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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 14
February Session, 2024
AN ACT ASSISTING SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN IMPROVING
EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 10-14z of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2
2024): 3
(a) There is established an Office of Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities 4
within the Department of Education which shall be under the 5
management of a chief. The chief shall be qualified by training and 6
experience to perform the duties of the office, including, but not limited 7
to, expertise in higher education, dyslexia and structured literacy. The 8
Office of Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities shall (1) verify the 9
compliance of (A) educator preparation programs, as defined in section 10
10-146c, including intermediate administrator and supervisor 11
programs, and (B) applicants for an initial, provisional or professional 12
educator certificate pursuant to the provisions of chapter 166 relating to 13
scientifically based reading research and instruction, as defined in 14
section 10-14u, structured literacy instruction and training, dyslexia 15
instruction and training, including, but not limited to, the compliance 16
verifications required pursuant to sections 10-14aa to 10-14cc, inclusive; 17
(2) review and recommend changes, as necessary, to the State Board of 18
Education's process for approval of educator preparation programs 19 Substitute Bill No. 14
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related to such compliance verifications; and (3) provide guidance to 20
and consult with the department's Talent Office related to such 21
compliance verifications. 22
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 10-14gg of the 2024 supplement to the 23
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 24
thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 25
(a) The Department of Education shall establish a Center for Literacy 26
Research and Reading Success within the department. The center shall 27
be responsible for (1) the implementation of the coordinated state-wide 28
reading plan for students in kindergarten to grade three, inclusive, 29
established pursuant to section 10-14v; (2) researching and developing, 30
in collaboration with the Office of Early Childhood, a birth to grade 31
twelve reading success strategy to be included in the alignment of 32
reading instruction with the two-generational initiative, established 33
pursuant to section 17b-112l; (3) (A) providing direct support to schools 34
and boards of education to improve reading outcomes for students in 35
kindergarten to grade three, inclusive, and other reading initiatives, and 36
(B) supporting teachers, schools and boards of education engaged in 37
improving through coaching, leadership training, professional 38
development, parental engagement and technical assistance that is 39
consistent with the intensive reading instruction program, as described 40
in section 10-14u and aligned with evidence-based practices; (4) 41
providing independent, random reviews of how a local or regional 42
board of education is implementing (A) a comprehensive reading 43
curriculum model or program for grades kindergarten to grade three, 44
inclusive, pursuant to section 10-14hh, and (B) an approved reading 45
assessment, pursuant to section 10-14t; (5) receiving and publicly 46
reporting, not later than September 1, 2025, and biennially thereafter, 47
the comprehensive reading curriculum model or program being 48
implemented by each local and regional board of education pursuant to 49
section 10-14hh; (6) developing and maintaining an Internet web site for 50
the purpose of disseminating tools and information associated with the 51
intensive reading instruction program for student reading; and (7) 52
serving as a collaborative center for institutions of higher education and 53 Substitute Bill No. 14
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making available to the faculty of teacher preparation programs (A) [the 54
science of teaching reading, (B) the intensive reading instruction 55
program, and (C) samples of available comprehensive reading 56
curriculum models or programs reviewed and approved pursuant to 57
section 10-14ii; and (8) reviewing and publicly reporting on progress 58
made by teacher preparation programs to include comprehensive 59
reading curriculum models or programs reviewed and approved 60
pursuant to section 10-14ii] (A) resources and research supporting 61
scientifically based reading instruction, and (B) Connecticut's K-3 62
Literacy Strategy, developed by the center. 63
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2024 10-14z(a)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2024 10-14gg(a)
ED Joint Favorable Subst. C/R APP
APP Joint Favorable Subst.