COMMITTEE REPORT
February 15, 2018
H. 4434
Introduced by Reps. Clary, Elliott, Cogswell, Collins, Henderson-Myers, Felder, Pope, Taylor and Ott
S. Printed 2/15/18--H. [SEC 2/20/18 12:01 PM]
Read the first time January 9, 2018.
To whom was referred a Bill (H. 4434) to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Article 5 to Chapter 33, Title 59 so as to define necessary terms, etc., respectfully
That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass with amendment:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by deleting all after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Chapter 33, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 59-33-510. As used in this section:
(1) 'Evidence-based reading instruction' means reading, writing, and spelling instruction that employs direct instruction of systematic and cumulative content, with the sequence beginning with the easiest and most basic elements, and progressing methodically to more difficult material. Each step also must be based on steps already learned. Components of evidence-based reading instruction include instruction targeting phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
(2) 'Dyslexia specific intervention' means evidence-based, specialized reading, writing, and spelling instruction that is multisensory in nature, equipping students to simultaneously use multiple senses, such as vision, hearing, touch, and movement. Dyslexia specific intervention requires greater intensity, such as smaller groups, increased frequency of instruction, and individualized progression through steps, than typical evidence-based reading instruction.
(3) 'Multi-tiered system of supports' or 'MTSS' means an evidence-based model of schooling that uses data-based problem solving to integrate academic and behavioral instruction and intervention. The integrated academic and behavioral supports are delivered to students at varying intensities by means of multiple tiers based on student need. Need-driven decision making seeks to ensure that district resources reach the appropriate students at their schools at the appropriate levels to accelerate the performance of all students to fulfill the profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
(4) 'Response to Intervention' or 'RTI' means the process of providing high-quality instruction and intervention matched to student needs using learning rate over time and level of performance to make important instructional decisions. To ensure efficient use of resources, schools begin with the identification of trends and patterns using schoolwide data and grade level data. Students who need instructional intervention beyond what is provided universally for positive behavior or academic content areas are provided with targeted, supplemental interventions delivered individually or in small groups at increasing levels of intensity. RTI is a process that is driven by the use of a problem-solving model and is used for the purpose of revealing what works best for groups of students and individual students, regardless of placement.
(5) 'Tiered instruction' means instruction and intervention provided with increasing intensity in response to student needs. This instruction is typically provided in an RTI process depicted as a three-tier model. Data is collected at each tier and is used to measure the efficacy of the instruction and intervention so that meaningful decisions may be made about how instruction and intervention should be maintained and layered. Tier 1 is the foundation and consists of scientific, research-based core instructional and behavioral methodologies, practices, and supports designed for all students in the general curriculum. Tier 2 consists of supplemental, targeted instruction and interventions that are provided in addition to and in alignment with effective core instruction and behavioral supports to groups of targeted students who need additional instructional support, behavioral support, or both. Tier 3 consists of intensive instructional or behavioral interventions provided in addition to and in alignment with effective core instruction with the goal of increasing an individual student's rate of progress. Tier 3 interventions are developed for individual students using a problem-solving process. Students receiving Tier 3 level supports may or may not be eligible for specially designed instruction and related services in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act.
(6) 'Problem solving model' means a problem solving method used to match instructional resources to educational need. The problem solving model uses data to define the problem, establish performance goals, develop intervention plans, monitor progress, and evaluate outcomes.
Section 59-33-520. (A)(1) The State Department of Education shall establish and provide training and support for a statewide MTSS framework that must contain a common data-based problem solving model, on-going student assessment, and a layered continuum of supports using evidence-based practices. As part of the assessment, a universal screening process must be used to identify students who may be at risk for problems in reading, math, writing, and social-emotional development.
(2) Beginning with the 2019-2020 School Year, a local school district shall use the universal screening process to screen each student in the district who is in kindergarten through second grade three times each school year as part of the district's universal screening procedures, and any other student as required by the department, for reading difficulties, including dyslexia, and the need for intervention.
