§ 18A:6-149 — Professional development program established, literacy instruction, Department of Education.

8. a. The Department of Education shall establish a professional development program regarding evidence-based foundational literacy instruction, which shall be available to all school districts at no cost. The program shall be made available to: teaching staff members serving students in preschool through grade six, including school library media specialists serving students in kindergarten through grade six; individuals serving multilingual learners and students with disabilities; and individuals holding an educational services certificate with a reading specialist endorsement, individuals holding an educational services certificate with an early literacy specialist endorsement, and individuals holding an educational services certificate with a speech-language specialist endorsement; and school administrators. b. The program shall be differentiated by grade band. The program shall include, but is not limited to: (1) for teaching staff members serving students in preschool through grade three: (a) orthography; (b) phonological and phonemic awareness; (c) phonics; (d) fluency; and (e) vocabulary and comprehension; (2) for teaching staff members serving students in grades four through six: (a) the neurobiology of reading; (b) advanced word study; (c) fluency; and (d) comprehension; and (3) for school administrators: the design and implementation of high-quality literacy instruction in preschool through grade six. L.2024, c.52, s.8.