6A-6.053. District Comprehensive Evidence-Based Reading Plan

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to set forth the requirements for reading instruction through the Comprehensive Evidence-Based Reading Plan (CERP) that each district is required to develop and submit to the Florida Department of Education (Department) for approval in accordance with Section (s.) 1001.215, Florida Statutes (F.S.).

(2) Definitions.

(a) “District” means a Florida school district or district school board, the Florida Virtual School (s. 1002.37, F.S.), the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (s. 1002.36, F.S.), Developmental Research (Laboratory) Schools (s. 1002.32, F.S.), and a university or Florida College System institution (s. 1002.33(5), F.S.) that sponsors one or more charter schools.

(b) “Evidence-based” means demonstrating a statistically significant effect on improving student outcomes or other relevant outcomes and meet strong, moderate, or promising levels of evidence as defined in 20 U.S.C. s. 7801(21)(A)(i).

(c) “Prekindergarten” (PreK) is preschool for four-year-olds, the year prior to beginning kindergarten.

(d) “Science of reading” means an interdisciplinary body of research about reading that focuses on how people learn to read and other issues related to reading and writing.

(e) “Voluntary Prekindergarten” (VPK) is a state-funded program that covers the cost of a set number of hours of prekindergarten instruction to children who turn four (4) years of age on or before September 1 of the school year for which they are eligible to attend. 

(3) Assessment, Curriculum, and Reading Instruction.

(a) K-12 reading instruction must be grounded in the science of reading and align with Florida’s Formula for Reading Success, 6 + 4 + T1 + T2 +T3, which includes:

1. Six (6) components of reading: oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension;

2. Four (4) types of classroom assessments: screening, progress monitoring, diagnostic, and summative;

3. Three (3) tiers of instruction that are standards-aligned; include accommodations for students with a disability, students with an Individual Educational Plan (IEP), and students who are English language learners; and incorporate the principles of Universal Design for Learning as defined in 34 C.F.R. 200.2(b)(2)(ii);

a. Core Instruction (Tier 1): provides print-rich explicit and systematic, scaffolded, differentiated instruction, and corrective feedback; builds background and content knowledge; incorporates writing in response to reading;

b. Supplemental Instruction/Interventions (Tier 2): provides explicit, systematic, small group teacher-led instruction matched to student need, targeting gaps in learning to reduce barriers to students’ ability to meet Tier 1 expectations; provides multiple opportunities to practice the targeted skill(s) and receive corrective feedback; occurs in addition to core instruction; and

c. Intensive, Individualized Instruction/Interventions (Tier 3): provides explicit, systematic, individualized instruction based on student need, one-on-one or very small group instruction with more guided practice, immediate corrective feedback, and frequent progress monitoring; and occurs in addition to core instruction and Tier 2 interventions. Tier 3 interventions must be provided to students identified as having a substantial reading deficiency or characteristics of dyslexia pursuant to s. 1008.25(5)(a), F.S. Intensive reading interventions must be delivered by instructional personnel who are certified or endorsed in reading or who possess the elementary or secondary literacy micro-credential. For instructional personnel who possess the literacy micro-credential and provide intensive reading interventions, supervision must be provided by an individual certified or endorsed in reading.

(b) Districts and charter schools must not employ the three-cueing system model of reading as a basis for teaching word reading in classroom instruction, instructional strategies, instructional materials, interventions, and professional learning systems.

1.Three-cueing is an instructional approach to foundational skills instruction in reading that involves the use of three (3) different types of instructional cues: semantic (gaining meaning from context and sentence-level cues), syntactic or grammatical features, and grapho-phonic (spelling patterns) elements in lieu of explicit instruction in phonic decoding and encoding.

2. Strategies that include visual information and strategies that improve background and experiential knowledge, add context, and increase oral language and vocabulary to support comprehension are allowable, but may not be used to teach word reading.

a. The primary strategy for teaching word reading is phonics instruction for decoding and encoding.

b. Word recognition for decodable words is taught through letter-sound correspondence and word analysis skills.

c. Words that cannot be sounded out and that do not follow the rules of phonics, must be explicitly taught.

(c) Elementary schools must teach reading in a dedicated, uninterrupted block of time of at least ninety (90) minutes duration daily to all students. The reading block must include whole group instruction utilizing an evidence-based sequence of reading instruction and small group differentiated instruction to meet individual student needs.

(d) Data from the results of progress monitoring and formative assessments must guide differentiation of instruction and interventions in the classroom.

(4) Literacy Coaches.

(a) Where utilized, districts must use the Just Read, Florida! literacy coach model or explain the evidence-based coaching model used in their district and how they will monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the coaching model.

