Text: SSB03148                          Text: SSB03150
Text: SSB03100 - SSB03199               Text: SSB Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index



Senate Study Bill 3149

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  Section 256D.9, Code Supplement 2003, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    256D.9  FUTURE REPEAL.
  1  4    This chapter is repealed effective July 1, 2004 2005.
  1  5    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  279.60  STUDENT PROMOTION OR
  1  6 RETENTION.
  1  7    1.  A student enrolled in grade three who at the completion
  1  8 of grade three is more than one year below grade level in
  1  9 reading as determined by reading assessments administered
  1 10 pursuant to this section, shall not be promoted to grade four.
  1 11 The board of directors of each school district shall adopt a
  1 12 student promotion policy that facilitates collaboration among
  1 13 teachers, parents, and guardians of the students, and the
  1 14 school district to support student reading at grade level.
  1 15 The policy shall address the assessment of, and the
  1 16 establishment of performance levels for, a student identified
  1 17 as limited English proficient and a student identified as a
  1 18 child requiring special education.  The policy shall be
  1 19 developed, and annually updated, with input from school
  1 20 administrators, teachers, parents, and guardians.  Annually,
  1 21 by the first day of school, the school district shall notify
  1 22 the parents and guardians of students in grades kindergarten
  1 23 through grade three of the district's student promotion
  1 24 policy.
  1 25    2.  a.  To identify students at risk of reading failure,
  1 26 students enrolled in kindergarten through grade three of a
  1 27 school district shall be assessed at the beginning of each
  1 28 school year and throughout the school year as necessary by
  1 29 ongoing assessments of their reading skills or early literacy
  1 30 development including, but not limited to, phonological
  1 31 awareness, reading fluency, and alphabetic principle.  At
  1 32 least annually, within the first three months of the school
  1 33 year, the school district shall provide written notice to the
  1 34 parent or guardian of the student's Iowa grade equivalency.
  1 35    b.  The department of education shall establish by
  2  1 administrative rule a list of approved reading or early
  2  2 literacy development assessments, which shall be provided to
  2  3 each school district.  This list shall include the dynamic
  2  4 indicators of basic early literacy skills, a standardized,
  2  5 individually administered measure of early literacy
  2  6 development, and the Iowa test of basic skills.
  2  7    c.  The director of the department of education shall
  2  8 establish a committee to assist with the development of rules
  2  9 required pursuant to paragraph "b", to review and recommend
  2 10 reading and early literacy development assessments that
  2 11 measure a student's reading skills or early literacy
  2 12 development, including assessments relating to the following:
  2 13    (1)  To assess a student's reading skills or early literacy
  2 14 development progress throughout the school year.
  2 15    (2)  To indicate grade level competencies that have been
  2 16 attained.
  2 17    (3)  To review and recommend reading skill or early
  2 18 literacy development assessments that been developed or
  2 19 utilized by other states to the extent that the tests are
  2 20 appropriate for use under this section.
  2 21    The majority of members appointed shall be supportive of
  2 22 research-based reading instruction described in the United
  2 23 States department of education report issued in 2001 titled
  2 24 "Put Reading First:  The Research Building Blocks for Teaching
  2 25 Children to Read".
  2 26    The assessments recommended shall be thoroughly researched
  2 27 and demonstrated to be reliable and valid indicators of
  2 28 reading progress.  The committee shall provide a progress
  2 29 report to the chairpersons of the house and senate standing
  2 30 committees on education, annually until July 1, 2008, and
  2 31 biennially thereafter.
  2 32    3.  The board of directors of each school district shall
  2 33 establish a committee, composed of stakeholders, to develop
  2 34 reading instruction programs that meet the requirements of
  2 35 this section.  The reading instruction programs shall include,
  3  1 but may not be limited to:
  3  2    a.  Curriculum using systematic and explicit phonics
  3  3 instruction.
  3  4    b.  Sufficient additional in-school instructional time for
  3  5 the acquisition of phonological awareness, reading fluency,
  3  6 and alphabetic principle.
  3  7    c.  Tutorial instruction.
  3  8    d.  Periodic reassessments to measure the reading skills or
  3  9 early literacy development including, but not limited to,
  3 10 phonological awareness, reading fluency, and alphabetic
  3 11 principle, as identified in the student's individualized
  3 12 reading instruction program.
  3 13    e.  Additional in-school instructional time during the
  3 14 summer.
  3 15    4.  If the results of assessments administered indicate
  3 16 intervention is necessary, the school district shall provide
  3 17 written notice to the parent or guardian of the student's Iowa
  3 18 grade equivalency and the options available to the parent or
  3 19 guardian as provided in subsection 3.  A parent or guardian of
  3 20 a student shall be included in the development of an
  3 21 individualized program of reading instruction for the student.
  3 22    5.  If the results of assessments administered indicate the
  3 23 student is reading above grade level, the school district
  3 24 shall provide written notice to the parent or guardian of the
  3 25 options available to the parent for enrichment activities for
  3 26 the child.
  3 27    6.  For any grade three student found reading more than one
  3 28 year or more below grade level as determined by reading
  3 29 assessments administered pursuant to this section, a new
  3 30 intensive reading instruction plan, which shall include
