Legislative Update: A bill that will negatively affect reading funding passes Senate committee

There is no doubt that reading coaches have directly impacted the great reading gains Florida’s students have been achieving for the past decade. Unfortunately, this has not deterred lawmakers this session from filing bills to jeopardize this progress.

SB 2254, sponsored by Senator Nancy Detert (R – Sarasota), made it through the Senate Pre K – 12 committee on March 18th with a unanimous 7 to 0 vote. The bill’s next stop is the Senate Pre K – 12 Appropriations committee, though it has not yet been put on an agenda. This bill will allow school districts to spend reading funds on other things. Reading coaches are primarily funded through these “supplemental reading instruction” funds which were instituted in under the Just Read, Florida! initiative. Diverting these funds allows school districts to use the money for other purposes, instead of using it towards the improvement of our students’ reading skills.

Currently, we at the Foundation for Florida’s Future are urging lawmakers to protect reading funds and make sure they are dedicated to reading. As a reading coach you can help! You can contact Senator Detert to let her know all the great things these funds do for our students’ reading and how vital they are to our children’s education.

So much progress has been made in student reading, and we cannot sacrifice a single year in the fight to ensure quality education for all of Florida’s children.

Action Plan to Restore Coaching

Despite setbacks during the 2008 Legislative Session, you can still take action to preserve the progress that reading coaches have made and restore the role that reading coaches have played. Download our action plan to get more details about how you can make a difference.

Statewide Petition

FLCA is conducting a statewide petition to gather support for restoring dedicated funding for reading coaches. The goal is to collect 100,000 signatures by December 2008.

You can help by seeking support and signatures from reading coaches, classroom teachers, principals, parents, business leaders, community leaders, and members of your community. Download the petition packet, which contains everything you need to get started.

Meeting with Your State Legislators

You are encouraged to meet briefly with your State Senator and Representative in their local district offices or in Tallahassee to share the value of literacy coaches.

There are only three basic things you need to communicate in your meeting:

1. Thank them for their past support of reading funding.
2. Explain what a reading coach does and how you make a difference.
3. Ask for their support of reading coaches through reading funding in the public school budget.

If you would like more specifics on how to communicate these three simple messages, you can download our legislative talking points, but remember – stick with the three main points above.

If you have questions or would like help with any of these activities, please contact Josh Hall, Director of Public Policy for the Foundation for Florida's Future, at (850) 391-3070 or josh@afloridapromise.org.