US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

§24.9.  Quality early reading initiative; legislative findings; development; criteria; implementation; evaluation

A.  The legislature recognizes that reading is the most important academic skill and the foundation for all academic learning.  The legislature further recognizes that if our children cannot read then they are on the road to failure.  It is for these reasons that the legislature finds that teaching children to read must be the highest priority of the state.  It is therefore the purpose of this initiative to provide for and enhance quality reading programs for the young students in our state.

B.  By the beginning of the 1997-1998 school year, the Department of Education shall develop a comprehensive and balanced early childhood reading initiative for students in kindergarten through third grade.  The department shall provide criteria that are research-based and which provide, at a minimum, for the following:

(1)  A program that is applicable for all students in kindergarten through third grade including special education students.

(2)  A method for selecting schools having at-risk and low-performing students in kindergarten through third grade.

(3)  A plan for the coordination of this initiative with existing programs and funding sources within the schools and school systems.

(4)  A valid evaluation process.

(5)  A program that provides phonics as a component.

C.  Each local school system shall begin implementation of this initiative in the 1997-1998 school year.

D.  This initiative shall be evaluated through the state-level assessment system that identifies those schools and school systems which are meeting state standards of school accountability.

E.  This program shall be implemented when funds are allocated for this purpose.  Such funding shall be allocated to every city and parish school system.

Acts 1997, No. 1441, §1, eff. July 15, 1997.