Federal Legislation:
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2001)
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, 1965). It is the main federal law affecting education from kindergarten through high school. NCLB is built on four principles: accountability for results, more choices for parents, greater local control and flexibility and an emphasis on doing what works based on scientific research.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 is a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.
Early intervening services should make use of supplemental instructional materials, where appropriate, to support student learning. Children targeted for early intervening services under IDEA are the very students who are most likely to need additional reinforcement to the core curriculum used in the regular classroom. These are in fact the additional instructional materials that have been developed to supplement and therefore strengthen the efficacy of comprehensive core curriculum.
Kentucky Intervention Legislation:
Kentucky has also passed legislation that addresses the need for Intervention strategies, models and programs to assist students not meeting state benchmarks. Following are the legislation that address a need for intervention:
KRS 158.6453 Assessment of achievement goals -- Development of Commonwealth
Accountability Testing System -- Components -- High school and college readiness assessments -- ACT and WorkKeys -- Accommodations for students with disabilities -- Assessment design -- Biennial plan for validation studies -- Local assessment -- School report card -- Individual student report.
(5)(b) A student whose scores on the WorkKeys assessments indicate that additional assistance is required in reading for information, locating information, or applied mathematics shall have intervention strategies for accelerated learning incorporated into his or her learning plan.
(13)(b) An individual student report to parents for each fifth-grade student summarizing the student's readiness in reading and mathematics based on the student's fourth-grade state assessment results. The school's fifth-grade staff shall develop a plan for accelerated learning for any student with identified deficiencies;
(c) An individual report for each student who takes a high school or college readiness examination administered under subsection (4)(a) of this section that:
1. Provides the student's test scores;
2. Provides a judgment regarding whether or not a student has met or failed to meet the expectations for each standard assessed; and
3. Is designed to assist students, parents, and teachers to identify, assess, and remedy academic deficiencies prior to high school graduation;
KRS 158.6459 Intervention strategies for accelerated learning
(1) A high school student whose scores on the high school readiness examination administered in grade eight (8), on the college readiness examination administered in grade ten (10), or on the WorkKeys indicate that additional assistance is required in English, reading, or mathematics shall have intervention strategies for accelerated learning incorporated into his or her learning plan.
(2) A high school student whose score on the ACT examination under KRS 158.6453
(4)(a)3. in English, reading, or mathematics is below the systemwide standard established by the Council on Postsecondary Education for entry into a creditbearing course at a public postsecondary institution without placement in a remedial course or an entry-level course with supplementary academic support shall be provided the opportunity to participate in accelerated learning designed to address his or her identified academic deficiencies prior to high school graduation.
(3) A high school, in collaboration with its school district, shall develop and implement accelerated learning that:
(a) Allows a student's learning plan to be individualized to meet the student's academic needs based on an assessment of test results and consultation among parents, teachers, and the student; and
(b) May include changes in a student's class schedule.
(4) The Kentucky Department of Education, the Council on Postsecondary Education, and public postsecondary institutions shall offer support and technical assistance to schools and school districts in the development of accelerated learning.
(5) A student who participates in accelerated learning under this section shall be permitted to take the ACT examination a second time prior to high school graduation at the expense of the Kentucky Department of Education. The cost of any subsequent administrations of the achievement test shall be the responsibility of the student.
KRS 158.649 Achievement gaps -- Data on student performance -- Policy for reviewing academic performance -- Biennial targets -- Review and revision of consolidated plan.
By December 1, 2002, each local board of education upon the recommendation of the local district superintendent shall adopt a policy for reviewing the academic performance on the state assessments required under KRS 158.6453 for various groups of students, including major racial groups, gender, disability, free and reduced price school lunch eligibility, and limited English proficiency. The local board policy shall be consistent with Kentucky Board of Education administrative regulations. Upon agreement of the school-based decision making council, or the principal if there is not a council, and the superintendent, the local board shall establish a biennial target for each school for reducing identified gaps in achievement as set out in subsection (4) of this section.
(4) By February 1, 2003, and each February 1 in odd-numbered years thereafter, the school-based decision making council, or the principal if there is not a council, with the involvement of parents, faculty, and staff shall set the school's biennial targets for eliminating any achievement gap and submit them to the superintendent for consideration. The superintendent and the school-based decision making council, or the principal if there is not a council, shall agree on the biennial targets before they are submitted to the local board of education for adoption.
(5) By April 1, 2003, and each April 1 in odd-numbered years thereafter, the school council, or the principal if a school council does not exist, with the involvement of parents, faculty, and staff, shall review the data and revise the consolidated plan to include the biennial targets, strategies, activities, and a time schedule calculated to eliminate the achievement gap among various groups of students to the extent it may exist. The plan shall include but not be limited to activities designed to address the following areas:
(a) Curriculum alignment within the school and with schools that send or receive the school's students;
(b) Evaluation and assessment strategies to continuously monitor and modify instruction to meet student needs and support proficient student work;
(c) Professional development to address the goals of the plan;
(d) Parental communication and involvement;
(e) Attendance improvement and dropout prevention; and
(f) Technical assistance that will be accessed.
