HF 1487

as introduced - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 04/14/2011 11:21am

A bill for an act
relating to education; formulating a statewide literacy initiative to ensure students
succeed in achieving grade-level reading proficiency by the end of grade 3;
providing data to improve student outcomes; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010,
section 120B.36, subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 120B.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [120B.115] HELPING STUDENTS ACQUIRE GRADE-LEVEL
READING PROFICIENCY BY THE END OF GRADE 3.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Local literacy plan for students to achieve grade-level reading
proficiency. new text end

new text begin (a) To ensure every child succeeds in reading at or above grade level by the
end of grade 3, to identify and remediate students who struggle in reading in a timely
manner, and to intervene effectively when students experience reading difficulties so that
they acquire the skills they need to make academic progress throughout elementary and
secondary school, and consistent with this section and section 120B.12, school districts
and charter schools must develop a local literacy plan to monitor the reading proficiency
of students in kindergarten through grade 3, inform parents of their students' reading
proficiency and growth, and set intervention strategies to bring students to grade-level
proficiency.
new text end

new text begin (b) Consistent with its local literacy plan, school sites within the district and charter
schools annually must assess a student's reading proficiency and provide intensive reading
instruction to any student who struggles in reading in any grade kindergarten through grade
3. The assessments must identify the nature of a student's difficulty, the student's areas
of academic need, and strategies for providing the student with appropriate intervention,
support, and instruction. A student must continue to receive intensive, comprehensive,
scientifically based reading instruction in the five reading areas: phonemic awareness,
phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; as defined in section 122A.06, until the
student achieves grade-level reading proficiency.
new text end

new text begin (c) Beginning in the 2014-2015 school year and later, school sites within a district
or a charter school must not promote to grade 4 a student who is unable to demonstrate
grade-level proficiency as measured by the statewide reading assessment in grade 3 or
locally determined reading assessments but may establish a good cause exception to
ensure a student is not unnecessarily retained in grade 3, consistent with paragraph
(f). At the start of grade 3, a district or charter school, consistent with its literacy plan
under paragraph (a), must give written notice to the parent of a student who struggles in
reading of the following:
new text end

new text begin (1) the student has been identified as struggling in reading;
new text end

new text begin (2) reading-related services currently being provided to the student;
new text end

new text begin (3) proposed supplemental instructional services and supports to be provided to the
student to remediate the student's identified reading deficiencies;
new text end

new text begin (4) a student whose reading deficiencies are not remediated by the end of grade 3
must be retained in grade 3 unless a good cause exception applies;
new text end

new text begin (5) strategies for parents to use in helping their student succeed in becoming
grade-level proficient in reading; and
new text end

new text begin (6) that the annual statewide reading assessment score is not the sole factor in
determining whether a student is promoted and multiple assessments of a student's reading
proficiency, including additional evaluations, portfolio reviews, and local assessments are
available to help parents and the district or charter school decide whether a student is
reading at or above grade level and ready to be promoted to grade 4.
new text end

new text begin (d) No district or charter school may assign a student to grade 4 based solely on the
student's age or any other factor that relates to keeping the student with the student's social
peers despite the student's reading struggles and constitutes social promotion. A student
must be promoted to grade 4 only after demonstrating mastery of the reading skills needed
to achieve academic success in grade 4 unless a good cause exception applies.
new text end

new text begin (e) Districts and charter schools must include in their literacy plan under paragraph
(a) specific criteria and policies for promoting midyear to grade 4 a student retained in
grade 3 who subsequently demonstrates grade level reading proficiency.
new text end

new text begin (f) Under a good cause exception established by the district or charter school in its
literacy plan under paragraph (a), a student who does not demonstrate grade-level reading
proficiency on the statewide reading assessment by the end of grade 3 may be promoted to
grade 4 if the student is:
new text end

new text begin (1) a limited English proficient student who has not received instruction in an
English language learner program during two school years;
new text end

new text begin (2) an eligible child with disabilities whose individualized education program
indicates that participating in the statewide reading assessment program is not appropriate;
new text end

new text begin (3) a student who demonstrates grade-level reading proficiency on an alternative
locally approved standardized reading assessment or, using a student portfolio compiled
by the teacher for this purpose, demonstrates grade-level reading proficiency;
new text end

new text begin (4) an eligible child with disabilities who participates in statewide assessments
under an individualized education program or Section 504 plan that indicates that the
child has received intensive reading remediation for more than two school years, remains
substantially deficient in reading, and was previously retained in one or more grades in an
appropriate alternative placement, consistent with the student's individualized education
program; or
new text end

new text begin (5) a student who received intensive reading instruction for two or more school years,
continues to be substantially deficient in reading, and was previously retained for a total of
two school years in an appropriate alternative placement as part of the local literacy plan.
new text end

new text begin A student who is promoted to grade 4 under clause (5) must continue to be provided
specialized diagnostic information and specific research-based reading strategies during
the school day that are designed to improve the student's reading proficiency.
new text end

