A measure aimed at making it easier for Florida students to receive “accelerated instruction,” such as skipping a class or moving more quickly through a grade level if they are academically ready, has been signed into law by Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
Florida law already offers a range of options for students seeking to move through the K-12 system, or make the transition from high school to college study, at a faster pace than normal. But the new law—dubbed “Academically Challenging Curriculum to Enhance Learning”—is meant to give current provisions more teeth by requiring principals and school districts to set clearer eligibility requirements for students and take more aggressive steps to notify parents and students of their options, said Florida state Rep. John Legg, a Republican backer of the legislation.
Under current law, principals already have the power to allow students to move on a faster-paced academic track, but sometimes “school districts discourage it,” Mr. Legg said in an interview, because “it doesn’t fit into the typical model.”