KRS 158.792 Reading diagnostic and intervention fund -- Grants for reading intervention programs --Administrative regulations -- Annual reports on use of grant funds and costs of intervention programs.
(1)(b) "Reading diagnostic assessment" means an assessment that identifies a struggling reader and measures the reader's skills against established performance levels in the essential components of reading. The purpose is to screen for areas that require intervention in order for the student to learn to read proficiently.
(1)(c) "Reading intervention program" means short-term intensive instruction in the essential skills necessary to read proficiently that is provided to a student by a highly trained teacher. This instruction may be conducted one-on-one or in small groups; shall be research-based, reliable, and replicable; and shall be based on the ongoing assessment of individual student needs.
(2) The reading diagnostic and intervention fund is created to help teachers and library media specialists improve the reading skills of struggling readers in the primary program. The Department of Education, upon the recommendation of the Reading
Diagnostic and Intervention Grant Steering Committee, shall provide renewable, two (2) year grants to schools to support teachers in the implementation of reliable, replicable research-based reading intervention programs that use a balance of diagnostic tools and instructional strategies that emphasize phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and connections between writing and reading acquisition and motivation to read to address the diverse learning needs of those students reading at low levels. Any moneys in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward to be used for the purposes specified in this section.
(5) The Department of Education shall make available to schools:
(a) Information concerning successful, research-based comprehensive reading programs, diagnostic tools for pre- and post-assessment, and intervention programs, from the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development created under KRS 164.0207;
(b) Strategies for successfully implementing early reading programs, including professional development support and the identification of funding sources; and
(c) A list of professional development providers offering teacher training related to reading that emphasizes the essential components for successful reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and connections between writing and reading acquisition and motivation to read.
KRS 164.0207 Collaborative Center for Literacy Development: Early Childhood through Adulthood -- Duties -- Report.
(1) The Collaborative Center for Literacy Development: Early Childhood through
Adulthood is created to make available professional development for educators in reliable, replicable research-based reading programs, and to promote literacy development, including cooperating with other entities that provide family literacy services. The center shall be responsible for:
(a) Developing and implementing a clearinghouse for information about programs addressing reading and literacy from early childhood and the elementary grades (P-5) through adult education;
(b) Providing advice to the Kentucky Board of Education regarding the Reading Diagnostic and Intervention Grant Program established in KRS 158.792 and in other matters relating to reading;
(c) Collaborating with public and private institutions of postsecondary education and adult education providers to provide for teachers and administrators quality preservice and professional development relating to reading diagnostic assessments and intervention and to the essential components of successful reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and the connections between writing and reading acquisition and motivation to read;
KRS 158.844 Mathematics achievement fund -- Creation -- Use and disposition of moneys -- Administrative regulations -- Requirements for grant applicants - Department to provide information to schools and to make annual report to Interim Joint Committee on Education.
(1) The mathematics achievement fund is hereby created to provide developmentally appropriate diagnostic assessment and intervention services to students, primary through grade 12, to help them reach proficiency in mathematics on the state assessments under KRS 158.6453 and in compliance with the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001," 20 U.S.C. sec. 6301 et seq. as required under KRS 158.840.
(2) The grant funds may be used to support the implementation of diagnostic and intervention services in mathematics. The use of funds may include: pay for extended time for teachers, released time for teachers to serve as coaches and mentors or to carry out other responsibilities needed in the implementation of intervention services, payment of substitute teachers needed for the support of mathematics teachers, purchase of materials needed for modification of instruction, and other costs associated with diagnostic and intervention services or to cover other costs deemed appropriate by the Kentucky Board of Education.
KRS 158.070 School term -- Professional development -- Holidays and days closed --Continuing education for certain students -- Breakfast program – Missed school days due to emergencies and service credit.
(8) Schools shall provide continuing education for those students who are determined to need additional time to achieve the outcomes defined in KRS 158.6451, and schools shall not be limited to the minimum school term in providing this education. Continuing education time may include extended days, extended weeks, or extended years. A local board of education may adopt a policy requiring its students to participate in continuing education. The local policy shall set out the conditions under which attendance will be required and any exceptions which are provided. The Kentucky Board of Education shall promulgate administrative regulations establishing criteria for the allotment of grants to local school districts and shall include criteria by which the commissioner of education may approve a district's request for a waiver to use an alternative service delivery option, including providing services during the school day on a limited basis. These grants shall be allotted to school districts to provide instructional programs for pupils who are identified as needing additional time to achieve the outcomes defined in KRS 158.6451. A school district that has a school operating a model early reading program under KRS 158.792 may use a portion of its grant money as part of the matching funds to provide individualized or small group reading instruction to qualified students outside of the regular classroom during the school day.