ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 782
(By Senators Plymale, Edgell, Dempsey, Hunter, Oliverio, White,
Boley, Guills, Harrison and Sprouse)
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[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported February 24, 2006.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18-2E-3c of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the READS grant program;
changing focus from providing remediation in grades
kindergarten through four to providing intervention in grades
kindergarten through three; adding before school and after
school to the times in which reading intervention can occur
under the grant program; providing for scientifically based
instruction, student learning strategies, teaching strategies
and school management strategies; adding additional
requirements for program recipients; adding schools to the
priorities for awarding grants; adding requirement for the
grant program application; adding formative assessment as a
method for identifying students in danger of failing; changing
advisory board membership; eliminating the Department of
Education employee limit for the grant review and selection panel; changing deadlines for grant application and providing
grant awards; and allowing the state board to fund tutoring by
highly qualified teachers or specifically trained individuals.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-2E-3c of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2E. HIGH QUALITY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
§18-2E-3c. READS grant program created; legislative
findings and purpose of section.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and acknowledges that if
remediation intervention is necessary, it should be provided when
students are younger and before patterns of failure are
established. The Legislature further acknowledges that the people
of West Virginia would be better served if the state acted to
ensure that all public school students were able to read at or
above grade level upon exiting grade
four three, that county boards
are in the best position to determine if
remediation intervention
is necessary for students in kindergarten through grade
four three
and that the counties should have the option of providing
summer
school extended learning opportunities for students and may
consider student attendance as a factor in determining whether a
child is eligible to be promoted to the next grade.
The Legislature further finds that not all students are
financially able to pay for
summer school extended reading learning opportunities, nor do all county schools hold
summer school
extended reading learning opportunities. It is, therefore, the
purpose of this section to help the county boards to provide,
either individually or cooperatively, free
summer school and summer
school extended learning reading intervention that may be before
school, after school or summer school programs and transportation
for those students in kindergarten through grade
four three who did
not perform at grade level during the regular school year who are
not performing at grade level in the current assigned grade. It
also is the purpose of this section to help students in
kindergarten through grade
four three who are identified as being
in danger of failing to read at grade level by the end of the
school year to receive intensive
scientifically based reading
instruction during their regularly scheduled reading time
throughout the regular school year.
(b) Subject to appropriation by the Legislature therefor, the
state board shall establish a competitive grant program as set
forth in this section to provide
scientifically based reading
programs for students in kindergarten through grade
four three who
are not performing at grade level. The program shall be designated
and known as the "Reading Excellence Accelerates Deserving
Students" program and, along with
such that designation, may be
referred to as "West Virginia READS".
Priorities for awarding the grants
shall include include, but are not limited to:
(1) Schools that have test scores below the
third grade state
reading standards standard;
and
(2) Schools that receive federal funds for the improvement of
reading;
and
(3) Schools that exhibit high levels of child poverty.
A competitive grant
applications must application may be
submitted
only by
the county boards a county board, or by a
community collaborative with the county board as a partner with
leadership responsibility, and shall describe how the program will:
(1) Employ strategies and proven methods for student learning,
teaching and school management that are based on
reliable
scientific research and effective practices and can be replicated
in other schools to improve the reading skills of students;
(2) Contain measurable goals for the improvement of student
reading skills and benchmarks for meeting those goals;
(3) Include a plan for the evaluation of student progress
toward
achieving the state's high standards mastery of the state's
content standards and objectives;
(4) Identify how other federal, state, local and private
resources, including
volunteers human resources, will be
utilized
used to further the intent of this section;
(5) Link
summer reading improvement programs extended reading
instruction with reading instruction and
remediation throughout the school year intervention provided during the regular school day;
(6) Determine feasibility of collaborating with colleges of
education for the purpose of providing educational experiences for
prospective teachers; and
(7) Accomplish other objectives as
deemed considered necessary
by the state board.
(c) Any county receiving a grant should encourage students in
kindergarten through grade
four three who did not
perform or are
not performing at grade level during the regular school year to
attend
summer school extended reading intervention opportunities
and may consider
summer school attendance as a factor in
determining whether a child is eligible to be promoted to the next
grade. The county board shall provide intensive reading
instruction during regularly scheduled reading time throughout the
regular school
year day to students in kindergarten through grade
four three who are identified by
the formative assessment and the
classroom teacher as being in danger of failing to read at grade
level by the end of the school year.
Additionally, any county
receiving a grant shall establish programs that provide early
intervention based on scientifically based reading research,
incorporate essential components of reading instruction and provide
screening, diagnostic and classroom-based instructional reading
assessments all as defined by 20 U. S. C. §6368. The programs
shall be offered by highly qualified teachers who shall deliver initial reading instruction and volunteers or tutors who shall
provide additional student practice opportunities. The primary
criteria for student participation shall be the use of a
scientifically based reading formative assessment to determine
students most in need of intervention. Nothing in this section
shall prohibit county boards from permitting students to
participate in reading programs on a student fee basis.
(d) The state board shall approve procedures for the
implementation of this section. To assist the state board in
developing procedures for the implementation of this section,
including the grant application and the grant review and selection
process, the state board shall appoint an advisory board consisting
of the
Title I federal programs director,
and the title I reading
coordinator/specialist, both from the state department of
education, the Reading First director, the special education
director or his or her designee, a representative from the
Department of Education and the Arts,
representing the library
commission and the community schools initiative, a college or
university professor of reading, two or more representatives from
local school systems, the West Virginia coordinator of the read
aloud program, the energy express project director, and a
representative of mission West Virginia, a local school system
representative, a representative of higher education, or
representatives of like
successor organizations
should these named organizations cease to exist considered by the state board to have
knowledge of scientifically based reading programs intervention
models necessary to improve student reading. The procedures shall
provide for:
(1) The appointment of a grant review and selection panel by
the state board consisting of persons with expertise and practical
experience in delivering
scientifically based reading intervention
programs to increase the reading skills of young students.
not
more than one half of whom may be employees of the state department
of education, or the The state board may designate the advisory
board as the grant review and selection panel;
(2) Notice to all schools
that includes any combination of
grades kindergarten through three of the grant competition and the
availability of applications on or before the thirtieth day of
September, in each fiscal year for which grant funds are available;
(3) A grant application deadline postmarked on or before the
fifteenth first day of December, in each fiscal year for which
grant funds are available;
(4) Notice of grant awards on or before the first day of
March
February, in each fiscal year for which grant funds are available;
and
(5)
Any other
such requirements
as deemed considered necessary
by the state board.
(e) The state board may fund, from any other funds available for
such those purposes, the programs required by this section for
students in kindergarten through grade
four three and any programs
required by state board rules such as, but not limited to, the
following:
(1) Tutoring
by highly qualified teachers or specifically
trained individuals;
(2)
Summer school educational services Extended reading
intervention opportunities;
(3) Additional certified personnel to provide
scientific intensive
reading instruction
in reading throughout the
school year;
(4) Staff development for teachers; and
(5) Hot meal programs.
(f) Nothing in this section shall supersede the individualized
education program (IEP) of any student.
(g) Nothing in this section may be construed to require any
specific level of funding by the Legislature.