Verona staff outline rapid rollout of Wisconsin’s Act 20 literacy requirements; district says work is unfunded but underway

Verona Area School District staff described Jan. 27 how the district is implementing Wisconsin’s Act 20 literacy law, emphasizing tighter screening timelines, more diagnostic testing and personalized reading plans for students who fall below the 25th percentile on state‑aligned screeners.

Teresa, who presented the law’s classroom and curriculum implications, said the district had already prioritized early literacy work and used that foundation to scale implementation. “Act 20 is Wisconsin State Law, and the main parts of that are the science‑aligned literacy instruction, assessment and really then just building using our strategies to build an effective system in order for us to get students to proficiency,” she said.

Under the law and district practice described at the meeting, students who score at or below the 25th percentile on the district screener are to receive diagnostic assessments within 10 calendar days; staff must create a personalized reading plan and provide notice to families within that window. District staff said teams then begin targeted services, progress‑monitor students weekly, and provide a formal 10‑week update. Sandra, Verona’s MLSS coordinator, described staff completing hundreds of diagnostic assessments at a single school in a tight timeframe and said teachers and interventionists have built workflows to manage the work.

Administrators also discussed how Act 20 interacts with bilingual programs and special education: two‑way immersion students are screened in both English and Spanish and, for students with individualized education programs (IEPs), personalized reading plans are incorporated into the IEP process.

Dr. Clarity and other staff noted that state funding earmarked for Act 20 had not yet been released to districts; the superintendent asked the board to continue advocacy for state implementation funds while the district proceeds with unpaid work to meet legal timelines.

Board members had questions about family communications, promotion policy timelines and summer options. The administration said a promotion policy consistent with DPI guidance will be brought back to the board; DPI’s model promotion policy must be adopted by districts by July 1, 2025, and the state requires implementation no later than Sept. 1, 2027.

What the district is doing (as presented)

- Universal screening and state‑aligned assessment; students at/below 25th percentile receive diagnostics within 10 calendar days. - Personalized Reading Plan (PRP) created and sent to families; staff begin interventions and weekly progress monitoring for 10 weeks. - District uses a data warehouse and workflow tool to collect screener/diagnostic results and send PRPs to families. - Special education students who fall below the threshold will have PRPs embedded in their IEPs.

Next steps

Administrators said they will continue training, report back with a draft promotion policy and expand summer literacy programming as needed. The board heard no formal action item on the presentation; the update was informational.