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District outlines LEARNS Act third-grade promotion requirements; 326 students flagged in October
Summary
Bentonville School District officials briefed the board on LEARNS Act requirements for third-grade promotion, individualized reading plans, just-cause exemptions, and district data showing 326 students flagged for reading interventions, 88 without a documented exemption and 12 of those 88 with classroom data at grade level.
Lisa St. John presented the district’s approach to the LEARNS Act and how Bentonville is implementing state requirements for third-grade promotion and support.
"This is the slide. These are DESE slides," St. John said while walking the board through state guidance, explaining required screening, the use of the Atlas assessment as the district data point, and the Individualized Reading Plan (IRP) process shared with parents through the Atlas portal.
St. John said the district sent 326 letters in October to families of students not reading on grade level. Of those, 88 students did not have a documented just-cause exemption at the time of the report (about 26 percent of the flagged cohort). St. John noted 12 of those 88 students currently have classroom data that suggests they are on grade level and that seven students flagged were new to the district this year.
She described the just-cause exemptions specified in state guidance: students with three years or less of instruction in English, students with a documented reading disability in an IEP or 504 plan, students previously retained prior to third grade, students recently evaluated for special education who did not qualify but who have two years of documented interventions, and traumatic events as defined by the State Board. District staff said IRPs and frequent progress monitoring (often every two weeks) are already in place through response-to-intervention structures.
Board members asked whether summer remediation could change promotion status; St. John said summer programs are not currently specified as an automatic pathway in state law or the technical-assistance manual but could be considered by a district as part of local interventions.
Why it matters: LEARNS Act implementation affects students’ placement, required interventions, communication with families and possible eligibility for external literacy grants ($500–$1,500 per student was described). St. John said the state notifies districts of eligible students and that eligibility letters direct parents to DESE’s approved-provider list.
Next steps: District staff will continue progress monitoring, maintain IRPs in Atlas, and watch state guidance for additional clarifications.
