SB 626 - Under this act, beginning July 1, 2021, every public school in the St. Louis City school district, including charter schools, shall be required to use a response-to-intervention tiered approach to reading instruction for students determined by their school to be struggling readers. At a minimum, the reading levels of students in kindergarten through tenth grade shall be assessed at the beginning and middle of the school year. Students who score below district objectives for reading shall be provided with intensive, systemic reading instruction. Beginning on January 1, 2021, and each January thereafter, each public school in the St. Louis City school district, including charter schools, must prepare a personalized learning plan for any kindergarten or first grade student whose most recent school-wide reading assessment result shows the student is below grade level. Certain exceptions exist from this requirement. For any student with a personalized learning plan, the student's main teacher must consult with the student's parent or guardian about the plan and must have consent to implement it. If a student is still performing below grade level through the end of the first grade year, the school must refer him or her for assessment to determine if an individualized education program (IEP) is necessary. If an IEP is not necessary, the personalized learning plan must remain in place until the student is at grade level.
Any student who is not reading at the second grade level by the end of second grade may be promoted to third grade only if: the school provides additional reading instruction during the summer and demonstrates the student is ready for third grade at the end of summer school; if the school provides a "looping" classroom in which the student remains with the same teacher for multiple years and the student is not reading at the third grade level by the end of third grade, the student must be retained; or the student's parents or guardians may sign a notice that they prefer to have the student promoted except that the school will have final determination to retain.
The St. Louis City school district and each charter school located in it must provide in the annual school accountability report card the numbers and percentages by grade of any students at grade level who have been promoted but who have been determined as reading below grade level.
This act is identical to a provision in SCS/HCS/HB 1540 (2020), SB 255 (2017) and is similar to provisions in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), SB 633 (2016), SB 22 (2015), and SB 49 (2015), and is substantially similar to HB 511 (2011) and HB 2214 (2010).
JOSIE BUTLER