(1) (a) The department of higher education and the department of education, in collaboration with the deans of the schools of education in Colorado institutions of higher education, or their designees, shall review research and practices from other states and other countries to identify best practices in providing educator preparation programs, including: (I) Effective curricula, teaching teacher candidates the science of teaching reading and strategies to ensure all students learn to read, course scope and sequence, and timing of and effective practices in providing clinical practice; and (II) Effective curricula and interventions, teaching candidates for an elementary education endorsement, a middle school mathematics endorsement, or a secondary mathematics endorsement interventions and strategies to help students who are below grade level or struggling in mathematics; children with disabilities, as defined in section 22-20-103; and students who are English language learners. (b) The departments and deans, or their designees, shall work with persons who implement alternative teacher programs, local education providers, teachers, and other interested parties in identifying the best practices. No later than January 1, 2020, the departments shall jointly adopt guidelines to assist educator preparation programs in adopting and implementing the best practices, including best practices to ensure that teacher candidates are well trained to teach students to read. (2) The department of higher education and the department of education shall jointly prepare a report concerning the identified best practices, the adopted guidelines, and regulatory and legislative recommendations to ensure that the policies and criteria for reviewing and approving educator preparation programs pursuant to sections 22-60.5-115 (2), 22-60.5-205 (3), and 22-60.5-121 align with the identified best practices and are designed to determine the degree to which educator preparation programs are implementing the best practices. On or before January 15, 2020, the departments shall submit the report to the commission, the state board, and the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or any successor committees. To the extent necessary, the commission shall amend its guidelines and the state board shall amend its rules to align with the best practices. (3) On or before March 1, 2020, each educator preparation program shall submit to the department of higher education and the department of education a plan demonstrating how the educator preparation program expects to phase in implementation of the identified best practices over the following three academic years.
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