The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the
legislative instrument, were prepared by Cheryl Serrett.
DIGEST
SB 222 Original 2021 Regular Session Hewitt
Present law recognizes the importance of reading in early childhood and requires the state
Department of Education to provide criteria for all students in grades K-3 and provides general
requirements of the initiative.
Proposed law revises present law to require the department to expand the initiative to include:
(1)Developing a literacy screening to assess the literacy level of each K-3 student.
(2)Providing the literacy screening at no cost to each public school.
(3)Ensuring the literacy screening:
(a)Measures the phonological awareness, phonics, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and
comprehension of a student.
(b)Is age appropriate.
(c)Identifies students who do not have literacy skills that are on grade level.
(d)Identifies students with characteristics of dyslexia.
(e)Identifies students to evaluate for gifted programming.
(4)Establishing scores to determine if a student is above grade level, on grade level, or below
grade level.
Proposed law prohibits the use of the results from any literacy screening in teacher performance
evaluations, and in determining school and district performance scores pursuant to the state
accountability system.
Proposed law requires, that not later than July 1, 2022, the department shall develop or approve at
least one professional development course on foundational literacy skills instruction that is available,
at no cost, to teachers teaching grades K-3. Further requires, not later than August 1, 2023, that each
teacher who teaches grades K-3 to provide documentation to the department of completion of at least
one professional development course on foundational literacy skills instruction offered by, or
approved by, the department.
Proposed law requires, not later than July 31, 2022, that the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) revise teacher certification requirements and the requirements of
teacher education programs to include foundational literacy skills standards in all educator
preparation program of teachers in grades K-3. The foundational literacy skills standards shall
include:
(1)How to effectively teach the foundational literacy skills of phonemic awareness, phonics,
fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
(2)How to differentiate instruction for teaching students with advanced literacy skills and
students with significant literacy deficiencies.
(3)Dyslexia identification and how to provide effective instruction for teaching students with
dyslexia, using appropriate scientific research and brain-based multisensory intervention
methods and strategies.
(4)How to implement effective literacy instruction using high-quality instructional materials.
(5)Behavior management, trauma-informed principles and practices for the classroom, and other
developmentally appropriate supports to ensure that students can effectively access literacy
instruction.
(6)How to administer literacy screenings to students and use the resulting data to improve
literacy instruction for students.
Proposed law requires BESE to adopt rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act to
implement the provisions of proposed law and to plan for the coordination of the initiative with
existing programs and funding sources within schools and school systems.
Proposed law requires BESE to, not later than ninety days after the beginning of each school year,
compile and submit a report to the Senate Committee on Education and the House Committee on
Education detailing for each public elementary school, each school system, and for the state as a
whole, the number of students in grades K-3 with literacy skills below grade level. The data for each
school, for each school system, and the state as a whole, shall be reported in the school progress
profiles.
Proposed law also requires each public school to:
(1)Provide each student in grades K-3 age-appropriate, systematic foundational literacy skills
with instruction based on scientifically researched methods proven to provide a strong
literacy foundation.
(2)To, within the first thirty days of each school year, administer the literacy screening
developed and provided by the department to each student in grades K-3 to determine each
student's literacy level. (3)Provide literacy interventions and supports designed to improve the foundational literacy
skills of any student identified as having literacy skills below grade level.
(4)Ensure that all textbooks and instructional materials used to teach students to read are aligned
to state content standards and based on literacy strategies that are scientifically researched
with proven results in teaching phonological awareness, letter formation, phonics, decoding,
fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
(5)To, not later than forty-five days after the beginning of each school year, submit a literacy
screening report regarding the number of students who were determined to be below, on, and
above grade level to teachers, the school principal, and the local school superintendent.
Further requires the report to include data on the number of students referred for gifted
evaluation and the number targeted for literacy intervention.
(6)To, not later than sixty days after the beginning of each school year, submit a report to the
department and provide information on the number and percentage of teachers who teach
grades K-3 who have completed the foundational literacy skills professional development
courses for the past academic year.
Proposed law further requires the data reported to be submitted in the aggregate and not include any
personally identifiable information.
Proposed law requires the school to, within fifteen days of identifying that a student in grades K-3
is below grade level, notify the student's parent or legal guardian in writing that the student has been
identified as being below grade level, and provide the student's parent with the following:
(1)Information regarding the importance of being able to read proficiently by the end of 3rd
grade.
(2)Activities that may be used at home to improve literacy proficiency.
(3)Information regarding the specific interventions and supports that the school will provide to
improve the literacy proficiency of the student.
Proposed law requires each school to provide mid-year and end-of-the-year updates to the parent or
legal guardian of each student identified as having literacy below grade level detailing the student's
progress in gaining foundational literacy skills and providing the parent with additional tools to use
at home to improve the student's literacy proficiency.
Proposed law requires each school to, beginning June 1, 2023, and triennially thereafter, develop,
and submit to the department, a foundational literacy skills plan for students in grades K-3.
Proposed law requires each foundational literacy skills plan to include:
(1)The amount of time to be devoted daily to foundational literacy skills instruction and a description of how the instructional time will be utilized.
(2)A list of English language arts textbooks and instructional materials adopted by the school.
(3)A description of the interventions and supports available to students identified as having
literacy skills below grade level.
(4)A description of the professional development in foundational literacy skills instruction
provided to teachers who teach grades K-3.
Proposed law further requires that each school post its foundational literacy skills plan and the latest
report on the literacy screening provided to the department on the school's website.
Proposed law requires the BESE to adopt rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act
to implement the proposed law.
Present law provides for charter schools and provides for requirements for those schools.
Proposed law requires charter schools to be comply with provisions of proposed law.
Present law (R.S. 17:24.11) provides for pilot projects for screening dyslexic students.
Proposed law repeals the pilot project law.
Present law (R.S. 17:182) provides for student reading skills reports.
Proposed law incorporates reporting requirements into proposed law and repeals existing provisions.
Effective August 1, 2021.
(Amends R.S. 17:24.9; adds R.S. 17:24.10 and 3996(B)(59) and (60); repeals R.S. 17:24.11 and 182)