88R6097 JES-F

By: Dutton H.B. No. 2162

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to reading instruction, assessment instruments, and interventions provided to public school students.

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

SECTION 1. Section 21.044, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:

(h) An educator preparation program may not include instruction in using the reading instruction method of three-cueing, as defined by Section 28.0062(a-1).

SECTION 2. Section 28.006, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (c-1), (c-3), (d), and (j) and adding Subsections (a-1), (b-2), (g-3), (g-4), (g-5), and (g-6) to read as follows:

(a) The commissioner shall adopt procedures [develop recommendations] for school districts and open-enrollment charter schools for:

(1) administering reading instruments to:

(A) ensure the validity and reliability of the results of the reading instruments;

(B) diagnose student reading development and comprehension; and

(C) identify students at risk for dyslexia or other reading difficulties;

(2) training educators in administering the reading instruments; and

(3) applying the results of the reading instruments to the instructional program and intervention practices.

(a-1) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may not administer a reading instrument to a student more than three times during a school year.

(b) The commissioner shall adopt a list of reading instruments that a school district or open-enrollment charter school shall [may] use to diagnose student reading development and comprehension for students in kindergarten through grade three. The reading instrument must include the foundational literacy components of phonemic and phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. For use in diagnosing the reading development and comprehension of kindergarten students, the commissioner shall adopt a multidimensional assessment tool that includes a reading instrument and tests at least three developmental skills, including foundational literacy components. A multidimensional assessment tool administered as provided by this subsection is considered to be a reading instrument for purposes of this section. [A district-level committee established under Subchapter F, Chapter 11, may adopt a list of reading instruments for use in the district in a grade level other than kindergarten in addition to the reading instruments on the commissioner's list.] Each reading instrument adopted by the commissioner [or a district-level committee] must:

(1) be based on scientific research concerning reading skills development and reading comprehension;

(2) [. A list of reading instruments adopted under this subsection must] provide for diagnosing the reading development and comprehension of students participating in a program under Subchapter B, Chapter 29;

(3) provide progress monitoring capabilities;

(4) provide a diagnostic tool to assist teachers in developing research-based targeted instruction;

(5) allow screening of students three times a year;

(6) assess only the foundational literacy components not already mastered by the student; and

(7) determine if a student needs reading instruction intervention.

(b-2) In adopting a reading instrument under this section, the commissioner shall prioritize selecting an instrument that:

(1) minimizes the impact of administration of the instrument on instructional time;

(2) provides timely reporting of results; and

(3) is able to be integrated into reading instruction.

(c-1) Each school district shall administer at the beginning of the seventh grade a reading instrument adopted by the commissioner to each student whose performance on the assessment instrument in reading administered under Section 39.023(a) to the student in grade six did not demonstrate reading proficiency, as determined by the commissioner. The district shall administer the reading instrument in accordance with the commissioner's recommendations for administering reading instruments that diagnose student reading development and comprehension [under Subsection (a)(1)].

(c-3) The commissioner by rule shall determine the performance on each applicable [the] reading instrument adopted under Subsection (b) that indicates kindergarten readiness.

(d) The superintendent of each school district or the person who serves the function of superintendent in each open-enrollment charter school shall:

(1) report [to the commissioner and the board of trustees of the district] the results of the reading instruments to:

(A) the board of trustees of a school district; or

(B) the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school, as defined by Section 12.1012(3);

(2) not later than the 30th [60th] calendar day after the date on which a reading instrument was administered report, in writing, to a student's parent or guardian the student's results on the instrument and any additional information required by the agency; and

(3) report to the agency any information required by the agency, including the results of the reading instrument and [using the school readiness certification system provided to the school district in accordance with Section 29.161(e), report electronically] each student's raw score on the reading instrument [to the agency for use in the school readiness certification system].

(g-3) A school district or open-enrollment charter school shall provide reading intervention to each student in kindergarten through grade three who is determined to need reading intervention using an assessment administered in accordance with Subsection (b). The school district shall continue to offer a student reading intervention until the student achieves satisfactory performance on a reading instrument. A reading intervention program offered under this subsection must:

(1) include targeted instruction to improve the student's reading skills in the relevant areas identified through the assessment instrument;

(2) monitor the progress of the student's reading skills throughout the school year;

(3) be implemented during regular school hours and in addition to core instruction;

(4) use high-quality instructional materials, curricula, and curricular tools that are research based and effective for early childhood literacy intervention; and

(5) be provided by a teacher who has attended a literacy achievement academy provided under Section 21.4552.

