Florida Senate - 2025 SB 442
By Senator Simon
3-01770A-25 2025442__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to reading instruction; amending s.
3 1001.215, F.S.; requiring the Just Read, Florida!
4 Office to work with the Florida Center for Reading
5 Research to identify certain personnel and reading
6 coaches to participate in specified training; amending
7 s. 1003.4201, F.S.; requiring that intensive reading
8 instruction be provided to students who have reading
9 deficiencies; providing requirements for such
10 instruction; providing that a reading plan may include
11 methods for the use of reading coaches and placement
12 of teachers with specified training; requiring the
13 Department of Education to review and approve certain
14 provisions; amending s. 1004.645, F.S.; requiring the
15 Florida Center for Reading Research to develop content
16 for specified training, subject to legislative
17 appropriation; amending s. 1012.98, F.S.; requiring
18 that school district professional learning systems
19 include training for specified individuals in the
20 delivery of reading instruction and interventions;
21 providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25 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 instruction, 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 identified 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 and strategies that
49 improve background and experiential knowledge, add context, and
50 increase oral language and vocabulary to support comprehension,
51 but may not be used to teach word reading.
52 (b) Identify middle school and secondary school personnel,
53 including principals, and reading coaches at the district and
54 school level to participate in training focused on the delivery
55 of reading instruction and interventions to students in grades 4
56 through 12, as developed by the Florida Center for Reading
57 Research, consistent with s. 1004.645(4). Priority must be given
58 to small and rural districts and district career technical
59 programs.
60 Section 2. Subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection (2),
61 and subsection (4) of section 1003.4201, Florida Statutes, are
62 amended to read:
63 1003.4201 Comprehensive system of reading instruction.—Each
64 school district must implement a system of comprehensive reading
65 instruction for students enrolled in prekindergarten through
66 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. Intensive reading
72 instruction must be provided to students who have reading
73 deficiencies and must include: evidence-based reading
74 instruction proven to accelerate progress of students exhibiting
75 a reading deficiency; differentiated instruction based on
76 screening, diagnostic, progress monitoring, or student
77 assessment data to meet students’ specific reading needs;
78 explicit and systematic reading strategies to develop phonemic
79 awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, with
80 more extensive opportunities for guided practice, error
81 correction, and feedback; and the coordinated integration of
82 civic literacy, science, and mathematics-text reading, text
83 discussion, and writing in response to reading. The plan must
84 include all district schools, including charter schools, unless
85 a charter school elects to submit a plan independently from the
86 school district. A charter school plan must comply with all of
87 the provisions of this section and must be approved by the
88 charter school’s governing body and provided to the charter
89 school’s sponsor.
90 (2)(a) Components of the reading instruction plan may
91 include the following:
92 1. Additional time per day of evidence-based intensive
93 reading instruction for kindergarten through grade 12 students,
94 which may be delivered during or outside of the regular school
95 day.
96 2. Highly qualified reading coaches, who must be endorsed
97 in reading, to specifically support classroom teachers in making
98 instructional decisions based on progress monitoring data
99 collected pursuant to s. 1008.25(9) and improve classroom
100 teacher delivery of effective reading instruction, reading
101 intervention, and reading in the content areas based on student
102 need.
103 3. Professional learning to help instructional personnel
104 and certified prekindergarten teachers funded in the Florida
105 Education Finance Program earn a certification, a credential, an
106 endorsement, or an advanced degree in scientifically researched
107 and evidence-based reading instruction.
108 4. Methods for the use of reading coaches and strategic
109 placement of high-quality kindergarten through grade 12 teachers
110 trained in the science of reading.
111 5. Summer reading camps, using only classroom teachers or
112 other district personnel who possess a micro-credential as
113 specified in s. 1003.485 or are certified or endorsed in reading
114 consistent with s. 1008.25(8)(b)3., for all students in
115 kindergarten through grade 5 exhibiting a reading deficiency as
116 determined by district and state assessments.
