Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Burgess
SYNOPSIS
Requires school districts to implement reading intervention program for students in certain grades.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning early literacy and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A school district shall offer a reading intervention program to students in grades kindergarten through grade three as part of the districts implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in English Language Arts.
b. The reading intervention program shall:
(1) provide explicit and systemic instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, as applicable;
(2) monitor the progress of a students reading skills throughout the school year; and
(3) be adjusted throughout the year, if necessary, according to student needs.
c. The Department of Education shall provide a list of one or more reliable and valid reading assessment systems for school district use for the screening and monitoring of student progress toward grade level reading. The assessment shall be administered three times per year, and shall:
(1) measure phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; and
(2) identify students who have a reading deficiency, including identifying students with characteristics of dyslexia.
d. School districts shall adopt high-quality instructional materials grounded in scientifically based reading research to implement the program. The department shall provide school districts with age-appropriate materials designed to implement the provisions of this subsection.
e. A school district shall notify a parent or guardian of a student who exhibits a deficiency no later than 15 days after identification of the reading deficiency.
2. a. A school district shall annually provide information and training to a teacher who teaches in grades kindergarten through grade three to implement the reading intervention program required pursuant to section 1 of this act. The training shall include, at minimum, information on:
(1) the administration of the department approved assessment system pursuant to subsection c. of section 1 of this act;
(2) the science of reading, including explicit and systematic instruction in phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and building content knowledge; and
(3) scientifically-backed approaches to teaching students to read, including students with dyslexia.
b. A school district shall provide kindergarten through grade three teaching staff with ongoing coaching support to aid in the delivery of the reading intervention program. The support shall include, at minimum:
(1) on-site teacher training on evidence-based reading instruction and data-based decision making;
(2) example lessons;
(3) classroom observance during the delivery of the reading intervention program; and
(4) immediate feedback for improving reading instruction, if applicable.
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment, except that the Commissioner of Education may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires that a school district offer a reading intervention program to students in grades kindergarten through grade three. The reading intervention program is to: provide explicit and systemic instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, as applicable; monitor the reading progress of a students reading skills throughout the school year; and be adjusted throughout the year, if necessary, according to student needs.
The Department of Education is required to provide a list of one or more reliable and valid reading assessment systems for school district use for the screening and monitoring of student progress toward grade level reading. The assessment is required to be administered three times per year, and is to measure phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; and identify students who have a reading deficiency, including identifying students with characteristics of dyslexia.
The bill also requires that school districts adopt high-quality instructional materials grounded in scientifically based reading research to implement the program. The department is to provide school districts with age-appropriate materials designed to implement the program. A school district is required to notify a parent or guardian of a student who exhibits a deficiency in reading no later than 15 days after identification of the reading deficiency.
Also under the bill, a school district is required to annually provide information and training to a teaching staff member who teaches in grades kindergarten through grade three to implement the reading intervention program. The training is to include, at minimum, information on: the administration of the department approved assessment system; the science of reading, including explicit and systematic instruction in phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and building content knowledge; and scientifically-backed approaches to teaching students to read, including students with dyslexia.
A school district is also to provide kindergarten through grade three teaching staff with ongoing coaching support to aid in the delivery of the reading intervention program. The support is to include: on-site teacher training on evidence-based reading instruction and data-based decision making; example lessons; classroom observance during the delivery of the reading intervention program; and immediate feedback for improving instruction, if applicable.