Complete Bill History



Senate File 85       


                                          SENATE FILE       
                                          BY  McKINLEY


       Passed Senate, Date               Passed House,  Date             
       Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                    Approved                            

                                         A BILL FOR

     1 An Act requiring the board of directors of a school district to
     2    adopt a student promotion policy to support student reading at
     3    grade level, and providing an applicability date.
     4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
     5 TLSB 1934XS 82
     6 kh/je/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  279.65  STUDENT PROMOTION OR
  1  2 RETENTION.
  1  3    1.  A student enrolled in grade three who at the completion
  1  4 of grade three is more than one year below grade level in
  1  5 reading as determined by reading assessments administered
  1  6 pursuant to this section, shall not be promoted to grade four
  1  7 unless determined not to be in the best interest of the child
  1  8 as provided in the student promotion policy adopted by the
  1  9 school in accordance with this section.  The board of
  1 10 directors of each school district shall adopt a student
  1 11 promotion policy that facilitates collaboration among
  1 12 teachers, parents, and guardians of the students, and the
  1 13 school district to support student reading at grade level.
  1 14 The policy shall address the assessment of, and the
  1 15 establishment of performance levels for, a student identified
  1 16 as limited English proficient and a student identified as a
  1 17 child requiring special education.  The policy shall be
  1 18 developed and annually updated with input from school
  1 19 administrators, teachers, parents, and guardians.  Annually,
  1 20 by the first day of school, the school district shall notify
  1 21 the parents and guardians of students in kindergarten through
  1 22 grade three of the district's student promotion policy.
  1 23    2.  a.  To identify students at risk of reading failure,
  1 24 students enrolled in kindergarten through grade three of a
  1 25 school district shall be assessed at the beginning of each
  1 26 school year and throughout the school year as necessary by
  1 27 ongoing assessments of their reading skills or early literacy
  1 28 development including but not limited to phonological
  1 29 awareness, reading fluency, and alphabetic principle.  At
  1 30 least annually, within the first three months of the school
  1 31 year, the school district shall provide written notice to the
  1 32 parent or guardian of the student's Iowa grade equivalency.
  1 33    b.  The department of education shall establish by
  1 34 administrative rule a list of approved reading or early
  1 35 literacy development assessments, which shall be provided to
  2  1 each school district.  This list shall include the dynamic
  2  2 indicators of basic early literacy skills (DIBELS), a
  2  3 standardized, individually administered measure of early
  2  4 literacy development, and the Iowa test of basic skills.
  2  5    c.  The director of the department of education shall
  2  6 establish a committee to assist with the development of rules
  2  7 required pursuant to paragraph "b", to review and recommend
  2  8 reading and early literacy development assessments that
  2  9 measure a student's reading skills or early literacy
  2 10 development, including assessments for the following purposes:
  2 11    (1)  To assess a student's reading skills or early literacy
  2 12 development progress throughout the school year.
  2 13    (2)  To indicate grade level competencies that have been
  2 14 attained.
  2 15    (3)  To review and recommend reading skill or early
  2 16 literacy development assessments that have been developed or
  2 17 utilized by other states to the extent that the tests are
  2 18 appropriate for use under this section.
  2 19    The majority of members appointed shall be supportive of
  2 20 research=based reading instruction described in the center for
  2 21 the improvement of early reading achievement report issued in
  2 22 2003 titled "Put Reading First:  The Research Building Blocks
  2 23 for Teaching Children to Read", second edition.
  2 24    The assessments recommended shall be thoroughly researched
  2 25 and demonstrated to be reliable and valid indicators of
  2 26 reading progress.  In developing its recommendations, the
  2 27 committee shall review the requirements of the federal No
  2 28 Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107=110, and any
  2 29 federal regulations adopted pursuant to the federal Act, to
  2 30 align the committee's recommendations with the requirements of
  2 31 the federal Act when possible in order to minimize any
  2 32 additional burden the committee's recommendations may place on
  2 33 a school district.  The committee shall provide a progress
  2 34 report to the chairpersons of the house and senate standing
  2 35 committees on education, annually until July 1, 2011, and
  3  1 biennially thereafter.
  3  2    3.  The board of directors of each school district shall
  3  3 establish a committee composed of stakeholders to develop
  3  4 reading instruction programs that meet the requirements of
  3  5 this section.  The reading instruction programs shall include
  3  6 but may not be limited to:
  3  7    a.  Curriculum using systematic and explicit phonics
  3  8 instruction.
  3  9    b.  Sufficient additional in=school instructional time for
  3 10 the acquisition of phonological awareness, reading fluency,
  3 11 and alphabetic principle.
  3 12    c.  Tutorial instruction.
  3 13    d.  Periodic reassessments to measure the reading skills or
  3 14 early literacy development including but not limited to
  3 15 phonological awareness, reading fluency, and alphabetic
  3 16 principle, as identified in the student's individualized
  3 17 reading instruction program.
  3 18    e.  Additional in=school instructional time during the
  3 19 summer.
  3 20    4.  If the results of assessments administered indicate
  3 21 intervention is necessary, the school district shall provide
  3 22 written notice to the parent or guardian of the student's Iowa
  3 23 grade equivalency and the options available to the parent or
  3 24 guardian as provided in subsection 3.  A parent or guardian of
  3 25 a student shall be included in the development of an
