Arizona Laws 15-249.09
A. The early literacy program fund is established to provide support to improve reading skills, literacy and proficiency for students in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three in addition to monies received pursuant to section 15-211. The fund shall be administered by the department of education. The state board of education shall develop policies and procedures to be administered by the department of education.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 15-249.09
- Average daily membership: means the total enrollment of fractional students and full-time students, minus withdrawals, of each school day through the first one hundred days or two hundred days in session, as applicable, for the current year. See Arizona Laws 15-901
- Current year: means the fiscal year in which a school district is operating. See Arizona Laws 15-901
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- public school: means any public institution established for the purposes of offering instruction to pupils in programs for preschool children with disabilities, kindergarten programs or any combination of elementary grades or secondary grades one through twelve. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Student count: means average daily membership as prescribed in this subsection for the fiscal year before the current year, except that for the purpose of budget preparation student count means average daily membership as prescribed in this subsection for the current year. See Arizona Laws 15-901
- Subject: means a division or field of organized knowledge, such as English or mathematics, or a selection from an organized body of knowledge for a course or teaching unit, such as the English novel or elementary algebra. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
B. Subject to review and approval by the state board of education, the department of education shall award monies to eligible schools based on available monies on a per pupil basis. The per pupil amount shall be calculated using the student count for pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three.
C. Eligible schools that receive monies pursuant to this section shall submit data on expenditures and results and other information required by subsection E of this section.
D. Eligible schools may use monies for eligible expenses to increase the reading proficiency of students in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three. Eligible schools may also use monies to provide a full-day kindergarten program that is structured to increase reading proficiency. Monies must be used to expand, enhance and support the components included in a school’s reading program plan submitted pursuant to section 15-211.
E. Subject to review and approval by the state board of education, the department of education shall include a report on the early literacy program in the K-3 reading program plan required by section 15-211. The report shall contain the following:
1. A description of the monies awarded each year.
2. A summary of the funded activities.
3. Information on the recipient schools’ progress toward achievement goals.
4. Specific findings on strategies and activities and their level of effectiveness in improving reading proficiency in the recipient schools.
F. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Eligible expenses" means expenses for evidence-based strategies and interventions designed to improve the reading proficiency of students in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three pursuant to sections 15-211 and 15-704, including literacy coaches and literacy specialists, reading curricula, kindergarten readiness assessments, summer programs or tutoring programs.
2. "Eligible school" means a public school with at least ninety percent of students who are eligible for free and reduced-priced lunches under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts (42 United States Code §§ 1751 through 1785).
3. "Student count" means the average daily membership for pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three, as prescribed in section 15-901 for the current year.