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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6517
January Session, 2021
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TASK
FORCE TO ANALYZE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF L AWS GOVERNING
DYSLEXIA INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) There is established an 1
Office of Training Compliance within the Department of Education. The 2
Office of Training Compliance shall verify the compliance of (1) 3
educator preparation programs, as defined in section 10-146c of the 4
general statutes, and (2) applicants for an initial, provisional or 5
professional educator certificate with the provisions of chapter 166 of 6
the general statutes relating to instruction and training, including, but 7
not limited to, the compliance verifications required pursuant to 8
sections 2 to 4, inclusive, of this act. 9
(b) Not later than September 1, 2021, the office shall (1) develop 10
compliance measures and audit procedures to determine the 11
compliance of educator preparation programs with the provisions of 12
subsection (e) of section 10-145a of the general statutes and subsection 13
(i) of section 10-145d of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and 14
(2) submit such compliance measures and audit procedures, in 15
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing 16
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 17 Substitute Bill No. 6517
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relating to higher education and education. 18
(c) Not later than January 1, 2022, the office shall develop, and update 19
as necessary, (1) structured literacy competency targets for the purpose 20
of identifying structured literacy competencies that should be achieved 21
by an educator based on certification level and endorsement type, (2) for 22
the review and consideration of institutions of higher education and 23
other providers of educator preparation programs approved by the 24
department, a list of sample course assignments and evaluations aligned 25
with the structured literacy competency targets developed by the office 26
and the compliance measures developed pursuant to subsection (b) of 27
this section, and (3) model dyslexia in-service training programs, for use 28
by local and regional boards of education, aligned with the structured 29
literacy competency targets developed by the office. 30
Sec. 2. (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) Not later than January 1, 2022, the 31
Office of Training Compliance, established pursuant to section 1 of this 32
act, shall verify that any educator preparation program, as defined in 33
section 10-146c of the general statutes, approved by the State Board of 34
Education is complying with the requirements set forth in (1) subsection 35
(e) of section 10-145a of the general statutes concerning instruction in 36
the detection and recognition of, and evidenced-based structured 37
literacy interventions for, students with dyslexia, as defined in section 38
10-3d of the general statutes, and (2) subsection (i) of section 10-145d of 39
the general statutes, as amended by this act, concerning the inclusion of 40
supervised practicum hours and instruction in the detection and 41
recognition of, and evidenced-based structured literacy interventions 42
for, students with dyslexia in programs of study in the diagnosis and 43
remediation of reading and language arts. The office shall use the 44
compliance measures and audit procedures developed pursuant to 45
subsection (b) of section 1 of this act to carry out the provisions of this 46
subsection. 47
(b) Not later than January 1, 2022, the office shall submit, in 48
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, 49
to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having 50 Substitute Bill No. 6517
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cognizance of matters relating to higher education and education, a 51
report on the compliance verification conducted pursuant to subsection 52
(a) of this section for each approved educator preparation program. 53
(c) The office shall review, and request updates of, the webinar 54
modules developed by the Capitol Region Education Council and the 55
State Education Resource Center for the purpose of aligning such 56
webinar modules with the compliance measures developed by the office 57
pursuant to subsection (b) of section 1 of this act. 58
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) On and after January 1, 2022, 59
the State Board of Education shall not approve any new educator 60
preparation program unless the Office of Training Compliance, 61
established pursuant to section 1 of this act, verifies that such educator 62
preparation program is in compliance with the provisions of subsection 63
(e) of section 10-145a of the general statutes and subsection (i) of section 64
10-145d of the general statutes, using the compliance measures and 65
audit procedures developed pursuant to subsection (b) of section 1 of 66
this act. 67
(b) The office shall accept from an institution of higher education, or 68
any other provider of an educator preparation program, as proof of 69
compliance with the compliance measures developed, pursuant to 70
subsection (b) of section 1 of this act, (1) a self-examination report that 71
addresses such requirements, or (2) course syllabi showing assignments 72
