Read the full stored bill text
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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
SENATE BILL 1896 By: Standridge
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to the Strong Readers Act; amending
70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508C, as last amended by
Section 2, Chapter 297, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S. Supp.
2025, Section 1210.508C), which relates to reading
assessments; modifying goal of administering certain
screening instruments; removing factor to be given
certain consideration in approving instruments;
requiring school districts to provide certain notice
of certain deficiency; exempting students who
demonstrate proficiency on certain screening
instrument from retention; requiring notification to
the student’s parent or legal guardian; requiring
retention of certain third-grade students who have
not demonstrated proficiency through certain
instrument, have not met certain grade-level targets
on certain statewide assessment, and who do not
qualify for certain exemption; allowing certain
students to be evaluated for probationary promotion
by a Student Reading Proficiency Team; requiring the
team to continue to review certain performance of
certain students; requiring school districts to
include certain information in annual report;
requiring notification to a parent or legal guardian
to include certain information; providing good-cause
exemptions for promotion of certain students;
providing process to request good-cause exemptions;
updating statutory language; updating statutory
reference; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508D,
as amended by Section 6, Chapter 411, O.S.L. 2024 (70
O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 1210.508D), which relates to
Strong Readers Act funding; directing allocation of
funds for certain retained students; providing an
effective date; and declaring an emergency.
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508C,
as last amended by Section 2, Chapter 297, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S.
Supp. 2025, Section 1210.508C), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1210.508C. A. To identify students who have a
deficiency in reading or who have characteristics of dyslexia that
lead to or cause reading difficulty, 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. 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
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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 three screening instruments
for use at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year for
monitoring of progress and for measurement of reading skills as
required in subsection A of this 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; and
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 each student, 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
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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,
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
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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
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 one-
hundred-eighty-one-day or one-thousand-eighty-hour
one-thousand-eighty-six-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
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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.
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
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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.
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 or an individual with
advanced training or specialization in literacy
instruction, 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.
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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
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 O of this section.
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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
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. The district shall also provide notice of
the significant reading deficiency to the student’s parent or legal
guardian as provided for by paragraph 4 of subsection D of this
section. Intensive intervention services shall continue until the
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student demonstrates proficiency at his or her grade level based on
a screening instrument administered pursuant to subsection A of this
section.
G. 1. Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, a student
enrolled in first, second, or third grade who demonstrates
proficiency in reading at the third-grade level through a screening
instrument approved pursuant to subsection B of this section shall
not be subject to retention pursuant to this section. After a
student has demonstrated proficiency through a screening instrument,
the school 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.
2. Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, a third-grade
student who has not demonstrated proficiency in reading at the
third-grade level through a screening instrument approved pursuant
to subsection B of this section, who has not met grade-level
performance based on scores for the standards for reading
foundations and processes and the vocabulary portions of the
statewide third-grade assessment administered pursuant to Section
1210.508 of this title, and is not subject to a good-cause exemption
as provided for in subsection K of this section, shall not be
eligible for automatic promotion to fourth grade and shall be
retained in the third grade and provided intensive intervention
services as provided for in subsection F of this section. The
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performance levels established by the Commission for Educational
Quality and Accountability pursuant to Section 1210.508 of this
title shall ensure that students meeting the performance level
criteria are performing at grade level on the reading foundations
and processes and the vocabulary portions of the statewide third-
grade assessment.
3. Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, a third-grade
student who has not demonstrated proficiency in reading at the
third-grade level through a screening instrument approved pursuant
to subsection B of this section, who has not met grade-level
performance based on scores for the standards for reading
foundations and processes and the vocabulary portions of the
statewide third-grade assessment administered pursuant to Section
1210.508 of this title, and is not subject to a good-cause exemption
as provided for in subsection K of this section may be evaluated for
probationary promotion by the Student Reading Proficiency Team
created pursuant to subsection D of this section. A student shall
be promoted if the team members unanimously recommend probationary
promotion to the school principal and the school district
superintendent, and they agree to approve the recommendation that
promotion is the best option for the student. If a student is
granted probationary promotion, the team shall continue to review
the reading performance of the student until he or she demonstrates
grade-level reading proficiency, as identified through a screening
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instrument for the corresponding grade level in which the student is
enrolled.
H. 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 third-grade students retained pursuant to
this section, the number of third-grade students promoted to the
fourth grade due to a good-cause exemption as provided for in
subsection K of this section by each category of good cause, 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 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
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committees with responsibility for common education policy in each
legislative chamber.
