The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is committed to advancing literacy excellence for all students by improving literacy instruction and access to High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM). A comprehensive suite of resources is now available to educators to support literacy from research to practice. The trainings being offered focus on the science of reading, structured literacy, and supporting students with reading difficulties.
Point of Contact
Vaani Gupta
[email protected]
Top Things to Know
- OSSE provides local education agencies (LEAs) with resources aligned to the dyslexia legislation on its Dyslexia Legislation Overview website.
- All LEAs will ensure that educators who serve students in pre-K through adult programs build awareness of reading difficulties through the Dyslexia Awareness Training for the 2025-26 school year. LEAs must provide OSSE with educator completion rates by Oct. 31 of each year.
- All K-5 LEAs will ensure educators have access to HQIM by adopting a science-based reading program for grades K-5 in accordance with DC Law 23-191 Addressing Dyslexia and Other Reading Difficulties Amendment Act of 2020. Each K-5 LEA must provide OSSE with the name of the adopted HQIM science-based reading program by Oct. 31 of each year.
- OSSE will launch its new literacy coaching pilot in a select group of public and charter elementary schools. These coaches will directly support teachers in the implementation of structured literacy instruction.
Key Resources
- OSSE provides LEAs with evidence-based curricula aligned with the science of reading.
- The HQIM rubric provides a tool for LEAs to evaluate whether their program meets the requirements of a high-quality science-based literacy program.
- The HQIM guidance provides LEAs with guidance to support the adoption of high-quality science-based literacy programs. The guidance document provides an in-depth look at how to score the rubric, interrupt the results, and plan for the next steps.
- The structured literacy training list provides LEAs with a comprehensive list of structured literacy training to support educators serving grades K-5.
- The structured literacy walkthrough tool provides LEAs with guidance on norming structured literacy practices grounded in evidence-based practices. It is not intended to serve as a formal, summative assessment evaluation but rather to deliver targeted feedback for educators in structured literacy instruction.
Key Dates & Deadlines
- Oct. 31 - Deadline for LEAs to provide OSSE with educator completion rates of Dyslexia Awareness Training for the 2025-26 school year
- Oct. 31 - Deadline for LEAs to provide OSSE with the name of the science-based reading program it has adopted.
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