BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to reading improvement; and adding new sections to chapter 28A.410 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. To receive initial certification as a teacher with primary responsibility for providing instruction in elementary grades in this state after August 31, 2000, an applicant shall have successfully completed coursework in comprehensive beginning reading instruction and have passed the reading instruction competence assessment administered by the state board of education in accordance with section 2 of this act.

The coursework in comprehensive beginning reading instruction shall consist of the study of organized, systematic, explicit skills including phonemic awareness and decoding; a strong literature, language, and comprehension component with a balance of oral and written language; diagnostic techniques that assess student's reading accuracy and fluency levels; early intervention techniques; and guided practice in a school setting. The coursework shall also include study of research on the acquisition of beginning reading skills and the skills needed by proficient readers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) By June 30, 1999, the state board of education shall provide for the administration of a reading instruction competency assessment to all persons seeking initial certification with primary responsibility for instruction in elementary grades in the state. The assessment shall measure the applicant's ability to teach beginning reading skills effectively as demonstrated through instructional methodologies based on reliable and replicable teaching strategies for beginning reading. The assessment shall measure an applicant's ability to:

(a) Provide explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness for all students in kindergarten and first grade and in how to apply phonemic awareness principles to beginning reading strategies;

(b) Provide explicit systematic decoding instruction and practice in using those skills in decodable text materials;

(c) Provide explicit and systematic instruction in spelling and spelling patterns, and the use of student created spelling to support beginning reading development; and

(d) Provide explicit instruction in reading comprehension skills.

(2) The state board shall establish and each applicant must achieve a minimum assessment score as a condition to being issued a teaching certificate.

(3) The state board of education and the superintendent of public instruction, as determined by the state board, may contract with one or more third parties for:

(a) The development, purchase, administration, scoring, and reporting of scores of the assessments established by the state board under this section;

(b) Related clerical and administrative activities; or

(4) The state board shall ensure that, at a minimum, teachers, administrators, and representatives of institutions of higher education participate in the development and implementation of the assessments. The state board shall submit the proposed assessments to the education committees of the house of representatives and senate for review before implementing the assessments.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The definitions in this section apply throughout sections 1 through 3 of this act, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Phonemic awareness instruction" means teaching awareness of letter sounds, and segmenting and blending phonemes, syllables, and words in a sequential progression.

(2) "Explicit systematic decoding instruction" means direct, sequential teaching of how to read words fluently and automatically that includes instruction in letter-sound correspondences, letter combinations, multisyllabic words, blending, and structural elements, and initially incorporates the use of decodable text. "Explicit systematic decoding instruction" does not include the use of context and syntax as word identification strategies in teaching beginning reading skills.

(3) "Decodable text" means connected text containing a high percentage of words that provide practice on the letter-sound correspondences and letter combinations previously taught.

(4) "Diagnosis of a student's ability to decode" means regularly assessing the student's mastery of word recognition, fluency and automaticity, and word analysis in order to plan future instructional activities.

(5) "Explicit and systematic instruction in spelling" means teaching a logical scope and sequence of word knowledge, orthographic patterns, syllabication, and frequently used words connected to the sequence used in reading and writing instruction.

(6) "Vocabulary instruction" means teaching word meanings.

(7) "Instruction in reading comprehension skills" means explicit, systematic teaching of vocabulary development, text structure, and syntactic patterns, including but not limited to, strategies for higher order thinking skills such as interpretation, summarization, prediction, clarification, and question generation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Sections 1 through 3 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.410 RCW.