Bill Text: DE SB229 | 2013-2014 | 147th General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 14 Of The Delaware Code Relating To The Education Of Students With Disabilities
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-3)
Status: (Passed) 2014-07-15 - Signed by Governor [SB229 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2013-SB229-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Sen. Poore & Sen. Hall-Long & Rep. Longhurst & Rep. Q. Johnson & Rep. Ramone & Rep. M. Smith |
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Sens. Blevins, Bonini, Bushweller, Ennis, Henry, Lopez, Marshall, McBride, McDowell, Peterson, Pettyjohn, Sokola, Townsend |
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DELAWARE STATE SENATE 147th GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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SENATE BILL NO. 229 |
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AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE EDUCATION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES |
WHEREAS, under current Delaware law as interpreted by the Department of Education, all students are required to take a standardized assessment at regular intervals regardless of the nature of their cognitive disability, unless the student is suffering from extreme illness or injuries or has recently experienced severe trauma; and
WHEREAS, this requirement of state law often compels students who in the opinion of medical experts are literally unable to produce valid results on these tests to nevertheless sit for the tests; and
WHEREAS, some Delaware students with severe cognitive disabilities are currently required to take statewide standardized assessments over the objections of their own parents and teachers; and
WHEREAS, mandating that students with severe cognitive disabilities who are clinically incapable of producing valid results on standardized assessments can be harmful to those students; and
WHEREAS, teachers who now attempt to prepare such students for standardized assessments would prefer to use their classroom time to convey skills or information that their students could put to use in a vocational setting; and
WHEREAS, a limited number of young students in Delaware have dyslexia and other disabilities that severely limit or prevent them from decoding text; and
WHEREAS, the state should ensure that school districts and charter schools are being appropriately diligent about providing early, evidence-based interventions to these students so that they can learn to read;
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1.Amend Chapter 1, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§ 151 State assessment system; rules and regulations.
(j) Notwithstanding any other language in this Title, a student who has a measured intelligence quotient of 50 or less, has been formally classified as having one of the three following conditions, and whose parents or guardians, and IEP team, and school district superintendent or charter school leader believe will not produce valid results on either the standard or alternate assessment, shall be granted a special exemption from taking either assessment.The definition of each of the following three conditions shall be the same that is in effect on the date of passage of this Act in Title 14, Section 922 of the Delaware Administrative Code.
(i) Autism;
(ii) Multiple disabilities;
(iii) An intellectual disability.
The Department of Education shall promulgate regulations establishing a procedure for the review and approval of special exemptions requested under this subsection (including acceptable means of measuring intelligence quotient) and for further reviews of individual schools and/or school districts that request an unusual number of special exemptions.The Department of Education shall also promulgate regulations providing for a method of measuring academic progress by students receiving a special exemption from the state's assessment, which shall provide objective criteria by which student progress can be planned and measured and shall be developed in consultation with the Governor's Advisory Council on Exceptional Citizens.Students who are granted a special exemption under this subsection shall not be included in the participation rate calculation for schools and school districts.
Section 2. Amend Section Chapter 31, Title 14 by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 3110 Rules and regulations.
(e) With respect to any child with a disability who is not beginning to read by age seven, each IEP prepared for such student until that student is beginning to read shall (a) enumerate the specific, evidence-based interventions that are being provided to that student to address the student's inability to read, and (b) provide for evidence-based interventions through extended year services during the summer absent a specific explanation in the IEP as to why such services are inappropriate.
Section 3. It is the intention of the General Assembly that $500,000 of the funds appropriated by Section 189 of House Bill 200 of this General Assembly shall, if such funds are reappropriated by a subsequent General Assembly, be specifically designated beginning July 1, 2015 for the annual provision of regional evidence-based summer reading instruction for students who are not beginning to read by age seven.
Section 4. The provisions of this Act are severable, and a finding that any individual provisions or sections are unenforceable shall not prevent enforcement of all other provisions.
SYNOPSIS
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Section 1 of the Act would permit the state's most severely cognitively disabled students, with the consent of their parents, IEP teams, and school districts, to receive special exemptions from taking either of the state's standardized assessments.The academic progress of those students would still be measured in order to ensure that they are being challenged and provided meaningful instruction.Sections 2 and 3 of the Act attempt to ensure that evidence-based interventions are provided for young students who have dyslexia and related disabilities, to ensure that they are receiving necessary assistance in learning to read. |
Author: Senator Poore
