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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to reading interventions and 2
instruction; amending s. 1001.215, F.S.; requiring the 3
Just Read, Florida! Office to work with the Florida 4
Center for Reading Research to identify specified 5
personnel to receive training in the delivery of 6
specified reading instruction and interventions; 7
amending s. 1003.4201, F.S.; requiring intensive 8
reading instruction to be provided to certain 9
students; providing requirements for such instruction; 10
revising the requirements of school district reading 11
instruction plans to include the deployment of 12
specified personnel; revising the duties of the 13
Department of Education relating to such plans; 14
amending s. 1004.645, F.S .; requiring the Florida 15
Center for Reading Research, contingent upon funding, 16
to develop specified content relating to training for 17
certain personnel; amending s. 1012.98, F.S.; revising 18
the requirements for school district professional 19
learning systems to include the delivery of specified 20
instruction and interventions; providing an effective 21
date. 22
23
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
25
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Section 1. Subsection (7) of section 1001.215, Florida 26
Statutes, is amended to read: 27
1001.215 Just Read, Florida! Office. —There is created in 28
the Department of Education the Just Read, Florida! Office. The 29
office is fully accountable to the Commissioner of Education and 30
shall: 31
(7) Work with the Florida Center for Reading Research to : 32
(a) Identify scientifically researched and evidence -based 33
reading instructional and intervention programs grounded in the 34
science of reading which incorporate explicit, systematic, and 35
sequential approaches to teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, 36
vocabulary, fluency, and text comprehension and incorporate 37
decodable or phonetic text instructional strategies. Reading 38
intervention includes evidence -based strategies frequently used 39
to remediate reading deficiencies and includes, but is not 40
limited to, individual ins truction, multisensory approaches, 41
tutoring, mentoring, or the use of technology that targets 42
specific reading skills and abilities. The primary instructional 43
strategy for teaching word reading is phonics instruction for 44
decoding and encoding. The identifi ed reading instructional and 45
intervention programs for foundational skills may not include 46
strategies that employ the three -cueing system model of reading 47
or visual memory as a basis for teaching word reading. Such 48
programs may include visual information a nd strategies that 49
improve background and experiential knowledge, add context, and 50
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increase oral language and vocabulary to support comprehension, 51
but may not be used to teach word reading. 52
(b) Identify middle school and high school personnel, 53
including school principals and reading coaches at the district 54
level and school level, to participate in training focused on 55
the delivery of reading instruction and interventions to 56
students in grades 4 through 12, as developed by the center 57
pursuant to s. 1004.645 (4). Priority shall be given to personnel 58
from small and rural school districts and district career 59
technical programs. 60
Section 2. Subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection 61
(2), and subsection (4) of section 1003.4201, Florida Statutes, 62
are amended to read: 63
1003.4201 Comprehensive system of reading instruction. —64
Each school district must implement a system of comprehensive 65
reading instruction for students enrolled in prekindergarten 66
through grade 12 and certain students who exhibit a substantial 67
deficiency in early literacy. 68
(1) Each school district must develop, and submit to the 69
district school board for approval, a detailed reading 70
instruction plan that outlines the components of the district's 71
comprehensive system of reading instruction. The pla n must 72
include: 73
(a) All district schools, including charter schools, 74
unless a charter school elects to submit a plan independently 75
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from the school district. A charter school plan must comply with 76
all of the provisions of this section and must be approved by 77
the charter school's governing body and provided to the charter 78
school's sponsor. 79
(b) Evidence-based intensive reading interventions for 80
students who have reading deficiencies. The interventions must 81
include all of the following: 82
1. Evidence-based reading instruction proven to accelerate 83
the progress of students exhibiting a reading deficiency. 84
2. Differentiated instruction based on screening, 85
diagnostic, progress monitoring, or student assessment data to 86
meet students' specific reading needs. 87
3. Explicit and systematic reading strategies to develop 88
phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and 89
comprehension, with more extensive opportunities for guided 90
practice, error correction, and feedback. 91
4. The coordinated integration of civic li teracy, science, 92
and mathematics-text reading, text discussion, and writing in 93
response to reading. 94
(2)(a) Components of the reading instruction plan may 95
include the following: 96
1. Additional time per day of evidence -based intensive 97
reading instruction for kindergarten through grade 12 students, 98
which may be delivered during or outside of the regular school 99
day. 100
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2. Highly qualified reading coaches, who must be endorsed 101
in reading, to specifically support classroom teachers in making 102
instructional decisions based on progress monitoring data 103
collected pursuant to s. 1008.25(9) and improve classroom 104
teacher delivery of effective reading instruction, reading 105
