In accordance with the Alabama Literacy Act, the Alabama State Board of Education (State BOE) modified its standards relative to teaching the Science of Reading (SoR), including multisensory/multimodal strategies in foundational reading skills in initial certification programs in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, and Collaborative Special Education Teacher (K-6) Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs). Each program shall contain no less than nine credit hours in SoR. The SoR standards contained in this Rule were implemented in coursework in August 2024.

1. 1. Science of Reading. The Science of Reading as derived from “The Reading League Defining Guide” is defined herein as a vast, interdisciplinary body of evidence-based research about reading and issues related to reading and writing. The SoR is developed from a preponderance of evidence that supports structured literacy, including how reading and writing develop, why some have difficulty, and how we can effectively assess, teach, and improve student outcomes through prevention and intervention of reading difficulties.
2. 2. Recognize, explain, and apply are professional dispositions and practices, including respecting and maintaining objectivity and clarity in the best interest of all learners, including the struggling reader, and maintaining public trust using current scientifically supported best practices.
3. 3. The Knowledge and Practice Standards (KPS) for teachers of reading are a comprehensive, evidence-based resource that outlines what teachers need to know to deliver effective instruction and ensure that all children become proficient readers. KPS are aligned explicitly with all standards to support pre-service educator program content.

4. 4. Curriculum.

   1. a. Reading, writing, and oral language. Candidates recognize, explain, and apply competence in using English language arts to ensure student learning and achievement using explicit instruction, facilitating active inquiry, providing opportunities for collaboration, and promoting positive interactions. Candidates recognize, explain, and apply scientific research from reading, language, writing, and child development to support evidence-based practices. Candidates facilitate students in the successful application of their developing skills to many different situations, materials, and ideas within and across all content areas to provide relevant learning experiences. Candidates recognize, explain, and apply scientific research aligned to the SoR, language, and child development to teach reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking skills. Candidates facilitate student success in the application and generalization of developing skills to differentiate materials and ideas within and across all content areas. Prior to program completion, candidates demonstrate the ability to:

      1. i. Incorporate all the interrelated components of English language arts into a cohesive learning experience.
      2. ii. Recognize, explain, and apply strategies from the SoR, language, and child development to support evidence-based practices supported by research.
      3. iii. Respect and maintain objectivity and clarity of professional disposition and practices supporting the reader's best interest, maintaining public trust using current scientifically supported best practices. Candidates will create or seek family and teacher partnerships and community connections to support students’ academic, social, and emotional learning.
      4. iv. Demonstrate a high level of competence using English language arts to ensure student learning and achievement using direct, explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction, facilitating multisensory/multimodal opportunities for collaboration, and promoting positive interactions. Candidates will recognize, explain, and apply scientific research aligned to the SoR to support the development of oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing skills.
      5. v. Recognize, explain, and apply the distinguishing characteristics of dyslexia and related learning disabilities such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dysgraphia, and developmental language comprehension disorder as students progress through the grades in response to development and instruction.
      6. vi. Know and understand the negative impacts of the three-cueing model, how to identify it in curriculum, and why it is a flawed model of teaching children to read.

5. 5. Standards and Indicators.

   1. a. Standard 1: Foundation of Literacy Acquisition. Teacher candidates recognize, explain, and apply the process of literacy development, understanding that literacy develops over time and progresses from emergent to proficient stages.

      1. i. Recognize and explain the language processing requirements of proficient reading and writing (phonological, orthographic, semantic, syntactic, discourse). KPS 1.1, KPS 1.2, KPS 1.4
      2. ii. Explain and apply the developmental progression of oral language and phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, phonics (decoding and encoding skills), vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and written expression, and the need for explicit instruction in these areas. KPS 1.2, KPS 1.7, KPS 1.6, KPS 1.8, KPS 1.9
      3. iii. Recognize and explain the reciprocal relationship among oral language, phonological awareness/phonemic awareness, phonics (decoding & encoding), word recognition, fluency, comprehension, and writing. KPS 1.1, KPS 1.3, KPS 1.9

   2. b. Standard 2: Structured Literacy. Teacher candidates can recognize, explain, and apply strategies from the SoR, which includes the principles of structured literacy instruction, teaching language concepts in an explicit, systematic, cumulative manner, according to a planned scope and sequence of skill development, utilizing direct instruction and modeling.

