A 21st Century Learning community

Dear Parents of Students in Grades K-3,

This letter is to provide you with information on Arizonas Move On When Reading (MOWR) law and
the importance it places on your childs ability to read at or above grade level. The MOWR law will
apply to 2016-2017 third graders. Arizona Revised Statute 15 - 701 states that if data on the third
grade statewide reading assessment at the end of the 2016-2017 school year demonstrates that a student
scored minimally proficient on the AzMERIT assessment the student shall not be promoted from the
third grade.
There are three exemptions from ARS 15-701. In accordance with the law, a school district governing
board or the governing body of a charter school is allowed to promote a student who earns a score of
minimally proficient on the third grade statewide reading assessment only for the three following
reasons:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)

A third grade student is an English Language Learner or Limited English Proficient who has
received less than two years of English instruction; or
A third grade student with disabilities has an individualized education plan (IEP), and the
IEP-team, which includes the students parent/guardian, agrees that promotion is appropriate;
or
A third grade students 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.)

The district administers a reading screening assessment, Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills
(DIBELS) three times a year. Once we have the initial assessment results, schools will provide a separate
written notification to parents of students with substantial reading deficiencies which will include:
a. Description of currently provided reading services;
b. Description of available supplemental instructional services and supporting programs designed to
remediate reading deficiencies;
c. Parental strategies to assist in student becoming proficient;
d. Statement stipulating the student will not be promoted if the student receives an AIMS reading score
indicating the student is minimally proficient on the third grade AzMERIT assessment unless the student
is exempt from the retention policy or qualifies for a good cause exemption.
Your child will take the AzMERIT test, as referenced above, for the first time during the spring of his/her
third grade year. Our classroom teachers are trained to work with students who are experiencing reading
difficulties. Additionally, we have a highly qualified reading specialist on staff who collaborates with
classroom teachers and provides additional reading instruction for qualifying students.
If you have questions or need additional information, please contact
Dr. Denise Bartlett

Assistant Superintendent
2101 E. River Road
Tucson, AZ. 85742
(520)209-7500