Senate Bill No. 1145

Introduced by Senator Hueso

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Roger Hernández)

February 18, 2016

An act to amend Section 8482.3 of, and to add Chapter 15.5 (commencing with Section 53008) to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of, the Education Code, relating to language arts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1145, as introduced, Hueso. Language arts: reading: assessments and plans.

The Comprehensive Reading Leadership Program Act of 1996 authorizes county offices of education to apply to the State Board of Education to design a reading leadership program and develop materials that focus on reading skills, including phonics.

This bill would require the state board, on or before December 31, 2017, to develop a reading assessment that can be used by the public schools to assess pupils in grades 1 to 3, inclusive, in their ability to read proficiently by the end of grade 3. The bill would require public schools that enroll pupils in these grades, on or before the start of the 2018-19 school year, to ensure that each pupil’s reading competency is measured using the reading assessment. The bill would require any pupil who has a significant reading deficiency, as provided, to have a reading plan to be created in collaboration with the pupil’s parent and teacher. The bill would require the reading plan to have certain elements to be reviewed at least annually by the school and updated or revised as appropriate. By expanding the duties of a public school, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.

Existing law establishes the After School Education and Safety Program to serve pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 9, inclusive, at participating public elementary, middle, junior high, and charter schools. Existing law requires each component of the program to have specified elements, including that the program have an educational and literacy element in which tutoring or homework assistance is offered in one or more specified areas.

This bill would require, if the program is designed for pupils in elementary school, that tutoring and homework assistance be instead offered in language arts.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 8482.3 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

8482.3.  

(a) The After School Education and Safety Program
shall be established to serve pupils in kindergarten and grades 1
to 9, inclusive, at participating public elementary, middle, junior
high, and charter schools.

(b) A program may operate a before school component of a
program, an after school component, or both the before and after
school components of a program, on one or multiple schoolsites.
If a program operates at multiple schoolsites, only one application
shall be required for its establishment.

(c) (1) Each component of a program established pursuant to
this article shall consist of the following two elements:

(A)  begin insert (i) end insert begin insert   end insert An educational and literacy element in which tutoring
or homework assistance is provided in one or more of the following
areas: language arts, mathematics, history and social science,
computer training, or science.

begin insert

(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), if the program is designed for
pupils in elementary school, then tutoring and homework assistance
shall be offered in language arts.

end insert

(B) An educational enrichment element that may include, but
need not be limited to, fine arts, career technical education,
recreation, physical fitness, and prevention activities.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the
majority of the time spent by a pupil who is in kindergarten or any
of grades 1 to 9, inclusive, and who is participating in a career
technical education element of a program established pursuant to
this article shall be at a site that complies with Section 8484.6.

(d) (1) Applicants shall agree that snacks made available
through a program shall conform to the nutrition standards in
Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 49430) of Chapter 9 of Part
27 of Division 4 of Title 2.

(2) Applicants shall agree that meals made available through a
program shall conform to the nutrition standards of the United
States Department of Agriculture’s at-risk afterschool meal
component of the begin insert federal end insert Child and Adult Care Food Program (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1766).

(e) Applicants for programs established pursuant to this article
may include any of the following:

(1) A local educational agency, including, but not limited to, a
charter school, the California School for the Deaf (northern
California), the California School for the Deaf (southern
California), and the California School for the Blind.

(2) A city, county, or nonprofit organization in partnership with,
and with the approval of, a local educational agency or agencies.

(f) Applicants for grants pursuant to this article shall ensure that
each of the following requirements is fulfilled, if applicable:

(1) The application documents the commitments of each partner
to operate a program on that site or sites.

(2) The application has been approved by the school district, or
the charter school governing body, and the principal of each
participating school for each schoolsite or other site.

(3) Each partner in the application agrees to share responsibility
for the quality of the program.

(4) The application designates the public agency or local
educational agency partner to act as the fiscal agent. For purposes
of this section, “public agency” means only a county board of
supervisors or if the city is incorporated or has a charter, a city
council.

(5) Applicants agree to follow all fiscal reporting and auditing
standards required by the department.

(6) Applicants agree to incorporate into the program both of the
elements required pursuant to subdivision (c).

(7) Applicants agree to provide information to the department
for the purpose of program evaluation pursuant to Section 8483.55.

(8) Applicants shall certify that program evaluations will be
based upon Section 8484 and upon any requirements recommended
by the Advisory Committee on Before and After School Programs
and adopted by the state board, in compliance with subdivision
(g) of Section 8482.4.

(9) The application states the targeted number of pupils to be
served by the program.

(10) Applicants agree to provide the following information on
participating pupils to the department:

(A) Schoolday attendance rates.

(B) Program attendance.

(g) (1) Grantees shall review their after school program plans
every three years, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Program goals. A grantee may specify any new program
goals that will apply to the following three years during the grant
renewal process.

(B) Program content, including the elements identified in
subdivision (c).

(C) Outcome measures selected from those identified in
subdivision (a) of Section 8484 that the grantee will use for the
next three years.

(D) Any other information requested by the department.