(3) In addition to screening required by this subsection, screening also may be requested for a student by his parent or guardian, teacher, counselor, or school psychologist.
(B) The district, following the universal screening procedures it conducted, shall convene a school-based problem solving team to analyze screening data and progress monitoring data to assist teachers in planning and implementing appropriate instruction and evidence-based interventions for all students who are at risk, including those students who exhibit the characteristics of dyslexia. Guidance may include suggestions of appropriate tiered interventions, dyslexia specific interventions, academic and social-emotional supports, and access to assistive technology.
(C) If the RTI process conducted by the district indicate that a student is at risk for problems, including dyslexia, the district shall:
(1) notify the parent or legal guardian of the student;
(2) provide the parent or legal guardian of the student with information and resource material regarding the problem;
(3) provide the student with appropriately tiered, evidence-based intervention through its RTI process; and
(4) monitor and evaluate the progress of the student using a tool designed to measure the effectiveness of the intervention.
Section 59-33-530. The department shall provide appropriate professional development training and resources for all educators in the area of MTSS and the identification of, and evidence-based intervention methods for, students who are at risk, including students with dyslexia.
Section 59-33-540. The State Board of Education shall create a reporting template that must be completed by the local school district and provided to the State Board, State Superintendent of Education, and the Chairs of the House Education and Public Works Committee and Senate Education Committee by July thirty-first of each year of the pilot program. The template must include the following:
(1) identification of the screening tool used;
(2) the type and amount of professional development specifically applicable to dyslexia and other related disorders that is provided to faculty and staff;
(3) the number of students identified as having dyslexia or a related disorder, and the interventions employed by the school; and
(4) longitudinal data reported by grade that separately identifies academic growth for students who are identified as having dyslexia or a related disorder and provided intervention services, and students who do not receive services. Individual students must not be identified.
Section 59-33-550. (A) There is created a Dyslexia Task Force for the purpose of working with the department in matters relating to dyslexia. The task force is composed of nine members as follows:
(1) an education specialist appointed by the State Superintendent of Education, for a term of three years;
(2) a representative from the South Carolina branch of the International Dyslexia Association, appointed by the president of the association for a term of three years;
(3) a special education teacher with an understanding of dyslexia, appointed by the State Superintendent of Education for a term of three years;
(4) an elementary school teacher, appointed by the State Superintendent of Education for a term of three years;
(5) a middle school teacher appointed by the State Superintendent of Education for a term of three years;
(6) a high school teacher, appointed by the State Superintendent of Education for a term of three years;
(7) a parent of a child with dyslexia, appointed by the State Superintendent of Education for a term of three years;
(8) a licensed speech pathologist, appointed by the State Superintendent of Education for a term of three years; and
(9) a member in good standing of the South Carolina Optometric Physicians Association appointed by that association's board of directors for a term of three years.
(B) The terms of the task force members commence July 1, 2018.
(C) A vacancy must be filled in the same manner of the original appointment for the unexpired portion of the term. A member may be appointed to successive terms.
(D) The members of the task force shall serve without compensation, mileage, per diem, or subsistence allowances.
(E) The task force shall meet at least quarterly. A quorum consists of a majority of the membership of the council.
(F) The task force shall coordinate with the department and the South Carolina branch of the International Dyslexia Association in the selection of the universal screening tool provided in Section 59-33-520, and collaborate with the department in the reporting required by Section 59-33-540."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval of the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.
MERITA A. ALLISON for Committee.
Explanation of Fiscal Impact
Amended by House Education and Public Works K-12 Subcommittee on January 30, 2018
State Expenditure
The amendment makes substantial changes to the original bill. It removes the requirement that the department develop a screening tool and instead requires the department to establish and provide training and support for a statewide multi-tiered support system (MTSS) framework with three tiers of interventions. The MTSS framework will consist of a data based system to match instructional resources to educational needs, an ongoing system of student assessment, and a layered continuum of support. As part of this process, the department will develop a universal screening process to screen for identifying students who may be at risk for problems in reading, math, writing, and social-emotional development. The screening would be used by local school districts through their existing response to intervention (RTI) framework.
