June 12, 2023 - Introduced by Representatives Kitchens, Wittke, Binsfeld, Nedweski, Duchow, Dittrich, Allen, Armstrong, Behnke, Brandtjen, Donovan, Green, Gundrum, Gustafson, Hurd, Krug, Magnafici, Maxey, Michalski, Murphy, O’Connor, Penterman, Rettinger, Rodriguez, Rozar, Schmidt, Snyder, Spiros, Steffen, Summerfield and Tusler, cosponsored by Senators Stroebel, Jagler, Bradley, Wimberger and Marklein. Referred to Committee on State Affairs.

AB321,,22An Act to repeal 15.374 (2) and 115.39; to renumber and amend 118.19 (12); to amend 15.01 (6), 115.28 (7) (a), 115.38 (1) (a), 118.015 (title), 118.015 (2), 118.015 (3) (a), 118.33 (6) (b) 3. and 121.02 (1) (c) 3.; to repeal and recreate 118.016; and to create 15.374 (2), 15.377 (9), 115.385 (1) (e), 115.39, 118.015 (1c), 118.015 (1m), 118.015 (5), 118.19 (12) (a) and (b), 118.33 (5m), 118.33 (6) (a) 3., 118.33 (6) (b) 2m., 118.33 (6) (c) 3., 118.33 (6) (cr) 3. and 119.44 (2) (bm) of the statutes; relating to: reading instruction in public schools and private schools participating in parental choice programs, an early literacy assessment and intervention program, providing an exemption from rule-making procedures, and granting rule-making authority.

This bill establishes the Office of Literacy in the Department of Public Instruction, to be led by a director who is appointed by the state superintendent of public instruction after consultation with the Council on Early Literacy Curricula and subject to the advice and consent of the senate and who serves at the pleasure of the state superintendent. Under the bill, the Office of Literacy must establish and supervise a literacy coaching program to improve literacy outcomes in this state. Specifically, the Office of Literacy, in consultation with cooperative educational service agencies, must contract for up to 64 full-time equivalent literacy coaches. Literacy coaches must demonstrate knowledge and expertise in science-based early literacy instruction and instructional practices and have instructional experience in grades kindergarten to 12. In addition, the Office of Literacy must provide ongoing training on science-based early literacy instruction and instructional practices and supervision to literacy coaches and must prohibit literacy coaches from using three-cueing.

The bill requires the Office of Literacy to assign one-half of the literacy coaches to schools based on pupil scores on the third grade reading assessment and one-half of the literacy coaches to schools that request early literacy support. The latter half of the literacy coaches must be dispersed evenly among cooperative educational service agency regions. However, the bill prohibits assigning more than a total of 10 literacy coaches to a first class city school district and more than a total of four literacy coaches to a school district that is not a first class city school district and requires that no fewer than three literacy coaches be assigned to each cooperative educational service agency region. Additionally, the Office of Literacy must ensure that a school to which a literacy coach is assigned does not request or require that the literacy coach perform duties outside the individual’s role as a literacy coach, as described in the bill.

Under the bill, the Office of Literacy must submit an annual report to the Joint Committee on Finance on various aspects of the literacy coaching program during the previous school year, including the number of literacy coaches, the number of schools that were assigned a literacy coach, pupil scores on reading readiness assessments and the third grade reading assessment in those schools, and information on the training provided to the literacy coaches.

Finally, under the bill, the Office of Literacy and the literacy coaching program sunset on July 1, 2028.

The bill creates the Council on Early Literacy Curricula in DPI to recommend literacy curricula and instructional materials for use in grades kindergarten to three. The council consists of nine members who have knowledge of or experience with science-based early literacy instruction and literacy curricula. Under the bill, the initial members of the council are appointed jointly by the state superintendent of public instruction, the assembly speaker, and the senate majority leader, and if the initial members are not appointed jointly within 45 days, each appointing authority must each appoint three members. Under the bill, after the initial appointments are made, the membership of the council is made up of three members appointed by the state superintendent, three members appointed by the assembly speaker, and three members appointed by the senate majority leader.

Under the bill, the Council on Early Literacy Curricula must annually make recommendations for early literacy curricula and instructional materials for use in the following school year. The council’s recommendations for curricula and instructional materials must include all of the components of science-based early reading instruction and may not include three-cueing. The bill defines “science-based early reading instruction” as instruction that is systematic and explicit and consists of the following components: phonological awareness; phonemic awareness; phonics; building background knowledge; oral language development; vocabulary building; instruction in writing; instruction in comprehension; and reading fluency. Under the bill, “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.

Under the bill, annually, upon receiving recommendations from the Council on Early Literacy Curricula, DPI must submit proposed recommendations on early literacy curricula and instructional materials to the Joint Committee on Finance. DPI may not adopt the recommendations unless JCF approves the recommendations. For purposes of the recommendations for the 2024-25 school year, the initial recommendations made by the council, the bill requires that proposed recommendations be submitted to JCF by November 1, 2023. Under the bill, DPI must maintain a list of adopted recommendations for early literacy curricula and instructional materials on its website.