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The bill allows DPI to award grants in the 2023-24 school year, in amounts
determined by DPI, to school boards to provide support and financial assistance to
their licensed teachers for the purpose of obtaining additional licensure as reading
teachers. In awarding grants under the bill, DPI must give priority to school districts
with high numbers of pupils whose scores on the most recent standardized third
grade reading test were lower than proficient, as determined by DPI. A school board
that receives a grant under the bill must use the grant moneys to pay costs associated
with its teachers obtaining licensure as reading teachers and must pay to a teacher
who successfully obtains a reading teacher license a bonus payment of $1,000.

The bill provides for the grants to be paid from moneys that become available
as a result of the sunsetting of the Achievement Gap Reduction program (described
below).
Sunset of Achievement Gap Reduction program
The bill sunsets the Achievement Gap Reduction program by prohibiting DPI
from entering into any new contracts, or renewing any existing contracts, with school
boards on or after the effective date of the bill. Under current law, the program is
a categorical aid program that provides funding to a participating school for
low-income pupils enrolled in certain grades if the school complies with a five-year
contract entered into between DPI and the school board of the school district in which
the school is located. Currently, a contract may be renewed for one or more terms of
five school years.
Under current law, DPI annually must pay to a school board under contract
with DPI a per pupil amount determined by 1) subtracting $125,000 from the total
amount appropriated for the program for the school year; 2) adding the total number
of low-income pupils enrolled in grades kindergarten to three in all schools
participating in the program; and 3) dividing the difference calculated under item
1 by the sum calculated under item 2. That calculation results in the entire amount
appropriated for the program being paid in each school year.
The bill changes the per pupil payment amount by fixing that amount at the per
pupil amount calculated for the 2022-23 school year. In other words, beginning in
the 2023-24 school year, DPI pays a school board under contract with DPI a per pupil
amount that is equal to the per pupil amount DPI paid in the 2022-23 school year.
The bill provides that, if the amount appropriated to DPI is insufficient to pay the
full per pupil amount, DPI must prorate the payments among the school boards
eligible for payment.
The bill provides that any grants DPI awards in the 2023-24 school year to
increase licensure of reading teachers (described above) will be paid from the
Achievement Gap Reduction program appropriation account.
Programs to identify and address pupils with dyslexia
The bill requires a school board, the operator of an independent charter school,
or the governing body of a private school participating in a parental choice program
to develop or adopt a program to identify and address pupils with dyslexia.
Parental opt-out of pupils from statewide examinations
The bill prohibits a school board, the operator of an independent charter school,
or the governing body of a private school participating in a parental choice program
from allowing the parent of a pupil in any grade from kindergarten to three to excuse
the pupil from taking a standardized test.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB971,1 1Section 1. 20.255 (2) (cu) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB971,5,52 20.255 (2) (cu) Achievement gap reduction contracts and grants to increase
3licensure of reading teachers
. The amounts in the schedule for aid to school districts
4and the program evaluation under ss. 118.43 and 118.44 and for grants under 2021
5Wisconsin Act .... (this act), section 33
.
AB971,2 6Section 2 . 20.255 (2) (cu) of the statutes, as affected by 2021 Wisconsin Act ....
7(this act), is amended to read:
AB971,5,118 20.255 (2) (cu) Achievement gap reduction contracts and grants to increase
9licensure of reading teachers
. The amounts in the schedule for aid to school districts
10and the program evaluation under ss. 118.43 and 118.44 and for grants under 2021
11Wisconsin Act .... (this act), section 33
.
AB971,3 12Section 3. 118.015 (4) (e) of the statutes is created to read:
AB971,5,1513 118.015 (4) (e) No later than one year after the effective date of this paragraph
14.... [LRB inserts date], develop or adopt a program to identify and address pupils with
15dyslexia, as defined in s. 118.016 (1b) (b).
AB971,4 16Section 4. 118.016 (1) (a) of the statutes is repealed.
AB971,5 17Section 5. 118.016 (1) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 118.016 (1e) (b).
AB971,6 18Section 6. 118.016 (1) (c) of the statutes is renumbered 118.016 (5) and
19amended to read:
AB971,6,720 118.016 (5) State aid. The department shall pay to the a school board or and
21the
operator of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), from the appropriation

