Signed by Governor Kevin Stitt

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with House amendments and pass a bill that establishes a multi-tiered support framework for literacy instruction and screening in Oklahoma.

Highlights:

• Establishes the intent of the Legislature that every student reads at or above grade level by the end of third grade (Sec. 2).

• Authorizes the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability to evaluate and rank up to three screening instruments approved by the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability (Sec. 4).

• Requires the selected screening instruments to meet the following criteria (Sec. 4):

• Can assess for phonological awareness, sound-symbol recognition, alphabet knowledge, rapid naming skills, decoding and encoding skills, oral reading accuracy and fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension;

• Can document the validity and reliability of each assessment;

• Can identify students who are at risk for reading and math deficiency and monitor student progress throughout the school year;

• Can be linked to performance on the Oklahoma School Testing Program;

• Can assess students with disabilities and English language learners;

• Is accompanied by a data management system that provides profiles of each student, class, grade level, and school building; and

• Is capable of reporting student-level data to the State Department of Education and the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability.

• Prohibits reading intervention services from occurring during math instruction (Sec. 4).

• Authorizes the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability, to set benchmarks for screening instrument results that assist in identifying intervention tiers within a reading intervention plan (Sec. 4).

• Requires the following for grades 1-4  beginning with the 2027-2028 school year (Sec. 4):

• If a student has demonstrated the need for reading intervention and is not meeting grade-level targets by the end of the grade:

• The district shall place the student in a stand-alone transitional grade classroom or promote the student to the next grade level while providing targeted Tier 2 or Tier 3 intervention instruction, or

• The grade student may be subject to voluntary retention in the prior grade with written consent of the student’s parent or legal guardian.

• Authorizes the State Department of Education to approve one or two online or workbook-based summer tutoring programs for use by students (Sec. 4).

• Authorizes the State Department of Education beginning in the 2027-2028 school year to make available to school districts the statewide third-grade English Language Arts assessment (Sec. 4).

• Requires that the parent or legal guardian be informed in writing of the progress of the student toward grade-level reading at least every thirty days and provided with strategies to assist at home (Sec. 4).

• Requires the English Language Arts assessment to be to the initial determinant for promotion to the fourth grade (Sec. 4). 

• Authorizes the school district board of education to exempt students from mandatory third grade retention for the following valid reasons (Sec. 4):

• Students with disabilities whose individualized education program indicates that participation in the statewide student assessment system is not appropriate;

• Students identified as English language learners who have less than two consecutive years of instruction in an English-learner program;

• Students with disabilities who participate in the statewide English Language Arts assessment and has received reading intervention for more than two years but still demonstrates a reading deficiency; and

• Students who were retained in the grade prior for a total of two years.

• Requires that students withdrawn from public school shall be screened upon returning to the public school system to determine appropriate grade level upon re-entry (Sec. 4).

• Establishes a “Read at Home” plan created by the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability to be outlined in a parental or legal guardian notification (Sec. 4).

• Restricts funding if a school district fails to report screening instrument data to the State Department of Education and the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (Sec. 4).

• Requires a base literacy allocation to support the prevention of reading deficiencies and the implementation of strong core literacy instruction (Sec. 5).

• Requires school districts to receive supplemental weighted funding for students identified as needing reading intervention services (Sec. 5).

• Specifies that intervention services shall be administered in the following Tiers (Sec. 5):

• Tier 1: core instruction provided to all K-3 students as part of their general education program;

• Tier 2: supplemental intervention; and

• Tier 3: intensive intervention.

• Requires supplemental funding to include money to support (Sec. 5):

• Additional instructional time devoted to reading intervention;

• Reduced instructional group sizes necessary to deliver intensive instruction;

• Specialized instructional materials and intervention programs aligned with the science of reading;

• Compensation for educators delivering intervention services; and

• Professional development necessary to ensure educators providing intervention services have extensive training in the science of reading.

