O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
Page 1
PA 21-168—sHB 6517
Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
Appropriations Committee
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TASK
FORCE TO ANALYZE THE IMPLEMEN TATION OF LAWS
GOVERNING DYSLEXIA I NSTRUCTION AND TRAIN ING
SUMMARY: This act makes the following changes in state laws governing
educator preparation programs, teacher certification, and elementary student
reading proficiency assessments:
1. establishes an Office of Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities (hereafter “the
office”) in the State Department of Education (SDE) to verify whether
educator preparation programs and teacher certification applicants have
complied with requirements in state law relating to dyslexia instruction
and training (§§ 1-2 & 4);
2. bars the State Board of Education (SBE) from approving any teacher
preparation programs, beginning September 1, 2022, until the office
verifies that the program complies with state law relating to dyslexia
instruction and training (§ 3);
3. requires SDE to issue a teaching certificate to any level of applicant
(initial, provisional, or professional), beginning September 1, 2023, if the
office verifies that he or she has fulfilled certain literacy training and
education requirements (§ 4);
4. allows applicants for certain teaching certification endorsements to
substitute student teaching experience for supervised practicum hours (§
5);
5. requires the office to provide guidance to higher education institutions and
other teacher preparation program providers about how to verify
practicum hour supervisor qualifications (§ 6);
6. requires SDE to revise previously developed reading assessments for
grades kindergarten through three (“K-3”) to include new methodologies
for measuring reading proficiency (§ 7);
7. allows SDE to partner with a public college or university to establish a
data center to guide the department and boards of education in the use and
effectiveness of reading assessments (§ 7);
8. requires each local or regional board of education to develop a voluntary
family history questionnaire to help identify students who are at risk for
reading proficiency challenges (§ 8); and
9. requires SDE to report to legislative committees about the (a) progress of
the office’s establishment and staffing, (b) results of the verification of
teacher preparation programs’ and teacher certificate applicants’
compliance with state law, and (c) guidance given to boards of education O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
Page 2 of 7
about reading assessment administration (§§ 9 & 10).
The act also makes various minor, technical, and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2021
§§ 1-4 — OFFICE OF DYSLEXIA AND READING DISABILITIES
The act establishes the office in SDE. It must be managed by a chief who is
qualified to perform the office’s duties by training and experience, including
expertise in higher education, dyslexia, and structured literacy. It tasks the office
with performing the following duties:
1. verifying whether teacher preparation programs and teacher certification
applicants (a) fulfill existing law’s requirements about dyslexia instruction
and training and (b) meet compliance standards relating to dyslexia
instruction and training established by the act and
2. relating to these compliance standards, (a) reviewing and recommending
changes, as necessary, to SBE’s approval process for teacher preparation
programs and (b) providing guidance to and consulting with SDE’s Talent
Office.
Under the act, the office’s chief must appoint full-time staff necessary for
operations. The staff must include support staff and people with expertise in
education preparation program (1) accreditation analysis and approval and (2)
curriculum analysis related to structured literacy and dyslexia.
Development of Compliance Measures and Audit Procedures (§ 1)
The act requires the office to develop compliance measures and audit
procedures by July 1, 2022, for determining whether educator preparation
programs fulfill requirements in state law about (1) instruction in literacy skills
and processes (see BACKGROUND) and (2) whether these programs include
supervised practicum hours or student teaching experience and instruction in the
detection and recognition of, and evidence-based structured literacy interventions
for, students with dyslexia in any programs of study in the diagnosis and
remediation of reading and language arts. The office must consider the
recommendations in Appendices D and E of the Task Force to Analyze the
Implementation of Laws Governing Dyslexia Instruction and Training’s final
report (“task force final report,” see BACKGROUND). The office must submit
these compliance measures and audit procedures to the Education and Higher
Education and Employment Advancement committees by that same date.
Additionally, the act requires the office to develop the following items by July
1, 2022, and update them as necessary:
1. structured literacy competency targets to identify structured literacy
competencies an educator should achieve based on certification level and
endorsement type, with consideration of the recommendations in
Appendix F of the task force final report (see BACKGROUND);
2. a list of sample course assignments and evaluations for higher education
institutions and other SDE-approved educator preparation programs to O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
Page 3 of 7
review and consider that align with the structured literacy competency
targets and compliance measures the office developed; and
3. model dyslexia in-service training programs for local and regional boards
of education to use that also align with the structured literacy competency
targets.