and evaluations relevant to such requirements, with details including, 73
but not limited to, full citations with specific page numbers of reading 74
assignments and percentage of final grade attributed to such 75
assignments and evaluations. 76
(c) The office shall evaluate the self-examination reports or course 77
syllabi submitted to the office pursuant to subsection (b) of this section 78
using the audit procedures developed by the office, pursuant to 79
subsection (b) of section 1 of this act, for the purpose of verifying 80
compliance with the compliance measures. The office may complete 81
such verification by requiring a national accrediting agency that 82 Substitute Bill No. 6517
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accredits educator preparation programs for the Department of 83
Education, pursuant to the provisions of special act 16-22, to use such 84
audit procedures to determine compliance with the compliance 85
measures, developed pursuant to subsection (b) of section 1 of this act. 86
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) On and after July 1, 2021, the 87
Department of Education shall not issue an initial, provisional or 88
professional educator certificate to an applicant until the Office of 89
Training Compliance, established pursuant to section 1 of this act, 90
verifies that (1) an applicant for an initial educator certificate who has 91
graduated from an educator preparation program in the state has 92
completed not fewer than twelve clock hours of instruction in the 93
detection and recognition of, and evidence-based structured literacy 94
interventions for, students with dyslexia, as defined in section 10-3d of 95
the general statutes, and (2) a certified employee or an applicant for an 96
initial, provisional or professional educator certificate who seeks an 97
endorsement for remedial reading, remedial language arts, reading 98
consultant, comprehensive special education or integrated early 99
childhood and special education completes the requirements of 100
subsection (i) of section 10-145d of the general statutes, as amended by 101
this act. 102
Sec. 5. Subsection (i) of section 10-145d of the general statutes is 103
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 104
2021): 105
(i) (1) On and after July 1, 2017, any (A) certified employee applying 106
for a remedial reading, remedial language arts or reading consultant 107
endorsement, or (B) applicant for an initial, provisional or professional 108
educator certificate and a remedial reading, remedial language arts or 109
reading consultant endorsement shall (i) achieve a satisfactory score on 110
the reading instruction examination approved by the State Board of 111
Education on April 1, 2009, or a comparable reading instruction 112
examination with minimum standards that are equivalent to the 113
examination approved by the State Board of Education on April 1, 2009, 114
and (ii) have completed a program of study in the diagnosis and 115 Substitute Bill No. 6517
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remediation of reading and language arts that includes supervised 116
practicum hours or student teaching experience and instruction in the 117
detection and recognition of, and evidence-based structured literacy 118
interventions for, students with dyslexia, as defined in section 10-3d. 119
(2) On and after July 1, [2018] 2021, any [(A) certified employee 120
applying for a comprehensive special education or integrated early 121
childhood and special education endorsement, or (B)] applicant for an 122
initial [, provisional or professional] educator certificate [and a] with a 123
primary endorsement in comprehensive special education or integrated 124
early childhood and special education endorsement shall have 125
completed a program of study in the diagnosis and remediation of 126
reading and language arts that includes supervised practicum hours or 127
student teaching experience and instruction in the detection and 128
recognition of, and evidence-based structured literacy interventions for, 129
students with dyslexia, as defined in section 10-3d. 130
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) On and after January 1, 2022, 131
the Office of Training Compliance shall provide guidance to institutions 132
of higher education and other providers of educator preparation 133
programs on how to provide verification that any supervisor of the 134
practicum hours required pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) of 135
subsection (i) of section 10-145d of the general statutes, as amended by 136
this act, has obtained (1) a satisfactory score on the reading instruction 137
examination approved by the State Board of Education on April 1, 2009, 138
or a comparable reading instruction examination with minimum 139
standards that are equivalent to the examination approved by the State 140
Board of Education on April 1, 2009, (2) a valid initial, provisional or 141
professional educator certificate issued by the State Board of Education, 142
(3) a master's degree in remedial reading or a closely related field, (4) 143
specific and documented knowledge about structured literacy 144
principles and practices, (5) training for practicum supervision, 145
coaching and evaluation of reading interventionalists, and (6) at least 146
three years of work experience in providing structured literacy 147
