Committee weighs changes to reading-data reporting aimed at better oversight without adding teacher burden

House Bill 2 67 would amend Title 14 to require school districts and charter schools to report reading-screener data to the Department of Education twice a year (October and June), disaggregated by grade and school; the bill would also require reporting on literacy interventions being provided. The measure was presented as a follow-up to prior reading and literacy legislation intended to ensure monitoring and alignment with evidence-based reading practices.

Secretary Martin (Department of Education) and other DOE representatives told the committee that the screeners the bill references are already used by teachers three times a year as formative assessments and that the bill’s intent is to provide state-level visibility into how the ‘‘story’’ begins and ends across districts. Committee members expressed concern about adding obligations that could take time away from classroom instruction; DOE and the sponsor said the assessments are routine and that the change primarily requires reporting rather than adding new local assessments.

Public testimony from the Delaware Charter Schools Network urged caution about the reporting burden at district and department levels and suggested considering sunsets or phased approaches to reporting requirements. The committee did not take a vote on HB 2 67 at this meeting.