Committee to bring draft Act 20 literacy policy to full board after curriculum alignment work

The West Bend School District policy committee received an update on implementing Act 20 (state literacy requirements) on May 6, 2025, and asked administration to return to the full board with draft policy language addressing required screening, intervention, progress monitoring and promotion decisions.

Administration reported that the district selected CKLA as its core program to meet statutory literacy requirements and that curriculum staff—led by Heather Isaacson—are convening literacy specialists and administrators to draft the procedural framework for screening and interventions. The committee was told the district is already aligning elementary instruction and intervention staffing to meet Act 20 expectations.

Why it matters: Act 20 requires districts to adopt screening and intervention procedures for early literacy, and in some cases addresses third‑grade promotion when students are not meeting benchmarks. Committee members emphasized procedural safeguards, diagnostic assessments and an exceptions process (for example, students with individualized education programs or demonstrated progress under intervention) to avoid inappropriate retention.

Key points - Program adoption and readiness: the committee was briefed that CKLA has been approved as the selected program to meet required instructional components and that the district will bring a draft policy addressing screening, interventions, and promotion exceptions to the board for review. - Funding: committee members asked whether Act 20 includes additional state funding. Administration characterized Act 20 implementation as effectively an “unfunded mandate”—the state provided some projected funds tied to curriculum selection, but districts should not count on that funding for ongoing implementation costs, and many costs are currently covered from existing budgets and special-education funding gaps. - Safeguards and diagnostics: the committee discussed refining diagnostic tools and targeted interventions so supports are precise and effective; staff noted past timing mismatches between assessment windows and instruction that had led to false identifications and that those timing issues are being addressed.

Next steps Administration will continue work with curriculum staff and literacy specialists, produce draft policy language and present it to the full board as a package (policy plus supporting administrative rules) in a subsequent meeting. The committee stressed the need for procedural safeguards, multiple exceptions (including IEP considerations) and clear documentation of interventions before any promotion decisions are made.