H 4487 General Bill, By Harrell, Umphlett, Leach, Rice, Brady, Vaughn, Coates, 
Hagood, Sinclair, Haley, Talley, Stewart, Toole, Duncan, Clark, Bales, Hinson, 
Mahaffey, G.R. Smith, J.R. Smith, Walker, Witherspoon and Mitchell
 A BILL TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA EARLY CHILDHOOD OPPORTUNITY AND
 INTERVENTION ACT OF 2006" BY AMENDING SECTION 59-18-500, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
 CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO ACADEMIC PLANS FOR STUDENTS LACKING SKILLS TO
 PERFORM AT CURRENT GRADE LEVEL, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT STUDENTS SCORING BELOW
 GRADE LEVEL ON THE READING PORTION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STATEWIDE
 ASSESSMENT AT GRADE THREE OR GRADE FOUR IN 2006 AND THEREAFTER MUST BE
 PROVIDED WITH AN INTENSIVE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM TO ENSURE THAT THE STUDENT IS
 READING ON GRADE LEVEL AT THE END OF THE SUBSEQUENT SCHOOL YEAR AND TO
 ELIMINATE RETENTION IN GRADE, AND TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER POLICY AND PRACTICE
 CHANGES TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS NOT READING ON GRADE LEVEL OR
 RETAINED AT GRADE LEVEL.

   01/24/06  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-8
   01/24/06  House  Referred to Committee on Education and Public
                     Works HJ-8
   04/06/06  House  Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Mitchell

TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA EARLY CHILDHOOD OPPORTUNITY AND INTERVENTION ACT OF 2006" BY AMENDING SECTION 59-18-500, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO ACADEMIC PLANS FOR STUDENTS LACKING SKILLS TO PERFORM AT CURRENT GRADE LEVEL, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT STUDENTS SCORING BELOW GRADE LEVEL ON THE READING PORTION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT AT GRADE THREE OR GRADE FOUR IN 2006 AND THEREAFTER MUST BE PROVIDED WITH AN INTENSIVE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM TO ENSURE THAT THE STUDENT IS READING ON GRADE LEVEL AT THE END OF THE SUBSEQUENT SCHOOL YEAR AND TO ELIMINATE RETENTION IN GRADE, AND TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER POLICY AND PRACTICE CHANGES TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS NOT READING ON GRADE LEVEL OR RETAINED AT GRADE LEVEL.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    This act is known and may be cited as the "South Carolina Early Childhood Opportunity and Intervention Act of 2006".

SECTION    2.    Section 59-18-500 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-18-500.    (A)    Beginning in 1998-99 and annually thereafter, at the beginning of each school year, the school must notify the parents of the need for a conference for each student in grades three through eight who lacks the skills to perform at his current grade level based on assessment results, school work, or teacher judgment. At the conference, the student, parent, and appropriate school personnel will discuss the steps needed to ensure student success at the next grade level. An academic plan will be developed to outline additional services the school and district will provide and the actions the student and the parents will undertake to further student success. Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year and as a part of the academic plan, the student must be screened for vision and hearing problems as well as general health problems that may interfere with student academic progress.

(B)    Students scoring below grade level on the reading portion of the English language arts statewide assessment at grade three or grade four in 2006 and thereafter must be provided with an intensive instructional program to ensure that the student is reading on grade level at the end of the subsequent school year and to eliminate retention in grade. The intensive instructional program shall include one or more of the following strategies demonstrated to be successful: extending the school year to encompass a minimum of two hundred ten instructional days; a nongraded instructional approach that provides opportunities for supplementary instruction in areas of critical need, and looping teacher assignments. Students identified for intensive instructional programs may not be retained in grade, but instead served through intensive instruction and other actions defined in the academic plan. Teachers serving these students must have demonstrated exceptional student achievement over time, achieved national board certification, or have completed additional coursework and training specific to this assignment. Teacher compensation must be adjusted to reflect the extended contract year and student performance expectation. Districts shall use Education Finance Act appropriations, Education Improvement Act funds, Education Accountability Act alternative technical assistance funds, lottery, and any other per pupil allocations. The grade three and four students identified for intensive instructional programs are to be weighted 1.24 for purposes of the Education Finance Act. Districts are not required to provide a local match to the additional .24 weighting included in Education Finance Act funds. Districts are encouraged to utilize federal supplemental services funds or local or private funds to support the program's success and are encouraged to develop interdistrict collaborations to provide the highest quality services with the resources available. Programmatic dollars may be used to provide transportation for the students to minimize student travel time within and across school or district attendance zones.

