Florida Bill Would Ease ESL-Training Mandate

Advocates for English-language learners nationally are keeping a wary eye on legislation in Florida that would significantly reduce the state’s tough training requirement for reading teachers who work with such students.

The bill , which has won approval from the Florida Senate and from a House committee, would cut to 60 the number of in-service hours in teaching English as a second language required of reading teachers who work with ELLs, down from the current requirement of 300.

The measure has the backing of at least one local teachers’ union affiliate, although the Florida Department of Education has taken no position, and Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican who vetoed a similar bill last year, has not said what he will do if the new version reaches...