Move On When Reading for Administrators

Exemptions:  There are two exemptions from ARS §15-701.

In accordance with the new law, a school district or governing board or the governing body of a charter school may be allowed to promote a pupil who earns an AIMS score that falls far below the third grade level for any of the following reasons:

1. English Language Learners or Limited English Proficient that have received less than two years of English instruction; and
2. Students with disabilities provided that the pupil’s individualized education program (IEP) team and the pupil’s parent or guardian agree that promotion is appropriate based on the pupil’s IEP.

To read the legal exemptions: http://www.azleg.gov/ars/15/00701.htm

For students being retained, the school district governing board or the governing board of the charter school shall offer at least one of the following intervention and remedial strategies developed by the state board of education. These include:

• A requirement that the pupil be assigned to a different teacher for reading instruction
• Summer school reading instruction
• In the next academic year, intensive reading instruction that occurs before, during or after the regular school day, or any combination of before, during and after the regular school day
• Online reading instruction

Benefits of the Legislation: This law will ensure students receive the instruction they need to develop their skills in reading. It will reduce the need for remedial education in later grades. Research shows us that students who cannot read are more likely to drop out of school. This intensive instruction helps prevent future school failure. Ensuring every student becomes a reader will contribute to Arizona’s economy by developing a skilled workforce and individuals who are prepared for higher education.  Parent Notification regarding the new statewide assessment, AzMERIT:  Click the picture below to find a “Sample” letter that explains AzMerit and how it affects MOWR.

Parent Notification:  School districts and charter schools shall provide annual written notification to parents of pupils in kindergarten programs and, first, second and third grades that a pupil who obtains a score on the reading portion of the Arizona instrument to measure standards test, or a successor test, that demonstrates the pupil is reading far below the third grade level will not be promoted from the third grade.

Parent Notification regarding the new statewide assessment, AzMERIT:  Click the picture above to find a “Sample” letter that explains AzMerit and how it affects MOWR.

	Sample – MOWR & AzMERIT Parent Letter English Version
	Sample – MOWR & AzMERIT Parent Letter Spanish Translation

RESOURCES:

Read On Arizona Literacy Guide for Arizona Families: This guide is for any parent or caregiver of an Arizona student in grades PreK-3.  It is to help parents understand what the Arizona law says about reading requirements for 3rd grade students, the importance of early literacy, the role families play in helping support foundational early reading skills and activities to use at home.  It also suggests questions and ideas that you can discuss with your school to help your child if he or she is a struggling reader.

A Special Note from the AZ State Board of EducationSchools/Districts/ChartersThe AZ State Board of Education would like to congratulate you on your excellent work, as our public schools once again decreased the number of students who scored “falls far below” on the reading portion of 3rd .Read the 2014-2015 MOWR Newsletter

	VIDEO:  The Balance of Informational and Literary Texts in K-5  From: TheHuntInstituteShift the balance to 50 percent informational texts and  50 percent literature in elementary grades • Importance of balance in preparing for later grades and non-literary texts.
	Florida Center for Reading
	Assessment and Data-based Decisions
	Balanced Comprehensive Assessment System
	AZ READS
	Arizona Response Intervention