00CS FOR SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 203(HES)                                                                
01 "An Act relating to phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondence, word-attack                                        
02 skills, spelling, vocabulary, use of decodable text, reading comprehension strategies,                                  
03 and testing for basic reading and reading comprehension skills in the public                                            
04 school system."                                                                                                         
05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
06    * Section 1.  PURPOSE.  It is the purpose of this Act to                                                           
07   (1)  ensure that all public school elementary students receive adequate language                                      
08 arts education;                                                                                                         
09   (2)  require school districts to adopt a balanced approach to language arts                                           
10 instruction that includes intensive systematic phonics and spelling instruction in the elementary                       
11 school curriculum, along with other methods of instruction, in order to increase skills in                              
12 reading, writing, and spelling; and                                                                                     
13   (3)  encourage elementary schools to begin preparing public school students for                                       
14 the high school graduation examination.                                                                                 

01    * Sec. 2.  AS 14.30 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                    
02 Article 12.  Language Arts Education.                                                                                  
03  Sec. 14.30.800.  Language arts education curriculum.  (a)  All students in                                           
04 the second and third grades shall be tested for basic reading and reading                                               
05 comprehension skills using a nationally normed test approved by the department.  A                                      
06 district may test students in the first grade as described in this subsection.  Testing                                 
07 shall be conducted in the fall of each school year.  The individual results of tests                                    
08 required under this subsection must be provided to each student's parent or guardian                                    
09 and to the principal of the school.  Results for each grade level in the school must be                                 
10 provided to each student's parent or guardian, to the school district, to the                                           
11 commissioner, and to the legislature.  A student in the first, second, or third grade who                               
12 tests at or in the lowest 25 percent of the nationally normed test, or a student who a                                  
13 parent or teacher believes has a reading, writing, spelling, or math learning deficiency,                               
14 shall also be tested for word-attack and word identification skills, vocabulary, and                                    
15 reading comprehension, using a nationally normed and individually administered test                                     
16 approved by the department.                                                                                             
17  (b)  If a student tested under (a) of this section tests at or below the 25th                                         
18 percentile of the nationally tested students, a governing body shall establish an                                       
19 alternative instructional program in language arts that is intended to improve the                                      
20 student's basic reading and reading comprehension skills.  The alternative instructional                                
21 program must include, in addition to children's literature, explicit, systematic                                        
22 instruction in phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondence, word-attack skills,                                     
23 spelling, vocabulary, use of decodable text, and reading comprehension strategies.                                      
24  (c)  Upon request, the department shall provide a list of those nationally                                            
25 normed tests that are approved by the department.