  3 31 specialized tutoring by the school district, shall be
  3 32 developed and implemented.  The school district is encouraged
  3 33 to provide tutorial instruction in a manner that would
  3 34 minimize interference with a student's instructional time in
  3 35 the classroom.  Tutorial instruction may be offered before or
  4  1 after regular school hours.
  4  2    7.  A school district shall notify a parent or guardian in
  4  3 writing of the ability of the parent or guardian to appeal a
  4  4 school's decision to deny promotion of a student to the school
  4  5 board.  The school board shall decide in favor of a student's
  4  6 promotion only if the school board concludes, using standards
  4  7 adopted by the school board, that if promoted and provided
  4  8 with additional or continued interventions, the student is
  4  9 likely to perform at grade level.  However, a school board
  4 10 shall not deny a promotion to a student under the provisions
  4 11 of this section more than once.  A decision of the school
  4 12 board to deny promotion is subject to appeal under section
  4 13 290.1.
  4 14    8.  The director of the department of education shall
  4 15 conduct a review of school district student promotion
  4 16 policies, including the number of students in need of
  4 17 remediation in reading in kindergarten through grade three,
  4 18 and the number of students who successfully completed their
  4 19 individualized reading instruction program.  The director
  4 20 shall evaluate the data reported pursuant to this subsection
  4 21 and shall submit a report of the findings and recommendations
  4 22 resulting from the review to the senate and house standing
  4 23 committees on education and the joint appropriations
  4 24 subcommittee on education by December 1, 2006, and biennially
  4 25 thereafter.
  4 26    Sec. 3.  STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED.  In accordance
  4 27 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring
  4 28 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall
  4 29 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid
  4 30 received by the school district under section 257.16.  This
  4 31 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed
  4 32 to meet all the state funding-related requirements of section
  4 33 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall be
  4 34 necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and
  4 35 enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts.
  5  1    Sec. 4.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  The section of this Act amending
  5  2 section 256D.9, being deemed of immediate importance, takes
  5  3 effect upon enactment.
  5  4    Sec. 5.  PROMOTION DENIAL APPLICABILITY DATE.  Provisions
  5  5 relating to promotion of a student in section 279.60,
  5  6 subsections 1 and 6 of this Act, if enacted, are applicable
  5  7 commencing with the school year beginning July 1, 2007.  
  5  8                           EXPLANATION
  5  9    This bill requires, effective with the school year
  5 10 commencing July 1, 2007, that a school district retain a
  5 11 student in grade three if, at the completion of grade three,
  5 12 the student is more than one year below grade level in reading
  5 13 assessments specified by the bill.  A student shall not be
  5 14 denied promotion under the provisions of the bill more than
  5 15 once.
  5 16    Students enrolled in kindergarten through grade three must
  5 17 be assessed from the beginning of and throughout the school
  5 18 year using ongoing assessments of reading skills or early
  5 19 literacy development including phonological awareness, reading
  5 20 fluency, and alphabetic principle.  The department of
  5 21 education is required to establish by rule, and provide each
  5 22 school district with, a list of approved reading or early
  5 23 literacy development assessments.
  5 24    The bill also requires the board of directors of each
  5 25 school district to adopt a student promotion policy, provide
  5 26 interventions to improve a student's reading skills, and
  5 27 notify the parents and guardians of students of the options
  5 28 under the school district's reading instruction program.  An
  5 29 intensive reading instruction plan must be developed and
  5 30 implemented by a school district for any grade three student
  5 31 who is one year or more below grade level and their tutorial
  5 32 instruction must be provided before or after regular school
  5 33 hours.
  5 34    The school board can decide in favor of a student's
  5 35 promotion only if the school board concludes that if promoted
  6  1 and provided with additional or continued interventions, the
  6  2 student is likely to perform at grade level.
  6  3    The bill requires the director of the department of
  6  4 education to conduct a review of school district student
  6  5 promotion policies and to submit findings and recommendations
  6  6 resulting from the review to the senate and house standing
  6  7 committees on education and the joint appropriations
  6  8 subcommittees on education by December 1, 2006, and biennially
  6  9 thereafter.
  6 10    The bill extends the repeal of the early elementary
  6 11 intervention program to July 1, 2005, effective upon
  6 12 enactment.
  6 13    The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
  6 14 section 25B.3.  The bill requires that the state cost of any
  6 15 state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school
  6 16 district from state school foundation aid received by the
  6 17 school district under Code section 257.16.  The specification
  6 18 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state
  6 19 mandate funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2.
  6 20 The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate
  6 21 the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any
  6 22 state mandates included in the bill.  
  6 23 LSB 6319SC 80
  6 24 kh/pj/5.4
     

Text: SSB03148                          Text: SSB03150
Text: SSB03100 - SSB03199               Text: SSB Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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