Senate Bill sb2310

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2310

    By Senator Atwater





    25-1649A-04                                        See HB 1139

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to reading deficiencies;

  3         amending s. 1002.20, F.S.; providing certain

  4         rights to parents of students with reading

  5         deficiencies; creating s. 1003.59, F.S.;

  6         requiring a Reading Enhancement and

  7         Acceleration Initiative to be established in

  8         each school district; providing focus of the

  9         initiative to prevent the retention of

10         third-grade students and to provide accelerated

11         reading instruction to students who fail to

12         meet certain standards; specifying student and

13         parent rights; providing for oversight and

14         enforcement for noncompliance; providing an

15         effective date.

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17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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19         Section 1.  Subsections (11) through (22) of section

20  1002.20, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (12)

21  through (23), respectively, and a new subsection (11) is added

22  to that section to read:

23         1002.20  K-12 student and parent rights.--Parents of

24  public school students must receive accurate and timely

25  information regarding their child's academic progress and must

26  be informed of ways they can help their child to succeed in

27  school. K-12 students and their parents are afforded numerous

28  statutory rights including, but not limited to, the following:

29         (11)  STUDENTS WITH READING DEFICIENCIES.--Each

30  elementary school shall regularly assess the reading ability

31  of each K-3 student. The parent of any K-3 student who

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2310
    25-1649A-04                                        See HB 1139




 1  exhibits a reading deficiency shall be immediately notified of

 2  the student's deficiency with a description and explanation in

 3  terms understandable to the parent of the exact nature of the

 4  student's struggle with reading, shall be consulted in the

 5  development of a detailed academic improvement plan, as

 6  described in s. 1008.25(4)(b), and shall be informed that the

 7  student will be given intensive reading instruction until the

 8  deficiency is corrected. This subsection operates in addition

 9  to the remediation and notification provisions contained in s.

10  1008.25 and in no way reduces the rights of a parent or the

11  responsibilities of a school district under that section.

12         Section 2.  Section 1003.59, Florida Statutes, is

13  created to read:

14         1003.59  Reading Enhancement and Acceleration

15  Initiative.--

16         (1)  ESTABLISHMENT.--A Reading Enhancement and

17  Acceleration Initiative shall be established in each school

18  district. The focus of the statewide initiative shall be to:

19         (a)  Establish a reading enhancement initiative to

20  prevent the retention of third-grade students by implementing

21  a method and system for preventing illiteracy in grades K-3.

22         (b)  Establish a reading acceleration initiative to

23  provide intensive, accelerated reading instruction to

24  third-grade students who fail to meet standards for promotion

25  to the fourth grade.

26         (2)  READING ENHANCEMENT INITIATIVE REQUIREMENTS.--The

27  reading enhancement initiative shall:

28         (a)  Be provided to all K-3 students at risk of

29  retention as identified by the Dynamic Indicators of Basic

30  Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), the statewide assessment

31  system used in Florida Reading First schools. DIBELS are five

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2310
    25-1649A-04                                        See HB 1139




 1  brief measures of the important skills that form the basis for

 2  early success in reading.

 3         (b)  Include daily 30-minute to 45-minute intensive

 4  reading instruction delivered by professional and

 5  paraprofessional staff trained to provide explicit, systematic

 6  instruction in the five essential components of reading as

 7  identified by Reading First, which are phonemic awareness,

 8  phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, and in using

 9  assessment to indicate needed instruction.

10         (c)  Be provided during regular school hours in

11  addition to the regular reading instruction.

12         (d)  Provide a state-identified reading curriculum that

13  includes a method and system for preventing illiteracy that

14  has been reviewed by the Florida Center for Reading Research

15  at Florida State University and meets, at a minimum, the

16  following specifications:

17         1.  Assists struggling readers to attain reading at

18  grade level.

19         2.  Provides skill development in the five essential

20  components of reading as identified by Reading First.

21         3.  Is research based and has a proven method and

22  system for preventing illiteracy.

23         4.  Provides scientifically based and reliable

24  assessment.

25         5.  Provides correct placement within the reading

26  program.

27         6.  Provides initial and ongoing analysis of each

28  student's reading progress.

29         7.  Includes a computerized management system for

30  immediate analysis and reporting to school officials and

31  parents.

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2310
    25-1649A-04                                        See HB 1139




 1         8.  Includes DIBELS assessment, or a completely

 2  equivalent measure, which is integrated into the curriculum.

 3         (3)  READING ACCELERATION INITIATIVE REQUIREMENTS.--The

 4  reading acceleration initiative shall:

 5         (a)  Be provided through reading acceleration centers

 6  to all third-grade students who fail to meet standards for

 7  promotion to the fourth grade.

 8         (b)  Include daily 60-minute to 90-minute intensive,

 9  accelerated reading instruction delivered by high-quality

10  instructional staff who hold certification in elementary

11  education, certification in reading, or an endorsement in

12  reading and who have extensive training in explicit,

13  systematic instruction in the five essential components of

14  reading as identified by Reading First and in using assessment

15  to indicate needed instruction.

16         (c)  Be implemented during regular school hours.

17         (d)  Offer core education services to enrolled students

18  to enable students to stay on grade level in other academic

19  areas.

20         (e)  Adopt a reading curriculum that meets all

21  requirements set forth in paragraph (2)(d).

22         (4)  STUDENT AND PARENT RIGHTS.--

23         (a)  A student retained pursuant to s. 1008.25 may

24  attend a reading acceleration center.

25         (b)  Each retained student shall be assessed each 9

26  weeks and shall be promoted to fourth grade if he or she

27  becomes a successful and independent reader by achieving a

28  passing score on a nationally recognized standardized test as

29  determined by the Department of Education.

30         (c)  If a student achieves a score on a test

31  administered pursuant to paragraph (b) that does not result in

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2310
    25-1649A-04                                        See HB 1139




 1  the student's promotion to the fourth grade, the school, in

 2  consultation with the student's parent, shall modify the

 3  student's academic improvement plan entered into pursuant to

 4  s. 1002.20(11) or s. 1008.25(4)(b) to reflect the student's

 5  current level of performance in phonemic awareness, phonics,

 6  fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. During this process,

 7  the parent must be informed of all instructional and support

 8  services available to improve the student's reading ability.

 9         (5)  COMPLIANCE.--Any school district that fails to

10  comply with the requirements of this section shall be subject

11  to the oversight and enforcement provisions contained in s.

12  1008.32.

13         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

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