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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
HOUSE BILL 1981 By: Ranson
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 1210.508C, as amended by Section 5, Chapter
411, O.S.L. 2024 (70 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section
1210.508C), which relates to the Strong Readers Act;
changing the number and timing of reading screenings
for kindergarten students; modifying the number and
timing of screening instruments used for kindergarten
students; providing an effective date; and declaring
an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508C,
as amended by Section 5, Chapter 411, O.S.L. 2024 (70 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 1210.508C), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1210.508C. A. To identify students who have a reading
deficiency including identifying students with characteristics of
dyslexia, each student enrolled in kindergarten and first, second,
and third grade in a public school in this state shall be screened
at the beginning, middle, and end of each school year for reading
skills including, but not limited to, phonological awareness,
decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Kindergarten
students shall be screened at the middle and end of the school year,
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with the first screening provided no later than December. First,
second, and third grade students shall be screened at the beginning,
middle, and end of each school year. A screening instrument
approved by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the
Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability and the
Secretary of Education, shall be utilized for the purposes of this
section. In determining which screening instrument to approve, the
State Board of Education, the Commission for Educational Quality and
Accountability, and the Secretary of Education shall take into
consideration at a minimum the following factors:
1. The time required to conduct the screening instrument with
the intention of minimizing the impact on instructional time;
2. The timeliness in reporting screening instrument results to
teachers, administrators, and parents and legal guardians of
students; and
3. The integration of the screening instrument into reading
curriculum.
B. Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, the State Board of
Education shall approve no fewer than two (2) screening instruments
for use at the middle and end of the school year for kindergarten
students and no fewer than three (3) screening instruments for use
at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year for first,
second, and third grade students for monitoring of progress and for
measurement of reading skills as required in subsection A of this
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section. The screening instruments shall meet the following
criteria:
1. Assess for phonological awareness, decoding, fluency,
vocabulary, and comprehension;
2. Document the validity and reliability of each assessment;
3. Can be used for identifying students who are at risk for
reading deficiency and progress monitoring throughout the school
year;
4. Can be used to assess students with disabilities and English
language learners; and
5. Accompanied by a data management system that provides
profiles of students, class, grade level, and school building. The
profiles shall identify each student's instructional point of need
and reading achievement level. The State Board shall also determine
other comparable reading assessments for diagnostic purposes to be
used for students at risk of reading failure.
C. 1. Exemptions to the screening requirements of this section
may be provided to students who have documented evidence that they
meet at least one of the following criteria as related to the
provision of classroom instruction:
a. the student participates in the Oklahoma Alternate
Assessment Program (OAAP) and is taught using
alternate methods,
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b. the student's primary expressive or receptive
communication is sign language,
c. the student's primary form of written or read text is
Braille, or
d. the student's primary expressive or receptive language
is not English, the student is identified as an
English learner using a state-approved identification
assessment, and the student has had less than one (1)
school year of instruction in an English-learner
program.
2. A public school that grants an exemption pursuant to
paragraph 1 of this subsection shall provide ongoing evidence of
student progression toward English language acquisition with the
same frequency as administration of screening assessments. Evidence
may include, but not be limited to, student progression toward OAAP
reading essential elements, proficiency in sign language and reading
comprehension, and proficiency in Braille and reading comprehension.
D. 1. Students who are administered a screening instrument
pursuant to subsection A of this section and are found not to be
meeting grade-level targets shall be provided a program of reading
instruction designed to enable students to acquire the appropriate
grade-level reading skills. The program of reading instruction
shall be based on scientific reading research and align with the
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subject matter standards adopted by the State Board of Education. A
program of reading instruction shall include:
a. sufficient additional in-school instructional time for
the acquisition of phonological awareness, decoding,
fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension,
b. if necessary and if funding is available, tutorial
instruction after regular school hours, on Saturdays,
and during summer; however, such instruction may not
be counted toward the one-hundred-eighty-day or one-
thousand-eighty-hour school year required in Section
1-109 of this title,
c. assessments identified for diagnostic purposes and
periodic monitoring to measure the acquisition of
reading skills including, but not limited to,
phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary,
and comprehension, as identified in the student's
program of reading instruction,
d. high-quality instructional materials grounded in
scientifically based reading research, and
e. a means of providing every family of a student in
prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first, second, and
third grade access to free online evidence-based
literacy instruction resources to support the
student's literacy development at home.
