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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
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3 SENATE BILL 841 By: Pugh
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4
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5
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6 AS INTRODUCED
6
7 An Act relating to the Strong Readers Act; amending
7 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508C, as amended by
8 Section 5, Chapter 411, O.S.L. 2024 (70 O.S. Supp.
8 2024, Section 1210.508C), which relates to reading
9 assessments; modifying purpose for administration of
9 certain screening instruments; amending Section 1,
10 Chapter 411, O.S.L. 2024 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section
10 1210.508I), which relates to the Statewide Literacy
11 Revolving Fund; modifying use of the fund; modifying
11 requirement for teacher preparation program students
12 to complete certain training; providing an effective
12 date; and declaring an emergency.
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13
14
14
15 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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16 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508C,
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17 as amended by Section 5, Chapter 411, O.S.L. 2024 (70 O.S. Supp.
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18 2024, Section 1210.508C), is amended to read as follows:
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19 Section 1210.508C. A. To identify students who have a reading
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20 deficiency including identifying students with characteristics of
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21 dyslexia that lead to or cause reading difficulty, each student
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22 enrolled in kindergarten and first, second, and third grade in a
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23 public school in this state shall be screened at the beginning,
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24 middle, and end of each school year for reading skills including,
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Req. No. 163 Page 1
1 but not limited to, phonological awareness, decoding, fluency,
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2 vocabulary, and comprehension. A screening instrument approved by
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3 the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Commission
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4 for Educational Quality and Accountability and the Secretary of
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5 Education, shall be utilized for the purposes of this section. In
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6 determining which screening instrument to approve, the State Board
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7 of Education, the Commission for Educational Quality and
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8 Accountability, and the Secretary of Education shall take into
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9 consideration at a minimum the following factors:
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10 1. The time required to conduct the screening instrument with
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11 the intention of minimizing the impact on instructional time;
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12 2. The timeliness in reporting screening instrument results to
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13 teachers, administrators, and parents and legal guardians of
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14 students; and
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15 3. The integration of the screening instrument into reading
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16 curriculum.
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17 B. Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, the State Board of
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18 Education shall approve no fewer than three (3) screening
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19 instruments for use at the beginning, middle, and end of the school
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20 year for monitoring of progress and for measurement of reading
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21 skills as required in subsection A of this section. The screening
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22 instruments shall meet the following criteria:
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23 1. Assess for phonological awareness, decoding, fluency,
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24 vocabulary, and comprehension;
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1 2. Document the validity and reliability of each assessment;
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2 3. Can be used for identifying students who are at risk for
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3 reading deficiency and progress monitoring throughout the school
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4 year;
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5 4. Can be used to assess students with disabilities and English
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6 language learners; and
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7 5. Accompanied by a data management system that provides
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8 profiles of students, class, grade level, and school building. The
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9 profiles shall identify each student's instructional point of need
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10 and reading achievement level. The State Board shall also determine
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11 other comparable reading assessments for diagnostic purposes to be
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12 used for students at risk of reading failure.
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13 C. 1. Exemptions to the screening requirements of this section
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14 may be provided to students who have documented evidence that they
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15 meet at least one of the following criteria as related to the
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16 provision of classroom instruction:
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17 a. the student participates in the Oklahoma Alternate
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18 Assessment Program (OAAP) and is taught using
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19 alternate methods,
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20 b. the student's primary expressive or receptive
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21 communication is sign language,
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22 c. the student's primary form of written or read text is
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23 Braille, or
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1 d. the student's primary expressive or receptive language
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2 is not English, the student is identified as an
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3 English learner using a state-approved identification
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4 assessment, and the student has had less than one (1)
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5 school year of instruction in an English-learner
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6 program.
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7 2. A public school that grants an exemption pursuant to
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8 paragraph 1 of this subsection shall provide ongoing evidence of
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9 student progression toward English language acquisition with the
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10 same frequency as administration of screening assessments. Evidence
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11 may include, but not be limited to, student progression toward OAAP
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12 reading essential elements, proficiency in sign language and reading
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13 comprehension, and proficiency in Braille and reading comprehension.
