students who do well enough on college-entrance and other advanced national exams to skip some state tests.

But other provisions that have experienced trouble gaining traction on their own are now traveling along with the bill. One of the more significant changes would require schools to give elementary school students 100 minutes of “free-play recess” each week, including at least 20 minutes each day.

A bill requiring recess has passed the Senate but ground to a halt in the House.

“We hope that it will give members of the Legislature, both in the Senate and the House, more reason to vote f o r t h i s g r e a t b i l l , ” S e n . Anitere Flores, the Miami Republican sponsoring the legislation, said of the amendment.

C a t h e r i n e B a e r, c h a i r - woman of The Te a Par t y Net work and a supporter of Flores’ recess bill, complained about the amendment — which ran more than 400 lines and was filed after the deadline for the committee meeting.

“We just oppose t rains because they lack transparency and are a poor way to legislate public policy,” Baer said.

The bill was also amended Wednesday to include provisions dealing with excused absences for treatment of autism-spectrum disorders, rolling back caps on teacher bonuses and exempting students in varsity sports from the requirement to take a test in physical education.

S o me e d u c a t o r s h a v e raised concerns about the PE amendment because they say the topics covered on the exam encompass healthy skills that go beyond sports.