AN ACT Relating to training in reading instruction; adding new sections to chapter 28A.165 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.150 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 28A.300.310, 28A.300.320, 28A.300.330, and 28A.300.340; providing expiration dates; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the ability to read fluently, accurately, and with comprehension is critical to success in school and in life. Research has found that reading instruction and curriculum in the early grades must consist of a comprehensive program that builds upon the firm foundational skills of phonemic awareness, decoding, and reading comprehension, to provide students with the skills necessary to engage in rich literature activities, and further develop thinking and application skills.

The legislature further finds that many primary grade teachers would benefit from additional professional development instruction in beginning reading skills and access to current information regarding scientifically proven instructional strategies that improve student achievement in reading. The legislature further finds that the use of volunteers to provide individualized tutoring and mentoring to students will improve students' ability to read.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The superintendent of public instruction shall establish grant programs to provide training for teachers in reading instruction in accordance with subsection (1) of this section and in the use of tutors and mentors for reading instruction in accordance with subsection (2) of this section as follows:

(1) Elementary schools interested in providing professional development and the purchase of curriculum or related materials for certificated instructional staff that provide direct instructional services to students in kindergarten, first, and second grade may apply for reading instruction grants and receive funding from the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(a) The reading instruction grant application shall be limited to:

(i) Verification that the school has developed a comprehensive school-wide reading improvement plan that includes, but is not limited to, a beginning reading-language arts program for use in kindergarten through second grade, the primary elements of which must:

(A) Provide numerous daily opportunities for teachers in kindergarten and first grade to read to students from a variety of printed materials including rich literature and expository text;

(B) Provide explicit and sequential instruction in phonemic awareness for all students in kindergarten and first grade and students with limited English proficiency;

(D) Provide explicit instruction in reading comprehension skills and opportunities for students to apply them;

(E) Require diagnosis of a student's ability to decode in first and second grade;

(F) Provide explicit and systematic instruction in spelling and provide students in kindergarten and first grade with an opportunity to use student-invented spelling in all writing activities; and

(G) Provide students with structured assistance in learning to write with ample opportunities to engage in writing activities;

(ii) Verification that the intended professional development supports the efforts of the school's beginning reading-language arts program required in (a)(i) of this subsection and includes primary emphasis on the following beginning reading skills:

(A) Phonemic awareness strategies;

(B) Explicit and systematic decoding instruction and how to assess a student's ability to decode;

(D) Explicit instruction in reading comprehension strategies; and

(E) Research findings on the skills needed by beginning and proficient readers, and how beginning reading skills are acquired;

(iii) Verification that grant funds expended in accordance with this section will not be used for staff development, intervention, or remediation programs; and

(iv) Verification that representatives of kindergarten, first, or second grade teachers and reading specialists from the school will be attending a leadership and accountability institute conducted by the office of the superintendent of public instruction in accordance with section 4 of this act.

(b) The training in reading instruction shall be provided by public or private nonsectarian contractors that provide training using the methods defined in this section. Priority for reading instruction grants shall be given to those schools in which less than one-quarter of all students tested on the fourth grade assessment in reading met the state-wide standard, or in schools where average performance on the reading component of the state-wide standardized test required in RCW 28A.230.190 were in the bottom quartile for the previous three years. Priority shall then be given to those schools in which less than one-third of all students tested on the fourth grade assessment in reading met the state-wide standard, or in schools where average performance on the reading component of the state-wide standardized test required in RCW 28A.230.190 were in the bottom third for the previous three years. Priority shall then be given to schools in which one-half of all students tested on the fourth grade assessment in reading met the state-wide standard, or in schools where average performance on the reading component of the state-wide standardized test required in RCW 28A.230.190 were in the bottom half for the previous three years.

(c) Reading instruction grants provided under this subsection (1) may be used to provide additional professional development materials for classroom volunteers providing assistance in kindergarten, first, and second grades, interested in attending the professional development opportunity identified in this subsection (1).

(d) An elementary school receiving funding in accordance with this subsection (1) shall certify and provide documentation to the superintendent of public instruction that funds received were expended for professional development and related materials in accordance with this subsection (1).