(E) If the program goals or outcome measures change as a result
of this review, the grantee shall notify the department in a manner
prescribed by the department.

(F) The grantee shall maintain documentation of the after school
program plan for a minimum of five years.

(2) The department shall monitor this review as part of its onsite
monitoring process.

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 15.5 (commencing with Section 53008) is
added to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code,
to read:

 

Chapter  15.5. Golden State Reading Guarantee

 

53008.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) Reading proficiently by the end of third grade can be a
make-or-break benchmark in a child’s educational development.
Up until the end of third grade, most children are learning to read.
Beginning in fourth grade, however, they are reading to learn,
using their skills to gain more information in such subjects as
mathematics and science.

(2) California’s long-term economic strength depends on having
an educated workforce and grade-level reading proficiency is the
key. By dramatically getting more California children on track as
proficient readers, California can also dramatically stop the cycle
of intergenerational poverty, and boost the individual earning
potential, global competitiveness, and overall quality of life for
all Californians.

(3) An important partnership between a parent and child begins
before the child enters kindergarten, when the parent helps the
child develop rich linguistic experiences, including listening
comprehension and speaking, that help form the foundation for
reading and writing, which are the main vehicles for content
acquisition.

(b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature that all California
public schools that enroll pupils in first, second, or third grade will
work closely with the parents and teachers of these pupils to
provide them the instructional programming, intervention
instruction, and support necessary to ensure that pupils, by the
completion of third grade, can demonstrate a level of competency
in reading skills that is necessary to support them in achieving the
academic standards and expectations applicable to the fourth grade
curriculum.

53008.1.  

On or before December 31, 2017, the state board shall
accomplish both of the following:

(a) Develop a reading assessment that can be used by the public
schools, pursuant to Section 53008.2, to assess pupils in grades 1
to 3, inclusive, in their ability to read proficiently by the end of
grade 3.

(b) Define what it means for a pupil to have a “significant
reading deficiency” in grades 1 to 3, inclusive, such that the pupil
is not on track to reading proficiency by the end of grade 3, as
determined by the reading assessment.

53008.2.  

(a) On or before the start of the 2018-19 school year,
a public school that enrolls pupils in grades 1 to 3, inclusive, shall
ensure that each pupil’s reading competency is measured
throughout the school year using the reading assessment developed
by the state board pursuant to Section 53008.1 to determine if a
pupil has a significant reading deficiency.

(b) A reading plan, described in subdivision (c), shall be created
for a pupil in grades 1 to 3, inclusive, who has a significant reading
deficiency, as that term is defined by the state board pursuant to
Section 53008.1. The plan shall be created in collaboration with
the pupil’s parent and teacher, if possible, and as soon as possible
after the pupil’s significant reading deficiency is identified. The
pupil’s reading plan shall continue to be implemented until the
pupil demonstrates reading proficiency. The pupil’s reading plan
shall be reviewed at least annually by the school and updated or
revised as appropriate to facilitate the pupil’s progress in
demonstrating reading proficiency.

(c) A reading plan shall include all of the following:

(1) The pupil’s specific, diagnosed reading skill deficiencies
that need to be remediated in order for the pupil to attain reading
proficiency.

(2) The goals and benchmarks for the pupil’s growth in attaining
reading proficiency by the end of grade 3.

(3) The type of additional instructional services and interventions
the pupil will receive in reading as determined by the school.

(4) The strategies the pupil’s parent is encouraged to use in
assisting their child to achieve reading proficiency that are designed
to supplement the additional instructional services and interventions
described in paragraph (3).

(5) Any additional services that are deemed available and
appropriate to accelerate the pupils’s reading skill development.

(d) The parent of the pupil shall be provided with a copy of their
child’s reading plan along with all of the following information:

(1) The state’s goal is for all children in California to graduate
from high school having attained skill levels that adequately
prepare them for postsecondary studies or for the workforce, and
research demonstrates that achieving reading competency by grade
3 is a critical milestone in achieving this goal.

(2) If the pupil enters grade 4 without achieving reading
competency, he or she is significantly more likely to fall behind
in all subject areas beginning in grade 4 and continuing in later
grades. If the pupil’s reading skill deficiencies are not remediated,
it is likely the pupil will not have the skills necessary to complete
the coursework required to graduate from high school.

(3) The parent plays a central role in supporting the pupil’s
efforts to achieve reading competency and is strongly encouraged
to work with his or her child’s teacher in implementing the reading
plan, and, in order to supplement the intervention instruction the
pupil receives in school, the reading plan will include strategies
the parent is encouraged to use at home to support the pupil’s
reading success.

(e) If a pupil is identified as having a disability that impacts the
pupil’s progress in developing reading skills, the public school
shall, as appropriate, integrate into the pupil’s individualized
education program intervention instruction and strategies to address
the pupil’s reading issues in lieu of a reading plan.

(f) For purposes of this section, “parent” means parent or legal
guardian.

53008.3.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to increase the base
rate funding pursuant to Section 42238.02 for kindergarten and
grades 1 to 3, inclusive, for purposes of funding this chapter.

SEC. 3.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.