§ 2907. Kindergarten through grade-three reading assessment and intervention
(a) The Agency of Education shall review and publish guidance on universal reading screeners
based on established criteria that are based on technical adequacy, attention to linguistic
diversity, administrative usability, and valid measures of the developmental skills
in early literacy, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and
comprehension. The Agency shall include in its guidance instances in which schools
can leverage assessments that meet overlapping requirements and guidelines to maximize
the use of assessments that provide the necessary data to understand student needs
while minimizing the number of assessments used and the disruption of instructional
time.
(b) Each public and approved independent school that is eligible to receive public tuition
shall screen all students in kindergarten through grade three, at least annually,
using age and grade-level appropriate universal reading screeners. The universal screeners
shall be given in accordance with best practices and the technical specifications
of the specific screener used.
(c)(1) If such screenings determine that a student is significantly below relevant benchmarks
as determined by the screener’s guidelines for age-level or grade-level typical development
in specific literacy skills, the school shall determine which actions within the general
education program will meet the student’s needs, including differentiated or supplementary
evidence-based reading instruction and ongoing monitoring of progress. Within 30 calendar
days following a screening result that is significantly below the relevant benchmarks,
the school shall inform the student’s parent or guardian of the screening results
and the school’s response.
(2) Additional diagnostic assessment and evidence-based curriculum and instruction for
students demonstrating a substantial deficit in reading or dyslexia characteristics
shall be determined by data-informed decision making within existing processes in
accordance with required federal and State law.
(d) Evidence-based reading instructional practices, programs, or interventions provided
pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall be effective, explicit, systematic,
and consistent with federal and State guidance and shall address the foundational
concepts of literacy proficiency, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency,
vocabulary, and comprehension.
(e)(1) Each supervisory union and approved independent school that is eligible to receive
public tuition shall annually report to the Agency, in a format prescribed by the
Agency, the following information and prior year performance, by school:
(A) the number and percentage of students in kindergarten through grade three performing
below proficiency on local and statewide reading assessments, as applicable; and
(B) the universal reading screeners utilized.
(2) The Agency shall provide guidance to supervisory unions and approved independent schools
that are eligible to receive public tuition on whether, and if so, how, the data provided
pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection may be disaggregated based on poverty,
the provision of special education services, or any other category the Agency deems
relevant to understanding the status of the State’s progress to improve literacy learning.
(f) On or before January 15 of each year, the Agency shall issue a written report to the
Governor and the Senate and House Committees on Education on the status of State progress
to improve literacy learning. The report shall include the information required pursuant
to subdivision (e)(1) of this section. (Added 2023, No. 139 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 30, 2024.)