Bill Text: FL S1306 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Reading Instruction
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2018-03-10 - Died in Appropriations [S1306 Detail]
Download: Florida-2018-S1306-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2018 SB 1306 By Senator Perry 8-01046-18 20181306__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to reading instruction; amending s. 3 1011.62, F.S.; requiring K-12 comprehensive reading 4 plans to provide for intensive reading interventions 5 that are delivered by teachers who meet certain 6 criteria beginning with a specified school year; 7 providing requirements for such interventions; 8 amending s. 1012.586, F.S.; requiring the Department 9 of Education to consider the award of endorsements for 10 a teaching certificate to individuals who hold 11 specified certifications or who complete specified 12 programs that meet certain criteria in a specified 13 review; amending s. 1012.98, F.S.; requiring school 14 districts to provide access to training sufficient for 15 certain instructional personnel to earn an endorsement 16 in reading; providing an effective date. 17 18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19 20 Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (9) of section 21 1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 22 1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual 23 allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each 24 district for operation of schools is not determined in the 25 annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing 26 the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as 27 follows: 28 (9) RESEARCH-BASED READING INSTRUCTION ALLOCATION.— 29 (d)1. Annually, by a date determined by the Department of 30 Education but before May 1, school districts shall submit a K-12 31 comprehensive reading plan for the specific use of the research 32 based reading instruction allocation in the format prescribed by 33 the department for review and approval by the Just Read, 34 Florida! Office created pursuant to s. 1001.215. The plan 35 annually submitted by school districts shall be deemed approved 36 unless the department rejects the plan on or before June 1. If a 37 school district and the Just Read, Florida! Office cannot reach 38 agreement on the contents of the plan, the school district may 39 appeal to the State Board of Education for resolution. School 40 districts shall be allowed reasonable flexibility in designing 41 their plans and shall be encouraged to offer reading 42 intervention through innovative methods, including career 43 academies. The plan format shall be developed with input from 44 school district personnel, including teachers and principals, 45 and shall provide forallow courses in core, career, and46alternative programs that deliverintensive reading 47 interventionsremediationthrough integrated curricula, provided 48 that, beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, the 49 interventions are delivered by a teacher who is certified or 50 endorsed in reading. Such interventions must incorporate 51 strategies identified by the Just Read, Florida! Office pursuant 52 to s. 1001.215(8)deemed highly qualified to teach reading or53working toward that status. No later than July 1 annually, the 54 department shall release the school district’s allocation of 55 appropriated funds to those districts having approved plans. A 56 school district that spends 100 percent of this allocation on 57 its approved plan shall be deemed to have been in compliance 58 with the plan. The department may withhold funds upon a 59 determination that reading instruction allocation funds are not 60 being used to implement the approved plan. The department shall 61 monitor and track the implementation of each district plan, 62 including conducting site visits and collecting specific data on 63 expenditures and reading improvement results. By February 1 of 64 each year, the department shall report its findings to the 65 Legislature. 66 2. Each school district that has a school designated as one 67 of the 300 lowest-performing elementary schools as specified in 68 paragraph (a) shall specifically delineate in the comprehensive 69 reading plan, or in an addendum to the comprehensive reading 70 plan, the implementation design and reading intervention 71 strategies that will be used for the required additional hour of 72 reading instruction. The term “reading intervention” includes 73 evidence-based strategies frequently used to remediate reading 74 deficiencies and also includes individual instruction, tutoring, 75 mentoring, or the use of technology that targets specific 76 reading skills and abilities. 77 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 78 1012.586, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 79 1012.586 Additions or changes to certificates; duplicate 80 certificates.—A school district may process via a Department of 81 Education website certificates for the following applications of 82 public school employees: 83 (1) Addition of a subject coverage or endorsement to a 84 valid Florida certificate on the basis of the completion of the 85 appropriate subject area testing requirements of s. 86 1012.56(5)(a) or the completion of the requirements of an 87 approved school district program or the inservice components for 88 an endorsement. 89 (b) By July 1, 2018, and at least once every 5 years 90 thereafter, the department shall conduct a review of existing 91 subject coverage or endorsement requirements in the elementary, 92 reading, and exceptional student educational areas. The review 93 must include reciprocity requirements for out-of-state 94 certificates and requirements for demonstrating competency in 95 the reading instruction professional development topics listed 96 in s. 1012.98(4)(b)11. The review must also consider the award 97 of an endorsement to an individual who holds a certificate 98 issued by an internationally recognized organization that 99 establishes standards for providing evidence-based interventions 100 to struggling readers or who completes a postsecondary program 101 that is accredited by such organization. Any such certificate or 102 program must require an individual who completes the certificate 103 or program to demonstrate competence in reading intervention 104 strategies through clinical experience. At the conclusion of 105 each review, the department shall recommend to the state board 106 changes to the subject coverage or endorsement requirements 107 based upon any identified instruction or intervention strategies 108 proven to improve student reading performance. This paragraph 109 does not authorize the state board to establish any new 110 certification subject coverage. 111 112 The employing school district shall charge the employee a fee 113 not to exceed the amount charged by the Department of Education 114 for such services. Each district school board shall retain a 115 portion of the fee as defined in the rules of the State Board of 116 Education. The portion sent to the department shall be used for 117 maintenance of the technology system, the web application, and 118 posting and mailing of the certificate. 119 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 120 1012.98, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 121 1012.98 School Community Professional Development Act.