By: Dutton, Jetton, et al. 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. This Act may be cited as the Texas Literacy Act.
SECTION 2. 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 3. Section 28.006, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), (c-1), (c-2), (c-3), and (j)
and adding Subsections (a-1), (b-2), (b-3), (b-4), (d-1), (g-3),
(g-4), (g-5), (g-6), (n), and (o) 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 results of the reading instruments
are valid, reliable, and equated;
(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 comprehensive list of
reading instruments that a school district or open-enrollment
charter school shall select from for [may] use in diagnosing [to
diagnose student] reading development and comprehension for
students who are enrolled in kindergarten through third grade. A
reading instrument included on the commissioner's list 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 tools [tool] that include [includes a]
reading instruments that test [instrument and tests] at least three
developmental skills, including the 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 school district or
open-enrollment charter school [district-level committee
established under Subchapter F, Chapter 11,] may use other [adopt a
list of] reading instruments, subject to Subsection (b-4), [for use
in the district in a grade level other than kindergarten] in
addition to the reading instruments included on the commissioner's
list. Each reading instrument included on the list adopted by the
commissioner or administered by a school district or
open-enrollment charter school [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 each
school year;
(6) assess only foundational literacy components not
already mastered by the student; and
(7) assess whether a student needs reading instruction
intervention.
(b-2) The commissioner shall include on the commissioner's
list any reading instrument that is:
(1) based on scientific research concerning reading
skills development and reading comprehension; and
(2) submitted for inclusion on the list under
Subsection (b-4).
(b-3) The commissioner shall update the list of reading
instruments at least once every four years, including
multidimensional assessment tools authorized under this section.
(b-4) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that uses one or more reading instruments not included on the
commissioner's list in accordance with Subsection (b) must submit
the instrument to the commissioner to verify the instrument
satisfies the requirements of this section. The commissioner shall
place on the commissioner's list a reading instrument that
satisfies the requirements of this section.
(c) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
shall administer, at the first and second grade levels, a reading
instrument that is based on scientific research concerning reading
skills development and reading comprehension included on the list
adopted by the commissioner [or by the district-level
committee]. The district or school shall administer the reading
instrument in accordance with the commissioner's recommendations
under Subsection (a)(1).
(c-1) Each school district and open-enrollment charter
school shall administer at the beginning of the seventh grade a
reading instrument included on the list 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 or school shall administer the
reading instrument in accordance with the commissioner's policies
adopted [recommendations] under Subsection (a)(1).
(c-2) Each school district and open-enrollment charter
school shall administer at the kindergarten level a reading
instrument included on the list adopted by the commissioner [under
Subsection (b) or approved by the commissioner under Subsection
(b-1)]. The district or school shall administer the reading
instrument in accordance with the commissioner's policies adopted
[recommendations] under Subsection (a)(1).
(c-3) The commissioner by rule shall determine the
performance on a [the] reading instrument adopted under Subsection
(b) that indicates kindergarten readiness.
(d-1) The commissioner shall prominently display on the
agency's Internet website information regarding the commissioner's
list of reading instruments maintained under this section and the
process for applying for inclusion on the list, as provided by
agency rule adopted under Subsection (n).
(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 funds appropriated for teacher literacy
achievement academies developed under Section 21.4552, the
commissioner may, in collaboration with regional education service
centers, provide assistance to school districts and
open-enrollment charter schools in complying with the requirements
of Section 28.0062. The commissioner shall prioritize providing
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.]
(n) The agency by rule shall provide a process under which a
school district or open-enrollment charter school may submit an
application for inclusion of a reading instrument on the
commissioner's list of reading instruments maintained under this
section.
(o) The agency may not use data collected from a reading
instrument administered under this section in evaluating the
performance of a school district or campus under Section 39.054.
SECTION 4. Section 28.0062, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) In this subsection, "three-cueing" means any model,
including the model referred to as meaning, structure, and visual
cues (MSV), of teaching a student to read based on meaning,
structure and syntax, and visual cues or memory. A school district
or open-enrollment charter school may not include any instruction
that incorporates three-cueing in the foundational skills reading
curriculum for kindergarten through third grade.
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.0063 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.0063. SUPPLEMENTAL READING INSTRUCTION FOR CERTAIN
STUDENTS. (a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
shall make available supplemental instruction described by Section
28.0211(a-4) to address a student's reading deficiency if the
student's results on both of the reading assessments administered
under Section 28.006 in two consecutive school years indicate the
student needs reading intervention.
(b) A parent or guardian of a student described by
Subsection (a) may select a tutor from a list of high-quality tutors
approved by the agency or by the school district or open-enrollment
charter school the student attends to provide the supplemental
instruction required under Subsection (a). The district or school
shall contract directly with the tutor selected, who may be a
classroom teacher employed at the district or school. A classroom
teacher selected as a student's tutor is entitled to supplemental
pay from the district or school. 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
shall submit to the agency the district's or school's list of
high-quality tutors and publish the list on the district's or
school's Internet website.
(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that provides a tutor to a student under this section shall continue
to provide the student any other reading support required of the
district or school by federal or state law.
SECTION 6. 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 7. Section 28.006(b-1), Education Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
school year.
SECTION 9. 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.