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2. A student enrolled in kindergarten or first, second, or
third grade who exhibits a deficiency in reading at any time based
on the screening instrument administered pursuant to subsection A of
this section shall receive an individual reading intervention plan
no later than thirty (30) days after the identification of the
deficiency in reading. The reading intervention plan shall be
provided in addition to core reading instruction that is provided to
all students. The reading intervention plan shall:
a. describe the research-based reading intervention
services the student will receive to remedy the
deficiency in reading,
b. provide explicit and systematic instruction in
phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary,
and comprehension, as applicable,
c. monitor the reading progress of each student's reading
skills throughout the school year and adjust
instruction according to the student's needs, and
d. continue until the student is determined to be meeting
grade-level targets in reading based on screening
instruments administered pursuant to subsection A of
this section or assessments identified for diagnostic
purposes and periodic monitoring pursuant to
subparagraph c of paragraph 1 of this subsection.
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3. The reading intervention plan for each student identified
with a deficiency in reading shall be developed by a Student Reading
Proficiency Team and shall include supplemental instructional
services and supports. Each team shall be composed of:
a. the parent or legal guardian of the student,
b. the teacher assigned to the student who had
responsibility for reading instruction in that
academic year,
c. a teacher who is responsible for reading instruction
and is assigned to teach in the next grade level of
the student, and
d. a certified reading specialist, if one is available.
4. A school district shall notify the parent or legal guardian
of any student in kindergarten or first, second, or third grade who
exhibits a deficiency in reading at any time based on the screening
instrument administered pursuant to subsection A of this section.
The notification shall occur no later than thirty (30) days after
the identification of the deficiency in reading.
E. 1. Every school district shall adopt and implement a
district strong readers plan which has had input from school
administrators, teachers, and parents and legal guardians and if
possible a reading specialist, and which shall be submitted
electronically to and approved by the State Board of Education. The
plan shall be updated annually. School districts shall not be
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required to electronically submit the annual updates to the Board if
the last plan submitted to the Board was approved and expenditures
for the program include only expenses relating to individual and
small group tutoring, purchase of and training in the use of
screening and assessment measures, summer school programs, and
Saturday school programs. If any expenditure for the program is
deleted or changed or any other type of expenditure for the program
is implemented, the school district shall be required to submit the
latest annual update to the Board for approval. The district strong
readers plan shall include a plan for each site which includes an
analysis of the data provided by the Oklahoma School Testing Program
and other reading assessments utilized as required in this section,
and which outlines how each school site will comply with the
provisions of the Strong Readers Act.
2. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the
implementation and evaluation of the provisions of the Strong
Readers Act. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to,
an analysis of the data required in subsection L of this section.
F. 1. Any first-grade, second-grade, or third-grade student
who demonstrates proficiency in reading through a grade-level
appropriate screening instrument approved pursuant to subsection B
of this section shall not require a program of reading instruction
or an individual reading intervention plan. After a student has
demonstrated proficiency through a screening instrument, the
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district shall provide notification to the parent or legal guardian
of the student that he or she has satisfied the requirements of the
Strong Readers Act. The district shall continue to monitor the
student in the next successive grade level to ensure he or she
maintains proficiency.
2. Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, if a third-grade
student is identified at any point of the academic year as having a
significant reading deficiency, which shall be defined as not
meeting grade-level targets on a screening instrument administered
pursuant to subsection A of this section, the district shall provide
the student with intensive intervention services for the appropriate
amount of the instructional day consistent with the individual
reading intervention plan developed pursuant to paragraph 2 of
subsection D of this section and as determined by the Student
Reading Proficiency Team. Intensive intervention services shall
continue until the student demonstrates proficiency at his or her
grade level based on a screening instrument administered pursuant to
subsection A of this section.
G. Each school district shall annually report in an electronic
format to the State Department of Education, the Office of
Educational Quality and Accountability, and the Secretary of
Education the number of students in kindergarten through third grade
per grade level who exhibit grade-level reading proficiency, the
number of students per grade level who received intensive
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intervention services pursuant to paragraph 2 of subsection F of
this section, the number of students per grade level who attended a
summer academy as provided for in Section 1210.508E of this title,
the number of students per grade level who exhibited improved
reading proficiency after completion of intensive intervention
services, and the number of students per grade level who are still
in need of intensive intervention services. The State Department of
Education shall publicly report the aggregate and district-specific
numbers submitted pursuant to this subsection on its website and
shall provide electronic copies of the report to the Governor,
Secretary of Education, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Speaker
of the House of Representatives, and to the respective chairs of the
committees with responsibility for common education policy in each
legislative chamber.
