ID H0295

School districts and public charter schools shall establish extended time literacy intervention programs for kindergarten through grade 3 students scoring basic or below basic on fall reading screening assessments and submit programs to the state board of education.

Literacy intervention programs must include proven research-based instruction covering phonemic awareness, decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency, with a minimum of 60 hours for below basic students and 30 hours for basic students.

State board of education shall select and approve adaptive learning technology literacy intervention providers through a request for proposals process; approved tools must include parental engagement components, use evidence-based early intervention models, and be evaluated annually by independent external evaluators.

Online or digital materials that are part of a core literacy program are not required to be on the approved provider list; no more than $100 per student may be used for transportation costs.

State department of education shall provide professional development to districts on literacy best practices outlined in the Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan and present intervention program participation and effectiveness data annually to the state board, legislature, and governor.