VERA Florida

B.E.S.T. Standards & Type 4 Screening for Florida Public Schools

VERA-FL provides browsable access to Florida's B.E.S.T. curriculum standards alongside FAST and ACCESS for ELLs assessment integration. Florida's 360,000 English Learners deserve early identification of Type 4 dyslexia candidates through oral-written delta analysis.

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2025 Legislative Session

Recent Florida Education Legislation

Florida's 2025 legislative session delivered significant reforms to literacy instruction, dyslexia intervention, and educator preparation. VERA-FL helps districts implement these requirements with data-driven screening.

Literacy Microcredentials

HB 1255 | Effective July 1, 2025

Requires intensive reading interventions be provided by personnel with literacy microcredentials or reading endorsements. Summer reading camps must use only credentialed personnel.

Reading Interventions

HB 1309 | 2025

Revises Just Read, Florida! requirements. Mandates evidence-based intensive reading interventions for grades 4-12 and establishes reading coach allocation requirements.

Dyslexia Screening K-3

Florida Statute 1008.25

Mandates early dyslexia screening with valid, reliable, computer-adaptive instruments. Requires explicit, systematic, multisensory interventions immediately upon identification.

Type 4 Detection

Identifying students who speak well but write poorly

Type 4 dyslexia candidates demonstrate strong oral communication abilities but significant challenges with written expression. VERA-FL uses the delta between ACCESS Speaking scores and Writing domain performance to flag students for further evaluation.

Oral Proficiency

ACCESS for ELLs Speaking domain scores measure oral language production, fluency, and comprehension in classroom contexts.

Written Performance

ACCESS Writing domain and FAST ELA scores capture written expression, organization, and conventions aligned to B.E.S.T. standards.

Delta Analysis

When the oral-written delta exceeds threshold, the student is flagged as a Type 4 candidate requiring additional screening per Florida Statute 1008.25.

Florida Data Systems

Built on Florida's official assessment infrastructure

VERA-FL integrates with Florida's established assessment and accountability systems, using publicly available district-level data to identify patterns that warrant individual student review.

B.E.S.T. / CPALMS

Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking curriculum standards via Florida's official CPALMS system.

FAST

Florida Assessment of Student Thinking - computer-adaptive tests aligned to B.E.S.T. standards.

ACCESS for ELLs

WIDA assessment measuring Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing proficiency for English Learners.

FLDOE Reporting

Florida Department of Education provides comprehensive district and school performance data.

A-F School Grades

Florida accountability system rates schools and districts on A-F scale across multiple domains.

Accountability Integration

VERA-FL connects assessment data to accountability

A-F School Grades

Florida rates schools on an A-F scale with up to 12 components including achievement, learning gains, and graduation rates. VERA-FL displays school grades alongside Type 4 detection to show how identification gaps affect accountability.

ELL Exit Criteria

Florida requires ACCESS composite score of 4.0+ with Reading domain 4.0+ for ELL exit. Students with high speaking but low writing scores may meet oral thresholds while struggling academically.

Florida Dyslexia Law

Florida Statute 1008.25 requires K-3 dyslexia screening and evidence-based interventions. VERA-FL helps identify Type 4 candidates who may be missed by traditional phonics-focused screening.

Scale of Impact

Florida has 360,000+ English Learners across 67 districts - third largest ELL population in the nation. Early Type 4 identification in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Orange County can significantly improve statewide outcomes.

School Choice Context

Florida's Education Savings Account Landscape

Florida operates the nation's largest ESA program. VERA-FL provides curriculum alignment verification for both public and private school settings, ensuring all Florida students receive appropriate dyslexia identification regardless of school type.

265K+
FES-EO Students
$3.9B
Annual ESA Funding
67
School Districts
360K
English Learners

Pilot Districts

VERA-FL launches with Florida's major school districts

Initial deployment includes Florida's largest and most diverse districts, selected for their significant English Learner populations and established data reporting infrastructure.

District District # EL Population School Grade
Miami-Dade County 13 Very High (25%) B
Broward County 06 High (15%) B
Hillsborough County 29 High (18%) B
Orange County 48 High (22%) B
Palm Beach County 50 High (16%) A
Duval County 16 Moderate (10%) B
Pinellas County 52 Moderate (8%) A
Osceola County 49 Very High (35%) B

Get Started

Launch VERA-FL for your Florida district

Browse B.E.S.T. curriculum standards, access district-level assessment data, run Type 4 screening analysis, and identify students who need additional evaluation for learning differences.

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