117 6.5. Incentives for instructional personnel and certified
118 prekindergarten teachers funded in the Florida Education Finance
119 Program who possess a reading certification or endorsement or
120 micro-credential as specified in s. 1003.485 and provide
121 educational support to improve student literacy.
122 7.6. Tutoring in reading.
123 (4) The department shall:
124 (a) Review and approve the components described in
125 subparagraph (2)(a)4.
126 (b) Evaluate the implementation of each school district
127 reading instruction plan, including conducting site visits and
128 collecting specific data on reading improvement results.
129 Section 3. Present subsections (4) through (7) of section
130 1004.645, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (5)
131 through (8), respectively, and a new subsection (4) is added to
132 that section, to read:
133 1004.645 Florida Center for Reading Research.—There is
134 created at the Florida State University, the Florida Center for
135 Reading Research (FCRR). The center shall include two outreach
136 centers, one at a Florida College System institution in central
137 Florida and one at a south Florida state university. The center
138 and the outreach centers, under the center’s leadership, shall:
139 (4) Contingent upon legislative appropriation, develop
140 content for job-embedded training for school and district
141 leadership, including principals, and reading coaches focused on
142 the delivery of reading instruction and interventions to
143 students in grades 4 through 12. The training must include
144 evidence-based strategies for motivating and engaging adolescent
145 learners and research-based strategies for accommodations and
146 scaffolding instruction for struggling readers and writers.
147 Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section
148 1012.98, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
149 1012.98 School Community Professional Learning Act.—
150 (5) The Department of Education, school districts, schools,
151 Florida College System institutions, and state universities
152 share the responsibilities described in this section. These
153 responsibilities include the following:
154 (b) Each school district shall develop a professional
155 learning system as specified in subsection (4). The system shall
156 be developed in consultation with teachers, teacher-educators of
157 Florida College System institutions and state universities,
158 business and community representatives, and local education
159 foundations, consortia, and professional organizations. The
160 professional learning system must:
161 1. Be reviewed and approved by the department for
162 compliance with s. 1003.42(3) and this section. Effective March
163 1, 2024, the department shall establish a calendar for the
164 review and approval of all professional learning systems. A
165 professional learning system must be reviewed and approved every
166 5 years. Any substantial revisions to the system must be
167 submitted to the department for review and approval. The
168 department shall establish a format for the review and approval
169 of a professional learning system.
170 2. Be based on analyses of student achievement data and
171 instructional strategies and methods that support rigorous,
172 relevant, and challenging curricula for all students. Schools
173 and districts, in developing and refining the professional
174 learning system, shall also review and monitor school discipline
175 data; school environment surveys; assessments of parental
176 satisfaction; performance appraisal data of teachers, managers,
177 and administrative personnel; and other performance indicators
178 to identify school and student needs that can be met by improved
179 professional performance.
180 3. Provide inservice activities coupled with follow-up
181 followup support appropriate to accomplish district-level and
182 school-level improvement goals and standards. The inservice
183 activities for instructional and school administrative personnel
184 shall focus on analysis of student achievement data; ongoing
185 formal and informal assessments of student achievement;
186 identification and use of enhanced and differentiated
187 instructional strategies that emphasize rigor, relevance, and
188 reading in the content areas; enhancement of subject content
189 expertise; integrated use of classroom technology that enhances
190 teaching and learning; classroom management; parent involvement;
191 and school safety.
192 4. Provide inservice activities and support targeted to the
193 individual needs of new teachers participating in the
194 professional learning certification and education competency
195 program under s. 1012.56(8)(a).
196 5. Include a professional learning catalog for inservice
197 activities, pursuant to rules of the State Board of Education,
198 for all district employees from all fund sources. The catalog
199 must be updated annually by September 1, must be based on input
200 from teachers and district and school instructional leaders, and
201 must use the latest available student achievement data and
202 research to enhance rigor and relevance in the classroom. Each
203 district inservice catalog must be aligned to and support the
204 school-based inservice catalog and school improvement plans
205 pursuant to s. 1001.42(18). Each district inservice catalog must
206 provide a description of the training that middle grades
207 instructional personnel and school administrators receive on the
208 district’s code of student conduct adopted pursuant to s.
