Legislature(2013 - 2014)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/21/2014 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearings | |
| SB100 | |
| SB107 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 107 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 107-ESTABLISH K THROUGH 3 READING PROGRAM
CHAIR STEVENS announced the consideration of SB 107. [Version U
was before the committee.]
CHAIR STEVENS asked Mr. Lamkin to summarize version U of SB 107.
8:26:48 AM
TIM LAMKIN, Staff, Senator Gary Stevens, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, explained that SB 107, version U,
is a function of a nationwide movement to help children read by
third grade. This bill seeks to establish a reading plan for
every single school in the state for every student that needs
one.
He related that schools have a five star performance rating
system. It is only the schools that have one or two stars that
currently have in regulation the notion of reading plans. He
corrected the statement that "all schools are currently doing
this." Only the low-performing schools have that type of
intervention to introduce a reading program.
He stated that SB 107 proposes that every school have a reading
plan in place. He noted several states are already moving in
this direction and it is a research-based, best practices
movement. He said the State Board of Education is planning to
address the issue in June.
8:29:19 AM
MR. LAMKIN shared the changes needed in the bill. On page 9,
line 27, regarding mental health support, he suggested inserting
"whenever practicable" instead of "when necessary." Also, if a
school does not have a school counselor or psychologist, line 28
could be changed to refer to "a qualified school psychologist,
school social worker, or school counselor" instead of "the
school psychologist....." He opined that it would help move the
bill forward to consider putting in an effective date of July 1,
2016. That would show that this is a priority of the legislature
and would give districts and the department time to produce the
funds and resources needed to apply the new program.
He noted that DEED is available for questions.
8:31:22 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked Mr. Lamkin to repeat the suggested changes.
MR. LAMKIN reiterated the changes.
SENATOR GARDNER asked if there are psychologists, social
workers, or counselors that are not qualified. She suggested
leaving off "qualified."
MR. LAMKIN replied that is a valid question, but said the word
is a qualifier.
SENATOR HUGGINS questioned whether a school counselor can
provide mental health support.
CHAIR STEVENS said one of the concerns is putting requirements
on small schools and districts that may not have a psychologist.
SENATOR HUGGINS said there clearly is a cost factor to the bill.
He asked if that is reflected in the fiscal note.
MR. LAMKIN said the fiscal note reflects the need, or potential
need, for reading coaches that DEED would provide and related
resources as an option to districts. It does not speak to
foundation formula funds that may very likely be needed as
additional resources at a district level.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY said there are different types of counselors
and many aren't trained for mental health services. He further
commented that on page 9, line 27, paragraph (4) doesn't seem to
be related to reading. He asked why this was included.
MR. LAMKIN replied this legislation is modeled after Colorado
legislation. He said every student has different circumstances.
There may be a situation where a student needs extra help on the
side, such as mental health counseling, that is outside of
reading instruction. He suggested the committee may consider
striking paragraph (4).
8:36:13 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS agreed with Senator Dunleavy's observation. He
opined the paragraph should apply to a school, not just to
reading or math. He suggested including it in an omnibus manner.
SENATOR GARDNER noted that she received an email from a teacher
who said scripted teaching to prevent reading deficiencies
doesn't work and that is what this legislation would require
districts to adopt. She thought the bill required a focused
effort to meet the needs of a student who is not succeeding, not
scripted teaching. She asked Mr. Lamkin to comment about that.
MR. LAMKIN said he would defer to the department to answer.
SENATOR HUGGINS directed attention to paragraph (3) on page 9,
line 25. He asked what happens to teachers who have a low
rating.
MR. LAMKIN said it's his understanding that not all teachers
have the aptitude or interest in that type of teaching. The bill
would prescribe that students have a highly rated teacher. He
assumed that if a teacher does not have a high rating they would
no longer be teaching students. He deferred further comment to
the department.
SENATOR HUGGINS clarified his question is about teacher
evaluations.
MR. LAMKIN said he assumes that at the district level they
should be able to determine if the teacher is qualified.
SENATOR HUGGINS asked who gets the teachers that aren't highly
qualified.
SENATOR STEDMAN agreed with Senator Huggins' point.
8:41:07 AM
SUSAN MCCAULEY, Ph.D., Director, Teaching and Learning Support,
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED), Juneau,
Alaska, addressed the issue about the requirements already
existing in regulation. She conceded that there is language in
regulation that parallels the language in the bill, but it
applies to priority schools only. Priority schools are one-star,
Title I schools. There are only 16 priority schools in the state
that this applies to. She listed the provisions in regulation.
She stressed that the other 500-some schools are left out. There
are no district requirements to have a similar reading program.
SENATOR GARDNER asked if focus schools were the subject of a
lawsuit.
DR. MCCAULEY said no. The terms "focus" and "priority" are US
Department of Education terms and all states are required to
identify them. They must be Title I schools. In Alaska there are
16 priority schools and 29 focus schools.
SENATOR GARDNER asked if the department has a position on the
legislation.
