Senate Bill 1778 is from Senate Education Chair Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, and House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. It brings back third-grade retention for students who don't meet testing benchmarks unless they meet a good cause exemption. Stitt signed the measure at John Rex Charter Elementary School.
"With this bill signing, we are providing our commitment to our young people and their ability to succeed. And that starts with reading by the end of the third grade," Stitt said. "It ensures that when a student is struggling, we act quickly before that gap becomes a lifelong challenge."
The $26 million bill aims to catch low-performing students in first and second grade and give them transitional instruction. It includes a multi-tiered system of supports that targets the most deficient students with the most intensive interventions. It also includes teacher coaches to provide professional development and includes a plan for parent involvement at home.
"We codified into law that parents will be involved in this process," Pugh said. "We've got the strongest literacy legislation in the country because parents will be a part of this every single step of the way."
Superintendent Lindel Fields called the measure "thoughtful" and "comprehensive."
"The bill gets signed today, but the real work starts tomorrow morning," Fields said.
A literacy overhaul has been a key objective on lawmakers' agenda this session, with several bills filed to achieve it. Other states, notably Mississippi, have implemented similar policies. That state's literacy turnaround has been dubbed the "Mississippi Miracle," though those involved call it more of a marathon.
"Mississippi has done it," Hilbert said. "There's no reason Oklahoma can't as well."
Senate Bill 1778 incorporates pieces of Hilbert's House Bill 4420, such as exemptions for retention and a multi-tiered system of supports. It also combines Pugh's Senate Bill 1338, which would have made permanent a state pilot program that deployed literacy coaches to schools.
Third-grade retention and retention prevention
Beginning in the 2027-28 school year, if third-grade students score at the below basic achievement level on statewide English Language Arts standardized tests or below an "acceptable score" on an alternative test to be approved by the State Board of Education, they will be retained in third grade — unless they meet a good cause exemption. No student would be retained twice in third grade.
The three good cause exemptions are:
- Students identified as English Language Learners who have had less than two consecutive years of English learner instruction.
- Students with disabilities who participate in statewide testing and have an individualized education program (IEP) that shows they received intensive literacy intervention for more than two years but still have a reading deficiency, or who were previously retained for one year in kindergarten through third grade.
- Students who have received services for more than two years but still demonstrate a reading deficiency and have been retained in kindergarten through third grade for two years.
To exempt a student, their teacher must submit documentation to the principal, who determines whether promotion is appropriate. The principal makes a recommendation to the superintendent, who ultimately determines whether to accept or reject the recommendation.
Parents of exempt students may still choose to have their child retained. Retained students who transfer to another school must still be retained. Retained students who are withdrawn from public schools to bypass retention are subject to screening upon return to public school to determine the appropriate grade level for re-entry.
However, students will receive support before the third-grade threshold.
First- and second-grade students not meeting grade-level targets by the end of the grade will be placed in a stand-alone transitional-grade classroom or promoted to the next grade with targeted instructional pull-outs.
Those students will be given the option to attend a summer reading academy offered by the district. If the districts do not provide an academy, they have to provide parents with a list of summer literacy programs.
"Too many of our students are falling behind too early," Stitt said. "And when that happens, it's very, very hard to catch back up. And that's simply not acceptable for Oklahoma families, for our state. And that's not acceptable for the future of these young people behind me."
Multi-tiered system of supports
Students in kindergarten through third grade will experience a multi-tiered system of supports to target literacy gaps.
Tier One, or "Core Instruction," is the reading instruction provided to all students in a general education classroom, aligned with the science of reading. It includes universal screening tests in kindergarten through third grade and ongoing assessments to identify students in need of additional support.
The screening test assesses skills like phonological awareness, rapid naming, vocabulary and comprehension. It should also identify students at risk of math deficiencies and predict performance on state standardized tests.
Tier Two, or "Supplemental Intervention," is targeted intervention in addition to Tier One for students identified as requiring additional support. Examples of those interventions include small-group instruction, regular progress monitoring and targeted instruction for specific skill deficits.
Tier Three, or "Intensive Intervention," is highly targeted intervention in addition to Tiers One and Two for students with significant reading deficiencies. Examples include smaller-group instruction, such as one to three students and "substantially increased instructional intensity and frequency."
The tiers of support are tied to state funding. Each district will receive a per-student base allocation to support Tier One services, such as delivering the screening tests and professional development for teachers. Districts receive supplemental weighted funding for students on Tiers Two and Three.
A portion of appropriated funds would also provide incentives to districts whose students progress out of Tiers Two or Three.
Training for teachers
The bill also includes stipulations for continuing an existing statewide literacy coach program. Literacy coaches assist teachers, administrators and reading specialists with implementing best practices, designing and conducting professional development, and giving feedback based on observations and data.
Instead of literacy coaches "placed regionally," the coaches will now be placed specifically in six major geographic areas. The program will employ at least 20 coaches — up from five — that must have either a master's education degree with three years of documented successful teaching experience or a bachelor's degree with five years of successful teaching experience and at least three years of literacy experience.
Priority for literacy coach assignments will be given to the lowest-performing schools. If districts already have their own coaches, they will not be required to use the state department's coaches, as long as local coaches participate in department-led coaching.
To ensure the program doesn't "poach" reading teachers from schools — a concern Pugh has repeatedly expressed — OSDE is instructed to give preference to retired educators.
Districts that decline literacy coaches forfeit their Strong Readers Act funding.
Districts are also required to employ at least one reading specialist, interventionist or staff member with an early literacy micro-credential at each elementary school. For districts that do not have one, the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability and the state department will develop a higher education training academy for teachers to obtain micro-credentials.
The state department will provide a $3,000 stipend for one staff member per district and $1,500 to a higher education institution for each staff member who receives a micro-credential.
Higher education reform is also stipulated in the bill. Teacher candidates at Oklahoma universities will be required to study the negative impacts of less effective literacy methods, such as balanced literacy and whole-language.
Each teacher education program approved by the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability will be audited to ensure proper training in the science of reading. Noncompliant programs would receive probationary accreditation statuses.
Parent and guardian involvement
The measure also includes parent and guardian notification and involvement.
If students are identified as having a reading deficiency, parents and guardians must be notified within 30 days, and the notification must include an individual reading plan. Parents will be informed of their student's progress at least every 30 days and provided with strategies to help their child at home.
OEQA is also tasked with creating a "Read at Home" plan, which includes parent training workshops or parent-guided home reading activities.
Lionel Ramos contributed to this report.