Teacher Preparation Program Compliance Measures and Verification (§ 2)
Under the act, beginning on September 1, 2022, the office must use the
compliance measures and audit procedures it develops to verify whether any
educator preparation program that submits an initial or continued approval
application to SBE is complying with existing law on:
1. instruction in dyslexia detection and recognition and evidence-based
structured literacy interventions and
2. inclusion of supervised practicum hours or student teaching experience
and instruction in dyslexia detection and recognition and evidence-based
structured literacy interventions for students with dyslexia in programs of
study for remedial reading, remedial language arts, and reading
consultants or special education.
Additionally, the act allows the office to complete the compliance verification
by reviewing the information gathered by a national accrediting agency that
accredits educator preparation programs for SDE, so long as the agency uses the
compliance measures and audit procedures developed by the office under the act.
Under the act, the office must report annually to the Education and Higher
Education and Employment Advancement committees about the compliance
verification results for each educator preparation program, with a first reporting
deadline of January 1, 2023.
Additionally, by that same date, the act requires the office to do the following,
annually:
1. review and request updates as necessary about webinar modules and
trainings developed or endorsed by SDE to align the modules with the
office’s compliance measures and
2. submit status reports on the compliance of these modules and trainings to
the Education and Higher Education and Employment Advancement
committees.
Approval of New Educator Preparation Programs (§ 3)
Beginning September 1, 2022, the act prohibits SBE from approving any
educator preparation programs until the office completes the compliance
verification described above (§ 2), using the compliance measures and audit
procedures it develops as required by the act.
Teacher Certification Applicant Compliance Measures and Verification (§ 4)
Beginning September 1, 2023, the act requires SBE to issue any appropriate O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
Page 4 of 7
level of teaching certificate (initial, provisional, or professional) to an applicant
who meets specified requirements in state teacher certification law as verified by
the office in consultation with SDE’s Talent Office and Bureau of Educator
Standards and Certification. The act establishes two verification requirements
specific to the type of teaching certificate that the applicant seeks.
First, if the applicant is seeking an initial certificate and has graduated from a
Connecticut educator preparation program, the act requires the office to certify
that he or she has completed at least 12 clock hours of instruction in detection and
recognition of, and evidence-based structured literacy interventions for, students
with dyslexia.
Second, if the applicant is seeking an initial certificate with an endorsement in
comprehensive special education or integrated early childhood and special
education, the act requires the office to certify that he or she has complied with
the requirements in state law about completing a program of study in the
diagnosis of remediation of reading and language arts that includes supervised
practicum hours or student teaching experience and instruction in the detection
and recognition of, and evidence-based structured literacy interventions for,
students with dyslexia.
§ 5 — APPLICANT REQUIREMEN TS FOR CERTAIN TEACH ING
CERTIFICATE ENDORSEM ENTS
Beginning on July 1, 2021, the act allows the following applicants to complete
a student teaching experience as an alternative to completing supervised
practicum hours:
1. any certified employees applying for a comprehensive special education or
integrated early childhood and special education endorsement or
2. applicants for an initial, provisional, or professional teaching certificate
and a comprehensive special education or integrated early childhood and
special education endorsement.
§ 6 — SUPERVISORS OF PRACTICUM HOURS
Beginning January 1, 2022, the act requires the office to provide guidance to
higher education institutions and other educator preparation program providers
about how to verify whether practicum hour supervisors have obtained at least
four of the following qualifications:
1. a satisfactory score on the SBE-approved reading instruction exam or a
comparable reading instruction exam;
2. a valid initial, provisional, or professional SBE-issued teaching certificate;
3. a master’s degree in remedial reading or a closely related field;
4. specific and documented knowledge of structured literacy principles and
practices;
5. training for practicum supervision, coaching, and evaluation of a reading
interventionist; or
6. at least three years’ work experience providing structured literacy O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
Page 5 of 7
interventions for students with remedial reading needs, including students
with dyslexia.
Under the act, higher education institutions and other educator preparation
program providers must give preference to practicum supervisor candidates who
meet the above six qualifications and also have (1) experience in the design,
implementation, or monitoring of structured literacy interventions or (2) previous
practicum supervisor experience.
§ 7 — K-3 READING ASSESSMENTS
Under the act, SDE must revisit the reading assessments for grades K-3 that
state law previously required it to develop and approve by January 1, 2016. The
department must now reconsider these assessments by July 1, 2022, considering
the recommendations made in Appendix G of the task force final report (see
BACKGROUND). Local and regional boards of education must begin using these
assessments in the 2023-24 school year to identify K-3 students who are below
proficiency in reading.
Additionally, the act makes changes to the assessments’ methodology for
identifying these students’ abilities. In addition to the requirements in existing
law, it specifically requires that the assessments:
1. be evidence-based, as defined in federal law (see BACKGROUND), be
brief, and have proven psychometrics for validity;
2. measure oral language, rapid automatic name or letter name fluency, and
reading comprehension, in addition to the methods in existing law (i.e.,
phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, and vocabulary); and
3. be given at least three times each school year in fall, winter, and spring,
rather than periodically at unspecified times during the school year as
prior law required.
