Senate Study Bill 3069 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON ROZENBOOM) A BILL FOR An Act relating to reading instruction, including modifying 1 provisions related to the language arts instruction provided 2 to students enrolled in kindergarten through grade three and 3 the preparation in reading theory provided by practitioner 4 preparation programs, and including applicability 5 provisions. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 TLSB 5449XC (6) 90 jda/jh

S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 256.11, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2024, 1 are amended to read as follows: 2 2. a. The kindergarten program shall include experiences 3 designed to develop healthy emotional and social habits and 4 growth in the language arts and communication skills, as well 5 as a capacity for the completion of individual tasks, and 6 protect and increase physical well-being with attention given 7 to experiences relating to the development of life skills and, 8 subject to section 279.80 , age-appropriate and research-based 9 human growth and development. A kindergarten teacher shall be 10 licensed to teach in kindergarten. An accredited nonpublic 11 school must meet the requirements of this subsection only if 12 the nonpublic school offers a kindergarten program; provided, 13 however, that section 279.80 shall not apply to a nonpublic 14 school. 15 b. Commencing with the school year beginning July 1, 2026, 16 the experiences designed to develop growth in the language arts 17 shall include evidence-based early reading instruction that 18 follows a scope and sequence and that is direct, systematic, 19 explicit, responsive, and that consists of all of the 20 following: 21 (1) Phonics, including decoding and encoding and 22 instruction in writing. 23 (2) Phonemic awareness and phonological awareness. 24 (3) Fluency, including oral language development. 25 (4) Vocabulary. 26 (5) Comprehension, including building background knowledge. 27 c. Commencing with the school year beginning July 1, 2026, 28 the experiences designed to develop growth in the language arts 29 shall not include instruction related to any strategies or 30 approaches that are designed to teach students to read based 31 on meaning drawn from context, structure and syntax, visual 32 cues and pictures, or memory, including the instruction model 33 commonly known as the three-cueing system. 34 d. For purposes of this subsection, “evidence-based” means 35 -1- LSB 5449XC (6) 90 jda/jh 1/ 5

S.F. _____ demonstrating a rationale based on high-quality research 1 findings or positive evaluation that such activity, strategy, 2 or intervention is likely to improve student outcomes or other 3 relevant outcomes and includes ongoing efforts to examine the 4 effects of such activity, strategy, or intervention. 5 3. a. The following areas shall be taught in grades 6 one through six: English-language arts, social studies, 7 mathematics, science, health, physical education, traffic 8 safety, music, visual art, and, subject to section 279.80 , 9 age-appropriate and research-based human growth and 10 development. Computer science instruction incorporating 11 the standards established under section 256.7, subsection 12 26 , paragraph “a” , subparagraph (4), shall be offered in 13 at least one grade level commencing with the school year 14 beginning July 1, 2023. The health curriculum shall include 15 the characteristics of communicable diseases. The state board 16 as part of accreditation standards shall adopt curriculum 17 definitions for implementing the elementary program. 18 b. Commencing with the school year beginning July 1, 19 2026, the English-language arts curriculum taught in grades 20 one through three shall include evidence-based early reading 21 instruction that follows a scope and sequence and that is 22 direct, systematic, explicit, responsive, and that consists of 23 all of the following: 24 (1) Phonics, including decoding and encoding and 25 instruction in writing. 26 (2) Phonemic awareness and phonological awareness. 27 (3) Fluency, including oral language development. 28 (4) Vocabulary. 29 (5) Comprehension, including building background knowledge. 30 c. Commencing with the school year beginning July 1, 2026, 31 the English-language arts curriculum taught in grades one 32 through three shall not include instruction related to any 33 strategies or approaches that are designed to teach students to 34 read based on meaning drawn from context, structure and syntax, 35 -2- LSB 5449XC (6) 90 jda/jh 2/ 5