      1. i. Substandard A: Principles & Practices of Structured Literacy Instruction. Teacher candidates recognize, explain, and apply a scientifically researched, cumulative progression of skills that build on one another using elements of explicit and teacher-directed lessons for the individual, small-group, and/or whole-group instruction: explain, model/lead, provide guided practice, provide ample independent application, assess, and review.
      2. ii. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice a systematic and sequential scope and sequence for teaching conventions of print, grammar, and syntax in reading and writing. KPS 1.8, KPS 4C.1, KPS 4C.2
      3. iii. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice a rationale for adapting instruction to accommodate individual differences in cognitive, linguistic, sociocultural, and behavioral aspects of learning. KPS 1.5, KPS 4A.1, KPS 4A.3, KPS 4C.3, KPS 4C.5
      4. iv. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice multisensory/multimodal routines to enhance student learning and memory. KPS 1.4, KPS 4A.2, KPS 4B.3, KPS 4B.6, KPS 4C.4
      5. v. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice the general principles and practices of structured language and literacy teaching, including explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction. KPS 1.2, KPS 4A.1, KPS 4A.2, KPS 4C.1, KPS 4C.2

   3. c. Substandard B: Phonological & Phonemic Awareness. Teacher candidates recognize, explain, and apply the scientifically researched components of phonological and phonemic awareness and utilize a variety of approaches to help students develop this awareness and its relationship to written language.

      1. i. Recognize, explain, and apply the rationale for identifying, pronouncing, classifying, and comparing all the consonant phonemes and vowel phonemes in the English language. KPS 1.1, KPS 4B.1
      2. ii. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice considerations for levels of phonological awareness. KPS 4B.2, KPS 4B.3
      3. iii. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice considerations for phonemic awareness difficulties. KPS 4B.3, KPS 4B.4
      4. iv. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice consideration for the progression of phonemic-awareness skill development across age and grade. KPS 4B.4
      5. v. Apply in practice considerations for the general and specific goals of phonemic awareness instruction. KPS 4B.5
      6. vi. Apply in practice considerations for the principles of phonemic-awareness instruction: brief, multisensory, conceptual, articulatory, auditory-verbal. KPS 4A.3, KPS 4B.6
      7. vii. Apply knowledge of various learners’ development (e.g., English learners, multilingual learners – including those who possess multiple dialects, and struggling readers – including those with the characteristics of dyslexia) to create a positive, equitable learning environment. KPS 1.5, KPS 4B.2, KPS4B.5

   4. d. Substandard C: Phonics and Word Recognition. Teacher candidates recognize, explain, and apply the scientifically researched importance of decoding, word recognition, and encoding to reading and provide many opportunities for students to improve word analysis abilities using multisensory/multimodal strategies.

      1. i. Recognize and apply a sequential, systematic, and cumulative scope and sequence of skills building from simple to complex. KPS 1.2, KPS 1.8, KPS 1.9, KPS 4A.2, KPS 4C.2, KPS 4C.7, KPS 4C.8
      2. ii. Recognize, explain, and apply the need for systematic, sequential, cumulative, and explicit teaching for decoding and encoding skills using a structured lesson plan. KPS 1.2, KPS 4A.3, KPS 4C.1, KPS 4C.2, KPS 4C.3, KPS 4C.5, KPS 4C.6
      3. iii. Recognize, explain, and apply strategies for decoding and encoding multisyllabic words, including syllable types and morphology. KPS 1.3, KPS 1.8, KPS 3.6, KPS 4C.2, KPS 4C.7
      4. iv. Explain and apply strategies for teaching irregular words by identifying the decodable parts of the word. KPS 4C.6
      5. v. Apply a wide variety of explicit instructional strategies to support word reading, spelling, and writing skills in readers and writers. KPS 4C.1, KPS 4C.2, KPS 4C.3, KPS 4C.6, KPS 4C.8

   5. e. Substandard D: Automatic-Fluent Reading of Text. Teacher candidates recognize, explain, and apply the scientifically researched importance of accurate and automatic word recognition to reading comprehension and provide many opportunities for students to improve reading fluency.

      1. i. Recognize and explain the importance of accurate and automatic word reading and language comprehension for building reading comprehension. KPS 4D.1, KPS 4D.2, KPS 4D.3
      2. ii. Explain how appropriate technologies can assist students with serious limitations in reading fluency. KPS 4B.7, KPS 4D.2, KPS 4D.4
      3. iii. Explain and apply a variety of research-based instructional practices to support the role of fluent word-level skills in automatic word reading, oral reading fluency, reading comprehension, and learners’ motivation to read. KPS 4D.1
      4. iv. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice a variety of scientifically evidence-based instructional strategies for building fluency using informed instruction and progress monitoring techniques. KPS 3.3, KPS 3.4, KPS 3.5, KPS 3.6, KPS 4D.1, KPS 4D.2, KPS 4D.3

   6. f. Substandard E: Vocabulary. Teacher candidates recognize, explain, and apply scientifically researched principles of vocabulary development related to reading instruction, applying evidence-based strategies before, during, and after reading using direct and indirect methods.