H. The parent of any student who is found to have a reading
deficiency and is not meeting grade-level reading targets and has
been provided a program of reading instruction as provided for in
paragraph 1 of subsection D of this section shall be notified in
writing of the following:
1. That the student has been identified as having a substantial
deficiency in reading;
2. A description of the current services that are provided to
the student pursuant to subsection D of this section;
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3. A description of the proposed intensive intervention
services and supports that will be provided to the student that are
designed to remediate the identified area of reading deficiency as
provided for in paragraph 2 of subsection F of this section;
4. That a student who is promoted to the fourth grade shall
receive supplemental intensive intervention services;
5. Strategies for parents to use in helping their child succeed
in reading proficiency; and
6. The grade-level performance scores of the student.
I. No student may be assigned to a grade level based solely on
age or other factors that constitute social promotion.
J. 1. Each school district board of education shall annually
publish on the school website and report electronically to the State
Department of Education, the Office of Educational Quality and
Accountability, and the Secretary of Education by September 1 of
each year the following information on the prior school year:
a. the policies and procedures adopted by the school
district board of education to implement the
provisions of this section. The information submitted
shall include expenditures related to implementing the
provisions of this section, the number of staff
implementing the provisions of this section, and
average daily classroom time devoted to implementing
the provisions of this section,
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b. by grade, the number and percentage of all students in
kindergarten through third grade who did not meet
grade-level targets based on a screening instrument
administered pursuant to subsection A of this section,
c. by grade, the number and percentage of all students in
kindergarten through third grade who have been
enrolled in the district for fewer than two (2) years,
d. by grade, the number and percentage of students in
kindergarten through third grade who demonstrated
grade-level proficiency based on a screening
instrument administered pursuant to subsection A of
this section, and
e. by grade, the number and percentage of students in
kindergarten through third grade who are on an
individualized education program (IEP) in accordance
with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) and who demonstrated grade-level proficiency
based on a screening instrument administered pursuant
to subsection A of this section or an alternative
assessment prescribed by the student's IEP.
2. The State Department of Education shall establish a uniform
format for school districts to report the information required in
this subsection. The format shall be developed with input from
school districts and shall be provided not later than ninety (90)
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days prior to the annual due date. The Department shall annually
compile the information required, along with state-level summary
information, and electronically report the information to the
public, the Governor, the Secretary of Education, the President Pro
Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
K. The State Department of Education shall provide technical
assistance as needed to aid school districts in administering the
provisions of the Strong Readers Act.
L. On or before January 31 of each year, the State Department
of Education shall electronically submit to the Governor, the
President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and members of the committees with responsibility
over common education in both houses of the Legislature a Strong
Readers Report which shall include, but is not limited to, trend
data detailing three (3) years of data, disaggregated by student
subgroups to include economically disadvantaged, major racial or
ethnic groups, students with disabilities, and English language
learners, as appropriate for the following:
1. The statewide aggregate number and percentage of students in
kindergarten through third grade determined to be at risk for
reading difficulties compared to the total number of students
enrolled in each grade;
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2. The statewide aggregate number and percentage of students in
kindergarten who continue to be at risk for reading difficulties as
determined by the year-end administration of the screening
instrument required subsection A of this section;
3. The statewide aggregate number and percentage of students in
kindergarten through third grade who have successfully completed
their program of reading instruction and are reading on grade level
as determined by the results of screening instruments administered
pursuant to subsection A of this section;
4. The statewide aggregate and district-specific number and
percentage of students that meet or do not meet grade-level targets
for reading based on screening instruments administered pursuant to
subsection A of this section;
5. The amount of funds received by each district for
implementation of the Strong Readers Act;
6. An evaluation and narrative interpretation of the report
data analyzing the impact of the Strong Readers Act on students'
ability to read at grade level;
7. The type of reading instruction practices and methods
currently being used by school districts in the state;
8. Socioeconomic information, access to reading resources
outside of school, and screening for and identification of learning
disabilities for students not reading at the appropriate grade level
in kindergarten and first through third grade;
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9. By grade level, the types of intensive intervention efforts
being conducted by school districts for students who are not on an
IEP and who are not reading at the appropriate grade level and for
students who are on an IEP and who are not reading at the
appropriate grade level; and
10. Any recommendations for improvements or amendments to the
Strong Readers Act.
The State Department of Education may contract with an
independent entity for the reporting and analysis requirements of
this subsection.
M. Copies of the results of the screening instruments
administered pursuant to subsection A of this section shall be made
a part of the permanent record of each student.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
60-1-11161 SW 01/11/25