Beginning in the 2019-20 school year, school districts are to use the universal screening process to screen each child from kindergarten through second grade at least three times a year. Also, the department, a parent, guardian, counselor, teacher, or school psychologist may request to have a child screened. Each district will convene a school-based team to analyze screening data and progress-monitoring data to assist teachers and students. If the screening process indicates the student is at risk for problems in reading, math, writing, and social-emotional development, including dyslexia, the district will notify the parent or guardian and provide information regarding the problem, provide the student with appropriate intervention through its RTI process, and monitor the progress of the student using a tool designed for that purpose. Additionally, this bill requires the department to provide professional development resources for educators for identification and intervention methods for students who are at risk, including students with dyslexia.
Furthermore, the amended bill requires each school district, using a reporting tool provided by the department, to provide an annual report on the number of children screened and the number of children receiving intervention services, among other things, to the State Board of Education, the State Superintendent of Education, the Chair of the Senate Education Committee, and the Chair of the House Education and Public Works Committee.
The implementation of the MTSS at the state, district, and school levels, including the universal screening process, is a reorganization and standardization of the student support framework rather than the implementation of a new program or activity. As a result, the program will be implemented with existing staffing and training will be performed with existing professional development funds.
The amended bill also calls for tiered interventions and supports. These interventions are aligned with the federal Read to Succeed Act, allowing the department to implement both programs together. For this reason, the department reports that Tier One and Tier Two interventions can be supported using existing resources. With respect to Tier Three interventions, the department has been approved to receive on-site technical assistance and support from the United States Department of Education's National Center for Intensive Interventions. This assistance is paid for by the United States Department of Education, and will allow the department to support the development of Tier Three interventions.
As to the reporting template for the longitudinal data required by the amended bill, the department recently received a federal grant to support the SC Learning Disabilities Project, a joint venture with the University of South Carolina's Department of School Psychology, which will review the RTI process and provide technical assistance to school districts. The department estimates a cost of $125,000 associated with these activities, which will be funded by an existing federal grant.
Also, 70 percent of the funding for education through the Education Finance Act is from the general fund. As students, whose learning disabilities would not otherwise have been identified, are identified through the screening tool, there will be additional costs to fund the education of these students. Section 59-20-40 requires the annual allocation for each school district to be determined, in part, by the base student cost multiplied by total weighted pupil units. Each student is provided a weight, dependent on the anticipated costs associated with that student's education. The Education Finance Act and Proviso 1.3 of the FY 2017-18 Appropriations Act assigns a weight of 1.00 for base students and 1.74 for a child with a learning disability. Therefore, for each child identified by the screening tool, who would not have otherwise been identified, the weighted pupil units could increase by as much as 0.74 pupil units, depending on the original pupil weight of the children identified. However, if the child is already in a higher weighted pupil category, the units may not be affected. The additional weighted pupil units would increase the overall allocation for the school district to be used for additional teachers and any other special instruction of the children. Overall, there is no way to determine how many children will be identified by the screening tool, who would not have otherwise been identified, nor how much of an impact identifying a child as learning disabled would have on the total weighted pupil units for each school district. Therefore, the expenditure impact to the general fund is undetermined.
Local Expenditure
The RTI framework already exists at school districts, but the consistency of implementation has not been studied. Because of this, and because districts may need to make more or less adjustments to comply with the MTSS framework, the department estimates that twenty-eight of the state's school districts incur non-recurring costs for additional supplies and materials to support the MTSS framework and screening tool at a cost of approximately $10,000 per district, for a total of $280,000. The department has indicated that it will work with districts to help mitigate these costs, contingent on the availability of funding.
The amended bill requires school districts to collect data and provide an annual report of such data using a template provided by the department. The department did not provide an estimate for the cost of this data collection. Data collection and reporting is performed in the normal course of school district business, but as the complexity of the template is unknown at this time any impact associated with this is undetermined.
