The Florida Center for Reading Research, in collaboration with the Florida Department of Education, has developed the Reading Foundations and Evidence-Based Instructional Practices Pathway. The coursework includes five competencies to support educators in earning the Florida Reading Endorsement. The Reading Foundations and Evidence-Based Instructional Practices Pathway is comprehensive and intended to be completed in its entirety to successfully earn the Florida Reading Endorsement. The content is designed to be delivered face-to-face by a trained facilitator. Florida teachers who want to add a reading endorsement to their credentials through this reading endorsement pathway must contact their district's main professional learning contact to find out if their district offers this option. If your district does not offer this option, then contact the Just Read, Florida! Office at justread@fldoe.org or The Florida Center for Reading Research at fcrr@fcrr.org to find out more information about how to participate in the program.
Click here for more information about all options available for educators to earn the Florida Reading Endorsement.
Courses
Access to the materials and resources for the Reading Foundations and Evidence-Based Instructional Practices Pathway program for earning the Florida K-12 Reading Endorsement is available on FCRR's The Academy website. If permission is granted, users may only access and use the materials as long as modifications are not made, the materials will only be used for non-profit educational purposes, and the copyright belong jointly to the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Center for Reading Research. These materials may not be used for any commercial purposes. These materials on our site may be linked to but not reposted, reproduced, modified, or copied to other sites. For questions about the use of these materials, please contact The Florida Center for Reading Research at fcrr@fcrr.org.
Download our information sheet on The Academy.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Just Read Florida! office spearheaded the effort to review and revise the Reading Endorsement Competencies in 2022 for alignment with evidence-based instructional and intervention strategies rooted in the science of reading. The changes address identifications of the characteristics of conditions such as dyslexia, implementation of evidence-based classroom instruction and interventions, including evidence-based reading instruction and interventions specifically for students with characteristics of dyslexia, and effective progress monitoring. The Florida Reading Endorsement Competencies 2022 incorporate the use of explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to reading instruction, developing phonological and phonemic awareness, decoding, and implementing multisensory intervention strategies.
The review and revisions of the Florida Reading Endorsement Competencies were accomplished under the guidance and partnership with the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University, the Lastinger Center for Learning at the University of Florida, and the Morgridge International Reading Center at the University of Central Florida. The expertise of these literacy leaders founded the revisions of the Florida Reading Endorsement Competencies in collaboration with other significant stakeholders including professional organizations and committee members with varied professional backgrounds reflective of Florida’s population impacted by the Reading Endorsement (ESE, ELL, Higher Education, etc.).
Click here for more information about the endorsement at the Florida Department of Education.
The Reading Endorsement is a rider on top of a valid Florida teaching certificate to denote additional training in reading instruction. The endorsement is not a certificate and cannot stand alone. Currently, the Reading Endorsement does not require a subject area exam, while Reading Certification requires a subject area exam. Teachers do not require both a reading endorsement and reading certification. However, for some teachers, either the Reading Endorsement or Reading Certification must be added to a teacher’s Florida teaching certificate in order to be compliant with state mandates.
This pathway includes five courses to support educators in earning the Florida Reading Endorsement. The courses, organized into five competencies, are designed to be delivered in-person by FDOE certified trainers in school districts. This pathway is comprehensive and intended to be completed in its entirety.
The Florida Reading Endorsement Program consists of five courses. The content in the courses is based upon decades of scientifically based research on the development of critical reading and reading-related skills, including oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, spelling, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and composition. The courses also focus on the application of this research to instruction, assessment, and differentiation for all learners, including students who are multilingual or emerging bilingual and students with disabilities like reading disabilities and dyslexia. The five courses address the following competencies:
- Competency 1 – Foundations of Reading Instruction
- Competency 2 – Application of Research-Based Instructional Practices
- Competency 3 – Foundations of Assessment
- Competency 4 – Foundations and Applications of Differentiated Instruction
- Competency 5 – Demonstrating Accomplishment (culminating practicum)
- Teachers who teach summer reading camps for third grade students scoring Level 1 on state standardized assessment of ELA (s. 1008.25, F.S.)
- Teachers instructing retained third grade students (s. 1008.25, F.S.)
- Teachers providing Tier 3 reading intervention must possess a literacy micro-credential or be endorsed or certified in reading (Rule 6A-6.053, F.A.C.)
- Literacy coaches must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and be endorsed or K-12 certified in the area of reading (Rule 6A-6.053, F.A.C.)
- School district personnel and instructional personnel who supervise teacher candidates during internship in grades K-3 or who are enrolled in a teacher preparation program for certification in these coverage areas (s. 1012.585(3)(f), F.S., Rule 6A-4.0051, F.A.C.):
- Elementary Education (K-6), Prekindergarten/Primary Education (age 3 through grade 3), Elementary Education (grades 1-6), Primary Education (grades K-3), English (grades 1-6), Middle Grades English (grades 5-9), Middle Grades Integrated Curriculum (grades 5-9), English (6-12), Exceptional Student Education (grades K-12) (renewal beginning with a validity date of July 1, 2025), Reading (K-12), Reading (Endorsement), and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) (grades K-12)
- Candidates entering a teacher preparation program, educator preparation institute, or professional learning certification program for certification in these coverage areas (s. 1012.585(3)(f), F.S., Rule 6A-4.0051, F.A.C.):
- Elementary Education (K-6), Prekindergarten/Primary Education (age 3 through grade 3), Elementary Education (grades 1-6), Primary Education (grades K-3), English (grades 1-6), Middle Grades English (grades 5-9), Middle Grades Integrated Curriculum (grades 5-9), English (6-12), Exceptional Student Education (grades K-12) (renewal beginning with a validity date of July 1, 2025), Reading (K-12), Reading (Endorsement), and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) (grades K-12)
Teachers should visit the Florida Department of Education website to apply to add on the Reading Endorsement to their Florida teaching certificate. The department will evaluate college transcript(s) and provide a Status of Eligibility letter indicating what courses are required to add on the endorsement.
No, FCRR does not offer the Reading Endorsement. FCRR developed these courses to support districts in Florida that choose to offer the Reading Foundations and Evidence-Based Instructional Practices Pathway for their currently employed teachers. Teachers who are currently employed in a Florida school district and seeking to add the Reading Endorsement to their certificate should contact their district's main professional learning contact for more information. Teachers who are not currently employed in a Florida school district should contact the Florida Department of Education for more information. Teachers who are interested in earning a Reading Endorsement at Florida State University should contact the School of Teacher Education.
...my required courses, credit for courses already taken, registering for courses, when courses are offered, where courses are offered, costs for courses, applying for the endorsement, other pathways to certification or endorsement, and employment?
Teachers who are currently employed in a Florida school district and seeking to add the Reading Endorsement to their certificate should contact their district's main professional learning contact for more information. Teachers who are not currently employed in a Florida school district should contact the Florida Department of Education for more information.