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14 D. 1. Students who are administered a screening instrument
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15 pursuant to subsection A of this section and are found not to be
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16 meeting grade-level targets shall be provided a program of reading
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17 instruction designed to enable students to acquire the appropriate
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18 grade-level reading skills. The program of reading instruction
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19 shall be based on scientific reading research and align with the
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20 subject matter standards adopted by the State Board of Education. A
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21 program of reading instruction shall include:
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22 a. sufficient additional in-school instructional time for
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23 the acquisition of phonological awareness, decoding,
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24 fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension,
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1 b. if necessary and if funding is available, tutorial
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2 instruction after regular school hours, on Saturdays,
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3 and during summer; however, such instruction may not
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4 be counted toward the one-hundred-eighty-day or one-
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5 thousand-eighty-hour school year required in Section
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6 1-109 of this title,
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7 c. assessments identified for diagnostic purposes and
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8 periodic monitoring to measure the acquisition of
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9 reading skills including, but not limited to,
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10 phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary,
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11 and comprehension, as identified in the student's
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12 program of reading instruction,
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13 d. high-quality instructional materials grounded in
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14 scientifically based reading research, and
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15 e. a means of providing every family of a student in
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16 prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first, second, and
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17 third grade access to free online evidence-based
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18 literacy instruction resources to support the
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19 student's literacy development at home.
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20 2. A student enrolled in kindergarten or first, second, or
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21 third grade who exhibits a deficiency in reading at any time based
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22 on the screening instrument administered pursuant to subsection A of
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23 this section shall receive an individual reading intervention plan
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24 no later than thirty (30) days after the identification of the
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1 deficiency in reading. The reading intervention plan shall be
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2 provided in addition to core reading instruction that is provided to
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3 all students. The reading intervention plan shall:
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4 a. describe the research-based reading intervention
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5 services the student will receive to remedy the
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6 deficiency in reading,
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7 b. provide explicit and systematic instruction in
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8 phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary,
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9 and comprehension, as applicable,
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10 c. monitor the reading progress of each student's reading
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11 skills throughout the school year and adjust
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12 instruction according to the student's needs, and
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13 d. continue until the student is determined to be meeting
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14 grade-level targets in reading based on screening
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15 instruments administered pursuant to subsection A of
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16 this section or assessments identified for diagnostic
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17 purposes and periodic monitoring pursuant to
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18 subparagraph c of paragraph 1 of this subsection.
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19 3. The reading intervention plan for each student identified
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20 with a deficiency in reading shall be developed by a Student Reading
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21 Proficiency Team and shall include supplemental instructional
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22 services and supports. Each team shall be composed of:
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23 a. the parent or legal guardian of the student,
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1 b. the teacher assigned to the student who had
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2 responsibility for reading instruction in that
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3 academic year,
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4 c. a teacher who is responsible for reading instruction
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5 and is assigned to teach in the next grade level of
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6 the student, and
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7 d. a certified reading specialist, if one is available.
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8 4. A school district shall notify the parent or legal guardian
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9 of any student in kindergarten or first, second, or third grade who
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10 exhibits a deficiency in reading at any time based on the screening
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11 instrument administered pursuant to subsection A of this section.
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12 The notification shall occur no later than thirty (30) days after
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13 the identification of the deficiency in reading.
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14 E. 1. Every school district shall adopt and implement a
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15 district strong readers plan which has had input from school
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16 administrators, teachers, and parents and legal guardians and if
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17 possible a reading specialist, and which shall be submitted
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18 electronically to and approved by the State Board of Education. The
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19 plan shall be updated annually. School districts shall not be
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20 required to electronically submit the annual updates to the Board if
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21 the last plan submitted to the Board was approved and expenditures
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22 for the program include only expenses relating to individual and
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23 small group tutoring, purchase of and training in the use of
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24 screening and assessment measures, summer school programs, and
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1 Saturday school programs. If any expenditure for the program is
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2 deleted or changed or any other type of expenditure for the program
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3 is implemented, the school district shall be required to submit the
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4 latest annual update to the Board for approval. The district strong
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5 readers plan shall include a plan for each site which includes an
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6 analysis of the data provided by the Oklahoma School Testing Program
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7 and other reading assessments utilized as required in this section,
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8 and which outlines how each school site will comply with the
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9 provisions of the Strong Readers Act.
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10 2. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the
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11 implementation and evaluation of the provisions of the Strong
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12 Readers Act. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to,
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13 an analysis of the data required in subsection L of this section.
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14 F. 1. Any first-grade, second-grade, or third-grade student
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15 who demonstrates proficiency in reading through a grade-level
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16 appropriate screening instrument approved pursuant to subsection B
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17 of this section shall not require a program of reading instruction
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18 or an individual reading intervention plan. After a student has
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19 demonstrated proficiency through a screening instrument, the
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20 district shall provide notification to the parent or legal guardian
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21 of the student that he or she has satisfied the requirements of the
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22 Strong Readers Act. The district shall continue to monitor the
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23 student in the next successive grade level to ensure he or she
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24 maintains proficiency.
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1 2. Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, if a third-grade
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2 student is identified at any point of the academic year as having a
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3 significant reading deficiency, which shall be defined as not
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4 meeting grade-level targets on a screening instrument administered
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5 pursuant to subsection A of this section, the district shall provide
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6 the student with intensive intervention services for the appropriate
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7 amount of the instructional day consistent with the individual
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8 reading intervention plan developed pursuant to paragraph 2 of
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9 subsection D of this section and as determined by the Student
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10 Reading Proficiency Team. Intensive intervention services shall
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11 continue until the student demonstrates proficiency at his or her
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12 grade level based on a screening instrument administered pursuant to
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13 subsection A of this section.
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14 G. Each school district shall annually report in an electronic
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15 format to the State Department of Education, the Office of
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16 Educational Quality and Accountability, and the Secretary of
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17 Education the number of students in kindergarten through third grade
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18 per grade level who exhibit grade-level reading proficiency, the
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19 number of students per grade level who received intensive
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20 intervention services pursuant to paragraph 2 of subsection F of
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21 this section, the number of students per grade level who attended a
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22 summer academy as provided for in Section 1210.508E of this title,
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23 the number of students per grade level who exhibited improved
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24 reading proficiency after completion of intensive intervention
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1 services, and the number of students per grade level who are still
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2 in need of intensive intervention services. The State Department of
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3 Education shall publicly report the aggregate and district-specific
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4 numbers submitted pursuant to this subsection on its website and
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5 shall provide electronic copies of the report to the Governor,
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6 Secretary of Education, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Speaker
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7 of the House of Representatives, and to the respective chairs of the
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8 committees with responsibility for common education policy in each
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9 legislative chamber.
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10 H. The parent of any student who is found to have a reading
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11 deficiency and is not meeting grade-level reading targets and has
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12 been provided a program of reading instruction as provided for in
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13 paragraph 1 of subsection D of this section shall be notified in
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14 writing of the following:
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15 1. That the student has been identified as having a substantial
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16 deficiency in reading;
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17 2. A description of the current services that are provided to
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18 the student pursuant to subsection D of this section;
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19 3. A description of the proposed intensive intervention
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20 services and supports that will be provided to the student that are
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21 designed to remediate the identified area of reading deficiency as
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22 provided for in paragraph 2 of subsection F of this section;
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23 4. That a student who is promoted to the fourth grade shall
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24 receive supplemental intensive intervention services;
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1 5. Strategies for parents to use in helping their child succeed
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2 in reading proficiency; and
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3 6. The grade-level performance scores of the student.
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4 I. No student may be assigned to a grade level based solely on
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5 age or other factors that constitute social promotion.
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6 J. 1. Each school district board of education shall annually
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7 publish on the school website and report electronically to the State
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8 Department of Education, the Office of Educational Quality and
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9 Accountability, and the Secretary of Education by September 1 of
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10 each year the following information on the prior school year:
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11 a. the policies and procedures adopted by the school
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12 district board of education to implement the
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13 provisions of this section. The information submitted
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14 shall include expenditures related to implementing the
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15 provisions of this section, the number of staff
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16 implementing the provisions of this section, and
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17 average daily classroom time devoted to implementing
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18 the provisions of this section,
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19 b. by grade, the number and percentage of all students in
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20 kindergarten through third grade who did not meet
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21 grade-level targets based on a screening instrument
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22 administered pursuant to subsection A of this section,
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1 c. by grade, the number and percentage of all students in
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2 kindergarten through third grade who have been
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3 enrolled in the district for fewer than two (2) years,
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4 d. by grade, the number and percentage of students in
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5 kindergarten through third grade who demonstrated
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6 grade-level proficiency based on a screening
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7 instrument administered pursuant to subsection A of
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8 this section, and
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9 e. by grade, the number and percentage of students in
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10 kindergarten through third grade who are on an
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11 individualized education program (IEP) in accordance
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12 with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
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13 (IDEA) and who demonstrated grade-level proficiency
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14 based on a screening instrument administered pursuant
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15 to subsection A of this section or an alternative
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16 assessment prescribed by the student's IEP.
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17 2. The State Department of Education shall establish a uniform
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18 format for school districts to report the information required in
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19 this subsection. The format shall be developed with input from
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20 school districts and shall be provided not later than ninety (90)
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21 days prior to the annual due date. The Department shall annually
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22 compile the information required, along with state-level summary
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23 information, and electronically report the information to the
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24 public, the Governor, the Secretary of Education, the President Pro
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1 Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
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2 Representatives.
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3 K. The State Department of Education shall provide technical
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4 assistance as needed to aid school districts in administering the
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5 provisions of the Strong Readers Act.