intervention, and reading in the content areas based on student 106
need. 107
3. Professional learning to help instructional personnel 108
and certified prekindergarten teachers funded in the Florida 109
Education Finance Program earn a certification, a credential, an 110
endorsement, or an advanced degree in scientifically researched 111
and evidence-based reading instructio n. 112
4. Methods for the deployment of reading coaches and 113
placement of kindergarten through grade 2 classroom teachers to 114
ensure the assignment of high -quality classroom teachers who are 115
trained in the science of reading. 116
5.4. Summer reading camps, using only classroom teachers 117
or other district personnel who possess a micro -credential as 118
specified in s. 1003.485 or are certified or endorsed in reading 119
consistent with s. 1008.25(8)(b)3., for all students in 120
kindergarten through grade 5 exhibiting a readin g deficiency as 121
determined by district and state assessments. 122
6.5. Incentives for instructional personnel and certified 123
prekindergarten teachers funded in the Florida Education Finance 124
Program who possess a reading certification or endorsement or 125
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micro-credential as specified in s. 1003.485 and provide 126
educational support to improve student literacy. 127
7.6. Tutoring in reading. 128
(4) The department shall : 129
(a) Review and approve the methods described in 130
subparagraph (2)(a)4. 131
(b) Evaluate the implementa tion of each school district 132
reading instruction plan, including conducting site visits and 133
collecting specific data on reading improvement results. 134
Section 3. Subsections (4) through (7) of section 135
1004.645, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsect ions (5) 136
through (8), respectively, and a new subsection (4) is added to 137
that section to read: 138
1004.645 Florida Center for Reading Research. —There is 139
created at the Florida State University, the Florida Center for 140
Reading Research (FCRR). The center shal l include two outreach 141
centers, one at a Florida College System institution in central 142
Florida and one at a south Florida state university. The center 143
and the outreach centers, under the center's leadership, shall: 144
(4) Contingent upon an appropriation, d evelop content for 145
job-embedded training for school and district leadership, 146
including school principals, and reading coaches focused on the 147
delivery of reading instruction and interventions to students in 148
grades 4 through 12. The training shall include ev idence-based 149
strategies for motivating and engaging adolescent learners and 150
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research-based strategies for accommodations and scaffolding 151
instruction for struggling readers and writers. 152
Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 153
1012.98, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 154
1012.98 School Community Professional Learning Act. — 155
(5) The Department of Education, school districts, 156
schools, Florida College System institutions, and state 157
universities share the responsibilities described in this 158
section. These responsibilities include the following: 159
(b) Each school district shall develop a professional 160
learning system as specified in subsection (4). The system shall 161
be developed in consultation with teachers, teacher -educators of 162
Florida College System institutions and state universities, 163
business and community representatives, and local education 164
foundations, consortia, and professional organizations. The 165
professional learning system must: 166
1. Be reviewed and approved by the department for 167
compliance with s. 1003.42(3) and this section. Effective March 168
1, 2024, the department shall establish a calendar for the 169
review and approval of all professional learning systems. A 170
professional learning system must be reviewed and approved every 171
5 years. Any substantial revisions to the system must be 172
submitted to the department for review and approval. The 173
department shall establish a format for the review and approval 174
of a professional learning system. 175
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2. Be based on analyses of student achievement data a nd 176
instructional strategies and methods that support rigorous, 177
relevant, and challenging curricula for all students. Schools 178
and districts, in developing and refining the professional 179
learning system, shall also review and monitor school discipline 180
data; school environment surveys; assessments of parental 181
satisfaction; performance appraisal data of teachers, managers, 182
and administrative personnel; and other performance indicators 183
to identify school and student needs that can be met by improved 184
professional performance. 185
3. Provide inservice activities coupled with followup 186
support appropriate to accomplish district -level and school-187
level improvement goals and standards. The inservice activities 188
for instructional and school administrative personnel shall 189
focus on analysis of student achievement data; ongoing formal 190
and informal assessments of student achievement; identification 191
and use of enhanced and differentiated instructional strategies 192
that emphasize rigor, relevance, and reading in the content 193
areas; enhancement of subject content expertise; integrated use 194
of classroom technology that enhances teaching and learning; 195
classroom management; parent involvement; and school safety. 196
4. Provide inservice activities and support targeted to 197
the individual needs of new teachers participating in the 198
professional learning certification and education competency 199
program under s. 1012.56(8)(a). 200
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5. Include a professional learning catalog for inservice 201
activities, pursuant to rules of the State Board of Education, 202
