North Dakota school districts will have to follow new requirements for the number of necessary tutors next fall.
The state Department of Public Instruction recently informed districts of a new formula to determine the number of necessary student performance strategists, or tutors.
The law previously required one full-time equivalent tutor for every 400 students in kindergarten through third grade. Now, the DPI has developed a new formula based on tutoring minutes and will more closely watch each district's reporting, said state Assistant Superintendent Robert Marthaller.
Tutors must meet the qualifications of an elementary school teacher, be licensed or hold enough credentials to teach.
In the 2013-14 school year, Grand Forks Public Schools was "short on minutes," which translated to being short the equivalent of 2.5 full-time instructors, Marthaller said.
However, he emphasized the district "in all good faith was meeting the requirement" based on the information the district provided to the DPI.
ADVERTISEMENT
Grand Forks Assistant Superintendent Jody Thompson said he believes the district has met the requirement every year since 2010, when the program was first introduced by the state.
"As a matter of fact, (the state department) has indicated that we followed the compliance requirements and has never notified our district of any compliance issues," he said.
He said the district has reading specialists and instructional coaches who meet the definition of student performance strategists. They provide academic support to students, as well as professional development to teachers, he said.
The district has the full-time equivalent of six tutors, which meets the new requirements for next year and the future, he said.
