SB 1068 - Education Summary

• Expands the Just Read, Florida! Office duties to include training K-12 teachers and principals on evidence-based reading instruction, explicitly requiring multisensory approaches and posting a list of approved core and supplemental reading materials for kindergarten through grade 5.

• Revises reading deficiency requirements to apply to kindergarten through grade 3 students (previously grade 3 only), requiring immediate intensive reading interventions and establishing State Board guidelines for determining substantial reading deficiencies.

• Requires teacher preparation programs and educators seeking reading-related certifications to demonstrate competence in explicit, systematic, and multisensory reading instruction approaches beginning January 1, 2018.

• Transfers authority for approving Voluntary Prekindergarten assessments from the State Board of Education to the Office of Early Learning and requires intensive reading instruction for prekindergarten students with emergent literacy deficiencies.

• Modifies retention policies for grade 3 students, expanding good cause exemptions and requiring intensive reading interventions including 90 minutes daily instruction, summer reading camps, and specialized teacher training for students promoted with exemptions.