2006 Utah Code - 53A-1-606.5 — Reading achievement in grades one through three -- Monitoring -- Reporting -- Additional instruction.

     53A-1-606.5.   Reading achievement in grades one through three -- Monitoring -- Reporting -- Additional instruction.
     (1) (a) The Legislature recognizes that:
     (i) reading is the most fundamental skill, the gateway to knowledge and lifelong learning;
     (ii) there is an ever increasing demand for literacy in the highly technological society we live in;
     (iii) students who do not learn to read will be economically and socially disadvantaged;
     (iv) reading problems exist in almost every classroom;
     (v) almost all reading failure is preventable if reading difficulties are diagnosed and treated by no later than the end of the third grade; and
     (vi) early identification and treatment of reading difficulties can result in students learning to read by the end of the third grade.
     (b) It is therefore:
     (i) the long-term goal of the state to have every student in the state's public education system reading on or above grade level by the end of the third grade; and
     (ii) the short-term goal of the state to have 90% or more of all third graders reading on or above grade level by the end of the third grade in 2006.
     (c) (i) The State Board of Education, through the superintendent of public instruction, shall annually report on progress towards achieving the goals established in Subsection (1)(b).
     (ii) The information shall be reported in the school performance report required under Section 53A-3-602.5, beginning with the 2002-03 school year, and include the following for each school district and elementary school:
     (A) the number and percent of all students reading on or above grade level at the end of the first, second, and third grades;
     (B) the annual reading achievement growth from the prior year and cumulative reading achievement growth from the base year of 2001-02 in the percent of students reading on or above grade level for each year;
     (C) those schools that reach the 90% reading achievement goal or achieve a sufficient magnitude of gain each year as determined by the State Board of Education from the 2001-02 base year or do both; and
     (D) those elementary schools that fail to achieve a sufficient magnitude of gain each year as determined by the State Board of Education from the 2001-02 base year.
     (d) The State Board of Education, through the superintendent of public instruction, shall determine as part of the U-PASS testing program:
     (i) the appropriate statewide tests to assess reading levels at the end of each year in the first, second, and third grades;
     (ii) an appropriate standard or cut score on each assessment for determining grade level reading mastery; and
     (iii) the actual percent of students reading on or above grade level in the first, second, and third grades at each public elementary school as required under Subsection (1)(c)(i) by dividing the headcount enrollment of students reading on or above grade level at that grade by the headcount enrollment of students in the building at that grade on the date that the reading assessment is administered.
     (2) Local school boards shall annually review the U-PASS data regarding reading at school and district levels and shall work with districts and schools to review and revise plans as

needed to meet the goal set in Subsection (1)(b).
     (3) (a) Each school district shall require the elementary schools within its district boundaries to develop, in conjunction with all other school planning processes and requirements, a reading achievement plan at each school for its kindergarten, first, second, and third graders to reach the reading goals set in Subsection (1)(b).
     (b) The reading achievement plan shall be:
     (i) subject to Subsection (3)(e), developed under the direction of the school community council or a subcommittee or task force created by the school community council; and
     (ii) implemented by the school's principal, teachers, and other appropriate school staff.
     (c) The school principal shall take primary responsibility to provide leadership and allocate resources and support for teachers and students, most particularly for those who are reading below grade level, to achieve the reading goals.
     (d) Each reading achievement plan shall include:
     (i) an assessment component that:
     (A) allows only the principal, teachers, and other appropriate school staff to identify those students who are reading below grade level;
     (B) uses U-PASS and local assessment information throughout the year to determine students' instructional needs; and
     (C) is consistent with the exemption provisions of Subsection 53A-1-603(3)(c) regarding such students as students with disabilities or limited English proficiency;
     (ii) an intervention component:
     (A) that provides adequate and appropriate interventions focused on bringing each student up to reading at or above grade level and which would permit retention in the grade level of a student reading below grade level based on a joint determination made by the principal or the principal's designee, the student's teacher, and the student's parent;
     (B) based on best practices identified through proven researched-based methods;
     (C) that includes parental participation; and
     (D) that, as resources allow, involves a reading specialist; and
     (iii) a reporting component consistent with the data to be included in the school performance report required under Section 53A-3-602.5.
     (e) In developing or reviewing a reading achievement plan, a school community council or subcommittee or task force of a school community council may not have access to data that reveal the identity of students.
     (4) The school district shall approve each school's plan prior to its implementation and review each plan annually.

Amended by Chapter 324, 2002 General Session
Amended by Chapter 210, 2002 General Session