A. Subject to the availability of funds, the State Board of Education shall have authority to develop and administer training for residency committees and training for professional development through professional development institutes. Included in the professional development institute training shall be technology training. “Professional development institutes” shall be defined as continuing education experiences which consist of a minimum of thirty (30) clock hours. The institutes shall be competency-based, emphasize effective learning practices, require collaboration among participants, and require each participant to prepare a work product which can be utilized in the classroom by the participant. Any state professional development institutes administered by the Board shall be chosen through a competitive bid process and, if funds are available, subject to peer review. The Board, prior to offering any professional development institute, shall promulgate rules related to administering state professional development institutes. B. The State Board of Education shall develop, offer, and administer professional development institutes to train elementary school teachers in reading education and, if funds are available, which may include, but not be limited to, grant, foundation, or other funds, to train middle school teachers in reading education. Funds appropriated for this purpose shall be used for the cost of developing, administering, and contracting for the professional development institutes. When possible, certified reading specialists shall be included as consultants. All costs of the institutes shall be included in the contract price, and no tuition or registration fee shall be collected from teachers attending the institutes. The institutes shall be offered by or through the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability. Working in conjunction with the State Department of Education, the Commission shall develop a state plan for administration of such institutes and shall report electronically on or before November 1 of each year to the Governor and the Legislature on the format of and participation in the institutes. The State Department of Education shall cooperate with and provide any information requested, including data available through the state student record system, to the State Board of Education as is necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. C. Subject to the availability of funds, the State Board of Education shall: 1. Contract for an independent evaluation of the reading professional development institutes. The evaluation shall determine adherence to program requirements as provided in this section and the program’s effectiveness in increasing teacher knowledge and student achievement; and 2. Provide continued support of the reading professional development institutes through ongoing teacher development at individual school sites. Funds may be used for the cost of mentor training, payment for substitute teachers, on-site facilitation, and any other costs necessary to ensure improved reading by students. D. 1. For the purpose of implementing comprehensive reading reform and systemic change, the State Board of Education shall award one-year grants renewable for up to two (2) additional years to public schools that serve students in kindergarten through third grade. The grants shall provide for: a. a five-day initial professional development institute in elementary school reading for teachers of kindergarten through third grade, instructional leaders, and principals, b. a three-day follow-up professional development institute in elementary school reading for teachers of kindergarten through third grade and instructional leaders, and c. continued support through ongoing teacher development at school sites including four (4) days of professional development for principals and literacy resource specialists and six (6) days of on-site visits by a program consultant. 2. In order to qualify for a grant pursuant to this subsection, the following requirements shall be met: a. at least eighty percent (80%) of the teachers of kindergarten through third grade at the school shall have demonstrated support for the training program provided pursuant to this subsection, b. the principal shall ensure that all members of the leadership team and all teachers of kindergarten through third grade will participate in all phases of the training program, c. the school district shall ensure that any new teacher of kindergarten through third grade or principal at the school will participate in all phases of the training program, and d. the school district shall employ a literacy resource specialist for at least two (2) years after completion of the training provided in this subsection. One or more districts may share a literacy resource specialist upon approval of the Board. 3. Any school which has been determined by the State Board of Education to be a school in need of improvement shall be given priority for receipt of a grant. Grants to school districts may be awarded based on the amount of funds allocated to the State Board of Education for the purposes of this section. Funds may be used for payment for substitute teachers, program consultants, on-site facilitation, and literacy resource specialists. 4. For program evaluation purposes, each school awarded a grant pursuant to this subsection shall provide to the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability student-level data and results of the reading assessments administered pursuant to the Oklahoma School Testing Program Act for the year prior to the grant award, for each year a grant is received by the school, and for three (3) years after completion of the program. If funds are not sufficient to award grants to all eligible applicants, schools may be placed on a waiting list for priority consideration for the following year’s round of grant awards which shall be superior to the priority given to schools as provided in paragraph 3 of this subsection, if the school provides student data for the current year to the Board as provided in this paragraph. 5. The professional development institutes in elementary reading provided pursuant to this section shall incorporate the requirements of the Strong Readers Act. E. As additional funds become available for such purpose, the Board shall develop and offer professional development institutes in: 1. Mathematics for teachers in grades kindergarten through nine which incorporate the requirements of Sections 2 through 8 of this act; 2. The use of technology in the classroom; 3. Training of residency committee members in teacher mentoring; and 4. Hands-on inquiry-based science for elementary teachers. Added by Laws 1995, c. 322, § 21, eff. July 1, 1995. Amended by Laws 1997, c. 356, § 1, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 1998, c. 5, § 24, emerg. eff. March 4, 1998; Laws 1998, c. 332, § 3, eff. July 1, 1998; Laws 2000, c. 289, § 3, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2007, c. 249, § 1, eff. July 1, 2007; Laws 2008, c. 152, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2008; Laws 2009, c. 94, § 1, eff. July 1, 2009; Laws 2012, c. 223, § 12, eff. Jan. 1, 2013; Laws 2013, c. 83, § 12, eff. July 1, 2013; Laws 2024, c. 411, § 2, eff. July 1, 2024; Laws 2025, c. 492, § 9, eff. July 1, 2025.
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