LWV Lobbies DOE For Social Studies FCAT

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF FLORIDA
540 Beverly Court
Tallahassee, FL 32301-2506

V: 850/224-2545 Fax: 850/222-4485
E: lwvf@tfn.net www.naples.net/presents/lwvf


October 26, 2001


Mr. Jim Horne, Secretary of Education
Florida Board of Education
Turlington Building
Suite 1614
325 W. Gaines St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399

Dear Mr. Horne:

The League of Women Voters of Florida is aware that social studies is not included in the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. In this regard, the League has long lamented the fact that many adults, much less students, do not understand our three branches of government and how they function. Many young people do not understand the basic principles of constitutional government in America, its structure of checks and balances, and the interplay of its political parties and interest groups.

The last election crisis in Florida and the events of September 11 remind us of the great importance of citizenship preparation and foundational understandings of our government. Such knowledge provided to students now will produce future citizens who realize the importance of participating in shaping their communities as well as a global neighborhood. It appears that now, more than ever, this lack of knowledge should no longer continue. Preparing our youth to be responsible members of a democratic society is one of the most important missions of American education.

We wish to advise that the League of Women Voters of Florida strongly supports the inclusion of the Sunshine State Standards for Social Studies in the statewide FCAT assessment program. We sincerely ask you to support this issue before the legislature in their 2002 session.

Furthermore, it is noted that the Social Studies Program Specialist Position within the Florida Department of Education remains vacant. There is no doubt today about the importance of this vital position in our Department of Education. The League of Women Voters of Florida urges you to take whatever steps are necessary to fill this position at the earliest opportunity in order that oversight of teaching and testing of social studies in Florida can be properly maintained.

Sincerely,


Jane A. Gross
President

Cc: Mr. Jack Bovee, President
Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors

(for an original copy of this letter, contact Jack Bovee)

Mission Statement - FCSS EDUCATIONAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

(now the FASSS/FCSS Legislative Committee)
May 2001

Mission Statement (adapted from NCSS http://www.socialstudies.org/about/) :

Social studies educators teach students the content knowledge, intellectual skills, and civic values necessary for fulfilling the duties of citizenship in a participatory democracy. The mission of the Florida Council for the Social Studies is to provide leadership, service, and support for all social studies educators. FCSS is the largest association in the state devoted solely to social studies education, engaging and supporting educators in strengthening and advocating social studies. Membership is open to anyone with interest in the social studies.

Vision Statement : (adapted from NCSS)

“Social Studies is the study of the social sciences (history, geography, economics and government) and humanities to promote civic competence.”

Today’s social studies teachers help students to:
-- develop historic perspective and understand how things change and develop -- so they can make informed choices and decisions in the present.

-- understand how the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services is organized – so they can function effectively in an interdependent world economy.

-- understand the historical development of structures of power, authority, and governance and their evolving functions in contemporary society -- so they can develop civic competence.

-- analyze the realities of global interdependence and connections – so they are prepred to find solutions to persisting and emerging global issues.

-- understand civic ideals and practices across time and in diverse societies – so they can participate fully in our society.

-- develop awareness of cultures – systems of beliefs, values and traditions – so they can relate to people in our nation and throughout the world.

-- to comprehend the formation, control and influences of institutions – so they can work through institutional change for the common good.

What Educational Goals Do We Support?

¨ The Sunshine State Standards for Social Studies should be added to the statewide FCAT assessment program. (FS 229.57 should thus be amended to include Social Studies). In asking for this, we are reminded that:

a. The Free Enterprise and Consumer Education Act (1974) constituted Florida’s first statewide assessment program.
b. Social Studies was added to the statewide Minimum Testing Program a decade ago, but this program was eliminated before the program could go into effect.
c. There is a vital need to assess civic competency in the face of Florida’s increasingly diverse student population.

d. Many districts are no longer providing K-12 instruction to children in social studies because it is not assessed on FCAT. This is a recipe for disaster!

¨ We recommend that the Program Specialist position within the Florida Department of Education be restored with a person who is social studies certified.

