CSHB 274(EDC): "An Act relating to screening reading deficiencies and providing reading intervention services to public school students enrolled in grades kindergarten through three; and relating to funding for reading improvement plans."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 274(EDC) 01 "An Act relating to screening reading deficiencies and providing reading intervention 02 services to public school students enrolled in grades kindergarten through three; and 03 relating to funding for reading improvement plans." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 14.30.760(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) To implement the district reading intervention services established under 07 AS 14.30.765, the department shall 08 (1) adopt a statewide screening tool to administer to students in grades 09 kindergarten through three to identify students with reading deficiencies, including 10 students with characteristics of dyslexia; the screening tool must evaluate 11 (A) phonemic awareness, letter naming fluency, letter sound 12 fluency, and letter word sound fluency of students in kindergarten; 13 (B) letter word sound fluency and oral reading fluency of 14 students in grade one;
01 (C) vocabulary and oral reading fluency of students in grades 02 two and three; 03 (2) support teachers of grades kindergarten through three by 04 (A) administering the statewide screening tool three times each 05 school year, once in the fall, once in the winter, and once in the spring, to all 06 students in grades kindergarten through three [, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 07 STUDENTS WHO DEMONSTRATE SUFFICIENT READING SKILLS ON 08 THE FIRST SCREENING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR]; 09 (B) providing methods to monitor student progress; 10 (C) providing targeted instruction based on student needs as 11 determined by the results of the screening tool; and 12 (D) providing additional assistance as determined by the 13 department; 14 (3) provide training to school district staff related to using the results 15 of the statewide screening tool and understanding evidence-based reading 16 interventions, including explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, 17 phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency, oral language skills, and reading 18 comprehension; 19 (4) require that districts identify the early education programs attended 20 by students and report to the department the average score on each performance 21 screening tool by students in grades kindergarten through three who 22 (A) attended a state-approved early education program; 23 (B) attended a head start program; 24 (C) attended a private early education program; 25 (D) did not attend an early education program; 26 (5) establish a process that allows the commissioner to waive, upon 27 request, use of the statewide screening tool required under this subsection by a school 28 district if the school district has adopted an evidence-based reading screening tool and 29 the screening tool is approved by the department; 30 (6) review, approve, and assist districts developing alternative 31 standardized reading screening tools in any language for use by school districts.
01 * Sec. 2. AS 14.30.765(f) is amended to read: 02 (f) If it is determined, based on a statewide screening administered in the 03 spring, that a student in grade three has a reading deficiency, and the student does not 04 demonstrate sufficient reading skills to progress to grade four under (e) of this section, 05 the student's teacher and other pertinent district staff shall notify and attempt to meet 06 with the student's parent or guardian to explain that the student is not prepared to 07 progress to grade four. School staff shall work with the parent or guardian to schedule 08 a date, time, and place for the meeting, to be held after the spring screening 09 assessment and not later than 15 [45] days before the end of the school year. 10 Following that meeting, the parent or guardian may decide that the student will not 11 progress to grade four or decide to progress the student to grade four by signing a 12 waiver developed by the department acknowledging that the student is not prepared 13 and agreeing that the student will participate in an additional 20 hours of individual 14 reading improvement plan intervention services during the summer before the student 15 enters grade four. If no parent or guardian attends the meeting or if the parent or 16 guardian does not determine whether the student will progress to the next grade, the 17 superintendent or the superintendent's designee shall, after considering the student's 18 best interests and whether the student has previously not progressed to the next grade, 19 determine whether the student will progress to grade four. 20 * Sec. 3. AS 14.30 is amended by adding a new section to read: 21 Sec. 14.30.773. Support for reading improvement plans. The state shall 22 provide to a school district, for each student in grades kindergarten through three who 23 is determined to have a reading deficiency based on the statewide screening or 24 assessment tool, $500 to provide the support, intervention, and services the student 25 needs for the student's reading improvement plan, including teacher and 26 paraprofessional career development.