Additionally, local government funds 30 percent of the Education Finance Act program, which is calculated, in part, by multiplying the base student cost by the weighted pupil units in the school district. Because each child identified as learning disabled, who would not have been identified without the screening tool, may or may not have an impact on the total weighted pupil units for a school district, the local expenditure to fund the school districts' program is undetermined.
Explanation of Fiscal Impact
Introduced on January 9, 2018
State Expenditure
This bill requires the department, in consultation with the South Carolina branch of the International Dyslexia Association, to identify, procure, and provide a universal screening tool to screen for characteristics of dyslexia. The screening would be used by local school districts through their existing response to intervention (RTI) framework.
Beginning in the 2019-20 school year, school districts are to use the universal screening tool to screen each child from kindergarten through second grade at least three times a year. Also, the department, a parent, guardian, counselor, teacher, or school psychologist may request to have a child screened. If the screening indicates a student is dyslexic, the district will notify the parent or guardian and provide information on dyslexia, provide the student with dyslexia-specific intervention, and monitor the progress of the student. Each district will convene a school-based team to analyze screening data and progress-monitoring data to assist teachers and students. Additionally, this bill requires the department to provide professional development resources for educators for identification and intervention methods for students with dyslexia. The State Board of Education also will promulgate regulations to establish criteria for students to be identified with an educational disability requiring special education.
Furthermore, this bill creates an eight member dyslexia advisory council which will advise the department in matters related to dyslexia. The members shall serve without compensation, mileage, per diem, or subsistence allowances. The terms of the members will commence July 1, 2018. The council also will submit an annual report on the number of children screened and the number of children receiving dyslexia intervention services, among other things, to the Senate Education Committee and the House Education and Public Works Committee.
The department anticipates the cost to provide the screening tool for the required three screenings would be $6 per child, annually. In FY 2017-18, the department's 45-Day average daily membership for students in kindergarten through second grade is 170,035. This yields a total cost of $1,020,208 for screenings. The procurement process itself will have no cost to the agency, as it is within the normal scope of the agency's business.
Also, 70 percent of the funding for education through the Education Finance Act is from the general fund. As students, who would not otherwise have been identified as dyslexic, are identified through the screening tool, there will be additional costs to fund the education of these students. Section 59-20-40 requires the annual allocation for each school district to be determined, in part, by the base student cost multiplied by total weighted pupil units. Each student is provided a weight, dependent on the anticipated costs associated with that student's education. The Education Finance Act and Proviso 1.3 of the FY 2017-18 Appropriations Act assigns a weight of 1.00 for base students and 1.74 for a child with a learning disability. Dyslexia is considered a learning disability. Therefore, for each child identified by the screening tool, who would not have otherwise been identified, the weighted pupil units could increase by as much as 0.74 pupil units, depending on the original pupil weight of the children identified. However, if the child is already in a higher weighted pupil category, the units may not be affected. The additional weighted pupil units would increase the overall allocation for the school district to be used for additional teachers and any other special instruction of the children. Overall, there is no way to determine how many children will be identified by the screening tool, who would not have otherwise been identified, nor how much of an impact identifying a child as dyslexic would have on the total weighted pupil units for each school district. Therefore, the expenditure impact to the general fund is undetermined.
Additionally, the department would need to hire a school psychologist to assist in developing training and to provide support to the school districts to handle the increased requests for student evaluations. This position would require additional expenses of $65,000 for salary, $28,650 for employer fringe, and $4,350 for travel, supplies, and technology expenses, for a total expenditure impact of $98,000 to the general fund in FY 2018-19.
Moreover, the school districts would be reimbursed $150 for each substitute for the five teachers that are required to serve on the dyslexia advisory council, if substitutes are needed. Assuming the council meets four times within a school year and a substitute is needed, the total expenditure impact to the general fund would be $3,000 beginning in FY 2018-19. The staffing for the council will be provided by the Department. The additional responsibilities will be managed by existing employees and additional costs will be managed within existing appropriations.