H. I. 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;
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 shall not be promoted to the fourth
grade if he or she has not demonstrated proficiency in reading at
the third-grade level through a screening instrument approved
pursuant to subsection B of this section and has not met grade-level
performance based on scores for the standards for reading
foundations and processes and the vocabulary portions of the
statewide third-grade assessment administered pursuant to Section
1210.508 of this title unless the student qualifies for a good-cause
exemption as provided for in subsection K of this section. A
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student who is promoted due to a good-cause exemption 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. J. No student may be assigned to a grade level based solely
on age or other factors that constitute social promotion.
J. K. For those students who have not demonstrated proficiency
in reading at the third-grade level through a screening instrument
approved pursuant to subsection B of this section and have not met
grade-level performance based on scores for the standards for
reading foundations and processes and the vocabulary portions of the
statewide third-grade assessment administered pursuant to Section
1210.508 of this title, a school district may promote the student
for good cause only. Good-cause exemptions for promotion shall be
limited to the following:
1. English language learners who have had fewer than two (2)
years of instruction in an English language learner program;
2. Students with disabilities whose individualized education
program (IEP), consistent with state law, indicates that the student
is to be assessed with alternate achievement standards through the
OAAP;
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3. Students who demonstrate an acceptable level of performance
on an alternative standardized reading assessment approved by the
State Board of Education;
4. Students with disabilities who participate in the statewide
assessments administered pursuant to Section 1210.508 of this title
and who have an IEP that reflects that the students have received
intensive remediation in reading for more than two (2) years but
still demonstrate a deficiency in reading and were previously
retained in prekindergarten for academic reasons, kindergarten,
first grade, second grade, or third grade;
5. Students who have received intensive remediation in reading
through a program of reading instruction for two (2) or more years
but still demonstrate a deficiency in reading and who were
previously retained in prekindergarten for academic reasons, first
grade, second grade, or third grade for a total of two (2) years;
and
6. Students who have been granted an exemption for medical
emergencies by the State Department of Education.
L. To request a good-cause exemption provided for in subsection
K of this section, the student’s teacher shall submit documentation
to the school principal that indicates the student meets one of the
good-cause exemptions and promotion of the student is appropriate.
The principal shall review the request and make a recommendation to
the school district superintendent regarding whether the request
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should be approved. The school district superintendent shall
approve or disapprove the request and submit the response in writing
to the school principal who submitted the recommendation.
M. 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,
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,
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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)
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.
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K. N. 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. O. 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;
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 in 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
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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;
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.
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The State Department of Education may contract with an
independent entity for the reporting and analysis requirements of
this subsection.
M. P. 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. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508D,
as amended by Section 6, Chapter 411, O.S.L. 2024 (70 O.S. Supp.
2025, Section 1210.508D), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1210.508D. A. Contingent on the provision of
appropriated funds designated for the Strong Readers Act, school
districts may be allocated monies for each enrolled kindergarten
student or first-, second-, and third-grade student of the current
school year, including any student who has been retained in the
third grade pursuant to Section 1210.508C of this title, who is
found to be in need of remediation or intensive intervention
services in reading. The allocation shall be distributed to each
school district upon approval of the strong readers plan for the
school district by the State Board of Education and the submittal of
a child-count report to the State Department of Education that
details the number of students identified as needing remediation or
intensive intervention services in reading. To determine a per-
student allocation amount, the total amount of funds available for
allocation each year shall be divided by the total number of
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students in the state identified as in need of remediation or
intensive intervention services in reading as provided for in
Section 1210.508C of this title. Each school district shall be
allocated an amount equal to the per-student allocation amount
multiplied by the number of identified students enrolled in the
school district.
B. Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, districts
receiving more than Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00)
pursuant to subsection A of this section shall spend no less than
ten percent (10%) to provide professional development for teachers
teaching prekindergarten through grade five. The professional
development shall include training in the science of reading
including how students learn to read; training in providing explicit
and systematic instruction in phonological awareness, decoding,
fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; implementing reading
strategies that research has shown to be successful in improving
reading among students with reading difficulties; and instructional
materials required for implementation.
C. By June 30, 2022, the Department shall approve and publish a
list of professional development programs that are evidence-based
and directly address the cognitive science of how students learn to
read for which districts are permitted to use the funds received
under this section.
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D. If a teacher attends and completes a professional
development institute in elementary reading approved by the
Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability during the
summer or when school is not in session, the teacher may receive a
stipend equal to the amount of the cost for a substitute teacher,
based on the amount of funds allocated.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2026.
SECTION 4. 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.
60-2-2773 EB 1/15/2026 8:34:32 AM