S.F. _____ visual cues and pictures, or memory, including the instruction 1 model commonly known as the three-cueing system. 2 d. For purposes of this subsection, “evidence-based” means 3 demonstrating a rationale based on high-quality research 4 findings or positive evaluation that such activity, strategy, 5 or intervention is likely to improve student outcomes or other 6 relevant outcomes and includes ongoing efforts to examine the 7 effects of such activity, strategy, or intervention. 8 Sec. 2. Section 256.16, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 9 2024, is amended to read as follows: 10 a. (1) Include preparation in reading theory, knowledge, 11 strategies, and approaches; and for integrating literacy 12 instruction into content areas. 13 (2) Such preparation shall address all students, including 14 but not limited to students all of the following: 15 (a) Students with disabilities ; students . 16 (b) Students who are at risk of academic failure ; students . 17 (c) Students who have been identified as gifted and talented 18 or English learners ; and students . 19 (d) Students with dyslexia, whether or not such students 20 have been identified as children requiring special education 21 under chapter 256B . 22 (3) Such preparation shall include evidence-based early 23 reading instruction and practical application that follow a 24 scope and sequence that are direct, systematic, explicit, 25 responsive, and that consist of all of the following: 26 (a) Phonics, including decoding and encoding and 27 instruction in writing. 28 (b) Phonemic awareness and phonological awareness. 29 (c) Fluency, including oral language development. 30 (d) Vocabulary. 31 (e) Comprehension, including building background knowledge. 32 (4) Such preparation shall not include instruction or 33 practical application that is designed to teach students to 34 read based on meaning drawn from context, structure and syntax, 35 -3- LSB 5449XC (6) 90 jda/jh 3/ 5

S.F. _____ visual cues and pictures, or memory, including the instruction 1 model commonly known as the three-cueing system. 2 (5) For purposes of this paragraph, “ evidence-based” means 3 demonstrating a rationale based on high-quality research 4 findings or positive evaluation that such activity, strategy, 5 or intervention is likely to improve student outcomes or other 6 relevant outcomes and includes ongoing efforts to examine the 7 effects of such activity, strategy, or intervention. 8 Sec. 3. Section 256E.7, subsection 2, paragraph g, Code 9 2024, is amended to read as follows: 10 g. Be subject to and comply with the requirements of section 11 256.7, subsection 21 , and the educational standards of section 12 256.11 , unless specifically waived by the state board during 13 the application process ; provided, however, that the state 14 board shall not waive the educational standards related to 15 language arts instruction in kindergarten through grade three 16 established in section 256.11, subsections 2 and 3 . 17 Sec. 4. APPLICABILITY. The following applies to students 18 admitted to an approved practitioner preparation program on or 19 after July 1, 2025: 20 The section of this Act amending section 256.16, subsection 21 1, paragraph “a”. 22 EXPLANATION 23 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 24 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 25 This bill relates to reading instruction, including 26 modifying provisions related to the language arts instruction 27 provided to students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 28 three and the preparation in reading theory provided by 29 practitioner preparation programs. 30 The bill modifies provisions related to the language arts 31 instruction provided to students enrolled in kindergarten 32 through grade three in school districts, accredited nonpublic 33 schools, and charter schools. The bill provides that, 34 commencing with the school year beginning July 1, 2026, 35 -4- LSB 5449XC (6) 90 jda/jh 4/ 5

S.F. _____ such instruction shall include evidence-based early reading 1 instruction that follows a scope and sequence and that is 2 direct, systematic, explicit, responsive, and that consists 3 of phonics, phonemic and phonological awareness, fluency, 4 vocabulary, and comprehension. Additionally, the bill 5 prohibits such instruction from incorporating any strategies or 6 approaches that are designed to teach students to read based 7 on meaning drawn from context, structure and syntax, visual 8 cues and pictures, or memory, including the instruction model 9 commonly known as the three-cueing system. 10 The bill modifies provisions related to preparation in 11 reading theory, knowledge, strategies, and approaches provided 12 in practitioner preparation programs. The bill requires 13 that such preparation include evidence-based early reading 14 instruction and practical application that follow a scope and 15 sequence that are direct, systematic, explicit, responsive, 16 and that also consist of phonics, phonemic and phonological 17 awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The bill 18 prohibits such preparation from including instruction or 19 practical application that is designed to teach students to 20 read based on meaning drawn from context, structure and syntax, 21 visual cues and pictures, or memory, including the instruction 22 model commonly known as the three-cueing system. The bill 23 provides that these provisions apply to students admitted to 24 an approved practitioner preparation program on or after July 25 1, 2025. 26 The bill defines “evidence-based” to mean demonstrating a 27 rationale based on high-quality research findings or positive 28 evaluation that such activity, strategy, or intervention is 29 likely to improve student outcomes or other relevant outcomes 30 and includes ongoing efforts to examine the effects of such 31 activity, strategy, or intervention. 32 -5- LSB 5449XC (6) 90 jda/jh 5/ 5