• Requires the State Board of Education to establish rules for reasonable expectations for the proportion of students receiving supplemental and intensive intervention services (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes incentive funding to include the recognition of (Sec. 5):

• Students who demonstrate sufficient progress to exit Tier 3 intensive intervention;

• Students who demonstrate sufficient progress to exit Tier 2 supplemental intervention; and

• Schools or districts demonstrating measurable reduction in the number or percentage of students requiring supplemental or intensive intervention.

• Requires school districts to provide at least one of the following Tier 2 or Tier 3 reading intervention options to K-3 students scoring below basic achievement level on the English Language Arts assessment (Sec. 5):

• Before, during, or after school supplemental research-based reading intervention delivered by a teacher or tutor; or

• Summer academy programs designed to ensure that participating students successfully complete grade-level competencies in reading to enhance next grade readiness.

• Requires summer reading academies to include, at minimum, seventy hours of instructional time in reading (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability to audit each teacher education program to ensure teacher candidates are receiving quality training in the science of reading (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes the assignment of literacy coaches to school to provide the following kinds of support (Sec. 5).

• Technical support to teachers responsible for reading instruction;

• Assistance to administrators, educators, and reading specialists and interventionists in implementing evidence-based literacy practices;

• Professional development to meet the needs of teachers and administrators in the area of literacy;

• Feedback to teachers and administrators based on coaching cycles; and

• Regular meetings to review literacy data and make recommendations for adjustments in instructional practices.

• Prohibits a school district from receiving funds allocated for this Act if they decline to accept assistance from a literacy coach (Sec. 5).

• Requires school districts to have a minimum of one reading specialist, interventionist, or teacher with an early literacy micro-credential for each public elementary school (Sec. 5).

• Requires The Office of Educational Quality and Accountability to set program criteria for the micro-credential course and vet higher education programs seeking to issue the credential to Oklahoma Educators (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes a stipend of $3,000 to certified personnel who receive an early literacy micro-credential (Sec. 5).

• Specifies that this Act takes effect immediately upon passage (Sec. 10).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend and pass a bill that establishes a multi-tiered support framework for literacy instruction and screening in Oklahoma.

Highlights:

• Establishes the intent of the Legislature that every student reads at or above grade level by the end of third grade (Sec. 2).

• Authorizes the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability to evaluate and rank up to three screening instruments approved by the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability (Sec. 4).

• Requires the selected screening instruments to meet the following criteria (Sec. 4):

• Can assess for phonological awareness, sound-symbol recognition, alphabet knowledge, rapid naming skills, decoding and encoding skills, oral reading accuracy and fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension;

• Can document the validity and reliability of each assessment;

• Can identify students who are at risk for reading and math deficiency and monitor student progress throughout the school year;

• Can be linked to performance on the Oklahoma School Testing Program;

• Can assess students with disabilities and English language learners;

• Is accompanied by a data management system that provides profiles of each student, class, grade level, and school building; and

• Is capable of reporting student-level data to the State Department of Education and the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability.

• Prohibits reading intervention services from occurring during math instruction (Sec. 4).

• Authorizes the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability, to set benchmarks for screening instrument results that assist in identifying intervention tiers within a reading intervention plan (Sec. 4).

• Requires the following for grades 1-4  beginning with the 2027-2028 school year (Sec. 4):

• If a student has demonstrated the need for reading intervention and is not meeting grade-level targets by the end of the grade:

• The district shall place the student in a stand-alone transitional grade classroom or promote the student to the next grade level while providing targeted Tier 2 or Tier 3 intervention instruction, or

• The grade student may be subject to voluntary retention in the prior grade with written consent of the student’s parent or legal guardian.

• Authorizes the State Department of Education to approve one or two online or workbook-based summer tutoring programs for use by students (Sec. 4).

• Authorizes the State Department of Education beginning in the 2027-2028 school year to make available to school districts the statewide third-grade English Language Arts assessment (Sec. 4).

