S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4780
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 6, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. SIMON, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, GLICK, SAYEGH, LUNS-
   FORD, DAVILA, LEE, R. CARROLL, FALL -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.
   COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
 
 AN  ACT  in  relation  to  authorizing  the commissioner of education to
   conduct an audit regarding instruction in literacy instruction  within
   the state
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "so all can
 read act".
   § 2. The commissioner of  education  is  authorized  and  directed  to
 develop  an  auditing process that clearly documents the degree to which
 every educator preparation program at an institution of higher education
 is effectively teaching the science of reading by conducting an audit on
 literacy instruction at  every  institution  of  higher  education  that
 offers  a  graduate  or undergraduate degree or certification program in
 education or educational administration located within the  state.  Such
 audit  shall include, as appropriate, questions on how such institutions
 are meeting the learning standards for instruction necessary for  effec-
 tive literacy instruction within the current required literacy education
 curriculum.   All programs shall be reviewed every four years thereafter
 to ensure continued alignment with the science of reading.
   § 3. For each postsecondary institution, audit questions shall:
   (a) identify which undergraduate and/or  graduate  degree  or  certif-
 ication  program in education or educational administration sufficiently
 covers instruction in core components, characterized as the five pillars
 of reading by the National Reading Panel  of  the  National  Academy  of
 Sciences  in  2000, namely phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency,
 vocabulary, and comprehension, and assess how fully  and  in-depth  each
 such  program  covers instruction as to each core component or pillar of
 reading in substantial alignment with the reading  foundation  standards

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06673-01-5
              

 A. 4780                             2
 
 utilized  by  the National Council on Teacher Quality in its 2023 report
 on strengthening elementary reading instruction;
   (b)  assess the extent to which each such program covers the knowledge
 and  skills  needed  to  understand  and  convey  direct  and   explicit
 language-based  instruction in reading that is consistent with research-
 based effective methods of teaching reading, including but  not  limited
 to:
   (1)  phonology  and phonemic awareness, and how to develop such aware-
 ness including evidence about moving rapidly from phonemes and  connect-
 ing them to the relevant grapheme;
   (2) alphabetic principle, orthographic mapping and an understanding of
 the  processes  the  brain  uses  for  developing reading, syllables and
 morphology and why they are important for both decoding and vocabulary;
   (3) sound-symbol correspondences and explicit, systematic  phonics  to
 develop automaticity and fluency;
   (4)  syntax and text structure to support comprehension and comprehen-
 sion strategies including question asking and answering, inference,  and
 summarizing;
   (5) building background knowledge;
   (6)  English  language development focused on developing oral language
 which necessitates attention to those sounds in the home  language  that
 are  not  transferable  and thus need increased explicit instruction, as
 well as syntax and grammar;
   (7) developing an understanding  of  English  varieties  from  general
 standard  English  and imparting the linguistic structure of dialects of
 the English language and ways to develop translanguaging and  addressing
 phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics;
   (8) how to use and interpret universal screeners and progress monitor-
 ing tools as well as understanding diagnostics;
   (9)  elements of instruction that are effective, including modeling (I
 do), guided practice (we do) and application (you do); and
   (10) awareness that scientific evidence is randomized experimental and
 quasi-experimental studies, confirmed and replicated, and  peer-reviewed
 studies;
   (c)  evaluate to what extent such program adequately prepares students
 on how to incorporate best practices and techniques of structured liter-
 acy in the classroom;
   (d) evaluate to what extent each program currently teaches methods  or
 strategies  or otherwise uses instructional materials, including but not
 limited to, textbooks that are reliant on approaches which research  has
 shown  are  ineffective,  including  three-cueing, leveled texts, miscue
 analysis, units of study, reading workshops, embedded or implicit  phon-
 ics,  or  the over-reliance on assessment tools such as running records,
 developmental reading assessment or qualitative reading inventory; and
   (e) evaluate the extent to  which  a  program  addresses  the  use  of
 research-based  effective  methods of teaching reading, including struc-
 tured literacy with various populations, including but  not  limited  to
 students  with  learning disabilities (such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and
 dyscalculia) and English language learners.
   § 4. Each audit shall also require an attestation from  each  institu-
 tion  indicating that the responsible party or parties have surveyed the
 undergraduate and/or graduate degree or certification program in  educa-
 tion  or  educational  administration  at  each such institution for the
 areas listed in section two of this act and the extent to which learning
 standards for instruction necessary for effective  literacy  instruction
 is provided in each such program's courses to achieve adequate competen-
 A. 4780                             3
 
 cy  of the body of knowledge and sufficient practice needed for pre-ser-
 vice educators studying any  level  of  P-12  education  or  educational
 administration.
   §  5. Findings shall include detailed results of the audit, the extent
 that the audit data submitted demonstrates compliance with the  learning
 standards  of  instruction necessary for effective literacy instruction,
 and, if needed, recommendations to  strengthen  the  provisions  of  law
 related to literacy instruction if such standards of instruction are not
 being  met. Such findings shall be submitted for approval by the commis-
 sioner of education in a timeframe, and form and format,  acceptable  to
 the commissioner. A report of the findings of such audit shall be deliv-
 ered to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker
 of  the  assembly,  the  minority leader of the senate, and the minority
 leader of the assembly no later than the first of January following  the
 effective  date  of this act, or one hundred fifty days after the effec-
 tive date of this act, whichever is later.
   § 6. For purposes of this act,  "learning  standards  for  instruction
 necessary  for  effective literacy instruction" include literary courses
 offered by an institution that are training students in  language-based,
 effective  methods  of  teaching  reading,  which include instruction in
 delivering  structured,  systematic,  explicit,  evidence-based   direct
 instruction in reading, also known as structured literacy.
   § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.