Districts would provide approved reading training to educators

Districts would provide approved training to specified educators and staff. The first group includes reading intervention teachers for kindergarten through grade 12, prekindergarten through grade 3 classroom teachers, special education teachers, curriculum directors, staff and volunteers who help with extra support, staff who choose literacy materials, and English learner teachers. The second group includes teachers who teach reading in grades 4 through 12 and teachers who teach in state-approved alternative programs. Training must come from a menu of approved evidence-based programs. The education commissioner may extend the deadlines. The first group must receive training by July 1, 2026. The second group must receive it by July 1, 2027.

A district or charter school could reduce required elementary student instruction time by 5½ hours to provide teacher training. The option applies to required instruction hours for elementary students in a district or charter school. A district must have an agreement with the teachers’ representative requiring at least 5½ hours of approved training on a day when other district students receive instruction. If charter school teachers have no representative, the school may use the option after consulting its teachers and providing at least 5½ hours of training on a day when other students receive instruction. This option applies only in the 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 school years.