Florida

State Education Agency (SEA) Dyslexia Legislation

HB7029, State Board of Education Rule 6A-6.03018, and HB7069

HB7029 provides that students with dyslexia are eligible for a scholarship to attend a school other than the one assigned. HB7069 amends several pre-existing education laws, some of which are related to literacy and dyslexia. The law allocates funds to provide an additional hour of research-based reading instruction to the 300 lowest performing elementary schools based on state assessment results, as well as certain supplementary objectives (e.g., professional development to provide intervention). Annually, school districts shall submit a K-12 comprehensive reading plan. The plan must describe reading intervention strategies. Statewide kindergarten screening shall provide objective data concerning each student's readiness for kindergarten. Any student in kindergarten through grade 3 who exhibits substantial reading deficiency as determined in paragraph 5(a) must be covered by a federally required plan (e.g., IEP), an individual progress monitoring plan, or both. Parents shall be notified in writing if their child has been identified as having a substantial reading difficulty, and the current and potential options for remediation. The law also eliminates social promotion, except for good cause (e.g., student received intensive reading instruction for 2 or more years); calls for the revision of professional development standards and teacher preparation practices; and sets requirements for core instructional materials.

Response to Intervention for Student Learning Disability Eligibility in 2010?

Required by law

Severe Discrepancy for Student Learning Disability Eligibility in 2010?

Required by law

Student Learning Disability Eligibility (Zirkel & Thomas 2010 Classification)?

RTI required, SD and Other permitted only when used in combination with another method (ambiguity in legislation noted)

Under section (11) “Students with Reading Deficiencies” of HB7029, Florida requires statewide screening in kindergarten that must be used to identify students in need of intervention and support pursuant to FS 1008.25. However, this screening is for kindergarten readiness and is not dyslexia specific.

HB7069 amends the uniform core curricula and candidate assessment to include: “Scientifically researched and evidence-based reading instructional strategies that improve reading performance for all students, including explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and text comprehension and multisensory intervention strategies.”

Florida’s Department of Education has adjusted its professional development standards and certification and approval requirements such that any applicant for renewal of a professional certificate in any area of certification identified by State Board of Education rule that includes reading instruction or intervention for any students in kindergarten through grade 6, with a beginning validity date of July 1, 2020, or thereafter, must earn a minimum of 2 college credits or the equivalent inservice points in the use of explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to reading instruction, developing phonemic awareness, and implementing multisensory intervention strategies. Such training must be provided by teacher preparation programs under s. 1004.04 or s. 1004.85 or approved school district professional development systems under s. 1012.98. School districts are required to train reading coaches, classroom teachers and school administrations in methods of identifying conditions such as dyslexia, instructional techniques that are proven to improve reading performance and using data to make instructional decisions based on individual student needs; and the new The Department of Education’s new certification renewal requirements.

Resources

Florida Department of Education Specific Learning Disabilities Resources

Decoding Dyslexia Florida

Internetional Dyslexia Association Florida

Citations

Zirkel, P. A., & Thomas, L. B. (2010). State laws for RTI: An updated snapshot. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 56-63.

Gearin, B., Turtura, J., Kame’enui, E. J., Nelson, N. J., & Fien, H. (2018). A Multiple Streams Analysis of Recent Changes to State-Level Dyslexia Education Law. Educational Policy, 0895904818807328.

Disclaimer: We cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this page. If you see missing or incorrect information, let us know!