(b) The Just Read, Florida! literacy coach model is described below:

1. The literacy coach serves as a stable resource for professional learning throughout a school to generate improvement in reading and literacy instruction and student achievement. Coaches support and provide initial and ongoing professional learning to teachers in:

a. Each of the six (6) components of reading, as needed, based on an analysis of student performance data;

b. Administration and analysis of instructional assessments; and

c. Providing differentiated instruction and intensive interventions.

2. Coaches must:

a. Model effective instructional strategies for teachers in whole and small group instruction;

b. Collect and use data on instructional practices to inform and implement professional learning activities;

c. Train teachers to administer assessments, analyze data, and use data to differentiate instruction;

d. Coach and mentor teachers daily;

e. Work with teachers to ensure that evidence-based reading strategies and programs grounded in the science of reading are implemented with fidelity;

f. Work with teachers to ensure that strategies for foundational skills include phonics instruction for decoding and encoding as the primary instructional strategy for word reading;

g. Participate in literacy leadership teams;

h. Continue to grow professionally to increase knowledge of and ability to apply effective pedagogy and andragogy;

i. Prioritize time to teachers, activities, and roles that will have the greatest impact on student achievement in reading; and

j. Work with school principals to plan and implement a consistent program of improving reading achievement using evidence-based strategies.

3. Coaches are prohibited from performing administrative functions that will detract from their role as a literacy coach and must limit the time spent on administering or coordinating assessments.

(c) Where utilized, literacy coaches must meet the following minimum qualifications:

1. Have a bachelor’s degree and be certified or endorsed in reading;

2. Have an effective or highly effective rating on the most recently available evaluation that contains student performance data;

3. Exhibit knowledge of evidence-based reading instruction grounded in the science of reading, infusing evidence-based reading strategies into content area instruction, and data management skills;

4. Demonstrate a strong knowledge base in working with adult learners; and

5. Have excellent communication skills with outstanding presentation, interpersonal, and time management skills.

(5) Students with a Substantial Reading Deficiency.

(a) Identification. A kindergarten through grade 3 student is identified as having a substantial reading deficiency if:

1. The student is identified as in need of Tier 3 interventions;

2. A student in grades K-3 demonstrates through progress monitoring, formative assessments, or teacher observation data, minimum skill levels for reading competency in one or more of the six (6) components of reading; and

a. For kindergarten, the student scores below the tenth (10th) percentile or is unable to complete the practice items on the designated grade-level assessment at the beginning, middle, or the end of the year of the coordinated screening and progress monitoring system pursuant to s. 1008.25(9), F.S.;

b. For grades 1 and 2, the student scores below the tenth (10th) percentile or is unable to complete the practice items on the designated grade-level assessment for the specified testing window of the coordinated screening and progress monitoring system pursuant for s. 1008.25(9), F.S.; or

c. For grade 3, the student scores below the twentieth (20th) percentile at the beginning or middle of the year on the coordinated screening and progress monitoring system pursuant to s. 1008.25(9), F.S.

3. A student in grade 3 scores a Level 1 on the end-of-year statewide, standardized English Language Arts (ELA) assessment, pursuant to s. 1008.22(3)(a), F.S.

(b) Notification. Parents of students identified with a substantial reading deficiency must be notified immediately in writing of the items listed in s. 1008.25(5)(d)-(e), F.S., and consulted in the development of a plan.

(c) Required Plan.

1.Students identified with a substantial reading deficiency must have an individualized progress monitoring plan that is designed to address the student’s specific reading deficiency and that meets the minimum requirements set forth in s. 1008.25(4)(c), F.S.

2. Students with qualifying disabilities covered by an IEP under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or a Section 504 Plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are exempt from the requirement to have a progress monitoring plan, if the IEP or 504 Plan addresses the student’s reading deficiency. Nothing in this rule should be construed to require or prohibit an IEP or 504 plan or the contents of these plans.

3. Districts and charter schools are authorized to develop individualized progress monitoring plans for students with IEPs or 504 Plans that address the student’s reading deficiency.

(d) Interventions. Immediately following identification, students with a substantial reading deficiency must be provided reading interventions that are intensive, explicit, systematic, and multisensory, in accordance with s. 1008.25(5)(a), F.S.

(6) Students with Characteristics of Dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in basic reading skills that can range from mild to severe. The primary characteristics of dyslexia include, but are not limited to, difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and spelling, difficulty with learning letters and their sounds, and confusion in the sequence of letters and sounds. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.

(a) Notification. Parents of students identified with the characteristics of dyslexia must be notified immediately in writing and consulted in the development of a plan as described in s. 1008.25(4)(b), F.S., pursuant to s. 1002.20(11), F.S.

(b) Additional Screening. Pursuant to s. 1008.25(9)(a)3., F.S., districts are required to conduct additional screening for any student identified as having characteristics of dyslexia through the coordinated screening and progress monitoring system.  

