Nebraska Reads Act

Reading Instruction and Intervention Services -- Board Policy #6036 (and state statute) 

The purpose of this policy is to facilitate reading instruction and intervention services to address student reading needs, including, but not limited to, dyslexia. It is the school district’s goal that each student be able to read at or above grade level by third grade. 

Effective Reading Teachers. It is the intent of the school district to employ teachers for kindergarten through third grade who are effective reading teachers as evidenced by (a) evaluations based on classroom observations and student improvement on reading assessments or (b) specialized training in reading improvement. 

Reading Assessment. Beginning in 2019-20, the school district will administer a reading assessment approved by the Nebraska Department of Education three times during the school year to all students in kindergarten through third grade. Exceptions to this requirement include: 

• Any student receiving specialized instruction for limited English proficiency who has been receiving such instruction for less than two years; 

• Any student receiving special education services for whom such assessment would conflict with the individualized education plan; and 

• Any student receiving services under a plan pursuant to the requirements of section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794, or Title II of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 12131 to 12165, as such acts and sections existed on January 1, 2018, for whom such assessment would conflict with such section 504 or Title II plan. 

The first assessment for kindergarten students must occur within the first 45 calendar days that school is in session of each school year. For all other grades, the first assessment must occur within the first 30 calendar days that school in in session of each school year. 

Diagnostic assessments used within a supplemental reading intervention program do not require Nebraska Department of Education approval. 

Deficiency Identification. Any student in kindergarten through third grade performing below the threshold level as determined by the Nebraska Department of Education shall be identified as having a reading deficiency for purposes of the Nebraska Reading Improvement Act and this policy. A student who is identified as having a reading deficiency shall remain identified as having a reading deficiency until the student performs at or above the threshold level on an approved reading assessment. Nothing in the Nebraska Reading Improvement Act or this policy shall prohibit a school district from identifying any other student as having a reading deficiency. 

Supplemental Reading Intervention Program. The school district will provide a supplemental reading intervention program to ensure that students can read at or above grade level at the end of third grade. The school district may work collaboratively with a reading specialist at the Nebraska Department of Education, with educational service units, with learning communities, or through interlocal agreements to develop and provide such supplemental reading intervention programs. Each supplemental reading intervention program must: 

• Be provided to any student identified as having a reading deficiency; 

• Be implemented during regular school hours in addition to regularly scheduled reading instruction unless otherwise agreed to by a parent or guardian; and 

• Make available a summer reading program each summer for any student who has been enrolled in grade one or higher and is identified as continuing to have a reading deficiency at the conclusion of the school year preceding such summer reading program. The summer reading program may be held in conjunction with existing summer programs in the school district or in a community reading program not affiliated with the school district or may be offered online. 

The supplemental reading intervention program may also include: 

• Reading intervention techniques that are based on scientific research and best practices; 

• Diagnostic assessments to frequently monitor student progress throughout the school year and adjust instruction accordingly; 

• Intensive intervention using strategies selected from the following list to match the weaknesses identified in the diagnostic assessment: 

o Development in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension; 

o Explicit and systematic instruction with detailed explanations, extensive opportunities for guided practice, and opportunities for error corrections and feedback; or 

o Daily targeted individual or small-group reading intervention based on student needs as determined by diagnostic assessment data subject to planned extracurricular school activities; 

• Strategies and resources to assist with reading skills at home, including parent-training workshops and suggestions for parent-guided home reading; or 

• Access to before-school or after-school supplemental reading intervention with a teacher or tutor who has specialized training in reading intervention. 

Parent/Guardian Notification. The school will give notice in writing or by electronic communication to the parent(s) or guardian(s) of any student identified as having a reading deficiency within 15 working days of such identification that the student has been identified as having a reading deficiency and that an individual reading improvement plan will be established and shared with the parents or guardians. 

Reading Improvement Plan. Any student who is identified as having a reading deficiency will receive an individual reading improvement plan no later than 30 days after the identification of the reading deficiency. The reading improvement plan may be created by the teacher, the principal, other pertinent school personnel, and the parents or guardians of the student and shall describe the reading intervention services the student will receive through the supplemental reading intervention program to remedy the reading deficiency. The student must receive reading intervention services through the supplemental reading intervention program until the student is no longer identified as having a reading deficiency. 

Reading Progress. Each student in kindergarten through third grade and his or her parent(s) or guardian(s) will be informed of the student's reading progress within a reasonable time after the school district receives the results from the student’s approved reading assessment. 

Revised on: 14 July 2021