21-3-401. Reading assessment and intervention.

(a) Each school district shall select and implement a reading assessment and intervention program that uses an instrument that screens for signs of dyslexia and other reading difficulties as early as possible in kindergarten through grade three (3) and that implements with fidelity an evidence based intervention program. The program shall include instruments that monitor and measure reading progress and assess student reading skills and progress to provide data that informs any intervention. The assessment and intervention program shall be administered to all students in kindergarten through grade three (3). The program shall also include implementation of evidence based core curricula aligned to the uniform content and performance standards and evidenced based interventions to meet the needs of all students. The program shall be multi-tiered and shall include evidence based interventions to facilitate remediation of any reading difficulty as early as possible.

(b) Students not showing appropriate reading competence under this section shall be placed on an individualized reading plan to remedy the reading related difficulty utilizing an appropriate evidence based intervention program, which may include a group reading plan. For students under an individualized education program (IEP) which addresses reading difficulties, the IEP shall be deemed sufficient to meet the requirements of this subsection and no additional plan shall be required.

(c) Each district shall annually report to the department of education on the progress of each of its schools toward achieving the goal of eighty-five percent (85%) of all students reading at grade level upon completion of the third grade. The report shall include the percentage of students meeting or exceeding proficiency levels for the annual reporting period. The reporting shall also include the aggregate number of students identified by the screening instruments as having signs of dyslexia or other reading difficulties in addition to listing the evidence based interventions implemented in each district by grade. This report shall include kindergarten through grade three (3) progress toward achieving the goal of eighty-five percent (85%) proficiency in the specific skills known to be predictive of grade three (3) reading proficiency and that are listed in subsection (d) of this section. Grade three (3) reading proficiency shall be determined by the grade three (3) statewide assessment administered pursuant to W.S. 21-2-304(a)(v). Each school not meeting the eighty-five percent (85%) goal specified under this subsection shall submit an improvement plan to the school district, and the school district shall submit an overall improvement plan to the department. At a minimum, each school and district improvement plan shall outline its general strategy for increasing reading proficiency for the next school year and shall specifically address the evidence based program of instruction, assessment and intervention being implemented, the specific training in those programs that reading teachers have received, the student-teacher ratio, the use of certified tutors and the use of instructional facilitators and paraprofessionals in kindergarten through grade three (3) trained in the delivery of the evidence based instruction and intervention program selected by the district.

(d) The state superintendent, in consultation with Wyoming school districts, professionals in the area of dyslexia and other reading difficulties, and other appropriate stakeholders, shall promulgate rules and regulations as necessary to assist each school district to administer its reading assessment and intervention program pursuant to this section and to assess the skills in paragraphs (i) through (v) of this subsection using a curriculum-independent assessment. The rules shall provide mechanisms for the state superintendent to directly support schools and school districts in meeting the goals of improvement plans developed pursuant to subsection (c) of this section including, but not limited to, professional development in evidence based literacy instruction and intervention and professional development in identifying the signs of dyslexia and other reading difficulties. To accomplish the purposes of this subsection, the department of education shall collect kindergarten through grade two (2) statewide longitudinal data from assessments selected and performed by each school district, which measures the following specific skills that evidence based research has concluded are predictive of grade three (3) reading proficiency:

(i) Phonological awareness;

(ii) Phonics;

(iii) Decoding words and nonwords;

(iv) Oral reading fluency; and

(v) Reading comprehension.