1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; formulating a statewide literacy initiative to ensure students 
1.3 	succeed in achieving grade-level reading proficiency by the end of grade 3; 
1.4 	providing data to improve student outcomes;amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, 
1.5 	section 120B.36, subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
1.6 	Statutes, chapter 120B.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. [120B.115] HELPING STUDENTS ACQUIRE GRADE-LEVEL 
1.9 	READING PROFICIENCY BY THE END OF GRADE 3.
1.10 		Subdivision 1.Local literacy plan for students to achieve grade-level reading 
1.11 	proficiency. (a) To ensure every child succeeds in reading at or above grade level by the 
1.12 	end of grade 3, to identify and remediate students who struggle in reading in a timely 
1.13 	manner, and to intervene effectively when students experience reading difficulties so that 
1.14 	they acquire the skills they need to make academic progress throughout elementary and 
1.15 	secondary school, and consistent with this section and section 120B.12, school districts 
1.16 	and charter schools must develop a local literacy plan to monitor the reading proficiency 
1.17 	of students in kindergarten through grade 3, inform parents of their students' reading 
1.18 	proficiency and growth, and set intervention strategies to bring students to grade-level 
1.19 	proficiency.
1.20 	(b) Consistent with its local literacy plan, school sites within the district and charter 
1.21 	schools annually must assess a student's reading proficiency and provide intensive reading 
1.22 	instruction to any student who struggles in reading in any grade kindergarten through grade 
1.23 	3. The assessments must identify the nature of a student's difficulty, the student's areas 
1.24 	of academic need, and strategies for providing the student with appropriate intervention, 
1.25 	support, and instruction. A student must continue to receive intensive, comprehensive, 
2.1 	scientifically based reading instruction in the five reading areas: phonemic awareness, 
2.2 	phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; as defined in section 122A.06, until the 
2.3 	student achieves grade-level reading proficiency.
2.4 	(c) Beginning in the 2014-2015 school year and later, school sites within a district 
2.5 	or a charter school must not promote to grade 4 a student who is unable to demonstrate 
2.6 	grade-level proficiency as measured by the statewide reading assessment in grade 3 or 
2.7 	locally determined reading assessments but may establish a good cause exception to 
2.8 	ensure a student is not unnecessarily retained in grade 3, consistent with paragraph 
2.9 	(f). At the start of grade 3, a district or charter school, consistent with its literacy plan 
2.10 	under paragraph (a), must give written notice to the parent of a student who struggles in 
2.11 	reading of the following:
2.12 	(1) the student has been identified as struggling in reading;
2.13 	(2) reading-related services currently being provided to the student;
2.14 	(3) proposed supplemental instructional services and supports to be provided to the 
2.15 	student to remediate the student's identified reading deficiencies;
2.16 	(4) a student whose reading deficiencies are not remediated by the end of grade 3 
2.17 	must be retained in grade 3 unless a good cause exception applies;
2.18 	(5) strategies for parents to use in helping their student succeed in becoming 
2.19 	grade-level proficient in reading; and
2.20 	(6) that the annual statewide reading assessment score is not the sole factor in 
2.21 	determining whether a student is promoted and multiple assessments of a student's reading 
2.22 	proficiency, including additional evaluations, portfolio reviews, and local assessments are 
2.23 	available to help parents and the district or charter school decide whether a student is 
2.24 	reading at or above grade level and ready to be promoted to grade 4.
2.25 	(d) No district or charter school may assign a student to grade 4 based solely on the 
2.26 	student's age or any other factor that relates to keeping the student with the student's social 
2.27 	peers despite the student's reading struggles and constitutes social promotion. A student 
2.28 	must be promoted to grade 4 only after demonstrating mastery of the reading skills needed 
2.29 	to achieve academic success in grade 4 unless a good cause exception applies.
2.30 	(e) Districts and charter schools must include in their literacy plan under paragraph 
2.31 	(a) specific criteria and policies for promoting midyear to grade 4 a student retained in 
2.32 	grade 3 who subsequently demonstrates grade level reading proficiency.
