By Ms. Story of Amherst, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 578) of Ellen Story and others relative to the the development literacy skills at risk children.  Education.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PETITION OF:

Ellen Story

Stephen R. Canessa

Anthony J. Verga

Michael R. Knapik

Edward M. Augustus, Jr.

John W. Scibak

Gale D. Candaras

Frank I. Smizik

David Paul Linsky

Barbara A. L'Italien

Matthew C. Patrick

Michael F. Kane

Denise Provost

Pamela P. Resor

Gloria L. Fox

Patricia A. Haddad

John A. Lepper

Peter V. Kocot

Jennifer L. Flanagan

Cleon H. Turner

Alice Hanlon Peisch

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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.

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An Act relative to the improvement of early literacy skills for at risk children.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 1I of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting before the first paragraph the following paragraph:-

For the purpose of this section the following words shall have the following meaning:-

"Reading Recovery", a one to one, scientific research-based, short term (12-20 weeks), pre referral early literacy intervention delivered by a certified Reading Recovery teacher to children at risk of failing to learn to read and write in first grade.  Children are selected for service based on performance in six literacy assessments published in Clay’s An Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement.  Reading Recovery teachers must be certified as having completed a year long accredited university based Reading Recovery program.

SECTION 2.  Said section 1I of said chapter 69 is hereby further amended by inserting after subsection (h) in line 209 the following subsections:-

(i) the number of children receiving special education referrals in first and second grades because of difficulty in reading.

(j) the number of children referred to Reading Recovery.

(k) the number of children receiving special education referrals because of difficulty reading after successfully completing Reading Recovery. 

SECTION 3.  Section 38Q of said chapter 71 is hereby amended by inserting before the first paragraph the following paragraph:-

For the purpose of this section the following words shall have the following meaning:-

"Reading Recovery", a one to one, scientific research-based, short term (12-20 weeks), pre referral early literacy intervention delivered by a certified Reading Recovery teacher to children at risk of failing to learn to read and write in first grade.  Children are selected for service based on performance in six literacy assessments published in Clay’s An Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement.  Reading Recovery teachers must be certified as having completed a year long accredited university based Reading Recovery program.

SECTION 4.   Said section 38Q is hereby further amended by striking out in lines 15 and 16 the words “The plan may also include training in the provision of pre-referral services within regular education”, and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-  "The plan shall also include training of teachers, in an approved Reading Recovery Training Site, in the provision of Reading Recovery as a research-based, pre-referral service for first grade students."

SECTION 5.  Section 38Q1/2 of said chapter 71 is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following sentence:-  "The plan shall include the provisions for the implementation of Reading Recovery." 

SECTION 6.  Section 5A of chapter 71B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended in line 18, by inserting after the word "chapter" the following words:-  "and for the eligible instructional costs associated with the implementation of Reading Recovery."

SECTION 7.  Section 5B of said chapter 71B is hereby amended after subsection (f) by inserting the following subsection:-

School districts shall be reimbursed 50 per cent of the cost of teachers’ salaries and benefits for Reading Recovery teachers and teacher leaders.  The reimbursement program shall in not alter the seniority status, pay scale, retirement eligibility, or any other compensation or benefit to which existing teachers are currently entitled.