— 122 (4) The Department of Education, school districts, schools, 123 Florida College System institutions, and state universities 124 share the responsibilities described in this section. These 125 responsibilities include the following: 126 (b) Each school district shall develop a professional 127 development system as specified in subsection (3). The system 128 shall be developed in consultation with teachers, teacher 129 educators of Florida College System institutions and state 130 universities, business and community representatives, and local 131 education foundations, consortia, and professional 132 organizations. The professional development system must: 133 1. Be approved by the department. All substantial revisions 134 to the system shall be submitted to the department for review 135 for continued approval. 136 2. Be based on analyses of student achievement data and 137 instructional strategies and methods that support rigorous, 138 relevant, and challenging curricula for all students. Schools 139 and districts, in developing and refining the professional 140 development system, shall also review and monitor school 141 discipline data; school environment surveys; assessments of 142 parental satisfaction; performance appraisal data of teachers, 143 managers, and administrative personnel; and other performance 144 indicators to identify school and student needs that can be met 145 by improved professional performance. 146 3. Provide inservice activities coupled with followup 147 support appropriate to accomplish district-level and school 148 level improvement goals and standards. The inservice activities 149 for instructional personnel shall focus on analysis of student 150 achievement data, ongoing formal and informal assessments of 151 student achievement, identification and use of enhanced and 152 differentiated instructional strategies that emphasize rigor, 153 relevance, and reading in the content areas, enhancement of 154 subject content expertise, integrated use of classroom 155 technology that enhances teaching and learning, classroom 156 management, parent involvement, and school safety. 157 4. Provide inservice activities and support targeted to the 158 individual needs of new teachers participating in the 159 professional development certification and education competency 160 program under s. 1012.56(8)(a). 161 5. Include a master plan for inservice activities, pursuant 162 to rules of the State Board of Education, for all district 163 employees from all fund sources. The master plan shall be 164 updated annually by September 1, must be based on input from 165 teachers and district and school instructional leaders, and must 166 use the latest available student achievement data and research 167 to enhance rigor and relevance in the classroom. Each district 168 inservice plan must be aligned to and support the school-based 169 inservice plans and school improvement plans pursuant to s. 170 1001.42(18). Each district inservice plan must provide a 171 description of the training that middle grades instructional 172 personnel and school administrators receive on the district’s 173 code of student conduct adopted pursuant to s. 1006.07; 174 integrated digital instruction and competency-based instruction 175 and CAPE Digital Tool certificates and CAPE industry 176 certifications; classroom management; student behavior and 177 interaction; extended learning opportunities for students; and 178 instructional leadership. District plans must be approved by the 179 district school board annually in order to ensure compliance 180 with subsection (1) and to allow for dissemination of research 181 based best practices to other districts. District school boards 182 must submit verification of their approval to the Commissioner 183 of Education no later than October 1, annually. Each school 184 principal may establish and maintain an individual professional 185 development plan for each instructional employee assigned to the 186 school as a seamless component to the school improvement plans 187 developed pursuant to s. 1001.42(18). An individual professional 188 development plan must be related to specific performance data 189 for the students to whom the teacher is assigned, define the 190 inservice objectives and specific measurable improvements 191 expected in student performance as a result of the inservice 192 activity, and include an evaluation component that determines 193 the effectiveness of the professional development plan. 194 6. Include inservice activities for school administrative 195 personnel that address updated skills necessary for 196 instructional leadership and effective school management 197 pursuant to s. 1012.986. 198 7. Provide for systematic consultation with regional and 199 state personnel designated to provide technical assistance and 200 evaluation of local professional development programs. 201 8. Provide for delivery of professional development by 202 distance learning and other technology-based delivery systems to 203 reach more educators at lower costs. 204 9. Provide for the continuous evaluation of the quality and 205 effectiveness of professional development programs in order to 206 eliminate ineffective programs and strategies and to expand 207 effective ones. Evaluations must consider the impact of such 208 activities on the performance of participating educators and 209 their students’ achievement and behavior. 210 10. For middle grades, emphasize: 211 a. Interdisciplinary planning, collaboration, and 212 instruction. 213 b. Alignment of curriculum and instructional materials to 214 the state academic standards adopted pursuant to s. 1003.41. 215 c. Use of small learning communities; problem-solving, 216 inquiry-driven research and analytical approaches for students; 217 strategies and tools based on student needs; competency-based 218 instruction; integrated digital instruction; and project-based 219 instruction. 220 221 Each school that includes any of grades 6, 7, or 8 must include 222 in its school improvement plan, required under s. 1001.42(18), a 223 description of the specific strategies used by the school to 224 implement each item listed in this subparagraph. 225 11. Provide training to reading coaches, classroom 226 teachers, and school administrators in effective methods of 227 identifying characteristics of conditions such as dyslexia and 228 other causes of diminished phonological processing skills; 229 incorporating instructional techniques into the general 230 education setting which are proven to improve reading 231 performance for all students; and using predictive and other 232 data to make instructional decisions based on individual student 233 needs. The training must help teachers integrate phonemic 234 awareness; phonics, word study, and spelling; reading fluency; 235 vocabulary, including academic vocabulary; and text 236 comprehension strategies into an explicit, systematic, and 237 sequential approach to reading instruction, including 238 multisensory intervention strategies. Each district must provide 239 all elementary grades instructional personnel access to training 240 sufficient to meet the requirements of s. 1012.585(3)(f) and to 241 earn an endorsement in reading consistent with s. 242 1012.586(1)(b). 243 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.