2.33 	(f) Under a good cause exception established by the district or charter school in its 
2.34 	literacy plan under paragraph (a), a student who does not demonstrate grade-level reading 
2.35 	proficiency on the statewide reading assessment by the end of grade 3 may be promoted to 
2.36 	grade 4 if the student is:
3.1 	(1) a limited English proficient student who has not received instruction in an 
3.2 	English language learner program during two school years;
3.3 	(2) an eligible child with disabilities whose individualized education program 
3.4 	indicates that participating in the statewide reading assessment program is not appropriate;
3.5 	(3) a student who demonstrates grade-level reading proficiency on an alternative 
3.6 	locally approved standardized reading assessment or, using a student portfolio compiled 
3.7 	by the teacher for this purpose, demonstrates grade-level reading proficiency;
3.8 	(4) an eligible child with disabilities who participates in statewide assessments 
3.9 	under an individualized education program or Section 504 plan that indicates that the 
3.10 	child has received intensive reading remediation for more than two school years, remains 
3.11 	substantially deficient in reading, and was previously retained in one or more grades in an 
3.12 	appropriate alternative placement, consistent with the student's individualized education 
3.13 	program; or
3.14 	(5) a student who received intensive reading instruction for two or more school years, 
3.15 	continues to be substantially deficient in reading, and was previously retained for a total of 
3.16 	two school years in an appropriate alternative placement as part of the local literacy plan.
3.17 	A student who is promoted to grade 4 under clause (5) must continue to be provided 
3.18 	specialized diagnostic information and specific research-based reading strategies during 
3.19 	the school day that are designed to improve the student's reading proficiency.
3.20 	(g) To request that a student be promoted to grade 4 under paragraph (e), a teacher 
3.21 	must submit to the school principal or other person having administrative control of the 
3.22 	school either the student's progress monitoring plan, individualized education program, 
3.23 	report card, or student portfolio that demonstrates, based on the student's record, that it is 
3.24 	appropriate to promote the student. The principal or other chief school administrator must 
3.25 	review the evidence and, after consulting with the student's teacher, determine whether 
3.26 	or not to promote the student. A principal employed by a school district must notify the 
3.27 	school superintendent of a decision to promote a student under this paragraph.
3.28 		Subd. 2.Supporting success in reading proficiency for retained students. (a) 
3.29 	Using valid and reliable diagnostic assessments, a district or charter school must provide a 
3.30 	student who is not meeting grade-level reading standards under this section with intensive 
3.31 	scientifically based reading instruction and interventions, consistent with section 122A.06, 
3.32 	subdivision 4, until the student demonstrates grade-level reading proficiency. The student 
3.33 	must receive expanded instructional time and interventions that accommodate the student's 
3.34 	learning style and provide intensive skill development in phonemic awareness, phonics, 
3.35 	fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, consistent with section 120B.12.
4.1 	(b) Beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, a district or charter school, in 
4.2 	consultation with a student's parent, must review the student progress monitoring plan 
4.3 	for each student in grade 3 who is unable to demonstrate grade-level proficiency on 
4.4 	the statewide reading assessment and who does not meet the criteria for a good cause 
4.5 	exception. The review must identify additional supports and services needed to remediate 
4.6 	students struggling in reading and enable the students to attain grade-level reading 
4.7 	proficiency.
4.8 	(c) Districts and charter schools, consistent with their literacy plan under subdivision 
4.9 	1, paragraph (a), must provide a student who is not a grade-level reader or not promoted 
4.10 	to grade 4 with intensive interventions to enhance the student's ability to become a 
4.11 	successful, grade-level reader. These interventions may include but are not limited to:
4.12 	(1) small group instruction;
4.13 	(2) more frequent progress monitoring;
4.14 	(3) tutoring or mentoring by an individual trained in scientifically based reading 
4.15 	instruction;
4.16 	(4) extended school day, week, or year programs; and
4.17 	(5) summer reading camps.
