Governor DeSantis signed House Bill (HB) 419 that makes historic improvements to state accountability for early learning programs. Additionally, he signed HB 7011 creating a statewide progress monitoring tool to quickly understand VPK-8th grade student’s academic progress in real-time and rapidly identify personalized interventions for students that need additional support, with the goal of having 90 percent of Florida’s third graders reading on grade level by 2030.

Senate Sponsor of House Bill 7011 Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez said, “As a mother of two school age boys who struggled with reading, I know first-hand the importance of having tools to measure literacy progress for our children so that we can intervene earlier and provide the necessary resources for them to succeed. It’s been a distinct honor to partner with Representative Vance Aloupis and Governor DeSantis in assuring that Florida leads the nation in identifying and intervening in early childhood literacy.»

House Bill 7011 and House Bill 419 Sponsor Representative Vance Aloupis said, “HB 7011 and HB 419 are two of the most transformational policies we’ve seen in recent Florida history. With the strategic approach to literacy defined by HB 7011 and the revolutionizing of our state’s early learning system through HB 419, these two bills will provide countless students with the foundations they need to thrive in school and in life.”

Highlights of HB 419 include:

  • Prioritizes Florida’s youngest learners and VPK programs by strengthening the accountability system and utilizing coordinated screening and progress monitoring programs to identify emergent literacy and mathematics skill deficiencies to provide those students intensive, personalized interventions.
  • Establishes a timeline for phasing in a new VPK accountability system based on performance metrics that include student outcomes, learning gains, and observations of child-teacher interactions.
  • Allows districts to use the research-based reading allocation to fund intensive interventions for VPK students who are identified with a substantial reading deficiency.

Highlights of HB 7011 include:

  • Implementing a VPK-grade 8 progress monitoring system by 2022-2023 to swiftly provide personalized interventions for students struggling in reading, math and other subjects.
  • Monitoring the impact of interventions so additional support can be provided to keep students on track and growing at grade level.
  • Creating the Reading Achievement Initiative for Scholastic Excellence Program (RAISE), a coordinated system of statewide literacy support through regional literacy expert teams available to all districts and teachers.
  • Requiring the Department of Education to identify instructional materials that implement evidence-based practices.
  • Recruiting rising high school juniors and seniors to serve as tutors using evidence-based summer literacy programs for K-grade 3 students in high need schools to help readers gain reading skills.
  • Requiring all teachers in front of students with reading deficiencies earn a reading endorsement to their educator certification. This will provide teachers with the tools they need to transform a student’s educational outcomes.
  • Engaging parents of struggling readers on their student’s progress and the effectiveness of interventions and sharing information on school choice options and all possible accommodations for students with special abilities and needs.