(a) A literacy tutoring grant is up to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500) per eligible student per school year that may be used for any of the following purposes designed to improve reading or literacy skills:

1. (1) Online or in-person tutoring services from a list of providers approved by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education under subsection (e) of this section whose employees or contractors are trained in the science of reading and hold:

   1. (A) Valid teaching certificates in either elementary education or reading; or
   2. (B) Baccalaureate or graduate degrees in education, English, or another subject area indicative of expertise in reading and literacy; and
2. (2) Evidence-based digital literacy applications or software programs from a list of division-approved programs that are in alignment with the science of reading.

(b) As used in this part, “eligible student” means any student enrolled in a public school or open-enrollment public charter school in kindergarten through grade three (K-3) who:

1. (1)

   1. (A) Is determined by the division not to meet the reading standard, as defined by the State Board of Education under subdivisions (b)(1)(B) or (b)(2) of this section.
   2. (B) For the 2023-2024 school year, the reading standard for the purpose of identifying student eligibility for the literacy tutoring grant is defined as students achieving at or below the lowest tenth percentile for kindergarten (K), at or below the lowest fifteenth percentile for grade one (1), and at or below the lowest twentieth percentile for grade two (2) based on the current school year beginning-of-year literacy kindergarten through grade two (K-2) assessment scores, twenty-fifth percentile based on prior school year end-of-year literacy assessments for students in grade three (3), and current students in grade three (3) that were not promoted;
2. (2) Beginning in 2024-2025, is determined to be at risk for reading difficulties according to results of cut scores determined by the state board on the high-quality literacy screener required under the statewide student assessment system; or
3. (3) Has received a good-cause exemption for promotion to grade four (4).

(c) Subject to available funding, priority for literacy tutoring grants will be given to the following in descending order of priority:

1. (1) Students who were retained the previous year;
2. (2) Students in the lowest fifteen percent (15%) of the reporting category in kindergarten through grade three (K-3);
3. (3) The remaining lowest quartile of grade three (3);
4. (4) The remaining lowest quartile of grade two (2);
5. (5) The remaining lowest quartile of grade one (1); and
6. (6) The remaining lowest quartile of kindergarten (K).

(d)

1. (1) The division shall provide for an online application process that allows eligible students to register for and procure literacy tutoring services.

2. (2)

   1. (A) The division shall make payments to the service provider.
   2. (B) A third-party payment processing vendor shall create and set up payment accounts for eligible students.
   3. (C) Service providers or third-party vendors shall issue an itemized invoice to eligible students for documentation of:

(i) Expense type;

1. (ii) Amount; and

   1. (iii) Recipient.

   2. (D) Eligible students and families shall verify and submit payment requests, identifying the:

      1. (i) Service provider to receive payment;
      2. (ii) Payment amount; and
      3. (iii) Expense type.
   3. (E) Eligible students shall include invoices for review and documentation during payment submission process via the third-party payment processing vendor.
   4. (F) The third-party payment processing vendor shall remit payment to service providers for authorized expenditures, unless an expenditure is not authorized by law, following review and approval of expense request and documentation by the division.
2. (3) The division shall maintain a waitlist for students who are unable to receive literacy tutoring grants in the event that more funding becomes available to support the program.
3. (4) Subject to additional funding, eligible students on the waitlist will be awarded literacy tutoring grants according to the priority schedule under subsection (c) of this section on a first-come, first-served basis.

(e)

1. (1) Providers of supplemental educational services may apply to be an approved provider.

2. (2) The division shall review and evaluate provider applications based on the provider’s:

   1. (A) Capacity to provide literacy tutoring services to students in kindergarten through grade three (K-3);
   2. (B) Tutor qualifications as defined in subsection (a) of this section;
   3. (C) Alignment to the science of reading; and
   4. (D) Evidence of student outcomes and data collection methods.

(f)

1. (1) Approved providers shall be evaluated by the division for initial and continued eligibility for payments to ensure the effectiveness of a literacy tutoring grant program in improving eligible students’ reading abilities using one (1) or more of the following criteria:

   1. (A) Results from literacy assessment data that demonstrates positive learning gains in literacy or reading results, consisting of:

      1. (i) State-approved literacy screeners or other assessments using data collected by the division;
      2. (ii)

(b) (b) A provider submitting their own assessment for evaluation must provide to the division:

1. (1) (1) The assessment used;
2. (2) (2) A description of what the assessment measures and how it aligns to the science of reading; and

3. (3) (3) Aggregate performance data.

   1. (c) (c) The division may request student-level data from providers as determined necessary to evaluate program effectiveness;
   2. (B) Evidence of positive and statistically significant learning gains in literacy that is conducted by a third-party researcher; or
   3. (C) Evidence of parent satisfaction with student literacy gains as a result of literacy tutoring services as measured by a valid and reliable survey.
4. (2) Approved providers must annually submit to the division the information required under this subsection.

(g)

1. (1) A provider that fails to provide the information required under subsection (f) of this section or that is found to be ineffective due to failure to demonstrate improvement in eligible students’ reading abilities for two (2) consecutive years shall be ineligible to participate in the literacy tutoring grant program.
2. (2) In addition to measuring effectiveness, the division may audit approved providers to ensure that eligible students who received literacy tutoring grants received the services and materials for which grant funds were spent.

3. (3) Providers will be removed from the approved provider list immediately if:

   1. (A) The provider is found to be ineffective or not in alignment with the provider approval rubric; or
   2. (B) Evidence of fraud or student harm is discovered.
4. (4) A provider removed from the approved list may reapply to be on the approved provider list for the following school year but must provide additional evidence, aligned to evaluation criteria, to demonstrate that all requirements are met.

(h)

1. (1) On an annual basis, the division will collect and report to the state board on the following:

   1. (A) The number of students eligible for literacy tutoring grants;
   2. (B) The number of eligible students who applied for literacy tutoring grants;
   3. (C) The number of eligible students who spent any amount of grant funding from the literacy tutoring grant;
   4. (D) The number of eligible students who spent the full amount of grant funding from the literacy tutoring grant;

   5. (E) The total amount:

      1. (i) Of grant funding available;
      2. (ii) Awarded from the application process; and
      3. (iii) Expended;
   6. (F) The total amount of grant funding expended on approved literacy tutoring providers overall and by provider; and
   7. (G) Student outcomes data provided by approved literacy tutoring providers, by provider.

2. (2) The report under this subsection shall contain data under subdivisions (h)(1)(A) – (D) of this section for the overall program and data organized by:

   1. (A) Grade;
   2. (B) School and district; and
   3. (C) The priority order in subsection (c) of this section.