AB321: Bill Text

AB321,,117 (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:

AB321,,118 (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:

AB321,,119 1. The first universal screening assessment is administered before the 45th day after the first day of the school term.

AB321,,120 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.

AB321,,121 3. The 3rd universal screening assessment is administered by the date that is 45 days before the last day of the school term.

AB321,,122 (b) Diagnostic assessment. Assess a pupil using a diagnostic assessment as follows:

AB321,,123 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.

AB321,,124 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.

AB321,,125 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.

AB321,,126 (c) Administering assessments with fidelity. Ensure that each assessment required under this subsection is administered with fidelity.

AB321,,127 (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:

AB321,,128 1. The pupil’s score on the reading readiness assessment.

AB321,,129 2. The pupil’s score in each early literacy skill category assessed by the reading readiness assessment.

AB321,,130 3. The pupil’s percentile rank score on the reading readiness assessment, if available.

AB321,,131 4. The definition of “at-risk” and the score on the reading readiness assessment that would indicate that a pupil is at-risk.

AB321,,132 5. A plain language description of the literacy skills the reading readiness assessment is designed to measure.

AB321,,133 (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).

AB321,,134 (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:

AB321,,135 1. A description of the common indicators and characteristics of dyslexia.

AB321,,136 2. Information about appropriate interventions and accommodations for pupils with characteristics of dyslexia.

AB321,,137 (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.

AB321,,138 (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:

AB321,,139 1. Create a personal reading plan for the pupil that includes at least all of the following:

AB321,,140 a. The pupil’s specific early literacy skill deficiencies, as identified by the applicable assessment.

AB321,,141 b. Goals and benchmarks for the pupil’s progress toward grade-level literacy skills.

AB321,,142 c. How the pupil’s progress will be monitored.

AB321,,143 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.

AB321,,144 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.

AB321,,145 f. Strategies the pupil’s parent is encouraged to use to help the pupil achieve grade-level literacy skills.

AB321,,146 g. Any additional services available and appropriate to accelerate the pupil’s early literacy skill development.

AB321,,147 2. Provide the interventions described in the pupil’s personal reading plan to the pupil, as soon as practicable.

AB321,,148 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.

AB321,,149 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.

AB321,,150 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.

AB321,,151 (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:

AB321,,152 1. If the pupil is identified as at-risk based on a universal screening assessment administered under sub. (3) (a) 1. or based on a diagnostic assessment administered under sub. (3) (b) 1., no later than the 3rd Friday of November.

AB321,,153 2. If the pupil is identified as at-risk based on a universal screening assessment administered under sub. (3) (a) 2. or 3. or based on a diagnostic assessment administered under sub. (3) (b) 2. or 3., within 10 days after the applicable screening assessment is administered.

AB321,,154 (c) Inadequate rate of progress. For purposes of determining whether a pupil demonstrates an inadequate rate of progress under par. (a) 3., a school board or operator of an independent charter school shall determine whether the pupil is likely to demonstrate grade-level skills by the end of the school year by assessing one of the following:

AB321,,155 1. For a pupil enrolled in 5-year-old kindergarten, nonword or nonsense word fluency and phoneme segmentation fluency.

AB321,,156 2. For a pupil enrolled in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade, oral reading fluency.

AB321,,157 (6) Early literacy remediation plan; school district or independent charter school. A school board or operator of an independent charter school shall establish an early literacy remediation plan for grades 5-year-old kindergarten to 3 that includes all of the following:

AB321,,158 (a) The assessments the school board or operator of the independent charter school uses to satisfy the requirements under sub. (3).

AB321,,159 (b) A description of the interventions the school board or operator of the independent charter school uses to address characteristics of dyslexia.

AB321,,160 (c) A description of how the school board or operator of the independent charter school monitors pupil progress during interventions, including the frequency of monitoring pupil progress during interventions and any assessment tools used to monitor pupil progress during interventions.