4.18 	(d) A district or charter school, consistent with its literacy plan under subdivision 1, 
4.19 	paragraph (a), must notify a parent in writing when a student is not promoted because the 
4.20 	student has a substantial reading deficiency and is ineligible for a good cause exception 
4.21 	under subdivision 1, paragraph (f). The notice must indicate the interventions and supports 
4.22 	that the district or charter school will provide to the student to remediate the student's 
4.23 	reading deficiencies. The notice also must offer parents at least one of the following 
4.24 	instructional options for their student:
4.25 	(1) supplemental tutoring in scientifically based reading instruction, including 
4.26 	tutoring before or after school;
4.27 	(2) a read-at-home plan with parent-guided home reading; or
4.28 	(3) a mentor or tutor with specialized reading training.
4.29 	(e) The commissioner annually must analyze and publicly report data on the number 
4.30 	of students retained under this subdivision and section 120B.36, subdivision 1, paragraph 
4.31 	(f), on a school-by-school basis to indicate the extent of state and local progress in 
4.32 	enabling students to attain grade-level reading proficiency by the end of grade 3.

4.33 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2014-2015 school year and 
4.34 	later.

4.35 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 120B.36, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
5.1 		Subdivision 1.School performance report cards. (a) The commissioner 
5.2 	shall report student academic performance under section 120B.35, subdivision 2; the 
5.3 	percentages of students showing low, medium, and high growth under section 120B.35, 
5.4 	subdivision 3, paragraph (b); school safety and student engagement and connection 
5.5 	under section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (d); rigorous coursework under 
5.6 	section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (c); two separate student-to-teacher ratios 
5.7 	that clearly indicate the definition of teacher consistent with sections 122A.06 and 
5.8 	122A.15 for purposes of determining these ratios; staff characteristics excluding salaries; 
5.9 	student enrollment demographics; district mobility; students' reading proficiency; and 
5.10 	extracurricular activities. The report also must indicate a school's adequate yearly progress 
5.11 	status, and must not set any designations applicable to high- and low-performing schools 
5.12 	due solely to adequate yearly progress status.
5.13 	(b) The commissioner shall develop, annually update, and post on the department 
5.14 	Web site school performance report cards.
5.15 	(c) The commissioner must make available performance report cards by the 
5.16 	beginning of each school year.
5.17 	(d) A school or district may appeal its adequate yearly progress status in writing to 
5.18 	the commissioner within 30 days of receiving the notice of its status. The commissioner's 
5.19 	decision to uphold or deny an appeal is final.
5.20 	(e) School performance report card data are nonpublic data under section 13.02, 
5.21 	subdivision 9, until not later than ten days after the appeal procedure described in 
5.22 	paragraph (d) concludes. The department shall annually post school performance report 
5.23 	cards to its public Web site no later than September 1.
5.24 	(f) Consistent with this subdivision, each district and charter school must report to 
5.25 	parents and the department on:
5.26 	(1) the progress that students are making toward achieving local and state 
5.27 	expectations for attaining reading proficiency and growth;
5.28 	(2) the effect of academic policies and procedures on promoting and retaining 
5.29 	students based on a student's reading proficiency;
5.30 	(3) the number and percentage of students in each grade 3 through 10 who do or do 
5.31 	not demonstrate proficiency on statewide reading assessments;
5.32 	(4) the number of students promoted to grade 4 under section 120B.115, subdivision 
5.33 	1, paragraph (f); and
5.34 	(5) changes in local literacy policies to increase the number of students in each grade 
5.35 	3 through 10 who demonstrate reading proficiency and growth.
6.1 	Upon request, the department may provide school sites within a district and charter 
6.2 	schools with technical assistance to improve students' grade-level reading proficiency, 
6.3 	consistent with the data under this subdivision and sections 120B.115 and 120B.12.

6.4 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2014-2015 school year and 
6.5 	later, and applies to reports prepared using data from the 2014-2015 school year and later.