TEACHER CERTIFICATION: SIX-CREDIT READING
INSTRUCTION & DIAGNOSIS REQUIREMENT
House Bill 4823 as introduced
Sponsor: Rep. Amanda Price
Committee: Education
Complete to 9-8-15
SUMMARY:
House Bill 4823 would amend the Revised School Code to require that professionally certified teachers successfully complete a six-credit course of study in the diagnosis and remediation of reading disabilities and differentiated instruction. This applies to a person who enrolls in a teacher preparation program for the first time after July 1, 2015. (Currently, there is a three-credit requirement.) A more detailed description of the bill follows.
The Revised School Code authorizes the superintendent of public instruction to issue a teaching certificate to a person who has met the elementary or secondary reading credit requirements established under rules.
Now under the law, a teacher's professional certification requires completion of at least a three-credit course of study (with appropriate field experiences) in the diagnosis and remediation of reading disabilities and differentiated instruction. Generally, the course of study should (but is not required to) include the following elements: interest inventories, English language learning screening, visual and auditory discrimination tools, language expression and processing screening, phonemics, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, spelling and writing assessment tools, and instructional strategies.
House Bill 4823 would retain all of these provisions, and, in addition, require that the course of study include "data-driven instructional methods," beginning January 1, 2016.
However, under House Bill 4823, after July 1, 2015, a person enrolled in a teacher preparation program for the first time would be required to successfully complete, at a minimum, a six-credit course of study (with appropriate field experiences) in the diagnosis and remediation of reading disabilities and differentiated instruction. Under the bill, the state school superintendent would be prohibited from advancing a teacher's certification to the professional level, unless the teacher had done so. The six-credit course would be required to include the elements now optional under the law: interest inventories, English language learning screening, visual and auditory discrimination tools, language expression and processing screening, phonemics, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, spelling and writing assessment tools, and instructional strategies. Beginning January 1, 2016, the six-credit course of study would have to include data-driven instructional methods.
FISCAL IMPACT:
House Bill 4823 would have no fiscal impact on the state. However, the bill could create short-term, added costs for universities that offer teacher preparation programs to the extent that the additional teacher certification requirements necessitate curriculum changes. The cost would vary by institution depending on how closely each program's existing courses align with the proposed changes.
Legislative Analyst: J. Hunault
Fiscal Analysts: Bethany Wicksall
Samuel Christensen
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.