H.B. 312

1

STATE LITERACY PROGRAM
2 1999 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: Jeff Alexander
5 AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION; PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT
6 OF A READING ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM IN THE STATE'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH
7 A SPECIFIC EMPHASIS ON GRADES ONE THROUGH THREE; REQUIRING THE
8 ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS, EXPECTATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, AND A
9 COMMON METHOD TO TRACK STUDENT READING ACHIEVEMENT; REQUIRING
10 EACH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO DEVELOP A PLAN FOCUSED ON HAVING ALL
11 STUDENTS READ AT THE THIRD GRADE LEVEL BY THE END OF THE THIRD GRADE;
12 PROVIDING FOR ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTS; PROVIDING FOR ADDITIONAL
13 INSTRUCTIONAL READING TIME FOR STUDENTS NOT ACHIEVING EXPECTED
14 READING LEVELS; PROVIDING AN $8,000,000 APPROPRIATION; AND PROVIDING AN
15 EFFECTIVE DATE.
16 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
17 ENACTS:
18 53A-1-606.5, Utah Code Annotated 1953
19 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
20 Section 1. Section 53A-1-606.5 is enacted to read:
21 53A-1-606.5. Reading achievement in grades one through three -- Monitoring --
22 Reporting -- Additional instruction.
23 (1) (a) The Legislature recognizes that:
24 (i) reading is the most fundamental skill, the gateway to knowledge and lifelong learning;
25 (ii) there is an ever increasing demand for literacy in the highly technological society we
26 live in;
27 (iii) students who do not learn to read will be economically and socially disadvantaged;

28 (iv) reading problems exist in almost every classroom;
29 (v) almost all reading failure is preventable if reading difficulties are diagnosed and treated
30 by no later than the end of the third grade; and
31 (vi) early identification and treatment of reading difficulties can result in students learning
32 to read by the end of the third grade.
33 (b) It is therefore a goal of the state to have every student in the state's public education
34 system reading on or above grade level by the end of the third grade.
35 (2) In order to ensure that all students are reading on or above the third grade level by the
36 end of the third grade, the State Board of Education and local school boards shall work with the
37 Legislature, through its interim committees and any task force that may be created to study and
38 review accountability in public education, to:
39 (a) identify, develop, and establish reading standards, skills, and expectations for students
40 in the public schools, with specific emphasis on grades one, two, and three;
41 (b) develop and adopt reading assessments to determine whether the students have
42 acquired the reading skills identified under Subsection (2)(a);
43 (c) develop a common method to track student reading achievement and skill acquisition
44 in all grades in the public schools; and
45 (d) develop criteria for the selection and implementation of best practices for reading
46 instruction as required under Subsection 53A-1-606.5 (3)(b)(viii).
47 (3) (a) Each school district shall work with the elementary schools within its district
48 boundaries to develop a school plan at each school focused on having all students reading at the
49 third grade level by the end of the third grade.
50 (b) Each school's plan shall include provisions for:
51 (i) compliance with the reading standards and assessments developed and adopted under
52 Subsections (2)(a) and (b);
53 (ii) use of the assessment of kindergarten student's reading skills as required under Section
54 53A-3-402.9 to develop a personalized reading program for each student;
55 (iii) regular reports to parents of students in the first, second, and third grade regarding the
56 reading progress of their children;
57 (iv) public reporting of the reading achievement levels attained by students at the school
58 by the end of each grade referred to in Subsection (3)(b)(iii) beginning with the 2000 school year;

59 (v) quality training for teachers, if needed, to successfully implement the school's literacy
60 plan;
61 (vi) assurance that all students have access to textbooks or other materials needed to learn
62 how to read;
63 (vii) a program of additional instructional reading time for those students who do not
64 achieve expected reading levels at the end of the first, second, and third grades to include a variety
65 of reading activities to remedy each student's particular reading problem such as:
66 (A) smaller classes or reading groups within a class for a designated portion of the school
67 day;
68 (B) one on one tutorial assistance;
69 (C) instruction before or after the regular school day; and
70 (D) instruction during the summer when regular classes are not being held, or for
71 year-round schools, when students are off track; and
72 (viii) identification and adoption of best practices from other schools and organizations
73 in teaching students essential reading skills by the end of the third grade.
74 (c) The reports required under Subsection (3)(b)(iii) are to be in addition to the issuance
75 of regular or traditional report cards.
76 (d) The school may use its own personnel to provide the additional instruction required
77 under Subsection (3)(b)(vii) or contract with qualified private providers or use a combination of
78 both.
79 (e) The Legislature shall provide an annual appropriation to help fund the program
80 required under Subsection (3)(b)(vii).
81 (4) The school district shall approve each school's plan prior to its implementation.
82 Section 2. Appropriation.
83 (1) Except as provided in H.B. 4, Appropriations Coordination Act, there is appropriated
84 from the Uniform School Fund for fiscal year 1999-2000, $8,000,000 to the State Board of
85 Education for distribution to school districts based upon the ratio of 30% of each district's average
86 daily membership in the first, second, and third grades to 30% of the state total average daily
87 membership in the first, second, and third grades.
88 (2) Each district shall use its allocation to fund the program required under Subsection
89 53A-1-606.5 (3)(b)(vii).

90 Section 3. Effective date.
91 This act takes effect on July 1, 1999.




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-19-99 10:19 AM

A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel