State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Utah > Title-53a > Chapter-01 > 53a-1-606-5

53A-1-606.5. State reading goal -- Reading achievement plan.
(1) As used in this section, the "five domains of reading" include phonologicalawareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary.
(2) (a) The Legislature recognizes that:
(i) reading is the most fundamental skill, the gateway to knowledge and lifelong learning;
(ii) there is an ever increasing demand for literacy in the highly technological society welive in;
(iii) students who do not learn to read will be economically and socially disadvantaged;
(iv) reading problems exist in almost every classroom;
(v) almost all reading failure is preventable if reading difficulties are diagnosed andtreated by no later than the end of the third grade; and
(vi) early identification and treatment of reading difficulties can result in studentslearning to read by the end of the third grade.
(b) It is therefore the long-term goal of the state to have every student in the state's publiceducation system reading on or above grade level by the end of the third grade.
(3) (a) Each public school containing kindergarten, grade 1, grade 2, or grade 3,including charter schools, shall develop, in conjunction with all other school planning processesand requirements, a reading achievement plan for its students in kindergarten through grade 3 toreach the reading goal set in Subsection (2)(b).
(b) The reading achievement plan shall be:
(i) developed under the direction of:
(A) the school community council or a subcommittee or task force created by the schoolcommunity council, in the case of a school district school; or
(B) the charter school governing board or a subcommittee or task force created by thegoverning board, in the case of a charter school; and
(ii) implemented by the school's principal, teachers, and other appropriate school staff.
(c) The school principal shall take primary responsibility to provide leadership andallocate resources and support for teachers and students, most particularly for those who arereading below grade level, to achieve the reading goal.
(d) Each reading achievement plan shall include:
(i) an assessment component that:
(A) focuses on ongoing formative assessment to measure the five domains of reading, asappropriate, and inform instructional decisions; and
(B) includes a reading assessment selected from a list recommended by the State Boardof Education;
(ii) an intervention component:
(A) that provides adequate and appropriate interventions focused on each studentattaining proficiency in reading skills;
(B) based on best practices identified through proven researched-based methods;
(C) that provides intensive intervention, such as focused instruction in small groups,implemented at the earliest possible time for students having difficulty in reading;
(D) that provides an opportunity for parents to receive materials and guidance so thatthey will be able to assist their children in attaining proficiency in reading skills; and
(E) that, as resources allow, involves a reading specialist; and
(iii) a reporting component that includes reporting to parents:

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(A) their child's literacy profile which documents ongoing formative assessment results;and
(B) at the end of third grade, their child's reading level.
(e) In developing or reviewing a reading achievement plan, a school community council,charter school governing board, or a subcommittee or task force of a school community councilor charter school governing board may not have access to data that reveal the identity of students.
(4) (a) The school district shall approve each plan developed by schools within thedistrict prior to its implementation and review each plan annually.
(b) The charter school governing board shall approve each plan developed by schoolsunder its control and review each plan annually.

Repealed and Re-enacted by Chapter 244, 2007 General Session