2023 Rhode Island General Laws › Title 16 - Education › Chapter 16-11.4 - Rhode Island Certification Standards Board [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode Island Board of Education Act] › Section 16-11.4-6. - Right to read act.

§ 16-11.4-6. Right to read act.
(a)
This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Right to Read Act.”
(b)
No later than 2025, the following shall have proficient knowledge and skills to teach reading consistent with the best practices of scientific reading instruction and structured literacy instruction:
(1)
A person who completes a state-approved educator preparation program; and
(2)
A person seeking teacher licensure by reciprocity or by adding an endorsement.
In addition, no later than 2025, a person who completes a state-approved educator preparation program, other than a teacher of elementary education program, shall demonstrate an awareness of the best practices of scientific reading instruction and structured literacy instruction.
(c)
Beginning no later than the 2024-2025 school year, each state-approved educator preparation program shall post on its website information describing its program to prepare teachers to teach reading with scientific reading instruction and structured literacy instruction; aligned with, but not limited to, the content measured by the stand-alone reading assessment adopted by the Rhode Island board of education act.
(d)
Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, a public school district and an open-enrollment public charter school shall provide the following professional development in scientific reading instruction and structured literacy instruction:
(1)
For teachers licensed at the elementary level, professional development for one of the prescribed pathways to obtaining a proficiency credential in knowledge and practices in scientific reading instruction and structured literacy instruction; and
(2)
For teachers licensed at a level other than the elementary level, professional development for one of the prescribed pathways to obtaining an awareness credential in knowledge and practices in scientific reading instruction and structured literacy instruction.
(e)
Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, a public school that does not provide the professional development pursuant to the provisions of subsection (d) shall:
(1)
Be placed on probationary status; and
(2)
Provide notice to parents that the public school district has not met the requirements of this section.
(f)
By the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year:
(1)
All teachers employed in a teaching position that requires an elementary education (K-6) license or (K-12) license shall demonstrate proficiency in knowledge and practices of scientific reading and structured literacy instruction; and
(2)
All other teachers shall demonstrate awareness in knowledge and practices of scientific reading instruction and structured literacy instruction.
(g)
All teachers who begin employment in the 2025-2026 school year and each school year thereafter shall demonstrate proficiency or awareness in knowledge and practices in scientific reading instruction and structured literacy instruction as is applicable to their teaching position by completing the prescribed proficiency or awareness in knowledge and practices of the scientific reading instruction credential and a structured literacy instruction credential either:
(1)
As a condition of licensure; or
(2)
Within one year if the teacher is:
(i)
Already licensed; or
(ii)
Employed under a waiver from licensure.
(h)
A provider of a state-approved educator preparation program shall include in its annual report to the department of elementary and secondary education (the “department”) a description of program to prepare educators to teach reading using scientific reading instruction and structured literacy instruction.
(i)
A public school district that employs an educator in violation of this section or that does not provide the professional development as required under this section shall be in violation of the standards for accreditation of the Rhode Island board of education act, and the school district may be placed on probationary status by the department. A public school district placed on probationary status pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall send written notification to the parents of the students in the public school district of the reason for being placed on probationary status.
(j)
A provider of a state-approved educator preparation program that does not comply with the requirements of this section may be subject to penalties up to and including having the provider’s approval status revoked.
(k)
The department is vested with the authority to, and shall enforce, this section.
(
l
)
The department shall promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this section no later than August 1, 2022.
(1)
The rules and regulations adopted by the department shall recognize that teachers shall have met the requirement of demonstrating awareness in knowledge and practices of scientific reading and structured literacy instruction by attending ten (10) hours of training in scientific reading and structured literacy instruction.
(2)
The rules and regulations adopted by the department shall recognize that teachers shall have met the requirement of demonstrating proficiency in knowledge and practices of scientific reading and structured literacy instruction by one of the following:
(i)
Possessing a Master’s degree in reading or a related academic discipline;
(ii)
Possessing a reading specialist and/or consultant certificate;
(iii)
Providing proof of completion of a course or training program in scientific reading and structured literacy instruction consisting of at least thirty (30) hours; or
(iv)
Passing a test in scientific reading and structured literacy instruction adopted by the department at no cost to the teacher.
(m)
Teachers shall not be required to attend training sessions outside the normal workday and work year unless mutually agreed to by the teacher, the school district, and the collective bargaining agent if applicable.
(n)
For the 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025 school years, school districts shall be able to replace up to three (3) student instructional days per year with teacher professional development days in order to meet the requirements of this section.
(o)
As used in this section:
(1)
The term “scientific reading instruction” means instruction that is instructional centered, empirically based, and further based on the study of the relationship between cognitive science and educational outcomes; and
(2)
The term “structured literacy instruction” means an approach by which licensed personnel teach reading, which includes syllables, morphology, sound-symbol correspondence, semantics, and syntax, in an explicit, systematic, and diagnostic manner.
History of Section.
P.L. 2019, ch. 112, § 1; P.L. 2019, ch. 155, § 1; P.L. 2020, ch. 79, art. 2, § 6; P.L. 2022, ch. 267, § 1, effective July 2, 2022; P.L. 2022, ch. 323, § 1, effective July 6, 2022.