Furthermore, teachers would need to attend two training sessions provided by the department for professional training related to the administration and use of the screening tool and collecting and analyzing data. There are approximately 8,229 teachers that would need to receive the training. Each of the two required training sessions would be for groups of no more than thirty teachers, for a total of approximately 540 training sessions. Each training session would include the cost of an instructor, facility rental, and either teachers' stipends, or reimbursement to the school districts for substitute teachers. An instructor would be $1,200 per session. If the training needs to be held at a rented facility, location rental would be $500 per training session. Finally, the cost of either a teacher's stipend or one substitute, if substitutes were needed, would be $150 per teacher per session. Therefore, the total non-recurring expenditure impact to the general fund in FY 2019-20 could be as much as $3,386,700 to provide professional development to
Local Expenditure
This bill requires all children from kindergarten through second grade to be screened for dyslexia. Each school district will be responsible for maintaining the data collected from this screening in its RTI framework. School employees at 660 schools would have to receive initial training on the use of the RTI framework. The training is anticipated to take 3 days for each school at a cost of $1,500 per day, resulting in a non-recurring local expenditure of $2,979,000 in FY 2019-20. Additionally, the schools would have to upload and store the data for each child in its RTI framework. The anticipated cost of data storage is $518,445, beginning in FY 2020-21.
Additionally, local government funds 30 percent of the Education Finance Act program, which is calculated, in part, by multiplying the base student cost by the weighted pupil units in the school district. Because each child identified as dyslexic, who would not have been identified without the screening tool, may or may not have an impact on the total weighted pupil units for a school district, the local expenditure to fund the school districts' program is undetermined.
Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director
Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 TO CHAPTER 33, TITLE 59 SO AS TO DEFINE NECESSARY TERMS, TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PROVIDE A UNIVERSAL SCREENING TOOL FOR USE BY LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO SCREEN STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH SECOND GRADE FOR CHARACTERISTICS OF DYSLEXIA BEGINNING WITH THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR; TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC ABILITIES THAT THE SCREENING TOOL MUST MEASURE; TO PROVIDE THAT PARENTS AND OTHER CERTAIN PARTIES MAY REQUEST THIS DYSLEXIA SCREENING FOR A STUDENT; TO REQUIRE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO CONVENE SCHOOL-BASED PROBLEM-SOLVING TEAMS TO ANALYZE SCREENING DATA AND PROGRESS MONITORING DATA TO ASSIST TEACHERS IN PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION AND EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS FOR ALL STUDENTS; TO REQUIRE DYSLEXIA-SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS FOR STUDENTS INDICATED BY SCREENINGS TO HAVE CHARACTERISTICS OF DYSLEXIA; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE RELATED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS; TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO PROMULGATE CERTAIN RELATED REGULATIONS; AND TO CREATE A DYSLEXIA ADVISORY COUNCIL TO ADVISE THE DEPARTMENT IN MATTERS RELATING TO DYSLEXIA.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 33, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 59-33-510. As used in this section:
(1) 'Dyslexia-specific intervention' means evidence-based, specialized reading, writing, and spelling instruction that is multisensory in nature, equipping students to simultaneously use multiple senses, such as vision, hearing, touch, and movement. Dyslexia-specific intervention employs direct instruction of systematic and cumulative content, with the sequence beginning with the easiest and most basic elements, and progress methodically to more difficult material. Each step also must be based on steps already learned. Components of dyslexia-specific intervention include instruction targeting phonological awareness, sound symbol association, syllable structure, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
(2) 'Response to Intervention' or 'RTI' means a school-wide system or framework encouraged by the No Child Left Behind Act and by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA). An RTI approach to instruction requires that schools provide a research and evidence-based instructional model to all students in academic and behavior areas, find the students who are not meeting standards, plan and provide research and evidence-based interventions for those not achieving, closely monitor the progress of targeted students, and intervene at a higher level if students do not progress toward age-appropriate levels. RTI uses the expertise of school professionals and parents in a proactive format which puts student needs first and bases decisions on data. Students failing to make adequate progress within an intervention tier are referred to problem-solving teams for review. The strength of the data collected in the RTI process allows for better decisions about which students will qualify for intensive special education programs and provides a base for monitoring further growth in those students.
Section 59-33-520. (A)(1) The State Department of Education shall provide a universal screening tool that screens for characteristics of dyslexia for use by local schools districts through their existing RTI framework. Through RTI, a local school district shall screen all students in reading, mathematics, and writing to determine which students require intervention.
(2) Beginning with the 2019-2020 School Year, a local school district shall use the universal screening tool to screen each student in the district who is kindergarten through second grade three times each school year as part of the district's universal screening procedures, and any other student as required by the department, for dyslexia and intervention.
(3) The screening tool explicitly must measure the ability of a student to demonstrate phonological awareness skills, phonemic decoding efficiency skills, sight-word reading efficiency skills, and accuracy of word reading on grade-level text.
(4) In addition to screening required by this subsection, a screening also may be requested for a student by his parent or guardian, teacher, counselor, or school psychologist.
(B) The district, following the universal screening procedures it conducted, shall convene a school-based problem-solving team to analyze screening data and progress monitoring data to assist teachers in planning and implementing appropriate instruction and evidence-based interventions for all students, including those students who exhibit the characteristics of dyslexia. Guidance may include suggestions of appropriate tiered interventions, dyslexia-specific interventions, academic accommodations as appropriate, and access to assistive technology.
(C) If the dyslexia screening conducted by the district indicates that a student has characteristics of dyslexia, the district shall:
(1) notify the parent or legal guardian of the student;
(2) provide the parent or legal guardian of the student with information and resource material regarding dyslexia;
(3) provide the student with appropriate tiered dyslexia-specific intervention through its RTI framework; and
(4) monitor the progress of the student using a tool designed to measure the effectiveness of the intervention.
Section 59-33-530. The department shall provide appropriate professional development resources for educators in the area of identification of and intervention methods for students with dyslexia.
Section 59-33-540. The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations to establish criteria for students to be identified with an educational disability requiring special education, including specific learning disabilities.
Section 59-33-550. (A) There is created a dyslexia advisory council for the purpose of advising the department in matters relating to dyslexia. The council is composed of eight members as follows:
(1) the State Superintendent of Education or his designee, who serves as an ex officio member of the council and serves as chair;
(2) an education specialist from the department, appointed by the State Superintendent, for a term of three years;
(3) a representative from a dyslexia advocacy group, appointed by the director of the group, for a term of three years;
(4) a special education teacher with an understanding of dyslexia, appointed by the State Superintendent, for a term of three years;
(5) an elementary school teacher, appointed by the State Superintendent, for a term of three years;
(6) a middle school teacher, appointed by the State Superintendent, for a term of three years;
(7) a high school teacher, appointed by the State Superintendent, for a term of three years;
(8) a parent of a child with dyslexia, appointed by the State Superintendent, for a term of three years; and
(9) a licensed speech pathologist, appointed by the State Superintendent, for a term of three years.
(B) The terms of the council members commence July 1, 2018.
(C) A vacancy must be filled in the same manner of the original appointment for the unexpired portion of the term. A member may be appointed to successive terms.
(D) The members of the council shall serve without compensation, mileage, per diem, or subsistence allowances.
(E) The council shall meet at least quarterly. A quorum consists of a majority of the membership of the council.
(F) The council shall coordinate with the department in the selection of the universal screening tool provided in Section 59-33-510.
(G)(1) The council annually shall submit a report to the Senate Education Committee and the House Education and Public Works Committee. This report must include:
(a) the number of students screened and the number of students provided with dyslexia intervention services;
(b) information about specific accommodations needed for students who are provided dyslexia intervention services taking the annual state mandated assessment or other assessments mandated by the State or the district; and
(c) a description of intervention services provided to students.
(2) The report may not include information identifying individual students."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval of the Governor.