SB 616

This bill requires school boards and independent charter schools to develop and implement a numeracy assessment plan, under which numeracy screening assessments are administered to pupils in grades kindergarten to eight for the purpose of identifying pupils who are at-risk of not meeting grade-level mathematics standards. The bill defines a numeracy screening assessment as a diagnostic assessment that is valid, reliable, research-based, and predictive of future mathematics achievement and is designed to identify pupils who are at-risk of not meeting grade-level mathematics standards.

Under the bill, beginning in the 2026-27 school year, school boards and independent charter schools must administer numeracy screening assessments at least three times each school year. The bill further specifies that the first numeracy screening assessment must occur before the 30th day of the school term, the second numeracy screening assessment must occur in the middle of the school term, and the third numeracy screening assessment must occur no later than 45 days before the last day of the school term. Under the bill, school boards and independent charter schools must provide quality math tutoring to pupils who, on the basis of the results of a numeracy screening assessment, are identified as at-risk of not meeting grade-level mathematics standards.

The bill also requires school boards and independent charter schools to develop and implement personal mathematics plans for pupils identified as at-risk of not meeting grade-level mathematics standards on two consecutive numeracy screening assessments. Under the bill, a personal mathematics plan must include quality math tutoring that is provided by a high-quality provider and that is included on a list developed by the Department of Public Instruction or meets locally developed standards for quality math tutoring. A school board or independent charter school must continue to implement a personal mathematics plan until a pupil demonstrates that the pupil is meeting grade-level mathematics standards. Under current law, a school board and independent charter school must develop and implement a personal reading plan for pupils in five-year-old kindergarten to third grade who are identified as at-risk on certain early literacy screening assessments.

Lastly, the bill requires each school district or independent charter school in which fewer than 51 percent of fourth graders who took the Forward Exam received a score of proficient or better in mathematics to develop a mathematics achievement plan for the school district or charter school. Under the bill, DPI must create a model mathematics achievement plan.