AB321,,161 (d) How the school board or operator of the independent charter school uses results of assessments required under sub. (3) to evaluate early literacy instruction being provided in the school district or at the independent charter school.

AB321,,162 (e) A parent notification policy that complies with subs. (4) and (5) (a) 4. and 5.

AB321,,163 (7) Reporting assessment data. By no later than July 15, 2025, and each July 15 thereafter, a school board shall report for each school and for the school district, and the operator of an independent charter school shall report for the independent charter school, all of the following to the department:

AB321,,164 (a) The number of pupils who were identified as at-risk as the result of a fundamental skills screening assessment administered in the previous school year.

AB321,,165 (b) The number of pupils who were identified as at-risk as the result of a universal screening assessment administered in the previous school year.

AB321,,166 (c) The number of pupils who were identified as at-risk as the result of a diagnostic assessment administered in the previous school year.

AB321,,167 (d) The names of the diagnostic assessments used to assess pupils in the previous school year.

AB321,,168 (e) The number of pupils enrolled in 5-year-old kindergarten to 3rd grade who began receiving interventions during the previous school year, by grade.

AB321,,169 (f) The total number of pupils enrolled in 5-year-old kindergarten to 3rd grade who received interventions under a personal reading plan during the previous school year.

AB321,,170 (g) The number of pupils enrolled in 5-year-old kindergarten to 3rd grade who exited interventions during the previous school year, by grade.

AB321,,171 (h) The number of pupils for whom a referral under s. 115.777 was made during the previous school year based on diagnostic assessment results provided to a parent under sub. (4) (a).

AB321,,172 (8) Department; duties. (a) Selected and approved reading readiness assessments. 1. By no later than July 15, 2024, and subject to subd. 2., the department shall select a fundamental skills screening assessment and a universal screening assessment, and establish and maintain a list of diagnostic assessments that are approved by the department for use under this section.

AB321,,173 2. The department may select or approve an assessment under subd. 1. only if the assessment meets all of the following criteria:

AB321,,174 a. The assessment has a sensitivity rate of at least 70 percent.

AB321,,175 b. The assessment has a specificity rate of at least 80 percent.

AB321,,176 c. The assessment includes a growth measure.

AB321,,177 3. The department shall publish a list of the assessments selected or approved under subd. 1. on its website and submit the lists of approved assessments to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3). If the department modifies a list under subd. 1., the department shall submit the modified list to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3).

AB321,,178 (b) Reports to the legislature. By November 30, 2025, and by each November 30 thereafter, the department shall compile the information it receives under sub. (7) and submit a report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3) that includes the number of pupils identified as at-risk in the previous school year, by school and by school district.

AB321,,179 (9) State aid. (a) Payment for costs. From the appropriation under s. 20.255 (1) (f) and subject to par. (b), the department shall pay a school board or operator of an independent charter school the per pupil cost of each reading readiness assessment required to be administered under sub. (2) or (3). Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, the department may pay a school board or operator of an independent charter school under this paragraph only if the school board or operator of the independent charter school does all of the following:

AB321,,180 1. Submits the report required under sub. (7) for the previous school year.

AB321,,181 2. In the report required under sub. (7) for the previous school year, indicates that the school board or operator of the independent charter school used only reading readiness assessments selected or approved under sub. (8) (a) for that school year.

AB321,,182 (b) Proration. If the appropriation under s. 20.255 (1) (f) in any fiscal year is insufficient to pay the full amount of aid under par. (a), the department shall prorate state aid payments among the school boards and operators of independent charter schools entitled to the aid.

AB321,,183 (10) Enforcement. (a) If a parent or guardian of a pupil enrolled in 4-year-old kindergarten to 3rd grade in a school district or independent charter school believes that the school board or operator of the independent charter school is not in compliance with this section, the parent or guardian may file a complaint with the department that describes the specific manner in which the school board or operator is not in compliance with this section. The department shall review a complaint received under this paragraph and issue a determination on whether the school board or operator is in compliance with this section. If the department determines that a school board or operator of an independent charter school is not in compliance with this section, the department shall notify the school board or operator of its determination and shall include in the notice the specific actions required for the school board or operator to be in compliance with this section.

