Text: SF02239                           Text: SF02241
Text: SF02200 - SF02299                 Text: SF Index
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Senate File 2240

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  280.26  IOWA READING INITIATIVE
  1  2 PROGRAM.
  1  3    1.  There shall be established within the department of
  1  4 education an Iowa reading initiative program.  The intent of
  1  5 the program is to provide the necessary resources to support
  1  6 additional small group reading instruction to third grade
  1  7 students who are determined not to be reading at a rate and
  1  8 comprehension level appropriate to the first semester of the
  1  9 third grade.  The goal of the program is the acceleration of
  1 10 the reading rate and comprehension level of students receiving
  1 11 additional small group instruction, so that by the end of the
  1 12 first semester of fourth grade those students involved in the
  1 13 program will have made substantial progress toward, or be
  1 14 reading at, a reading level appropriate to the first semester
  1 15 of the fourth grade.
  1 16    2.  Program participants shall be identified based on the
  1 17 results of a reading assessment test developed and
  1 18 administered by the department of education and given to each
  1 19 third grade student enrolled in the public school system
  1 20 across the state during the month of September upon entering
  1 21 the third grade.  Those students scoring one semester or more
  1 22 below the reading rate and comprehension level determined
  1 23 appropriate for the first semester of the third grade shall
  1 24 receive an additional forty minutes of small group reading
  1 25 instruction during each school day.  A small group receiving
  1 26 additional reading instruction shall consist of between three
  1 27 to five students per teacher.  To supplement the additional
  1 28 reading instruction time during the school day, parents of a
  1 29 child participating in the program shall agree to commit to
  1 30 spending a minimum of twenty minutes each night, during the
  1 31 school week, reading to or with their child.
  1 32    3.  The department shall develop a sample curriculum for
  1 33 the additional reading instruction program, incorporating
  1 34 strategies practiced and proven to be effective in the reading
  1 35 recovery and the early literacy initiative programs at Ohio
  2  1 state university.  Students in the program shall undergo
  2  2 regular assessment and receive reading assignments which
  2  3 increase in difficulty as the student progresses through the
  2  4 program.  Overall progress for each student shall be assessed
  2  5 every nine weeks utilizing an assessment tool or mechanism
  2  6 developed by the department.  Student achievement of more than
  2  7 nine weeks of progress in reading rate and comprehension level
  2  8 over a nine week period of small group additional reading
  2  9 instruction, as determined by the small group instructor, and
  2 10 more than one semester of growth in reading rate and
  2 11 comprehension during the course of a semester are considered
  2 12 indicators of program success.  Students involved in the
  2 13 program who are determined not to have achieved a reading rate
  2 14 and comprehension level appropriate to the first semester of
  2 15 the fourth grade by the time the child has completed the
  2 16 program shall be evaluated for additional special needs
  2 17 testing.
  2 18    4.  Each area education agency shall receive, out of the
  2 19 funds appropriated in section 280.27, funding to employ or
  2 20 train as specialists two reading trainers to train third grade
  2 21 teachers to provide additional small group reading
  2 22 instruction.
  2 23    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  280.27  IOWA READING INITIATIVE
  2 24 PROGRAM – APPROPRIATION.
  2 25    1.  There is appropriated annually from the general fund of
  2 26 the state to the department of education the sum of seventeen
  2 27 million dollars to establish, maintain, and administer an Iowa
  2 28 reading initiative program pursuant to section 280.26.
  2 29    2.  Moneys appropriated in subsection 1 shall be allocated
  2 30 to area education agencies to employ two small group reading
  2 31 instruction trainers per area education agency, and to school
  2 32 districts throughout the state on a per pupil basis.  The
  2 33 amount of moneys allocated to school districts shall be in the
  2 34 proportion that the basic enrollment of a district bears to
  2 35 the sum of the basic enrollments of all school districts in
  3  1 the state for the budget year.
  3  2    3.  Notwithstanding section 8.33, unencumbered and
  3  3 unobligated funds appropriated pursuant to this section which
  3  4 are available at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert
  3  5 to the general fund of the state but shall remain available
  3  6 for expenditure for the purposes designated in this section
  3  7 during the succeeding fiscal year.  
  3  8                           EXPLANATION
  3  9    This bill provides for the establishment of an Iowa reading
  3 10 initiative program.  The intent of the program shall be to
  3 11 provide additional small group reading instruction to third
  3 12 grade students who are determined not to be reading at a rate
  3 13 and comprehension level appropriate to their grade level.  The
  3 14 goal of the program shall be the acceleration of the reading
  3 15 rate and comprehension level of students receiving additional
  3 16 small group instruction, so that by the end of the first
  3 17 semester of fourth grade those students involved in the
  3 18 program will have made substantial progress toward, or be
  3 19 reading at, a reading level appropriate to their grade level.
  3 20    Participants in the program shall be identified based on
  3 21 the results of a reading assessment test administered to each
  3 22 third grade student enrolled in the public school system
  3 23 across the state during the month of September upon entering
  3 24 the third grade.  A student scoring one semester or more below
  3 25 the reading rate and comprehension level determined
  3 26 appropriate shall receive an additional 40 minutes of reading
  3 27 instruction each school day in a small group of approximately
  3 28 three to five students per teacher.  Parents would agree to
  3 29 supplement the additional reading instruction by spending a
  3 30 minimum of 20 minutes each school night reading to or with
  3 31 their child.
  3 32    The department of education shall develop a sample
  3 33 curriculum for the additional reading instruction program,
  3 34 incorporating strategies practiced and proven to be effective
  3 35 in the reading recovery and early literacy initiative programs
  4  1 at Ohio state university.  Student progress shall be assessed
  4  2 on a regular basis, and assignments shall increase in
  4  3 difficulty as the student advances through the program.
  4  4 Overall progress for each student shall be assessed every nine
  4  5 weeks utilizing an assessment tool or mechanism to be
  4  6 developed by the department.  Student achievement of more than
  4  7 nine weeks of progress in reading rate and comprehension level
  4  8 over a nine week period of small group additional reading
  4  9 instruction, as determined by the small group instructor, and
  4 10 more than one semester of growth in reading rate and
  4 11 comprehension during the course of a semester are considered
  4 12 indicators of success.  Students involved in the program who
  4 13 are determined not to have achieved a reading rate and
  4 14 comprehension level appropriate to the first semester of the
  4 15 fourth grade by the time the child has completed the program
  4 16 shall be evaluated for additional special needs testing.
  4 17    The bill provides for an appropriation from the general
  4 18 fund to the department of education the sum of $17 million to
  4 19 establish and administer the program.  Each area education
  4 20 agency shall receive funding to employ two reading trainers to
  4 21 train third grade teachers to provide additional small group
  4 22 reading instruction.  School districts shall receive funding
  4 23 on a per pupil basis, in the proportion that the basic
  4 24 enrollment of a district bears to the sum of the basic
  4 25 enrollments of all school districts in the state for the
  4 26 budget year.  The bill provides that unencumbered and
  4 27 unobligated funds appropriated pursuant to this section which
  4 28 are available at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert
  4 29 to the general fund but shall remain available for expenditure
  4 30 for the purposes designated during the succeeding fiscal year.  
  4 31 LSB 3834XS 77
  4 32 rn/jw/5
     

Text: SF02239                           Text: SF02241
Text: SF02200 - SF02299                 Text: SF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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