209 1006.07; integrated digital instruction and competency-based
210 instruction and CAPE Digital Tool certificates and CAPE industry
211 certifications; classroom management; student behavior and
212 interaction; extended learning opportunities for students; and
213 instructional leadership. District plans must be approved by the
214 district school board annually in order to ensure compliance
215 with subsection (1) and to allow for dissemination of research
216 based best practices to other districts. District school boards
217 shall submit verification of their approval to the Commissioner
218 of Education no later than October 1, annually. Each school
219 principal may establish and maintain an individual professional
220 learning plan for each instructional employee assigned to the
221 school as a seamless component to the school improvement plans
222 developed pursuant to s. 1001.42(18). An individual professional
223 learning plan must be related to specific performance data for
224 the students to whom the teacher is assigned, define the
225 inservice objectives and specific measurable improvements
226 expected in student performance as a result of the inservice
227 activity, and include an evaluation component that determines
228 the effectiveness of the professional learning plan.
229 6. Include inservice activities for school administrative
230 personnel, aligned to the state’s educational leadership
231 standards, which address updated skills necessary for
232 instructional leadership and effective school management
233 pursuant to s. 1012.986.
234 7. Provide for systematic consultation with regional and
235 state personnel designated to provide technical assistance and
236 evaluation of local professional learning programs.
237 8. Provide for delivery of professional learning by
238 distance learning and other technology-based delivery systems to
239 reach more educators at lower costs.
240 9. Provide for the continuous evaluation of the quality and
241 effectiveness of professional learning programs in order to
242 eliminate ineffective programs and strategies and to expand
243 effective ones. Evaluations must consider the impact of such
244 activities on the performance of participating educators and
245 their students’ achievement and behavior.
246 10. For all grades, emphasize:
247 a. Interdisciplinary planning, collaboration, and
248 instruction.
249 b. Alignment of curriculum and instructional materials to
250 the state academic standards adopted pursuant to s. 1003.41.
251 c. Use of small learning communities; problem-solving,
252 inquiry-driven research and analytical approaches for students;
253 strategies and tools based on student needs; competency-based
254 instruction; integrated digital instruction; and project-based
255 instruction.
256
257 Each school that includes any of grades 6, 7, or 8 shall include
258 in its school improvement plan, required under s. 1001.42(18), a
259 description of the specific strategies used by the school to
260 implement each item listed in this subparagraph.
261 11. Provide training to reading coaches, classroom
262 teachers, and school administrators in:
263 a. Effective methods of identifying characteristics of
264 conditions such as dyslexia and other causes of diminished
265 phonological processing skills; incorporating instructional
266 techniques into the general education setting which are proven
267 to improve reading performance for all students; and using
268 predictive and other data to make instructional decisions based
269 on individual student needs. The training must help teachers
270 integrate phonemic awareness; phonics, word study, and spelling;
271 reading fluency; vocabulary, including academic vocabulary; and
272 text comprehension strategies into an explicit, systematic, and
273 sequential approach to reading instruction, including
274 multisensory intervention strategies. Such training for teaching
275 foundational skills must be based on the science of reading and
276 include phonics instruction for decoding and encoding as the
277 primary instructional strategy for word reading. Instructional
278 strategies included in the training may not employ the three
279 cueing system model of reading or visual memory as a basis for
280 teaching word reading. Such instructional strategies may include
281 visual information and strategies which improve background and
282 experiential knowledge, add context, and increase oral language
283 and vocabulary to support comprehension, but may not be used to
284 teach word reading. Each district must provide all elementary
285 grades instructional personnel access to training sufficient to
286 meet the requirements of s. 1012.585(3)(f).
287 b. The delivery of reading instruction and interventions to
288 students in grades 4 through 12, including evidenced-based
289 strategies for motivating and engaging adolescent learners and
290 research-based strategies for accommodations and scaffolding
291 instruction for struggling readers and writers.
292 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.