AB321,,184 (b) If the department determines under par. (a) that a school board or operator of an independent charter school is not in compliance with this section and the school board or operator continues to fail to comply with this section, the complainant under par. (a) may bring an action for injunctive relief or a writ of mandamus in circuit court to compel the school board to comply with this section.

AB321,,185 (11) Rules. The department may promulgate rules under this section only on the following:

AB321,,186 (a) A process to select or approve assessments under sub. (8) (a).

AB321,,187 (b) A process to request that a specific diagnostic assessment be approved by the department.

AB321,17 Section 17. 118.19 (12) of the statutes is renumbered 118.19 (12) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB321,,189 118.19 (12) (intro.) Beginning on July 1, 1998, the The department may not issue a license that authorizes the holder to teach reading or language arts to pupils in any prekindergarten class or in any of the grades from kindergarten to 6 unless the applicant has successfully completed instruction preparing the applicant to teach reading and language arts using appropriate instructional methods, including phonics. The phonics instruction need not be provided as a separate course. In this subsection, “phonics” means a method of teaching beginners to read and pronounce words by learning the phonetic value of letters, letter groups and syllables. that satisfies all of the following:

AB321,18 Section 18. 118.19 (12) (a) and (b) of the statutes are created to read:

AB321,,191 118.19 (12) (a) The instruction prepared the applicant to teach reading and language arts using science-based early reading instruction, as defined in s. 118.015 (1c) (b).

AB321,,192 (b) For licenses issued on or after July 1, 2026, the instruction did not include 3-cueing, as defined in s. 118.015 (1c) (c), as a method to teach reading and language arts.

AB321,19 Section 19. 118.33 (5m) of the statutes is created to read:

AB321,,194 118.33 (5m) By January 1, 2025, the department shall establish by rule a model policy for promoting a pupil from the 3rd grade to the 4th grade that includes retention based on the pupil’s score on the examination under s. 121.02 (1) (r). The department shall include in the model policy at least all of the following:

AB321,,195 (a) A requirement that a pupil who scores in the lowest proficiency category on the examination under s. 121.02 (1) (r) be retained in the 3rd grade.

AB321,,196 (b) A good cause exception to the requirement under par. (a) for all of the following:

AB321,,197 1. Limited-English proficient pupils, as defined in s. 115.955 (7).

AB321,,198 2. A pupil who has an individual education plan that indicates that taking the examination under s. 121.02 (1) (r) is not appropriate for the pupil.

AB321,,199 3. A pupil who scores as proficient in reading on an alternative standardized assessment approved by the department.

AB321,,200 4. A pupil who has an individual education plan or a plan to provide accommodations or services under section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that indicates that the pupil has received intensive intervention in reading for more than 2 years if the pupil continues to demonstrate a deficiency in reading and was previously retained in kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade.

AB321,,201 5. A pupil who has received intensive intervention in reading for 2 or more school years, continues to demonstrate a deficiency in reading, and was previously retained in kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade for a total of 2 years.

AB321,,202 (c) A requirement that the school board do all of the following for a pupil who is retained in the 3rd grade under the policy:

AB321,,203 1. Provide the pupil with intensive instructional services, progress monitoring, and supports to remediate the identified areas of deficiency.

AB321,,204 2. Notify the pupil’s parent or guardian, in writing, that the pupil did not meet the reading proficiency level required for promotion to 4th grade and include a description of the intensive instructional services and supports that will be provided to the pupil to remediate the identified areas of reading deficiency.

AB321,,205 (d) A requirement that the school board provide an intensive summer reading program for pupils who scored in the lowest proficiency category on the examination under s. 121.02 (1) (r).