  3 26 individualized program of reading instruction for the student.
  3 27    5.  If the results of assessments administered indicate the
  3 28 student is reading above grade level, the school district
  3 29 shall provide written notice to the parent or guardian of the
  3 30 options available to the parent for enrichment activities for
  3 31 the child.
  3 32    6.  For any grade three student found reading more than one
  3 33 year or more below grade level as determined by reading
  3 34 assessments administered pursuant to this section, a new
  3 35 intensive reading instruction plan, which shall include
  4  1 specialized tutoring by the school district, shall be
  4  2 developed and implemented.  The school district is encouraged
  4  3 to provide tutorial instruction in a manner that would
  4  4 minimize interference with a student's instructional time in
  4  5 the classroom.  Tutorial instruction may be offered before or
  4  6 after regular school hours.
  4  7    7.  A school district shall notify a parent or guardian in
  4  8 writing of the ability of the parent or guardian to appeal to
  4  9 the school board a school's decision to deny promotion of a
  4 10 student.  The school board shall decide in favor of a
  4 11 student's promotion only if the school board concludes, using
  4 12 standards adopted by the school board, that if promoted and
  4 13 provided with additional or continued interventions, the
  4 14 student is likely to perform at grade level.  However, a
  4 15 school board shall not deny a promotion to a student under the
  4 16 provisions of this section more than once.  A decision of the
  4 17 school board to deny promotion is subject to appeal under
  4 18 section 290.1.
  4 19    8.  The director of the department of education shall
  4 20 conduct a review of school district student promotion
  4 21 policies, including the number of students in need of
  4 22 remediation in reading in kindergarten through grade three,
  4 23 and the number of students who successfully completed their
  4 24 individualized reading instruction program.  The director
  4 25 shall evaluate the data reported pursuant to this subsection
  4 26 and shall submit a report of the findings and recommendations
  4 27 resulting from the review to the general assembly by December
  4 28 1, 2009, and biennially thereafter.
  4 29    9.  The state board of education shall submit its
  4 30 recommendations for modifications to this section relating to
  4 31 student promotion in a report to the general assembly by
  4 32 December 15, 2009.
  4 33    Sec. 2.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection
  4 34 3, shall not apply to this Act.
  4 35    Sec. 3.  PROMOTION DENIAL APPLICABILITY DATE.  Provisions
  5  1 relating to promotion of a student in section 279.65,
  5  2 subsections 1 and 7, if enacted, are applicable commencing
  5  3 with the school year beginning July 1, 2010.
  5  4                           EXPLANATION
  5  5    This bill requires, effective with the school year
  5  6 commencing July 1, 2010, that a school district retain a
  5  7 student in grade three if, at the completion of grade three,
  5  8 the student is more than one year below grade level in reading
  5  9 assessments specified by the bill.  However, the child shall
  5 10 not be retained if it is determined not to be in the child's
  5 11 best interest.  A student shall not be denied promotion under
  5 12 the provisions of the bill more than once.
  5 13    Students enrolled in kindergarten through grade three must
  5 14 be assessed from the beginning of and throughout the school
  5 15 year using ongoing assessments of reading skills or early
  5 16 literacy development including phonological awareness, reading
  5 17 fluency, and alphabetic principle.  The department of
  5 18 education is required to establish by rule, and provide each
  5 19 school district with, a list of approved reading or early
  5 20 literacy development assessments.
  5 21    The bill also requires the board of directors of each
  5 22 school district to adopt a student promotion policy, establish
  5 23 a committee to develop reading instruction programs, provide
  5 24 interventions to improve a student's reading skills, and
  5 25 notify the parents and guardians of students of the options
  5 26 under the school district's reading instruction program.  An
  5 27 intensive reading instruction plan must be developed and
  5 28 implemented by a school district for any grade three student
  5 29 who is one year or more below grade level and their tutorial
  5 30 instruction may be provided before or after regular school
  5 31 hours.
  5 32    The school board can decide in favor of a student's
  5 33 promotion only if the school board concludes that if promoted
  5 34 and provided with additional or continued interventions, the
  5 35 student is likely to perform at grade level.
  6  1    The bill requires the state board of education to submit
  6  2 recommendations for modifications to the student promotion
  6  3 Code provisions to the senate and house standing committees on
  6  4 education and the joint appropriations subcommittee on
  6  5 education by December 1, 2006.
  6  6    The bill requires the director of the department of
  6  7 education to compose a committee to review and recommend
  6  8 reading and early literacy development assessments.  The
  6  9 director must also conduct a review of school district student
  6 10 promotion policies and to submit findings and recommendations
  6 11 resulting from the review to the general assembly by December
  6 12 15, 2009, and biennially thereafter.
  6 13    The bill also requires the state board of education to
  6 14 submit recommendations for modifications relating to student
  6 15 promotion to the general assembly by December 15, 2009.
  6 16    The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
  6 17 section 25B.3.  The bill requires that the state cost of any
  6 18 state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school
  6 19 district from state school foundation aid received by the
  6 20 school district under Code section 257.16.  The specification
  6 21 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state
  6 22 mandate funding=related requirements of Code section 25B.2.
  6 23 The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate
  6 24 the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any
  6 25 state mandates included in the bill.
  6 26 LSB 1934XS 82
  6 27 kh:nh/je/5.1