Tier III – Level 2 screening assessments
Required level 2 screening assessments
Under the bill, school boards and independent charter schools must screen a
pupil enrolled in five-year-old kindergarten to second grade using a level 2
screening assessment within 20 days of both of the following having occurred: 1) the
pupil being identified as at risk on a level 1 screening assessment and 2) the pupil
demonstrating an inadequate rate of progress in the pupil's early literacy skills after
12 weeks of receiving intensive interventions outlined in the pupil's personal reading
plan, described above. A school board or independent charter school must also assess
a pupil's early literacy skills using a level 2 screening assessment within 20 days of
a request by a teacher or parent who suspects that the pupil has characteristics of
dyslexia. The bill defines a “level 2 screening assessment” as a screening tool that
evaluates a pupil's skill in the skills assessed in a universal screening assessment
as well as phonological awareness, word recognition, fluency, spelling, reading
comprehension, and listening comprehension, and provides the pupil's parent the
opportunity to complete a family history survey about learning difficulties in the
pupil's family. If a pupil is identified as at-risk based on a level 2 screening
assessment, the bill requires the school board or independent charter school to

provide information to the pupil's parent about how to make a special education
referral.
Approved reading readiness screening assessments
Under the bill, by July 15, 2022, the Department of Public Instruction must
establish and maintain lists of approved fundamental skills screening assessments,
universal screening assessments, level 1 screening assessments, and level 2
screening assessments (collectively, reading readiness screening assessments) on its
Internet site. DPI must also submit these lists to the appropriate standing
committees of the legislature. During the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, DPI
must include specific assessments on its list of approved fundamental skills
screening assessments and specific assessments on its list of approved universal
screening assessments. On the list of approved fundamental skills screening
assessments, DPI must include the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening
(PALS), the Predictive Assessment of Reading (PAR), and Acadience's Preschool
Early Literacy Indicators (PELI). On the list of approved universal screening
assessments, DPI must include the Dynamics Indicators of Basic Early Literacy
Skills 8th edition, commonly known as DIBELS 8th edition; the Acadience reading
assessment; FastBridge reading assessments; and the Renaissance Star Early
Literacy assessment.
State funding for reading readiness screening assessments
Under the bill, DPI must pay each school board and independent charter school
for the per pupil cost of each reading readiness screening assessment required to be
administered under the bill. However, beginning in the 2023-24 school year, a school
board or independent charter school is eligible for the state funding provided in the
bill only if the school board or independent charter school submits an annual report
to DPI and in that report indicates that the school board or charter school used only
approved reading readiness screening assessments in the previous school year.
Under current law, DPI pays school boards and independent charter schools for the
per pupil cost of the reading readiness assessment selected by the school board or
independent charter school.
Parent notification requirements
Under the bill, a school board or independent charter school must provide a
pupil's results on a reading readiness screening assessment to the pupil's parent by
no later than 15 days after the applicable assessment is scored. The results provided
to the parent must include the pupil's overall score, the pupil's score on each literacy
skill category assessed by the assessment, the pupil's percentile rank score, if
available, the score on the assessment that indicates a pupil is at-risk, and a plain
language explanation of the literacy skills that were evaluated by the assessment.
In addition, if a school board or independent charter school is required to screen a
pupil using a level 1 or level 2 screening assessment, the school board or independent
charter school must provide the pupil's parent with information related to
characteristics of dyslexia, including information about the common indicators of
characteristics of dyslexia and appropriate interventions and accommodations for
pupils with characteristics of dyslexia.

The bill also requires each school board and independent charter school to have
an early literacy remediation plan. An early literacy remediation plan must include
information about screening assessments used to identify at-risk pupils, the
interventions used to address characteristics of dyslexia, and monitoring pupil
progress related to early literacy skills. Under the bill, each school district and
independent charter school must post its early literacy remediation plan on its
Internet site.
Under current law, a school board or independent charter school must report
the results of a reading readiness assessment to a pupil's parent. Current law does
not provide a deadline by which the reading readiness results must be provided to
parents.
Reporting requirements
Under the bill, school boards and independent charter schools must annually,
by July 15, report to DPI 1) the number of pupils who were identified as at-risk based
on a reading readiness screening assessment administered in the previous school
year; 2) the number of five-year-old kindergarten to second grade pupils who began
receiving literacy interventions or remedial reading services in the previous school
year, by grade; and 3) the total number of five-year-old kindergarten to second grade
pupils who received literacy interventions or remedial reading services in the
previous school year. The school board or independent charter school must also
report the names of the specific reading readiness screening assessments the school
board or independent charter school used to screen pupils, as required under the bill,
in the previous school year. Annually, by November 30, DPI must compile the
information it receives from school boards and independent charter schools and
submit a report to the legislature.
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:
SB454,1 1Section 1 . 115.38 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB454,5,62 115.38 (1) (a) Indicators of academic achievement, including the performance
3of pupils on the tests administered under s. 121.02 (1) (r), the performance of pupils
4on screening assessments required under s. 118.016 (3),
and the performance of
5pupils, by subject area, on the statewide assessment examinations administered
6under s. 118.30.
SB454,2 7Section 2 . 118.016 of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:
SB454,6,2
1118.016 Reading readiness screening assessments; characteristics of
2dyslexia.
(1) Definitions. In this section:
SB454,6,53 (a) “At-risk” means a pupil scored below the 25th percentile on a universal
4screening assessment, a level 1 screening assessment, or a level 2 screening
5assessment, as indicated by the publisher of the screening assessment.
SB454,6,66 (b) “Dyslexia” means a specific learning disability that is all of the following:
SB454,6,77 1. Neurobiological in origin.
SB454,6,128 2. Characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and
9poor spelling and decoding abilities that typically result from a deficit in the
10phonological component of language. Consequences of these difficulties may include
11problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that may
12impede vocabulary growth and background knowledge.
SB454,6,1313 3. Often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities.
SB454,6,1714 (c) “Family history survey” means a questionnaire that includes questions
15about previous recommendations for summer reading support or outside tutoring,
16general interest in reading and books, family history of characteristics of dyslexia,
17and any known family struggles in reading or spelling.
SB454,6,1918 (d) “Fidelity” means to perform in the manner that the author or publisher of
19a program or screening assessment intends.
SB454,6,2220 (e) “Fundamental skills screening assessment” means an assessment that
21evaluates whether a pupil possesses phonemic awareness and letter sound
22knowledge.