Notice of Proposed Rule

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
State Board of Education
Rule No. : RULE TITLE :
6A-6.053: K-12 Comprehensive Research-Based Reading Plan
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of this proposed amendment is to update language, provide clarity regarding fidelity of program implementation, include the new Next Generation Content Area Professional Development (NGCAR-PD) package to align to the proposed changes to Rule 6A-5.090, F.A.C., Content Area Reading Professional Development, and revise fluent and disfluent language to align to the proposed changes to Rule 6A-6.054, F.A.C., Student Reading Intervention. It is proposed that the language fluent and disfluent be stricken from the reading intervention and K-12 Plan rules as new research suggests that fluency is not a strong predictor of a student’s ability to comprehend text in middle grades and high school; this language is replaced with students in need of decoding and text reading efficiency instruction.
SUMMARY: The proposed amendment aligns with Rules 6A-5.090, Content Area Reading Professional Development and 6A-6.054, F.A.C., Student Reading Intervention.
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS: The Agency has determined that this will not have an impact on small business. An SERC has not been prepared by the agency.
Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1001.02(2), 1001.215, 1011.62 FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1001.215, 1011.62 FS.
A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: March 15, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
PLACE: Tallahassee, Florida. For exact location please go to our website at http://www.fldoe.org/board/meetings/, 7 days prior to the meeting.
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Stuart Greenberg, Executive Director, Just Read, Florida! and the Office of Early Learning, Department of Education, Suite 514, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, (850)245-0445

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

6A-6.053 K-12 Comprehensive Research-Based Reading Plan.

(1) through (6) No change.

(7) District level monitoring of the District K-12 Reading Plan Implementation. The plan must demonstrate adequate provisions for:

(a) Monitoring the level of implementation of the K-12 Comprehensive Research-Based Reading Plan at the school and classroom level, including an explanation of the data that will be collected, how it will be collected, and the frequency of review. Districts must also explain how concerns are communicated if it is determined that the K-12 Comprehensive Research-Based Reading Plan is not being implemented in a systematic and explicit manner, based on data to meet the needs of students with fidelity.

(b) Ensuring that all instruction in reading is systematic and explicit, based on data, and uses a research based sequence of reading instruction and strategies to meet the needs of students fidelity of implementation of all reading programs and strategies used at the school level and determining appropriate instructional adjustments.

(c) Incorporating reading and literacy instruction by all content area teachers into subject areas to extend and build discussions of text in order to deepen understanding. This must include a description of the utilization of leveled classroom libraries and independent reading practice.

(d) Reporting of data elements as required by the K-12 Comprehensive Reading Plan (as indicated in Section 1001.215, F.S.) within the Automated Student and Staff Data Base System for survey periods 2, 3, and 5. These data elements include:

1. Progress Monitoring assessment scores not reported to PMRN,

2. Student Enrollment in Reading Intervention,

3. Reading Endorsement competency status for teachers,

4. Reading Certification progress status for teachers,

5. CAR-PD or NGCAR-PD status for teachers, in accordance with Rule 6A-5.090, F.A.C.

(8) School-level monitoring of District K-12 Reading Plan Implementation.

(a) Districts must describe the process used by principals to monitor implementation of, and ensure compliance with, the reading plan, including weekly reading walk throughs conducted by administrators.

(b) Districts must describe how principals monitor collection and utilization of assessment data, including progress monitoring data, to determine intervention and support needs of students.

(9) Assessment, Curriculum, and Instruction.

(a) Elementary schools must teach offer reading instruction in a dedicated, uninterrupted block of time of at least ninety (90) minutes duration daily to all students. The reading block will include whole group instruction utilizing a research based sequence of reading instruction (comprehensive core reading program) the comprehensive core reading program and small group differentiated instruction in order to meet individual student needs.

