New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 8 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Chapter II - Regulations of the Commissioner
Subchapter E - Elementary and Secondary Education
Part 100 - Elementary and Secondary Education School Program
Section 100.3 - Program requirements for students grades prekindergarten through four
Universal Citation: 8 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 100.3
Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) Prekindergarten and kindergarten programs operated by public schools and voluntarily registered nonpublic schools.
(1) Each such school operating a
prekindergarten and/or kindergarten program shall adopt and implement
curricula, aligned with the State learning standards, that ensures continuity
with instruction in the early elementary grades and is integrated with the
instructional program in grades one through 12.
(2) Each such school operating a
prekindergarten and/or kindergarten program shall provide an early literacy and
emergent reading program based on effective, evidence-based instructional
practices. Essential components of this program shall include:
(i) background knowledge;
(ii) phonological awareness;
(iii) expressive and receptive
language;
(iv) vocabulary
development;
(v) phonemic
awareness;
(vi) fluency;
and
(vii) comprehension.
(3) The instructional program for
prekindergarten and kindergarten shall be based on the ages, interests,
strengths and needs of the children. Learning experiences in such programs
shall include:
(i) differentiated instruction
to support the acquisition of new concepts and skills;
(ii) materials and equipment which allow for
active and quiet play in indoor and outdoor environments;
(iii) instruction in the content area of
English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and the arts,
including dance, music, theatre and visual arts; that is designed to facilitate
student attainment of the State learning standards and is aligned with the
instructional program in the early elementary grades;
(iv) opportunities for participation in
inquiry-based activities and projects;
(v) opportunities to use a wide variety of
information in print and electronic mediums;
(vi) fine and gross motor activities in
prekindergarten, and instruction in physical education in kindergarten pursuant
to section
135.4(c)(2)(i)
of this Title; and
(vii)
instruction on health and nutrition topics for students in prekindergarten and
health education for students in kindergarten pursuant to section
135.3(b)
of this Title.
(4) Each
school operating a prekindergarten and/or kindergarten program shall develop
procedures to ensure the active engagement of parents and/or guardians in the
education of their children. Such procedures shall include support to children
and their families for a successful transition into prekindergarten or
kindergarten and into the early elementary grades.
(5) Prohibition on administration of
traditional standardized tests.
(i) For
purposes of this subdivision, traditional standardized test
shall mean a systematic method of gathering information from objectively scored
items that allow the test taker to select one or more of the given options or
choices as their response. Examples include multiple-choice, true-false, and
matching items. Traditional standardized tests are those that require the
student (and not the examiner/assessor) to directly use a "bubble" answer
sheet. Traditional standardized tests do not include performance assessments or
assessments in which students perform real-world tasks that demonstrate
application of knowledge and skills; assessments that are otherwise required to
be administered by Federal law; and/or assessments used for diagnostic or
formative purposes, including but not limited to assessments used for
diagnostic screening required by Education Law section 3208(5).
(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of this
subdivision, no school district or voluntarily registered nonpublic school
shall administer traditional standardized tests in pre-kindergarten and
kindergarten programs; provided that nothing herein shall prohibit assessments
in which students perform real-world tasks that demonstrate application of
knowledge and skills or assessments that are otherwise required to be
administered by Federal law.
(b) Program requirements in grades one through four.
(1) Required subjects.
During grades one through four, all students shall receive instruction that is
designed to facilitate their attainment of the State elementary learning
standards in:
(i) mathematics, including
arithmetic, science, and technology;
(ii) English language arts, including
reading, writing, listening and speaking for purposes of information and
understanding, literary response and expression, critical analysis and
evaluation, and social interaction, with attention given to comprehension,
vocabulary, word study, spelling, grammar, usage and punctuation;
(iii) social studies, including geography and
United States history;
(iv)
languages other than English, pursuant to section
100.2(d)
of this Part;
(v) the arts,
including visual arts, music, dance and theatre;
(vi) career development and occupational
studies;
(vii) where student need
is established, bilingual education and/or English as a second language;
and
(viii) health education,
physical education and family and consumer sciences.
(a) Instruction in health education shall be
pursuant to section
135.3(b)
of this Title.
(b) Instruction in
physical education shall be pursuant to section
135.4(c)(2)(i)
of this Title.
(2) Required assessments. Required
assessments.
(i) Except as otherwise provided
in subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph, at the specified grade
level, all students shall take the following tests, provided that testing
accommodations may be used as provided for in section
100.2(g)
of this Part in accordance with department policy:
(a) beginning in January 1999, the English
language arts elementary assessment and the mathematics elementary assessment
shall be administered in grade four and, beginning in the 2005-2006 school
year, the English language arts elementary assessments and the mathematics
elementary assessment shall be administered in grades three and four;
and
(b) beginning in January 2000,
the elementary science assessment shall be administered in grade
four.
(ii) Students
receiving home instruction pursuant to section
100.10 of this
Part may take, but shall not be required to take, the State assessments
required of public school students.
(iii) In accordance with their individualized
education programs, students with disabilities instructed in the alternate
academic achievement standards defined in section
100.1(t)(2)(iv)
of this Part shall be administered a State alternate assessment to measure
their achievement.
(iv)
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, no school district shall make
any student promotion or placement decisions based solely or primarily on
student performance on the English language arts elementary assessments and the
mathematics elementary assessments administered in grades three and four.
However, a school district may consider student performance on such assessments
provided the school district uses multiple measures in addition to such
assessments and that such assessments do not constitute the major factor in
such determinations.
(v)
Prohibition on administration of traditional standardized tests.
(a) For purposes of this subdivision,
traditional standardized test shall mean a systematic method
of gathering information from objectively scored items that allow the test
taker to select one or more of the given options or choices as their response.
Examples include multiple-choice, true-false, and matching items. Traditional
standardized tests are those that require the student (and not the
examiner/assessor) to directly use a "bubble" answer sheet. Traditional
standardized tests do not include performance assessments or assessments in
which students perform real-world tasks that demonstrate application of
knowledge and skills; assessments that are otherwise required to be
administered by Federal law; and/or assessments used for diagnostic or
formative purposes, including but not limited to assessments used for
diagnostic screening required by Education Law section 3208(5).
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this
subdivision, no school district or voluntarily registered nonpublic school
shall administer traditional standardized tests in grades one and two; provided
that nothing herein shall prohibit assessments in which students perform
real-world tasks that demonstrate application of knowledge and skills or
assessments that are otherwise required to be administered by Federal
law.
The amended version of this section by New York State Register September 27, 2023/Volume XLV, Issue 39, eff. 9/27/2023 is not yet available.
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