A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to enact the student reading act.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑83.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑83.3.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Part:
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(2)	"Alternative assessment" means a valid and reliable standardized assessment of reading comprehension, approved by the State Board of Education, that is not the same test as the State‑approved standardized test of reading comprehension administered to third grade students. The State Board of Education shall (i) provide several valid and reliable alternative assessments to local school administrative units upon request, (ii) approve valid and reliable alternative assessments submitted by local school administrative units, and (iii) establish achievement level ranges for each approved alternative assessment. The State Board of Education shall annually review all alternative assessments to ensure ongoing relevance, validity, and reliability. The State Board of Education shall complete the review and approval process as provided in this subdivision by September 15 of each year.
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(8)	"Student reading portfolio" means a compilation of independently produced student work selected by the student's teacher, beginning during the first half of the school year, and signed by the teacher and principal, as an accurate picture of the student's reading proficiency. The student reading portfolio shall include an organized collection of evidence of the student's reading proficiency. A single piece of evidence may be used to show reading proficiency for up to two standards. For each reading standard, there shall be two examples of student work, gathered over the course of the school year, demonstrating the student's reading proficiency. If a student correctly responds to eighty percent (80%) of the comprehension questions about one reading passage as used as an initial work sample, then that one work sample shall suffice to demonstrate student reading proficiency on the standards covered in that sample. A student reading portfolio shall only be compiled with students when it is determined that administration of a standardized test of reading comprehension would likely not yield positive findings of a student's reading proficiency.
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SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑83.8(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Parents or guardians of third grade students not demonstrating reading proficiency shall be encouraged to enroll their student in a reading camp provided by the local school administrative unit. Parents or guardians of a student not demonstrating reading proficiency shall make the final decision regarding a student's reading camp attendance. Local school administrative units shall provide at least one opportunity for students not participating in a reading camp to demonstrate reading proficiency appropriate for third grade students on an alternative assessment or through a student reading portfolio process approved by the State Board of Education prior to retaining the student."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑83.9(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	Teachers and principals shall provide opportunities, including, but not limited to, information sessions, to discuss with parents and guardians the notifications listed in this section. Principals shall provide at least one information session within the first 30 days of school regarding the requirement for reading proficiency for third grade students."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 115C‑83.11 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑83.11.  Continued support for students demonstrating reading proficiency.
(a)	Parents or guardians of a student demonstrating reading proficiency appropriate for a third grade student as provided under G.S. 115C‑83.7 may choose to enroll the student in the reading camp as defined in G.S. 115C‑83.3(9) but may be charged an attendance fee. Local boards of education may establish a fee amount to be equal to the per student program cost of participating in the reading camp, not to exceed eight hundred twenty‑five dollars ($825.00).
(a1)	A local school administrative unit may also provide a reading camp for students in kindergarten through second grade who are identified by their teachers as needing additional assistance to demonstrate reading proficiency in third grade. The local board of education shall adopt rules on how teachers are to identify these students and for making the camps available to them. Parents or guardians of a student not identified by their teachers may choose to enroll the student in such a reading camp but may be charged an attendance fee. The local board of education may establish a fee amount to be equal to the per student program cost of participating in the reading camp, not to exceed eight hundred twenty‑five dollars ($825.00).
(b)	Priority enrollment in the reading camp is for students not demonstrating reading proficiency in third grade as provided under G.S. 115C‑83.8. Local boards of education shall establish application procedures and enrollment priorities for reading camps for (i) students in kindergarten through second grade who are identified by their teachers in accordance with subsection (a1) of this section, (ii) students in kindergarten through second grade who are not identified by their teachers, and (iii) students in third grade who are demonstrating reading proficiency."
SECTION 5.  Funds appropriated for the 2013‑2015 fiscal biennium and subsequent fiscal biennia for reading camps as defined in G.S. 115C‑83.3(9) that are not needed for that purpose may, in the discretion of each local board of education, be used to provide a reading camp for students in kindergarten through second grade who need additional assistance to demonstrate reading proficiency in third grade in accordance with G.S. 115C‑83.11(a1).
SECTION 6.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2015‑2016 school year.