interventions for students with remedial reading needs, including, but 148 Substitute Bill No. 6517
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not limited to, students with dyslexia. 149
(b) An institution of higher education and any other provider of an 150
educator preparation program shall give preference to those candidates 151
for a practicum supervisor position who, in addition to meeting the 152
qualifications specified in subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of this 153
section, have experience in the design, implementation or monitoring of 154
structured literacy interventions or previous practicum supervisor 155
experience. 156
Sec. 7. Section 10-14t of the general statutes is repealed and the 157
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 158
(a) On or before January 1, [2016] 2022, the Department of Education 159
shall develop or approve reading assessments, with consideration given 160
to the recommendations set forth in appendix g of the final report of the 161
task force established pursuant to special act 19-8, for use by local and 162
regional boards of education, in accordance with the guidance provided 163
pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, for the school year 164
commencing July 1, [2016] 2023, and each school year thereafter, to 165
identify students in kindergarten to grade three, inclusive, who are 166
below proficiency in reading, provided any reading assessments 167
developed or approved by the department include frequent screening 168
and progress monitoring of students. [Such] Each approved reading 169
[assessments] assessment shall (1) measure phonics through real and 170
pseudo words, phonemic awareness through deletion and blending, 171
fluency, vocabulary, [and] comprehension [,] and rapid automatic 172
naming, (2) provide opportunities for [periodic] formative [assessment] 173
assessments at least three times, in the fall, winter and spring, during 174
[the] each school year, (3) produce data that is useful for informing 175
individual and classroom instruction, including the grouping of 176
students based on such data and the selection of instructional activities 177
based on data of individual student response patterns during such 178
progress monitoring, (4) be compatible with best practices in reading 179
instruction and research, and (5) assist in identifying, in whole or in part, 180
students at risk for dyslexia, as defined in section 10-3d, or other 181 Substitute Bill No. 6517
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reading-related learning disabilities. 182
(b) On or before January 1, 2023, the department shall provide 183
guidance to local and regional boards of education for administering the 184
approved reading assessments, including, but not limited to, (1) 185
specifying the appropriate grade levels for each reading assessment, (2) 186
allowing approved reading assessments to be combined to ensure each 187
ability specified in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section is 188
measured during each school year using one or more reading 189
assessments appropriate for a student's grade level, (3) advising how 190
each board's goals, student body characteristics and resources should 191
inform the choice of reading assessments used by such board, (4) 192
advising how aggregate data derived from reading assessments should 193
guide each board's prevention and early intervention initiatives, and (5) 194
requiring the administration of approved reading assessments in both 195
English and a student's native language, if available, for any student 196
being instructed in literacy in his or her native language. 197
[(b)] (c) Not later than February 1, [2016] 2023, the Commissioner of 198
Education shall submit the reading assessments and guidance 199
developed or approved under this section to the joint standing 200
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 201
relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a. 202
(d) The Department of Education may, in partnership with a public 203
institution of higher education, establish a data center to guide the 204
department and local and regional boards of education in the use and 205
effectiveness of reading assessments. Such data center may include, but 206
not be limited to, tracking (1) which reading assessments are used by 207
each regional or local board of education, and (2) student information, 208
disaggregated by categories including, but not limited to, a student's 209
demographic background, school district, reading assessment dates and 210
scores on reading assessments, provided such disaggregation keeps 211
such student information nonidentifiable. 212
Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) On or before January 1, 2022, each 213 Substitute Bill No. 6517
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local or regional board of education shall develop a voluntary family 214
history questionnaire to be distributed during the school year 215
commencing July 1, 2022, and each school year thereafter, to assist in the 216
identification, in whole or in part, of students who are at risk of reading 217
proficiency challenges. 218
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 5 July 1, 2021 10-145d(i)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 7 July 1, 2021 10-14t
Sec. 8 July 1, 2021 New section
HED Joint Favorable Subst.
APP Joint Favorable