1under s. 20.255 (1) (f), the per pupil cost of the selected assessment the school board
2or operator selects under sub. (1e) (b) and the per pupil cost of a diagnostic
3assessment administered under sub. (1e) (d)
. If the appropriation under s. 20.255
4(1) (f) in any fiscal year is insufficient to pay the full amount of aid under this
5paragraph subsection, the state superintendent department shall prorate state aid
6payments among the school boards and operators of charter schools entitled to the
7aid.
AB971,7 8Section 7. 118.016 (1b) of the statutes is created to read:
AB971,6,99 118.016 (1b) Definitions. In this section:
AB971,6,1010 (a) “Diagnostic assessment” means a tool that includes all of the following:
AB971,6,1511 1. An assessment that evaluates a pupil's skill in the areas of phonemic
12awareness, decoding skills, rapid naming, alphabet knowledge, letter sound
13knowledge, oral vocabulary, phonological awareness, word recognition, spelling,
14vocabulary, listening comprehension, and, when developmentally appropriate for
15the pupil, oral reading fluency and reading comprehension.
AB971,6,1816 2. An opportunity for a pupil's parent or guardian to complete a family history
17survey to provide additional information about learning difficulties in the pupil's
18family.
AB971,6,1919 (b) “Dyslexia” means a specific learning disability that is all of the following:
AB971,6,2020 1. Neurobiological in origin.
AB971,6,2521 2. Characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and
22poor spelling and decoding abilities that typically result from a deficit in the
23phonological component of language. Consequences of these difficulties may include
24problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that may
25impede vocabulary growth and background knowledge.
AB971,7,1
13. Often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities.
AB971,8 2Section 8. 118.016 (1e) (title) of the statutes is created to read:
AB971,7,33 118.016 (1e) (title) Pupil assessments.
AB971,9 4Section 9. 118.016 (1e) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
AB971,7,85 118.016 (1e) (d) Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, each school board and
6the operator of each charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x) shall, using a
7diagnostic assessment, annually assess each pupil enrolled in 4-year-old
8kindergarten to 2nd grade to whom any of the following applies:
AB971,7,99 1. The pupil's parent or guardian requests the diagnostic assessment.
AB971,7,1110 2. An assessment administered under par. (b) indicates that the pupil is at risk
11of reading difficulty.
AB971,7,1212 3. The pupil has been identified as having characteristics of dyslexia.
AB971,10 13Section 10. 118.016 (1g) (title) of the statutes is created to read:
AB971,7,1414 118.016 (1g) (title) Assessments for children with disabilities.
AB971,11 15Section 11. 118.016 (1r) (title) of the statutes is created to read:
AB971,7,1616 118.016 (1r) (title) Parental notifications.
AB971,12 17Section 12. 118.016 (1r) of the statutes is renumbered 118.016 (1r) (a) and
18amended to read:
AB971,7,2219 118.016 (1r) (a) The school board or operator of the charter school Beginning
20in the 2023-24 school year, for each pupil assessed under sub. (1e), the pupil's teacher
21or the principal or administrator of the pupil's school
shall report the results of a
22the pupil's assessment under sub. (1) to the pupil's parent or guardian.
AB971,13 23Section 13. 118.016 (1r) (b) and (c) of the statutes are created to read:
AB971,8,224 118.016 (1r) (b) Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, if a pupil's assessment
25under sub. (1e) indicates that the pupil is at risk of reading difficulty, the pupil's

1teacher or the principal or administrator of the pupil's school shall provide, together
2with the report under par. (a), all of the following to the pupil's parent or guardian:
AB971,8,43 1. A list of the interventions or remedial reading services that will be provided
4to the pupil under sub. (2) and s. 121.02 (1) (c).
AB971,8,75 2. A form on which the parent or guardian may acknowledge receipt of the
6information provided under subd. 1. and may indicate that the parent or guardian
7understands the information.
AB971,8,98 3. A request that the parent or guardian sign the form provided under subd.
92. and return the signed form to the sender.
AB971,8,1110 (c) A school board or the operator of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x)
11shall retain any signed forms returned under par. (b) 3.
AB971,14 12Section 14. 118.016 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB971,8,1713 118.016 (2) Interventions and remedial reading services. The school board
14of the school district or operator of the charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x) in
15which the a pupil is enrolled shall provide a pupil whose assessment under sub. (1)
16(1e) indicates that he or she the pupil is at risk of reading difficulty with
17interventions or remedial reading services, as described under s. 121.02 (1) (c).
AB971,15 18Section 15. 118.016 (3) and (4) of the statutes are created to read:
AB971,8,2519 118.016 (3) Reporting; school boards and operators. No later than July 15,
202024, and each July 15 thereafter, each school board and the operator of each charter
21school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x) shall report to the department the results of pupil
22assessments administered under sub. (1e) in the previous school year, the
23interventions and remedial reading services the school board or operator provided
24to pupils under sub. (2) and s. 121.02 (1) (c) in the previous school year, and any other
25information required by the department for purposes of reporting under sub. (4).
AB971,9,4
1(4) Reports to the legislature. (a) No later than August 15, 2024, and each
2August 15 thereafter, the department shall compile the information the department
3receives under sub. (3) and shall submit that information to the appropriate standing
4committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3).
AB971,9,85 (b) No later than the August 15 after the end of each school year from 2023-24
6to 2026-27, the department shall submit a report to the appropriate standing
7committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3) that includes all of the following
8information:
AB971,9,99 1. Pupil literacy proficiency rates.
AB971,9,1010 2. The names of assessments administered under sub. (1e).
AB971,9,1211 3. The number of pupils who were identified as having characteristics of
12dyslexia as the result of an assessment administered under sub. (1e).
AB971,9,1513 4. A description of the interventions and remedial reading services school
14boards and operators of charter schools under s. 118.40 (2r) and (2x) provided to
15pupils under sub. (2) and s. 121.02 (1) (c) to improve pupil literacy proficiency.
AB971,16 16Section 16. 118.33 (7) of the statutes is created to read:
AB971,9,1817 118.33 (7) (a) In this subsection, “good cause” means that any of the following
18applies to a pupil:
AB971,9,2119 1. The pupil is a limited-English proficient pupil, as defined in s. 115.955 (7),
20who has had less than 2 school years of instruction in a program established under
21s. 115.96.
AB971,9,2522 2. The pupil is a child with a disability, as defined in s. 115.76 (5), whose
23individualized education program under s. 115.787 or services plan, as defined in 34
24CFR 300.37
, includes a statement that it is not appropriate to administer the
25standardized 3rd grade reading test to the pupil.
AB971,10,2
13. The pupil is a child with a disability, as defined in s. 115.76 (5), who takes
2the standardized 3rd grade reading test and to whom any of the following applies:
AB971,10,43 a. The pupil has received at least 2 years of intensive reading intervention or
4remedial services and the pupil continues to demonstrate a deficiency in reading.
AB971,10,75 b. On at least one occasion, the pupil was not promoted from kindergarten to
61st grade, from 1st grade to 2nd grade, from 2nd grade to 3rd grade, or from 3rd grade
7to 4th grade.
AB971,10,98 4. The pupil demonstrates an acceptable level of reading proficiency on an
9alternative standardized assessment adopted or approved by the department.
AB971,10,1010 5. All of the following apply to the pupil:
AB971,10,1211 a. The pupil has received at least 2 years of intensive reading intervention or
12remedial services and the pupil continues to demonstrate a deficiency in reading.
AB971,10,1513 b. On at least 2 occasions, the pupil was not promoted from kindergarten to 1st
14grade, from 1st grade to 2nd grade, from 2nd grade to 3rd grade, or from 3rd grade
15to 4th grade.
AB971,10,1716 6. The pupil's parent or guardian enrolls the pupil in an accredited or licensed
17reading program outside regular school hours.
AB971,10,2218 (b) 1. Except as provided in par. (c), a school board may not promote a 3rd grade
19pupil enrolled in the school district, including a pupil enrolled in a charter school
20located in the school district, to the 4th grade unless the pupil scores proficient or
21higher on the standardized 3rd grade reading test administered under s. 121.02 (1)
22(r).
AB971,11,223 2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., a school board may promote a 3rd grade pupil who
24does not meet the requirement under subd. 1. to the 4th grade if the school board