new text begin (g) To request that a student be promoted to grade 4 under paragraph (e), a teacher
must submit to the school principal or other person having administrative control of the
school either the student's progress monitoring plan, individualized education program,
report card, or student portfolio that demonstrates, based on the student's record, that it is
appropriate to promote the student. The principal or other chief school administrator must
review the evidence and, after consulting with the student's teacher, determine whether
or not to promote the student. A principal employed by a school district must notify the
school superintendent of a decision to promote a student under this paragraph.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Supporting success in reading proficiency for retained students. new text end

new text begin (a)
Using valid and reliable diagnostic assessments, a district or charter school must provide a
student who is not meeting grade-level reading standards under this section with intensive
scientifically based reading instruction and interventions, consistent with section 122A.06,
subdivision 4, until the student demonstrates grade-level reading proficiency. The student
must receive expanded instructional time and interventions that accommodate the student's
learning style and provide intensive skill development in phonemic awareness, phonics,
fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, consistent with section 120B.12.
new text end

new text begin (b) Beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, a district or charter school, in
consultation with a student's parent, must review the student progress monitoring plan
for each student in grade 3 who is unable to demonstrate grade-level proficiency on
the statewide reading assessment and who does not meet the criteria for a good cause
exception. The review must identify additional supports and services needed to remediate
students struggling in reading and enable the students to attain grade-level reading
proficiency.
new text end

new text begin (c) Districts and charter schools, consistent with their literacy plan under subdivision
1, paragraph (a), must provide a student who is not a grade-level reader or not promoted
to grade 4 with intensive interventions to enhance the student's ability to become a
successful, grade-level reader. These interventions may include but are not limited to:
new text end

new text begin (1) small group instruction;
new text end

new text begin (2) more frequent progress monitoring;
new text end

new text begin (3) tutoring or mentoring by an individual trained in scientifically based reading
instruction;
new text end

new text begin (4) extended school day, week, or year programs; and
new text end

new text begin (5) summer reading camps.
new text end

new text begin (d) A district or charter school, consistent with its literacy plan under subdivision 1,
paragraph (a), must notify a parent in writing when a student is not promoted because the
student has a substantial reading deficiency and is ineligible for a good cause exception
under subdivision 1, paragraph (f). The notice must indicate the interventions and supports
that the district or charter school will provide to the student to remediate the student's
reading deficiencies. The notice also must offer parents at least one of the following
instructional options for their student:
new text end

new text begin (1) supplemental tutoring in scientifically based reading instruction, including
tutoring before or after school;
new text end

new text begin (2) a read-at-home plan with parent-guided home reading; or
new text end

new text begin (3) a mentor or tutor with specialized reading training.
new text end

new text begin (e) The commissioner annually must analyze and publicly report data on the number
of students retained under this subdivision and section 120B.36, subdivision 1, paragraph
(f), on a school-by-school basis to indicate the extent of state and local progress in
enabling students to attain grade-level reading proficiency by the end of grade 3.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for the 2014-2015 school year and
later.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 120B.36, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

School performance report cards.

(a) The commissioner
shall report student academic performance under section 120B.35, subdivision 2; the
percentages of students showing low, medium, and high growth under section 120B.35,
subdivision 3, paragraph (b); school safety and student engagement and connection
under section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (d); rigorous coursework under
section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (c); two separate student-to-teacher ratios
that clearly indicate the definition of teacher consistent with sections 122A.06 and
122A.15 for purposes of determining these ratios; staff characteristics excluding salaries;
student enrollment demographics; district mobility; new text begin students' reading proficiency; new text end and
extracurricular activities. The report also must indicate a school's adequate yearly progress
status, and must not set any designations applicable to high- and low-performing schools
due solely to adequate yearly progress status.

(b) The commissioner shall develop, annually update, and post on the department
Web site school performance report cards.

(c) The commissioner must make available performance report cards by the
beginning of each school year.

(d) A school or district may appeal its adequate yearly progress status in writing to
the commissioner within 30 days of receiving the notice of its status. The commissioner's
decision to uphold or deny an appeal is final.

(e) School performance report card data are nonpublic data under section 13.02,
subdivision 9, until not later than ten days after the appeal procedure described in
paragraph (d) concludes. The department shall annually post school performance report
cards to its public Web site no later than September 1.

new text begin (f) Consistent with this subdivision, each district and charter school must report to
parents and the department on:
new text end

new text begin (1) the progress that students are making toward achieving local and state
expectations for attaining reading proficiency and growth;
new text end

new text begin (2) the effect of academic policies and procedures on promoting and retaining
students based on a student's reading proficiency;
new text end

new text begin (3) the number and percentage of students in each grade 3 through 10 who do or do
not demonstrate proficiency on statewide reading assessments;
new text end

new text begin (4) the number of students promoted to grade 4 under section 120B.115, subdivision
1, paragraph (f); and
new text end

new text begin (5) changes in local literacy policies to increase the number of students in each grade
3 through 10 who demonstrate reading proficiency and growth.
new text end

new text begin Upon request, the department may provide school sites within a district and charter
schools with technical assistance to improve students' grade-level reading proficiency,
consistent with the data under this subdivision and sections 120B.115 and 120B.12.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for the 2014-2015 school year and
later, and applies to reports prepared using data from the 2014-2015 school year and later.
new text end