CS/HB 79 - Education Bill Summary

• Establishes comprehensive reading instruction requirements for K-3 students with substantial reading deficiencies, including immediate identification, intensive interventions, and mandatory retention unless exempted for good cause.

• Requires teacher preparation programs and educator preparation institutes to include evidence-based reading instruction strategies with explicit, systematic, and multisensory approaches in their core curricula.

• Mandates that retained third-grade students receive a minimum of 90 minutes daily of uninterrupted reading instruction and may participate in intensive reading acceleration classes to advance two grade levels in one school year.

• Requires parent notification of reading deficiencies with specific information about interventions, strategies, promotion criteria, and defines dyslexia and dyscalculia for handbook information purposes.

• Expands professional development and teacher certification requirements to emphasize evidence-based reading instruction, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension for kindergarten through grade 6 educators.