(b) A Comprehensive Core Reading Program (CCRP) must be taught implemented as the major instructional tool for reading instruction. Districts are provided a performance-based flexibility option which may exempt schools from the use of the CCRP. Districts implementing this flexibility must describe their plan for reading instruction, including the intervention for students reading below grade level in grades K-5 or K-6 as applicable. It is a district decision whether to implement the following performance-based flexibility option. Elementary schools meeting all of the following criteria are not required to implement a Comprehensive Core Reading Program:

1. A current school grade of an A or B;

2. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in reading met for all subgroups;

3. Ninety (90) percent of students meeting high standards in reading (an FCAT score of Level 3 or above).

(c) The second performance-based flexibility option may exempt elementary schools from the use of the CCRP as well as the ninety (90) minute reading block. Districts implementing this flexibility must report the reading instruction that will be provided, including the time allotted for reading instruction. It is a district decision whether to implement the following performance-based flexibility option: For students in grades four and five scoring Level 4 or 5 on FCAT reading, districts shall offer enrichment programs steeped in content that continue to develop the child’s reading skills. These students are not required to receive instruction from a Comprehensive Core Reading Program, nor are they required to receive ninety (90) minutes of reading instruction.

(d) K-12 reading instruction will align with Florida’s Formula for Success, 6+4+ii+iii, which includes six (6) components of reading: oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; four types of classroom assessments: screening, progress monitoring, diagnosis, and outcome measures; initial instruction; (ii) including considerations for background knowledge, motivation, and the provision for print rich, explicit, systematic, scaffolded, and differentiated instruction, and the reading/writing connection; immediate, intensive intervention; (iii) including extended time, flexible grouping, accommodations, and more frequent progress monitoring.

(e) Instructional Materials Charts:

1. Districts are required to submit Instructional Materials Charts that address all research-based instructional materials used to provide reading instruction with a description of how they will be integrated into the overall instructional design:

a. Comprehensive Core Reading Programs (CCRP) – elementary school level only,

b. Middle School Grades Developmental Reading Programs – (DRP) – middle school level only,

c. Supplemental Intervention Reading Programs (SIRP),

d. Intensive Comprehensive Intervention Reading Programs (IIRP) (CIRP),

e. Educational technology.

2. The instructional materials charts must also address the following:

a. Reading instructional minutes per day – elementary school level only

b. Assessments listed by grade. Elementary – screening, progress monitoring, diagnostic, and outcome measure. Middle and High School – screening (including fluency with criteria for placement in extended time reading intervention), progress monitoring assessment for fluent and disfluent students, diagnostic, and outcome measure.

c. Reading Intervention. Elementary – minutes per day, days per week, group size cap for intervention. Middle and High School – minutes per day, days per week for both fluent and disfluent students, class size cap for reading intervention courses, and whether content area intervention is offered.

d. All charter schools and juvenile justice facilities must be listed within these charts. Districts must note which charter schools have opted out of the plan.

(f) The plan must demonstrate compliance with Rule 6A-6.054, F.A.C., K-12 Student Reading Intervention Requirements.

(g) Districts are required to develop Assessment/Curriculum Decision Trees to demonstrate how assessment data from progress monitoring and other forms of assessment will be used to determine specific reading instructional needs and interventions for students in grades K-12. The chart must include:

1. Name of assessment(s),

2. Targeted audience,

3. Performance benchmark used for decision-making,

4. Assessment/curriculum connection,

5. An explanation of how instruction will be modified for students who have not responded to a specific reading intervention delivered with fidelity with the initial intensity (time and group size) provided.

Rulemaking Specific Authority 1001.02(2), 1001.215(5), (6), 1011.62(9) FS. Law Implemented 1001.02, 1001.215, 1011.62 FS. History–New 6-19-08, Amended________.


NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Dr. Frances Haithcock, Chancellor, K-12 Public Schools
NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Dr. Eric Smith, Commissioner, Department of Education
DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: February 8, 2011
DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAW: February 4, 2011