(c) Interventions. Immediately following identification, students with characteristics of dyslexia must be provided dyslexia-specific interventions, such as structured literacy approaches, that are intensive, explicit, systematic, and multisensory, in accordance with s. 1008.25(5)(a), F.S.

(7) Summer Reading Camps. 

(a) Districts must provide intensive interventions through Summer Reading Camps to students in grade 3 who score a Level 1 on the statewide, standardized ELA assessment. Classroom teachers assigned to these students at Summer Reading Camps must be certified or endorsed in reading and must be rated highly effective as determined by the teacher’s performance evaluation under s. 1012.34, F.S. Instructional personnel who possess a literacy micro-credential may not be assigned to these students for Summer Reading Camps.

(b) Districts may also offer Summer Reading Camps to students in grades K-5 with a reading deficiency. With the exception of the students described in paragraph (7)(a), Summer Reading Camps must use classroom teachers or other district personnel who are certified or endorsed in reading or who possess the elementary literacy micro-credential.

(8) CERP Submission, Approval, and Evaluation by the Department.

(a) Annually, each district must develop a CERP and submit it for approval to its governing board or authority. After approval by its governing board or authority, each district must provide its approved CERP, including approved CERPs for each charter school sponsored by the district, to the Department by August 1. Plans must be submitted to Just Read, Florida! via email at [e-mail].

1. A CERP submitted by a district must include all district K-12 schools, including charter schools sponsored by the district, unless a charter school elects to create its own plan independently from the district.

2. The Department will notify the district reading contact if the plan is incomplete or fails to meet requirements and will provide sixty (60) days to submit corrected or supplementary information.

3. The Department will evaluate the implementation of each district CERP through review of the CERP Reflection Tool, site visits, review of data, and by providing targeted assistance and guidance. District and school staff must keep records demonstrating the requirements in this rule are met. Districts must provide these records to the Department upon request.

(b) CERP Requirements. The CERP must demonstrate that the district is able to implement its reading plan with fidelity, that the plan uses data to drive decision-making, that the plan is designed to meet the needs of all students, and that the plan allocates sufficient resources toward each component. In order to be approved, CERPs must comply with the requirements found in subsections (3)-(7) and paragraph (9)(a) and must contain the following:

1. Contact information (name, email, and phone number) for the Main District Reading Contact that is responsible for the CERP and its implementation, and contact information for others at the district level that are responsible for specific areas covered in the CERP. The district must notify the Department within thirty (30) days if the contact information for the Main District Reading Contact changes.

2. Assurances that:

a. All reading instruction and professional learning is grounded in the science of reading; uses instructional strategies that include phonics instruction for decoding and encoding as the primary strategy for word reading; and does not employ the three-cueing system model of reading or visual memory as a basis for teaching word reading;

b. All students identified with a substantial reading deficiency are covered by an individualized progress monitoring plan that meets the requirements of s. 1008.25(4)(c), F.S., to address their specific reading deficiency, unless they have an IEP or 504 Plan that addresses their reading deficiency, or both in accordance with paragraph (5)(c);

c. All intensive reading interventions provided in Summer Reading Camps to students in grade 3 who score a Level 1 on the statewide, standardized ELA assessment are delivered by instructional personnel who are certified or endorsed in reading and rated highly effective as determined by the teacher’s performance evaluation under s. 1012.34, F.S. All other intensive reading interventions are delivered by instructional personnel who are certified or endorsed in reading, or by instructional personnel who possess the elementary or secondary literacy micro-credential and who are supervised by an individual certified or endorsed in reading;

d. Each school has a Literacy Leadership Team consisting of a school administrator, literacy coach, media specialist, and a lead teacher, as applicable;

e. All literacy coaches in the district meet the minimum qualifications described in subsection (4);

f. Literacy coaches are prohibited from performing administrative functions that will detract from their role as a literacy coach and spend limited time administering or coordinating assessments;

g. Literacy coaches are assigned to schools with the greatest need based on student performance data in reading;

h. Time is provided for teachers to meet weekly for professional learning, including lesson study and professional learning communities; and

i. The CERP will be shared with stakeholders, including school administrators, literacy leadership teams, literacy coaches, classroom instructors, support staff, and parents.