      1. i. Recognize, explain, and apply explicit instruction in vocabulary for Tier 2 and 3 words, as well as incidental instruction in the context of texts (most Tier 1 words). KPS 4E.1, KPS 4E.2, KPS, 4E.4
      2. ii. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice considerations for the role and characteristics of direct and indirect (incidental) methods of vocabulary instruction, including morphology. KPS 4E.3, KPS 4E.4
      3. iii. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice considerations for the sources of wide differences in students’ vocabularies. KPS 4A.3, KPS 4E.2, KPS 4E.3, KPS 4E.4

   7. g. Substandard F: Listening and Reading Comprehension. Teacher candidates recognize, explain, and apply the scientifically researched importance of reading for understanding, know the components of comprehension, and teach students strategies for comprehending texts.

      1. i. Recognize, explain, and apply comprehension lessons that address background knowledge, interpretation of vocabulary and academic language, and text structure using strategies that appropriate for the selected text. KPS 4F.1, KPS 4F.4
      2. ii. Apply in practice considerations for the use of explicit comprehension strategy instruction, as supported by current evidence-based practices aligned with SoR. KPS 4F.1
      3. iii. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice considerations for instructional routines appropriate for each major genre: narrative, information, and poetry. KPS 4F.2, KPS 4F.5

   8. h. Substandard G: Written Expression. Teacher candidates recognize, explain, and apply an understanding of how students use writing conventions and apply scientifically researched knowledge to help students develop those conventions.

      1. i. Recognize and explain the major skill domains that contribute to written expression. KPS 4G.1
      2. ii. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice considerations for evidence-based principles for teaching letter formation, both manuscript and cursive. KPS 4A.2, KPS 4A.3, KPS 4G.2
      3. iii. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice considerations for evidence-based principles for teaching written encoding and punctuation. KPS 4G.3
      4. iv. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice considerations for the developmental phases of the writing process. KPS 4G.4
      5. v. Recognize, explain, and apply in practice considerations for the appropriate use of assistive technology in written expression. KPS 4G.5

   9. i. Standard 3: Knowledge of Diverse Reading Profiles, including Dyslexia. Teacher candidates recognize, explain, and apply the distinguishing characteristics of dyslexia and related learning disabilities such as ADHD, dysgraphia, and developmental language comprehension disorder as students progress through the grades in response to development and instruction.

      (i). Recognize and explain the tenets of dyslexia and other reading and language deficiencies. KPS 1.7, KPS 2.1, KPS 2.3, KPS 4A.2

      (ii). Recognize and explain state/federal laws that pertain to learning disabilities, including dyslexia and other reading and language deficiencies. KPS 1.7, KPS 2.2

      (iii). Recognize, explain, and apply how and why symptoms of reading difficulty change over time in response to intervention and instruction. KPS 1.9, KPS 2.5

   10. j. Standard 4: Assessment and Instruction of Developing Literacy. Teacher candidates recognize, explain, and apply the basic principles of assessment and use a variety of literacy assessment practices to plan and implement literacy instruction for students.

       1. i. Recognize, explain, and apply how to select, evaluate, administer, and analyze data from evidence-based assessments (screening, diagnostic, progress program monitoring, and outcome-based assessment). KPS 3.1, KPS 3.2, KPS 3.3, KPS 3.4
       2. ii. Recognize and explain core components of the Alabama model of Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), including high-quality core instruction in whole group and small group (Tier 1) using universal screening, student academic data, diagnostic assessment, continuous progress monitoring, evidence-based interventions (Tier 2), and integrity of instructional intervention with a vetted Alabama Literacy Task Force dyslexia specific intervention program (Tier 3). KPS 3.2, KPS 3.5
       3. iii. Recognize and explain knowledge of Alabama’s Multi-Tier System of Support (MTSS) and Response to Instruction (RtI) model for preventing and remediating reading deficiencies. KPS 3.5
       4. iv. Recognize, explain, and apply differentiated instruction by selecting and using appropriate assessments, including the amount of teacher regulation of learning, feedback, group size, instructional time allotment, frequency, duration, research-based instructional materials, and opportunities to respond. KPS 3.1, KPS 4C.5
       5. v. Recognize, explain, and apply a variety of different types and formats of assessments for different purposes when assessing reading (e.g., screening, progress monitoring, diagnostic, summative). KPS 3.2, KPS 3.3, KPS 3.6
6. 6. Three-Cueing System. “Three-cueing system” is any model of teaching students to read based on meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues (MSV). The utilization of the three-cueing system within coursework, materials, instructional strategies, etc., is prohibited in Alabama EPPs and in Alabama public schools.

Author: Dr. Eric G. Mackey

Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §§16-3-16, 16-23-14, and 16-6G-1 et seq.

Editor’s Note: Previous Rule .04.01 was renumbered .06 per certification published August 31, 2021; effective October 15, 2021.

History: New Rule: Filed July 11, 2017; effective August 25, 2017. Amended: Filed September 13, 2018; effective October 28, 2018; operative June 1, 2019. Amended: Published August 31, 2020; effective October 15, 2020. Repealed and New Rule: Published August 31, 2021; effective October 15, 2021. Repealed and New Rule: Published March 31, 2025; effective May 15, 2025.