Florida Senate - 2026                                    SB 1340
       
       
        
       By Senator Harrell
       
       
       
       
       
       31-01183-26                                           20261340__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to coordinated screening and progress
    3         monitoring; amending s. 1008.25, F.S.; specifying
    4         requirements for a school district if a student
    5         exhibits characteristics of dyslexia or dyscalculia;
    6         providing circumstances under which a student is
    7         required to undergo further screening for dyslexia or
    8         dyscalculia; requiring the State Board of Education to
    9         adopt rules; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (4) of
   14  section 1008.25, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (a) of
   15  subsection (9) of that section is amended, to read:
   16         1008.25 Public school student progression; student support;
   17  coordinated screening and progress monitoring; reporting
   18  requirements.—
   19         (4) ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT.—
   20         (d) If the coordinated screening and progress monitoring
   21  system under subsection (9), or any district-approved screening
   22  instrument, identifies a student as exhibiting characteristics
   23  of dyslexia or dyscalculia, the school district shall:
   24         1. Ensure that the student is covered by a plan under
   25  paragraph (b) which includes evidence-based interventions that
   26  are specific to the identified characteristics of dyslexia or
   27  dyscalculia and that are aligned, as appropriate, with the
   28  interventions required under subsection (5) for reading and
   29  subsection (6) for mathematics.
   30         2. Treat the screening result as reasonable suspicion that
   31  the student may be a student with a disability for purposes of
   32  s. 1003.57 and promptly seek parental consent to conduct an
   33  initial evaluation consistent with state board rule and
   34  applicable federal law.
   35         3. Ensure that screening activities and intervention
   36  procedures, including interventions required under this
   37  subsection and subsections (5) and (6), occur concurrently with
   38  the evaluation process and are not used to delay or deny an
   39  appropriate evaluation.
   40         (9) COORDINATED SCREENING AND PROGRESS MONITORING SYSTEM.—
   41         (a) The Department of Education, in collaboration with the
   42  Office of Early Learning, shall procure and require the use of a
   43  statewide, standardized coordinated screening and progress
   44  monitoring system for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
   45  Program and public schools. The system must:
   46         1. Measure student progress in meeting the appropriate
   47  expectations in early literacy and mathematics skills and in
   48  English Language Arts and mathematics standards as required by
   49  ss. 1002.67(1)(a) and 1003.41 and identify the educational
   50  strengths and needs of students.
   51         2. For students in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
   52  Program through grade 3, measure student performance in oral
   53  language development, phonological and phonemic awareness,
   54  knowledge of print and letters, decoding, fluency, vocabulary,
   55  and comprehension, as applicable by grade level, and, at a
   56  minimum, provide interval level and norm-referenced data that
   57  measures equivalent levels of growth.
   58         3. Be a valid, reliable, and developmentally appropriate
   59  computer-based direct instrument that provides screening and
   60  diagnostic capabilities for monitoring student progress;
   61  identifies students who have a substantial deficiency in reading
   62  or mathematics, including identifying students with
   63  characteristics of dyslexia, dyscalculia, and other learning
   64  disorders; and informs instruction. Any student identified by
   65  the system as having characteristics of dyslexia or dyscalculia
   66  shall undergo further screening. Any student whose performance
   67  in the system meets thresholds established by State Board of
   68  Education rule in circumstances in which the system is not
   69  capable of identifying characteristics of dyslexia or
   70  dyscalculia must undergo further screening. The further
   71  screening required under this subparagraph is used to refine
   72  instructional planning and parental communication and is not a
   73  prerequisite to the interventions or evaluation obligations
   74  described in subsection (4). The State Board of Education shall
   75  adopt rules establishing timelines, performance thresholds, and
   76  parental notification requirements for further screening under
   77  this subparagraph. Screening activities under this subsection
   78  shall occur concurrently with the interventions and evaluation
   79  obligations described in subsection (4) and may not be used to
   80  delay or deny an appropriate evaluation. Beginning with the
   81  2023-2024 school year, the coordinated screening and progress
   82  monitoring system must be computer-adaptive.
   83         4. Provide data for Voluntary Prekindergarten Education
   84  Program accountability as required under s. 1002.68.
   85         5. Provide Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program
   86  providers, school districts, schools, teachers, and parents with
   87  data and resources that enhance differentiated instruction and
   88  parent communication.
   89         6. Provide baseline data to the department of each
   90  student’s readiness for kindergarten. The determination of
   91  kindergarten readiness must be based on the results of each
   92  student’s initial progress monitoring assessment in
   93  kindergarten. The methodology for determining a student’s
   94  readiness for kindergarten must be developed by the department
   95  and aligned to the methodology adopted pursuant to s.
   96  1002.68(4).
   97         7. Assess how well educational goals and curricular
   98  standards are met at the provider, school, district, and state
   99  levels and provide information to the department to aid in the
  100  development of educational programs, policies, and supports for
  101  providers, districts, and schools.
  102         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.