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6 L. On or before January 31 of each year, the State Department
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7 of Education shall electronically submit to the Governor, the
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8 President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
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9 Representatives, and members of the committees with responsibility
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10 over common education in both houses of the Legislature a Strong
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11 Readers Report which shall include, but is not limited to, trend
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12 data detailing three (3) years of data, disaggregated by student
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13 subgroups to include economically disadvantaged, major racial or
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14 ethnic groups, students with disabilities, and English language
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15 learners, as appropriate for the following:
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16 1. The statewide aggregate number and percentage of students in
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17 kindergarten through third grade determined to be at risk for
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18 reading difficulties compared to the total number of students
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19 enrolled in each grade;
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20 2. The statewide aggregate number and percentage of students in
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21 kindergarten who continue to be at risk for reading difficulties as
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22 determined by the year-end administration of the screening
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23 instrument required subsection A of this section;
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1 3. The statewide aggregate number and percentage of students in
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2 kindergarten through third grade who have successfully completed
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3 their program of reading instruction and are reading on grade level
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4 as determined by the results of screening instruments administered
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5 pursuant to subsection A of this section;
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6 4. The statewide aggregate and district-specific number and
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7 percentage of students that meet or do not meet grade-level targets
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8 for reading based on screening instruments administered pursuant to
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9 subsection A of this section;
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10 5. The amount of funds received by each district for
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11 implementation of the Strong Readers Act;
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12 6. An evaluation and narrative interpretation of the report
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13 data analyzing the impact of the Strong Readers Act on students'
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14 ability to read at grade level;
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15 7. The type of reading instruction practices and methods
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16 currently being used by school districts in the state;
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17 8. Socioeconomic information, access to reading resources
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18 outside of school, and screening for and identification of learning
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19 disabilities for students not reading at the appropriate grade level
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20 in kindergarten and first through third grade;
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21 9. By grade level, the types of intensive intervention efforts
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22 being conducted by school districts for students who are not on an
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23 IEP and who are not reading at the appropriate grade level and for
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1 students who are on an IEP and who are not reading at the
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2 appropriate grade level; and
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3 10. Any recommendations for improvements or amendments to the
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4 Strong Readers Act.
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5 The State Department of Education may contract with an
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6 independent entity for the reporting and analysis requirements of
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7 this subsection.
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8 M. Copies of the results of the screening instruments
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9 administered pursuant to subsection A of this section shall be made
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10 a part of the permanent record of each student.
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11 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY Section 1, Chapter 411, O.S.L.
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12 2024 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 1210.508I), is amended to read as
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13 follows:
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14 Section 1210.508I. A. There is hereby created in the State
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15 Treasury a revolving fund for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
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16 Education to be designated the "Statewide Literacy Revolving Fund".
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17 The fund shall be a continuing fund, not subject to fiscal year
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18 limitations, and shall consist of all monies received by the State
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19 Regents from state appropriations provided for the purpose of
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20 implementing the provisions of subsection B of this section. All
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21 monies accruing to the credit of the fund are hereby appropriated
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22 and may be budgeted and expended by the State Regents for the
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23 purpose provided for in this subsection. Expenditures from the fund
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24 shall be made upon warrants issued by the State Treasurer against
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1 claims filed as prescribed by law with the Director of the Office of
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2 Management and Enterprise Services for approval and payment.
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3 B. Subject to the availability of funding, the Oklahoma State
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4 Regents for Higher Education shall utilize the Statewide Literacy
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5 Revolving Fund created in subsection A of this section to:
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6 1. Implement training in the science of reading in early
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7 childhood education, elementary education, and special education
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8 teacher preparation programs accredited by the Commission for
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9 Educational Quality and Accountability. For the purposes of this
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10 section, training in the science of reading includes providing
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11 explicit and systematic instruction in phonological awareness,
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12 decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension and implementing
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13 reading strategies that research has shown to be successful in
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14 improving reading among students with reading difficulties.
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15 Beginning with students entering a an early childhood education,
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16 elementary education, or special education teacher preparation
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17 program accredited by the Commission for Educational Quality and
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18 Accountability in the 2025-2026 academic year, completion of
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19 training required by this paragraph shall lead to a micro-credential
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20 in the science of reading which shall be reflected on teaching
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21 certificates awarded to such individuals; and
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22 2. Support teacher preparation programs accredited by the
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23 Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability in developing
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24 and implementing a micro-credential in the science of reading for
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1 certified teachers employed by school districts and charter schools
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2 in this state. A micro-credential awarded pursuant to this
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3 paragraph shall be reflected on a teacher's certificate to teach.
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4 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
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5 SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
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6 of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
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7 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
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8 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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Req. No. 163 Page 17Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.