¨ We recommend that all reporting of Social Studies progress on the FCAT be reported in the subcategories of History, Geography, Economics, and Government – the four standards comprising the state curriculum.

¨ We recommend that funding from the legislature shall be categorically allocated to support the implementation of required instruction mandates so that needed resources and professional development may be provided to teachers to better enable them to teach these vital topics. This would ensure that students would have an in-depth understanding of the Constitution and the major documents which form the basis of our government, and would also make them familiar with the contributions that African Americans, Women, Hispanics, and Veterans have made to Florida and the United States.

a. currently few if any statewide resources exist for the above areas, despite their being mandated by law. Textual materials, by themselves, are insufficient to equip teachers with such resources. Finally, training institutes should be available to provide teachers with up-to-date materials and methodology to teach the mandates.

b. the legislature and Department of Education should use the model formerly utilized to address the lack of materials about the HOLOCAUST for these additional mandated areas.

¨ We recommend that the FS 232.245 regarding “pupil progression, remedial instruction, and reporting requirements” be amended to include social studies.

As a core curriculum area, social studies instruction provides a rich basis for student learning and has as its goal the application of knowledge and attitudes to enable students to learn civic responsibility. Without a foundation in each of the four major areas represented in the Sunshine State Standards for social studies, a student’s education is incomplete. As so many recent surveys can attest, we can no longer afford the luxury of assuming students are learning about the heritage of our nation or that they possess the essential economic, civic, geographic and historic competencies to equip them for the role they will ALL assume upon graduation – that of citizen!

A resolution for the restoration or civic understanding in Florida’s public schools

Whereas the Constitution of the state of Florida calls for the establishment of an enlightened citizenry to be the product of a free, public educational system, and

Whereas Florida law (FS 1003.42) requires that schools teach all students about the principles contained in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the elements of civil government and important documents such as the Federalist papers, and

Whereas Florida law also requires that schools develop in all students an understanding and appreciation of the contributions of Hispanics, African-Americans, Women and Veterans to our nation and to the democratic values we hold dear, and

Whereas Florida law also requires students be taught about the horrors of the Holocaust and other acts of genocide so as to prepare them to act decisively as citizens in the preservation of the civil liberties of all persons, and

Whereas the Florida legislature has established “Celebrate Freedom Week” which requires all Florida public school students to recite verbatim certain portions from the Declaration of Independence in all public school classrooms, and requires a minimum of three hours of appropriate instruction to take place in each social studies classroom, and

Whereas the first and then only statewide assessment program was to gain information about the knowledge our K-12 students had about the Free Enterprise System (the Free Enterprise and Economic Education Act of 1974), and

Whereas in 1986 it was the intent of the legislature to add both science and social studies to the then existing statewide “Minimum Testing Program”, and

Whereas surveys conducted by the James Madison Institute of Florida revealed Florida’s University seniors at UF and FSU to be woefully ill-prepared as compared to their peers across the nation in knowledge of high school questions in American History and Civics, and

Whereas survey after survey reveals our nation’s youth to be ignorant of basic civic understanding, geographic knowledge, or fundamental economic principles, and

Whereas the state of Florida currently has no information as to the extent to which Florida’s K-12 students possess the values of civic understanding that are so essential to the preservation of our republic, and which Florida law requires they be instructed in

Whereas virtually none of Florida’s sixty-seven school districts have developed the means to assess the civic knowledge of their students, and

Whereas current Florida law does not require a student’s performance in social studies to be even taken into consideration when a student is being considered for promotion from one grade level to the next, and

Whereas as a result of the above, many school districts and schools therefore are abandoning or de-emphasizing the teaching of history, geography and structured civic education programs to the detriment of the civic mission of our schools . . .

Therefore, be it resolved by the representative members of BUPAC, that we find the civic educational program within the public schools of Florida and our nation to be in a state of crisis.

Be it further resolved that our membership calls upon the Florida legislature to take all measures to ensure an enlightened citizenry will continue to be the product of Florida’s public school program and that the legislature immediately amend state statute (FS1008.25) so as to include social studies as a core curriculum area that Florida educators must take into consideration when a student is being promoted from one grade level to the next.

Respectfully submitted this ______ day of __________.


