NY A08924

Commissioner of education must develop an auditing process to assess how effectively educator preparation programs teach the science of reading, with audits conducted every four years at all postsecondary institutions offering education or educational administration degrees or certifications.

Audit questions must evaluate whether programs adequately cover the five pillars of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) and research-based instructional methods including phonology, alphabetic principle, sound-symbol correspondences, syntax, and English language development.

Programs must be assessed on their use of structured literacy best practices and the extent to which they teach ineffective approaches such as three-cueing, leveled texts, miscue analysis, and over-reliance on certain assessment tools.

Each institution must provide attestation confirming survey results and demonstrating that learning standards for effective literacy instruction are met across all education and educational administration courses.

Commissioner must submit audit findings and recommendations to the governor and legislative leaders no later than January 1 following the act's effective date, or 150 days after, whichever is later.