(a) “Phonics” means the study of the relationships between sounds and words; this includes alphabetic principle, decoding, orthographic knowledge, encoding, and fluency.
(b) “Science-based early reading instruction” means instruction that is systematic and explicit and consists of at least all of the following:
1. Phonological awareness, including word awareness, rhyme recognition, repetition and creation of alliteration, syllable counting or identification, onset, and rime manipulation.
2. Phonemic awareness, including phoneme identification, isolation, blending, segmentation, addition, substitution, and deletion.
3. Phonics.
4. Building background knowledge.
5. Oral language development.
6. Vocabulary building to develop lexical and morphological knowledge.
7. Instruction in writing.
8. Instruction in comprehension.
9. Reading fluency.
(c) “Three-cueing” means any model, including the model referred to as meaning, structure, and visual cues, or MSV, of teaching a pupil to read based on meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues or memory.
20,12Section 12. 118.015 (1m) of the statutes is created to read: 118.015 (1m) Early literacy curricula and instructional materials. (a) Beginning in the 2023-24 school year and annually thereafter, the council on early literacy curricula shall recommend to the department early literacy curricula and instructional materials for use in the following school year in grades kindergarten to 3. The council on early literacy curricula may recommend only early literacy curricula and instructional materials that satisfy the following criteria:
1. The curricula and instructional materials include all of the components of science-based early reading instruction.
2. The curricula and instructional materials do not include 3-cueing.
(b) 1. By no later than 30 days after the department receives recommendations under par. (a), the department shall submit to the joint committee on finance proposed recommendations on early literacy curricula and instructional materials that satisfy the criteria under par. (a) 1. and 2. for use in the following school year. If the cochairpersons of the joint committee on finance do not notify the department within 14 working days after the date of the submittal of the proposed recommendations that the committee has scheduled a meeting to review the proposed recommendations, the department shall adopt the proposed recommendations for use in the following school year. If, within 14 working days after the date of the submittal of the proposed recommendations, the cochairpersons of the committee notify the department that the committee has scheduled a meeting to review the proposed recommendations, the department may not adopt the proposed recommendations unless the committee approves or modifies the proposed recommendations. If the committee modifies the plan, the department may adopt the recommendations only as modified by the committee.
2. The department shall maintain on its website a current list of the early literacy curricula and instructional materials recommendations adopted under this paragraph.
(c) The department shall award grants to reimburse school boards, operators of charter schools, and governing bodies of private schools participating in a program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 that adopt a literacy curriculum from the recommendations adopted under par. (b) after January 1, 2024. A grant under this paragraph shall be an amount equal to one-half of the costs of purchasing the literacy curriculum and instructional materials adopted from the recommendations adopted under par. (b). If the amount appropriated for this purpose is insufficient to pay the full amount to all grant recipients under this paragraph, the department shall prorate the grant awards among all grant recipients.
(d) Beginning on the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], no school board, operator of a charter school, or governing body of a private school participating in a program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 may purchase curricula or instructional materials that include 3-cueing.
20,13Section 13. 118.015 (2) of the statutes is amended to read: 118.015 (2) Employment of reading specialists. Each school district shall employ a reading specialist certified by the department to develop and coordinate a comprehensive reading curriculum in grades kindergarten to 12. At the discretion of the state superintendent, a school district may contract with other school districts or cooperative educational service agencies to employ a certified reading specialist on a cooperative basis.
20,14Section 14. 118.015 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read: 118.015 (3) (a) Develop and implement Implement a reading curriculum in grades kindergarten to 12.
20,15Section 15. 118.015 (5) of the statutes is created to read: 118.015 (5) Prohibited instructional practices; 3-cueing. Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, no public school, including a charter school, or private school participating in a program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 may provide instruction that incorporates 3-cueing in the core reading curriculum for grades kindergarten to 3 or in supplemental materials, including materials used for reading intervention, for pupils in grades kindergarten to 3.
