HB0274a -1- HB 274
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HOUSE BILL NO. 274
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY THE HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
Introduced: 1/18/24
Referred: Education, Finance
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to screening reading deficiencies and providing reading intervention 1
services to public school students enrolled in grades kindergarten through three." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 14.30.760(a) is amended to read: 4
(a) To implement the district reading intervention services established under 5
AS 14.30.765, the department shall 6
(1) adopt a statewide screening tool to administer to students in grades 7
kindergarten through three to identify students with reading deficiencies, including 8
students with characteristics of dyslexia; the screening tool must evaluate 9
(A) phonemic awareness, letter naming fluency, letter sound 10
fluency, and letter word sound fluency of students in kindergarten; 11
(B) letter word sound fluency and oral reading fluency of 12
students in grade one; 13
(C) vocabulary and oral reading fluency of students in grades 14 33-GH2315\A
HB 274 -2- HB0274a
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two and three; 1
(2) support teachers of grades kindergarten through three by 2
(A) administering the statewide screening tool three times each 3
school year, once in the fall, once in the winter, and once in the spring, to all 4
students in grades kindergarten through three [, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 5
STUDENTS WHO DEMONSTRATE SUFFICIENT READING SKILLS ON 6
THE FIRST SCREENING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR]; 7
(B) providing methods to monitor student progress; 8
(C) providing targeted instruction based on student needs as 9
determined by the results of the screening tool; and 10
(D) providing additional assistance as determined by the 11
department; 12
(3) provide training to school district staff related to using the results 13
of the statewide screening tool and understanding evidence-based reading 14
interventions, including explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, 15
phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency, oral language skills, and reading 16
comprehension; 17
(4) require that districts identify the early education programs attended 18
by students and report to the department the average score on each performance 19
screening tool by students in grades kindergarten through three who 20
(A) attended a state-approved early education program; 21
(B) attended a head start program; 22
(C) attended a private early education program; 23
(D) did not attend an early education program; 24
(5) establish a process that allows the commissioner to waive, upon 25
request, use of the statewide screening tool required under this subsection by a school 26
district if the school district has adopted an evidence-based reading screening tool and 27
the screening tool is approved by the department; 28
(6) review, approve, and assist districts developing alternative 29
standardized reading screening tools in any language for use by school districts. 30
* Sec. 2. AS 14.30.765(f) is amended to read: 31 33-GH2315\A
HB0274a -3- HB 274
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(f) If it is determined, based on a statewide screening administered in the 1
spring, that a student in grade three has a reading deficiency, and the student does not 2
demonstrate sufficient reading skills to progress to grade four under (e) of this section, 3
the student's teacher and other pertinent district staff shall notify and attempt to meet 4
with the student's parent or guardian to explain that the student is not prepared to 5
progress to grade four. School staff shall work with the parent or guardian to schedule 6
a date, time, and place for the meeting, to be held after the spring screening 7
assessment and not later than 15 [45] days before the end of the school year. 8
Following that meeting, the parent or guardian may decide that the student will not 9
progress to grade four or decide to progress the student to grade four by signing a 10
waiver developed by the department acknowledging that the student is not prepared 11
and agreeing that the student will participate in an additional 20 hours of individual 12
reading improvement plan intervention services during the summer before the student 13
enters grade four. If no parent or guardian attends the meeting or if the parent or 14
guardian does not determine whether the student will progress to the next grade, the 15
superintendent or the superintendent's designee shall, after considering the student's 16
best interests and whether the student has previously not progressed to the next grade, 17
determine whether the student will progress to grade four. 18