2014 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 70. Schools
§70-1210.508G. Study of reading instruction and retention of third-grade students – Yearly report.

A. The State Department of Education shall conduct a study of reading instruction and the retention of students in the third grade based on reading assessments administered pursuant to Section 1210.508C of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The purpose of the study shall be to determine the reasons why some students in the state have not been successful in acquiring the appropriate grade-level reading skills, to identify the best practices available to help students become successful readers and to implement those best practices in schools statewide. The Department may contract with a higher education institution or other entity or consultant to assist in the study, contingent upon the availability of funding.

B. The State Department of Education shall:

1. Gather data and complete an assessment of the type of reading instruction practices and methods currently being used by school districts in the state;

2. Gather data on students who have been assessed pursuant to Section 1210.508C of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes and have been found not to be reading at the appropriate grade level by the third grade including, but not limited to:

a.socioeconomic information,

b.access to reading resources outside of school, and

c.screening for and identification of learning disabilities; and

3. Address what intensive remediation efforts are being conducted by the district to identify the best practices for students that score limited knowledge and are not retained by school districts.

C. After gathering and analyzing the data as provided for in this section, the State Department of Education shall issue a report no later than December 31, 2015, and each year thereafter, to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. In addition to other information and recommendations, the report shall include recommendations on legislative changes that need to be made to the third-grade retention requirements in the Reading Sufficiency Act and any other requirements in the act.

D. Following the issuance of the report required in subsection C of this section, the compilation of best practices shall be disseminated to all public schools.

E. Any student data contained in the report shall be aggregated so that individual students cannot be identified.

Added by Laws 2014, c. 344, § 3, emerg. eff. May 28, 2014.