Bill > S1069

This bill amends Idaho's existing literacy intervention program to strengthen reading support for kindergarten through third-grade students. The bill requires school districts and charter schools to establish an extended literacy intervention program for students who score basic or below basic on reading screening assessments, providing a minimum of 60 hours of supplemental instruction for students scoring below basic and 30 hours for those scoring basic. The program must include evidence-based interventions focusing on phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency, and must involve parent input. The state board of education will select adaptive learning technology providers through a request for proposals process, with providers required to focus on age-appropriate literacy skills, use evidence-based intervention models, and include parental engagement components. The bill also mandates annual evaluations of intervention program effectiveness and requires the state department of education to provide professional development to teachers and administrators based on the science of reading, with embedded coaching and best practices. Additionally, the state board will annually evaluate the cost and efficacy of literacy interventions, and the bill includes a provision for reporting program participation and effectiveness to the state board, legislature, and governor. The bill is set to take effect on July 1, 2025, with an emergency clause highlighting the urgency of improving early literacy education.

Education, Justice

Education Committee (S)

https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2025/legislation/S1069/