Bill aimed at supporting youngest students in West Virginia advances in Senate

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The West Virginia Senate on Tuesday passed a bill aimed at enhancing the education of students in kindergarten through third grades.

The bill passed the Senate unanimously and now heads to the House of Delegates. It would establish a support system for students to learn to read, write and work with numbers. It would establish benchmarks in English and math and require a reading improvement plan for certain students.

Certain underperforming students in English language arts at the end of third grade would be held back, with exceptions. The bill also would allow for testing and screening of students for dyslexia.

Each class with more than 12 students in grades one through three would be required under the bill to have an assistant teacher, an aide or a part-time interventionist.

Separately, the Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow two or more county boards of education to explore consolidating their districts or share services. A similar bill last year passed the Senate but was not addressed in House committees.

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