Senate File 412 - Introduced
SENATE FILE
BY McKINLEY
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act providing for a special education alternative reading
2 instruction pilot project and including a contingency clause
3 and an effective date.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 1660XS 83
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. SPECIAL EDUCATION PILOT PROGRAM == READING
1 2 LABORATORY.
1 3 1. Recognizing the state's desire to assist children to
1 4 grow, develop, and learn to their fullest extent and empower
1 5 young readers in grades kindergarten through three, and to
1 6 support student achievement and overall academic performance,
1 7 and recognizing that instructional methodologies and
1 8 strategies are important considerations in determining the
1 9 appropriate education for a child with a learning disability,
1 10 a reading laboratory pilot program is established. The
1 11 objective of the program shall be to evaluate methodologies
1 12 and strategies used to teach reading that could be implemented
1 13 to ensure that the state is meeting the unique needs of
1 14 individual children; and to assist with student placement
1 15 decisions in education programs, including placement in the
1 16 special education program.
1 17 2. The program shall be administered by the department of
1 18 education, and shall afford a private education provider the
1 19 opportunity to demonstrate effective methodologies and
1 20 strategies in teaching reading for students in grades
1 21 kindergarten through three identified with special needs. A
1 22 private education provider shall be selected by the
1 23 department, which meets the following criteria from among
1 24 those submitting an application for consideration:
1 25 a. The provider shall be doing business in at least two
1 26 locations in a county which contains a school district with an
1 27 enrollment of at least twenty=five thousand pupils in grades
1 28 kindergarten through twelve.
1 29 b. The provider shall possess at least fifteen years of
1 30 business experience in the application of methodologies and
1 31 strategies designed to improve reading skills for students in
1 32 grades kindergarten through twelve.
1 33 c. The provider shall employ at least forty trained staff,
1 34 including at least one staff member who is a licensed special
1 35 education consultant.
2 1 d. The provider shall be able to document success in
2 2 improving student achievement in reading skills in grades
2 3 kindergarten through three.
2 4 3. The department shall develop private provider
2 5 application forms, and shall publish notice and provide
2 6 information on the department's internet site regarding the
2 7 existence of the pilot program, application procedures, and
2 8 program participation. The private education provider which
2 9 meets all of the eligibility criteria set forth in this
2 10 subsection shall be selected by the department, and the
2 11 selection process shall be conducted without bidding.
2 12 4. Students in grades kindergarten through three, residing
2 13 in a county which contains a school district with an
2 14 enrollment of at least twenty=five thousand students in grades
2 15 kindergarten through twelve, and who have been identified by
2 16 the school district as qualifying for special education
2 17 services with mild or moderate learning disabilities involving
2 18 difficulty in reading, shall be eligible to participate in the
2 19 program. School districts shall be responsible in
2 20 coordination with the local area education agency for
2 21 determining the students who meet the eligibility
2 22 requirements, for notifying parents and guardians regarding
2 23 the existence of the program and providing an application form
2 24 and any other necessary information, and for submitting
2 25 applications to the department. The department shall select a
2 26 maximum of fifty students from those students submitting an
2 27 application. Selection of students shall be done randomly in
2 28 the event that more than fifty students submit applications,
2 29 beginning with students in the third grade, then second, then
2 30 first, and finally kindergarten, with students eligible for
2 31 free and reduced=price meals under the federal National School
2 32 Lunch Act and the federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42
2 33 U.S.C. } 1751=1785, given priority. Additional eligibility
2 34 requirements may be established by the private education
2 35 provider, including intelligence quotient testing scores, in
3 1 order to provide reliable and beneficial program results.
3 2 Students submitting an application shall be provided with an
3 3 intelligence test selected by the department and administered
3 4 by the local area education agency. The results of the test
3 5 shall remain confidential and shall only be used by the area
3 6 education agency to determine eligibility and participation in
3 7 the pilot program.
3 8 5. Pilot program instruction shall be provided on the
3 9 premises of the private education provider. Student
3 10 instruction shall be provided over a nine=week period during
3 11 the months of June, July, and August 2009. The private
3 12 education provider shall ensure that each student receives
3 13 reading instruction appropriate for the child, for a minimum
3 14 of seven hours per week, with the instruction received
3 15 considered separate and distinct from the student's current
3 16 individual education plan. The school district shall provide
3 17 transportation for the student to the private education
3 18 provider's location, or shall provide reimbursement for
3 19 transportation to parents or guardians in an amount determined
3 20 by the school district board of directors.
