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<section article="ged" article_name="Education" number="4-136" title_number="4" title_name="Local School Administration" subtitle_number="1" subtitle_name="County Boards of Education">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Fluency” means reading accuracy and rate.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>“Phonemic awareness” means the ability to distinguish, segment, blend, and manipulate phonemes in words.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>“Phonics” means the study of letters and letter combinations and the relationship between the sounds that they represent.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>“Phonological awareness” means a child’s ability to recognize and manipulate parts of oral language including syllables, onset–rime, and phonemes.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="6">
      <text>“Screening” means a brief, valid, and reliable measurement procedure used to identify or predict whether a student may be at risk for poor learning outcomes.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="7">
      <text>“Student” means a student who does not have a current individualized education program or an individualized family service plan with reading goals and:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Is in kindergarten;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Is in first grade and was not screened by the school in kindergarten or demonstrated difficulty mastering grade–level reading in kindergarten; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Enters or transfers to a public elementary school from an elementary school, unless a determination is made by the county board that the student has already been screened and does not demonstrate difficulty mastering grade–level reading.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="8">
      <text>“Supplemental Reading Instruction” means evidence–based, sequential, systematic, explicit, and cumulative instruction or intervention to mastery of foundational reading skills including phonological or phonemic awareness and processing, phonics, and vocabulary to support development of decoding, spelling, fluency, and reading comprehension skills to meet grade level curriculum.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <level label="1">
      <level label="i">
        <text>Beginning in the 2020–2021 school year, each county board shall ensure that a student is screened to identify if the student is at risk for reading difficulties.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The screening required under this section may not be included in the time limitation for assessments set forth in § 7–203(h) of this article.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A screening may be conducted by:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>A classroom teacher;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A school psychologist;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>A special education teacher;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>A speech–language pathologist;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>A reading interventionist;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>A designated reading specialist; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vii">
        <text>Any other educator trained in screening instruments and protocols.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>On registration of a student at a public school, the county board shall provide to the parent or guardian of the student:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>A description of the screening and supplemental instruction process in the county; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Any checklists or forms needed to support the screening protocol.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <level label="1">
      <text>A county board shall select one or more appropriate screening instruments that:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Accurately and reliably identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Are developmentally appropriate;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Are economical to administer in time and cost; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>Use norm–referenced or criterion–based scores.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The screening instrument shall be based on foundational reading skills that include phonological and phonemic awareness and processing.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Students shall be screened according to the schedule established by the county board.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>If the screening results indicate that a student is at risk of reading difficulties, the county board shall:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Provide supplemental reading instruction to address the student’s identified areas of need; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Provide a notification letter to the parent or guardian of the student that includes:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>The screening results; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>A description of the supplemental reading instruction that will be provided to the student.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <text>Each county board shall provide resources on the county board’s website that include:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Reading screening instruments used in the county; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A checklist of early warning signs of reading difficulty and dyslexia by age.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <level label="1">
      <text>On or before October 1 each year, beginning with the 2020–2021 school year, each county board shall report to the Department the following information:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The number of students in the county in each grade level;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The number of students screened at each grade level;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>The number of students identified through a screening instrument as at risk for reading difficulties in each grade level; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>The number of students identified as at risk for reading difficulties at each grade level who received supplemental reading instruction.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Data reported under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Disaggregated and searchable at the county board level; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Updated annually and available on the Department’s website.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="g">
    <level label="1">
      <text>On or before June 1, 2020, and once every 4 years thereafter, the Department, in consultation with parents, teachers, and other interested stakeholders, shall develop and update resources for use by a county board.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Resources developed under this subsection shall be available on the Department’s website.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="h">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Department shall provide technical support for the county boards to provide training opportunities annually for individuals who conduct screenings under this section and for school administrators.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Training opportunities may include training on:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The administration and interpretation of screenings, informal diagnostic assessments, progress monitoring instruments, and student data;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Interpreting screenings and assessments for parents;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Best practices for designing and implementing supplemental reading instruction; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>The elements, principles, and best practices of supplemental reading instruction.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="i">
    <text>The Department shall adopt regulations to implement the requirements of this section.</text>
  </level>
</section>
