HCS HB 50 -- PROMOTION OF STUDENTS (Relford)

This substitute completely revises a section that currently
prohibits promoting a student if the student's reading ability
is more than a grade level lower than the student's grade
level.  The substitute clarifies that reading assessment methods
will be determined by each school district, which will give an
assessment to any third-grade student or any student who
transfers into a district in grades 4, 5, or 6 who has not been
determined to be reading at grade level during the current
school year.  The substitute exempts students receiving special
education, students with limited English proficiency, and
certain students receiving services under the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973.  The substitute also exempts special education students
from the retake provisions on the statewide assessment test
pursuant to Section 167.640, RSMo, and allows the performance of
limited English proficiency students on the statewide
assessments to be disaggregated from a district's performance
for 5 years after a student enters a Missouri public school.

With the 2002-2003 school year, each student whose third-grade
assessment shows the student reading below second-grade level
will be provided with a reading improvement plan to contain a
minimum of 30 hours of additional reading instruction during the
fourth-grade year.  The students will be assessed again near the
end of fourth grade and, if necessary, provided with a plan for
the fifth-grade year.  If a student reaches the end of sixth
grade still reading more than one grade level low, the district
will note on the student's record that the student has not met
the reading standards.  Districts must be reimbursed for the
costs of running the reading improvement programs.

School districts are required to offer summer school reading
instruction to students with reading improvement plans and may
fulfill this obligation through cooperative arrangements with
neighboring districts.  Districts may adopt policies that
require retention of students who do not attend required summer
school; however, each district may retain any student in
accordance with its own policies when retention is in the best
interest of the student.

The substitute also defines key terms, prohibits the Department
of Elementary and Secondary Education from using information
about the number of students receiving reading improvement
instruction in accreditation matters, and requires districts to
make an effort to inform parents about their methods and
materials for teaching reading.  Districts are required to make
available statistical information about numbers and percentages
of students undergoing reading remediation pursuant to the
substitute.

The substitute contains an emergency clause.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Net Cost to General Revenue Fund of
Greater than $100,000 in FY 2002, FY 2003, and FY 2004.
Estimated Net Effect on State School Moneys Fund of $0 in FY
2002, FY 2003, and FY 2004.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated November 26, 2001 at 11:42 am