Summer Legislative Newsletter-1998

[RepTrail@infotrail.com]

Summer Legislative Newsletter-1998


Legislative activities continued at a less hectic pace than during the
regular session.  I worked with some 25 constituents this summer regarding
various problems, and responded to 135 inquiries.  The majority of inquiries
regarded health, welfare, business, education, and tax issues.

The fall campaign will start to get underway after Labor Day.  I plan on
outlining my major legislative points and discussion on my home page:
http://users.moscow.com/ttrail  

The Latah County Fair-September 16-20th will be an excellent opportunity for 
voters to meet and talk with candidates.  The Moscow League of Women Voters 
candidate's forum is scheduled for October 28th in the Moscow Community Hall 
from 7:30 pm- 9:30 pm.

A number of Legislative Interim Committees meet during the summer and fall.
I've been working on the Legislative Reading Committee.  Idaho students
fall behind some of the national norms in terms of reading skills.  A key
indicator of future success is the abililty of a student to read at grade
level by the end of the third grade.  Our committee has met three time with
teachers, parents, university researchers, administrators, and concerned
citizens.  The essence of our progress to date is outlined in the following
draft recommendations.

1.  Legislative Reading Committee--Reading is essential to success in our
    society.  The Legislature acknowledges that reading is the highest priority
    in Idaho schools, and resources shall be allocated to provide access to
    research based reading methods in every school.  The goal is to ensure
    every Idaho student their birthright...the right to read.  Specific draft
    recommendations that have emerged from three meetings of the Committee
    include:

    a.  A comprehensive and balanced reading program that is researched based
        and combines skills development with activities rich in language
        experiences shall be organized and implemented in every district
        and school.

    b.  Every school and district shall require that every K-8 teacher be
        educated to assess, interpret and prescribe appropriate interventions
        for student reading problems.  These interventions shall include the
        application of multiple teaching methods for phonemic awareness,
        decoding and comprehension strategies.

    c.  The state educational agencies and teacher training institutions
        shall redesign teaching credential programs to require that all
        elementary teachers have a reading endorsement.  In addition, they
        shall require all elementary teacher education students to complete
        a minimum of three, three-credit courses in the science of reading
        that includes the major components of effective reading instruction.

    d.  Every school and district shall strive to place in the primary grades
        teachers who are knowledgeable in research based, balanced and
        comprehensive reading techniques that combine skills development with
        literature and language rich activities.

    e.  Every school and district shall mobilize all its resources to make the
        teaching of reading a priority for all school staff in grades K-3, and
        strive to achieve a student/teacher ratio that is consistent with
        Idaho's class size ratio goals in grades K-3.

    f.  High quality print and electronic instructional materials that support
        decoding and comprehension skills in a comprehensive K-3 research based
        reading program shall be provided by every school district.

    g.  Textbook selection in every district will support identified skills in
        a comprehensive balanced K-3 research based reading program and reflect
        Idaho's cultural diversity.

    h.  Family-oriented enrichment pre-school programs and other certified and
        validated pre-school programs with an emphasis on early intervention
        should be expanded and provided to promote language acquisition and
        pre-literacy skills.

    i.  Idaho shall establish and fund mandatory half-day kindergarten
        programs that focus on phonologically based pre-literacy skills for
        all children in the state.  Full day kindergartens shall be funded
        for schools with a majority of at-risk and/or English language
        limited students.

    j.  Idaho must promptly initiate a massive public education campaign
        promoting the importance of reading and the many programs available
        for schools and communities.  The entire community must collaborate
        to ensure that every child reads fluently and understands printed
        text, and is reading on grade level by the end of grade three.

Our next Committee meeting is September 14-15th in Boise.  We will start to
draft legislation to present to the Legislative next year.

Rep. Tom Trail/Dist. 5

Dr. Tom Trail
International Trails
2039 Mt. View Rd.
Moscow, Id. 83843
Tel:  (208) 882-6077
Fax:  (208) 882-0896
e mail ttrail@moscow.com