Local school boards determine the deadlines, format and approval criteria for Reading Improvement Plans. The district’s school board also determines the parameters for any updates or revisions if a district submitted a plan previously. Please send questions about Reading Improvement Plans to ReadingPlans@education.ohio.gov.
What is a reading improvement plan?
Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, when fewer than 80 percent of a school district’s students score proficient or higher on the grade 3 Ohio’s State Test in English Language Arts, the district must establish a reading improvement plan that will engage credentialed reading specialists. The school district’s board of education must approve the plan before the district begins implementing it.1 |1See Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 3301.0715(G).
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Do districts need Ohio Department of Education approval for their reading improvement plans?
No. Only the district’s board of education must approve a reading improvement plan before the district begins its implementation. However, this provision does not replace other state requirements or federal grant terms that call for a district to submit a targeted improvement plan to the Department. Such plans may include, but are not limited to, Reading Achievement Plans required under
Ohio law and Local Literacy Plans for districts receiving Striving Readers subgrants.
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When a district is required by a prior law to submit a Reading Achievement Plan and required by SB 216 to submit a reading improvement plan, must these plans be separate?
The local school board will determine the requirements the district must meet for developing a reading improvement plan and securing the board’s approval. The Department encourages districts to merge these plans under a single, comprehensive literacy improvement plan that meets all applicable state and federal requirements.
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Will the Department offer guidance and a template for local school districts to use when developing reading improvement plans?
No. Local school boards are responsible for creating their own requirements for their own reading improvement plans. Districts may find it helpful to look at other types of literacy plans and guidance available at these links:
- The Reading Achievement Plan, required under ORC 3302.13;
- The Local Literacy Plan, developed for the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant;
- The Reading Achievement Plan guidance document and guidance webinar;
- The Striving Readers Local Literacy Plan guidance document.
The Department also encourages districts to use the materials it has developed for
Ohio’s Literacy Toolkit, the
Third Grade Reading Guarantee and the annual Literacy Academy.
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Who approves a reading improvement plan that a community school develops?
The board of directors or governing board is responsible for approving its community school’s reading improvement plan.
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How is a “reading specialist” defined?
Districts determine their own qualifications for literacy specialists. The Department encourages districts to consider these criteria when determining qualifications for literacy specialists:
- A valid teaching license;
- A K-12 reading endorsement;
- Prior teaching experience;
- A master's degree with a concentration in reading and writing education;
- Program experiences that build knowledge, skills and dispositions related to working with students, supporting or coaching teachers, and leading the school reading program;
- The typical equivalent of 21-27 graduate semester hours in reading, language arts and related courses. The individual’s graduate program must include a supervised practicum experience, which typically is the equivalent of six semester hours.
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What is the difference between a Reading Improvement Plan and a Reading Improvement and Monitoring Plan (RIMP)?
Reading Improvement and Monitoring Plans3 are for individual students in grades K-3 who are struggling to read. A school must create a Reading Improvement and Monitoring Plan for each student reading below grade level within 60 days of receiving the student’s reading diagnostic results. The district must involve the student’s parent or caregiver and the classroom teacher in developing the plan.
SB 216 requires Reading Improvement Plans when fewer than 80 percent of a district’s students score proficient or higher on the grade 3 Ohio’s State Test in English Language Arts. Districts must engage reading specialists as part of their plans. The local board of education must approve its district’s Reading Improvement Plan before the district begins implementation. | 3See ORC 3313.608(C).
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What is the difference between a Reading Achievement Plan and a Reading Improvement Plan?
Ohio law requires a Reading Achievement Plan for each school district or community school that meets criteria 1 and 2 below, as reported on the district’s or community school’s past two consecutive Ohio School Report Cards. Such a district or community school must submit a Reading Achievement Plan to the Ohio Department of Education by
Dec. 31 of the reporting year.
- Received a grade of “D” or “F” on the Improving At-Risk K-3 Readers measure on the Ohio School Report Cards; and
- Fewer than 60 percent of students scored proficient or higher on the state’s grade 3 Ohio’s State Test in English Language Arts.
SB 216 requires a Reading Improvement Plan when fewer than 80 percent of a district or community school’s students scored proficient or higher on the grade 3 Ohio’s State Test in English Language Arts.
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Does the requirement for a qualifying district or community school to submit a reading improvement plan begin in the 2019-2020 school year, based on 2018-2019 test results?
Yes, a qualifying district or community school must submit a Reading Improvement Plan to its district board of education or governing body for the 2019-2020 school year, if it met the requirements based on 2018-2019 results of the grade 3 Ohio’s State Test in English Language Arts.
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