Chapter 22D. Structured Literacy Action Plan.

§ 38–2261. Definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter, the term:

(1) "DCPS" means the District of Columbia Public Schools.

(2) "ELL" means English Language Learner.

(3) "EPP" means Education Preparation Provider.

(3A) "Kindergarten teacher" means a general education teacher assigned to teach kindergarten.

(3B) "LEA" means local education agency, which is the District of Columbia Public School system or any individual or group of public charter schools operating under a single charter in the District.

(4) "Literacy educator" means a DCPS English Language Arts instructional coach, English Language Arts assistant principal, general instructional coach, literacy assistant principal, or reading specialist.

(5) "OSSE" means the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

(6) "Public charter school" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 38-1800.02(29).

(7) "Structured literacy training" means professional development instruction on:

(A) Effective and systematic instructional practices in reading, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; and

(B) The use of empirically validated instructional methods that are appropriate for early, emergent, and struggling readers.

(8) "Public elementary school" means a District school that is either a DCPS school or a public charter school and that serves any grades in the kindergarten through grade 5 range.

(9) "General education teacher" means a teacher who is responsible for providing instruction in one or all of the following subjects:

(A) Reading;

(B) Social Studies;

(D) Science.

§ 38–2262. Structured literacy training for DCPS.

(a) Starting no later than November 1, 2022, DCPS shall provide all literacy educators serving DCPS students in kindergarten through grade 5 who have not already completed structured literacy training, the opportunity to receive at least 45 hours of structured literacy training over 2 consecutive years.

(b) Literacy educators shall receive a $2,000 stipend for participation in structured literacy training if they are not provided the training during school hours.

§ 38–2263. Early Literacy Education Task Force establishment.

(a)(1) Starting no later than December 1, 2022, OSSE shall convene a task force of District government agency representatives, which shall be known as the Early Literacy Education Task Force ("task force"). The task force shall include representatives from the following District government agencies:

(A) OSSE;

(B) DCPS;

(D) State Board of Education; and

(E) Deputy Mayor for Education.

(2) The Chairman of the Council shall appoint a Council representative to the task force.

(b)(1) The task force shall submit an early literacy education report to the Mayor and Council by September 30, 2023.

(2) The report shall identify implementable steps to accomplish the following in 4 years:

(A) Provide all public elementary school general education teachers, special education teachers, ELL teachers, and librarians, at least 45 hours of structured literacy training over 2 years;

(B) Provide ELL teachers serving public elementary school students the option to receive bilingual structured literacy training;

(C) Provide all public elementary school administrators, instructional coaches, and EPP faculty responsible for evaluating or providing instructional support to general education teachers, with structured literacy training, including the option to receive specialized administrator structured literacy training;

(D) Establish a mechanism for tracking public elementary school teacher and school leader completion of 45 hours of structured literacy training;

(E) Ensure all public elementary school instructional staff have access to and use culturally responsive, high-quality instructional materials reviewed by an expert review organization to ensure alignment with District of Columbia Common Core State English and Language Arts standards; and

(F) Provide all public elementary school teachers access to on-the-job support from an expert in structured literacy training.

(3) The report shall further:

(A) Identify one literacy training program vendor to provide training to all trainees or provide justification of why more than one vendor is needed and how the structured literacy training provided by multiple vendors complement one another; and

(B) Recommend whether it is advisable to provide pre-kindergarten educators and educators serving DCPS and public charter school students above grade 5 with structured literacy training in future years.

(c) The task force shall meet every 6 weeks until it submits the report required pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

(d) The task force shall not be considered a public body for purposes of subchapter IV of Chapter 5 of Title 2.

§ 38–2264. Achieving competency in structured literacy instruction.

(a)(1) An LEA shall require each of its kindergarten teachers to successfully complete an OSSE-approved structured literacy training or to demonstrate competency in structured literacy instruction by the start of the 2026-2027 school year or within a year of the teacher's date of hire, whichever is later.

(2) Teachers may fulfill the requirement to complete an approved structured literacy training or demonstrate competency in structured literacy instruction by:

(A) Providing proof of successful completion of an OSSE-approved structured literacy training for the appropriate instructional cohort; or

(B) Providing proof of receiving a passing score on a structured literacy competency assessment or evaluation that OSSE identified or developed.

(3) A teacher who is employed by an LEA as of the effective date of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Support Act of 2024, passed on 2nd reading on June 25, 2024 (Enrolled version of Bill 25-784), shall be deemed to have successfully completed an OSSE-approved structured literacy training or demonstrated competency in structured literacy instruction by the start of the 2026-2027 school year if the teacher successfully completed an OSSE-approved structured literacy training for the appropriate instructional cohort or received a passing score on a structured literacy competency assessment or evaluation that OSSE identified or developed between January 2019 and August 2026.