____________________________ ____________________
Signature of presiding officer Attested to by

ASCD Joins Nation's Largest Bipartisan Legislative Event to Take State Lawmakers 'Back to School'

Alexandria, Va. (9/9/03)— The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) has joined in collaboration with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) to promote America's Legislators Back to School Week, September 15–19. The program, now in its fifth year, gives U.S. elected officials the opportunity to meet personally with their school-age constituents to create a greater understanding of the legislative processes necessary for developing effective public policy.

The program provides state legislators with classroom tools and exercises to bring representative democracy to life and let the nation's students know that their ideas matter. More than 250,000 students from Maine to California will meet with their state lawmakers in the third week of September for the nation's largest bipartisan civic education outreach.

ASCD members and affiliates interested in participating should contact their state coordinator. The state coordinator roster is available at http://www.ncsl.org/public/trust/contacts_bsw.htm. ASCD members and affiliates who are hosting a local event should contact Christy Guilfoyle, cguilfoyle@ascd.org, to have their event featured on the ASCD Web site.

For more information on America's Legislators Back to School Week, visit the collaboration's Web site at http://www.ncsl.org/public/backsch.htm.

NCSL introduced the America's Legislators Back to School program in 1999 to provide a contemporary approach for engaging the American student population in understanding the value of democracy. Seventeen other education and public service organizations are also part of the collaboration.

Contact Information
Barbara Gleason, public information director, at bgleason@ascd.org or 1-703-575-5610.
Christy Guilfoyle, public relations specialist, at cguilfoyle@ascd.org or 1-703-575-5608.

Florida
David WolfsonHouse of Representative321 The Capitol402 S. Monroe StreetTallahassee, FL 32399(850) 922-0742fax (850) 413-0422wolfson.david@myfloridahouse.com
Christine FuhrmanEducation AnalystSenate Majority330 Senate Office Building404 S. Monroe StreetTallahassee, Florida 32399-1100(850) 487-5184fax (850) 487-5842fuhrman.christine@flsenate.gov
________________________________
Note to Florida teacher by Jack Bovee explaining the advantage that would accrue from continued use of this event.

Amy --
It used to come out from the National Conference of State Legislators. (see below) Generally, it's a poorly planned program and news of it is sporadic -- generally no contacts with persons such as Anne Roycroft or myself is ever made. Regardless, it's a strategy that adds powerful 'natural' connections to our social studies advocacy efforts!

Please consider it -- and even an ECON class has possible benefits -- witness our controversial Homestead Exemption Amendment, the economic need for a Florida stimulus package similar to what Congress is proposing, the expensive need for Road maintenance, how to attract the 'right' kind of business, let alone the crazy nature of all the ungodly and unfair tax loopholes that the legislature provides to 'approved' businesses. Just asking for the list of companies that receive such tax breaks on Florida's corporate tax laws might prove very revealing to your students! (Many years ago I think Hertz paid no corporate tax, but Avis 'did' -- or vice versa. That's crazy, but in the attempt to attract 'high quality' business corporate offices to Florida, these are the kinds of exemptions that sometimes happen!

Jason Caros, who has some powerful legislators in Volusia County and whom I think may have targeted some of his social studies teachers to maintain this sort of annual relationship, might be able to shed some additional light on this topic. Jason, do you care to weigh in? We're talking about the value of using the "Take A Legislator to School" campaign to our advantage with one of the teachers in Escambia County! (If you've not been able to do this in Volusia, can you target one or more of your folk to invite in Evelyn Lynn and some of your other powerful legislators?)

Best wishes,

Jack

Legislative Committee Report for TRENDS - Nov. 2003

The Legislative Committee of FCSS, with the guidance of lobbyist Dave Sigerson, proposed the following goals to the FCSS Board of Directors in May: (1) inclusion of “social studies” in the state Student Progression Law [F.S. 1008.25]; (2) restoration of the former requirement that ALL Florida High School students must successfully complete courses in American History, American Government, Economics and World History or that the ‘fast track’ 18 credit graduation option be rescinded; (3) continued opposition to the plan to dismantle the current configuration of the State Archives, State Museum and State Library by relocating parts of them to Nova University or to other departments within state government; (4) support for the establishment of state-wide comparisons as well as more frequent testing of Civics and American History N.A.E.P. assessments now scheduled for 2006; (5) eventual inclusion of social studies on FCAT by amending Florida Statute 1008.22; and, (6) the establishment of a three-year grace period before the FCAT scores of ESOL students would take effect for purposes of the A+ school grading plan. At the May meeting, the first five goals were approved.

