Bill Text: FL S0290 | 2023 | Regular Session | Enrolled


Bill Title: Public School Student Progression for Students with Disabilities

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Passed) 2023-05-18 - Chapter No. 2023-91 [S0290 Detail]

Download: Florida-2023-S0290-Enrolled.html
       ENROLLED
       2023 Legislature                                   CS for SB 290
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                              2023290er
    1  
    2         An act relating to public school student progression
    3         for students with disabilities; amending s. 1008.25,
    4         F.S.; requiring comprehensive plans for student
    5         progression to provide for specified students with
    6         disabilities to be retained in prekindergarten at the
    7         discretion of a student’s parent; authorizing certain
    8         prekindergarten students to receive instruction in
    9         early literacy skills, rather than intensive reading
   10         interventions; requiring certain prekindergarten
   11         students to receive such instruction; revising the
   12         requirements for certain students with disabilities to
   13         receive a good cause exemption from mandatory
   14         retention in grade 3; providing an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) and paragraph
   19  (b) of subsection (6) of section 1008.25, Florida Statutes, are
   20  amended, and paragraph (g) is added to subsection (2) of that
   21  section, to read:
   22         1008.25 Public school student progression; student support;
   23  coordinated screening and progress monitoring; reporting
   24  requirements.—
   25         (2) STUDENT PROGRESSION PLAN.—Each district school board
   26  shall establish a comprehensive plan for student progression
   27  which must provide for a student’s progression from one grade to
   28  another based on the student’s mastery of the standards in s.
   29  1003.41, specifically English Language Arts, mathematics,
   30  science, and social studies standards. The plan must:
   31         (g)Allow the parent of a student with disabilities who is
   32  enrolled in prekindergarten at the age of 4 and is fully funded
   33  through the Florida Education Finance Program to retain his or
   34  her child in consultation with the individual education plan
   35  team.
   36         (5) READING DEFICIENCY AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION.—
   37  (b) A Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program student who
   38  exhibits a substantial deficiency in early literacy skills in
   39  accordance with the standards under s. 1002.67(1)(a) and based
   40  upon the results of the administration of the final coordinated
   41  screening and progress monitoring under subsection (8) shall be
   42  referred to the local school district and may be eligible to
   43  receive instruction in early literacy skills intensive reading
   44  interventions before participating in kindergarten. A student
   45  with an individual education plan who has been retained pursuant
   46  to paragraph (2)(g) and has demonstrated a substantial
   47  deficiency in early literacy skills must receive instruction in
   48  early literacy skills. Such instruction in early literacy skills
   49  intensive reading interventions shall be paid for using funds
   50  from the district’s evidence-based reading instruction
   51  allocation in accordance with s. 1011.62(8).
   52         (6) ELIMINATION OF SOCIAL PROMOTION.—
   53         (b) The district school board may only exempt students from
   54  mandatory retention, as provided in paragraph (5)(c), for good
   55  cause. A student who is promoted to grade 4 with a good cause
   56  exemption shall be provided intensive reading instruction and
   57  intervention that include specialized diagnostic information and
   58  specific reading strategies to meet the needs of each student so
   59  promoted. The school district shall assist schools and teachers
   60  with the implementation of explicit, systematic, and
   61  multisensory reading instruction and intervention strategies for
   62  students promoted with a good cause exemption which research has
   63  shown to be successful in improving reading among students who
   64  have reading difficulties. Good cause exemptions are limited to
   65  the following:
   66         1. Limited English proficient students who have had less
   67  than 2 years of instruction in an English for Speakers of Other
   68  Languages program based on the initial date of entry into a
   69  school in the United States.
   70         2. Students with disabilities whose individual education
   71  plan indicates that participation in the statewide assessment
   72  program is not appropriate, consistent with the requirements of
   73  s. 1008.212.
   74         3. Students who demonstrate an acceptable level of
   75  performance on an alternative standardized reading or English
   76  Language Arts assessment approved by the State Board of
   77  Education.
   78         4. A student who demonstrates through a student portfolio
   79  that he or she is performing at least at Level 2 on the
   80  statewide, standardized English Language Arts assessment.
   81         5. Students with disabilities who take the statewide,
   82  standardized English Language Arts assessment and who have an
   83  individual education plan or a Section 504 plan that reflects
   84  that the student has received intensive instruction in reading
   85  or English Language Arts for more than 2 years but still
   86  demonstrates a deficiency and was previously retained in
   87  prekindergarten, kindergarten, grade 1, grade 2, or grade 3.
   88         6. Students who have received intensive reading
   89  intervention for 2 or more years but still demonstrate a
   90  deficiency in reading and who were previously retained in
   91  kindergarten, grade 1, grade 2, or grade 3 for a total of 2
   92  years. A student may not be retained more than once in grade 3.
   93         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.

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