20,16Section 16. 118.016 of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read: 118.016 Reading readiness assessments; characteristics of dyslexia. (1) Definitions. In this section:
(a) “At-risk” means a pupil scored below the 25th percentile on a universal screening assessment or diagnostic assessment, as indicated by the publisher of the assessment.
(b) “Diagnostic assessment” means a tool that includes all of the following:
1. An assessment that evaluates a pupil’s skill in the areas listed in par. (L) 1. to 5., rapid naming, phonological awareness, word recognition, spelling, vocabulary, listening comprehension, and, when developmentally appropriate for the pupil, oral reading fluency and reading comprehension.
2. An opportunity for a pupil’s parent to complete a family history survey to provide additional information about learning difficulties in the pupil’s family.
(c) “Dyslexia” means a specific learning disability that is all of the following:
1. Neurobiological in origin.
2. Characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities that typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language. Consequences of these difficulties may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that may impede vocabulary growth and background knowledge.
3. Often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities.
(d) “Family history survey” means a questionnaire that includes questions about previous recommendations for summer reading support or outside tutoring, general interest in reading and books, family history of characteristics of dyslexia, and any known family struggles in reading or spelling.
(e) “Fidelity” means to perform in the manner that the author or publisher of a program or assessment intends.
(f) “Fundamental skills screening assessment” means an assessment that evaluates whether a pupil possesses phonemic awareness and letter sound knowledge.
(g) “Inadequate rate of progress” means a pupil’s rate of improvement that is minimal and that with continued intervention the pupil is unlikely to demonstrate grade-level skills by the end of the school year.
(h) “Independent charter school” means a charter school established under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x).
(i) “Intervention” means an intervention that is all of the following:
1. Explicit, direct instruction that is systematic, sequential, and cumulative and follows a logical plan of presenting the area of deficit that targets the specific needs of the pupil without presuming prior skills or knowledge of the pupil.
2. Individualized instruction to meet the specific needs of a pupil in a setting that uses intensive, highly concentrated instruction methods and materials that maximize pupil engagement.
3. Instruction that incorporates the simultaneous use of 2 or more sensory pathways during teacher presentations and pupil practice.
(j) “Parent” has the meaning given in s. 115.76 (12) (a).
(k) “Reading readiness assessment” means a fundamental skills screening assessment, universal screening assessment, or diagnostic assessment.
(L) “Universal screening assessment” means an assessment that evaluates a pupil’s skill in all of the following areas:
1. Phonemic awareness.
2. Decoding skills.
3. Alphabet knowledge.
4. Letter sound knowledge.
5. Oral vocabulary.
(2) Four-year-old kindergarten; screening requirement. Each school board and the operator of each independent charter school shall annually assess the early literacy skills of each pupil enrolled in 4-year-old kindergarten in the school district or in the independent charter school at least 2 times during the school year using a fundamental skills screening assessment selected by the department. The school board or operator of the independent charter school shall ensure that the first screening assessment is administered before the 45th day after the first day of the school term and that the 2nd screening assessment is administered by the date that is 45 days before the last day of the school term. The school board or operator of the independent charter school shall ensure that assessments required under this subsection are administered with fidelity.
(3) Early literacy assessments; 5-year-old kindergarten to 3rd grade. Each school board and the operator of each independent charter school shall annually assess the early literacy skills of each pupil enrolled in 5-year-old kindergarten to 3rd grade in the school district or in the independent charter school as follows:
(a) Universal screenings. Screen the pupil at least 3 times during the school year using a universal screening assessment selected by the department. The school board or operator of the independent charter school shall ensure that the universal screening assessments are administered at the following times during the school year:
1. The first universal screening assessment is administered before the 45th day after the first day of the school term.
2. The 2nd universal screening assessment is administered in the middle of the school term, as determined by the school board or operator of the independent charter school.
3. The 3rd universal screening assessment is administered by the date that is 45 days before the last day of the school term.
