Florida Senate - 2021 SB 1372
By Senator Burgess
20-01401B-21 20211372__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to literacy improvement; creating s.
3 1003.485, F.S.; establishing the New Worlds Reading
4 Initiative under the Department of Education;
5 providing definitions; providing duties of the
6 administrator; requiring the administrator to develop
7 an application process; requiring the administrator,
8 in consultation with a specified entity, to develop a
9 selection of books; requiring the administrator to
10 coordinate monthly book distribution to certain
11 students; requiring the administrator to assist with
12 local implementation of the initiative; requiring the
13 administrator to maintain a clearinghouse of specified
14 information; requiring the administrator to develop
15 and disseminate certain training materials by
16 specified means; establishing reporting requirements;
17 providing that certain entities may participate in the
18 initiative by completing an application; providing
19 that participating school districts must allow public
20 school students to enroll in the program; establishing
21 student eligibility requirements; requiring
22 participating entities to notify parents of eligible
23 students; requiring participating entities to
24 coordinate with the administrator to initiate book
25 delivery; providing requirements for book delivery;
26 allowing local funds to be used to purchase books
27 during certain months; requiring that students be
28 offered certain options relating to books; specifying
29 when student enrollment ends; requiring participating
30 entities and certain nonprofits to perform certain
31 actions to raise awareness of the initiative;
32 requiring that books be delivered at no cost to
33 families; providing requirements for funding;
34 authorizing the department to contract with a third
35 party entity; providing requirements for such third
36 party entity; amending s. 1008.25, F.S.; requiring
37 that a certain notification include information about
38 the initiative; providing an effective date.
39
40 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
41
42 Section 1. Section 1003.485, Florida Statutes, is created
43 to read:
44 1003.485 The New Worlds Reading Initiative.—
45 (1) The New Worlds Reading Initiative is established under
46 the Department of Education to improve literacy skills and
47 instill a love of reading by providing high-quality free books
48 to students in kindergarten through grade 5 who are reading
49 below grade level.
50 (2) DEFINITIONS.— As used in this section the term:
51 (a) “Administrator” means the Department of Education or a
52 third-party entity contracted to administer the initiative.
53 (b) “Initiative” means the New Worlds Reading Initiative.
54 (c) “Participating entity” means a school district
55 participating in the initiative or a charter school located in a
56 nonparticipating school district which is participating in the
57 initiative, as specified in subsection (4).
58 (3) The administrator shall:
59 (a) Develop an application process for participating
60 entities that identifies:
61 1. At least one partnership with a nonprofit organization
62 to raise public awareness of the initiative, perform
63 fundraising, and conduct or facilitate family literacy
64 engagement activities.
65 2. Local funding sources to meet the requirements of
66 subsection (7).
67 (b) Develop, in consultation with the Just Read, Florida!
68 Office under s. 1001.215, a selection of high-quality books
69 encompassing diverse subjects and genres for each grade level to
70 be mailed to students enrolled in the initiative.
71 (c) Facilitate the distribution of books as provided in
72 paragraph (5)(c) either directly or through an agreement with a
73 book distribution company.
74 (d) Assist local implementation of the initiative by:
75 1. Providing assistance to local communities to raise
76 awareness of the initiative, including through the use of
77 partnerships between public libraries and participating entities
78 to implement events such as family library nights, library card
79 drives, summer access and activities, and other activities
80 designed to increase family engagement and instill a love of
81 reading in students.
82 2. Developing and providing marketing materials to
83 participating entities and partnering nonprofit organizations to
84 assist with public awareness campaigns.
85 (e) Maintain a clearinghouse for information on national,
86 state, and local nonprofit organizations that support efforts to
87 provide books to children.
88 (f) Develop training materials for parents of students
89 enrolled in the initiative, including brief video training
90 modules, which engage families in reading and assist with
91 improving student literacy skills. The administrator shall
92 periodically send, via text message and e-mail, tips for
93 facilitating reading at home and hyperlinks to the video
94 training modules.
95 (g) Beginning September 30, 2022, and annually thereafter,
96 report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
97 of Representatives, and the Commissioner of Education the number
98 of students enrolled in the initiative in each participating
99 entity, the academic performance of enrolled students based on
100 data provided by participating entities as permitted under s.
101 1002.22, and the amount of funds raised by any local nonprofit
102 organization identified by the participating entity in the
103 application.
104 (4) A school district or a charter school located in a
105 nonparticipating school district may participate in the
106 initiative by completing the application process under paragraph
107 (3)(a). A participating school district must allow a student at
108 any public school, including a charter school, in the district
109 to enroll in the program.
110 (5)(a) A student in kindergarten through grade 5 who is
111 enrolled in a participating entity is eligible to receive books
112 through the initiative if the student has a substantial reading
113 deficiency identified under s. 1008.25(5)(a) or scored below a
114 level 3 on the preceding year’s statewide, standardized English
115 Language Arts assessment under s. 1008.22.
116 (b) The participating entity shall notify the parent of a
117 student who meets the criteria under paragraph (a) that the
118 student is eligible to receive books at no cost through the New
119 Worlds Reading Initiative and provide the parent the opportunity
120 to enroll his or her child using an application form developed
121 by the administrator.
122 (c) Once an eligible student is enrolled in the initiative,
123 the participating entity shall coordinate with the administrator
124 to initiate book delivery on a monthly basis during the school
125 year, which must begin no later than October 31 and continue
126 through at least June 30. The participating entity may use local
127 funds to continue the initiative through the summer months.
128 (d) At the beginning of each school year, students must be
129 provided options for specific book topics or genres in order to
130 maximize student interest in reading.
131 (e) A student’s enrollment in the initiative continues
132 until promotion to grade 6 or until the student’s parent opts
133 out of the initiative.
134 (6) Participating entities and partnering nonprofit
135 organizations shall raise awareness of the initiative, including
136 information on eligibility and video training modules under
137 paragraph (3)(f), through, at least, the following:
138 (a) The student handbook and the read-at-home plan under s.
139 1008.25(5)(c).
140 (b) A parent or curriculum night or separate initiative
141 awareness event at each elementary school.
142 (c) Partnering with the county library to host awareness
143 events, which should coincide with other initiatives such as
144 library card drives and other family engagement programming.
145 (7) Books must be provided under this section at no cost to
146 families. The administrator shall pay 50 percent of the costs,
147 with the remaining funds coming from the local funding source
148 identified by the participating entity in the application.
149 Funding will be on a pro rata basis for each enrolled student,
150 taking into consideration total student enrollment in the
151 initiative and available funding. The administrator may solicit
152 donations and apply for grants to supplement funds for the
153 purpose of implementing this section.
154 (8) If the department contracts with a third-party entity
155 to act as administrator, the entity must be capable of
156 coordinating statewide marketing, dissemination of books, and
157 development of video training modules, as well as completing all
158 other duties of the administrator.
159 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (5) of section
160 1008.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
161 1008.25 Public school student progression; student support;
162 reporting requirements.—
163 (5) READING DEFICIENCY AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION.—
164 (c) The parent of any student who exhibits a substantial
165 deficiency in reading, as described in paragraph (a), must be
166 notified in writing of the following:
167 1. That his or her child has been identified as having a
168 substantial deficiency in reading, including a description and
169 explanation, in terms understandable to the parent, of the exact
170 nature of the student’s difficulty in learning and lack of
171 achievement in reading.
172 2. A description of the current services that are provided
173 to the child.
174 3. A description of the proposed intensive interventions
175 and supports that will be provided to the child that are
176 designed to remediate the identified area of reading deficiency.
177 4. That if the child’s reading deficiency is not remediated
178 by the end of grade 3, the child must be retained unless he or
179 she is exempt from mandatory retention for good cause.
180 5. Strategies, including multisensory strategies, through a
181 read-at-home plan the parent can use in helping his or her child
182 succeed in reading.
183 6. That the statewide, standardized English Language Arts
184 assessment is not the sole determiner of promotion and that
185 additional evaluations, portfolio reviews, and assessments are
186 available to the child to assist parents and the school district
187 in knowing when a child is reading at or above grade level and
188 ready for grade promotion.
189 7. The district’s specific criteria and policies for a
190 portfolio as provided in subparagraph (6)(b)4. and the evidence
191 required for a student to demonstrate mastery of Florida’s
192 academic standards for English Language Arts. A parent of a
193 student in grade 3 who is identified anytime during the year as
194 being at risk of retention may request that the school
195 immediately begin collecting evidence for a portfolio.
196 8. The district’s specific criteria and policies for
197 midyear promotion. Midyear promotion means promotion of a
198 retained student at any time during the year of retention once
199 the student has demonstrated ability to read at grade level.
200 9. If applicable, information about the student’s
201 eligibility for the New Worlds Reading Initiative under s.
202 1003.485 and information on parent training modules and other
203 reading engagement resources available through the initiative.
204 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.