HB 859 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to Reading Achievement Initiative for 2
Scholastic Excellence Program; amending s. 1008.365, 3
F.S.; authorizing tutoring provided through the 4
tutoring program within the Reading Achievement 5
Initiative for Scholastic Excellence Program to be 6
provided after the school day; conforming provisions 7
to changes made by the act; authorizing school 8
districts that participate in the tutoring program to 9
provide a stipend to instructional personnel and high 10
school students serving as tutors for after -school 11
tutoring; providing an effective date. 12
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
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Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 1008.365, Florida 16
Statutes, is amended to read: 17
1008.365 Reading Achievement Initiative for Scholastic 18
Excellence Act.— 19
(8) As part of the RAISE Program, the department shall 20
establish a tutoring program and develop training in effective 21
reading tutoring practic es and content, based on evidence -based 22
practices and aligned to the English Language Arts standards 23
under s. 1003.41, which prepares eligible high school students 24
to tutor students in kindergarten through grade 3 in schools 25
HB 859 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
identified under this section, instilling in those students a 26
love of reading and improving their literacy skills. 27
(a) To be eligible to participate in the tutoring program, 28
a high school student must be a rising junior or senior who has 29
a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or high er, has no 30
history of out-of-school suspensions or expulsions, is on track 31
to complete all core course requirements to graduate, and has 32
written recommendations from at least two of his or her present 33
or former high school teachers of record or extracurric ular 34
activity sponsors. 35
(b) School districts that wish to participate in the 36
tutoring program must recruit, train, and deploy eligible high 37
school students using the materials developed under this 38
section. Tutoring may must occur during or after the school day 39
on school district property in the presence and under the 40
supervision of instructional personnel who are school district 41
employees. A parent must give written permission for his or her 42
child to receive tutoring through the program. 43
(c) Tutoring may be part of a service -learning course 44
adopted pursuant to s. 1003.497. Students may earn up to three 45
elective credits for high school graduation based on the 46
verified number of hours the student spends tutoring under the 47
program. The hours of volunteer se rvice must be documented in 48
writing, and the document must be signed by the student, the 49
student's parent or guardian, and an administrator or designee 50
HB 859 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
of the school in which the tutoring occurred. If a school 51
district does not provide a stipend to a parti cipating high 52
school student under paragraph (d), the hours that a high school 53
student devotes to tutoring may be counted toward meeting 54
community service requirements for high school graduation and 55
community service requirements for participation in the F lorida 56
Bright Futures Scholarship Program as provided in s. 57
1003.497(3)(b). The department shall designate a high school 58
student who provides at least 75 verified hours of tutoring 59
under the program as a New Worlds Scholar and award the student 60
with a pin indicating such designation. 61
(d) School districts participating in the tutoring program 62
may provide a stipend to instructional personnel and high school 63
students serving as tutors for after -school tutoring. 64
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 65