(b) Diagnostic assessment. Assess a pupil using a diagnostic assessment as follows:
1. No later than the 2nd Friday of November if a universal screening assessment administered under par. (a) 1. indicates that the pupil is at-risk.
2. Within 10 days after a universal screening assessment is administered under par. (a) 2. if the universal screening assessment indicates that the pupil is at-risk.
3. Within 20 days after a teacher or parent who suspects that the pupil has characteristics of dyslexia submits a request for a diagnostic assessment.
(c) Administering assessments with fidelity. Ensure that each assessment required under this subsection is administered with fidelity.
(4) Parental notification. (a) Assessment results. A school board or operator of an independent charter school shall provide the results of a reading readiness assessment, in writing, to a pupil’s parent no later than 15 days after the reading readiness assessment is scored. For purposes of providing results of a reading readiness assessment under this paragraph, a school board or operator of an independent charter school shall provide at least all of the following to a pupil’s parent in the native language of the pupil’s parent:
1. The pupil’s score on the reading readiness assessment.
2. The pupil’s score in each early literacy skill category assessed by the reading readiness assessment.
3. The pupil’s percentile rank score on the reading readiness assessment, if available.
4. The definition of “at-risk” and the score on the reading readiness assessment that would indicate that a pupil is at-risk.
5. A plain language description of the literacy skills the reading readiness assessment is designed to measure.
(b) Special education information. If a diagnostic assessment indicates that a pupil is at-risk, a school board or operator of an independent charter school shall include information about how to make a special education referral under s. 115.777 with the diagnostic assessment results provided to the parent under par. (a).
(c) Dyslexia information; certain pupils. If a school board or operator of an independent charter school is required to assess a pupil’s early literacy skills using a diagnostic assessment, a school board or operator of an independent charter school shall provide all of the following, in writing, to the pupil’s parent:
1. A description of the common indicators and characteristics of dyslexia.
2. Information about appropriate interventions and accommodations for pupils with characteristics of dyslexia.
(d) Early literacy remediation plan; availability. A school board or operator of an independent charter school shall post its early literacy remediation plan, as established under sub. (6), on the school district’s or independent charter school’s website.
(5) Interventions; at-risk pupils. (a) Personal reading plans. If a pupil enrolled in 5-year-old kindergarten to 3rd grade is identified as at-risk based on a universal screening assessment or diagnostic assessment, the school board of the school district or operator of the independent charter school in which the pupil is enrolled shall do all of the following:
1. Create a personal reading plan for the pupil that includes at least all of the following:
a. The pupil’s specific early literacy skill deficiencies, as identified by the applicable assessment.
b. Goals and benchmarks for the pupil’s progress toward grade-level literacy skills.
c. How the pupil’s progress will be monitored.
d. A description of the interventions and any additional instructional services that will be provided to the pupil to address the pupil’s early literacy skill deficiencies.
e. The programming using science-based early reading instruction, as defined in s. 118.015 (1c) (b), that the pupil’s teacher will use to provide reading instruction to the pupil, addressing the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
f. Strategies the pupil’s parent is encouraged to use to help the pupil achieve grade-level literacy skills.
g. Any additional services available and appropriate to accelerate the pupil’s early literacy skill development.
2. Provide the interventions described in the pupil’s personal reading plan to the pupil, as soon as practicable.
3. Monitor the pupil’s progress at least weekly using the method described in the pupil’s personal reading plan to determine whether the pupil demonstrates an inadequate rate of progress.
4. Provide a copy of the pupil’s personal reading plan to the pupil’s parent and obtain a copy of the pupil’s personal reading plan signed by the pupil’s parent.
5. After providing the interventions described in the pupil’s personal reading plan to the pupil for 10 weeks, notify the pupil’s parent of the pupil’s progress, as determined under the pupil’s personal reading plan.
(b) Deadlines for plan creation. If a school board or operator of an independent charter school is required to create a personal reading plan for a pupil under par. (a) 1., the school board or operator shall prepare the personal reading plan as follows:
