2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 22 - Education
General and Administrative
Article 7 - Educational Accountability
Part 12 - Colorado Read Act
§ 22-7-1206. Reading to ensure academic development plan - contents - implementation

(1) (a) A teacher, and other skilled school professionals that the local education provider may choose to select, shall create a READ plan for each student who has a significant reading deficiency. The teacher and any other personnel shall create the plan in collaboration with the student's parent, if possible, and as soon as possible after the student's significant reading deficiency is identified. The student, the student's teacher, and the student's parent shall continue implementing the student's READ plan until the student demonstrates reading competency. The student's teacher shall review the student's READ plan at least annually and update or revise the READ plan as appropriate to facilitate the student's progress in demonstrating reading competency.

(b) Each local education provider shall ensure that a student's current READ plan, any earlier versions of the READ plan, and any supporting documentation for the plan and the body of evidence that demonstrates a student's progress in implementing the plan are included in the student's permanent academic record and are transferred if the student subsequently enrolls in another school.

(2) (a) If a student's reading skills are below grade level expectations, as adopted by the state board, but the student does not have a significant reading deficiency, the local education provider shall ensure that the student receives appropriate interventions through the response to intervention framework or a comparable intervention system implemented by the local education provider.

(b) If a student has a significant reading deficiency, the student's READ plan shall include the intervention instruction that the local education provider provides through the response to intervention framework or a comparable intervention system implemented by the local education provider.

(3) Notwithstanding any provision of this part 12 to the contrary, if a student is identified as having a disability that impacts the student's progress in developing reading skills, the local education provider shall, as appropriate, integrate into the student's individualized education program created pursuant to section 22-20-108 intervention instruction and strategies to address the student's reading issues in lieu of a READ plan.

(4) If a student enrolled in kindergarten is identified as having a significant reading deficiency, the local education provider shall create the student's READ plan as a component of the student's individualized readiness plan created pursuant to section 22-7-1014.

(5) Each READ plan shall include, at a minimum:

(a) The student's specific, diagnosed reading skill deficiencies that need to be remediated in order for the student to attain reading competency;

(b) The goals and benchmarks for the student's growth in attaining reading competency;

(c) The type of additional instructional services and interventions the student will receive in reading;

(d) The scientifically based or evidence-based reading instructional programming the teacher will use to provide to the student daily reading approaches, strategies, interventions, and instruction, which programs at a minimum shall address the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency, including oral skills, and reading comprehension. The local education provider may choose to select the programs from among those included on the advisory list prepared by the department pursuant to section 22-7-1209;

(e) The manner in which the local education provider will monitor and evaluate the student's progress;

(f) The strategies the student's parent is encouraged to use in assisting the student to achieve reading competency that are designed to supplement the programming described in paragraph (d) of this subsection (5); and

(g) Any additional services the teacher deems available and appropriate to accelerate the student's reading skill development.

(6) Each local education provider shall ensure that a teacher continues to revise and implement a student's READ plan until the student attains reading competency, regardless of the student's grade level and regardless of whether the student was enrolled with the local education provider when the READ plan was originally created or the student transferred enrollment to the local education provider after the READ plan was created.

(7) (a) If a student is identified as having a significant reading deficiency for a second or subsequent consecutive school year, the local education provider shall ensure that, in the second or subsequent consecutive school year:

(I) The student's teacher revises the student's READ plan to include additional, more rigorous strategies and intervention instruction to assist the student in attaining reading competency, including increased daily time in school for reading instruction;

(II) The principal of the school in which the student is enrolled ensures that the student receives reading instruction in conjunction with and supported through the other subjects in which the student receives instruction during the school day; and

(III) If practicable, the student receives reading instruction from a teacher who is identified as effective or highly effective in his or her most recent performance evaluation and has expertise in teaching reading.

(b) In addition, with the approval of the student's parent, the local education provider may provide to the student mental health support from the school psychologist, school social worker, or school counselor.