BILL REQ. #:  H-4013.2 

Read first time 01/16/08.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to creating secondary reading intervention programs; adding a new section to chapter 28A.630 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that, despite improvements in student achievement as measured by the Washington assessment of student learning, there remain significant numbers of secondary students unable to meet state standards in reading. For the class of 2008, more than nine thousand students still have not met the reading standard. In the class of 2009, nearly seventeen thousand did not meet the standard. Reading remains one of the most fundamental academic skills for students to be successful in further schooling, in the workplace, and as a citizen. But at the secondary level, English teachers are more likely to be trained in such topics as literary analysis, essay and term paper writing, and world literature. There is a need for targeted interventions at the secondary level that provide struggling students with core skills in reading comprehension.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.630 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to funds appropriated for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall allocate funds for schools meeting the criteria of subsection (2) of this section to implement secondary reading intervention programs as described under subsection (3) of this section.
     (2) Schools are eligible to receive allocations under this section if more than ten students in the school scored well below standard (level one) in reading on the previous administration of the tenth grade Washington assessment of student learning.
     (3) Schools receiving allocations under this section shall implement secondary reading intervention programs that:
     (a) Include staff development and training, materials and curricula, and intensive assistance for students;
     (b) Focus on providing students with core reading skills, including comprehension and fluency;
     (c) Demonstrate evidence of prior success in dramatically improving the reading levels of secondary school or adult students.
     (4) The amount of the allocations under this section shall be as established in the omnibus appropriations act.