3 21 6. The private education provider shall gather performance
3 22 data to provide for program accountability, including but not
3 23 limited to pretesting and posttesting, to measure improvement
3 24 by each student during instruction, and upon the conclusion of
3 25 the program. The private education provider shall consult
3 26 with the local area education agency for assistance with
3 27 pretesting and posttesting, and the area education agency
3 28 shall approve the tests utilized. The private education
3 29 provider shall provide progress reports to the parents or
3 30 guardians of participating students, to the school district in
3 31 which the participating students are enrolled, and to the
3 32 department. The department, in conjunction with the
3 33 legislative services agency and the private provider, shall
3 34 review and analyze the data collected and submitted by the
3 35 private education provider. Full assurance relating to
4 1 confidentiality of identification of individual students'
4 2 scores shall be provided. The department shall submit a cost=
4 3 benefit analysis report to the members of the general assembly
4 4 by January 1, 2010, summarizing the results of the pilot
4 5 program. The report shall include an analysis of the student
4 6 improvement as measured through test scores, and a short=term
4 7 and long=term cost savings analysis for implementing the
4 8 private education provider's instruction methodology and
4 9 strategies. The analysis of the cost savings shall include
4 10 savings due to a reduction in the statewide average length of
4 11 participation in the special education program. The report
4 12 shall also include recommendations relating to statewide
4 13 implementation of the pilot program. The legislative services
4 14 agency shall conduct a survey of other reading studies
4 15 conducted in the state and shall include in the report results
4 16 relating to public school reading initiatives. The department
4 17 shall submit a follow=up report by January 1, 2011, tracking
4 18 continued improvement by students who participated in the
4 19 program, and including the number of students who are no
4 20 longer identified as requiring special education instruction.
4 21 7. The establishment of the pilot program pursuant to this
4 22 section shall be contingent upon the appropriation of an
4 23 amount sufficient to fund the costs of the program for the
4 24 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, and ending June 30, 2010.
4 25 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of
4 26 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
4 27 EXPLANATION
4 28 This bill provides for the establishment of a special
4 29 education alternative instruction pilot program focusing on
4 30 improving reading skills in grades kindergarten through three.
4 31 The bill provides intent language supporting the
4 32 establishment of the program. The bill states that the
4 33 objective of the program shall be to evaluate methodologies
4 34 and strategies used to teach reading that could be implemented
4 35 to ensure that the state is meeting the unique needs of
5 1 individual children, and to assist with student placement
5 2 decisions in education programs, including placement in the
5 3 special education program.
5 4 The program shall be administered by the department of
5 5 education, and shall involve instruction by a private
5 6 education provider intended to demonstrate effective
5 7 methodologies and strategies in teaching reading for students
5 8 in grades kindergarten through three identified with special
5 9 needs. The bill provides that a private provider shall be
5 10 selected by the department which meets specified criteria.
5 11 The department shall develop private provider application
5 12 forms and shall publish notice regarding the program, and the
5 13 selection process shall be conducted without bidding.
5 14 The bill provides that eligible students shall be in grades
5 15 kindergarten through three, residing in a county containing a
5 16 school district with an enrollment of at least 25,000 students
5 17 in grades kindergarten through 12, and shall have been
5 18 identified as qualifying for special education services with
5 19 mild or moderate learning disabilities involving difficulty in
5 20 reading. The bill provides that school districts shall be
5 21 responsible for determining the students who meet the
5 22 eligibility requirements, in coordination with the local area
5 23 education agency. The bill provides that the department shall
5 24 select a maximum of 50 students from those students submitting
5 25 an application. The bill provides that additional eligibility
5 26 requirements may be established by the private provider, and
5 27 that students submitting an application shall be provided with
5 28 an intelligence test selected by the department and
5 29 administered by the local area education agency. The bill
5 30 provides that the results of the test shall remain
5 31 confidential and shall only be used by the area education
5 32 agency to determine eligibility and participation in the pilot
5 33 program.
5 34 The bill provides that instruction shall be provided on the
5 35 premises of the private provider over a nine=week period
6 1 during the months of June, July, and August 2009, for a
6 2 minimum of seven hours per week, with the instruction received
6 3 considered separate and distinct from the student's current
6 4 individual education plan. The bill provides that the school
6 5 district shall provide transportation for the student to the
6 6 private provider's location, or reimbursement to parents or
6 7 guardians for transportation expenses.
6 8 The bill provides that the private provider shall gather
6 9 performance data to provide for program accountability, with
6 10 the assistance of the local area education agency, and shall
6 11 provide progress reports to the parents or guardians of
6 12 participating students, to the school district in which the
6 13 participating students are enrolled, and to the department.
6 14 The bill provides that the department, in conjunction with the
6 15 legislative services agency and the private provider, shall
6 16 review and analyze the data, with full assurance relating to
6 17 confidentiality of identification of individual students'
6 18 scores, and that the department shall submit a cost=benefit
6 19 analysis report to the members of the general assembly by
6 20 January 1, 2010, summarizing the results of the pilot program.
6 21 The bill provides that the report shall include an analysis of
6 22 the student improvement as measured through test scores, a
6 23 short=term and long=term cost savings analysis for
6 24 implementing the provider's instruction methodology and
6 25 strategies, recommendations relating to statewide
6 26 implementation of the program, and results relating to public
6 27 school reading initiatives surveyed by the legislative
6 28 services agency. The bill provides for a follow=up progress
6 29 report regarding students who had participated in the program
6 30 by January 1, 2011.
6 31 The bill provides that establishment of the program shall
6 32 be contingent upon an appropriation to fund the costs of the
6 33 program for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, and ending
6 34 June 30, 2010.
6 35 The bill takes effect upon enactment.
7 1 LSB 1660XS 83
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