(g-4) In providing reading intervention under Subsection (g-3), a school district or open-enrollment charter school may not remove a student, except under circumstances for which a student enrolled in the same grade level who is not receiving reading intervention would be removed, from:

(1) instruction in the foundation curriculum and enrichment curriculum adopted under Section 28.002 for the grade level in which the student is enrolled; or

(2) recess or other physical activity that is available to other students enrolled in the same grade level.

(g-5) In addition to the report required under Subsection (d)(2), a school district or open-enrollment charter school shall notify the parent or guardian of each student in kindergarten through grade three who is determined to need reading intervention. The notification must:

(1) be distributed not later than the 30th day after the date the result of the reading instrument indicating that the student needs intervention is available;

(2) describe the current reading services the district or school provides to the student;

(3) describe the reading interventions that will be provided to the student to ensure the student will meet or exceed grade-level reading standards; and

(4) include high-quality resources for the parent or guardian of the student to use at home to help the student succeed at reading.

(g-6) From money appropriated for the purpose, the commissioner may provide literacy coaching and technical assistance to kindergarten through grade three classroom teachers, or to individuals serving in that role, to implement this section. The commissioner shall prioritize providing technical assistance under this subsection in school districts with the highest rate of students performing below satisfactory levels on reading instruments administered under Subsection (b).

(j) [No more than 15 percent of the funds certified by the commissioner under Subsection (i) may be spent on indirect costs.] The commissioner shall evaluate the programs that fail to meet the standard of performance under Section 39.301(c)(5) and may implement interventions or sanctions under Chapter 39A. [The commissioner may audit the expenditures of funds appropriated for purposes of this section. The use of the funds appropriated for purposes of this section shall be verified as part of the district audit under Section 44.008.]

SECTION 3. Section 28.0062, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) In this subsection, "three-cueing" means a method of reading instruction for identification of words by which a student is encouraged to draw on context and sentence structure to identify a word without sounding the word out or using a phonics-based approach. A school district or open-enrollment charter school may not include any three-cueing in the phonics curriculum required under Subsection (a)(1).

SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 28.0063 to read as follows:

Sec. 28.0063. PRIVATE READING INSTRUCTION FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS. (a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school shall contract with and make available a private, third-party tutoring service to address a student's reading deficiency. The district or school must make the service available to a parent or guardian of a student who is determined to need reading intervention using an assessment administered under Section 28.006 on each of the reading assessments administered for two consecutive school years. The cost to a district or school for contracting for tutoring service under this subsection may not exceed $1,000.

(b) A parent or guardian of a student described by Subsection (a) may select a tutoring service not provided by the school district or open-enrollment charter school to address the student's reading deficiency. The district or school shall contract directly with that service to pay the lesser of the cost of the service or $1,000 to provide tutoring services to the student. The district or school may not provide money under this subsection directly to a parent or guardian of a student.

(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school that provides a tutoring service to a student under this section shall continue to provide the student any other reading support required of the district or school.

(d) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to implement this section.

SECTION 5. Section 29.1543, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 29.1543. EARLY EDUCATION REPORTS. The agency shall produce and make available to the public on the agency's Internet website annual district and campus-level reports containing information from the previous school year on early education in school districts and open-enrollment charter schools. A report under this section must contain:

(1) the information required by Section 29.1532(c) to be reported through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS);

(2) a description of any [the] diagnostic reading instruments administered as provided by Section 28.006 [in accordance with Section 28.006(c) or (c-2)];

(3) the number of students who were administered a diagnostic reading instrument administered as provided by Section 28.006 [in accordance with Section 28.006(c) or (c-2)];

(4) the number of students whose scores from a diagnostic reading instrument administered as provided by Section 28.006 [in accordance with Section 28.006(c) or (c-2)] indicate reading proficiency;

(5) the number of kindergarten students who were enrolled in a prekindergarten program in the previous school year in the same district or school as the district or school in which the student attends kindergarten;

(6) the number and percentage of students who perform satisfactorily on the third grade reading or mathematics assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023, disaggregated by whether the student was eligible for free prekindergarten under Section 29.153;

(7) the number of students described by Subdivision (6) who attended kindergarten in the district, disaggregated by:

(A) whether the student met the kindergarten readiness standard on a [the] reading instrument adopted under Section 28.006;

(B) whether the student attended prekindergarten in the district; and

(C) the type of prekindergarten the student attended, if applicable; and

(8) the information described by Subdivisions (6) and (7) disaggregated by whether the student is educationally disadvantaged.

SECTION 6. Sections 28.006(c), (c-2), (i), and (k), Education Code, are repealed.

SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.

SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.