Our number one priority continues to be inclusion of social studies as part of the Student Progression Law. Members will recall that last year these bills passed the entire House and the Senate Education and Criminal Justice Committees without a dissenting vote before the measure died in the Senate Ed. Appropriations Committee (Lisa Carlton, Chairperson). It was rumored this was due to D.O.E. opposition to the bill, fearing it would mark the first step toward a social studies FCAT – something D.O.E. has opposed since the 1980s. FCSS President Fran Holleran and legislative chair Jack Bovee visited Senator Carlton this fall to discuss support for the measure this year. They shared information that last year’s Senate Fiscal Impact report stated the measure would cause little financial impact to the state or districts. The bill has been refilled at HB 0081 and SB 0426 for the coming session. To unravel the possibility of D.O.E. opposition, FASSS president Michael Odom wrote the Commissioner to restate our belief that the bill would NOT require a change to FCAT and to secure a written response from the Department on this year’s bill. As a result of this, we now have written support for the measure from D.O.E.! It has also been adopted as a statewide legislative goal of the Florida League of Women Voters and the Florida Son’s of the American Revolution! All FCSS members are urged to lobby their local representatives for passage of the bill. We still need your help to be more successful this year. Although supportive, we cannot depend upon the SAR and LWV to fight this battle for us!

We predict there will be some changes in the high school ‘fast track’ option. As a result of editorials by legislative committee members on the repeal of the former specific course state graduation requirements, Congressman Jim Davis (Tampa) has filed a bill in Congress that would deny some federal funds to those states that do NOT require American History and American Government for graduation. We’ve also brought this to the attention of NCSS, the National Council for History Education, the Center for Civic Education and other national organizations and have asked them to support his measure. All FCSS members should write or FAX their support to Congressman Davis (FAX 202.225-5652 / ph: 202.225.3376) and copy their local state reps as well. An FCSS survey reveals about one-third of Florida’s districts have not used the flexibility given to them as districts to restore these graduation requirements. Various legislators we’ve spoken to refer to this omission as an ‘error’ and support restoration of our courses. All FCSS members are urged to immediately fax, write and call their legislators on this vital issue!

We don’t foresee the move this session to reallocate resources at the state Museum and Archives, but we must remain vigilant to this possibility. Although we have not attempted to introduce a bill to add Social Studies to FCAT, Senator Margolis has a bill that would add nutritional questions to the 10th grade assessment. We have lobbied the Senator that should additional areas be considered, it is our belief that the area of social studies should be first and foremost the next area and we hope she’ll support us when the time is more favorable. As far as the NAEP issue, the committee has been lobbying heavily with Congressman Davis and Senators Byrd and Alexander about the need to provide equity to Civics and American History in 2006 by providing comparative data on state participation. After all, almost a quarter billion dollars has been spent on revitalizing American History and yet we have no way of determining where the various states compare to a national average in this area. Moreover, the NAEP comparison would be far less costly and intrusive than adding these courses to NCLB. We’re getting some interest on the hill, but the lack of support among several national organizations is hurting this initiative. Recently, Jack Bovee and NCSS Board of Directors members Debbie Gallagher and Marsha Yoder are exerting their influence to have NCSS take a positive position on the issue!

FCSS members are encouraged to monitor legislative issues at ONLINESUNSHINE http://www.leg.state.fl.us/ The committee is also in need of grass roots members who will write and lobby for the above goals. Interested persons should contact Jack Bovee at ph: 239.254.4607 or by email: boveeja@collier.k12.fl.us . Anyone wanting electronic versions of the D.O.E. support letter or Congressman Davis’ bill can also obtain those by contacting Jack.


938 words