New Worlds Reading

The New Worlds Reading Initiative, created by the Florida Department of Education, provides high-quality, free books directly to prekindergarten through grade 5 students who are not yet reading on grade level, who score below a level 3 on the most recent Statewide, standardized English Language Arts Assessment (ELA), or who have a substantial deficiency in reading identified under F.S. 1008.25, or who have a substantial deficiency in early literacy skills based upon the results of the coordinated screening and progress monitoring under F.S. 1008.25.  

The School must notify parents of eligible students upon enrollment and at the beginning of each school year options for specific book topics or genres to maximize student interest in reading.  The District must coordinate monthly book deliveries with the program administrator beginning no later than October and continuing through at least June. The District must participate in the initiative by partnering with local nonprofit organizations and raising awareness by using marketing materials provided by the program administrator. A student's eligibility for the initiative continues until promotion to grade 6 or until the parent opts out of the initiative.

The District shall coordinate with each charter school it sponsors for the purposes of identifying eligible students, notifying parents, coordinating book deliveries, providing the opportunity to annually select book topics and genres, and raising awareness of the initiative.

The District shall also establish a data-sharing agreement with the initiative's administrator to allow for a streamlined student verification and enrollment process.

The Statewide ELA is not the sole determiner of promotion. Additional evaluations, portfolio reviews, and assessments are available to the child to assist parents and schools in identifying the reading level of the student. A parent of a student in grade 3 who is identified anytime during the year as being at risk of retention may request that the school begin collecting evidence for a portfolio.