Alaska § 14.30.760 - Statewide screening and support.

§ 14.30.760. Statewide screening and support.

 (a) To implement the district reading intervention services established under AS 14.30.765 , the department shall        (1) adopt a statewide screening tool to administer to students in grades kindergarten through three to identify students with reading deficiencies, including students with characteristics of dyslexia; the screening tool must evaluate             (A) phonemic awareness, letter naming fluency, letter sound fluency, and letter word sound fluency of students in kindergarten;

 (B) letter word sound fluency and oral reading fluency of students in grade one;

 (C) vocabulary and oral reading fluency of students in grades two and three;

 (2) support teachers of grades kindergarten through three by             (A) administering the statewide screening tool three times each school year, once in the fall, once in the winter, and once in the spring, to all students in grades kindergarten through three, with the exception of students who demonstrate sufficient reading skills on the first screening of the school year;

 (B) providing methods to monitor student progress;

 (C) providing targeted instruction based on student needs as determined by the results of the screening tool; and

 (D) providing additional assistance as determined by the department;

 (3) provide training to school district staff related to using the results of the statewide screening tool and understanding evidence-based reading interventions, including explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency, oral language skills, and reading comprehension;

 (4) require that districts identify the early education programs attended by students and report to the department the average score on each performance screening tool by students in grades kindergarten through three who             (A) attended a state-approved early education program;

 (B) attended a head start program;

 (C) attended a private early education program;

 (D) did not attend an early education program;

 (5) establish a process that allows the commissioner to waive, upon request, use of the statewide screening tool required under this subsection by a school district if the school district has adopted an evidence-based reading screening tool and the screening tool is approved by the department;

 (6) review, approve, and assist districts developing alternative standardized reading screening tools in any language for use by school districts.

 (b) In adopting a statewide screening tool under (a)(1) of this section, the department shall consider the following factors:        (1) the amount of time needed to administer the screening with the intention of minimizing effects on instructional time;

 (2) the time frame for reporting screening results to teachers, administrators, and parents or guardians;

 (3) the integration of the screening with student instruction and department support;

 (4) recommendations from a task force, working group, or committee created by law and charged with studying issues related to reading proficiency and reading deficiencies; and

 (5) whether the screening tool is culturally responsive.