1. A. The Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability shall ensure that the reading competencies for elementary teachers are included in the competencies for special education teachers.
2. B. The Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability in collaboration with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall ensure that all teachers of early childhood education, elementary education, and special education are provided quality training in intervention, instruction, and remediation strategies in the science of reading to provide explicit and systematic instruction in phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension and implement reading strategies that research has shown to be successful in improving reading among students with reading difficulties. Professional development may include effective use of data, progress monitoring, and intervention planning as it fits into a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework. In addition, quality education for prospective teachers shall be provided in research-based instructional strategies for instruction, assessment, and intervention for literacy development for all students including advanced readers, typically developing readers, and struggling readers who are coping with a range of challenges including, but not limited to, English language learners, students at risk for reading deficiencies, and students with handicapping conditions and learning disabilities, including dyslexia. Quality training shall include guidance from professional resources such as the Report of the National Reading Panel, Response to Intervention guidelines, and professional organizations such as the Council for Exceptional Children, International Dyslexia Association, International Literacy Association, National Council of Teachers of English, and National Association for the Education of Young Children.
3. C. All institutions within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education that offer elementary, early childhood education, or special education programs approved by the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability shall incorporate into those programs the requirement that teacher candidates study the five elements of reading instruction which are phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension and study methods based on the science of reading. Teacher candidates shall study strategies including, but not limited to, instruction that is explicitly taught, sequenced, multimodal (reading, writing, speaking, listening, hands-on, etc.), multidisciplinary, and reflective to adapt for individual learners. Additionally, teacher candidates shall study the negative impacts of balanced literacy and whole language models, including three-cueing practices. They shall further study how to identify balanced literacy and whole language models including three-cueing practices in curriculum, and subsequently, learn how to implement reading instruction using high-quality instructional materials grounded in the science of reading which do not include balanced literacy and whole language models such as three-cueing.
4. D. Each teacher education program approved by the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability shall be audited by the Commission to ensure teacher candidates are receiving quality training in the science of reading. The Commission shall place the accreditation of any noncompliant teacher education program on probationary status and provide guidance for exiting probationary status.
5. E. Effective July 1, 2025, any person seeking initial certification in a special education, early childhood education, or elementary education program in this state shall be required to successfully complete a comprehensive reading instruction assessment approved by the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability as a condition for certification. The assessment shall be aligned to scientifically based reading research and evaluate the certification applicant's knowledge and understanding of the five elements of reading instruction which are phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
6. F. Candidates applying for adjunct positions, an alternative placement teaching certificate, or an emergency teaching certificate in elementary education shall complete instruction in the science of reading as determined by the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability and the State Board of Education.

Laws 2005, SB 966, c. 431, § 4, eff. September 1, 2005; Amended by Laws 2009, HB 1581, c. 97, § 1, emerg. eff. July 1, 2009 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2017, HB 1789, c. 60, § 1, emerg. eff. July 1, 2017 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2019, SB 194, c. 208, § 1, emerg. eff. July 1, 2019 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2024, SB 362, c. 411, § 8, emerg. eff. July 1, 2024 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2025, SB 841, c. 297, § 3, emerg. eff. July 1, 2025 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2026, SB 1778, c. 34, § 7, emerg. eff. April 21, 2026 (superseded document available).