The act also requires SDE to provide guidance to local and regional boards of
education by January 1, 2023, about administering the approved reading
assessments. This guidance must address the following topics at a minimum:
1. appropriate grade levels for each reading assessment;
2. combining approved reading assessments when needed to ensure each
ability is measured during each school year using one or more grade level-
appropriate reading assessments;
3. advice on how each board’s goals, student body characteristics, and
resources should inform the choice of reading assessments used by each
board;
4. advice on how aggregate data derived from reading assessments should
guide each board’s prevention and early intervention initiatives; and
5. the requirement that approved reading assessments be administered in
both English and a student’s native language, if available, for any student
receiving literacy instruction in his or her native language.
Under the act, the SDE commissioner must submit the revised reading
assessments and the newly developed or approved guidance for school boards to
the Education Committee by February 1, 2023. O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
Page 6 of 7
Data Center
The act allows SDE to partner with a public college or university to establish a
data center to guide SDE and boards of education in the use and effectiveness of
reading assessments. The center may track, but is not limited to tracking, the
following types of data:
1. which reading assessment each board of education uses and
2. student information, disaggregated by categories to keep it personally
nonidentifiable (presumably, to protect students’ identities), including by a
student’s demographic background, school district, and reading
assessment dates and scores.
§ 8 — VOLUNTARY FAMILY HIS TORY QUESTIONNAIRE
The act requires SDE to develop or approve a voluntary family history
questionnaire by January 1, 2022. This questionnaire must be distributed
annually, beginning with the 2022-23 school year, to help identify, in whole or in
part, students who are at risk of reading proficiency challenges.
§§ 9 & 10 — SDE REPORTS TO LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES
The act requires SDE to make two types of reports to the Education and
Higher Education committees in addition to the ones described above.
First, the department must submit status reports on the establishment and
staffing of the Office of Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities. This report is initially
due by January 1, 2022, followed by annual updates until the office is fully
staffed.
Second, the department must submit a report by January 1, 2023, and annually
thereafter outlining the (1) outcomes of the compliance verification it conducted
as required by the act and (2) reading assessments it developed or approved and
the related guidance it provided to boards of education about their administration.
BACKGROUND
Literacy Skills and Processes Instruction in Teacher Preparation Programs
Any teacher preparation program that leads to professional teacher
certification must include instruction in literacy skills and processes that reflects
current research and best practices in the literacy training field. The instruction
must (1) be incorporated into the requirements of the student’s major and
concentration and (2) include at least 12 clock hours of instruction in dyslexia
detection and recognition of, and evidence-based structured literacy interventions
for, students with dyslexia (CGS § 10-145a(e)).
Final Task Force Report, Appendices D, E, F & G
O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
Page 7 of 7
The Task Force to Analyze the Implementation of Laws Governing Dyslexia
Instruction and Training, established by the legislature in Special Act 19-8, issued
a final report of findings and recommendations on December 31, 2020.
Appendix D of this report contains task force-approved teacher preparation
program candidate outcomes and compliance targets. Appendix E contains an
audit protocol framework. Appendix F contains structured literacy educator
competency standards for districts to use. Appendix G contains a “Menu of K-3
Screeners,” which lists approved reading tests for students in grades K-3; the
skills that each test measures; and grades levels during which the tests should be
administered.
Definition of “Evidence-Based”
Under federal law, “evidence-based” (in relation to a state, local education
agency, or school activity) means an activity, strategy, or intervention that
demonstrates a statistically significant effect on improving student outcomes or
other relevant outcomes, based on either:
1. strong evidence from at least one well-designed and well-implemented
experimental study; moderate evidence from at least one well-designed
and well-implemented quasi-experimental study; or promising evidence
from at least one well-designed and well-implemented correlational study
with statistical controls for selection bias; or
2. demonstration of a rationale based on high-quality research findings or
positive evaluation that such activity, strategy, or intervention is likely to
improve student outcomes or other relevant outcomes; and inclusion of
ongoing efforts to examine the effects of such activity, strategy, or
intervention (20 U.S.C. § 7801(21)).
Related Act
PA 21-2 (June Special Session) also changes the law regarding reading
assessments for K-3 students. Under § 398, the Center for Literacy Research and
Reading Success, which the act establishes, must compile a list of approved
reading assessments for school districts to use beginning with the 2023-24 school
year, giving consideration to Appendix G of the task force final report. It also
allows SDE to establish a data center in partnership with a college or university to
track the same types of data as those described in this act.