(e) Schools or school districts that received funds under RCW 28A.300.330 are not eligible to apply for reading instruction grants.

(f) The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

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

(ii) "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.

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

(iv) "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.

(v) "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.

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

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

(2) Elementary schools interested in providing teacher training in the use of tutors and mentors for reading instruction in grades kindergarten through fourth grade may apply for tutoring and mentoring grants for programs that are research based and of proven effectiveness. The programs must include the following elements:

(a) Teacher training in program planning, assessment, and diagnosis, and training of volunteers;

(b) A tutoring and mentoring program providing a minimum of two hours of individual instruction a week by a volunteer;

(d) A plan to assess student reading performance before entering the program and upon exit or at the end of the year as appropriate. The results must be compiled and reported to the superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent of public instruction shall provide a report to the legislature by December 1999 on the effectiveness of the various programs.

(3) By April 15th, the superintendent of public instruction shall notify all school districts that the grants under subsections (1) and (2) of this section are available. Funding provided for the grants must be available to schools no later than June 1, 1998. School districts may apply and become eligible for both grants.

(4) Teachers participating in the grant programs will receive a stipend from the grant.

(5) This section expires July 30, 2005.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) By July 31, 1998, each educational service district shall establish a reading resource center within the district.

(2) Schools accessing funds in accordance with section 2 of this act may request and the center may assist schools and school districts within its service area in matching local needs with reading programs, providing professional development opportunities, and facilitating discussions among teachers to promote best practices for beginning reading instruction, all in accordance with section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Before September 30, 1998, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, in cooperation with educational service districts, shall conduct leadership and accountability institutes designed to provide teachers, administrators, and school board members with information and tools to improve beginning reading instructional programs and practices in their schools. School district board of directors of each school district, school administrators, and teachers identified by the school district board of directors as having demonstrated leadership in reading instruction in the school district or from schools receiving funds in accordance with section 2 of this act shall be invited to attend the institutes. The institutes shall provide professional development and supporting materials to: Evaluate reading curriculum and reading instructional weaknesses in schools to determine whether the school has a comprehensive reading program; for elementary schools, ensure that the primary, but not sole, element is a beginning reading component that includes, but is not limited to, explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, explicit systematic instruction in decoding skills, diagnosis of a student's ability to decode, explicit and systematic instruction in spelling, vocabulary instruction, and explicit instruction in reading comprehension skills; conduct research on how children learn to read, including those with limited English proficiency, learning disabilities, or who are economically disadvantaged; diagnose reading deficiencies; and monitor the movement of students from beginning or deficient reading skills to independent reading of rich literature and expository text.

(2) School districts sending teams to the institutes must make a commitment to provide sufficient time to team members before and during the next school year to support implementation of strategies learned while at the institute.

(3) This section expires December 31, 1998.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 28A.150 RCW to read as follows:

Starting in the 1998-99 school year, school districts must administer a standardized, nationally norm-referenced test to measure second grade reading skills of second grade students. The state-wide second grade reading test, in addition to reporting in other formats, shall report student reading levels in terms of grade level and monthly increments. The purpose of the second grade reading test is to provide information to parents, teachers, and school administrators on the level of acquisition of reading skills of each student at the beginning of second grade.

Each school must have the test results available by the winter parent-teacher conference. Schools must notify parents about the second grade reading test during the conferences, inform the parents of their students' performance on the test, identify actions the school intends to take to improve the child's reading skills, and provide parents with strategies to help the parents improve their child's score.

Each school shall annually report to its community the number and the actual percentage of second grade students reading at or above second grade level and the distribution and range of all reading scores by grade and monthly increments on the state-wide second grade reading assessment required under this section.

Each district shall report to the superintendent of public instruction annually beginning March 1999 the number and the actual percentage of second grade students reading at or above second grade level on the state-wide second grade reading assessment required under this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This act may be known and cited as the successful readers act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 1 through 4 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.165 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 28A.300.310 and 1997 c 262 s 2;

(2) RCW 28A.300.320 and 1997 c 262 s 3;

(3) RCW 28A.300.330 and 1997 c 262 s 4; and

(4) RCW 28A.300.340 and 1997 c 262 s 7.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.