District Online Curriculum

Alabama Literacy ACT

What is the ALABAMA LITERACY ACT?

In 2019, the Alabama legislature passed the Alabama Literacy Act. The Alabama Literacy Act was established to improve the reading proficiency of public school kindergarten through 3rd-grade students and ensure that those students are able to read at or above grade level by the end of the 3rd grade. Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, the law states that all 3rd-grade students shall demonstrate sufficient reading skills for promotion to 4th grade.

In accordance with the law, all kindergarten through 3rd-grade students are given an Alabama State Department of Education-approved reading assessment. Based on the results of the assessment, each kindergarten through 3rd-grade student who exhibits a reading deficiency shall be provided an appropriate reading intervention to address his/her specific needs. In addition, parents of any student who exhibits a consistent deficiency will be notified, a Student Individual Reading Plan (SRIP) shall be developed, and parents shall be given strategies and resources to use at home to help the student succeed in reading.

How will families be informed of their student’s progress?

Each student in Kindergarten through 3rd grade will have his/her reading assessed at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. These assessments will identify students who need intensive reading instruction and intervention. These assessments also provide useful information to the teacher to help him/her tailor instruction to meet individual student needs. Families should receive these results in writing within a designated time frame after each test administration.

What is the SRIP (Student Reading Improvement Plan)?

• A guide for instruction for the student based on the specific deficiency in reading.
• Developed for the student by teachers and others in the school, along with parent input, within 30 days of the identification of the deficit.
• Parents are notified of progress.
• Intervention instruction is evidence-based (LCPS uses the program SPIRE).
• The student will receive intense intervention until the student no longer has a deficiency in reading.

What are the requirements for promotion to the 4th grade? (PATHWAY TO PROMOTION)

Third-grade students will be promoted to fourth grade if they demonstrate sufficient reading skills through one of the following pathways:

• Score above the lowest achievement level for the reading portion of the 3rd grade ACAP (Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program), given in the Spring of their 3rd grade year (Minimum Score of 435).
• Earn an acceptable score for the ACAP Supplemental Assessment. (Administered at the end of Summer Camp)
• Master Grade 3 Essential Reading Standards in the Student Reading Portfolio
• Meet one of the good cause exemptions

What are the Good Cause Exemptions?

Good cause exemptions allow students who are reading below grade level to be promoted to 4th grade, but still receive interventions and other support. The good cause exemptions include:     

• Students are identified as English Language Learners who have had less than three years of instruction in English as a second language.
• Students with disabilities who participate in the statewide English Language Arts reading assessment and who have an Individual Education Plan or Section 504 Plan that reflects that the student has received intensive reading intervention for more than two years and who still demonstrate a deficiency in reading, or were previously retained in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, or third grade.
• Students who have received intensive reading intervention for two or more years and who still demonstrate a deficiency in reading and who were previously retained in kindergarten, first grade, or second grade for a total of two years.
• Students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Plan indicates that participating in the statewide assessment program is not appropriate, consistent with state law, are automatically exempt from demonstrating sufficient reading skills, as outlined here, to achieve promotion.
• If a student does not demonstrate sufficient reading skills through one of the three pathways or does not qualify for a good cause exemption, the student may not be promoted to third grade.

How will schools help students who are retained in 3rd grade because they do not meet the promotion requirement?

Students retained in 3rd grade will receive more intensive reading intervention services, including:

• Offer summer reading camps and the Alabama Summer Achievement Program (ASAP) shall be made available to all K-3 students in public elementary schools that are among the lowest performing 5% in reading;
• Offer before or after school intervention tutoring throughout the year to support learning;
• Provide reading instruction that is grounded in the science of reading.
• Provide frequent monitoring to help ensure students are progressing and on track to meet grade-level reading standards.
• Provide families with a Read-at-Home Plan.

What Can Parents Do?

• Read, read, read to your child and with your child.
• It is recommended that children read at home for a minimum of 20 minutes per day.

• Remember, YOU are your child’s first teacher

• Talk to your child about what they are learning in school

• Maintain open communication between you and your child’s teacher(s). 

• Attend parent meetings at your child’s school as often as you can and always ask questions

Alabama Numeracy ACT

The Alabama Numeracy Act was established to implement steps to improve the mathematics proficiency of public schools' K-5 grade students and ensure that those students are proficient in mathematics at or above grade level by the end of the fifth grade by monitoring the progression of each student from one grade to the other.