LITERACY SKILLS TRAINING S.B. 842 (S-4):
FLOOR SUMMARY
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Senate Bill 842 (Substitute S-4 as reported by the Committee of the Whole)
Sponsor: Senator Wayne Kuipers
Committee: Education
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Revised School Code to do the following:
-- Require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to include in the continuing education requirements for teachers and school administrators training in at least three research-based reading interventions and appropriate training in the use of data in determining whether intervention was needed on an individual or building-level basis.
-- Require current employees to complete that training by July 1, 2013, and require those hired after that date to have completed the training.
-- Require the board of a school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of a public school academy, by July 1, 2011, to provide a total of five days of teacher professional development in the diagnosis and remediation of reading disabilities and differentiated instruction, as part of the five days of teacher development per year required under the Code.
-- Require the Department of Education (DOE) to develop a model summer English language arts program that schools could adopt for students entering grades 1 through 4 who had shown the need for additional literacy skills training.
-- Require the DOE to develop or adopt a model early intervention program meeting the requirements of an intervention program (proposed by Senate Bill 1275), that schools could use to improve students' reading skills during the academic year.
-- Require the DOE to make available information on public and private supplemental service providers that could help parents improve their child's literacy skills.
The bill is tie-barred to Senate Bill 1275, which would require a school district that failed to meet English language arts requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act to use discretionary nonmandated payments from the State to provide an early intervening program for pupils in grades K to 3.
MCL 380.1246 et al. Legislative Analyst: Curtis Walker
FISCAL IMPACT
State: The Department of Education would face increased costs under this bill. The requirements that the DOE develop and make available a model summer English language arts program, develop or adopt and make available a model early intervention program, and develop and make available a statewide resource guide of public and private supplemental service providers would raise the Department's costs, measured both in staff resources and in resources necessary to make these items available. The Department also would see increased costs due to the required revision of promulgated rules establishing continuing education requirements for instructional administrators.
Local: A school district could see increased hiring and training costs if some of its teachers' certificates were not valid after July 1, 2013, because the teachers had not completed coursework in reading disabilities and differentiated instruction, and the district were forced to hire and train new teachers who met that coursework requirement.
Also, the bill would require districts to provide at least five days of professional development dedicated to instructing teachers in the diagnosis and remediation of reading disabilities and differentiated instruction. Current statute requires districts to provide at least five days of professional development, but does not specify in what arena(s). If this requirement were enacted, districts could face increased costs if they needed to add professional development days for other topics as well as provide five days for the purposes prescribed in this legislation.
Date Completed: 6-11-08 Fiscal Analyst: Kathryn Summers-Coty
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb842/0708