Bill > SB1145

This bill, titled "Language arts: reading: diagnostic tools and plans," aims to improve reading proficiency in young students by requiring the State Board of Education to identify and list formative reading diagnostic tools that public schools can use to assess reading skills in students from kindergarten through third grade. These tools will help determine a student's developmental level of reading proficiency. The bill mandates that by the start of the 2018-19 school year, public schools where less than 50% of fourth graders are proficient in English language arts on the statewide assessment must use at least one of these identified diagnostic tools to measure reading proficiency in students in grades 1 through 4. If a student is found to not have an appropriate developmental reading level, a reading plan will be created in collaboration with the student's parent and teacher, outlining specific deficiencies, goals, interventions, and strategies for home support, and this plan will be reviewed at least annually. The bill also includes provisions for increased funding for certain schools based on student proficiency levels and clarifies that if the Commission on State Mandates finds state-mandated costs, reimbursement will follow established procedures.