Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 216 (2017GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Stephenson, H.

Final action

Senate/ filed 3/9/2017

Outcome

Failed / filed without passage

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• provides that a school district, the State Board of Education, and a technology provider work with a public school if the usage rate of reading intervention software falls below the recommended rate within the first month of a public school implementing the software;
• provides that a public school shall be placed on probation by the school district and the State Board of Education if the public school fails to meet the minimum usage rate for reading intervention software within the first half of the school year;
• provides that a public school that fails to meet the minimum usage rate for reading intervention software after being placed on probation may not continue to use the licensed software; and
• provides that the State Board of Education may hire one staff person to administer the reading intervention software implementation.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

READING INTERVENTION SOFTWARE LICENSE PROGRAM
ACCOUNTABILITY AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Howard A. Stephenson
House Sponsor: 
 Bradley G. Last
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions regarding reading intervention software licenses. 
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ provides that a school district, the State Board of Education, and a technology
provider work with a public school if the usage rate of reading intervention software
falls below the recommended rate within the first month of a public school
implementing the software;
▸ provides that a public school shall be placed on probation by the school district and
the State Board of Education if the public school fails to meet the minimum usage
rate for reading intervention software within the first half of the school year;
▸ provides that a public school that fails to meet the minimum usage rate for reading
intervention software after being placed on probation may not continue to use the
licensed software; and
▸ provides that the State Board of Education may hire one staff person to administer
the reading intervention software implementation. 
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53A-17a-167
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 372
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
53A-17a-167
 is amended to read:
53A-17a-167.
Early intervention program -- Enhanced kindergarten program --
Educational technology.
(1) The State Board of Education shall, as described in Subsection (4), distribute funds
appropriated under this section for an enhanced kindergarten program described in Subsection
(2), to school districts and charter schools that apply for the funds.
(2) A school district or charter school shall use funds appropriated in this section to
offer an early intervention program, delivered through an enhanced kindergarten program that:
(a) is an academic program focused on building age-appropriate literacy and numeracy
skills;
(b) uses an evidence-based early intervention model;
(c) is targeted to at-risk students; and
(d) is delivered through additional hours or other means.
(3) A school district or charter school may not require a student to participate in an
enhanced kindergarten program described in Subsection (2).
(4) The State Board of Education shall distribute funds appropriated under this section
for an enhanced kindergarten program described in Subsection (2) as follows:
(a) (i) the total allocation for charter schools shall be calculated by:
(A) dividing the number of charter school students by the total number of students in
the public education system in the prior school year; and
(B) multiplying the resulting percentage by the total amount of available funds; and
(ii) the amount calculated under Subsection (4)(a) shall be distributed to charter
schools with the greatest need for an enhanced kindergarten program, as determined by the
State Board of Education in consultation with the State Charter School Board;
(b) each school district shall receive the amount calculated by:
(i) multiplying the value of the weighted pupil unit by 0.45; and
(ii) multiplying the result by 20; and
(c) the remaining funds, after the allocations described in Subsections (4)(a) and (4)(b)
are made, shall be distributed to applicant school districts by:
(i) determining the number of students eligible to receive free lunch in the prior school
year for each school district; and
(ii) prorating the remaining funds based on the number of students eligible to receive
free lunch in each district.
(5) In addition to an enhanced kindergarten program described in Subsection (2), the
early intervention program includes a component to address early reading through the use of
early interactive reading software.
(6) (a) Subject to legislative appropriations, the State Board of Education shall select
and contract with one or more technology providers, through a request for proposals process, to
provide early interactive reading software for literacy instruction and assessments for students
in kindergarten through grade 3.
(b) By August 1 of each year, the State Board of Education shall distribute licenses for
early interactive reading software described in Subsection (6)(a) to school districts and charter
schools that apply for the licenses.
(c) Except as provided in Subsection (7)[
(c)
]
(e)
, a school district or charter school that
received a license described in Subsection (6)(b) during the prior year shall be given first
priority to receive an equivalent license during the current year.
(d) Licenses distributed to school districts and charter schools in addition to the
licenses described in Subsection (6)(c) shall be distributed through a competitive process.
(7) (a) As used in this Subsection (7)[
, "dosage"
]
:
(i) "Dosage"
 means amount of instructional time.
(ii) "School fidelity rate" means:
(A) at least 60% of the students in a public school who are using a licensed reading
intervention software are using the software at a rate that is at least 80% of the recommended
dosage by the technology provider during the first year in which a public school implements
the reading intervention software; or
(B) at least 75% of the students in a public school who are using a licensed reading
intervention software are using the software at a rate that is at least 80% of the recommended
dosage by the technology provider during any school year following the first year of
implementation of the reading intervention software.
(b) A public school that receives a license described in Subsection (6)(b) shall use the
license:
(i) for a student in kindergarten or grade 1:
(A) for intervention for the student if the student is reading below grade level; or
(B) for advancement beyond grade level for the student if the student is reading at or
above grade level;
(ii) for a student in grade 2 or 3, for intervention for the student if the student is reading
below grade level; and
(iii) in accordance with the technology provider's dosage recommendations.
[
(c) A public school that does not use the early interactive reading software in
accordance with the technology provider's dosage recommendations for two consecutive years
may not continue to receive a license.
]
(c) A school district, the State Board of Education, and a technology provider shall
work with a public school to develop a plan to increase the use of licensed reading intervention
software if a public school fails to meet the school fidelity rate within the first month of the
public school implementing the reading intervention software.
(d) The school district and the State Board of Education shall place a public school on
probation for the second half of the school year if that public school fails to meet the school
fidelity rate by the halfway point in the school year.
(e) A public school that fails to meet the school fidelity rate by the end of the school
year in which the public school is placed on probation may not continue to receive a license.
(8) The State Board of Education may hire one full-time employee to administer the
reading intervention software implementation authorized by this section.
[
(8)
] 
(9)
 (a) On or before August 1 of each year, the State Board of Education shall
select and contract with an independent evaluator, through a request for proposals process, to
act as an independent contractor to evaluate early interactive reading software provided under
this section.
(b) The State Board of Education shall ensure that a contract with an independent
evaluator requires the independent evaluator to:
(i) evaluate a student's learning gains as a result of using early interactive reading
software provided under Subsection (6);
(ii) for the evaluation under Subsection [
(8)
] 
(9)
(b)(i), use an assessment that is not
developed by a provider of early interactive reading software; and
(iii) determine the extent to which a public school uses the early interactive reading
software in accordance with a technology provider's dosage recommendations under
Subsection (7).
(c) The State Board of Education and the independent evaluator selected under
Subsection [
(8)
] 
(9)
(a) shall report annually on the results of the evaluation to the Education
Interim Committee and the governor.
(d) The State Board of Education may use up to 4% of the appropriation provided
under Subsection (6)(a) to contract with an independent evaluator selected under Subsection
[
(8)
] 
(9)
(a).
Legislative Review Note
Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel