(1) (a) By October 1, 2012, the department shall issue a request for proposals for the purchase of an early literacy assessment tool that teachers may use to obtain real-time assessments of the reading skill levels of students enrolled in kindergarten and first, second, and third grades and, based on the assessment results, generate intervention plans and materials. (b) At a minimum, the request for proposals shall include the purchase of: (I) Software that, at a minimum: (A) Provides individualized assessments with immediate results; (B) Stores and analyzes assessments results, recommends activities that are aligned with the assessment results, and assists in tracking student performance and identifying strategies to improve student performance; (C) Provides student grouping recommendations based on the assessment scores and provides proposed lesson plans on a short-term cycle; and (D) Assists in generating and populating individualized plans to improve students' reading skills; and (II) Training in using the software for teachers or other personnel selected by each local education provider. (c) The request for proposals shall include the purchase of a sufficient number of software licenses for each local education provider in the state to use the early literacy assessment tool in all of its kindergarten and first-, second-, and third-grade classes; except that the department may draft the contract to phase in the requirements of this paragraph (c) over multiple budget years based on available appropriations. (2) The department shall select from among the responses received and enter into a contract for the purchase of software licenses and training no later than March 1, 2013. In negotiating the terms of the contract, the department shall include performance measures, which may include student outcomes, as conditions affecting the amounts payable under the contract. (3) (a) As soon as practicable after entering into the contract, the department shall notify the local education providers and provide information explaining: (I) The software licenses purchased; (II) The availability of training in the use of the software including dates, times, and locations; and (III) The procedures and timelines by which each local education provider may apply to receive the software licenses and training to implement the early literacy assessment tool. (b) Based on the level of available appropriations, the department shall select the local education providers who will receive the early literacy assessment tool, including the training, from among those that apply. In selecting among the applicants, the department shall: (I) Select local education providers from various regions of the state and of varying student population size; (II) Give preference to local education providers with the highest percentages of kindergarten and first-, second-, and third-grade students who are below grade level expectations in reading; and (III) Give preference to local education providers with the highest percentages of schools that are eligible to receive moneys under Title I of the federal "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965", 20 U.S.C. sec. 6301 et seq. (c) A local education provider that is selected to receive the early literacy assessment tool in one budget year is not required to reapply in subsequent budget years. The department shall, to the extent possible within available appropriations, annually increase the number of local education providers that receive the early literacy assessment tool. (d) The department may choose to provide the early literacy assessment tool only to those schools of a selected school district that are eligible to receive moneys under Title I of the federal "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965", 20 U.S.C. sec. 6301 et seq. (4) During the 2014 regular legislative session and during the 2016 regular legislative session, the department shall submit to the governor's office, the joint budget committee, and the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or any successor committees, a report that includes, but need not be limited to, the following information: (a) The percentage of students enrolled in kindergarten and first, second, and third grades throughout the state that are receiving services using the early literacy assessment tool; (b) The local education providers that have received the early literacy assessment tool; (c) The improvements, if any, in the reading skill levels of students who received or are receiving services using the early literacy assessment tool; and (d) The amount of appropriations required to purchase an adequate number of software licenses to enable the local education providers in the state to use the early literacy assessment tool in all of the kindergarten and first-, second-, and third-grade classes in the state. (5) As used in this section, "local education provider" means a school district; a charter school that enrolls students in kindergarten and first, second, and third grades; and a public school operated by a board of cooperative services that enrolls students in kindergarten and first, second, and third grades. (6) The general assembly finds and declares that, for purposes of section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, purchasing an early literacy assessment tool as described in this section for the use of local education providers is an important element of accountable education reform and may therefore receive funding from the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution.
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