The number of third graders retained due to reading scores below benchmark dropped from 4,808 this spring to 1,832. This marks the first year the third-grade retention provision of the Alabama Literacy Act has taken effect.  Of the 4,808 third graders who tested “not sufficient” on the 2023-2024 Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP) reading subtest, more than 3,000 took the same reading subtest again over the summer, with 1,337 eligible for promotion to fourth grade. After this summer’s reading camps, 93.5% of Alabama's third graders now are sufficient in reading, while 6.5% of students remain below grade level and will be retained.

Another 500 third graders are eligible for promotion to fourth grade through good cause exemptions outlined in the law. Special education students with an individualized education plan (IEP) or 504 as well as some English language learners represent the majority of these exemptions. 

In the State Board of Education (SBOE) work session Thursday, State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey noted more students in lower elementary grades are being retained for not reading sufficiently, which demonstrates the Alabama Literacy Act is helping identify students requiring additional reading supports and interventions at a younger age.

The total number of students retained across grades K-3 based on the ACAP reading subtest:

• Kindergarten - 3,448 out of 60,245 
• 1st Grade - 3,760 out of 62,239 
• 2nd Grade - 2,154 out of 61,525 
• 3rd Grade - 1,832 out of 58,236 

The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) will provide individualized intervention plans to support struggling readers and their teachers beyond third grade during the 2024-2025 school year. Schools have received their data and must verify it before Sept. 16, when the test results are publicly released.

SBOE Meeting

Alabama Administrative Code Rule Changes - The board unanimously adopted rule changes in accordance with the Alabama Numeracy Act and the Computer Science Act, which were adopted as Emergency Rules at the June meeting, as well as for the new Mathematics Coaching Endorsement (Rule 290-3-3-.62); the new Numeracy Coursework Standards (Rule 290-3-3-.63); and the new high school graduation requirement of Computer Science (Rule 290-3-1-.02). The board also announced its intent to adopt an amended, technical rule change pertaining the annual apportionment of Foundation Program funds (Rule 290-2-1-.01) which includes the 2% education personnel pay raise and other annual changes necessary for the FY25 Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget.

Legislative Updates - The board unanimously adopted a model policy for the Teachers' Bill of Rights (Act 2024-409) as well as guidelines and training required under the Tyrell Spencer Act (Act 2023-235) related to student athletic sudden cardiac arrest, both of which are effective this 2024-2025 school year. Local boards must adopt a policy addressing the minimum requirements of the Teachers’ Bill of Rights and may choose to either adopt the SBOE model policy as is, amend it or create their own. 

State Intervention in Bessemer City Schools - The SBOE approved a resolution for state intervention in the administration and operations of the Bessemer City School System, which the Bessemer City Board of Education voted to support earlier this summer. Former ALSDE Deputy Superintendent Daniel Boyd will serve as the chief administrative officer during state intervention, which Mackey noted will be a multi-year process. The Bessemer City Board of Education will cooperate with the SBOE to improve student achievement and financial stability.

State Intervention Update on Sumter County Schools - Mackey provided an update on the state intervention in Sumter County schools, which the board approved exactly one year ago. Part of the state intervention includes consolidating and closing schools due to declining enrollment, with the long-term goal to house all grade levels K-12 and athletic facilities at Sumter Central High School. New facilities will be added to the high school to accommodate incoming students from Livingston Junior High School, which is slated for closure.

SBOE Work Session

Supports for Struggling Readers Beyond Third Grade - Both the ALSDE Office of School Improvement (OSI) and the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) are implementing targeted intervention supports and professional development for teachers in grades four through six based on the ACAP reading subtest data. All K-12 teachers now have access to online Neuhaus Structured Literacy Modules on the science of reading, which is aligned with Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) used in K-3 classrooms and educator preparation programs. Mackey updated the board on how the ALSDE will support struggling readers in grades 4-6 through the $5 million legislative appropriation in the ETF Supplemental budget. These are funds immediately available which must be expended before the fiscal year and the FY25 ETF budget begin Oct. 1. The $5 million, which will be combined with other state funds focused on literacy, will be allocated toward:

• $2.4 million grant opportunity prioritized for summer learning and tutoring
• $1.5 million grant opportunity for K-3 intervention programs 
• $650,000 universal literacy assessment for grades 4-5
• $300,000 peer coaching model grant opportunity prioritized for teachers with large percentages of fourth-grade students reading below grade level
• $150,000 ALSDE education specialist for grades 4-6 interventions
• Unknown amount for educator professional development

Modernizing the School Funding Formula - Mackey provided an update on the ongoing work of the Legislative Study Commission on Modernizing K-12 School Education Funding, noting any potential 2025 legislation would not impact the upcoming FY26 ETF budget, but most likely the FY28 or FY29 budget. He described potential plans to "amend" the current Foundation Program. He noted various approaches as the effort would involve re-allocating existing revenue or new revenue. "This is very complicated to what the student weights would look like," Mackey said. "This doesn't mean taxes would be raised, but that state would have to raise revenues through other means." 

SBOE members Stephanie Bell (District 3) and Wayne Reynolds (District 8) noted the legal and judicial considerations this work must involve, specifically the Equity Funding Lawsuit, to ensure both equity and adequacy in school funding. The legislative study commission next meets Thursday, Aug. 15 at 11 a.m. in the Alabama State House, Room 200.

Resolutions and Recognitions:

• September is Attendance Awareness Month in Alabama Schools
• Oct. 14-18 is National School Lunch Week

Next SBOE Meeting and Work Session:

The board’s next meeting will take place during the 2024 SBOE retreat in Anniston Wednesday, Aug. 27 through Thursday, Aug. 28. The board's next official meeting will take place Thursday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. in Montgomery with a work session immediately following:

• Gordon Persons Building Auditorium
• Livestream viewing: https://www.youtube.com/user/aldeptofed/live
• Archived meeting and work session recordings: https://www.alabamaachieves.org/state-board-of-education/meeting-videos/

Ada Katherine van Wyhe, MPA
Director of Governmental Relations