1determines that good cause exists to exempt the pupil from the requirement and all
2of the following conditions are met:
AB971,11,63 a. The pupil's teacher submits to the principal of the pupil's school
4documentation of the good cause reason that applies to the pupil, along with any
5other evidence that promoting the pupil is appropriate based on the pupil's academic
6performance.
AB971,11,107 b. The principal of the pupil's school discusses the documentation submitted
8under subd. 2. a. with the pupil's teacher and the pupil's parent or guardian,
9determines that promoting the pupil is appropriate, and submits to the school board
10a written recommendation that the pupil be promoted.
AB971,11,1211 c. The pupil's parent or guardian agrees with the recommendation submitted
12under subd. 2. b.
AB971,11,1413 d. The school board reviews the recommendation submitted under subd. 2. b.
14and agrees that promoting the pupil is appropriate.
AB971,11,1815 (c) 1. The operator of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x) may not
16promote a 3rd grade pupil to the 4th grade unless the pupil scores proficient or higher
17on the standardized 3rd grade reading test administered under s. 118.40 (2r) (d) 2.
18or (2x) (d) 2.
AB971,11,2219 2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., the operator of a charter school under s. 118.40
20(2r) or (2x) may promote a 3rd grade pupil who does not meet the requirement under
21subd. 1. to the 4th grade if the operator determines that good cause exists to exempt
22the pupil from the requirement and all of the following conditions are met:
AB971,12,223 a. The pupil's teacher submits to the principal of the pupil's school
24documentation of the good cause reason that applies to the pupil, along with any

1other evidence that promoting the pupil is appropriate based on the pupil's academic
2performance.
AB971,12,63 b. The principal of the pupil's school discusses the documentation submitted
4under subd. 2. a. with the pupil's teacher and the pupil's parent or guardian,
5determines that promoting the pupil is appropriate, and submits to the operator a
6written recommendation that the pupil be promoted.
AB971,12,87 c. The pupil's parent or guardian agrees with the recommendation submitted
8under subd. 2. b.
AB971,12,109 d. The operator reviews the recommendation submitted under subd. 2. b. and
10agrees that promoting the pupil is appropriate.
AB971,12,1411 (d) 1. The governing body of a private school participating in the program under
12s. 119.23 may not promote a 3rd grade pupil who is attending the private school
13under s. 119.23 to the 4th grade unless the pupil scores proficient or higher on the
14standardized 3rd grade reading test administered under s. 119.23 (7) (b) 1.
AB971,12,2015 2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., the governing body of a private school
16participating in the program under s. 119.23 may promote a 3rd grade pupil who is
17attending the private school under s. 119.23 and who does not meet the requirement
18under subd. 1. to the 4th grade if the governing body determines that good cause
19exists to exempt the pupil from the requirement and all of the following conditions
20are met:
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