FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
S
TATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Chairman
Members
PETER BOULWARE
AKSHAY DESAI
ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
PHOEBE RAULERSON
K
SHANAHAN
LINDA K. TAYLOR
Dr. Eric J. Smith
Commissioner of Education
CONTACT INFORMATION
Beth Bouchard
(850) 245-9965
Beth.bouchard@fldoe.org
DPS:2009-027
MEMORANDUM
TO:
District Superintendents
FROM:
Dr. Frances Haithcock
DATE:
March 13, 2009
SUBJECT: DISTRICT CHARACTER EDUCATION PLANS
Section 1003.42(2)(s), Florida Statutes, states that each district school board shall develop or
adopt a curriculum for a character-development program that shall be submitted to the
Department of Education for approval for grades K-12. In 2004, districts submitted these plans
to the Florida Department of Education for review and evaluation. In February 2005, the
Department notified district school superintendents that the district plans were found to be
comprehensive, containing well-constructed curriculums.
These plans are on file in the Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction, Florida Department of
Education, and were recently reviewed. Several observations were made in this review:
•
These plans are correlated to the 1996 Sunshine State Standards.
•
Some of these plans were written in 2002-2003, making them six and seven years old.
•
Some of these plans are based on instructional materials that are no longer state adopted.
The Department would like to give you the opportunity to update your district plans for character
education. These plans should align to the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS)
and benchmarks and should continue to include grades kindergarten through 12. They also
should promote the core ethical values of patriotism, responsibility, citizenship, kindness,
respect, honesty, self-control, tolerance, and cooperation. If your district is using a completely
new program, remember that Section 1003.42(2)(s), Florida Statutes, requires that the program
be secular in nature and that it stress such character qualities as attentiveness, patience, and
initiative.
DR. FRANCES HAITHCOCK
CHANCELLOR OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 514 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0509 • www.fldoe.org
District Character Education Plans
o allow time for incorporation of the revised Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for
ing
March 13, 2009
Page 2
T
Language Arts, District Character Development Updated Plans should be mailed to the follow
address or submitted electronically to beth.bouchard@fldoe.org by August 1, 2010:
Beth Bouchard, Director
cation
cluded with this memorandum is the document
Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for
Office of the Humanities
Florida Department of Edu
325 West Gaines Street, Suite 432
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
In
Social Studies and Health Related to Character Education
. If you have any questions regarding
the requirements of the character development plan, please call Beth Bouchard at (850) 245-9965
or e-mail her at beth.bouchard@fldoe.org.
FH/tc