for all district employees from all fund sources. The catalog 203
must be updated annually by September 1, must be based on input 204
from teachers and district and school instructional leaders, and 205
must use the latest available student achievement data and 206
research to enhance rigor and relevance in the classroom. Each 207
district inservice catalog must be aligned to and support the 208
school-based inservice catalog and school improvement plans 209
pursuant to s. 1001.42(18). Each district inservice catalog must 210
provide a description of the training that middle grades 211
instructional personnel and school administrators receive on the 212
district's code of student conduct adopted pursuant to s. 213
1006.07; integrated digital instruction and competency -based 214
instruction and CAPE Digital To ol certificates and CAPE industry 215
certifications; classroom management; student behavior and 216
interaction; extended learning opportunities for students; and 217
instructional leadership. District plans must be approved by the 218
district school board annually in o rder to ensure compliance 219
with subsection (1) and to allow for dissemination of research -220
based best practices to other districts. District school boards 221
shall submit verification of their approval to the Commissioner 222
of Education no later than October 1, a nnually. Each school 223
principal may establish and maintain an individual professional 224
learning plan for each instructional employee assigned to the 225
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school as a seamless component to the school improvement plans 226
developed pursuant to s. 1001.42(18). An indiv idual professional 227
learning plan must be related to specific performance data for 228
the students to whom the teacher is assigned, define the 229
inservice objectives and specific measurable improvements 230
expected in student performance as a result of the inservic e 231
activity, and include an evaluation component that determines 232
the effectiveness of the professional learning plan. 233
6. Include inservice activities for school administrative 234
personnel, aligned to the state's educational leadership 235
standards, which addre ss updated skills necessary for 236
instructional leadership and effective school management 237
pursuant to s. 1012.986. 238
7. Provide for systematic consultation with regional and 239
state personnel designated to provide technical assistance and 240
evaluation of local professional learning programs. 241
8. Provide for delivery of professional learning by 242
distance learning and other technology -based delivery systems to 243
reach more educators at lower costs. 244
9. Provide for the continuous evaluation of the quality 245
and effectiveness of professional learning programs in order to 246
eliminate ineffective programs and strategies and to expand 247
effective ones. Evaluations must consider the impact of such 248
activities on the performance of participating educators and 249
their students' achi evement and behavior. 250
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10. For all grades, emphasize: 251
a. Interdisciplinary planning, collaboration, and 252
instruction. 253
b. Alignment of curriculum and instructional materials to 254
the state academic standards adopted pursuant to s. 1003.41. 255
c. Use of small learning communities; problem -solving, 256
inquiry-driven research and analytical approaches for students; 257
strategies and tools based on student needs; competency -based 258
instruction; integrated digital instruction; and project -based 259
instruction. 260
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Each school that includes any of grades 6, 7, or 8 shall include 262
in its school improvement plan, required under s. 1001.42(18), a 263
description of the specific strategies used by the school to 264
implement each item listed in this subparagraph. 265
11. Provide training t o reading coaches, classroom 266
teachers, and school administrators in : 267
a. Effective methods of identifying characteristics of 268
conditions such as dyslexia and other causes of diminished 269
phonological processing skills; incorporating instructional 270
techniques into the general education setting which are proven 271
to improve reading performance for all students; and using 272
predictive and other data to make instructional decisions based 273
on individual student needs. The training must help teachers 274
integrate phonemic a wareness; phonics, word study, and spelling; 275
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reading fluency; vocabulary, including academic vocabulary; and 276
text comprehension strategies into an explicit, systematic, and 277
sequential approach to reading instruction, including 278
multisensory intervention str ategies. Such training for teaching 279
foundational skills must be based on the science of reading and 280
include phonics instruction for decoding and encoding as the 281
primary instructional strategy for word reading. Instructional 282
strategies included in the train ing may not employ the three -283
cueing system model of reading or visual memory as a basis for 284
teaching word reading. Such instructional strategies may include 285
visual information and strategies which improve background and 286
experiential knowledge, add context, and increase oral language 287
and vocabulary to support comprehension, but may not be used to 288
teach word reading. Each district must provide all elementary 289
grades instructional personnel access to training sufficient to 290
meet the requirements of s. 1012.585(3 )(f). 291
b. The delivery of reading instruction and interventions 292
to students in grades 4 through 12, including evidenced -based 293
strategies for motivating and engaging adolescent learners and 294
research-based strategies for accommodations and scaffolding 295
instruction for struggling readers and writers. 296
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 297