• Requires that the parent or legal guardian be informed in writing of the progress of the student toward grade-level reading at least every thirty days and provided with strategies to assist at home (Sec. 4).

• Requires the English Language Arts assessment to be to the initial determinant for promotion to the fourth grade (Sec. 4). 

• Authorizes the school district board of education to exempt students from mandatory third grade retention for the following valid reasons (Sec. 4):

• Students with disabilities whose individualized education program indicates that participation in the statewide student assessment system is not appropriate;

• Students identified as English language learners who have less than two consecutive years of instruction in an English-learner program;

• Students with disabilities who participate in the statewide English Language Arts assessment and has received reading intervention for more than two years but still demonstrates a reading deficiency; and

• Students who were retained in the grade prior for a total of two years.

• Requires that students withdrawn from public school shall be screened upon returning to the public school system to determine appropriate grade level upon re-entry (Sec. 4).

• Establishes a “Read at Home” plan created by the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability to be outlined in a parental or legal guardian notification (Sec. 4).

• Restricts funding if a school district fails to report screening instrument data to the State Department of Education and the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (Sec. 4).

• Requires a base literacy allocation to support the prevention of reading deficiencies and the implementation of strong core literacy instruction (Sec. 5).

• Requires school districts to receive supplemental weighted funding for students identified as needing reading intervention services (Sec. 5).

• Specifies that intervention services shall be administered in the following Tiers (Sec. 5):

• Tier 1: core instruction provided to all K-3 students as part of their general education program;

• Tier 2: supplemental intervention; and

• Tier 3: intensive intervention.

• Requires supplemental funding to include money to support (Sec. 5):

• Additional instructional time devoted to reading intervention;

• Reduced instructional group sizes necessary to deliver intensive instruction;

• Specialized instructional materials and intervention programs aligned with the science of reading;

• Compensation for educators delivering intervention services; and

• Professional development necessary to ensure educators providing intervention services have extensive training in the science of reading.

• Requires the State Board of Education to establish rules for reasonable expectations for the proportion of students receiving supplemental and intensive intervention services (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes incentive funding to include the recognition of (Sec. 5):

• Students who demonstrate sufficient progress to exit Tier 3 intensive intervention;

• Students who demonstrate sufficient progress to exit Tier 2 supplemental intervention; and

• Schools or districts demonstrating measurable reduction in the number or percentage of students requiring supplemental or intensive intervention.

• Requires school districts to provide at least one of the following Tier 2 or Tier 3 reading intervention options to K-3 students scoring below basic achievement level on the English Language Arts assessment (Sec. 5):

• Before, during, or after school supplemental research-based reading intervention delivered by a teacher or tutor; or

• Summer academy programs designed to ensure that participating students successfully complete grade-level competencies in reading to enhance next grade readiness.

• Requires summer reading academies to include, at minimum, seventy hours of instructional time in reading (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability to audit each teacher education program to ensure teacher candidates are receiving quality training in the science of reading (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes the assignment of literacy coaches to school to provide the following kinds of support (Sec. 5).

• Technical support to teachers responsible for reading instruction;

• Assistance to administrators, educators, and reading specialists and interventionists in implementing evidence-based literacy practices;

• Professional development to meet the needs of teachers and administrators in the area of literacy;

• Feedback to teachers and administrators based on coaching cycles; and

• Regular meetings to review literacy data and make recommendations for adjustments in instructional practices.

• Prohibits a school district from receiving funds allocated for this Act if they decline to accept assistance from a literacy coach (Sec. 5).

• Requires school districts to have a minimum of one reading specialist, interventionist, or teacher with an early literacy micro-credential for each public elementary school (Sec. 5).

• Requires The Office of Educational Quality and Accountability to set program criteria for the micro-credential course and vet higher education programs seeking to issue the credential to Oklahoma Educators (Sec. 5).

• Authorizes a stipend of $3,000 to certified personnel who receive an early literacy micro-credential (Sec. 5).

• Specifies that this Act takes effect immediately upon passage (Sec. 10).

Full Bill Text