(C)    If the student in grade five through eight has scored below grade level on the reading portion of the statewide English language arts assessment for two consecutive or for two of three consecutive years, then the time for reading instruction during the school day for that student must be increased to a minimum of one hundred fifty minutes daily. For students in this category, the school or district may reduce the amount of instructional time provided in other content areas until the student is reading on grade level.

(D)    The programs outlined in (B) and (C) must be for a minimum of three years and, with demonstrated success and need, extended for additional years by the State Board of Education. Evaluation criteria must be developed jointly by the State Board of Education and the Education Oversight Committee. The Education Oversight Committee shall monitor the implementation of the pilot programs, reporting annually to the General Assembly, the Governor, the State Board of Education, and the State Superintendent of Education on implementation progress and achieved results.

(E)    For students scoring below grade level in any content areas, the The participants in the conference will sign off on the academic plan, including any requirement for summer school attendance or participation in yearlong remediation or the actions outlined in the intensive instructional program. Should a parent, after attempts by the school to schedule the conference at their convenience, not attend the conference, the school will appoint a school mentor, either a teacher or adult volunteer, to work with the student and advocate for services. A copy of the academic plan will be sent to the parents by certified mail.

(C)(F)    At the end of the school year, the student's performance will be reviewed by appropriate school personnel. If the student's work has not been at grade level or if the terms of the academic plan have not been met, the student may be retained, he may be required to attend summer school, or he may be required to attend a comprehensive remediation program the following year designed to address objectives outlined in the academic plan for promotion. Students required to participate the following year in a comprehensive remediation program must be considered on academic probation. Comprehensive remediation programs established by the district shall operate outside of the normal school day and must meet the guidelines established for these programs by the State Board of Education. If there is a compelling reason why the student should not be required to attend summer school or be retained, the parent or student may appeal to a district review panel.

(D)(G)    At the end of summer school, a district panel must review the student's progress and report to the parents whether the student's academic progress indicates readiness to achieve grade level standards for the next grade. If the student is not at grade level or the students assessment results show standards are not met, the student must be placed on academic probation. A conference of the student, parents, and appropriate school personnel must revise the academic plan to address academic difficulties. At the conference it must be stipulated that academic probation means if either school work is not up to grade level or if assessment results again show standards are not met, the student will be retained. The district's appeals process remains in effect.

(E)(H)    Each district board of trustees will establish policies on academic conferences, individual student academic plans, and district level reviews. Information on these policies must be given to every student and parent. Each district is to monitor the implementation of academic plans as a part of the local accountability plan. Districts are to use Act 135 of 1993 academic assistance funds to carry out academic plans, including required summer school attendance. Districts' policies regarding retention of students in grades one and two remain in effect. Districts are encouraged to develop policies and to implement practices that reduce the number of students retained at any grade level.

(F)(I)    The State Board of Education, working with the Education Oversight Committee, will establish guidelines until regulations are promulgated to carry out this section and amend any current regulations that are inconsistent with the intent of the intensive instructional program or provisions regarding students who are below grade level in reading for multiple years. The State Board of Education, working with the Accountability Division, will promulgate regulations requiring the reporting of the number of students retained at each grade level, the number of students on probation, number of students retained after being on probation, and number of students removed from probation. This data will be used as a performance indicator for accountability."

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.