Legislative Updates - Early Learning Coalition of Duval
Legislative Updates

Legislative Updates


Stay up-to-date with the latest happenings from the Early Learning Coalition of Duval and other industry-related news.

Legislative Updates


March 2023 – House Bill (HB) 1: Education 

  • House Bill (HB) 1 was passed by the 2023 Florida Legislature and signed into law by Governor DeSantis. It expands available school choice options for all students in Florida by eliminating financial eligibility restrictions and the current enrollment cap.  
  • HB 1 contains a comprehensive package of innovations that promote parental involvement and customized K-12 education in Florida.  The legislation empowers parents to guide their children’s education by providing for an Educational Savings Account for every student in the K-12 system.
  • Establishes the Florida Department of Education – My Florida Schools portal which aims to connect parents with early learning and education options available in their area that best meets their child’s needs. For more information about HB 1, click here.

July 2022 – House Bill (HB) 5001: General Appropriations Act 

  • HB 5001, also known as the General Appropriations Act, was passed by the 2022 Florida Legislature and signed into law as Chapter 2022 – 156, Laws of Florida, by Governor DeSantis. It increases the 2022 – 2023 VPK Program Years Base Student Allocation (Provider Payment Rates) and appropriating additional funding for VPK programs that agree to raise VPK teacher pay to a minimum of $15 an hour. This law became effective on July 1, 2022.   
  • Provisio language provides additional compensation to VPK providers in the base student allocation for the 2022 – 2023 school year and summer programs.  VPK providers who elect to participate in this additional payment program must complete an application in the Provider Portal.   For more information about HB 5001, click here.

November 2021 – Florida Statute (1002.57(1), F.S.)

  • 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.
  • Click here for more information.

May 2021 – Highlights of HB 419: Early Learning
and Early Grade Success

  • 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.

May 2021 – Highlights of HB 7011: Student Literacy

  • 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.

July 2020 – Highlights of House Bill 1091

  • During the 2018 Legislative Session, the Florida Legislature passed House Bill 1091, which increases quality and accountability in the School Readiness Program. The Division of Early Learning is leading the implementation of this legislation in partnership with local early learning coalitions.
  • The program assessment tool to be used is the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). The CLASS assessment is recognized internationally for capturing the elements within a classroom that improve child outcomes. This assessment primarily measures the quality of classroom interactions between teachers and children. Many child care programs have already experienced this through Florida’s Early Learning Performance Funding Project (ELPFP) and other quality programs.

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