88R6097 JES-F
By: Dutton H.B. No. 2162
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to reading instruction, assessment instruments, and
interventions provided to public school students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.044, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) An educator preparation program may not include
instruction in using the reading instruction method of
three-cueing, as defined by Section 28.0062(a-1).
SECTION 2. Section 28.006, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (c-1), (c-3), (d), and (j) and
adding Subsections (a-1), (b-2), (g-3), (g-4), (g-5), and (g-6) to
read as follows:
(a) The commissioner shall adopt procedures [develop
recommendations] for school districts and open-enrollment charter
schools for:
(1) administering reading instruments to:
(A) ensure the validity and reliability of the
results of the reading instruments;
(B) diagnose student reading development and
comprehension; and
(C) identify students at risk for dyslexia or
other reading difficulties;
(2) training educators in administering the reading
instruments; and
(3) applying the results of the reading instruments to
the instructional program and intervention practices.
(a-1) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
may not administer a reading instrument to a student more than three
times during a school year.
(b) The commissioner shall adopt a list of reading
instruments that a school district or open-enrollment charter
school shall [may] use to diagnose student reading development and
comprehension for students in kindergarten through grade three.
The reading instrument must include the foundational literacy
components of phonemic and phonological awareness, phonics,
vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. For use in diagnosing the
reading development and comprehension of kindergarten students,
the commissioner shall adopt a multidimensional assessment tool
that includes a reading instrument and tests at least three
developmental skills, including foundational literacy components.
A multidimensional assessment tool administered as provided by this
subsection is considered to be a reading instrument for purposes of
this section. [A district-level committee established under
Subchapter F, Chapter 11, may adopt a list of reading instruments
for use in the district in a grade level other than kindergarten in
addition to the reading instruments on the commissioner's list.]
Each reading instrument adopted by the commissioner [or a
district-level committee] must:
(1) be based on scientific research concerning reading
skills development and reading comprehension;
(2) [. A list of reading instruments adopted under
this subsection must] provide for diagnosing the reading
development and comprehension of students participating in a
program under Subchapter B, Chapter 29;
(3) provide progress monitoring capabilities;
(4) provide a diagnostic tool to assist teachers in
developing research-based targeted instruction;
(5) allow screening of students three times a year;
(6) assess only the foundational literacy components
not already mastered by the student; and
(7) determine if a student needs reading instruction
intervention.
(b-2) In adopting a reading instrument under this section,
the commissioner shall prioritize selecting an instrument that:
(1) minimizes the impact of administration of the
instrument on instructional time;
(2) provides timely reporting of results; and
(3) is able to be integrated into reading instruction.
(c-1) Each school district shall administer at the
beginning of the seventh grade a reading instrument adopted by the
commissioner to each student whose performance on the assessment
instrument in reading administered under Section 39.023(a) to the
student in grade six did not demonstrate reading proficiency, as
determined by the commissioner. The district shall administer the
reading instrument in accordance with the commissioner's
recommendations for administering reading instruments that
diagnose student reading development and comprehension [under
Subsection (a)(1)].
(c-3) The commissioner by rule shall determine the
performance on each applicable [the] reading instrument adopted
under Subsection (b) that indicates kindergarten readiness.
(d) The superintendent of each school district or the person
who serves the function of superintendent in each open-enrollment
charter school shall:
(1) report [to the commissioner and the board of
trustees of the district] the results of the reading instruments
to:
(A) the board of trustees of a school district;
or
(B) the governing body of an open-enrollment
charter school, as defined by Section 12.1012(3);
(2) not later than the 30th [60th] calendar day after
the date on which a reading instrument was administered report, in
writing, to a student's parent or guardian the student's results on
the instrument and any additional information required by the
agency; and
(3) report to the agency any information required by
the agency, including the results of the reading instrument and
[using the school readiness certification system provided to the
school district in accordance with Section 29.161(e), report
electronically] each student's raw score on the reading instrument
[to the agency for use in the school readiness certification
system].
(g-3) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
shall provide reading intervention to each student in kindergarten
through grade three who is determined to need reading intervention
using an assessment administered in accordance with Subsection (b).
The school district shall continue to offer a student reading
intervention until the student achieves satisfactory performance
on a reading instrument. A reading intervention program offered
under this subsection must:
(1) include targeted instruction to improve the
student's reading skills in the relevant areas identified through
the assessment instrument;
(2) monitor the progress of the student's reading
skills throughout the school year;
(3) be implemented during regular school hours and in
addition to core instruction;
(4) use high-quality instructional materials,
curricula, and curricular tools that are research based and
effective for early childhood literacy intervention; and
(5) be provided by a teacher who has attended a
literacy achievement academy provided under Section 21.4552.