3. Descriptions of: 

a. All components of the district’s reading instruction plan for grades K-12, as described in subsections (3)-(7) of this rule and s. 1003.4201, F.S.;

b. The district’s planned expenditures for each component of the CERP, including salaries and benefits, professional learning, assessments, programs and materials, tutoring, and incentives, if offered as part of the district’s comprehensive system of reading instruction. In accordance with s. 1008.25(3)(a), F.S., remedial and supplemental instruction resources must be prioritized for K-3 students with a substantial reading deficiency or characteristics of dyslexia;

c. How the district improved the plan based on the CERP Reflection Tool.

d. Measurable student literacy achievement goals for each grade level from VPK through grade 10. The goals must be based on the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) and must increase from the previous school year to improve student achievement;

e. How the district uses data from the results of progress monitoring and formative assessments to guide differentiation of instruction and interventions in the classroom;

f. Methods and instructional strategies for providing training to literacy coaches, classroom teachers, and school administrators required by ss. 1012.585(3)(f) and 1012.98(5)(b)11., F.S.;

g. How professional learning is provided in state academic ELA standards and evidence-based reading practices and programs;

h. How professional learning is provided to help instructional personnel and certified prekindergarten teachers funded in the Florida Education Finance Program earn a certification, a credential, an endorsement, or an advanced degree in scientifically researched and evidence-based reading instruction;

i. How professional learning is differentiated and intensified for teachers based on progress monitoring data;

j. How mentor teachers are identified at the school level to establish model classrooms;

k. The evidence-based literacy coaching model used in the district, if the Just Read, Florida! literacy coach model is not utilized.

l. The multisensory strategies, including visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile techniques, presented to students in grades K-3 who have a substantial reading deficiency or characteristics of dyslexia;

m. The district’s process for identifying students in grades K-12 in need of Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, which must be provided to students with a substantial reading deficiency or characteristics of dyslexia;

n. The additional screening that will be provided to students with characteristics of dyslexia;

o. How the district will provide the required notifications to parents of students identified with a substantial reading deficiency, including a description of any literacy partnerships or programs the district utilizes to increase support for families to engage in reading at home, such as the New Worlds Reading Initiative pursuant to s. 1003.485, F.S.; and

p. How the district will meet staffing requirements for Summer Reading Camps and the evidence-based instructional materials that will be utilized at Summer Reading Camps for applicable grade levels.

4. Assessment/Curriculum Decision Trees that demonstrate how data will be used to determine specific reading instructional needs and interventions for all students in grades K-12. For each tier of instruction, the CERP must include the following information related to the Assessment/Curriculum Decision Trees:

a. Name of each assessment, targeted audience, component(s) of reading assessed, type of assessment, the frequency of data collection; and the method and timeframes by which assessment data will be provided to teachers and parents. For students in VPK through grade 10, the FAST must be administered pursuant to s. 1008.25(9)(b), F.S., and included as a component of the Assessment/Curriculum Decision Trees;

b. Performance criteria used for decision-making for each assessment at each grade level;

c. Evidence-based instructional materials and strategies;

d. Frequency and duration of interventions provided; and

e. Problem-solving procedures to measure and improve effectiveness of instruction and interventions.

(c) A charter school that elects to develop its own CERP must submit its CERP, approved by the governing board or authority, to the sponsoring district by July 15 and meet the requirements of ss. 1002.33(7)(a)2. and 1003.4201, F.S. 

(9) CERP Implementation and Monitoring. Districts must monitor the implementation of the CERP at the district and school level, including charter schools sponsored by a district.

(a) The CERP must include:

1. A description of the data that will be collected, the frequency of review, and actions for continuous support and improvement;

2. The process used by principals to monitor implementation of the CERP, including frequent reading walkthroughs conducted by administrators; and

3. A description of how principals monitor collection and utilization of assessment data, including progress monitoring data, to inform instruction and support needs of students.

(b) Districts must annually evaluate the implementation of their CERP on the form entitled CERP Reflection Tool, after conducting a root-cause analysis of student performance data to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. The evaluation must:

1. Analyze elements of the district’s plan, including literacy leadership, literacy coaching, standards, curriculum, instruction, interventions, assessment, professional learning, tutoring services, and family engagement;

2. Include input from teachers, literacy coaches, and administrators at the school level;

3. Identify elements in need of improvement and evidence-based strategies to increase literacy outcomes for students; and

4. Analyze the effectiveness of interventions implemented in the prior year.

(c) Districts must submit the CERP Reflection Tool to Just Read, Florida! via email at [e-mail] by June 15 of each year.

(d) The district must use the evaluation to improve implementation of the district’s plan for the following school year to increase student achievement.

(10) The following documents are incorporated by reference in this rule:

(a) CERP Reflection Tool, Form No. CERP-RT, (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-15159) effective, February 2023;

(b) 20 U.S.C. s. 7801(21)(A)(i) (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12691), effective, December 10, 2015; and

(c) 34 C.F.R. s. 200.2(b)(2)(ii) (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12692), effective, December 8, 2016.

These documents may be obtained from the Department at https://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/just-read-fl/readingplan.stml.

Rulemaking Authority 1001.02(1), (2)(n), 1003.4201, 1008.25(11) FS. Law Implemented 1001.215, 1003.4201, 1008.25 FS. History–New 6-19-08, Amended 4-21-11, 2-17-15, 12-22-19, 2-16-21, 3-15-22, 2-21-23, 2-20-24.