FL H0223

District school board student progression plans must allow parents of students with disabilities enrolled in prekindergarten at age 4 (fully funded through the Florida Education Finance Program) to retain their child in prekindergarten, in consultation with the individual education plan (IEP) team.

Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program students with substantial early literacy deficiencies may be eligible to receive instruction in early literacy skills (replacing the previous term "intensive reading interventions") before entering kindergarten, funded through the district's evidence-based reading instruction allocation.

Students with an IEP who have been retained in prekindergarten and demonstrated a substantial deficiency in early literacy skills are required to receive instruction in early literacy skills.

The good cause exemption from mandatory grade 3 retention is expanded for students with disabilities who have an IEP or Section 504 plan, received intensive reading/ELA instruction for more than 2 years, still demonstrate a deficiency, and were previously retained in prekindergarten, kindergarten, grade 1, grade 2, or grade 3 (adding prekindergarten to the existing list of qualifying prior retentions).

Effective date is July 1, 2023.