(g-4) In providing reading intervention under Subsection
(g-3), a school district or open-enrollment charter school may not
remove a student, except under circumstances for which a student
enrolled in the same grade level who is not receiving reading
intervention would be removed, from:
(1) instruction in the foundation curriculum and
enrichment curriculum adopted under Section 28.002 for the grade
level in which the student is enrolled; or
(2) recess or other physical activity that is
available to other students enrolled in the same grade level.
(g-5) In addition to the report required under Subsection
(d)(2), a school district or open-enrollment charter school shall
notify the parent or guardian of each student in kindergarten
through grade three who is determined to need reading intervention.
The notification must:
(1) be distributed not later than the 30th day after
the date the result of the reading instrument indicating that the
student needs intervention is available;
(2) describe the current reading services the district
or school provides to the student;
(3) describe the reading interventions that will be
provided to the student to ensure the student will meet or exceed
grade-level reading standards; and
(4) include high-quality resources for the parent or
guardian of the student to use at home to help the student succeed
at reading.
(g-6) From money appropriated for the purpose, the
commissioner may provide literacy coaching and technical
assistance to kindergarten through grade three classroom teachers,
or to individuals serving in that role, to implement this section.
The commissioner shall prioritize providing technical assistance
under this subsection in school districts with the highest rate of
students performing below satisfactory levels on reading
instruments administered under Subsection (b).
(j) [No more than 15 percent of the funds certified by the
commissioner under Subsection (i) may be spent on indirect costs.]
The commissioner shall evaluate the programs that fail to meet the
standard of performance under Section 39.301(c)(5) and may
implement interventions or sanctions under Chapter 39A. [The
commissioner may audit the expenditures of funds appropriated for
purposes of this section. The use of the funds appropriated for
purposes of this section shall be verified as part of the district
audit under Section 44.008.]
SECTION 3. Section 28.0062, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) In this subsection, "three-cueing" means a method of
reading instruction for identification of words by which a student
is encouraged to draw on context and sentence structure to identify
a word without sounding the word out or using a phonics-based
approach. A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
not include any three-cueing in the phonics curriculum required
under Subsection (a)(1).
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.0063 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.0063. PRIVATE READING INSTRUCTION FOR CERTAIN
STUDENTS. (a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
shall contract with and make available a private, third-party
tutoring service to address a student's reading deficiency. The
district or school must make the service available to a parent or
guardian of a student who is determined to need reading
intervention using an assessment administered under Section 28.006
on each of the reading assessments administered for two consecutive
school years. The cost to a district or school for contracting for
tutoring service under this subsection may not exceed $1,000.
(b) A parent or guardian of a student described by
Subsection (a) may select a tutoring service not provided by the
school district or open-enrollment charter school to address the
student's reading deficiency. The district or school shall
contract directly with that service to pay the lesser of the cost of
the service or $1,000 to provide tutoring services to the student.
The district or school may not provide money under this subsection
directly to a parent or guardian of a student.
(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that provides a tutoring service to a student under this section
shall continue to provide the student any other reading support
required of the district or school.
(d) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION 5. Section 29.1543, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.1543. EARLY EDUCATION REPORTS. The agency shall
produce and make available to the public on the agency's Internet
website annual district and campus-level reports containing
information from the previous school year on early education in
school districts and open-enrollment charter schools. A report
under this section must contain:
(1) the information required by Section 29.1532(c) to
be reported through the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS);
(2) a description of any [the] diagnostic reading
instruments administered as provided by Section 28.006 [in
accordance with Section 28.006(c) or (c-2)];
(3) the number of students who were administered a
diagnostic reading instrument administered as provided by Section
28.006 [in accordance with Section 28.006(c) or (c-2)];
(4) the number of students whose scores from a
diagnostic reading instrument administered as provided by Section
28.006 [in accordance with Section 28.006(c) or (c-2)] indicate
reading proficiency;
(5) the number of kindergarten students who were
enrolled in a prekindergarten program in the previous school year
in the same district or school as the district or school in which
the student attends kindergarten;
(6) the number and percentage of students who perform
satisfactorily on the third grade reading or mathematics assessment
instrument administered under Section 39.023, disaggregated by
whether the student was eligible for free prekindergarten under
Section 29.153;
(7) the number of students described by Subdivision
(6) who attended kindergarten in the district, disaggregated by:
(A) whether the student met the kindergarten
readiness standard on a [the] reading instrument adopted under
Section 28.006;
(B) whether the student attended prekindergarten
in the district; and
(C) the type of prekindergarten the student
attended, if applicable; and
(8) the information described by Subdivisions (6) and
(7) disaggregated by whether the student is educationally
disadvantaged.
SECTION 6. Sections 28.006(c), (c-2), (i), and (k),
Education Code, are repealed.
SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
school year.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.