Move on When Reading Information for Parents

There are four exemptions from ARS §15-701. In accordance with the law, a school district governing board or the governing body of a charter school is permitted to promote a student who fails to meet the cut score on the reading portion of the 3rd grade AzM2 exam for any of the four following reasons:

1. A third grade student is an English Language Learner or Limited English Proficient who has received less than two years of English instruction; or

2. A third grade student with disabilities has an individualized education plan (IEP), and the IEP-team, which includes the student’s parent/guardian, agrees that promotion is appropriate; or

3. A third grade student is in the process of a special education referral or evaluation for placement in special education and/or students that have been diagnosed as having a significant reading impairment, including dyslexia. (Dyslexia is defined as, a brain-based learning difference that impairs a person's ability to read and spell that is independent of intelligence and that typically causes a person to read at levels lower than expected.

4. A third grade student has demonstrated or subsequently demonstrates sufficient reading skills or adequate progress towards sufficient reading skills of the 3rd grade reading standards as evidenced through a collection of reading assessments approved by the State Board.

Additional information about Arizona’s Move on When Reading legislation can be obtained at https://www.azed.gov/mowr/.

Kyrene Elementary School District provides a comprehensive core reading program to all students with a particular emphasis in foundational reading skills in Kindergarten through Third grade. The District core reading program, Core Knowledge Language Arts, includes the key components of effective early literacy skills: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency, and Comprehension.

As part of our reading program, student performance is regularly monitored in reading achievement through prior and current performance on state, district, and school-based reading program assessments. Based on these assessments, instruction and intervention goals and services are established and provided.

As a parent, you play a vital role in student academic success by 1) supporting and monitoring your child’s reading skills at home and 2) ensuring your child is at school on time and attends regularly. If you have questions regarding your child’s progress this year, please contact your child’s teacher.