DR. MCCAULEY said the legislation tracks closely with research
and best practices regarding early literacy, although there are
different opinions on instruction. However, the research is very
clear in early literacy and reading; early intervention is
critical.
8:46:20 AM
SENATOR GARDNER relayed that the email she received in
opposition to the bill said that "scripted teaching to prevent
reading deficiencies does not work, and that is precisely what
this legislation will require districts to adopt." She asked if
SB 107 requires scripted teaching to be adopted.
CHAIR STEVENS asked Dr. McCauley to include a definition of
scripted teaching in her response.
DR. MCCAULEY explained that scripted teaching would be on the
far end of the continuum of direct instruction. It would have a
specific program or textbook that specifically scripts for a
teacher what he/she should say. That specific methodology is
sometimes used school wide. She said she doesn't believe the
bill directs that type of teaching. The bill says to focus on
the five areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary,
comprehension, and fluency.
SENATOR HUGGINS asked about the language on page 9, lines 8-9,
"including verbal skills and reading comprehension."
DR. MCCAULEY said that language addresses the five areas and
adds "verbal skills" as an element of focus. She said the new
standards include a standard for speech.
SENATOR HUGGINS asked if the program is already being used in
the priority schools.
DR. MCCAULEY said yes. Priority schools are required to address
the five elements in their school improvement plans.
SENATOR HUGGINS asked for data on how those schools are doing.
DR. MCCAULEY said she would follow up with that information.
SENATOR STEDMAN asked that the information be broken down rather
than given in aggregate.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY asked when Finland begins the decoding concept.
DR. MCCAULEY said age seven.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY asked when the United States and Alaska does
it.
DR. MCCAULEY said Alaska begins teaching phonics and phonemic
awareness in kindergarten.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY said the bill doesn't define a reading
deficiency. He asked how reading deficiency is determined.
DR. MCCAULEY explained that many districts have reading programs
in place that mirror the bill's requirements. The way they
identify a significant reading disability is first by setting
benchmark expectations with regard to screening assessments.
When a student doesn't meet those benchmarks there is a further
diagnostic assessment for which there would be an established
range of scores to find if there is a significant reading
deficiency. She emphasized that when these reading systems are
in place there are benchmark assessment scores that indicate the
degree to which a student may be experiencing a significant
disability. It is not left up to an individual teacher's
judgment; it is a system-wide approach.
SENATOR GARDNER asked about simple reading readiness; some kids
aren't developmentally ready when others are ready. She asked if
there's any allowance for that.
DR. MCCAULEY opined that good district-wide programs take that
into consideration. There should be systems in place so that no
children fall through the crack. She described the process. The
bill also provides for discussions with parents when a student
appears to be falling behind. She concluded that she doesn't see
anything in the bill that precludes assessing reading readiness.
8:59:12 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked Dr. McCauley to think globally about
student assessments. He suggested that math should be considered
alongside reading.
DR. MCCAULEY said the state has adopted new reading and math
standards and they are much higher than before. She didn't
disagree that they're both important, but a child who struggles
with reading will struggle in every subject area.
SENATOR HUGGINS said he doesn't see it as an either/or
situation.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY referenced page 9, lines 24 - 26. He asked if
this law would trump a negotiated agreement in a school.
DR. MCCAULEY replied that it does not trump elements in a
district negotiated agreement. She cited an example and opined
that the words "whenever practicable" are relevant because they
provide a principal direction and intent.
SENATOR HUGGINS said he's never heard of a school that
micromanaged to the point of saying you couldn't teach unless
you were at a high level.
DR. MCCAULEY said she didn't have that experience, but what is
discussed at districts is that there is effort to match teacher
expertise with students who are struggling, particularly with
reading.
9:08:10 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked what a principal does with a teacher with
a low performance rating.
DR. MCCAULEY said there are required elements, but principals
have quite a bit of flexibility in assigning a teacher.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY asked if small schools might often rely on the
"whenever practicable" clause.
DR. MCCAULEY agreed. She thought the language would require some
professional development and support for teachers from the
department.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY observed that SB 100 would be in compliance
with this law when a student isn't proficient.
DR. MCCAULEY related that SB 100 and SB 107 are comparable in
that they focus attention on students who are struggling. SB 107
provides for what a school district must do when a child is
struggling. SB 100 also talks about focusing attention on the
student who is not proficient and specifies in the ILP
activities to address that.
9:12:44 AM
CHAIR STEVENS opened public testimony.
POSIE BOGGS, representing herself, Anchorage, Alaska, began her
testimony with an explanation of why Finland waits until age 7
to teach decoding skills. She said the reason is that Finnish is
an easier language to learn to decode than English.
She expressed concern with page 9, line 26, and offered
alternative language, "and teachers who possess expertise in
reading instruction as evidenced by passing a stand-alone
licensure test of beginning reading instructional knowledge...."
She concluded with statistics from Alabama.
CHAIR STEVENS closed public testimony and announced he would
hold SB 107 for further consideration.
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