(b)(1) During School Year 2025-26, including summer 2026, LEAs shall dedicate at least 10 hours of professional development time, scheduled during regularly contracted work hours, for kindergarten teachers who intend to complete structured literacy training to participate in such training; provided, that the LEA may designate the time and place for the training.

(2) LEAs shall compensate kindergarten teachers for time spent outside of regularly contracted work hours to complete an OSSE-approved structured literacy training.

(c) OSSE may issue rules prescribing additional requirements for educators employed by an LEA to complete approved structured literacy trainings or demonstrate competency in structured literacy instruction.

(d) By April 1, 2026, OSSE shall establish and administer a grant program to reimburse LEAs for costs, including payments to teachers and assessment fees incurred in meeting the requirements of this section.

(e)(1) Beginning October 31, 2026, and by October 31 of each year thereafter, DCPS and each public charter LEA shall send a letter to OSSE reporting whether each school under the LEA's authority has complied with the requirements of subsection (a) of this section by the start of the school year for all kindergarten teachers employed as of October 5 of the reporting year. If a school has failed to comply, the LEA shall state the name of the school, the deficiency, and the timeline for curing the deficiency.

(2) OSSE shall make the compliance letters received pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection publicly available within 15 business days after receiving them.

§ 38–2265. Supporting competency in structured literacy instruction.

(a) OSSE shall:

(1) No later than July 1, 2024:

(A) Generate a preliminary list of approved structured literacy trainings and distribute the list to LEAs;

(B) Create and publish an approved list of high-quality instructional materials rooted in the science of reading, which it shall periodically update; and

(C) Develop and publish a walkthrough observation tool for structured literacy instruction to create consistent expectations about what structured literacy instruction looks like in practice and to support administrators, academic coaches, and teachers in providing effective feedback as part of a cycle of continuous improvement for structured literacy instruction;

(2) No later than April 1, 2025:

(A) Develop or identify one or more structured literacy competency assessments or evaluations; and

(B) Provide related professional development modules on the science of reading on its Learning Management System or a similar online system;

(3) No later than June 1, 2025, update the list of approved structured literacy trainings to ensure it includes all approved vendors for structured literacy training, consistent with research-based best practices, including best practices for meeting the needs of adolescent, adult, and diverse learners, which it shall endeavor to update by June 1 of each subsequent year; and

(4) Starting in School Year 2025-26, provide LEAs with a communications toolkit that will support them in communicating with families about students' early reading skills.

(b)(1) Beginning in School Year 2024-25, each LEA shall provide OSSE with information it requests related to literacy instruction including:

(A) The name of the Tier 1 literacy curriculum in use by each school within the LEA serving students in grades kindergarten through 5, disaggregated by school, grade, and teacher;

(B) Classroom-level student academic performance growth and proficiency in literacy as measured by any uniform assessment for students in grades kindergarten through 3, as available;

(C) Teacher and administrator feedback on OSSE-approved structured literacy trainings, structured literacy competency assessments or evaluations identified or developed by OSSE, and the coaching pilot administered by OSSE pursuant to subsection (c) of this section;

(D) Teacher and administrator completion data of OSSE-approved structured literacy training, including the name of the training, completion date of the training, unique teacher identification number, and the teacher grade level and subject area, from the previous 5 years (or since 2019, for educators meeting the 2026-27 deadline); and

(E) Teacher and administrator results and completion data of an OSSE-approved structured literacy competency assessment or evaluation, including the name of the assessment, completion date of the assessment, passage rate for the assessment, and the results by teacher grade level, and subject area.

(2) No later than December 15, 2025, OSSE shall publish in a conspicuous location on its website a list of the Tier 1 literacy curriculum in use by each school within the LEA serving students in grades kindergarten through 5, disaggregated by school.

(c)(1) In School Years 2025-26 and 2026-27, OSSE shall administer a pilot program to support educators' use of new structured literacy instructional skills. Through the program, literacy coaches shall provide direct, intensive support and individualized instructional feedback to classroom teachers across LEAs, prioritizing schools with the lowest performance on statewide assessments and that demonstrate other factors indicating need.

(2) Beginning in the first year of the pilot, OSSE shall maintain and support no fewer than 4 literacy coaches to support up to 20 schools.

(3) OSSE shall collect data to determine the effectiveness of the pilot, which may include data on student growth and proficiency in literacy, pre-and post-tests of educator structured literacy knowledge and skills, classroom observations, and LEA administrator feedback.